Blessed Frank

Exploring Africa's Tech Frontier | Unearthing Startup Gold 💰 | Decoding Crypto & Web3 | Your Guide to Emerging Markets #TechJournalist

Africa

The Silicon Mountain: Highlighting the Cameroonian Tech Startup Ecosystem

Cameroon is a country of about 28.2 million people that is strategically located in Central and West Africa. It has a very youthful population and a 36.5%  internet penetration rate, with GDP expected to reach $47.01 billion by the end of 2022, according to Trading Economics global

Blockchain

Gamic and Polygon Partner to Bring Blockchain Opportunities to Africa

Gamic, Nigeria’s Web3 social communication platform, announced a strategic partnership with Polygon network, a leading Ethereum infrastructure and scaling platform. Gamic will be able to expand its international influence and reach as a result of this collaboration, as well as bring blockchain-powered opportunities to Africa. The web3 startup is

Blockchain

How the Africa Blockchain Center is Addressing the Talents Gap in African Blockchain Industry

The Africa Blockchain Center (The ABC), a Kenyan Web 3.0 startup founded in September 2021 to propel Africa into the adoption of 4IR (fourth industrial revolution) technologies by building capacity in blockchain programming and catalyzing industry readiness; offering solutions to enterprises seeking to explore the technology; and incubating blockchain

DFC

DFC and Mastercard Doll out $50M to Deepen Digitization and Financial Inclusion in Africa

Notwithstanding how challenging it has been to deepen digitalization and financial inclusion in Africa over the years, some notable progress has been made. For instance, 2021 was a record year for the African tech startup ecosystem, attracting over $4 billion in investment across 650 deals, a 206% increase over 2020

AfCFTA

AfCFTA: Why Africa should be Every Smart Investor’s Choice Destination in 2023

Africa currently accounts for only 2% of global trade, moreover, only 17% of African exports are intercontinental, compared to 59% in Asia and 68% in Europe. As a result, the potential for transformation across Africa is significant. As a result, the AfCFTA is a game changer that will allow the

Internet Access in Africa

Microsoft Partners Viasat to Provide Internet Access to 100M Africans by the end of 2025

It is no secret that Africa has consistently lagged in different human endeavors, including internet penetration. According to the Statista report, only about four out of ten Africans had internet access as of December 2021. The online penetration rate on the continent was below the global average, measured at around

Clean Energy

The Role of Cleantech Startups in Accelerating Clean Energy Adoption in Africa

Over 770 million people in Africa lack access to electricity, according to a 2019 report by the International Energy Agency, and by 2030, half of the world’s population will be without electricity in just seven countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, and Niger, with Pakistan

Africa

Why Visa is Dolling Out $1B for Africa’s Digital Transformation

Visa, the world’s leading card payment platform, has announced plans to invest $1 billion in Africa over the next five years to accelerate the continent’s digital transformation. Alfred F. Kelly, Jr., Chairman, and CEO of Visa announced the plan on Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at the US-Africa Business

Artemis Accords

Nigeria and Rwanda Become the First African Countries to Sign the Artemis Accords

The Nigerian government signed the Artemis Accords yesterday, December 13th, 2022, at the ongoing US-Africa Leaders’ Forum (USALF) in Washington DC, United States of America. President Joe Biden of the United States hosted the Summit, which brought together leaders from across Africa. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Nigeria’s Minister of

Africa

Kenyan Tech Startups’ Contribution to the Nation's Economy

Kenya is one of the world’s most entrepreneurial countries, with a thriving tech startup ecosystem. And it’s not just in major cities like Nairobi; tech startups are sprouting up all over the country, from Mombasa to Kisumu. According to a report, Kenya now has over 1,000 tech

CNN’s Hero of the year for 2022

From the Kenyan Slum of Mogotio to Becoming CNN’s Hero of the Year, the Story of Nelly Cheboi

Harriet Tubman, an American abolitionist, once said “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”   This is the story of Nelly Cheboi, a 29-year-old Kenyan who grew up in

BNPL

ThankUCash Raises $5.3 Seed Funding to Automate BNPL Platforms in Africa

Buy Now Pay Later, — BNPL — is a type of short-term asset financing scheme that has become increasingly popular in the last 5 years. CB Insights, the report states that BNPL startups raised a record $1.5 billion globally in 2020. The sector is expected to reach $680 billion in transaction

Fourth Industrial Revolution

4IR Taking Shape in Africa: Robotic and Humanoid in Focus

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, abbreviated as 4IR, is ushering in several new technologies that are fusing the physical, digital, and biological worlds, impacting all disciplines, economies, and industries. It is changing how we live, work, and communicate and how we interact with the natural world. In Africa, the 4IR represents

FedEx

Why FedEx is Launching a Direct Commercial Presence in Nigeria after 28 yrs of Operation

Nigeria is not just the most populous black nation on earth, but also the largest and fastest-growing economy in Africa, with the African Development Bank projecting an average growth rate of 3.2% between 2022 and 2023. These factors, combined with the country having one of the largest diaspora populations,

African startups

Your Startup is more likely to Fail than Succeed: How African Tech Startups can Survive Infant Mortality

Startup Genome report noted that 9 out of 10 startups fail and 10% of startups fail in the first year. According to the report, startup infant mortality is most common for startups during years two through five, with 70% falling into this category. Despite the high number of startup failures,

Africa Transformation Office

How Microsoft's ATO is following through with its $500M Funding Plans for African Startups

Microsoft, the leading software giant, announced a new program in early March this year to accelerate the growth of 10,000 African startups and fast-track investment in the continent’s startup ecosystem over the next five years. The opportunities are made available through Microsoft’s ATO, its Founders Hub on

African tech funding

November Put the Final Zeal to the Ambitious $7B African Tech Startup Funding Mark

As the year comes to a close in the next 26 days, the African tech startup ecosystem is weathering the storm caused by the global economic downturn and inflations, with 25 tech startups across the continent raising a total of $309.87 million in November. This was a significant improvement

Nigerian Startup Act

How the “NSA 2022” can restore Investors’ Confidence as Tech Startups pull out of Nigeria

The much-anticipated Nigerian Startup Act “NSA 2022” a federal piece of legislation introduced in March 2019 by the Nigerian Senate was  finally signed into law by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR on October 19, 2022, to support the development of tech startups in Nigeria. The Act identifies the key

Cryptocurrency

Examining the African Crypto Ecosystem as the Ripple Effects of the FTX Crash Continue to Rage across the Continent

Cryptocurrency adoption in Africa continues to deepen as small retail payments in the region power exceptional crypto adoption and usage, with the region conducting the world’s highest proportion (80%) of crypto retail payments of less than $1,000, according to a recent report by blockchain data firm Chainalysis, Peer-to-peer

African tech startups

32 Days to the End of 2022: Can African Tech Startups Attain the $7B Projected Funding Mark in ’22?

The African tech startup ecosystem is witnessing its best year yet, with the first half of 2022 ending at $3.5 billion, a 133% increase from the first half of 2021. According to a report from the African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (AVCA), a pan-African organization that promotes

fintech startup

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE NIGERIAN FINTECH SECTOR

Fintech is a combination of the words “finance” and “technology. According to Corporate Finance Institute, it describes the evolution of an industry where new technology use cases are developed and deployed to streamline more traditional-looking finance functions. In the Nigerian fintech sector, the payments sub-sector employs the most fintech players,

Lagos

WHY TECH TALENTS ARE ABANDONING THEIR REGIONS FOR LAGOS

Nigeria, with 210 million people, accounts for at least 20% of Africa’s population which is expected to exceed 400 million by 2050. Nigeria also has a 42% internet penetration rate, translating to 86 million internet subscribers in Nigeria, a growing middle class accounting for approximately 23% of the population,

B2B SaaS Startups

Leta, Kenya's B2B Supply Chain and Logistics SaaS Platform, Gets $3M to Expand to Nigeria and Cameron

Leta, a Kenyan B2B supply chain and logistics SaaS provider, has announced receiving a $3 million pre-seed investment from 4Di Capital, Chandaria Capital, Chui Ventures, PANI, Samurai Incubate, and Verdant Frontiers Fintech and individual investors like Cellulant co-founder Ken Njoroge and Google executive, Charles Murito to expand its operations into

Kenyan Tech startups Layoffs

Examining the Kenyan Tech Startups Lay offs Tsunami

2022 has been a very good year for the African tech startups ecosystem, per data from Africa: The Big Deal shows that startups on the continent have set new funding records every month in 2022, whereas this cannot be said for global tech due to falling valuations, falling stock prices,

Agritech

THE ROLE OF AGRITECH IN ENSURING FOOD SECURITY IN NIGERIA

With Nigeria’s population growing at a rate of 3.1% per year and expected to reach 400 million by 2050 according to UNFPA, enhanced agricultural productivity through the adoption of agritech; new technologies, and innovation is required to ensure food and nutrition security, particularly for the poor and vulnerable.