Nigeria's Ministry of Communications Discloses Plans to make sandboxes, accelerators and manage internet based life The ministry of communication, Nigeria, and the computerized economy has disclosed a five-year Strategic Management Plan 2020-2024 (SMP) for the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to make sandboxes, quickening agents, and manage internet based life. It contains plans to control rising advancements and we’ll advanced administrations like Facebook, WhatsApp, and
Facebook to introduce pop-up warning users who share content more than 90 days old. Facebook is planning to introduce a notification screen to warn users who try to share content that is more than 90 days old. This comes after the several complaints from news publishers in particular saying that old stories that are sheared out of their original context contributed to the spread
Applications open for MINT Incubator 2020 Fall cycle Egyptian banking entrepreneurial platform by EG bank in partnership with Cairo Angels has opened applications for its MINT Incubator 2020 Fall cycle. MINT is a platform dedicated to entrepreneurs, enabling them to access the world of banking, accelerate their business, and unleash their potential. This year, the platform is launching
Startup South African Digital Agency, Retroactive rolls out sports promotions app, Matchkit South African Digital Agency, Retroactive has rolled out a sports marketing app known as MatchKit. The app enables athletes to unlock additional revenue streams to further commercialize their careers. The novel app is a website builder that helps professional sports players showcase live in five minutes for potential sponsors as
Startup First National Bank, UnionPay join forces to allow UnionPay cardholders make contactless payments in South Africa. First National Bank (FNB) has joined forces with UnionPay International (UPI) to allow UnionPay cardholders to make contactless payments with their cards via FNB Speedpoint terminals in South Africa. This partnership marks the first time a South African bank is accepting contactless transactions made with UnionPay cards at its SpeedPoint
Startup South African animation studio, Triggerfish plans to open studio in Ireland. South African animation studio, Triggerfish is planning to open its first international studio in Galway, Ireland. According to a statement by the company, the project is supported by the Irish government through investment agency IDA Ireland and it is expected to create 60 new jobs over the next three years.
Microsoft South Africa, Vodacom rolls out digital education platform. Microsoft South Africa has collaborated with Vodacom to roll out a digital education platform dubbed, the Connected Digital Education initiative. Connected Digital Education initiative allows remote learning with affordable connectivity while granting learners access to educational tools, apps, and resources. This follows the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which
Funding South African fintech startup, Paymenow raises R4m seed funding from ViaMedia. South African fintech startup, Paymenow has raised R4million investment from ViaMedia, a member of Digital Ecosystems Group. Paymenow is a platform that offers a financial wellness and inclusion platform that allows employees early access to already earned wages. The app leverages gamification to drive financial education and inclusion within its
Funding Egyptian fintech, MoneyFellows secures $4M Series A Egyptian fintech, MoneyFellows has secured $4 million in a Series A round from global VC Partech and Egypt’s Sawari Ventures. MoneyFellows platform helps users manage money circles by digitizing the informal traditional rotating savings and credit association model. Some features of the platform include salary automated deductions, fixed payout
Facebook Inc obtains publicly supported mapping Tech Company, Mapillary. Facebook Inc has obtained a Swedish publicly supported mapping technology company, Mapillary that helps collects images from many contributors to build immersive and up-to-date maps. The transaction was confirmed by Facebook but later on, refused to open up about the terms involved. However, Mapillary hesitated in responding to a request
Google for Startups Accelerator Africa selects 20 For Virtual Program. Google has selected Twenty African tech startups For their fifth Cohort, Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, which will take place online, and the aim is to help participating startups leverage Google’s technologies. Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program was first launched in March 2018 with the most recent one
Blockchain South African Fintech, Centbee rolls out new feature to enable users make essential purchases. South African fintech, Centbee has rolled out a new feature in its Bitcoin wallet to enable users to purchase prepaid electricity, airtime, and data. Centbee leverages Bitcoin Satoshi’s Vision (SV) to offer services to global customers through an intuitive Bitcoin SV wallet, which can be used to send and
Startup Founder of E-Health startup, Rahet Bally wins $100,000. The founder of the e-health startup, Rahet Bally named, Nadia Gamal El-Din has won $100,000 in funding from global Cartier’s Women’s Initiative Awards 2020. The annual initiative aims to highlight women entrepreneurs and women-led startups across the world. Seven female-led startups won this year while each founder
Funding OTO Courses, Egypt-based edtech platform, secures six-figure investment for AUC Angels, Changelabs. Egyptian Edtech platform, OTO Courses has secured a six-figure (USD) investment round from AUC Angels and Changelabs. OTO Courses which stands for One-to-One Courses is an online learning platform that offers a wide range of specialized and general courses with dedicated hours of live tuition. The platform plans to use
Funding Nigeria’s micro-investing startup “Trove” raises funding from Three Local Angel Network. Nigerian micro-investing startup “Trove” has raised funds from three local angel networks because it prepares for expansion. Trove has built an easy micro-investing app that allows its users to take a position small amounts in additional than 3,000 Nigerian, American, and Chinese stocks, bonds, and ETFs. Trove is a
Founder Institute Applications Opened for Lagos third Cohort. Founder Institute has opened applications for its third Cohort in order to support more startups to launch new companies across Nigeria and Africa at large. According to the Founder of Loystar, Ayo Dawodu; he says the FI program is for any entrepreneur looking forward to being a successful one solidly
Startup Visa supports Small Businesses in Nigeria With New Initiative; ‘Where You Shop Matters’ Worldwide digital payment Visa, has launched its new initiative ‘Where you Shop Matters‘ and it aims at championing and enabling entrepreneurs in Nigeria while encouraging consumers to support small businesses. The initiative comes as a new study shows more consumers are embracing the eCommerce and digital payments over physical cash.
Zoom Video-conferencing app, Zoom to offer encryption to both free and premium users. Video conferencing app, Zoom is planning to offer full end-to-end encryption to both free and paid users. This follows the pressure from members of the United States Congress and the public telling the video-conferencing company to ensure privacy. U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, and Richard Blumenthal, a
VC4A Calls for African scale-ups In The 'Venture Showcase Series A.' VC4A has announced the 2020 ‘Venture Showcase Series A’ in partnership with AWS Activate to give selected entrepreneurs the opportunity to introduce their companies to early-stage African investors. This is going to be a virtual gathering of African-focused early-stage investors in collaboration with their technical partner AWS Activate, VC4A will
Funding South African Fintech startup, Planet42 receives $2.4M funding in a round led by Change Ventures South African fintech startup, Planet42 has received $2.4 million in funding from Change Ventures to help it scale its growth. Other investors who participated in the round include Martin Villig, CEO of Bolt, Ragnar Sass (Pipedrive), Marko Virkebau (MeetFrank), Kristjan Vilosius (Katana MRP) and other Estonian tech entrepreneurs. Planet42
Funding Egyptian online real estate platform, Sakneen gains backing from Silicon-Valley based Incubator, Y Combinator. Egyptian online real estate platform, Sakneen has gained backing from Silicon-Valley based Incubator, Y-Combinator. Sakneen was part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2020 batch that graduated earlier this year with a virtual demo day and secured $150,000 from Y Combinator. Sakneen is an online real estate platform that will
AppsAfrica Innovation Awards 2020 Entries Opened. AppsAfrica Innovation Awards entries are opened and they opened to corporates, established ventures, or start-ups who have launched services in at least one African market for the sixth time this year. This is to celebrate technology and mobile applications from across Africa, showcasing the continent’s best innovations across 12
Funding Egyptian medicine delivery startup, Chefaa secures pre-Series A investment to expand its services. Egyptian medicine delivery startup, Chefaa has secured a pre-Series A investment round to expand its services in the region. The investment came from US venture capital fund and accelerator 500 Startups, Saudi Arabian fund Vision Ventures, Womena, and other investors. According to the tech news site, Menabytes, the startup did
Funding Egyptian learning startup, Zedny rolls out to provide online courses in Arabic. Egyptian learning platform, Zedny has rolled out to provide over 200 online courses and 400 animated video summaries in Arabic. This comes after the secured a pre-seed investment of $1.2 million from a handful of investors. The startup integrates gamification into the HR development cycle to enable individuals to
Startup Orange plans to enter Nigerian and South African markets soon. France’s largest telecom group Orange is planning to enter the South African and Nigerian markets soon. According to Reuters, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Orange, Stephane Richard said, “It could make sense to be in economies such as Nigeria and South Africa. If one considers there are things
