Startup

Y-Combinator’s Demo Day

Today, Y-Combinator is given 10 startups in its 2021 batch the opportunity to pitch their products to the world. Accelerator firms have days when they allow startups showcase their products. These startups are given the opportunity to showcase and give their pitches at the end of the program, the program

Startups

Discovery and beIN Extend Distribution Partnership in MENA Region

Discovery Inc., a global leader in real-life entertainment and world history has announced their decision to renew its longstanding partnership with beIN Media Group across the Middle East and North Africa. This partnership which was signed in 2016 has provided fans with interesting content from HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel,

Artificial Intelligence

Blueloop Joins Y-combinator

The need for cross-border payment has been increasing in Africa over the years. With the traditional banking system failing to efficiently meet this need for African merchants and freelancers, fintech startups have taken the lead in ensuring that cross-border payments are carried out swiftly for Africans, and what a job

Startups

NIGERIAN STARTUP, TERMII RAISES $1.4M IN SEED ROUND TO PUSH NORTH AFRICA EXPANSION

Nigerian based communications as a service (CaaS) startup, Termii has just closed a $1.4 million seed round. The round was co-led by early stage VC firm Future Africa and Japanese but Africa-focused VC Kepple Africa Ventures. Other investors that participated in the round include Acuity Ventures, Aidi Ventures, Assembly

Business

TPG Acquires $200m Stake from Airtel Africa

Telecommunication companies have been providing various value-added services for their customers over the years. Provision of mobile money services seems to be the most profitable value added service recently. In 2019, 50 million sub-Saharan Africans created a mobile-money account via a mobile phone, representing a 12% increase compared to 2018

Artificial Intelligence

Africa’s Disrupt Story: The Case of Insurtech

Overview of Insurtech If you have an insurance company and are looking for an area where it will receive as most patronage, Africa should do. Africa is one of the world’s hot regions for insurance due to its underdeveloped insurance sector. In Africa, bulk of the insurance comes from

Startups

NIGERIAN FINTECH KUDA RAISES $25M, TO EXPAND TO OTHER AFRICAN COUNTRIES

There are over 57million unbanked people in Nigeria and the battle to reach these people is fierce between banks and Fintech companies. One of the major contenders in this battle is Kuda bank which seeks to make banking more accessible, affordable and rewarding for every African. The bank which prides

Startups

Nigeria Startup Gokada Appoints Nikhil Goel As CEO.

Lagos based logistics, last mile delivery and transportation start-up has appointed Nikhil Goel as its new CEO. He was officially confirmed as CEO yesterday, after spending 8months leading the company after the tragic death of the founder and CEO Fahim Saleh in July 2020. In his new position, Goel will

Startup

Plentywaka Joins Techstars Accelerator, Plans Expansion into Canada

In Nigeria, when people have lots of places to be, they say ‘I get plenty waka’. Plentywaka has been operating in Nigeria since 2019 to  manage the problems involved in getting safe, reliable and comfortable commercial transportation options in Nigeria. Plentywaka is Nigeria’s first bus-hailing app, and it offers

Startups

SA SECURITY AND MEDICAL TECH STARTUP, AURA, EXPANDS TO EAST AFRICA

A South African based security and medical response platform, AURA has announced its plan to expand its emergency and medical response operations to Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya. The expansion to the East-African country is coming on the back of the partnership that has been secured with GardaWorld owned KK Security

Artificial Intelligence

PayPal and Flutterwave Partner to Enable African Merchants Receive Payment

It’s always a joy to carryout a payment with ease, especially one that crosses the borders of your region. For Africans, Flutterwave has ensured that merchants and freelancers can enjoy the ease of making payments from the comfort of their homes or business to anyone anywhere in the world.

Startups

CATALYST FUND BACKS TWO GHANAIAN STARTUPS WITH $120,000

Ghanaian startups Boost and KudiGo have been selected for Catalyst Fund’s Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator programme, and have secured $120,000 to enable them better serve informal SMEs and grow their businesses which have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Both Boost Ghana and KudiGo are focused on enabling

Business

Ghana’s Plendify Enhancing Africa’s Supply Chain

Without commodity exchanges, it would be difficult—if not impossible—to establish a standardized price for a commodity. Those in the commodity industry would be personally responsible for finding individual buyers and sellers, and the few buyers they contact will be the ones who determine the prices of commodities. There

Startup

Egyptian Fintech Startup NowPay joins Y-Combinator

Seed financing (also known as seed capital, seed money, or seed funding) is the earliest stage of the capital-raising process of a startup. Seed financing is a type of equity-based financing. In other words, investors commit their capital in exchange for an equity interest in a company. In the Series

Startups

Flutterwave is Giving $2,500 Grant Each to Women-Owned Businesses in Africa

We reported recently that Flutterwave has secured $170million in its series C funding, setting the African tech industry buzzing, and thereby cementing the company’s status as a unicorn. The fintech company has announced that it would award US$2,500 grant each, to women-led businesses in commemoration of International

Startups

South Africa’s Flexclub Secures Additional $5m In Seed Round to Scale Its Car Subscription Marketplace

South African car subscription company, FlexClub has secured $5million to improve drivers’ experience in emerging markets. FlexClub is an online market place that connects customers looking for flexible access to long-term cars with its partners, offering car subscriptions. The usual process of purchasing a car, setting up insurance and financing

Startup

Microsoft Launches Women Techsters Initiative for 5million African Women

According to the McKinsey’s Women Matter Africa report (PDF) in 2016, only 5% of tech startup CEOs were women, while only 29% of senior managers were women. The report also revealed that only 36% of promotions in organisations go to women in Africa. According to Funmi Adewara, founder/ CEO,

Savannah Fund Secures $23m Seed and Series A Fund for African Startups

A survey by Genome which featured 1,070 startups from 50 countries around the world revealed that a majority of startups are in the red zone, with less than three months of cash runway. Having sufficient working capital is a key aspect for any startup because it determines the financial

Startups

ICYMI: APPLY FOR NIGERIA’S SDGS FINTECH HACKATHON

Applications are open till March 15th 2021, for the Nigeria SDGs Fintech Hackaton. This hackathon will see techies build solutions for payments, enhance financial inclusion, promote accountability and credibility, security, and privacy to impact the realisation of the SDGs directly. The competition which is to start on March 25, 2021

Egyptian Fintech, Dayra secures $3M in pre-seed round.

Egyptian fintech, Dayra has secured $3 million in a pre-seed round which is a combination of equity and debt financing. In addition to the funding, Dayra has joined Y Combinator’s winter 2021 (YC W21). Investors that participated in the round were EFG EV, EFG Hermes, Tanmiya Capital Ventures, and

Startups

Youtube To Deduct Taxes Of Up To 24% From Creators Outside The United State.

YouTube has announced that they will begin to deduct taxes from non-U.S.-based content creators on earnings generated by viewers in the United States. The new policy is expected to be implemented from as early as June 2021. YouTube has asked creators to submit their tax information in AdSense

Egypt-based Startup, Koinz, Raises $4.8million Seed Round

Koinz, an Egypt-based restaurant aggregator startup, recently raised a $4.8million seed round. The round was led by Justin Mateen who has been actively involved in investing in startups since his departure from Tinder in 2014. According to Mateen, the main attraction to Koinz for him is their ability to

Google Pledges $25M to Empower African Women and Girls

“Happy International Women’s Day to Every Woman in Africa” is what Google said, but with incredibly positive action, which we most definitely appreciate over words. On Monday, the 8th of March, 2021, Google showed its philanthropic nature as the company announced that they will give $25 million in funding

Artificial Intelligence

Flutterwave Raises $170million, now Valued at Over $1billion

If you’re a Nigerian then this is one company you should be proud of, not just because they just raised $170million- which by the way is huge and is also the centre of this piece but because they have established themselves as one of biggest payment channels in the

Startups

SA FINTECH, ADUMO SECURES $15MILLION IN FUNDING FROM THE IFC

A South African based Fintech Company, Adumo, has secured $15million in funding from the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group. This fund is expected to help expand access to electronic payment solutions, especially for underserved small and medium-sized businesses. This large investment which was placed as preferred shares