Artificial Intelligence

African Hubs Network AfriLabs adds 28 New Members

Pan-African innovation hub network AfriLabs has added an additional 28 new members to expand its total membership to 268 across 49 countries. AfriLabs is a network of technology hubs in Africa founded in 2011 with the aim of supporting the growth and development of tech hubs in African communities so

SendSpend to launch Digital Payment System for Unbanked in Africa

SendSpend has announced its plans to launch its global payment system platform that enables unbanked individuals and merchants in Africa to complete payments and transfers only using a smartphone device. The plan was revealed in a press statement by Tracy Andersson, co-founder and group director of SendSpend as she explains

Startups

Ghananian fintech BezoMoney secures $200k in seed funding from Goodsoil VC

Accra-based fintech startup BezoMoney has secured $200k in a seed funding round led by London-based venture capital firm, Goodsoil VC. The startup plans to use this funding to build and deploy additional products and acquire the Payment and Financial Technology Service Providers (PFTSP) license in Ghana. The new products they

Business

Nigeria’s GIG Logistics launches in UK, Eyes more Cross-border Deliveries

Nigerian logistics giant, GIG Logistics (GIGL), recently announced its expansion to Colchester, Essex, in the UK. With the company already operating in Nigeria, Houston, Texas, and Ghana, the expansion into Essex will come as an enhancement in service delivery and profit margin for the company. According to Ariyo Oluboye, Director,

Startups

Zeepay Ghana Acquires Zambian Mobile Money Operator Mangwee

In a never-before-seen move in Africa, a Ghanaian fintech company, Zeepay, has acquired majority stakes in Zambian mobile money startup, Mangwee. This deal which was sealed in a private placement has seen Mangwee agree to sell 51 percent of its shares to Zeepay. This deal makes Zeepay, which operates in

Startups

SA health-tech startup, Quro Medical secures $1.1M expand its hospital-at-home service

The Johannesburg-based health-tech startup, Quro Medical, has just raised $1.1 million in seed funding. The round was led by Kenyan and South African venture capitalist firms Enza Capital and Mohau Equity Partners. The startup intends to use this funding to help scale its operation across South Africa, to meet

Startups

Morocco-based Ed-Tech startup, Kezakoo raises $221K seed funding from Witamax One

Morocco-based Ed-tech startup, Kezakoo has secured $221K seed funding from Morocco-based investment firm, Witamax One. The round also saw participation from Morocco-based investment firms Southbridge A&I and AXXAM Family Office. With this investment, Kezakoo plans to complete and enrich the range of products it currently offers for the

Startups

Amazon Payment Services waives service fees for small businesses in Egypt

The global e-commerce platform, Amazon has announced that it will be waiving all fees for new businesses wishing to benefit from its services in Egypt. This is in furtherance of Amazon Web Services’ mission to provide businesses with a simple, affordable and trusted online payment experience, the e-commerce giant will

Startups

Egypt's Laverie raises six-figure funding round from A15

Cairo-based dry-cleaning and laundry platform, Laverie has announced undisclosed six-figure funding round from A15. With this latest funding, Laverie plans to expand its operations to provide premium laundry service to a wider range of underserved residents in the Greater Cairo area and launch its services in the Gulf Cooperation Council

Startups

Ugandan fintech startup, Numida secures $2.3M seed funding from MFS Africa

Ugandan fintech startup, Numida has announced the close of its $2 million seed round led by MFS Africa. The round also saw participation from DRK Foundation, Equilibria Capital and Segal Family Foundation and other angel investors. The startup plans to use this new funding to aggressively expand its services in

Startup

South Africa’s Sendmarc Secures Funding from Kalon Venture

Johannesburg-based tech startup Sendmarc has secured an undisclosed amount of funding round from Kalon Venture Partners a tech venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs solving African problems with the potential to scale into global markets. Sendmarc is a tech startup founded in 2018 by the trio of Sam Hutchinson,

Startups

Nigerian ed-tech startup, ScholarX partners Airtel to launch learning platform

A week after winning the GSMA grant, Nigerian ed-tech startup, Scholar X has announced its partnership with Nigerian telecom operator, Airtel to launch LearnAM, a mobile learning platform that offers skills training content to improve learning outcomes for young Africans. Founded by Bola Lawal, Damilola Emuze, and Maxwell Ogunfuyi in

Startups

Twitter announces plan to set up its African office in Ghana

Social networking platform, Twitter has today announced it will be setting up its presence in Africa. In a blog post released by Twitter, the company said that to truly serve the public conversations taking place in Africa, they are now actively building a team in Ghana. Stressing that “we must

Startups

MTN South Africa considers IPO, plans a $5 billion market valuation for its mobile money business

MTN South Africa considers IPO, plans a $5 billion market valuation for its mobile money business Africa’s largest telecom company by subscribers, MTN is considering valuing the mobile money section of its business at more than $5bn. This move is based on the company’s attempts to attract international

Startup

Rwanda’s Electric Motorcycle Startup Ampersand secures $3.5M Investment

Ampersand, a Rwandan electric motorcycle startup has raised $3.5 million from the Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF) to help scale its electric motorcycle and swap station network across Rwanda. The EIF is a startup accelerator firm that funds early growth stage startups contributing to environmental sustainability. It emphasizes the importance

Funding

Kenyan fintech startup secures funding to expand regionally

Nairobi-based agency banking startup, Tanda has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Cape Town-based venture capital (VC) company HAVAÍC, Zedcrest Capital, DFS Lab, Victor Asemota, and three other investors. This latest funding will be used to expand the startup’s operations across the East African region. In addition to

Startup

Scrapays Technologies wins 12M Naira at DAAYTA 2021

Scrapays Technologies Ltd– a startup that connects waste producers (individuals and enterprises) with independent recyclable material collection businesses so they can dispose of their sorted waste efficiently with a return has emerged the winner of the 12 million naira Deji Alli ARM Young Talent Award (DAAYTA) 2021. Scrapays uses USSD

Startups

Nigerian fintech startup, Appzone raises $10M to expand to other African countries and develop its proprietary technology

Lagos-based fintech software startup, Appzone has announced the raise of $10 million in Series A investment largely dominated by local investors. The round was led by Lagos-based investment firm CardinalStone Capital Advisers and other investors based in the country such as V8 Capital, Constant Capital, and Itanna Capital Ventures. The

Startup

African startups can apply for Justice Accelerator

The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) through its annual Justice Accelerator is calling on innovative African startups with a focus on changing lives and creating social impact to apply for this year’s HiiL Innovating Justice Challenge. The Justice Accelerator is HiiL’s lead development program that funds,

Startup

African Startups can participate in the African Conservation Challenge

Yoti– a secure digital ID application that stores and encrypts the personal details of users has put up the African Conservation Challenge. The challenge is to foster meaningful, non-confrontational debate and discussion to support community rights in Africa as regards the management of wildlife. The main aim of the challenge

Artificial Intelligence

African Startups and Innovators can apply for NESTLÉ Hatcher Project Uno

NESTLÉ is a market leader in coffee is looking to further engage its youth market by providing digitally-driven solutions that provide customer experiences beyond the product. The company has put up a challenge to identify startups or innovators that can create digital solutions to help the company become better under

Startup

Premier Hub Innovation Center launches I-Southwest 3.0

Premier Hub innovation Centre is now accepting applications for the I-startup Southwest 3.0 (The third Cohort) and the first edition of the Lagos Startup Challenge. According to the African report, Africa has more than 600 tech hubs and rising, ranging from incubators and accelerators to co-working sites. With the

Startup

South Africa’s TonnUp Launches Trading Platform for Farmers

South Africa-based Agritech startup TonnUp has launched an online trading platform to assist farmers in carrying out commercial activities as regards the sale of their agricultural produce in a structured and transparent environment. TonnUp was created by Stephen Krüger who is also a farmer based in Viljoenskroon to support commercial

Startups

Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission declare activities of some Fintech startups Illegal

The Nigerian capital market regulator, SEC has released a circular declaring the activities of some fintech trading platforms that allow Nigerians to invest and trade in stocks listed on the Nigerian and International markets illegal. Some of the affected platforms include Chaka, Trove, Bamboo, and Risevest. The government agency stated

Startup

ARM selects 6 Startups for DAAYTA 2021 Finalist Pitch

The Deji Alli Young Talent Award (DAAYTA) finalist pitch will be held on Friday, 9th April 2021. The announcement was made via ARM who also pointed that the program will be held virtually. The Deji Alli ARM Young Talent Award is an ARM initiative that is in partnership with TechnoVision’