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Dream-VC launches a training program for aspiring African investors

Dream-VC launches a training program for aspiring African investors

Dream-VC, a remote Venture Capital Upskilling institute has launched a new fellowship program aimed at providing increased access and opportunities to underrepresented individuals in the African VC space. The free fellowship program by Dream-VC is focused on young African and the diaspora. It also seeks to provide a support system

MTN to get $204m revenue boost as the US plans to lift sanctions on Iran

MTN to get $204m revenue boost as the US plans to lift sanctions on Iran

There are indications that the recent move by the US government to lift its sanctions on the Iranian economy may significantly benefit the MTN Group, the largest telecom operator in Africa. The Telco which has a minority 49% investment shareholding in MTN Irancell has been unable to repatriate any money

Gokada launches Super App, expands ride-hailing service to two Nigerian cities

Gokada launches Super App, expands ride-hailing service to two Nigerian cities

Gokada, the Lagos-based logistics, transportation, and last-mile delivery startup have announced the launch of a ‘Super App’, where customers can access a range of services including food delivery, eCommerce, and ride-hailing services. This launch is coming on the heels of the startup’s recent milestone of US$100 million in

Kenyan Entrepreneurs can apply for Federal Development Ministry Grant worth $122k

Kenyan Entrepreneurs can apply for Federal Development Ministry Grant worth $122k

The Federal Development Ministry (BMZ) has announced that it has launched its startup support program DeveloPPP Ventures, with a $122K grant for Kenyan entrepreneurs. The funding will be distributed by DEG – Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH via a matching-funds model. Gerd Müller the Development Minister speaking on the program said

Twitter Introduces Twitter Blue, a $3monthly Subscription Service

Twitter Introduces Twitter Blue, a $3monthly Subscription Service

Twitter has announced the launch of its new subscription package Twitter Blue, a $2.99 monthly subscription. The information was first reported by Chinese researcher Jane Manchun Wong that Twitter’s new subscription service is in the works in May 2021. The information has now been validated by Twitter. In

Egypt’s Gamesbandy secures Seed investment

Egypt’s Gamesbandy secures Seed investment

Gamesbandy, an Egyptian Gaming startup, has announced it secured an undisclosed fund in a seed funding round from Flat6labs Bahrain and Tamkeen. Gamesbandy, a gamer commercial center inside the MENA area, allows users to execute securely, offering trust and legitimacy to buys and deals. Gamesbandy at that point acquires benefits

Egypt-based zVendo secures seven-figure Pre-Series A investment

Egypt-based zVendo secures seven-figure Pre-Series A investment

Egyptian E-commerce SaaS solution provider, zVendo has announced the close of a seven-figure Pre-Series A funding round from Mobica and Gratus Holding. Founded by Sameh Abdel Fattah and Tarek Bakry in 2018, zVendo is an eCommerce platform that enables businesses to sell online via different sales channels. The startup was

Almentor raise $6.5 million Series B round from Partech, Sawari Ventures and Sango Capital

Almentor raise $6.5 million Series B round from Partech, Sawari Ventures and Sango Capital

Almentor, a video-based online learning platform for the Middle East and North Africa, has raised $6.5m in a Series B round led by San Francisco and Paris-based VC firm, Partech from its Africa Fund. The round also saw participation from Sawari Ventures, Fellow Series A investor Egypt Ventures, and

Chipper Cash raises 100million in series C funding, becomes the latest Unicorn in Africa

Chipper Cash raises 100million in series C funding, becomes the latest Unicorn in Africa

Chipper Cash, an African fintech startup that facilitates cross-border payments has raised $100 million in a Series C round. This latest raise brings the start-up’s valuation to between $1 billion to $2 billion, joining billion-dollar companies in Africa like Flutterwave, Jumia, Interswitch, Fawry, etc. Up until last week, the

African Startups can apply for Hardware Garage’s StartHard Competition

Hardware Garage in partnership with the Enugu Technology and Innovation Centre has announced a call for application for the “StartHard” competition, an Innovation pitch inviting hardware Technology entrepreneurs working in Clean Technology, E-mobility, and Agritech. The program is unique as it will support the startups till the “selling stage” of

Nigerian SEC directs investment fintechs to register under new regulations or halt operations

Nigerian SEC directs investment fintechs to register under new regulations or halt operations

Fintech companies in Nigeria have been getting a lot of government attention lately. This might be connected to the rapid development in the fintech space, which has brought the need for regulations to ensure overall compliance with Nigerian laws and optimum growth in the sector. Recently, the Nigerian Securities and

Malian Solar Startup, SolarX Africa secures Extra Funding from Energy Access Ventures

Malian Solar Startup, SolarX Africa secures Extra Funding from Energy Access Ventures

Mali-based solar energy startup, SolarX Africa, has announced the close of additional funding from Energy Access Ventures (EAV), an early-stage fund investing in decentralized energy companies across sub-Saharan Africa. SolarX Africa plans to utilize this new equity and quasi-equity funding to finance the pipeline of commercial and industrial clients in

African Startups can apply for France-based Acceleration Program

African Startups can apply for France-based Acceleration Program

France-based venture capital firm Bond’innov that supports innovative and responsible startups in emerging economies, has opened applications for a support programme that offers startups a soft-landing for European expansion. The firm aims to use the Incub’innov incubator program to welcome and accompany innovative projects, mainly related to Africa

South Africa’s Program Management Group FlowState80 goes Global

South Africa’s Program Management Group FlowState80 goes Global

South Africa’s Fluid Business Solutions has announced it is taking its FlowState80 program global. The FlowState80 program functions as an all-in-one solution for strategic planning for businesses and startups offering more detail and better visualization to help you discover and diagnose delivery bottlenecks in a fraction of the time.

3 Nigerian Startups selected for Norrsken Impact Accelerator

3 Nigerian Startups selected for Norrsken Impact Accelerator

Norrsken Impact Accelerator in Stockholm aiming to build a change via investing in viable business models that have potential impacts and profit, Sweden has selected three Nigerian startups to have access to potential funding. The three Nigerian startups are CribMD, Gradely and Wella Health. Here are the three Nigerian startups

South Africa’s Biometrics Company LifeQ secures $47 Million Investment Funding

South Africa’s Biometrics Company LifeQ secures $47 Million Investment Funding

LifeQ, an independent provider of biometrics and health information predominantly used in world-leading health management solutions has announced it has secured $47 million from top investors around the world. LifeQ was co-founded by Laurence Olivier, CEO, and Dr. Franco du Preez, Chief Scientist, the startup focuses on enabling wearable devices

Nigerian fintech startup, Escrowlock to streghten its services with funding from Facebook’s $100m grant

Nigerian fintech startup, Escrowlock to streghten its services with funding from Facebook’s $100m grant

Nigeria-based escrow fintech company, Escrowlock has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Facebook. Escrowlock is one of 30,000 tech companies that secured a portion of the $100 million global business grant from the social media giant. Late last year, Facebook had announced a $100 million grant for 30,

Facebook releases Community Standards Enforcement Report for Q1 2021

Facebook releases Community Standards Enforcement Report for Q1 2021

Tech giant, Facebook has today released its industry-leading Community Standards Enforcement Report (CSER) for the first quarter of 2021. The new report showcases data on how Facebook is performing in enforcing 12 of its policy areas on Facebook and 10 on Instagram for the January-March 2021 period. Additionally, it reveals

China-Backed African Fintech Startup OPay looks to raise $400Million

China-Backed African Fintech Startup OPay looks to raise $400Million

Africa’s Fintech startups have not looked backed since they put their hands in the plow. From Paga’s acquisition of Ethiopian software firm in January 2020, Dayra securing $3m pre-seed funds in March 2020 to KUDA raising $25m in March 2021, and Flutterwave’s unicorn achievement in March 2021.

AI startup, Fireflies.ai raises $14 million to automate work from meetings

AI startup, Fireflies.ai raises $14 million to automate work from meetings

Fireflies.ai, an AI voice assistant that joins video conferencing meetings to take notes has announced the raise of $14 million in a Series A funding round, led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Canaan Partners and other angel investors. Founded in July 2016 by Krish Ramineni and Nigerian-born, Sam

8 Nigerian Startups Join JICA NINJA Accelerator Programme

8 Nigerian Startups Join JICA NINJA Accelerator Programme

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic activities shrank on a global scale. A drastic decrease in revenue generation caused many private companies to downsize or change business strategies. Africa and Asia were not exempt from this. Many startups were faced with fragile social infrastructure, a limitation of public

Flutterwave makes CNBC Disruptor 50 list

Flutterwave makes CNBC Disruptor 50 list

Nigerian fintech startup, Flutterwave has been named in the CNBC Disruptor 50 list. It is the only African company named in the list which has Stripe, Airtable, Clubhouse, Robinhood amongst others. CNBC said the list “highlights the private companies leading out of the pandemic with business models and growth rates

Nigeria’s Healthtech Startup, CribMD closes $2.6m seed round Plans Product Growth and Team Expansion

Nigeria’s Healthtech Startup, CribMD closes $2.6m seed round Plans Product Growth and Team Expansion

Nigerian HealthTech startup, CribMD has announced it closed a seed fund of $2.6million in a seed funding round led by US-based VC, Sputnik ATX; Swedish accelerator, Norrsken; and mass media company, The Guardian Nigeria. This fund brings the startup’s total investments to $2.85 million. Founded in June

Termii expands to Ivory Coast, weeks after raising a $1.4m seed funding

Termii expands to Ivory Coast, weeks after raising a $1.4m seed funding

In a recently released blog post, Nigerian Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) startup, Termii has officially announced its expansion to Ivory Coast. In the statement, it said, “We’re constantly improving our messaging solution to help businesses conveniently reach and engage their customers across Africa, and we’re super

Germany’s Impacc set to invest up to $150k in Africa Startups

Germany’s Impacc set to invest up to $150k in Africa Startups

Germany-based non-profit Impacc has announced plans to provide smart equity investment of between $30,000 and $150,000 to African startups with sustainable, high-impact solutions to social, economic, and environmental challenges affecting the base of pyramid communities in Africa. Impacc focuses on supporting startups in areas that are untapped. This