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Mastercard and OPay announce strategic partnership to boost digital inclusion

Mastercard and OPay announce strategic partnership to boost digital inclusion

Mastercard and fintech giant OPay has announced a strategic partnership that will open up digital commerce to millions of people across the Middle East and Africa. This partnership which marks a significant boost for wider financial inclusion and economic prosperity will see OPay consumers and merchants in the region – including

The Next Wave, Is Africa Ready? GDP Concerns

The Next Wave, Is Africa Ready? GDP Concerns

The next wave is here, and the positives incubated in it are already being felt across sectors. The region cannot get carried away by the miniature successes it has experienced so far. There are real economic concerns stemming from years of unsolved economic shocks the region has experienced. Gross Domestic

American Tech giant, Oracle opens its first African R&D Lab in Morocco

American Tech giant, Oracle opens its first African R&D Lab in Morocco

Oracle, the world’s largest database management company, has announced the opening of a new facility of its Oracle Labs in Casablanca’s Casanearshore Park in the Kingdom of Morocco. Oracle’s first lab in Africa results from the collaboration between the company and its Moroccan partners – the Moroccan government

Autochek acquires Morocco's Kifal Auto as it expands to North Africa

Autochek acquires Morocco's Kifal Auto as it expands to North Africa

In a play that will see it expand to North Africa, digital automotive commerce company Autochek has acquired Morocco’s KIFAL Auto for an undisclosed amount. KIFAL was founded in 2019 by Nizar Abdalaoui Maane. The company is among the leading auto marketplaces in Morocco, one of Africa’s largest

How YC-backed Nigerian Startup, Identitypass, is Bridging the Identity Verification Gap in Africa

How YC-backed Nigerian Startup, Identitypass, is Bridging the Identity Verification Gap in Africa

Verification of users has become more necessary with the development of digital businesses globally. The most basic use of this tool is to offer or engage users based on verified personal information. This approach to customer acquisition forms the core of YC-backed Nigerian startup, Identitypass. Identitypass was founded in January

Kenya based Twiga embarks on commercial farming with the launch of Twiga Fresh

Kenya based Twiga embarks on commercial farming with the launch of Twiga Fresh

In sub-Saharan Africa, 90% of retail is informal, highly inefficient and characterised by layers of intermediaries. To curb this, Twiga, a B2B ecommerce startup is launching Twiga Fresh, a new subsidiary, through which it will farm and distribute its own agricultural produce to traders. The Kenyan startup says it has

Ghanian health tech startup, CarePoint secures $10M Bridge round to scale across Africa

Beyond Capital Ventures

Ghanian health tech startup, CarePoint secures $10M Bridge round to scale across Africa

Ghanaian health tech startup, CarePoint, has today announced that it has secured $10 million in a TRB Advisors-led bridge round with participation from Delle, Breyer Capital, Beyond Capital Ventures (BVC), M3, Inc, Asia Pacific Land/ Natural World Limited, and Alan Waxman, to scale across Africa. This round brings the total

Nigeria's Topship secures $2.5M from Flexport-led seed round to help merchants with intl shipping

Nigeria's Topship secures $2.5M from Flexport-led seed round to help merchants with intl shipping

Nigerian’s Topship, a logistic startup that recently graduated from the Y Combinator program has secured a $2.5 million seed round just months after rounding off the YC winter batch. Flexport-led the seed round with participation from the Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Starling Ventures, Olive Tree Capital, Capital X,

What happened to Lara.ng (The Real Nigerian Map)?

What happened to Lara.ng (The Real Nigerian Map)?

Getting a road map designed by a Nigerian has its unique advantages. The idea of specificity plays a crucial role in determining the judgement of the efficiency of an app. For Lara.ng, turning up for Nigerians when they need a road guide was the goal. 8 years later, the

Egypt’s E-Commerce Startup, Teegara secures undisclosed amount from Alex Angel-led bridge round

Alexandria Angel Network

Egypt’s E-Commerce Startup, Teegara secures undisclosed amount from Alex Angel-led bridge round

Teegara.com, an Egyptian e-commerce startup that deals in household and FMCG products has secured an undisclosed amount in a bridge round that was led by Alexandria Angel Network with the participation of investors from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan to expand, adding more verticals to its platform and hiring

Nigerian KYC startup, Identitypass, closes $2.8 million seed round

Nigerian KYC startup, Identitypass, closes $2.8 million seed round

Nigerian identity verification startup, Identitypass, has announced the close of a $2.8 million seed round led by MaC Venture Capital. This is coming months after the startup graduated from Y Combinator. Other investors include Soma Capital, True Capital Fund and Sherwani Capital. Combined with the $360,000 raised in

Interswitch Secures $110 Million in Investment from LeapFrog and Tana Africa Capital

Interswitch Secures $110 Million in Investment from LeapFrog and Tana Africa Capital

Africa’s payment company, Interswitch, has raised $110 million in investment from LeapFrog Investments and Tana Africa Capital. The investment will boost Interswitch’s plans to expand the digital payments ecosystem across sub-Saharan Africa. A portion of the investment has been acquired from existing shareholders, with Ignite Holdco Limited, made

MARA raises $23M in Coinbase-led seed round to build Pan African Crypto infrastructure

Alameda Research

MARA raises $23M in Coinbase-led seed round to build Pan African Crypto infrastructure

Mara, an African-based crypto startup has raised a $23 million seed round in equity and token sale led by Coinbase Ventures with participation from Alameda Research (FTX), Distributed Global, TQ Ventures, DIGITAL, Nexo, Huobi Ventures, Day One Ventures, Infinite Capital, DAO Jones (investment decentralized autonomous organization backed by Mike Shinoda,

Egyptian e-commerce fulfillment startup, Mylerz secures $9.6M to scale its services across Africa

Egyptian e-commerce fulfillment startup, Mylerz secures $9.6M to scale its services across Africa

Mylerz, an Egyptian e-commerce fulfillment startup has secured $9.6 million from a Lorax Capital Partners-led investment round with participation from Fawry to scale its services across Africa. The startup’s immediate plan is to enter three new markets in North Africa and expand across Egypt over the next three

Rental Financing Platform, Kwaba, is Looking to Improve Housing Welfare in Africa

Rental Financing Platform, Kwaba, is Looking to Improve Housing Welfare in Africa

Housing for most middle-income earners in the modern economy is scarce especially in most of the world’s megacities. A report from BBC noted that “middle-to-high-income” apartments can cost anything from $5,000 to $40,000 per year. A two-bedroom flat with electricity in a good Lagos neighborhood, Victoria Island,

Congo’s Crypto Startup, Jambo Secures $30M in Paradigm–led series A to Power Web3 across Africa

Congo’s Crypto Startup, Jambo Secures $30M in Paradigm–led series A to Power Web3 across Africa

Jambo Technology, a Congo-based crypto startup that leverages “learn, play, earn” to democratize access to crypto-based income-generation options for Africans, has secured $30 million in a Series A funding round led by Paradigm, a crypto-focused venture firm to make web3 products more accessible to Africans. Paradigm which made its first

How Egyptian Paymob is Improving the Cashless Behaviour of Africans

How Egyptian Paymob is Improving the Cashless Behaviour of Africans

Paymob is an infrastructure technology enabler that provides payment solutions for different business sizes. The startup’s drive is to empower digital financial service providers through mobile wallet technology. Islam Shawky, Alain El Hajj, and Mostafa Menessy founded Paymob in 2015. The idea of Paymob’s service is to enable

WhatsApp's Newly Released Features Rival Telegram

WhatsApp's Newly Released Features Rival Telegram

The Meta-owned instant messaging platform, WhatsApp, has renewed its continuous rival with Telegram, another social networking site with its recent release of new features on its platform that will see it go toe to toe with Telegram. WhatsApp, the most popular global instant mobile messaging app with over two billion

Tradedepot appoints Chidi Akubuiro as Managing Director for West Africa (Anglophone)

Tradedepot appoints Chidi Akubuiro as Managing Director for West Africa (Anglophone)

B2B eCommerce and embedded finance platform in Africa, TradeDepot, has appointed former Coca Cola HBC Nigeria Executive, Chidi Akubuiro as its Managing Director for Anglophone West Africa. Effective from May 1st 2022, Akubuiro will lead further expansion of TradeDepot’s services across more key cities in Nigeria and Ghana, and

Egypt: Fintech startup, Paymob raises $50 Million in Series B Funding

Egypt: Fintech startup, Paymob raises $50 Million in Series B Funding

Egypt-based fintech Paymob has raised $50 million in Series B funding, led by Kora Capital, PayPal Ventures, and Clay Point. Other investors in the round include Helios Digital Ventures, British International Investment, and Nclude. All existing investors, including A15, FMO, and Global Ventures also participated. The funding will be used

rali_cap launches $30M fintech fund for startups in emerging markets

rali_cap launches $30M fintech fund for startups in emerging markets

Emerging markets focused early-stage venture capital firm, Rali_cap, has launched a $30 million fund. Last month, the firm, formerly known as Rally Cap Ventures, reached its first close of $20 million (its initial target) before increasing the fund size, signalling a strong LP appetite. The fund which first started

InstaDeep is Improving Access to AI for African Startups

Artificial Intelligence

InstaDeep is Improving Access to AI for African Startups

When InstaDeep was launched in 2014, its vision was to deliver AI-powered decision-making systems for the Enterprise. The startup believes this will be useful in solving some of the world’s most complex industrial problems. AI presents countless avenues sectors to optimize solutions to the most crucial problems. This solution

Uganda Warns financial institutions against Facilitation of Crypto Transactions

Uganda Warns financial institutions against Facilitation of Crypto Transactions

In another blow to the cryptocurrency adoption in Africa, the Bank of Uganda has warned payments intermediaries including banks and fintech companies across the East African country against facilitating cryptocurrency transactions, saying it has not licensed any institution in the country to carry out such trades. The Bank of Uganda,

Norebase secures $1M Pre-Seed to help more startups start, scale, operate across Africa

Consonance Investment

Norebase secures $1M Pre-Seed to help more startups start, scale, operate across Africa

Norebase, a Nigerian trade technology startup that is establishing a single platform for startups to launch, expand, and operate throughout the African continent, has received $1 million in a pre-seed fundraising round led by Samurai Incubate and Consonance Investment. Sahil Lavingia (Gumroad), Kinfolk VC, Future Africa, Ventures Platform, Microtraction, Boleh

Decentralized NFT gaming: the future of gaming in Africa

African Gaming Industry

Decentralized NFT gaming: the future of gaming in Africa

NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) are more than simply collectibles. It has progressed beyond that and is now a driving force behind the transformation of traditional system processes. It is now undergoing rapid expansion, with a market capitalization of $840 million. Its markets are also saturated with enthusiasts for several reasons, one