- Cybercriminals are getting ready for a new year of security twists and turns. It’s always distressing to review the year’s cybercrime figures. Due to the drastic changes in working conditions, strategies, and investments in 2021 and 2020, the landscape was rife with new vulnerabilities and new…
- With a $200 million pledge, the Mastercard Foundation has established the Africa Growth Fund to assist the continent’s early-stage, growth-oriented SMEs. The Fund-of-Funds seeks to further the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works initiative, which aims to provide access to dignified and…
- The efforts Meta is taking to ensure the integrity of the Nigerian elections in 2023 were disclosed by Meta today.This includes its initiatives to stop the dissemination of false information and increase the transparency of political advertising. This work, which will continue before, during, and…
- The Invisible Challenge on the short-form video hosting platform TikTok can expose devices to information-stealing malware, according to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT). According to an NCC-CSIRT advisory, threat actors have used the…
- An Egyptian firm, SIDEUP, which provides e-commerce solutions tobsmall businesses, has raised $1.2 million to expand in Egypt, start new operations in Saudi Arabia, and create a new line of items for clients. The startup, once known as VOO, claims its goal is to make the e-commerce process for…
- OneWeb and Pan-African telecom provider Paratus Group have teamed up to offer low Earth orbit (LEO) connection services to 37 African nations. In particular, it will target isolated and rural locations where Paratus consumers are most in need of satellite communications services. The deal expands…
- 100 business leaders in Nigeria were questioned as part of the Equinix 2022 Global Tech Trends Survey about the opportunities and difficulties that their companies are currently facing as well as their future goals. Significant highlights include: Additionally, according to data from a Nigerian…
- In order to develop its product and enter new African markets, Zeraki, a Kenyan Edtech business that runs a platform for digital learning and school data analytics, has raised $1.8 million in seed funding. In 2014, Nyangolo and Erick Oude co-founded Zeraki, which at first provided high school…
- In a seed extension investment round led by Allan Gray E-Squared Ventures and UW Ventures, Martin Naude, founder and CEO of local data automation and integration firm Synatic, secured an extra $2.5 million (+- R42 million). In order to prepare for Series A fundraising in 2023, the company will…
- The Computer Security Incident Response Team (NCC-CSIRT) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has issued a warning that a recent Phishing attack known as Attacks Exploit Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability can install the malicious QBot malware on a compromised device without causing any…
- The Lego Foundation’s global Build a World of Play Challenge selected Ubongo, Africa’s top producer and creator of children’s educational media, as one of five recipients to receive funding for audacious, meaningful early childhood solutions. A total of DKK 900 million (about US$ 117 million) will…
- Early-stage growth equity fund Aruwa Capital, which was created by a woman, has announced the successful close of its first institutional fund, which surpassed its $20 million target. Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, the company’s founder, is now the youngest solo general partner (GP) to successfully raise…
- Imagine a world where shopping was like playing your favorite video game. Immersive and fun, it puts you in a beautiful, interactive world where you can try on clothes, find out about new products, and get a feel for what you’re buying before you buy it. You wouldn’t have to deal with pushy…
- Kenya’s first fully electric taxi service, NopeaRide, has announced that it will close because its parent company, EkoRent Oy, can’t get enough money to keep the business going. According to the company, the local branch of the Finnish company, EkoRent Africa, has filed for bankruptcy in Kenya.…
- Solarise Africa, an energy leasing company, based in Kenya, has raised $33.4 million in debt financing to grow its business in Kenya and other parts of Africa. Patrik Huber, Jan Albert Valk, and Sakkie van Wijk 2017 started the company. It helps businesses in Africa get reliable and affordable…
- Ejara is a Cameroonian fintech company that makes an investment app that lets users buy crypto and save money in decentralized wallets. Ejara has raised $8 million in Series A funding to grow its platform. Nelly Chatue-Diop and Baptiste Andrieux founded Ejara in 2020. The business provides…
- Badili Africa, a buyback marketplace for old phones based in Kenya, has acquired $2.1 million in pre-seed capital to expand its operations in Africa, one of the world’s fastest-growing mobile phone markets. Rishabh Lawania and Keshu Dubey started Badili in March 2022. They buy used phones and sell…
- 4Di Capital, a South African early-stage venture capital firm, has announced the second closing of its new $25 million seed fund, which was made in partnership with DotExe Ventures in Mauritius. This announcement comes on the heels of the SA SME Fund’s initial closing of $8 million, with money…
- Amre Moussa, who was the secretary-general of the Arab League and is now the organization’s honorary president, confirmed that the Egyptian-Chinese Entrepreneurs Association (ECEA) would work to increase investments in the AI and tech industries in Egypt. The ECEA was launched at a ceremony in the…
- Uncover Skincare, a Kenyan company that makes beauty and skin care products for African women, has raised $1 million in seed funding to grow its operations in Kenya and open a branch in Nigeria. Uncover Skincare, co-founded in 2020 by Sneha Mehta, Jade Oyateru, and Catherine Lee aims to change the…
- VMware, a software company, said its VMware Cloud on AWS service is now available in the AWS Africa (Cape Town) Region. Amazon Web Services (AWS) and VMware worked together to make VMware Cloud on AWS an integrated cloud service. It lets users move and expand their VMware vSphere-based…
- Shoprite, a South African retail chain, has added a heavy-duty electric truck to its fleet of delivery vehicles. The car is a Scania Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), which is entirely electric and doesn’t use fossil fuels or put out any carbon dioxide. The truck has nine batteries, solar panels on…
- Moroccan retail technology startup First Circle Capital has provided WafR with a $120,000 fundraising round. WafR enables marketers to enhance their market share by broadcasting smart promotions to grocers. Selma Ribica, co-founder and managing partner of First Circle Capital, says, “At First…
- The SAB Foundation, an independent trust connected to South African Breweries, has given R30 million (about $1.75 million) to LIQID Medical, a South African health tech startup (SAB) Dr. Daemon McClunan, an award-winning ophthalmologist, specializing in treating glaucoma, started LIQID Medical, a…
- Orda, a Nigerian food tech platform that helps small, independent restaurants solve these problems by giving them a cloud-based restaurant operating system, has announced a $3.4 million seed investment. The two-year-old startup got $1.1 million in pre-seed funding in January, bringing its total…
- In a press release, 500 Global said it would open an office in Egypt in partnership with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) to launch several investment and startup support programs. With the help of its expert program managers, investors, and mentors, the venture…
- in Zambia. It is the first mobile service provider in the Southern African country to do so. Earlier this year, the telco tested the fifth-generation mobile network in some parts of the country for 11 months. This allowed some customers to enjoy the fast and unbeatable internet speed before it went…
- MFS Africa is a pan-African payments company. It has teamed up with the U.S. tech company Ripple to make it easier for its customers in 35 countries to make real-time mobile payments. As part of the agreement, MFS Africa, which runs more than 800 payment corridors across Africa, will use Ripple’s…
- With the help of X multiplied, a Swiss investment holding company, Seedstars, has launched Seedstars Capital, an investment platform for new venture capital fund managers. Seedstars hopes the platform will bring more than $500 million in new funding to new and diverse managers. This will create 10,…
- Fawry Egypt’s largest e-payment and Fintech service provider. On Monday, it opened its new headquarters, the “Fawry Quantum Building,” in the Smart Village with a big ceremony. Dr. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology, and many leaders and representatives from…
- Revio, a South African API payment and collections startup, has raised $1.1 million in seed funding to launch new products, grow its team, and enter new markets. Ruaan Botha started Revio in 2020 to help e-commerce and subscription-based businesses grow or scale. Businesses in Africa can easily…
- Finnfund, an impact investor based in Finland, gave $3.4 million to KaiOS, a Hong Kong-based company that makes feature phones. KaiOS has gotten money from prominent investors like Google and TCL. Finnfund’s funding comes from a convertible note, which can be converted into shares in a future…
- Copia Global has announced a partnership with Cellulant, a Pan-African Payments technology company, to make it easier for its customers in the diaspora and cities to pay. Copia Global is the only B2C e-commerce platform that offers e-commerce solutions to Africa’s 800 million middle- and low-income…
- A US-based VC firm called Modus that focuses on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) has teamed up with USAID to launch MV Builder II; This will aid in the development and support of female-led enterprises in Egypt and underprivileged communities. The news comes just a week after the company…
- This week, the South African cryptocurrency exchange said it would start doing business in Zambia. With the Zambian Kwacha, Zambians can buy and sell Bitcoin (BTC), USD Coin (USDC), and more than 60 other cryptocurrencies directly on the exchange. As the biggest cryptocurrency exchange based in…
- Fintech startup Djamo, based in Ivory Coast, has closed a $14 million funding round. This is the biggest equity round ever for a startup in Ivory Coast, and it will help the company grow across Francophone Africa. Régis Bamba and Hassan Bourgi started Djambo in Ivory Coast two years ago, intending…
- LoftyInc Capital Management, a venture capital firm that focuses on early-stage African companies, has announced that its third fund, LoftyInc Afropreneurs Fund 3 (LAF3), has reached its final close at $14.2 million. The fund opened in August 2021 and closed in the first quarter of 2022, with 40%…
- Pivo a female-led fintech startup based in Nigeria, has closed a $2 million seed funding round. They will use the money to improve their existing products and build new ones to help supply chains better manage transactions and reconcile payments. Ijeoma Akwiwu and Nkiru Amadi-Emina started Pivo in…
- Tanzania-based Ramani, a startup that says it is building a cloud network of micro-distribution centres for Africa’s $1 trillion consumer-packaged goods (CPG) supply chain, has closed a $32 million Series A debt-equity funding. Iain Usiri, Calvin Usiri, and Kibet Martin started the Y Combinator-…
- Goodwell Investments, an impact investment firm focusing on emerging markets, has started a new EUR 150 million (about $153 million) fund. According to the organization, this fund will concentrate on assisting high-impact African SMEs to increase their market share and make their products and…
- Autopilot Workflow Solutions, a software company in Cape Town, has won the “new or emerging ISV” category of the Microsoft South Africa Strategic Partner of the Year award. The company makes low-code workflow software. This happened just a few months after integrating with the Microsoft Teams…
- Auto chek, a company that makes it easier and more affordable to own a car in Africa, has announced the launch of Autochek Financial Services, a new part of the business that will focus on offering consumers and businesses across the continent a range of vehicle financing options. Autochek…
- Grinta, a digital pharmacy platform based in Cairo, has closed an $8 million seed round headed by Raed Ventures and Nclude. Grinta, established in 2021 by Mohamed Azab, Yosra Badr, Ali Youssef, and Hamza Mohamed, is a fintech-enabled B2B software platform that digitizes the pharmaceutical supply…
- The African Union Commission (AUC) and the African Development Bank have signed a grant agreement to do Phase 1 of the Upstream Project for Digital Market Development in Africa. On November 17, there was a signing ceremony at the headquarters of the AUC in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Commissioner of…
- Kenyan Leta, a B2B supply chain and logistics SaaS provider, has raised $3 million to expand its operations in West Africa in the coming months. Leta is a B2B supply chain and logistics SaaS provider that helps improve fleet management. It was started by Nick Joshi last year. In a statement, CEO…
- African firms that employ innovation to solve crucial challenges are encouraged to apply for the TechBridge accelerator program, which awards US$200,000 in cash and other assistance. TechBridge accelerator program participants get personalized advice on how to grow their businesses, up to US$200,…
- Smartprof, an edtech company in Morocco, has raised $110,000 in pre-seed funding from UM6P Ventures, Plug and Play, and other angel investors. Hamza, Mustapha, and Ali Faiz started the edtech company in 2021. Its goal is to become a one-stop-shop edtech platform for private tutoring in North and…
- Snapplify, an e-commerce platform for books established in Kenya, has collaborated with Longhorn Publishers to make thousands of high-quality, curriculum-aligned books available to schools and students across the African continent. Longhorn Publisher is the leader in educational publishing in…
- The African e-commerce giant Jumia has said its Amazon-style subscription-based delivery service, Jumia Prime, has been on hold indefinitely. Jumia Prime, which debuted in 2019 as a user acquisition tactic, was a subscription-based delivery service that offered free shipping on the e-commerce…
- Cross-border payment app for Africa According to a statement published with TechCabal, Chipper Cash is preparing to purchase Zambian fintech business Zoona Transactions International. Chipper Cash, which has a self-reported user base of 5 million, will be able to expand its capabilities with new…
