- When it comes to PR, Talking Drum Communications founder Bemi Idowu wants people to know that it's more than just press releases, it's storytelling. Read Bemi's ideals on PR in this Quick Fire 🔥 conversation.
- Twiga secured the new funding from Creadev, Juven, TLcom Capital Partners, and DOB Equity, four investors that participated in its 2021 $50 million Series C.
- Nigeria joins 17 other countries to sign an agreement on AI safety one week after OpenAI employees raised alarm on the safety of the company's advanced AI system.
More in #TcDaily
- Zenith Bank wants to play on the global stage with expansion to France. Its expansion into Europe would foster it's broader agenda of cross-border marketing in international trade transactions.
- If anything happens to the macro-economics of the foreign investors investing in African startups, it will have an effect in Africa. So what needs to change?
- Four days after its repayment plan was due to start, fintech Patricia identified a Nigerian politician, William Bonse, as a culprit in its 2022 $2 million hack. Bonsu allegedly diverted ₦607 million ($760,000) from the fintech's account.
More in #TC Daily.
- Africans prefer making payments via USSD because of its efficiency and straightforwardness. Other channels such as apps and QR codes introduce friction points like internet connectivity and smartphone access.
- Former Google project CSquared seeks to connect Africa with $25 million raise
By Ephraim Modise
Link: techcabal.com/2023/11/25/lanre-kolade-csquared-ceo/
- Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Yemi Cardoso, has unveiled a plan to hedge against soaring inflation that has jumped for the tenth consecutive time in October 2023.
- The ride-hailing space in Nigeria has taken a big hit in the wake of the subsidy removal policy, which has led to high pump prices. How can food delivery services survive?
- Nigerian startup, WiCrypt partners with Onega Ventures to bring its blockchain-powered Wi-Fi network to China. The deal will see Onega Ventures become the exclusive distributor of WiCrypt devices in China.
- Brazil-based cyberterrorist group N4ughtySecTU is now threatening to leak the data of two South African consumer credit reporting agencies within the next 72 hours unless it is paid $60 million.
More in #TC Daily.
- The Central Bank of Nigeria is mandated by law to hold monetary policy committee (MPC) meetings every two months to set the lending rate for Africa’s biggest economy. Still, it has failed to do so since July.
- Telkom share price surges after infrastructure-provider model pivot announcement
By Ephraim Modise
Link: techcabal.com/2023/11/23/telkom-share-price-surges-after-infrastructure-provider-model-pivot-announcement/
- With increased access to education and training, the rise of mobile technology and digital platforms, and a growing recognition of the importance of diversity and inclusion, African women will make even greater contributions to the ecosystem.
- Kenya hosts many global cloud services provider, including Google and Amazon. However, the government has picked Microsoft to move e-govt services to the cloud.
- Brolly, a Ghanaian startup underwritten by Allianz, is partnering with Bolt to insure drivers in Ghana. The startup had piloted its pay-as-you-go auto insurance solution, which allows drivers to pay premiums daily or weekly, with over 2,000 ride-sharing drivers before the partnership.
- The Nigerian minister for comms, innovation and digital economy has unveiled the Startup Engagement Portal. The Portal, which comes one year after the enactment of the Nigeria Startup Act, will simplify registration for startups.
More in #TC Daily.
- If you’re just Entering Tech, put dreams of mastery in the backseat and focus, first, on being efficient. Here's what this player's two-year journey to becoming an efficient League of Legends player can teach us about mastering tech roles.
- Despite the global economic downturn, the perception is that VCs are sitting on massive piles of capital that they haven't deployed. Is that the case?
Here is an inside look:
- M-KOPA, a digital financing firm is targeting South Africa's mass market as it enters the country for the first time to offer its smart products to low-income households in Soweto.
- OpenAI has rolled out a voice chat feature for all ChatGPT users, and it’s completely free to use for everyone with the app! You can choose from one of five voices and ask it anything, the same way you’d ask with the text feature.
More in #TCDaily.
- Peppa, a startup that offers escrow services to people shopping online, has filed a police complaint against Jude Dike and Temitope Ekundayo, the co-founders of GetEquity
- Alerzo, the e-commerce startup that raised $10.5 million in a Series A round in 2021, has laid off at least 100 people eight months after it laid off 400 employees. A company spokesperson confirmed that at least 100 roles were affected but did not share an exact figure.Â
- By helping more small customers and enterprises meet international orders, Jetstream Africa hopes to grow faster and become more attractive to investors ahead of a planned series A.
- Bolt Nigeria will announce the 10 finalists for its accelerator programme today. The Den accelerator will give the drivers €2,000 ($2,190) in seed funding to pursue sustainable mobility solutions.
More in #TCDaily.
- Okada Books, Nigeria’s pioneer digital publishing and bookselling platform, will shut down on November 30, 2023, citing tough macroeconomic conditions.
- Savvy investors (VC or not) have the opportunity to pick up the leftovers of businesses that were runover and left for dead post 2021 hype and stitch miracles together.
- Nigeria’s Central Bank has postponed a crucial meeting to decide interest rates even as headline inflation worsened in the West African country in October. Data from the country's Bureau of Statistics showed that headline inflation hit an 18-year high of 27% in October.
- Zazuu, a marketplace for African remittance companies, last week shut down its services after failing to raise more funds. This year, at least eight African startups have shut down and half of them shut down due to a lack of funding.
More in #TCDaily.
- Ghana’s Central Bank has barred eight money transfer organisations (MTOs) from offering remittance services without regulatory approval. According to a notice seen by TechCabal, these companies include LemFi, Wise, Transfer Go, PayPal’s Xoom, SendValu, Boss Revolution, Aza Finance, and Supersonicz…
- Zazuu, a London-based fintech that built a marketplace for African remittance companies and raised more than $2 million, has shut down, citing a lack of funding.
- Ibrahim Ibitade, the CEO of Leatherback, a fintech startup that enables cross-border payments, has said he is not hiding after the EFCC declared him wanted on Friday morning.
- Local financial companies are capitalising on the opportunities left by international lenders exiting Africa, yet continue to struggle with the gap between perceived and actual risks in the market.
- inDrive has launched a new venture and merger and acquisition arm, New Ventures Investments, with a dedicated fund of up to $100 million to invest in promising startups.
More in #TCDaily.
- “We’re changing our operating model to prioritise locating team members within the markets we serve, to localise costs and get closer to customers," Paystack's CEO Shola Akinlade said.
- Female founders are imagining a world without investors.
techcabal.com/2023/11/16/a-world-without-investors/
At the AWS Startups Demo Day, founders and investors talked about how they are navigating less generous VC landscape.
- “I believe based on data that has been projected by LinkedIn, Nigeria can actually fill about 23% of the current global shortage in technology talents,” Bosun Tijani said.
- MultiChoice has reported an after-tax loss of R911 million ($50 million) for the first half of its fiscal year—April to September 2023. The company has also announced plans to launch Showmax 2.0 in February 2024.
More in #TCDaily.
- Olukunle Aboderin has spent the past 13 years working with the largest banks and fintechs in Africa. Before his foray into data science though, Aboderin was a well-known DJ who worked with artists like M.I. and Blaqbonez
- Showmax 2.0 promised new shows and films from global production companies such as NBC and Paramount and a robust streaming engine powered by Peacock.
