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BD Insider 115: 🤫 Prediction on Open Banking Guidelines Timeline

Uber records one billion trips in Africa

Uber has completed one billion rides across its African routes, which is over 10 billion kilometres in distance.

Digital health platform, Esaal completes $1.7 million seed round

Esaal will use the new fund to expand across the MENA region, as well as invest in product development, brand development, and talent acquisition.

After adopting Bitcoin, CAR wants to build a crypto hub

Almost a month after adopting Bitcoin as a legal tender, the Central African Republic, CAR has announced its plan to create a “crypto economic zone”.

10 crypto terms you must know

10 Crypto concepts you need to fully grasp as crypto enthusiasts and even experienced players in the industry.

How the CBN's switching license will enable AppZone

With the switching license, AppZone will further expand its transaction switching and processing services currently offered to banks and fintechs through its blockchain-based payment network, ZONE, launched in December 2021.

AfriLabs launch academy to promote emerging technology across Africa

AfriLabs Academy has been developed by Africans for Africans hubs with the focus firmly on the challenges and realities that currently subsist in Africa.

Zuri Health secures $1.3m pre-seed to expand products and penetrate new markets

The funding will be used to further build out its digital platform, grow its product offerings, and launch operations in new markets.

Vehicle financing in Africa amidst the Russia-Ukraine war

“Once there is a challenge with new cars, it affects the supply of used cars—more than 95% of vehicles in sub-Saharan Africa are used cars.”

Pan-African fintech app, Bamba lands $3.2 million seed funding

Through an android application, Bamba allows micro-merchants across Africa to run their entire business utilising their phones. Funds will be used to scale the platform.

Autochek acquires KIFAL Auto to drive its North African expansion

Autochek has acquired KIFAL Auto to drive its expansion into North Africa. The acquisition is arguably the first major expansion of a West Africa-based startup into the region.

How to apply for the 2022 Black Founders Fund for Africa

Google for Startups has opened applications for the second cohort of the Black Founders Fund for Africa.

Carepoint secures $10 million to make healthcare accessible for Sub-Saharan Africans

The funds injection will be used to sustain Carepoint's growth, improve its technology and create more products

BD Insider 114: ⏰Timeline of the SEC's crypto stance

Topship lands a $2.5 million seed round for international shipping

The funds will be used to expand to other African countries, improve its asset-light technology and build out a proprietary global shipping infrastructure.

Ventures Platform names Dotun Olowoporoku as new Venture Partner

Ventures Platform has appointed Dotun Olowoporoku as a new venture partner in a bid to strengthen the Venture Capital’s position as a solid funding partner for Africa’s startups.

Decentralised applications (dApps)

Decentralised applications (dApps) are digital applications or programs that run on a peer-to-peer network (P2P) or blockchain of computers instead of a single computer.

Bridgecard secures $440,000 pre-seed to build the OS for finance in Africa

Bridgecard has secured $440,000 pre-seed from ABV funds, Ingressive Capital, Voltron Capital and other investors to build the OS for finance in Africa.

Ethiopia commissions 5G network

Ethiopia joins other leading African countries like Kenya and Nigeria who are integrating 5G technology.

Alewa House is powering the creator economy in Northern Nigeria

In Northern Nigeria, Alewa House is enabling creators to monetize and distribute their content.

Activant Capital opens new Cape Town office, to intensify research

Global Investment firm with over $2.3B AUM appoints SA-Native Robert Lamprecht as Head of Research

How Flying Farmer is using drones to revolutionise agriculture in Africa

Femi Adekoya, also known as the flying farmer, is revolutionizing Nigeria’s agriculture by giving drone-powered solutions to commercial and smallholder farmers.

ROAM Jobs rebrands to the African Talent Company

Africa’s leading recruitment marketplaces like Jobberman Nigeria, Jobberman Ghana, BrighterMonday Kenya and Uganda announces their new identity.

🏦 What do the CBN and Bank of Uganda have in common?

Hello Pay launches new high-end mPOS device

Hello Pay’s new high-end Android mPOS device will help merchants, from small traders to SMEs, be a part of tomorrow’s business landscape today.

Pennee deploys 25% of its $2.7 million to its first small business accelerator cohort

Pennee set out to provide credit financing options to small businesses.

Scholarships for Africa's tech talent

World-class tech hubs to learn high-income tech skills at no cost or at an incredibly discounted price.

AFEX tops Agriculture & Commodities list in FT's ranking of Africa's fastest growing companies

Commodities exchange wins recognition in first-ever Africa ranking list that recognises innovative, modern and fast-growing companies

BD Insider: Y Combinator has invested in 95 African startups, as of March 2022 — Report

In this letter, we covered Y Combinator's activities in Africa since 2009 and Nigeria telcos' proposal for a 40% tariff hike.

A step by step guide to doing your research in cryptocurrency

Doing your research on crypto does not have to be tedious; once you understand the necessary information to look for and where to look for them, making informed investment decisions become easier.

Norebase lands $1 million pre-seed to facilitate seamless incorporation across Africa and the US

Norebase has secured $1 million pre-seed to facilitate its platform to enable businesses to start, scale and operate across Africa and the US.

Kippa names Duke Ekezie-Joseph, former Chief Growth Officer as President

Duke Ekezie-Joseph, co-founder and Chief Growth Officer has been named Kippa's President to meet the demands of a rapidly growing customer base following the launch of new digital products.

Ethiopia is creating enabling regulations ahead of Safaricom's M-Pesa launch

Ethiopia has started changing its national payments law to clear the way for Safaricom to introduce its popular mobile payment platform M-Pesa in the market of 110 million users.

BD Insider: Flutterwave responds to 86fb/86z's allegations of maliciously freezing and extorting its funds

In this letter, we covered Meta's response to allegations of poor work conditions at its contractor’s hub in Kenya and Flutterwave's response to 86fb/86z allegations

OnePort 365 secures $5 million seed funding to digitize freight management in Africa

OnePort 365 has raised $5 million in seed funding to drive the end-to-end digitisation of freight management in Africa and support its expansion into new markets across the continent.

Eden Life acquires Lynk for strategic partnership in Kenya

Eden Life - the tech-powered ‘concierge of comfort’- aims to remove the barriers to finding reliable household services in Nairobi, building on its success in Lagos

Fanbants taps Ndidi, Ozo and Paystack CEO to scale fantasy football in Africa

FanBants puts every football fan where they want to be – as managers of their own team.

The Central African Republic adopts bitcoin as legal tender

The Central African Republic (CAR) has adopted bitcoin as legal tender. Making CAR the first African country and the second country in the world to make the adoption—after El Salvador.

MTN announces Nigeria’s largest commercial paper issuance - worth ₦127 billion

MTN Nigeria's new funding is in accordance with the company’s strategy to diversify its financing options, with the proceeds being deployed towards working capital and general corporate purposes.

These edtech startups are revolutionising learning in Africa

Over 200 edtech startups are spread across Africa using diverse models to bridge the quality education gap. This listicle captures a few of the edtech startups that will have covered previously.

CcHub launches GoVote to educate and mobilise Nigerians elections

GoVote.ng is a platform and campaign to educate Nigerians on how to register to vote in the country’s General Elections and mobilise them to do so.

Techstars launches in Lagos, to invest in African fintech and proptech startups

Techstars has launched the Lagos Techstars Accelerator Program in partnership with ARM Labs Lagos, which aims to invest in early-stage fintech and proptech companies based in Africa.

Farmerline lands $12.9m pre-Series A funding to consolidate infrastructure

Farmerline delivers quality farm inputs and education on the best farming practices through partner agribusinesses.

CcHUB, Google presents 9 startups for Fintech Incubation Programme in Rwanda

Over the next three months, CcHUB will be supporting the 9 selected startups to achieve product stability and scalability, market readiness and investment.

Stitch launches Linkpay to enable tokenised and secure one-click payments

With Stitch LinkPay, businesses in South Africa and Nigeria can enable users to link their financial accounts and pay securely via instant bank transfer, in seconds.

BD Insider: How the University of Johannesburg is using blockchain to fight certificate fraud

In BD Insider, Letter 110, we covered the University of Johannesburg's plan to issue blockchain-based certificates for graduates and YC’s most valuable African startups.

Startup Incubators

Incubators focus on startups who have disruptive ideas. They help flesh out these ideas and provide the right environment, resources and people to make the idea blossom to a profitable business.

Equiano lands in Lagos, set to boost internet connectivity and slash prices

With a design capacity roughly 20 times larger than any other cable currently serving the region, the Equiano subsea internet cable will have a direct impact on connectivity, resulting in faster internet speeds, reduced internet prices and improved user experience in Nigeria.

Bolt might switch off operations in Tanzania over regulatory issue

Bolt might turn off car ride-hailing category in Tanzania should regulatory authority uphold its new service fee directive.

Huawei partners Kenya Government to expand the country's digital infrastructure

The partnership will see 43,000km of fibre cable rolled out to help promote connectivity through the expansion of the country's broadband infrastructure.

7 crypto-trading apps for Africans

These apps allow African payment method and provide learning materials for crypto enthusiasts who want to delve into the cryptocurrency space.

African Development Bank approves €9.8m to support venture capital investments in African startups

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved an equity investment of €9.8 million to support venture capital investments in African start-ups, from seed to growth stages.

Ingressive for Good secures $250k donation from Google. Here are its future plans

Ingressive for Good leads the charge to build the pipeline of tech talent in Africa.

ETAP secures $1.5 million pre-seed funding to drive car insurance penetration in Africa

ETAP, an insurtech startup that makes it easier to buy and claim insurance, has secured $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to grow its team and drive the adoption of much-needed car insurance across Africa.

BD Insider, Letter 109: Google’s Equiano cable to arrive in Nigeria this month — NCC

BD Insider, Letter 109 covers Standard Chartered Bank's exit from seven African Markets and Google's plan to land its Equiano Cable in Nigeria this month.

Uber halts operations in Tanzania, cites tough regulations

Uber has suspended its operations in Tanzania due to the tough regulatory environment in the East African country.

TeamApt's Moniepoint evolves into a business bank

Moniepoint is poised to empower Nigerians to manage, protect, and grow their businesses.

Luno surpasses 10 million customers, continuing its global momentum with 35% YoY growth

Africa is one of Luno’s strongest markets, over 55% of the new customers added in the last 6 months are based on the continent.

What you need to know about the UK’s Global Talent Visa

The UK's Global Talent Visa allows exceptional professionals academia or research, arts and culture and digital technology to work in the UK.

Meet the African startups at Techstars New York Class of Spring 2022

Out of the 12 companies selected for the Techstars New York (Techstars NYC) Class of Spring 2022, three are African tech companies.

MTN Nigeria's Momo Payment Service Bank to commence operations following CBN's final approval

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted MTN the final approval to operate as Momo Payment Service Bank Limited (Momo PSB).

MainOne to expand MDXI, its data center business across West Africa

MainOne has announced plans to expand its data center business, MDXI into new territories across West Africa

Izifin is using Embedded Intelligence to help businesses make informed decisions

Izifin, an Artificial Intelligence focused Embedded software provider, is empowering all businesses, despite of their size or sector, to better leverage data and serve their customers.

BD Insider, Letter 108: DiDi drives out of South Africa 🚖

BD Insider, Letter 108 covers eNaira's rank on the global index of retail CBDCs globally, DiDi's departure from South Africa and the UK's Global Talent Visa.

The Bank of Ghana prohibits the unauthorised use of foreign currencies for transactions

The Bank of Ghana (BOG) has issued a reminder warning citizens, and companies to stop transacting business, pricing goods and services and advertising in foreign currencies.

Simi Nwogugu calls on Nigeria’s changemakers to step forward for the inaugural Africa Education Medal

The Africa Education Medal was launched this year in collaboration with HP and Intel to recognise the tireless work of those who are changing education across the continent

ImaliPay raises $3m to offer financial services to underserved gig workers across Africa

The new funds injection will go into expanding its 50-man team, boosting its technology and exploring new markets like Ghana and Egypt.

Visa launches its first African innovation hub in Kenya

Visa has launched its first African innovation hub in Kenya to drive product development across the continent.

CBN sanctions banks for shielding crypto transactions in Nigeria

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has fined some commercial banks for failing to comply with regulations that bar customers from transacting in cryptocurrencies.

SmartWage secures $2 million to enhance digital inclusion in South African enterprises

SmartWage has raised a $2 million seed fund to bridge the gap between South African enterprises and their frontline employees

Oystr Finance wins ₦1 million at the SheVentures Tech Pitch

Oystr Finance, a fintech startup building alternative data infrastructure for Africa’s underserved, has won SheVentures Tech Pitch, taking home the cash prize of ₦1 million.

Spotify Charts: Rema, Buju, Asake, Finesse, and more top Nigeria’s charts this week

Rema and WizKid’s Made in Lagos Deluxe Edition were #1 in the Top artists and Top Albums categories respectively for a 7-week stretch

Microsoft includes Zulu to Azure Cognitive Services Translator

Microsoft has announced that they have added Zulu to its Microsoft Azure Cognitive Services Translator.

What these African CTOs learnt from building engineering teams

In this article, Deji Lana, CTO at SeamlessHR and Olorunfemi Jegede, COO at Credpal shared the lessons they both learned while building engineering teams at various African startups.

SabiTeach, CDial and LearnAm emerge as winners of the Lagos Employment Summit Innovation Challenge

SabiTeach, CDial Africa and LearnAm won the top prizes at the Innovation Challenge, a platform created to encourage innovative, tech-driven ideas to create sustainable jobs.

Opis Group expands free-to-play, play-to-earn NFT game “OpiPets” to Africa, announces $500 giveaway contest

Opis Group, a British blockchain technology company has expanded its non-fungible token (NFT) play-to-earn (P2E) game, OpiPets, to Africa.

CardinalStone Capital Advisers names Shirley Somuah as Partner to lead expansion into Ghana

Shirley Somuah will lead CardinalStone Capital Advisers expansion into Ghana

BD Insider: African startups raised over $1.5 billion last quarter from just six deals💰

BD Insider, Letter 107 covers the top six disclosed funding rounds by African startups in Q1 2022, Congo’s admission into the East African Community.

CBN approves MFS Africa's acquisition of Capricorn Digital Limited

MFS Africa has announced that they have completed their acquisition of the Nigerian super-agent Capricorn Digital Limited (Baxi).

Tushop raises $3M to scale community group-buying in Kenya

The funds will be deployed to grow Tushop’s team, invest in its technology to make its platform as easy to use as possible, and to further expand across Nairobi before rolling the service out to other cities in Kenya.

Andela’s Agnes Muthoni on how startups can benefit from the talent demands of a remote work schedule

A conversation with Agnes Muthoni, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Andela on the Andela Developer Survey

NFTs combined with IP rights can guarantee a new future for creators in Africa and globally

NFTs offer IP owners new possibilities to monetize their portfolios. We are still in the early days, and there is still a lot of building to be done. Yet, music NFTs provide some real value and disruption to a traditionally repressive and underserved industry.

Andela launches a new platform to fuel the future of customised work

The new customisable platform was purpose-built to match elite talent with jobs that fit, not just technical requirements, but personal work preferences too – 70% faster than traditional in-house recruiting.

Cassava Technologies acquires a fibre pair on Equiano Subsea Cable

Liquid Intelligent Technologies has announced that they have acquired a fibre pair on the Equiano subsea cable.

What are Layer-1 and Layer-2 Blockchains and why are they so important?

Blockchain networks must solve for scalability. Layer 1 is the underlying structure built to optimize blockchain performance. Layer 2 are third-party protocols that integrate with an underlying Layer-1 blockchain to increase output and efficiency.

CredPal raises $15 million to scale buy now pay later service in Africa, set to announce partnership with Airtel

Credpal closed a bridge round financing (including equity and debts) totalling $15 million to expand Buy Now Pay Later services in Nigeria and scale across Africa.

How NITDA can implement its Emerging technologies plan under SRAP (2021 - 2024)

In developing SRAP, seven strategic pillars were developed, the thrust of the plan being to implement several initiatives under each of these pillars. This article is focused on the sixth pillar, emerging technologies.

Credrails founder talks about Open Finance in Africa and the next billion-dollar startup on the continent.

In an interview with Clara Wanjiku Odero, Credrails co-founder, she gave insights into open finance in Africa and the next billion-dollar startup on the continent.

Inside Flutterwave's plan for Tanzanian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

Flutterwave has been licensed as a payment services provider by the Bank of Tanzania to support Tanzanian SMEs overcome challenges presented by the nation's fragmented payment infrastructure.

Moove partners Swvl to roll out electric vehicles across the MENA region and Pakistan

Moove has partnered with Swvl Inc. to scale Moove’s revenue-based vehicle financing model across the MENAP (Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan) region, as well as expand vehicle classes to include electric buses.

Cairo-based daily fantasy football platform Eksab raises $3M seed round, led by 4DX Ventures

Egypt’s number one integrated football gaming and content platform will scale across MENA and SSA

BD Insider: Nelson Mandela's arrest-warrant NFT raises $130,550 in auction

BD Insider, Letter 106 covers Nelson Mandela's arrest-warrant NFT $130,550 auction raise, Ethereum founders support for Zambia's tech hub bid and Meta's plan for Kenya's 2022 elections.

Decentralised Finance

With Decentralised Finance you don’t need the permission of any central authority on how much you spend. No financial or central authority can stop, delay or block your transactions and assets.

Apollo Agriculture secures $40m Series B funding round to drive international growth

The raise was led by Softbank Vision Fund 2, and supported by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Yara Growth Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, CDC, Anthemis Exponential Ventures, Flourish Ventures, Leaps by Bayer, SBI, Breyer Capital, and TO Ventures Food.

Netflix opens applications for its Creative Equity Scholarship in East Africa

Netflix is now receiving applications for the Creative Equity Scholarship Fund for film and TV students in East Africa.

Defunct DevKids is now uLesson Coding School

“DevKids is now uLesson Coding School and it’s so much more than a name change,” the edtech startup stated in a tweet on March 3rd.

How to apply for the Bulb Africa's tech fellowship

The Bulb Africa's tech fellowship is a 4-month exercise for individuals that want to learn data analysis, quality assurance, product design.

How Carry1st is driving growth in Africa's mobile gaming economy with AppFlyer's technologies

Carry1st, one of Africa’s leading gaming publishers, has released new insights from its market data that highlights successes that have shaped their growth in the gaming sector.

Klas is building the Shopify for online teaching

Klas is a platform that allows anyone to set up an online school and deliver live classes. Their mission is to unlock the power of knowledge sharing.

ThriveAgric raises $56.4m debt funding to accelerate pan-Africa expansion plans

The investment will enable the company to grow its 200,000+ farmer base, and expand into new African markets, including Ghana, Zambia and Kenya.

Lendsqr’s cloud lending ecosystem is making credit affordable for all

Lendsqr plans to connect lenders to capital providers and integrate distributors, BNPL providers and other players in the credit industry into its cloud lending ecosystem.

Microsoft commissions Africa Development Centre facilities in Nigeria and Kenya

Microsoft has opened a facility in Lagos, Nigeria for its ‘African Development Center (ADC).

Gricd and HaulTrac to deliver essential healthcare commodities on behalf of USAID

Gricd will enable the delivery of essential healthcare commodities on behalf of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

BD Insider, Letter 105: Google's Equiano lands in Africa, Bolt internship for African women

BD Insider, Letter 105 covers Google's Equiano landing in Africa, UBA's partnership with Cellulant and Bolt's internship for women in Africa.

Togo to host Equiano, Google’s subsea cable that will transform the West Africa’s broadband landscape

Société d’Infrastructures Numériques (SIN) and CSquared form a joint-venture in major digital infrastructure transformation initiative that lands Google’s Equiano Cable in Togo as the country takes steps to become a leading logistics and services hub in West Africa

Religious Apps and Softwares for Africans

Made in Africa religious apps and softwares currently operating and could be the vanguard of new religious tools that will emerge in coming years.

Big Cabal Media secures $2.3 million seed funding, plans to expand its digital products

Big Cabal Media (BCM) has secured $2.3 million in a round led by MaC Venture Capital to close its Seed Series

Sokowatch secures $125 million in Series B, rebrands to Wasoko

Sokowatch has raised $125 million in a Series B round led by Tiger Global and Avenir Growth Capital.

Luno launches Luno Expeditions to accelerate the development of the new financial ecosystem

Luno Expeditions will scale up investments to 200-300 per year, making it one of the most prolific early-stage fintech investors globally.

The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law set to commence applications for the annual Innovating Justice Challenge

The Justice Accelerator is HiiL’s flagship innovative programme that funds, trains, and coaches a global cohort of justice startups.

Spleet gets $625k in a pre-seed round to enable rent financing in Africa

Spleet raises $625k in a pre-seed round to build rent financing and tenant verification solutions for Africans.

15 African startups to participate in the Google for Startups Accelerator Class 7

Google has announced that 15 African startups will be part of Class 7 of the Google for Startups Accelerator.

YC-backed Curacel launches Grow, to enable technology companies offer insurance seamlessly

The solution is designed to integrate seamlessly with any technology platform and Curacel’s AI-powered infrastructure means claims can be submitted and processed in real time.

Moove secures $105 million in Series A2 round to scale its vehicle financing model globally

Moove has secured $105 million in an oversubscribed Series A2 round* consisting of equity and debt. The round was led by Speedinvest, Left Lane Capital and thelatest.ventures

BD Insider: Why the Nigerian government closed down six digital loan firms

BD Insider, Letter 104 covers why the Nigerian government closed down digital loan firms, BasiGo launched electric buses in Nairobi and Google's $1 million fund for African women

Proof of concept

Proof of Concept is a systematic process to examine the viability of a product idea before valuable resources are invested into it.

Antler East Africa closes $13.5 million fund to invest in early-stage startups

Antler East Africa has closed a $13.5 million fund to invest in Africa's early-stage startups.

Spotify announces Fave as EQUAL Africa ambassador

Spotify has named a Nigerian artist, Fave as the EQUAL Africa ambassador as part of its bid to foster gender equality and provide a platform to celebrate influential female artists in Africa.

Yep! secures $1.5 million pre-seed to scale its lending operations in Africa

Nigerian digital bank, Yep! has raised $1.5 million in a pre-seed round led by pan-African VC Greenhouse Capital.

OkHi secures $1.5 million seed extension to address Africa’s smart address verification issues

OkHi has raised $1.5 million seed extension to address smart address verification issues in Africa.

Bitmama launches physical crypto debit cards

While Bitmama ranks top as the first African blockchain company to launch physical crypto cards, there are other crypto debit cards providers in Africa.

Klump raises $780k pre-seed funding for its credit and BNPL offerings

Klump wants to become the preferred alternative online checkout and in-store payment processing company, providing customers and merchants with flexible payment solutions for products and services.

Klasha's new e-commerce integrations: Squarespace and Weebly

Klasha is investing heavily in building a library of e-commerce integrations and plug-ins to allow more global merchants to access African consumers seamlessly.

Meet the African tech startups that are supporting Chess in Slums Africa

These African tech startups are supporting Chess in Slums Africa to empower children in impoverished communities in Africa.

Dream VC launches two programmes for aspiring African investors

Dream VC, an investor-accelerator, has launched Launch into Venture Capital and Investor Accelerator to train more than 50 future investors for Africa.

40 outstanding African women in tech

40 African women who are taking the bull by the horns and leading innovative tech startups.

70 resources for African Women in Tech

I curated 70 resources to help women in tech start their exploration of the trifecta of knowledge, community, and money.

Zero to Scale: Abdoul Kadry Diallo — Co-founder & CMO at ANKA

In this edition, Abdoul Kadry Diallo — co-founder & CMO at ANKA talks about ANKA's growth story, the importance of hiring a CTO and the e-commerce landscape in Africa.

In 2 years, SafeBoda has recorded over 3 million rides in Nigeria. What’s next?

Since January 2020 when SafeBoda started operations in Nigeria, it has made with over 3 million rides made by over 10,000 riders and over 100,000 passengers.

BD Insider: Mercury Bank and African startups, Paystack receives PSP in Ghana

BD Insider, Letter 103 covers why Mercury Bank blocked the bank accounts of some African startups, Paystack's PSP license from the Bank of Ghana.

Susu raises $2.2 million pre-seed to make affordable healthcare accessible to Africans

Susu has raised €2 million ($2.2 million) pre-seed, comprising €1 million in equity financing, €800,000 in debt, and €200,000 in grants.

Sudo Africa gets $3.7 million to build its card-issuing API for developers and businesses in Nigeria

Sudo Africa has raised $3.7 million pre-seed to build its card-issuing API for developers and businesses in Nigeria.

FCMB announces SheVentures tech pitch to reward women in Tech

SheVentures is a First City Monument Bank (FCMB) initiative for women-owned Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

How Ckrowd Studios will enable African content creators to earn revenue for live and on-demand content

Ckrowd Studios will usher in the new era of digital cinema, providing premium distribution and monetization services to film and content producers, connecting Africa and the global diaspora.

Zero To Scale: Damilola Soyombo — Founder/CEO of Skooqs and TCKZone

In this edition of Zero to Scale, the founder and CEO of Skooqs and TCKZone Oluwadamilola Soyombo talks about how edtech startups can get more spotlight and Skooqs milestones and impact in less than a year with only grant funding.

ICANN announces Kenya as host of one of Africa's data centres

The ICANN Managed Root Server (IMRS) clusters will reduce the loading time for websites, particularly when there are spikes in Internet usage.

How the informal sector can solve Nigeria’s tax woes

We must look towards efficient taxation as an avenue to increase revenue. If not, we would continue digging our heels into debt and eventually be caught in a debt trap.

Inside Healthtracka’s efforts to provide prompt COVID-19 testing in Nigeria

In June 2021, Healthtracka started providing prompt COVID-19 testing for Nigerians to make up for the international travel requirement. How far has this gone?

VALR secures a $50 million Series B fund to expand across Africa

South African crypto exchange VALR has raised a $50 million Series B fund in an equity funding round by Pantera Capital.

M-KOPA raises $75m Growth Equity to penetrate new markets

The fintech platform is positioned for further growth as it hits two million customer milestone

From April 1st, Google will charge 7.5% VAT on ads in Nigeria

Google has announced that its Nigeria-based advertisers will be charged 7.5% value-added tax (VAT) on all ad placements from April 1, 2022.

Turaco partners with AXA Mansard for Nigerian expansion

East Africa's Turaco has announced its expansion to Nigeria through a corporate partnership with AXA Mansard

Zero To Scale: Damilola Fasawe-Aderinto — Operations Partner and Co-founder of Future Africa

In this edition of Zero To Scale, Future Africa’s co-founder and operations partner Damilola Fasawe-Aderinto talks about how startups can attract investors and the growth levers African startups should focus on.

Kenyan retail-based tech startup Cartnshop raises $400k to boost commercialisation

The Cartnshop ecosystem brings stakeholders including manufacturers, suppliers and distributors, service providers and e-commerce enablers into the channels, enabling a complete model of B2B2C.

MTN Group invests in the metaverse, buys 144 plots of virtual land

MTN Group has bought 144 plots in Ubuntuland, a South African virtual land for an undisclosed sum.

BD Insider: Binance's crypto education, Egypt's $50 million VC fund

BD Insider, Letter 102 covers Binance's crypto education in Nigerian universities, Egyptian $50 million venture capital fund for tech startups and Weaver Fintech's acquisition of PayJustNow

One year after launch, Nigerian users generated 1.3 million playlists on Spotify

Since Spotify's launch in Nigeria, the average number of artists streamed per user has grown by 60%, and Nigerian music fans have created 1.3 million user-generated playlists.

Startup Accelerators

Accelerators give startups the opportunity to test run their business model in a safe space so they can spot weaknesses and adjust things as they go along.

AFEN partners with Plateau Smart Tourism to digitize tourism in Plateau state

AFEN Blockchain is partnering with Plateau Smart Tourism to virtualize tourism sites in Nigeria's "home of peace and tourism".

Hausa readers can now understand the African tech ecosystem

To provide news and insights to Hausa readers as to what is going on in Africa’s tech ecosystem Munnir Abdulhamid, an android developer based in Northern Nigeria launched Tech Hausa, a tech news blog covering Africa in Hausa language.

Voyance gets $500,000 pre-seed, launches two flagship products Manhattan DB and Sigma

Voyance has raised $500,000 in an oversubscribed pre-seed round to democratize access to data science by accelerating innovation for business and unifying data engineering, machine learning, and business processes.

Canza Finance secures $3.27 million to empower underserved sub-Saharan Africa SMEs with financial services

Nigeria's Canza Finance has closed a $3.27 million seed round to empower underserved sub-Saharan Africa SMEs with financial services

TradeDepot acquires B2B eCommerce platform, Green Lion, to accelerate expansion across Ghana

The Green Lion team will join TradeDepot to build the future of retail and make food and supplies more accessible and affordable for even the most remote consumers on the continent.

Flutterwave 3.0: New products, major rebrand as African fintech giant goes beyond payments

A few days after becoming Africa's most valuable startup, Flutterwave hosted a flagship event to unveil its major rebrand and also announce its prospect for the coming years.

Jambo secures $7.5 million in seed funding to build a super app for African youths

Jambo wants to create financial prosperity for billions across the continent and foster the next generation of Web 3 innovators, builders, and creators.

MarketForce closes the largest Series A round in East and Central Africa

Retail payment startup, MarketForce has closed a $40 million Series A round led by V8 Capital Partners to scale merchant inventory financing through a BNPL offering

Kids That Code partners with Chess in Slums Africa to teach coding to kids

This partnership will see these youngsters rehabilitated by Chess In Slums Africa, equipped with the tools, mentorship, and vital skills required to conquer the world.

A Recap of FintechNGR Fintech Outlook 2022

An annual intellectual webinar which attempted to take a 360 overview of Nigeria’s fintech space, what it portends globally and how stakeholders can draw industry insights.

54gene to advance genomics research in Africa, awards $64,000 scholarship to 4 Africans

54gene has awarded scholarships to four African PhD candidates to advance genomics research on the continent.

BD Insider, Letter 101: Mara Phone's controversies, Gozem expands to Cameroon

In the BD Insider, Letter 101, we covered Mara Phones’ demise in South Africa and the controversies, Gozem expansion into Cameroon.

Creating an online workplace culture that works

Promoting a positive online work culture is more important than ever. Find out how to create a great remote and hybrid workplace culture.

The Creative Economy Practice at CcHUB launch Createch Accelerator 1.0.

The Accelerator programme is for founders and teams running businesses at the intersection of technology and creativity.

Earnipay raises $4million seed funding to provide on-demand salary to employees in Africa

Earnipay uses its technology to offer employees the opportunity to access their earned salaries into their accounts flexibly, in real-time and interest-free.

Stitch announces $21 million Series A to enable Africa's fintech sector

With $27 million total funding, Stitch is now the most funded API-first fintech startup. What does this mean for Africa API fintechs?

Meet Whipik: The Future of Storytelling

Whipik is doing for writers what YouTube, TikTok, and Spotify have done for video and music creators. Dubbed the future of storytelling, Whipik is helping writers capture their slice of the $104 billion Creator economy.

YC-backed CrowdForce secures $3.6 million to strengthen agency banking in Nigeria

CrowdForce has raised $3.6m pre-series-A to increase access to cash for rural communities in Nigeria.

How recently acquired Parkit’s founders disrupted Nigeria’s autocare industry

Parkit use technology in making the customer journey for car washes very seamless by automating payments, training, and helping them acquire the right tools and consumables for the job.

Flutterwave announces $250m Series D fundraise, valuation rises to over $3bn

With the Series D funding, Flutterwave will accelerate customer acquisition and growth through M&A as well as develop complementary products.

Abiola Bonuola launches a Tech PR agency to amplify the stories of the African ecosystem

Abiola Bonuola, a Nigerian PR Consultant has launched Abiola Bonuola Communications (ABCs), an agency to cater for the public relations needs of African startups, investment firms and tech entrepreneurs.

roHealth teams up with PayCentre to provide health insurance coverage in Nigeria

Nigerian healthtech startup, roHealth will provide 80,000 agents of PayCentre, Nigeria’s foremost Agent Banking Services provider with access to affordable and high-quality health insurance plans on its platform

Recap of #BDxEOGeneralistSpace: How to build a career as a startup generalist

Generalists often find their path late, and they juggle many interests rather than focusing on one. They’re also more creative, more agile, and able to make connections their more specialized peers can’t see.

Alternatives to Spotify and Apple Music: African music streaming platforms

Spotify is a pioneer in music streaming and is arguably the best-known service, Apple Music runs second to Spotify in terms of subscribers. However, there are African-focused music streaming platforms that you can explore.

CKROWD announces two new members to join its advisory board

Ckrowd has announced the appointment of Katherine McVicker and Adeleye Fabusoro, as executive board members to its Advisory Board

Remedial Health secures $1 million to drive efficiency in Africa's Pharmaceutical sector

Nigeria's Remedial Health has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to digitize and drive efficiency in Africa's pharmaceutical sector.

BD Insider, Letter 100: The yin and yang of digitising Africa's informal retail sector

BD Insider, Letter 100 explores the ying and yang of digitising Africa's informal sector, the Central Bank of Kenya's plan to adopt digital currencies.

How Africhange is serving the remittance needs of African Canadians

Africhange enables anyone in Canada to send money to Nigeria, Ghana and Mexico at the best rates, without unnecessary fees.

Virtual Reality

VR is the use of computer technology to create a simulated environment which gives the user a feeling similar to interacting with the real world.

Tech gifts for valentine

Here are some tech (and non tech) gifts that will make life easier for your significant other.

Update VAT records by Feb. 25 — Facebook asks Nigerian advertisers

Facebook has instructed its Nigerian advertisers to update their Value Added Tax, VAT records to the site on or before February 25, 2022, or risk not having their adverts displayed on the platform.

Duplo secures $1.3 million to create payment infrastructure for B2B business

Nigerian fintech, Duplo has raised $1.3 million pre-seed fund to digitise payment flows for B2B companies.

Moove partners with CFAO Motors to purchase new vehicles for Nigeria and Ghana’s mobility entrepreneurs

The partnership, which will leverage CFAO’s local network and extensive presence, will allow the rapid delivery of brand new vehicles that are more environmental friendly.

NAICOM and FSD Africa launch insurance focused accelerator program - BimaLab

BimaLab Nigeria aims to address gaps in the insurance market by equipping, educating, nurturing, and promoting innovators and Insurtech start-ups.

BasiGo gets $4.3 million to enable the adoption of electric vehicles in Kenya

Three months after its launch, BasiGo, a Kenya-based electric vehicle (EV) startup has closed $4.3 million in seed funding to accelerate clean-energy mass transit vehicles in Kenya.

Recap of Hub One’s Epic Hour with Benjamin Dada on digital media and growth

Benjamin Dada shares insights on how startups can leverage social media for growth at the February edition of Hub One's Epic Hour.

Mecho Autotech secures $2.15 million seed fund to expand vehicle maintenance and repair services

Mecho Autotech, a Nigerian vehicle repair and maintenance startup has closed a $2.15 million seed round.

Transtura acquires fintech WazoMoney to launch payment and marketplace solutions

The acquisition will enable Transtura to launch its payment and marketplace solutions in the transportation sector.

Succeeding in tech as a non-technical person: How these 20 pros did it

I asked 20 non-tech professionals how they broke into tech, their most interesting career highlights, and the challenges they face due to their non-technical background.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company acquires Investment One Funds Management

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) has concluded the acquisition of the 100% equity stake in Investment One Pension Managers Limited (IOPM) and Investment One Funds Management Limited (IOFM).

Meet Nguvu Health — a startup building a mentally strong Africa by making therapy affordable and accessible

For as low as ₦3,000 you can get therapy sessions for a whole week at Nguvu Health.

Reliance Health raises $40 million in Series B round

The round was led by General Atlantic, a leading global equity investor with participation from Partech, Arvantis Social Foundation, Picus Capital, Tencent Exploration, P1 Ventures, Laerdal Million Lives Fund, M3 Inc., and AAIC (Asia Africa Investment and Consulting).

Common regulatory mistakes startup founders should avoid

These are 10 mistakes founders make that could hinder the success of their startups in Nigeria.

Books tech professionals should read in 2022

We curated books that tech professionals — engineers, marketers, entrepreneurs, designers — will find interesting.

BD Insider, Letter 99: Nestcoin partners Zuri Team to train Web3 developers in Africa

BD Insider, Letter 99 covers Nestcoin's plan to train web3 developers, Meta's worst trading week in history and the appointment of Emeka Oparah's appointment as the Vice President of Communication at Airtel Africa.

Afrilearn to offer free primary and secondary education for Nigerians

Afrilearn, an edtech startup has announced that its mobile app can be accessed for free by primary and secondary school students across Nigeria and beyond.

Bridgia Africa joins Google for Education Integrated Solutions Initiative

Through this partnership, Bridgia is now one of the 21 Google for Education Integrated Solutions Initiative partners in the region of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

Ukheshe Technologies achieves Level One B-BBEE rating in South Africa

Ukheshe Technologies, a pan-African fintech startup has significantly improved its Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) performance.

Showmax releases its top ten most-watched shows in 2021

Among the top ten shows were Ghana Jollof, BBNaija, I Am Laycon and My Flatmates.

Aboki Africa announces rebranding, changes name to Grey

Aboki Africa has completed a major rebranding to Grey. The rebranding to Grey reflects the accelerated way the company has grown and expanded in the last year.

Casava secures $4 million pre-seed fund to bolster digital insurance in Nigeria

Casava, an insurtech startup has raised $4 million to provide accessible and affordable digital insurance in Nigeria.

Kenyan wealth-tech startup, Ndovu launches in Nairobi

Ndovu, a Kenyan wealth-tech startup has officially been launched today in Nairobi, Kenya.

Epic Hour to discuss how digital media can drive growth for startups

The February 2022 edition of Epic Hour slated to hold on the 4th of February is tagged "leveraging digital media to drive growth for startups" with Benjamin Dada and David I Adeleke as guests.

Moove secures $10 million venture debt from NBK Capital Partners Mezzanine Fund II

Moove Africa has received a $10 million financing facility from NBK Capital Partners Mezzanine Fund II, bringing its total funding raised to $78.2 million.

AltSchool Africa secures $1 million to train entry-level tech talents in Africa

AltSchool Africa has secured $1 million in its pre-seed funding to train entry-level tech talent in Africa.

Nestcoin secures $6.45 million pre-seed capital to accelerate crypto and web3 adoption

Nestcoin, a Lagos-based crypto-focused startup, has raised $6.45 million in a pre-seed round.

AFEX opens second round of $240 million funding series to strengthen Africa's Agro-processors

Nigeria's foremost commodities market player is seeking to raise up to $240m to bolster Nigeria's agriculture sector.

Crowdyvest embarks on debt recovery process to enable payout to investors

Following its inability to meet up with its financial obligations to investors, Crowdyvest has embarked on a debt recovery process to enable the refund of overdue payments.

Bamboo raises $15 million Series A funding

Bamboo will use the funds to accelerate its growth, penetrate new markets and create more products.

How to increase investment in Africa’s healthtech sector

If healthtech innovators would just ride the waves of certain drivers, more funds will be invested in the health sector and Africa’s healthcare system will be transformed.

BD Insider, Letter 98: Africans are world-class

BD Insider, Letter 98 covered James Manyinka appointment as a senior vice president at Google, the #YoutubeBlackVoices Creator Class of 2022 and Binance CEO's letter to Nigerians.

Disrupt Africa releases report on African tech startups funding in 2021

The African Tech Startups Funding Report explored the important details about the over $2.148 billion in 800+ deals that were raised by African startups in 2021 — the number of funded startups grew by 42.1 per cent on 397 in 2020.

Augmented Reality

AR bridges the gap between our imagination and the real world. It’s transforming the way we work, learn, play, shop, and connect with the world.

How to craft a winning pitch deck

Learn the thought process that goes into crafting a winning pitch deck that would be memorable to investors and get you the funds you need for your startup.

TLcom secures first round of its $150 million fund to back 20 African startups

TLcom has announced a first close of $70 million for its $150 million Africa focused tech fund to invest in 20 early-stage startups on the continent.

How African startups can apply for the Sandbox Metaverse Accelerator Program

The Sandbox Metaverse Accelerator Program will enable the development of the open metaverse by investing in 30 to 40 blockchain startups a year, up to $250,000 in each startup.

Partech, a Paris-based VC launches Chapter54, an accelerator program

The program will be spearheaded by its innovation division, Partech Shaker to help European start-ups penetrate into the African markets.

Ghana-based fintech OZÉ raises $3 million pre-Series A

OZÉ, a Ghana-based fintech startup that focuses on scaling small African businesses through digitized operations and affordable capital has raised a $3 million pre-Series A round.

Oracle announces first cloud region in Africa

Oracle now has 37 cloud regions globally and plans to open an additional seven cloud regions before the end of 2022

Uber unveils bike-hailing service via UberMoto in Ibadan

Uber has launched UberMoto, a two-wheeler alternative in Ibadan with a 100 Naira minimum fare offering riders a 78 per cent lower-cost alternative.

Meet the African startups participating in Y Combinator’s 2022 Winter batch

These African companies are participating in Y Combinator's 2022 Winter batch.

BD Insider, Letter 97: Africa completes QED's jigsaw

In this letter, we covered Netflix plan to support African creatives with a $1 million scholarship fund, QED appointment of two Nigerians, Carry1st $20 million seed extension.

These three trends will influence mobile apps in Africa in 2022

Daniel Junowicz, Managing Director of LATAM & Africa at AppsFlyer, explores the key trends of mobile apps in Africa in 2022.

Affle's MAAS & AppsFlyer webinar to unravel secrets of mobile marketing success in Africa

Affle and AppsFlyer are bringing together global experts to explore Africa's mobile marketing success secrets and lessons from the post-COVID era.

Dojah joins Y Combinator W22 cohort, embarks on pan-African expansion

Dojah, a unified KYC and digital onboarding solution company will participate in the Y Combinator Winter 2022 (YC W22) cohort.

How PAPSS will unlock Africa's financial integration

PAPSS was created to unlock Africa’s massive potential for internal trade, enabling an efficient flow of transactions across the African border.

How API fintech companies are powering Africa's consumer ecosystem

An API is a set of functions that allows applications to access data and interact with external software components, operating systems, or microservices.

Risevest brings together industry leaders for the Moneyrise Conference

Moneyrise Conference is taking place on January 29 in Lagos at The Civic Center, Victoria Island. Teni The Entertainer will also entertain attendees with a live band performance

Frain Technologies announces $473,000 pre-seed to build webhook infrastructure

Frain will use the funds to invest in the development of Convoy, a cloud-native webhook service, and develop more tools for developers.

Orda secures $1.1 million pre-seed to power digital operations at African restaurants

Orda, a Lagos-based startup has raised a $1.1 million pre-seed fund to build an all-in-one cloud-based software for Africa's food business owners.

Zero To Scale: Kenneth Obiajulu — Co-founder and CEO of Agricorp International

In this edition of Zero to Scale, Agricorp CEO Kenneth Obiajulu talks about the role of technology in agriculture and how Agricorp is different from other agritech startups.

12 African early-stage startups to watch out for in 2022

Based on their stories, funding and user base, we curated a list of some of the most promising early-stage startups in Africa you should watch out for.

Float secures $17 million to bolster digital lending in Africa

Float, a Ghana-based fintech startup has raised $17 million to boost its cash management and digital lending platform for African small- and medium-sized businesses.

Take your Startup Idea to the Canadian Market - Join Empowered Startups Incubator Program

Move your startup to Canada and build global companies

BD Insider, Letter 96: Meet Africa's tech-stars

In this letter, we covered African tech startups that pitched at Techstars Toronto's demo day, the new YC standard deal and digital banking.

The rise and pivot of agritech crowdfunding platforms

The financial debacle of agritech startups should have been resolved last year. But Agropartnership, Crowdyvest, Farmnow, Farmpower and other agritech crowdfunding platforms still owe investors millions of naira.

Product management

Product Management is trying to solve the problem of shared understanding. A shared understanding of the customers, their problems, of how the team would get there, how success would be measured and how things would be broken into tiny, deliverable bits.

Lipa Later raises $12 million pre-Series A for pan-African expansion

Lipa Later, a Kenyan tech-led consumer credit platform raises $12 million in Pre-Series A funding to expand in its existing markets and new markets.

Twitter users in Nigeria will no longer need a VPN

The Nigerian government has lifted the suspension of Twitter's operations in Nigeria after approval by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Microsoft appoints Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh as Strategic Partner lead in Ghana

My appointment will be one of the biggest success stories for our continent- Angela Kyerematen-Jimoh

SeamlessHR secures $10 million in Series A funding round

SeamlessHR has raised $10 million in a Series A round led by TLcom Capital. It will use the funding to launch a new embedded finance product and add other product functionalities.

StanChart plans to shut half of its branches in Nigeria in a digital push

Standard Chartered Nigeria to shut down 13 bank branches to focus on digital banking.

What the new Y Combinator's $500,000 standard deal means

Y Combinator has announced that in addition to the existing $125,000 investment which all accepted startups get, Y Combinator will invest an additional $375,000.

Afrikea rebrands to ANKA, raises $6.2 million in pre-Series A round

Afrikea has raised $6.2 million in a pre-Series A round. It's also rebranding to ANKA.

BD Insider, Letter 95: Of taxes and regulations in Africa's tech ecosystem

This letter covered Nigeria's plan to tax non-resident digital firms, Cameroon's 0.2% tax on mobile money transactions and Twitter's ban in Nigeria

Bfree embarks on global expansion following $1.7 million in a pre-Series A round raise

Bfree, a Lagos-based credit management fintech has raised $1.7 million in a pre-Series A round.

These wealth management apps can save your finances in 2022

With these wealth management apps, you can take control of your spending habits by investing and saving your money to grow your network.

Meet 25 African healthtech startups changing the narrative

Here are 25 health startups that are challenging the status quo and changing the negative narrative about Africa’s health system.

mPharma to launch e-commerce platform for pharmaceuticals with $35 million funding

Ghanaian health startup, mPharma has raised $35 million in a Series D round to embark on pan-African expansion and launch an e-commerce platform.

The Fifth Alley launches accelerator programme for SMEs in Africa

The SME Growth Lab is designed to equip business owners with digital skills and give them access to knowledge and mentorship that will transform their businesses.

BD Insider, Letter 94: What should happen in Africa's tech ecosystem in 2022

In the BD Insider, Letter 94, we shared some things we'd like to see happen in Africa's tech ecosystem in 2022

The 2021 Benjamindada year in review

This is our first published year-in-review article. We talk about our wins and losses, plans for 2022, and the most popular articles we published this year.

How these six African founders scaled their startups

In the Zero to Scale series this year, six founders shared how they were able to build and scale their startups; we compiled six lessons out of their experiences.

How to be an angel investor with less than $3,000 (₦1.2 million) in Nigeria

How to be an angel investor with less than $3,000: Join an angel network, join a syndicate or angel group, and use tokenized equity platforms like GetEquity and WeFunder.

BD Insider, Letter 93: A review of happenings in Africa's tech ecosystem

2021 is Africa's tech ecosystem's most exciting year yet, over $4.27 billion was jointly raised by startups. We look at the ups and downs of the year.

Nigerian edtech, Teesas to improve its offering with its $1.6 million pre-seed funding round

Nigerian-focused edtech startup, Teesas has raised $1.6 million in a pre-seed round, to provide e-learning materials in indigenous languages for young Nigerians.

Tech Word For The Week: Blockchain

Blockchain is a digital ledger of transactions decentralised, duplicated, and distributed across different networks of computer systems.

MTN's Ayoba has attained 10 million active users

MTN-backed Africa’s Super App, Ayoba has attained over 10 million monthly active users.

Lectera celebrates its first anniversary, plans to conquer African markets with fast education, fast results model

Lectera celebrates its first anniversary with over $5 million turnover and 180,000 users. It plans to conquer African markets with its model of fast education, fast results next year.

African tech startups jointly raised over $4.27 billion in 800+ deals in 2021

In 2021, tech startups operating across Africa have jointly raised over $4.27 billion in 800+ deals, this record quadruped the $1.1 billion that was pumped into the continent amidst the pandemic last year.

Planet42 secures $30 million, to expand car inventory in South Africa and Mexico

Planet42, a South Africa-based car subscription company has raised a $30 million equity round, to expand its car inventory in South Africa and Mexico.

MAX raises $31 million Series B funding to expand across Africa and build electric vehicle infrastructure

MAX.ng to use $31 million Series B funding to expand across Africa, deploy electric vehicles infrastructure and provide credit to drivers.

Top 10 gifts below $100 for loved ones

Surprise your loved ones with any of these 10 handpicked tech gifts that come at an incredibly affordable price (below $100 below.)

Sign up on Busha and receive free bitcoin

Busha is celebrating the holidays by giving out free ₦2,000 in bitcoin to new customers.

AdvoKC launches digital platform for Nigerians to track campaign promises

AdvoKC, a youth-led civic-tech organization has launched a digital platform that allows citizens to hold its elected public officials in Nigeria accountable.

BD Insider, Letter 92: Bitcoin Trust Fund, Alternatives to Bolt and Uber

BD Inisder, Letter 92 covered Bitcoin Trust Fund, alternatives to Bolt and Uber in Nigeria, social media censorship in Africa

Tech Word For The Week: Minimum Viable Product

Minimum Viable Product is the first thing you can give to the very first set of users you want to target to see if you can provide any value at all.

Federal Executive Council approves Nigeria Startup Bill

The Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB) was on the 15th of Dec. approved by the Federal Executive Council(FEC) and is a step closer to getting enacted into law.

This report shows that African countries are the least tolerant of social media

Africa has become the most censorship intensive region globally, responsible for nearly 53% of all cases in 2021.

Ventures Platform to invest in early-stage startups with $40 million Pan-African Fund

Ventures Platform, a pan-African VC firm has announced the first close of its new $40 million Pan-African, early-stage fund to invest in market-creating innovations.

Prackage will make it easy for you to build your personal brand

Prackage, a Lagos-based personal branding startup has launched to enable professionals to take control of their own narrative and get the right attention for their accomplishments

AFF Roundtable will focus on the future of payment in Africa

Africa FinTech Foundry (AFF) to hold a roundtable discussion on the future of payments in Africa on the 17th of December 2021.

Moove expands into Kenya, to broaden Vehicle Financing to Bikes and Trucks

Moove, an African mobility fintech, has launched operations in Nairobi, its first city in East Africa and sixth on the continent.

Edukoya raises the largest pre-seed round for an African EdTech platform

Edukoya, a female-led and Africa-focused online learning platform, has raised $3.5 million in a pre-seed round led by Target Global.

Alternatives to Bolt & Uber: Ride-hailing companies in Nigeria

Aside from Bolt and Uber, there are several other ride-hailing companies across Nigeria that offer convenient rides and serve as alternatives to the less-than-efficient public transport system.

Metaverse Magna unveils scholarship programme to help Africans make up to $1,000 playing crypto-powered games

Metaverse Magna (MVM) is sponsoring anyone with internet access and a commitment to improving the quality of their lives with a rare opportunity to earn up to $1,000 a month playing crypto games.

Recap of Technext Coinference - a gathering of African blockchain stakeholders

Technext, held the maiden edition of the Technext Coinference to discuss the future of cryptocurrency in Nigeria

2021 Cryptocurrency year - Review by Marius Reitz

2021 will be remembered as the year when ordinary people, institutions and businesses were buoyed to invest in crypto at a far greater scale than previously seen.

CcHUB in collaboration with Google launches Fintech Innovation Project in Rwanda

Fintech Innovation Project is a corporate innovation lab set up to facilitate the acceleration of e-commerce growth by supporting both Small and Medium Businesses to go online.

Healthtracka partners US-based insurtech Fleri, receives investment from Akazi Capital

Healthtracka announces partnership with US-based insurtech startup Fleri Inc. Akazi Capital announces undisclosed amount in Healthtracka.

BD Insider, Letter 91: How Seamfix is powering seamless digital transformation

In BD Insider, Letter 91 covers how Seamfix is powering seamless digital transformation and how Mansa connects trustworthy African companies with global investors.

Tech Word For The Week: Identity Management

Identity Management is the management of a technology resource(s) to ensure that only verified and authorised people have access to it to be able to carry out their job functions.

Meet Enyata, the company helping tech talents grow

Of the many support initiatives that abound in the tech industry, one that stands alone in its unconventionality is the BuildUp campaign by Enyata.

uLesson raises $15 million in Series B funding round

uLesson, an Abuja-based ed-tech startup has raised a $15 million Series B fund. This is arguably the largest disclosed investment in Africa's ed-tech ecosystem.

Autochek unveils car loans marketplace to further deepen mobility in Africa

Autochek, the automotive technology company facilitating auto financing across Africa has launched an "online brand-new cars loan marketplace".

ImaliPay expands to South Africa, names Stitch as fintech partner

ImaliPay has partnered with Stitch as its payment and open banking partner as part of its South African expansion strategy.

4DX Ventures and Flutterwave make first Francophone Africa investment, pumps $2.4 million in CinetPay

CinetPay, a digital payment platform for merchants in Francophone Africa today announced a $2.4 million seed round from Flutterwave and 4DXVentures.

GetEquity unveils Dealroom, to accelerate African venture funding

GetEquity, a Lagos-based tech startup today announced the launch of Dealroom— a suite of products that will enable individuals, startups, VCs, and other investors to manage their capital raises and investments on an accessible virtual platform.

With Gricd's partnership, NPHCDA will deliver 4.2 million Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses

Gricd, a cold chain technology startup has partnered with Nigeria’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) to deliver 4.2 million doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine across Nigeria.

Equinix to expand into Africa with $320 million MainOne's acquisition deal

Equinix has acquired MainOne in a $320 million deal, as part of its African expansion strategy.

South African Proptech, Flow Expands Reach Into Australia

Flow, an API platform connecting real estate agents and social media users leverages significant growth on the continent to target global property market

SendChamp raises $100,000 in angel round to build communication solutions for African businesses

SendChamp’s solutions allow their users to provide fast and reliable answers to their customers across all relevant channels, revolutionising customer relations on the continent.

Payday users to earn with its ambassadorship programme

Payday, a pan-African fintech startup has launched its ambassadorship programme.

TradeDepot raises $110 million in equity and debt financing round to scale BNPL service

TradeDepot raises $110 million through equity (38%) and debt (62%) financing to support its buy now, pay later services and expand across Africa.

CcHub partners Ekiti state on Nigeria's 1st governance innovation accelerator

In collaboration with the MIT GOV/LAB, Gatefield, and the Ekiti State, Co-Creation Hub (CcHub) launched the first-ever governance innovation accelerator in Nigeria last week.

BD Insider, Letter 90: Octamile's launch, MTN shares, Deaf eLimu Banking

In BD Insider, letter 90 we covered Octamile's plan to enable digital insurance, the launch of Deaf eLimu Banking by the Kenyan Bankers Association and other opportunities.

Tech Word For The Week: Infrastructure As A Service (IaaS)

IaaS eliminates the limitations of on-site infrastructure and heightens its advantages in a cost-efficient manner to enhance daily business operations.

Kenyan bankers unveils sign language app to enable financial inclusion

The Kenyan Bankers Association has launched 'Deaf eLimu Banking', a Kenyan sign language self-training tool for bankers to enable financial inclusion.

African Capital Alliance completes WIOCC $200m capital raise to drive its pan-African expansion

African Capital Alliance (ACA) has made an equity investment through its CAPE IV fund to round off West Indian Ocean Cable Company's (WIOCC) $200 million capital raise.

How RCCG's dating sites are enabling Christian courtship

Redeemers Connect is exclusively for singles, widow[ers] who are in search of a Christian partner.

How Loomzy Suites is leveraging technology to transform hospitality in Nigeria

Loomzy Suites, a prop-tech startup based in Lagos, Nigeria has today announced its plan to expand its operations to turn around the face of hospitality and hotel management using technology.

AFEX announces $100m Food Security Fund

Financing will strengthen Africa's food security and optimise climate-smart innovations across seven countries

20 top tech skills that require no coding

if you are interested in pursuing a career in tech and do not possess any coding skills. Here are 20 noncoding tech roles that might align with your interest, strengths, and experience.

Sabi Am closes $6 million bridge round amidst record growth, expands to Kenya and South Africa

Sabi Am closed a $6 million bridge round amidst record growth, expanded to Kenya last month, and plans to launch in South Africa next year. But why a bridge round?

Carry1st, PayPal and Chipper Cash partners to accelerate digital payments in Africa

Carry1st has collaborated with PayPal and Chipper Cash in a move to further accelerate digital payments in Africa.

Data Science Nigeria taught artificial intelligence to over 500,000 learners in five years

Founded in 2016, Data Science Nigeria has reached over 500,000 online and offline learners, coupled with high-impact research papers which have been showcased at the world's leading AI conferences.

PennyTree Inc. introduces gamified digital lifestyle platform

PennyTree, a Nigerian fintech startup, has launched its gamified digital lifestyle platform. It’s a platform that integrates savings, payments and transfers through a scalable ecosystem built into the lifestyle of its users. With an aim to make financial discipline fun, enjoyable and seamless, PennyTree is on a mission to

Blockchain startup Payourse raises $600,000 pre-seed funding

Payourse, a Lagos-based blockchain startup, has secured $600,000 pre-seed funding to scale its products — Coinprofile and Simpa, hire more talents, and expand into new markets.

Octamile emerges from stealth with $500,000 pre-seed funding

Octamile has emerged from stealth with $500,000 to enable insurance and non-insurance businesses to protect African consumers from financial loss.

Africa Data Centre inaugurates a 10MW facility in Lagos, to deploy digitization solutions to West Africa.

The Africa Data Centre (ADC) has launched a 10MW data centre in Lagos, to deploy digitization solutions to West Africa.

Airtel Money launches Developer Portal to provide open APIs

Airtel Money has launched a new Airtel Africa Developer Portal to provide open APIs. How has MTN's API marketplace, Chenosis, fared?

Arnergy launches Diaspora Initiative for clean energy remittances

Energy startup becomes Africa’s first solar company to launch renewables payment scheme for Nigerians abroad

Fixit45 acquires Parkit, to facilitate vehicle care services in Africa

Fixit45, a Pan-African auto-tech startup has acquired Parkit, a network of tech-enabled autocare and car wash centres.

BD Insider, Letter 89: $ECHOKE social token, DevKids shutdown

BD Insider, Letter 89 covers $ECHOKE social token launch, DevKids shutdown, ImaliPay's partnership with Cellulant and other things you will find interesting.

Tech Word for The Week: Platform As A Service (PaaS)

PaaS provides a cost-effective cloud platform for developing, running, and scaling applications without the hassle of managing the underlying infrastructure.

MEST Express Accelerator open applications for startups in Ghana for first cohort of 2022

The program, in partnership with Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works, invites early-stage startups in Ghana to apply by 16th January, 2022.

GDG Lagos DevFest 2021 is December 3

GDG Lagos is hosting DevFest 2021 on December 3, 2021, at the Landmark Event Centre, 9 AM prompt.

Apply for Adanian Labs Venture Building Programme to receive $120,000 investment

Startups in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania can apply for the 12-month programme; the deadline is December 10, 2021.

ImaliPay partners Cellulant to drive gig workers' financial inclusion

ImaliPay has partnered with Cellulant to change the way gig workers experience making and receiving payments.

uLesson discontinues DevKids, online coding classes for kids

DevKids, a live virtual coding class for kids powered by uLesson, an Abuja-based ed-tech startup has been discontinued.

Treepz acquires Ugabus, closes $2.8 million seed round

In two years, Treepz (formerly Plentywaka) has set up an office in Canada, acquired two startups in Ghana and Uganda, and closed a $2.8 million seed round.

OnePipe raises $3.5 million to enhance its integrated finance offering

OnePipe, a fintech API company has raised $3.5 million seed in a round co-led by Atlantica Ventures, Tribe Capital and V&R Associates.

Davido and Omegoat launches $ECHOKE social token

With the $ECHOKE token, fans can become influencers and drive the next generation entertainment industry.

Crowdyvest re-launches app with new investment opportunities

The refreshed mobile app offers a modern design, easy navigation, and exciting new features to deliver top-notch and seamless digital banking experience for its existing and prospective members.

Busha raises $4.2 million in a seed round led by Jump Capital

Funding to empower Busha to do more faster, improve security, and take a definitive leadership position in the emerging crypto industry.

Agricorp International invests $9.7 million in poultry production

Agricorp is set to produce over 40 million birds in Nigeria by 2025, create over 100,000 jobs through its Poultry Development Program and commits to invest NGN 20 billion over the next four years into poultry production.

Wentors mentorship program launches to shake up the tech industry.

Wentors mentorship program for women aims to provide mentees with the insight, knowledge and an influential network to reach career highs within the tech industry.

Curb your enthusiasm: payment service banks and financial inclusion in Nigeria

Can payment service banks help Nigeria achieve its financial inclusion target of 95% by 2024?

BD Insider, Letter 88: Tech PR, Bitmama Credit Programme, Tech in Northern Nigeria

Letter 88 covers the emerging tech ecosystem in Northern Nigeria, Bitmama Credits Programme, the importance of tech PR amongst other issues.

Mecho Autotech announces funding from Ingressive, Ventures Platform, Tekedia and Mono's CEO

Mecho Autotech has received an undisclosed amount of investment from Ingressive Capital, Ventures Platform, Tekedia Capital Investment, and Mono's CEO Abdul Hassan.

Tech Word for The Week: Cloud Computing

Cloud computing enables you to share documents or files with your colleague (who is probably in another state) on Google doc. It allows us to host a video conferencing session on Zoom, record and upload it for anyone around the globe access to rewatch

Tech PR: How startups can build their reputation

With good tech PR, startups can improve their reputation, which in turn leads to increased revenue.

Korty EO’s approach to marketing: What tech companies can learn from the YouTube queen

Korty eo shares her approach to storytelling and how tech companies can improve their marketing

Kippa raises $3.2 million pre-seed fund to enable small businesses in Africa

Kippa, a Nigerian fintech startup has raised a $3.2 million pre-seed fund in a round led by Target Global with participation from Entrée Capital, Alter Global and Rally Cap Ventures.

20 African companies listed in the 2021 Inclusive Fintech 50

Twenty African companies including Thrive Agric have been selected by the Centre of Financial Inclusion for the 2021 Inclusive Fintech 50 (IF50).

Vella commences beta testing, to enable crypto utility in Africa

Vella Finance, a US-based financial technology startup redefining financial freedom for Africans has launched into the beta testing stage in Nigeria.

Bitmama to enable digital natives transitioning into the blockchain industry

Bitmama has launched the "Bitmama Credit Programme" to equip digital natives globally with skills and resources that will position them in the blockchain ecosystem.

QuickBus targets intercity commuters with expansion to Nigeria

QuickBus, a Pan-African bus booking platform has expanded into Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa to enable intercity road transportation.

Exclusive interview with Rolake Rosiji: How Jobberman is closing the skills gap in Agri-tech

By harnessing and deploying the agency of the growing youth population, there is huge potential to accelerate the prosperity of the sector.

Lyceum, an Iranian hacking group is targeting telecoms in Africa - NCC

The NCC has alerted the public of the existence of another hacking group orchestrating cyber espionage in the African telecoms space.

LazerPay, the Stripe for crypto, goes live with funding from Nestcoin

LazerPay is building the Stripe for cryptocurrencies. And it's giving early access to 500 businesses and creators in Africa.

Shuttlers secures $1.6 million seed fund, to embark on Pan-African expansion

Lagos-based tech-enabled scheduled bus sharing company" has raised a $1.6 million round led by VestedWorld, a Chicago and Africa-based investment firm.

Inside Northern Nigeria's emerging tech ecosystem

Despite the high rate of poverty, illiteracy, and insecurity in the North, the emerging tech ecosystem in Northern Nigeria will become a viable location if it is enabled.

DrugStoc closes $4.4 million Series A to fund expansion plan across Africa

The funds will be used to expand access to quality medicines while providing sustainable supply chain financing for healthcare providers in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Aboki Africa closes pre-seed round led by Mono's CEO Abdul Hassan

Aboki Africa has raised an undisclosed amount in a pre-seed round led by Mono's CEO, Abdul Hassan, alongside Niche Capital Limited, Ingressive Capital, and other strategic investors.

BD Insider, Letter 87: We rise by lifting others

Letter 87 focuses on Disha's acquisition, Helium Health's expansion into the Middle East and Nestcoins' crypto education initiative.

Tech Word for The Week: Software As A Service

Rather than always having to carry a compact disk around, you pay software providers a monthly subscription to maintain and provide automatic software updates for you through an internet-based software delivery model.

Teni joins Risevest as brand ambassador

Nigeria's fintech company, Risevest has named Nigerian singer Teniola Apata, popularly known as Teni Makanaki as its first brand ambassador.

Technext is hosting Africa's biggest cryptocurrency gathering, Coinferene 2021

Technext is holding its maiden event, Technext Coinference 2021, on December 9 at the Pistis Conference Centre. It would be the biggest gathering of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, innovators and regulators in Africa yet.

Evolve Credit launches cloud lending software, Configure

Africa has a credit gap of about $300 billion. And accessible banking and credit are needed now more than ever to close the gap. Evolve Credit, through Configure — its cloud lending software, is providing the technology to enable this to happen at scale.

Helium Health acquires Meddy, Qatar's doctor booking platform

Helium Health, a Lagos-based healthcare technology provider, acquired Meddy, a UAE-based doctor booking platform in an undisclosed deal.

Busha's new app allows you to buy crypto from as low as ₦250

Busha's new app allows users to buy crypto from as low as ₦250. You can also set recurring purchases and place limit buys and sells.

Flutterwave halts Disha's closure with an acquisition

Flutterwave has acquired Disha in an undisclosed deal, thereby reversing the online no-code tool's planned closure.

Uber launches Uber Connect in Lagos to enable domestic delivery

Uber Connect will enable efficient delivery of goods amongst consumers and businesses in Lagos, Nigeria

Nestcoin launches Breach, a media platform to drive crypto education and adoption

Breach is making it easier for everyone to learn about and understand the potential of cryptocurrency, regardless of where they are in their journey.

South Africa's JUMO backed by Fidelity, Visa, Kingsway in latest $120M round

JUMO, a South Africa- and London-based fintech company has raised $120 million in the latest funding led by Fidelity Management & Research Company, LLC.

IdentityPass secures $360,000 Pre-seed Funding to change digital identity verification experience across Africa

Identitypass has today secured $360,000 in pre-seed funding. The funds will be used by the company for customer acquisition, Research & Development, and Team Expansion.

NCC will auction 5G spectrum in December

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that the auction of the 3.5 Gigahertz (3.5 GHz) spectrum for the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) technology in Nigeria, will take place on December 13, 2021.

SFAN opens application for ReadyforWork career accelerator 3.0

ReadyforWork is an immersive digital career accelerator that uses AI and Machine Learning to equip entry-level job seekers with employment skills and help talent managers make data-driven recruitment decisions.

Lagos is among emerging hotspots for female fintech founders — Findexable

Lagos is one of the places female CEOs and female fintech founders are likely to call home.

BD Insider, Letter 86: Africa's seventh unicorn

This is a blog copy of the 86th version of our weekly newsletter, BD Insider. Subscribers get to read it first and can take action based on it.

The AfCFTA Secretariat and its partners announce the winners of the AfCFTA Caravan Prize

The purpose of the AfCFTA Caravan initiative is to provide extensive soft infrastructure to boost the capacity of SMEs and startups in Africa to expand beyond their home country.

Why Lagos Digital Summit is a must-attend

The Lagos Digital Summit 2021 is taking place at the Zone Tech Park on Friday, 26 November, 10 AM prompt. It's a must-attend.

Tech Word For The Week: Fundraising

Fundraising is the process in which startups raise funds externally. In exchange for funds, investors are offered shares in the startup. Investors could be family, friends, angel investors, venture capitals, etc, depending on the seed round.

Twiga raises $50 million, early investors receive $30 million in a secondary sale

Kenyan startup Twiga Foods raised $50 million in a Series C round. And some of its early investors received little liquidity through a $30 million secondary sale.

The Kigali International Financial Centre launches $250 million Pan-African fund

Africa’s leading destination for compliant and professional financial services and cross-border investments, the Kigali International Financial Centre launched a multi-million Dollar Pan-African fund to drive economic and social transformation across the African continent.

Payhippo announces $3 million seed funding to improve access to finance for SMEs in Nigeria

Payhippo's new funding will enhance their technology capabilities to support small businesses in Nigeria with innovative solutions to unlock sources of capital for their customers and expand their talent.

Moove partners with Lori Systems to bridge the financing gap for Africa’s trucking and logistics industry.

Moove has partnered with Lori Systems to enable access to affordable vehicle financing within Africa’s trucking and logistics industry.

OZÉ, Shopa, Swoove, and Tendo to receive US $120,000 in grant funding from the Catalyst Fund

Four Ghanaian digital commerce companies, OZÉ, Shopa, Swoove, and Tendo will receive US$120,000 in grant funding from the Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator as part of the Accelerator's 2nd cohorts.

Chipper Cash is now a Unicorn with $150 million extension round led by FTX

Chipper Cash has earned the highly coveted unicorn badge after FTX led a $150 million extension round for the African cross-border payments company.

BD Insider, Letter 85: Facebook’s METAmorphosis, Risevest recent court order, Business-to-Business

This is a blog copy of the 85th version of our weekly newsletter, BD Insider. Subscribers get to read it first and can take action based on it.

Lemonade Finance raises $725k pre-seed financing to change cross-border financial services for Africans abroad.

Lemonade solves a problem that Africans in the diaspora face: sending and receiving money from their home countries in efficient, affordable, and fast ways.

What is the Business-to-Business model about?

Business to Business is a transaction between two companies, rather than a company and an individual consumer. It’s a unique business model where businesses serve other businesses.

Why Facebook Inc. is now Meta

Facebook's cooperate entity is now Meta with the intention to put "metaverse-first" instead of "Facebook"

Stitch hires Benjamin Dada to lead its Nigerian expansion, gets $2M seed extension

Stitch, a South Africa-based API fintech has now commenced operations in Nigeria as well as a $2M seed extension with participation from leading global fintech entrepreneurs - bringing their total seed funding to $6M.

Releaf collaborates with IITA to improve growth and sustainability in oil palm production

The partnership will enable the startup and the award-winning research-for-development organisation to explore ways to increase oil palm yields and deploy the best intercropping mechanisms.

Jise raises $100,000 angel funding, commences food delivery in Lagos

Nigeria’s first food-only delivery platform, Jise has raised $100,000 angel investment from notable investors including, Backroom Capital — Nigeria, Winston Capital — Ireland, Jonny Enagwolor, Co-Founder Treepz Inc amongst others.

Autochek secures $13.1m seed fund to scale its technology and accelerate expansion

The capital will be deployed to bolster its core auto loan processing platform and deepen its footprint in West Africa, starting with its recent entry into Cote d’Ivoire.

Emerging Africa Group acquires majority stake in Fundall to build Africa's first financial Super-app

Fundall is building Africa’s first financial super app, to help individuals & businesses spend smartly, manage money & grow money — from living their best lives every day to planning for the future.

What impact could Risevest court ruling have on Nigeria's tech ecosystem

The Federal High Court in Abuja has made a ruling in favour of Risevest, what impact could this have on Nigeria's tech ecosystem?

How fintech is disrupting traditional banking in Africa

Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the African fintech ecosystem has remained prime to investors and several African entrepreneurs are joining the buzz of creating convenient solutions for the continent’s increasingly populous consumers.

BD Insider, Letter 84: eNaira, MFS in Nigeria, Autochek Launched in Kenya

This is a blog copy of the 84th version of our weekly newsletter, BD Insider. Subscribers get to read it first and can take action based on it.

Business To Consumers (B2C)

A business-to-consumers company sells directly to the final users - consumers. They focus on individual clients and serve them in units.

Brass Secures $1.7m Financing Round; to deliver affordable premium banking services for African SMEs

Africa’s new bank for startups and SMEs' set to expand to South Africa & Kenya following funding.

MFS Africa expands into Nigeria: set to acquire leading super-agent network Baxi

MFS Africa will build Baxi into a key node on its digital payment network, allowing customers to make regional and global payments to and from Nigeria.

BD Insider, Letter 83: Africa's investment destination, Zero to Scale

This is a blog copy of the 83rd version of our weekly newsletter, BD Insider. Subscribers get to read it first and can take action based on it.

ILLA obtains $2m investment round to expand and diversify its offering

ILLA aims to optimize post-production supply chain activities for FMCG brands, starting with middle-mile delivery services and being the most fragmented part of the value chain.

5 legal issues you should consider before launching your startup

Laws and regulations if ignored can hinder the growth of any company. Here are five legal questions every startup should ask before launching.

Nigeria's Sendbox raises $1.8 Million to enable deliveries for SMEs in Africa

With the goal to provide logistics and e-commerce fulfilment for merchants in Africa, Sendbox announced the completion 0f its $1.8 million seed round.

Autochek Starts Operations in Kenya

Leading African automotive technology company, Autochek has begun its operations in Kenya. Bilhah Muriithi was appointed to lead its operation as the Country Manager.

Toju joins the race to "Bank the Unbanked"

Toju is making it easier for unbanked Africans to access financial services without breaking the existing layer of trust

Payday becomes the first Rwandan company to join Techstars Toronto Accelerator

Payday becomes the first Rwandan company in history to join the prestigious 3-months Accelerator program that provides entrepreneurs with invaluable skills, resources, and connections to a large pool of global talent and investors.

AVPA and Investor Flow to promote impact investments in Africa

Pan-African network for social investors, African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA) and Investor Flow announced a strategic partnership to further promote impact investing across Africa.

Tech Word For The Week: Growth Hacking

It’s the use of cost-effective digital marketing strategies and frameworks to expand your customer base, sell products, and gain exposure.

Zero To Scale: Ayodeji Balogun—CTO and Co-founder of Terragon Group

In this edition of Zero To Scale, we speak with Ayodeji Balogun, CTO, about the challenges of pivoting from a digital agency to a tech-first company.

Eden Life Announces $1.4m Seed Round to Build Africa’s First Home Services App

The recently raised capital will be used to build Eden Life’s in-house technology, and develop world-class kitchens and operations hubs.

Klasha launches in Ghana to facilitate cross border payments and e-commerce

Klasha, a startup that simplifies borderless payments for commerce in Africa is now in Ghana

OurPass is Redefining Online Commerce with its Checkout solution

Ourpass app is created to enhance and improve the success rates of online business sales in Africa's digital marketplace.

BD Insider 82nd: the gender digital divide, the Nigeria Startup Bill, Digital Quality of Life ranking

In the 82nd issue of the BD Insider, we examined the theme for the 2021 international day of the girl child, the Nigeria startup bill, digital quality of life ranking and other issues.

How Fixit45 is redefining auto aftermarket experience across Nigeria

Fixit45 wants to make repair services affordable for car owners and organisations. This will help meet the rising demand for quality automotive repair and maintenance services.

6 communities that are building the digital generation of girls in Africa

In commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child, we curated a list of the girls-focused tech communities in Africa

Tech Word For The Week: Peer to Peer Network

A peer to peer network is a distributed network where each system on the network both stores and transfers data without a central server.

Payday secures $1 million pre-seed fund to build "Paypal for Africa", eyes Rwanda as its African HQ

Payday, a Pan African Fintech Startup has secured a one million dollars pre-seed fund to continue with its efforts to enable swift global payments for Africans.

Adora Nwodo writes foundational book on cloud engineering

Adora Nwodo's book 'cloud engineering for beginners' explores the concept of cloud computing and roles that exist in the sector

How the proposed startup bill will drive growth in Nigeria's tech ecosystem.

An exclusive Interview with a volunteer supporting the development and passage of the bill, Tomiwa Aladekomo (CEO, Big Cabal Media), on how the Nigeria Startup bill will impact the ecosystem.

Klasha secures $2.4 million seed funding

Klasha wants to build a technology that will grant Africans frictionless access to the global e-commerce economy regardless of their geographic location.

Nigerian startups dominate the 2021 Google's Black Founders Fund for Africa

Nigeria top the list of African startups selected for the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund — part of a $175m long-term commitment toward economic opportunity for Black business owners.

MEST in partnership with Mastercard announces MEST Scale Accelerator for SMEs in Ghana

MEST Scale is a venture acceleration program designed by MEST, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, to help Small and Medium Enterprises strengthen their operations, address key technology gaps, and increase their ability and capacity to scale their growth

Shecluded Secures Google Grant To Drive Financial Inclusion For African Women

The grant will enable the set-up of operations across key regions in Nigeria and West Africa, increase its marketing efforts, and staff strength to meet growing demand.

4 takeaways from the 2021 Digital Quality of Life research

The Digital Quality of Life research focuses on the quality of digital wellbeing in 110 countries (90% of the global population). In its third edition, Nigeria ranked 82nd out of 110 countries.

BD Insider 81st: Zero to Scale with Joshua Chibueze, Andela, Gokada's expansion, startup equity

This is a blog copy of the 81st version of our weekly newsletter, BD Insider. Subscribers get to read it first and can take action based on it

Updated: Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram apps down for millions of users worldwide

Across the world, users of Facebook-owned social media networks including, WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger are experiencing a downtime.

Web 3.0 promises to make computers understand data in the way humans do. What?!

The next web evolution will bring with it new tools and strategies beyond what we currently know. Web 3.0 will give us a permissionless, decentralized, peer-to-peer network and other technologies that will dazzle our minds.

Designers can now access free Nigerian mockup images

Instead of relying on the frequently used foreign mockup images, Check DC has created Nigerian mockups that can be used for local brand messaging.

Tech Word For The Week: Startup Equity

Startup equity is the amount of ownership shareholders have in a startup. It represents the percentage of the startup’s stock sold to stakeholders (such as investors, advisors, and employees).

CBN suspends eNaira pilot launch

Despite high anticipations, the Central Bank of Nigeria has postponed the pilot launch of eNaira.

8 things the eNaira intends to achieve

The Central Bank of Nigeria outlined eight critical objectives that the eNaira should achieve after its pilot launch on October 1st.

Zero To Scale: Joshua Chibueze, CMO and Co-founder, Piggyvest

In this episode of Zero To Scale, Joshua talks about building Piggyvest from a tweet-inspired idea to one of Nigeria’s biggest technology companies one customer at a time.

Andela is now a Unicorn with $200 million in Series E led by Softbank

After closing this Series E round led by Softbank, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and other investors, Andela is now valued at $1.5 billion

Gokada resumes ride-hailing, expands into Ibadan

With more than 1.5 million deliveries for 30,000 merchants in Nigeria's commercial hub, Lagos, Gokada intends to replicate its success in Ibadan, Oyo state.

Is Kuda changing the dial in terms of customer experience?

Kuda is at the forefront of challenger banks looking to change the status quo of banking in Nigeria. However, the startup has had challenges with the same age-old issue that have defined their traditional companions.

TechAdvance is now Bloc

TechAdvance has rebranded to Bloc to offer a more personalized experience to its clients.

BD Insider 80th: eNaira, Vectar, Qala Fellowship, Shecluded and Angel Investor

In the 80th issue of the BD Insider, we explored the eNaira, training of Bitcoin developers by Qala Fellowship and how Shecluded is helping women to achieve financial freedom.

15 global startup accelerators accepting Nigerian startups

Accelerator programs that admit African startups and can fast track the growth of young innovative startups.

Jobberman Launches Alliance for Better Work Initiative

An initiative set to bolster job retention, workplace productivity, business development, and bridge the gender unemployment gap.

Tech Word For The Week: Angel Investor

They are usually high net worth individuals who have enough excess funds to invest in untested but promising startups who can give them higher returns than traditional financial institutions.

What is the National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy of 2021?

The Federal Government of Nigeria is discussing the modalities for implementation of the new National Cybersecurity Policy and Strategy (NCPS). Here is what you need to know.

Sterling pilots 500-50-5 initiative to make indigenous businesses globally competitive

500-50-5 is a signature program created to transform indigenous businesses into global enterprises.

Qala Fellowship to train the next generation of African Bitcoin developers

Qala Fellowship has received a 0.5BTC grant from the New York-based Human Rights Foundation (HRF) to train Bitcoin developers in Africa.

BD Insider 79th: Zero to Scale with Printivo’s CEO, Chinalysis on Crypto and the Era of Consumer Financing

This is a blog copy of the 79th version of our weekly newsletter, BD Insider. Subscribers get to read it first and can take action based it.

Shecluded: A Gender-based Fintech that keeps on giving

Shecluded plans to change the lives of a lot of women by ensuring more female-led MSMEs grow to large organizations in the future.

Catalysing Conversations 2021 - Endeavor Nigeria releases lists of speakers

Catalysing Conversations 2021, seeks to drive a culture of entrepreneurial leadership and inspire a generation of high-impact entrepreneurs in Nigeria.

Tech Word For The Week: Venture Capital

Venture Capital is a kind of financing (and expert support) investors provide for young startups who have an innovative product or service and high growth potential. Investors provide technical support and finance in exchange for equity in the startups.

Zero to Scale—Daniel Levy, Co-CEO at Flow

Daniel Levy is half of a dynamic duo, alongside Gil Sperling—Co-CEOs at Flow, a South-African proptech platform that matches people with property, helping landlords and agents be more efficient.

Releaf secures $4.2 million to scale Nigeria's oil palm sector

Releaf has secured $4.2 million in seed funding and grants to drive the industrialization of food processing for Africa which will also enable Nigeria’s Oil Palm sector

Understanding the 5G Network deployment approval in Nigeria.

5G is a technology that opens new opportunities for seamless connectivity and higher data speeds.

5 takeaways from Chainalysis' report on crypto in Africa

The Chainalysis report, which is the first dedicated report on the African crypto ecosystem, explores the volume and nature of transactions on the continent between June 2020 and July 2021.

TecXposition Launches Second Edition of Annual Africa’s Premier Tech Event

TecXposition has announced the second edition of its annual African Premier Tech event, themed - ‘Improving Profitability: Changing everyday lives.’

TechAdvance unveils Bloc — a faster way to build fintech products

TechAdvance has announced the release of its product, Bloc—a proprietary suite of APIs capable of helping anyone launch a FinTech product in far less time than it usually takes.

Buy Now, Pay Later—the latest era of consumer financing in Nigeria

Salami Segun, a BNPL enthusiast and the Business Development Manager of Zoomba.ng, believes that their business model reduces the risk of default to the barest minimum.

Zero To Scale: Temitope Ekundayo, Co-CEO at Printivo

In this third edition of Zero To Scale, Temitope Ekundayo talks to us about how impressive customer service and one amazing referral started the scaling journey for Printivo.

Renaissance Capital to double down on the Africa tech and fintech space.

Renaissance Capital intends to support the African tech ecosystem through advisory, research and venture investing.

Flutterwave to offer MTN Mobile Money as a payment method in Africa

Flutterwave will now provide MTN mobile money as a payment method for businesses in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia

Tech Word For The Week: Product-market fit

Product Market fit is a perfect blend between a product and the market’s need such that clients become raving ambassadors.

Is telecoms blackout going to check insecurity in Nigeria?

Since 2013, the Nigerian government has continued to shut down telecommunication as a means of fighting insecurity, is this an effective measure?

Prospa announces $3.8m pre-seed round

Prospa has raised a $3.8m pre-seed fund to offer software and financial services to Nigerian entrepreneurs and micro-businesses. The pre-seed round was oversubscribed by 380% to become the largest pre-seed round in Nigeria’s Fintech history.

Flutterwave announced Platinum Sponsor for 2021 Africa Fintech Summit

Africa Fintech Summit has announced Flutterwave as the Platinum Sponsor for this year’s edition of Africa Fintech Summit in Cairo. The summit is scheduled to hold in November 16th-17th, 2021.

Pezesha raises seed extension to fuel expansion across Africa

Pezesha has announced the close of a seven-figure growth funding round led by GreenHouse Capital (GHC). The pan-African fintech company committed to building scalable lending infrastructure for SMEs and institutions disclosed this on Tuesday.

Under The Hoodie —Victor Ekwealor, Head of Growth at Spektra Inc

I think the media is an incubator, especially in tech. People are more open to sharing their stories with you when they know you want to help them share it.

Endeavor Nigeria commences Endeavour ScaleUp Program to support 7 entrepreneurs

Endeavor Nigeria commence a 10-week incubation program to support and seven Nigerian based emerging high impact entrepreneurs.

Explainer—Was Executive Order No. 5 breached in awarding the eNaira to Bitt Inc?

The EO5 directed that foreign companies with demonstrated and verifiable plans for indigenous capacity development can be awarded contracts when local professionals are lacking expertise

Autochek acquires Cheki Kenya and Cheki Uganda from ROAM Africa

AutoChek has reached an agreement with ROAM Africa to acquire Cheki Kenya and Cheki Uganda as part of its plans to expand further into the African Market

Predatory lending in Nigeria—what is the way forward?

Predatory lenders employ deceptive and aggressive sale tactics to attract unsuspecting borrowers into taking loans they cannot afford.

Africa Data Centres reveals continent’s largest-ever data centre expansion plan

10 Interconnected, cloud- and carrier-neutral data centers will be built across the length and breadth of the continent in an unrivaled $500m investment in Africa’s digital future

Under The Hoodie - Olabinjo Adeniran, Growth Partner at Future Africa

benjamindada.com [https://soundcloud.com/benjamindada] · Under The Hoodie - Olabinjo Adeniran, Growth Partner at Future Africa [https://soundcloud.com/benjamindada/under-the-hoodie-olabinjo-adeniran-growth-partner-at-future-africa]

Bumpa raises a $200,000 pre-seed round to build the Shopify for Africa

Bumpa, has announced the close of its $200,000 pre-seed round as it looks to help retailers manage and grow their businesses.

Zero to Scale: Peter Bunor, Co-founder, and Global Growth at Field Intelligence

In this second chapter of Zero to Scale, we talk to the man driving growth for Field Intelligence. Peter Bunor is a Co-founder at Field Intelligence, where he doubles as the Global Growth Lead.

B2B Platform Sabi Reaches 150,000 Merchants in Nigeria

Sabi, a B2B marketplace serving Africa’s informal sector, today announced the milestone of over 150,000 small business users on its platform.

ear1 announces the close of its $520,000 pre-seed round

In an exclusive with benjamindada.com, ear1, the African social media startup that allows people to talk to influencers and professionals for a small fee, has announced a pre-seed raise of $520,000.

pawaPay Closes on Seed Funding of $9M

African payments company pawaPay, has secured a $9m Seed raise.

AfriChange is helping Canada’s growing African community remain financially connected to home

“We’ve built AfriChange to be useful for anyone in Canada who has to send money to Africa, starting with Nigeria” said Tega Ogigirigi

Zero to Scale: Tolu Adetuyi, Head of Growth at Moniepoint

In this first chapter of Zero to Scale, Tolu gives us a peek behind the scenes of the early days at TeamApt and how the team hacked distribution to achieve scale.

MaxAB Acquires Morocco’s WaystoCap to scale; adds $15M to Series A

MaxAB, the largest Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform that serves food and grocery retailers, has acquired WaystoCap, the Morocco-based B2B e-commerce and distribution platform that connects retailers with suppliers across Africa.

Under The Hoodie —Adekagun Damilola, Technical Product Manager at TeamApt

In this edition of Under The Hoodie, Damilola talks to us about his transition from being a front-end developer to a Technical Product Manager.

Curacel is improving efficiency for a notoriously slow-to-change insurance sector

Curacel is an African technology startup creating innovative infrastructure for the insurance sector—one that is notably resistant to change

Bossbus partners Jim Iyke on debut movie production, "Bad Comments"

Transport tech company, Bossbus partners Jim Iyke and his Film Production company, 6th Sense on the release of their debut movie, Bad Comments

6 things we learned from FourthCanvas’ Africa Challenger Brands report

Last week, Fourth Canvas, a digital marketing agency based in Nigeria released a report on the challenger brands remaking the bran-customer relationship in Africa.

Bitnob integrates Lightning Network for faster transactions and smaller fees

In line with its mission to promote financial inclusion through blockchain technology, Bitnob has integrated the lightning network to facilitate faster and cheaper transactions on its app

Discover® Global Network and Flutterwave extend payment acceptance for e-commerce businesses across Africa

Discover® Global Network and Flutterwave, a San Francisco and Lagos-based payments technology company, have signed an agreement that will help increase acceptance for both local and international e-commerce merchants.

Disrupt Africa Partners with ITIDA to Publish "The Egyptian Startup Ecosystem Report 2021"

The research publication which is to be launched in September includes a detailed account on the Startup Ecosystem in Egypt, and its progress over the past 5-10 years. The publication is an estimated in-depth analysis detailing the dealings of the Egyptian startup Ecosystem: "who is investing?”, “Who is a part

GreenHouse Lab announces 2021 Cohort for Founders-Backed fintech accelerator

The eight startups in GreenHouse Lab 2021 include GetEquity, PayHive, MyInvest, Collect Africa, Chumz.io, Route, Scale X and Dojah

HP to support Utiva's mission to empower Nigerian women with digital skills

Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HP), the US-based laptop manufacturer has announced its support for Utiva with $50,000 in funding.

OctaFX—Mastering This Art Called Forex

One can attain mastery in a thing like...like forex trading? Hold that thought while I tell you a quick story.

Under The Hoodie—Runo Saduwa, software engineer at Devi Health

In this edition of Under The Hoodie, Runo tells us about finding tech while in his second year of school and his journey to finding work.

Scrader seeks to transform how young millennials and Gen Z shop online in Nigeria

Scrader is a social commerce app built for Gen Zs and Millennials. It is a platform built on reliability, accountability, utility and trust, aimed at redefining what it means to shop online for this demographic.

We're launching a new series—"Zero to Scale"

Zero To Scale is a new web series that focuses on the journeys of African founders and their startups from day zero until the day they achieve scale.

Ghana Pilots Digital Currency E-cedi

Digital currencies seem to be gaining quite the popularity with various advanced countries experimenting with it. China has already piloted Digital Yuan in an effort to replace the traditional cash, Britain, the Britcoin. The United States is also experimenting on digitizing the dollar, as well as over 70 other countries

Enye announces 2021 hackathon in partnership with workflow automation platform Quabbly

The hackathon is themed around leveraging no-code tools and scalable APIs to help automate products and optimize business logic.

Bitnob launches Fantasy Premier League competition, winner to get $1000 at the end of the season

Bitnob, the Nigerian cryptocurrency startup that lets you save in Bitcoin for the daily cost of lunch, is rewarding its users with a Fantasy Premier League competition for the new footballing season.

10 Things You Didn’t Know About the i-invest App

I-invest allows investors to purchase diverse instruments, including Treasury Bills, Fixed Deposits, Equities, Eurobonds, Commercial papers and Life insurance.

Under The Hoodie - Oludumila Damilola, User Researcher at Webflow

In this edition of Under The Hoodie, Damilola talks to us about carving a path for herself with User Research, and how essential research is for businesses.

Moove, the mobility fintech powering credit for Uber drivers in Africa, secures $23 million Series A

This round brings Moove’s total funding to $68.2 million, including $28.2M in equity and $40.0M in debt

Chekkit closes $500k pre-seed funding round to accelerate clampdown on counterfeit products

Nigerian anti-counterfeit startup, Chekkit closes $500,000 pre-seed round with participation from local and foreign investors.

Ingressive For Good, Destiny Trust Host Tech Bootcamp to train 100 underrepresented children

The 2021 Kids STEAM Bootcamp highlights the commitment of the organizations to ensure the inclusion of African children in the technology space.

10 exciting trends in the world of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

NFTs have become a major buzzword and expanded outside of the crypto and tech space to become mainstream since Beeple’s $69.3 million art sale in March.

JET Motors wants to lead Africa’s Electric Vehicle revolution

The electric vehicle movement is well and alive in Nigeria, led by JET Motor Company—a team of young Africans who are designing EVs for Africans.

Kaspersky: Corporate users targeted by 29% of financial malware attacks in Kenya during H1 2021

Organisations in Kenya have become susceptible to financial malware as more employees work outside the relative safety of the corporate network

Under The Hoodie: Ayobamigbe Teriba—Relationship Analyst, Ingressive Capital

In this edition of Under The Hoodie, we chat with Ayobamigbe Teriba, a graduate of History and Strategy who currently works at Ingressive Capital as a Relationship Analyst and Ecosystem Engagement Lead.

WHO Data Scientist, Ayodele O, builds relevant infrastructure for TeleHealth in Africa.

Digital Health Companies are rapidly gaining traction across the Africa continent. Vezeeta, Helium Health, Nawah Scientific, among many others have raised more than USD 20 million in combined funding [https://digestafrica.com/african-healthcare-startups-raised-1m-venture-funding] to facilitate specialized health care delivery and AI-assisted healthcare delivery. Yet, there is a big chink in

Content Marketer/Tech Journalist at BCSL (Full-time)

Hi there! We are looking for a content marketer/tech Journalist to turbocharge our content efforts at BCSL.

What you need to know about stock vesting in an African startup

Stock vesting is one of the ways a startup compensates its early employees. But, it may sometimes involve complex terms. which may not be understandable to a lot of employees. So, what are the key components of stock vesting in an African startup?

8 Free Content Marketing Tools (that are actually free and useful)

Whether you're a content marketer or a business that hired one, you'll find this article very useful.

Softcom launches growth tools for people and businesses

The products unveiled include: Eyowo, Kwiksell, Useforms, Identify

Bimalab Accelerator launches KSh 5.3 Million ($50,000) Incubator for InsurTech Startups

Kenya leads [/fintech-kenya-leads-us-china-and-africa-in-financial-inclusion-providing-essential-lessons-for-other-african-countries/] many parts of the world in its fintech offerings. As financial services expand rapidly in the country, Bimalab launches an accelerator program to equip talented startup entrepreneurs with essential skills and resources to provide Kenya's low income consumers with insurance services. Kenyan insurers maintained profitability through the

Field Intelligence expands into 11 new cities across East and West Africa

The new locations where Field Intelligence is now active are Rivers, Edo, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Delta and Kwara States in Nigeria, and Eldoret, Mombasa, Kisumu and Naivasha in Kenya.

OctaFX—Making new kings of mastery

As we hustle our way towards combining multiple jobs and businesses, we can also trade forex, all we need to do is learn, put in the work, and become masters at it.

Recap of Softcom's non-public UnveilingX—a foretaste of its public, DayX

Softcom Limited, an innovative indigenous company, hosted an exclusive event to pre-inform select members of the public about the upcoming launch of its products.

Deaf Tech Foundation is teaching programming to deaf kids in Northern Nigeria, for free

Mercy, a 10-year-old Deaf kid living in Northern Nigeria, had to pause schooling for five years due to her condition. The Deaf Tech Foundation is changing this trend for people like her.

Under The Hoodie - Peace Obinani, Social Media Lead at Piggyvest

In this edition, Peace talks to us about handling social media for a tech company, hating the 9 to 5 lifestyle, and starting a community for non-tech talents in tech.

Autochek partners with Appzone to deliver innovative auto loan solutions across Nigeria

The partnership will see Autochek integrate with Appzone’s proprietary digital core banking service, BankOne, in facilitating access to credit from over 400 Microfinance institutions for Nigerians.

Serial Nigerian Investor, Olumide Soyombo Launches VC Firm—Voltron Capital

Co-founded by Olumide Soyombo and Abe Choi, Voltron Capital will deploy capital in up to 30 African startups across a range of sectors and markets.

CBN's new digital coin to run on closed blockchain

The CBN's new digital currency will run on Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain, a permissioned ledger that grants the apex regulator exclusivity and altering power.

Softcom announces Day X, a day of answers for people and businesses

Softcom, one of Nigeria's leading innovation and technology is announcing Day X—a landmark event to unveil its new, intuitive solutions to accelerate growth for dreamers.

AutoGenius rebrands to MyCoverGenius, commits to deepening Insurance penetration in Nigeria

AutoGenius, Nigeria’s premier digital insurance platform, has completed a rebrand to MyCoverGenius.

9 Nigerian entrepreneurs leading the way for immigrants in the US

Nigerians are at the forefront of tech and industry all over the continent, and even abroad. Here's a list of Nigerian entrepreneurs who have founded and led startups and companies in the US.

Under The Hoodie - Ada Nduka Oyom, DevRel Ecosystem Community Manager with Google

In this edition of Under The Hoodie, Ada talks to us about her journey from humble roots and how her love for giving back has defined her career.

4 Nigerian Startups present at the GSD Labs Accelerator Demo day

GSD focuses on companies with international roots because it believes that intellectual capacity is evenly spread throughout the world but opportunity is not.

Forex: an art deserving of mastery

Like the 10,000-hour rule says; the key to achieving true expertise in any skill is simply a matter of practicing...for 10,000 HOURS!

Esusu rent closes $10 million Series A with investment from Serena Williams

Esusu, which was co-founded by Nigerian, Abbey Wemimo, has now raised over $14 million in venture funding since its launch.

Amplifihub and Airbit partner to collect unclaimed royalties for 10,000+ African beatmakers

Cofounded by Nigerian beatmaker Sarz, Amplifihub has partnered with Airbit partner to collect unclaimed royalties for 10,000+ African beatmakers

In-app spending on the rise in the African gaming apps market

In-app purchases and gaming apps are gaining momentum in Africa, with Nigeria, South Africa, and Kenya leading the way.

The rise of social audio as a customer engagement tool among Nigerian brands

Social audio has transformed how people communicate online, but how has it transformed the way Nigerian brands engage their audience?

How DeFi can facilitate better access to financial services in Africa

DeFi has huge potential to facilitate access and inclusion to financial services such as lending, investing, settlements, online transactions, payments and so much more, provided the infrastructure gap is closed. How can defis elevate financial services in Africa?

Nigeria leads mobile app market growth for Africa according to AppsFlyer & Google report

The report found that the African mobile app market showed strong growth, with overall installs increasing by 41%. Nigeria showed the highest growth, with a 43% uplift, followed by 37% in South Africa, and 29% in Kenya.

Flutterwave appoints Oluwabankole Falade as Chief Regulatory and Government Relations Officer

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has appointed Mr. Oluwabankole Falade (Bankole) as the new Chief Regulatory and Government Relations Officer.

Under The Hoodie — Michael Trojan Okoh, CTO at The Peer

In this edition of #UnderTheHoodie, Michael talks to us about learning to code before he was a teenager, learning humility, and how he got the name “Trojan”.

Pettysave is now Jetseed, rebrands with a new app and features

Following its transformation, Jetseed has launched a new mobile app for a better user experience, unveiled a new logo and exciting new features in the app

M-KOPA expands to Nigeria, appoints Babajide Duroshola as new Country General Manager

M-KOPA, the leading connected asset financing platform, today announces it has officially expanded to Nigeria. To lead the Nigeria team, M-KOPA has named Babajide Duroshola as the new General Manager.

GetEquity Launches Startup Funding Platform with Investment from GreenHouse Capital

GetEquity announces a pre-seed investment round led by GreenHouse Capital.

GreenHouse Lab Launches First Pan-African Fintech Accelerator

GreenHouse Lab (GHL), the flagship accelerator program by GreenHouse Capital (GHC), announces the opening of applications for the first-ever pan-African fintech accelerator.

Flutterwave backs Nigeria's D'Tigers for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics as exclusive payment partner

Flutterwave will partner with the Nigerian basketball team, D’Tigers, as they head to Tokyo to compete for gold at the 2021 Olympic Games.

These 9 African startups made it into YC's Summer 21 Batch

YC has announced its Summer 21 batch of startups, of which 9 are African startups.

Tix.Africa closes six-figure Pre-Seed round to scale events products

Tix Africa's funding round was led by HoaQ, with participation from a number of private equity investors, and will enable Tix Africa to build its technology to scale its events apps.

The environmental cost of big tech in Africa

Big tech companies are coming under increasing scrutiny for the harmful effects of their activities on the environment. Africa is no exception to this. What are the harmful effects of big tech to the environment in Africa?

Under The Hoodie—Shalvah Adebayo, Software Developer at Honeybadger.io

In this edition of Under The Hoodie, Shalvah talks about learning to build for many users, dealing with unfair hiring processes, and much more...

Egyptian eCommerce startup, MaxAB, closes $40M Series A to fuel expansion

MaxAB, the largest Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform that serves food and grocery retailers, has secured $40M in a Series A round, led by RMBV, a prominent impact investor in North Africa.

Payhippo raises $1 million pre-seed to give loans to small businesses

African lending startup, Payhippo, has raised $1 million in a pre-seed round led by Ventures Platform.

Vazilegal launches UnHacked+ to raise support for women-led startups

Vazilegal, the African startup-focused law firm, has launched UnHacked—a program targeted at raising support for women-led startups in Africa.

TeamApt announces undisclosed Series B funding round led by Novastar Ventures

The round was led by Novastar Ventures with participation from FMO, Global Ventures, CDC, Oui Capital, Kepple Africa Ventures, Soma Capital, and a syndicate of local angel investors

Leading Ghanaian Fintech, ZeePay, completes $7.9 million series A funding round

Zeepay announced that it has completed a fundraise of $7.9 million in its Series A.0 which was a hybrid of both equity and balance sheet funds to support its operations.

Applications open for early-stage Ghanaian Startups to scale their operations through the Mastercard Foundation and MEST Express Accelerator Program

MEST, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation has announced that applications are open for the next two cohorts of the MEST Express Accelerator program.

Versecom Limited and IHS Nigeria in conjunction with Lagos Government unveil Energy and Environmental Hub in Alimosho, Lagos

Versecom Limited, an enterprise technology company building sustainable IT and Power solutions for Africa opens its low-cost co-working space in partnership with IHS Nigeria and Lagos Governement.

MDaaS Global raises $2.3m to launch digital health solution SentinelX and expand across Nigeria

The Seed extension led by Newtown Partners via the Imperial Venture Fund with SentinelX set to provide Nigerians with tech-enabled preventive and personalized healthcare

CR2 Market Insight: African banking and payments trends

A quick snapshot of banking and payment trends in Africa offers encouraging news for banks on the continent and opportunities for growth.

Carbon announces 5-year partnership with VISA

Carbon has today announced a strategic five-year partnership with Visa to offer both digital and physical issuance of Visa cards to its customers.

Under The Hoodie—Teju Adeyinka, Head of Growth, Sendcash

Teju Adeyinka is the 23-year-old Head of Growth at Sendcash, a product of Buycoins. In this edition of UTHSeries, she talks to us about her tech journey, working in multiple tracks, and thriving in ambiguity.

Brandmobile Africa announces the launch of Kuuzza

Kuuzza provides a risk-free, exciting, profitable & sustainable business for young, agile and entrepreneurial Nigerians looking for an alternative source of income.

Esports and its vast potential for the African continent

Esports has become a global billion-dollar industry, with more growth still to come. Africa is slowly catching up, with gaming competitions, celebrity gamers, and gaming communities springing up all over the continent. What is the potential for eSports in Africa?

Fintech: Kenya leads US, China, and Africa in Financial Inclusion, Providing Essential Lessons for Other African Countries

Financial technologies have always redefined our lives. 1970 was a great turning point for Fintech in the United States. It marked the establishment of NASDAQ, the world's first digital stock exchange market. By 1980, the rise of Bank mainframe computers gave opportunities to startups to engage in Open banking, Banking

TECNO to re-define PHANTOM as a flagship sub-brand

TECNO, the leading smartphone brand in global emerging market, is said to re-define PHANTOM as its flagship sub-brand, aiming to tackle the premium smartphone market amid an ambitious global expansion plan.

CcHub funds Chekkit, 4 others in latest syndicate round

Co-creation Hub, Nigeria's leading innovation centre, recently made known the 5 companies that receive investment in its latest syndicate round. The announcement was made in unofficial fashion, via a tweet by CcHub CEO, Bosun Tijani.

The Ultimate Content Marketing Guide

Content marketing is just not about posting on social media or writing blog posts. There are key principles that will help you give an accurate picture of your business to customers, that is what this article will show you.

Facebook Partners with Reuters to launch free online course for journalists

According to Facebook, the course is aimed at both seasoned journalists and industry newcomers. Upon completing the course, participants will receive a certificate.

FSD Africa Investments invests US$4.5m in Nithio FI, to support the scale-up of off-grid energy access in African markets.

The Funding contributes to Nithio FI’s first raise of US$23 million to scale off-grid energy financing in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda.

VC4A Venture Showcase alumni raise $180 million, applications for the 2021 program now open

VC4A Venture Showcase, an exclusive program of choice for Africa-focused early-stage investors and hand-picked startups looking to raise their Seed and Series A rounds, is back in its 5th edition as part of the annual Africa Early Stage Investor Summit.

MainOne, West Africa’s Leading Carrier-neutral data center provider to unveil data center in Appolonia City, Accra

MainOne, the leading provider of connectivity, cloud and data center solutions in West Africa is set to launch the Appolonia Data Center of its subsidiary, MDXi.

Do meme pages infringe on the copyright of content creators?

Meme pages are everywhere, and chances are you follow some of them. They mainly curate and repost content from other platforms. But is this copyright infringement, especially when consent is not gotten? What are the implications of watermarks?

Under The Hoodie - Chris Adolphus, Lead Designer at Chaka Stocks

Chris Adolphus is a 22-year-old Product Design Lead at Chaka Stocks. On this edition of UTH, he talks to us about getting into tech as a teenager, dealing with disappointment, and ultimately leaving school for tech.

Meet the 15 Startups that made it to 6th Google Startup Accelerator

The 15-list cohort brings the total number of startups that have being a part of Google's Startup Accelerator program to 82.

Thrive Agric pauses crowdfunding, doubles down on building tech to support agriculture.

Agritech platform, Thrive Agric, has stopped crowdfunding from retail investors, as it focuses on building technology solutions for its agriculture business

UK Nigeria TechHub announces the graduation of 10 startups from the iNOVO Accelerator Programme

The top 10 startups across EdTech, AgriTech and HealthTech also received an opportunity to validate their solutions with pilots and proof of concept engagements and use their newfound insights to rapidly pivot and scale

After doing N1.4 trillion in Agency banking transactions in May, TeamApt wants to "do more" for its users.

In May, the value increased to ₦1.4 trillion ($3.5 bn) with 68 million transactions in volume, and between April 2020 and April 2021, the total value of transactions processed has gone up to $16 billion.

67% of talent began contemplating their exit less than 6 months before they left - Venture for Africa

Venture for Africa launches Africa Tech Talent Retention Report, evaluating reasons behind increasing rates of employee churn among startups

Kuda, 54Gene, Sokowatch, and others named among Technology Pioneers by WEF

The WEF's selection included 8 African companies: 54 Gene, Cambridge Industries, FlexFinTx, Kuda Bank, Moringa School, mPharma, Sokowatch and Gro Intelligence.

Apple vs. Facebook: What do African advertisers stand to lose?

Apple has introduced big changes to its Ads and privacy policy with the release of the IOS 14.5. This feature may stifle advertising and online marketing and Facebook, one of the world's largest advertisers is taking a stand. What is this new feature and what does it mean for advertising in Africa?

Under The Hoodie—Simbiat Sadiq, Information Security Professional

In this Under The Hoodie edition, she tells us about her first encounter with cybersecurity, and her passion for helping a lot of women get into the field.

How smart contracts can promote e-commerce in Nigeria

Nigeria is seeing unprecedented growth in online marketplace consumption. But settlement and disputes issues still remain the same, and can potentially hinder this growth. How can smart contracts make this easier for both parties?

Africa Fintech Foundry launches digital academy with Women In Tech Fireside Chat

Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF), will be hosting a Women In Tech Fireside on Friday, June 11 to launch its female digital academy. The event which is powered by Access Bank kicks off at 10 am WAT.

Under The Hoodie - Vincent Nwonah, Senior Software Engineer

In this Under The Hoodie edition, Vincent tells us about coming from humble beginnings, failing out of school, making a breakthrough in tech, and quitting a job he didn’t love.

BD Insider 78th: Twitter, Chipper Cash, Huawei, and TalentQL

Letter 78 focuses on Naija Twitter ban, Chipper cash's unicorn strides, Huawei's HarmonyOS, and TalentQL's Pipeline.

Facebook to launch Substack competitor—Bulletin

Facebook is set to launch "Bulletin", its latest effort to compete in the Newsletter market.

How an ISP restricts you from accessing a website (Case Study: Twitter)

There are three ways an ISP can restrict access to content: Deep Packet Inspection, DNS Filtering, and IP Address Filtering

What the new OTT license regulations may mean for free speech in Nigeria

The Nigerian government has suspended Twitter. It is also seeking to regulate other information channels over the internet. What are the implications of these policies in Nigeria? Will this lead to state sanctioned censorship of news and information?

UPDATED: Nigerian Government suspends Twitter amid row over President's deleted tweets

The Nigerian federal government has announced the indefinite suspension of social media network Twitter. This may have been in response to a now deleted post by the president.

Nigerian Federal Government bans Twitter in the country

The Federal Government has announced the indefinite suspension of the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria. The announcement came in a Tweet on Friday, 4th of June, 2021.

Which logistics app should you use in Nigeria?

Increase in online shopping spiked the demand for logistics services in Nigeria. I compared four logitech apps to find the best.

What to make of Silicon Valley's interest in African startups

Silicon valley has been showing increasing interest in the African startup ecosystem. They now provide funding, collaboration, incubation and partnerships for African startups. What are the drivers behind this and what does it mean for the ecosystem?

Gokada launches Super App as it crosses US$100 million in annualized transaction value

The Super App launch comes as Gokada crosses >US$100 million in annualized transaction value, having completed >1 million food delivery and eCommerce orders on behalf of over 30,000 merchants in the last 12 months alone.

TalentQL launches Pipeline—an upskilling training to build world-class African engineers

Pipeline by TalentQL is focused on training and upskilling mid-level software engineers across the continent to Senior Software Engineers

Under The Hoodie - Shedrack Akintayo, Developer Advocate at Cloud Foundry

Shedrack Akintayo is a 22-year-old developer advocate at Cloud Foundry. In this edition, we talk to him about what it's like to work in developer relations—a relatively unpopular side of tech.

Lori Systems appoints Uche Ogboi as new CEO, effective July 1

African logistics startup, Lori Systems appoints COO Uche Ogboi as its new CEO. While, co-Founder and outgoing CEO, Josh Sandler moves into the role of Executive Chairman of the board.

Why African startups may soon move to Estonia

Estonia is providing a favorable regulatory environment, financing and support system for startups to thrive. African founders may soon be moving to Estonia due to these favorable conditions.

What CBN’s digital currency could mean—transparency vs surveillance

While there isn’t yet information on how the CBN’s digital currency will work, it is not a new phenomenon. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) are a growing trend worldwide.

A recap of the tech meets law hangout

The tech meets law hangout was a collaborative event hosted by professionals in tech and law to exchange ideas and network.

Nigeria’s digital sector to create 3 million jobs by 2027, says Jobberman

Here are three key insights from the Jobberman's digital sector skills gap report.

BD Insider 77th: Flutterwave's partnerships, Enye, and Future Africa

Letter 77 focuses on Flutterwave's unicorn strides, Enye's 5th cohort, and Future Africa's investment report.

New CBN regulations require fintechs to pay $5million into escrow account

Yesterday, the CBN introduced yet another set of sweeping new regulations for Fintech license holders. The most prominent change is a new Escrow account created for Fintechs to deposit certain stipulated sums of money.

How Open Banking will shape fintech in Africa

Open banking could usher in a new era of financial inclusion where banks and African Fintechs can seamlessly exchange customer data. This will facilitate the provision of broader financial products and services for Africans.

Jobberman partners NYSC to train 120,000 Youth Corpers in soft skills

Jobberman's partnership with the Nigerian Youth service Corps (NYSC) will let them equip 120,000 Youth Corpers with soft skills.

Dream VC launches a training program for aspiring African investors

Dream VC wants to provide a launchpad that will help aspiring African investors to kickstart their journey into venture funding from 0 to 100.

Under The Hoodie - Aderinsola Oluwafemi, Product Designer at Eden Life

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