Nominations are now open for the 2022 edition of the prestigious AWIEF Awards, which recognise, honour, and celebrate women entrepreneurs and business owners in Africa and across various industry sectors for their achievements and contribution to the continent’s inclusive economic growth and social development. AWIEF (the Africa Women Innovation & Entrepreneurship…
Author: AdeO
Ecobank has launched its Ellevate Leadership Training Programme in partnership with the Global Business School Network (GBSN). The Ellevate Leadership Training Programme forms part of ‘Ellevate Equip’, the brand name for all capability and training support initiatives for Ellevate by Ecobank, the bank’s gender financing programme. This Leadership Training programme…
Nigeria’s leading commodities market player and the country’s first private sector commodities exchange, AFEX, has secured first place in the Financial Times (FT) ranking of Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies – Agriculture & Commodities category 2022. Despite the challenging business conditions, the company topped the list by demonstrating its revenue growth. AFEX…
MTN Nigeria and Pan-Atlantic University (PAU) on Wednesday announced the launch of the MTN Media Innovation Programme (MTN MIP), which will be run by PAU’s School of Media and Communication (SMC). The programme is a six-month fully funded fellowship designed for Nigerian media practitioners to support the sustainable development of the…
OnePort 365, a digital freight forwarding company that makes it easier to move cargo to, from, and within Africa, 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. The seed funding round…
Eden Life, Africa’s first home concierge services scheduling platform, has acquired Lynk, the former technology company connecting informal workers to job opportunities across Kenya. The strategic acquisition, brokered by Enza Capital, sees Eden Life expand into Kenya and leverages Lynk’s successful platform that connected informal workers with end users through…
Techstars, a global investment business that provides access to capital, one-on-one mentorship, and customized programming for early-stage entrepreneurs, in partnership with ARM Labs, a Lagos-based innovation program focused on helping fintech startups, announces the launch of the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator Program. The new accelerator program will focus on investing in…
Egyptian mobility company, Swvl has entered the Turkish market with the acquisition of Volt Lines, a Turkey-based B2B, and Transport as a Service mobility startup. The deal values the startup at over $40 million. The acquisition builds on Swvl’s recent acquisitions of controlling stakes in Shotl and Viapool, and the pending acquisition of…
Standard Chartered Bank today announced a new partnership with The Sandbox, a leading decentralised gaming virtual world, to create innovative experiences for its clients and the community. As part of the partnership, Standard Chartered also acquired a virtual plot of land at The Sandbox metaverse’s Mega-City district, a culture hub…
Leading African digital payments company DPO Group has added a new form of payment that will allow merchants to get paid by their customers via a USSD code. This new feature allows merchants to receive payments from customers who don’t have access to mobile banking or a payment card. Paired…
The Central African Republic (CAR) has become the first African country and the second country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. According to reports, the Sub-Saharan country’s National Assembly unanimously adopted a bill to adopt cryptocurrency as a legal means of exchange in the country. Speaking…
The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has awarded 100 Tourism Online Academy Scholarships to Nigerians willing to undertake basic training in the field of tourism. The UNWTO Secretary-General, Mr Zurab Pololikashvili, formally presented the offer to the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at a dinner hosted…
Netflix has added another feature to its platform called Category Hub to enable its members around the world to easily find their favorite genres and discover new categories of films, series, and specials, all in one place. Mansi Desai, Senior Software Engineer at Netflix said, “Starting today, you can find…
Wave Digital Finance, a subsidiary of Wave Mobile Money Group (Wave) has become the first non-bank, non-telecom operator that operates in multiple West African Monetary Union (WAEMU) markets to be granted an E-money (EME) license by the Central Bank of the (8) West African States—BCEAO. The E-money license by the…
BUTEC, a UAE-based leading contracting group in the MENA and GCC regions, has recently completed the takeover of 17 Energy Services companies in Africa previously owned by the energy global player, ENGIE Group. The acquisition process was completed on the 31st of March 2022, following the initial agreement signed on…
Streaming service Disney+ is set to launch in South Africa on 18 May 2022 with standard pricing at launch pegged at R119 per month or R1190 for an annual subscription. Fans can also register to take advantage of an exclusive introductory offer of R950. The offer means fans can enjoy…
One of the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency platforms Okcoin is launching an NFT marketplace with zero transaction fees for retail investors. The announcement was made today by CEO Hong Fang alongside Serena Williams at the eMerge Americas conference. Okcoin NFT, which will support the creation and trading of NFTs on several blockchains,…
Craftmerce, a B2B platform for African brands, has launched in Nigeria. The firm was founded by Cynthia Asije (CEO) and Sarah Odiavbara (CTO) to provide a marketplace for African businesses looking to reach a wider international audience. Asije whose first business Adire Lounge was in 2015, said that she was…
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved an equity investment of €9.8 million to support venture capital investments in African start-ups, from seed to growth stages. Of the equity investment, €7 million will be sourced from the African Development Bank’s resources; the additional €2.8 million represents funds provided by the…
Birimian, the first operational investment company dedicated to African heritage emerging brands, and Trail, the European asset management firm scaling up successful and promising entrepreneurs, together announce a strategic partnership designed to support African fashion houses and premium emerging brands. The first phase of this alliance will be an investment…