Donald Trump, the former US President has finally unveiled his much-anticipated social media platform called Truth Social. The app is now available for download in Apple’s App Store. However, people who download the app reported seeing error messages when they tried entering a birth date, e-mail or phone number to create an account. “Something…
Author: AdeO
The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) and All On have announced the official opening of the 2022 Nigeria Off-Grid Energy Challenge, which will provide up to $100,000 in blended finance to the selected enterprises. The Rockefeller Foundation, the anchor partner of the recently launched Global Energy Alliance for People…
Amazon has finally reached an official agreement with Visa to accept the latter’s credit cards as a payment option for Amazon customers. Last year it was first announced that Amazon would no longer accept payment from UK-issued Visa Credit cards. Just days before the removal was set to take place Amazon announced the decision…
Building on the success of 2018, 2020 and 2021 editions of CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa, LHoFT Foundation has launched a special edition of CATAPULT: Inclusion Africa: special edition in Dubai focusing on the MENA region and delivered in Dubaï. CATAPULT is a series of Fintech development programs produced in-house by the LHoFT…
Twitter has added Barter by Flutterwave and Paga as additional payment providers for its Tips feature. Tips is a new way to monetise on Twitter and allow users to send and receive funds as a token of appreciation. Barter is a web and mobile app, from Flutterwave that lets users…
Fawry, Egypt’s leading e-payments solutions and banking services provider, announced today that the total value of loans disbursed since inception by its subsidiary Fawry Microfinance has surpassed EGP 1 billion ($63.7m). Established in 2018, Fawry Microfinance provides small entrepreneurs and businesses throughout Egypt with financial solutions that combine accessibility and…
Elon Musk, The Times Person of the Year 2021, donated nearly $6 billion worth of Tesla shares to charity last year, making him America’s biggest philanthropist after Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates. Elon Musk gave a total of 5,044,000 shares in the world’s most valuable carmaker to unnamed…
Facebook has announced that it is changing the name of its ‘News Feed’ to ‘Feed’. News Feed is the main view that highlights information including profile changes, upcoming events, and birthdays, among other updates. The News Feed name was first introduced more than 15 years ago. Facebook said in a…
Nawy, an Egyptian proptech startup, has secured a $5 million seed funding led by the Sawiris family office. Nawy is an online real estate platform that facilitates purchasing and selling property. The proptech startup makes the process simple, hassle-free, and transparent for everyone involved, providing its clients with a first-class…
The European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the expansion of bus transportation in Egypt, boosting its quality and improving access to transport for women by investing in Swvl, an on-demand bus-hailing company. The Bank signed a subscription agreement to invest US$ 10 million in Pivotal Holdings Corp, a wholly…
Duplo, a Nigerian fintech startup backed by Y Combinator, has raised $1.3 million pre-seed fund to digitise payment flows for B2B firms. The round was led by early-stage pan-African VC firm Oui Capital with local and international investors including: MyAsia VC, Y Combinator, Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola and Mono…
Haskè Ventures, the venture builder for Francophone Africa, has boosted the growth of Senegalese distribution chain innovator ProXalys by investing $150 000 in pre-seed funding. ProXalys, founded in 2021 by finance expert Thierno Sakho, specialises in digital transformation in business-to-business commerce, with informal sector retailers as its primary target. The…
Jiji, the Nigerian-based classifieds ecommerce marketplace, has announced its full acquisition of Ghanaian-based classifieds platform, Tonaton. Jiji already holds leadership positions in Ghana and Kenya. Additionally, the marketplace operates in Uganda and Tanzania, with some 12 million users making up a monthly active base among all geographies. The amount of the transaction was undisclosed. Tonaton, a…
The Creative Economy Practice at CcHUB has launched a call for applications for Createch Accelerator 1.0. The Accelerator programme is for founders and teams running businesses at the intersection of technology and creativity. Createch Accelerator 1.0 focuses on companies using innovation or applying technology to enhance Value Chains, solve market failures or…
ParkUpp, a South African parking startup, has been acquired by real estate investment company Docklands Ventures. Founded in 2016, ParkUpp is a marketplace that connects owners of parking spaces with companies and individuals who need parking. ParkUpp focuses on daily to monthly parking, providing a seamless booking and payment system. Property…
Mecho Autotech, a Y Combinator-backed Nigerian vehicle repair and maintenance startup, has closed a $2.15 million seed investment. Future Africa, Hoaq Capital, Cathexis Ventures, V8 Capital, Silver Squid and Tekedia Capital participated in the round. The round was oversubscribed by over 300% and is the largest investment to date for…
The US Justice Department has seized $3.6 billion worth of bitcoin linked to the 2016 hack of the Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. Authorities also arrested two people, charging them with conspiracy to launder cryptocurrency stolen during the hack. The bitcoin total taken in the hack is currently valued at…
BasiGo, a Kenyan Electric Vehicle startup, has raised $4.3 million in seed funding to provide clean-energy mass transit vehicles in Kenya. The round was led by Novastar Ventures with participation from a number of existing and new Silicon Valley investors, including Moxxie Ventures, Nimble Partners, Spring Ventures, Climate Capital and…
Thndr, the Egyptian digital investment platform, has secured a new $20 million series A investment. The round was co-led by Tiger Global, BECO Capital and Prosus Ventures. In addition to participation from Base Capital, firstminute and existing investors Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Raba Partnerships and JIMCO. The new funding will…
HP Inc. has announced the acquisition of Choose Packaging, a packaging development company and inventor of the only commercially available zero-plastic paper bottle in the world. Choose’s patented technology provides an alternative to plastic bottles and can hold a wide variety of liquid products. Its novel, paper-based bottles are made…