The African Drone Forum (ADF) has announced the launch of the first African Drone Business Challenge, with a cash prize of £40 000 for the winner of the best drone application. Participants selected will be able to exhibit and pitch their business plans during the African Drone Forum Symposium &…
Author: AdeO
FarmCrowdy Nigeria, a Nigerian agritech startup, has been selected among 10 startups for business partnership by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FarmCrowdy’s co-Founder and Managing Director, Kenneth Obiajulu-Okonkwo, prior to their selection, had participated in the first-ever Chamberthon, which took…
The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) has announced the names of 16 engineers and entrepreneurs who have been shortlisted for the 2020 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation. The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation awards crucial commercialisation support to ambitious African innovators who are developing engineering solutions to local challenges. The…
She Leads Africa Program held its Demo Day recently for 2019 accelerator program where five of the top companies were able to pitch their businesses in front of business leaders to win cash prizes. The Demo Day which was streamed Live on social media was the closing ceremony of the…
Jumia, the biggest e-commerce platform in Africa has said it had suspended its e-commerce platform activities in Cameroon on Monday because it was not suitable for the country. Its shares have tumbled from its Wall Street initial public offering price of $14.50 in April, hitting a record low of $5.10…
Jumia and Facebook are empowering small and medium scale enterprises in Nigeria by offering them free masterclass on business growth accelerators, effective customer engagement strategy, and how to advertise their businesses and ultimately grow their businesses. The empowerment programme which recently held at Facebook’s NG_Hub was attended by hundreds of…
OPay, the Nigerian fintech startup, has disclosed that it has raised $120m in Series B funding to scale its investment in Africa. The new fund Opay received was led by Chinese investors including Meituan-Dianping, GaoRong, Source Code Capital, Softbank Asia, BAI, Redpoint, IDG Capital, Sequoia China and GSR Ventures. The…
Facebook unveiled Facebook Pay, a payment system meant to operate through all its apps – Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp and Messenger “People already use payments across our apps to shop, donate to causes and send money to each other,” the company said. “Facebook Pay will make these transactions easier while continuing to ensure…
Bosch Africa Mobility Solutions has announced the winners of its smart mobility accelerator programme. From the 11 startups that were shortlisted from the 222 entries which the programme received within a period of one month, two startups were named winners. Hello Tractor founded by Jehiel Oliver from Nigeria and BuuPass…
Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, has already garnered 10 million sign-ups since launching on Tuesday, the company has announced. Disney’s stock was up 7.35% as a result of the news, adding more than $13 billion to its market cap, which now sits at $268 billion. Netflix shares were down 3.1%. Disney’s new streaming…
Interswitch Limited, a leading technology-driven company focused on the digitisation of payments in Nigeria has confirmed its unicorn status after Visa, the global payments firm, bought a significant minority stake in the former. The term, unicorn in the venture capital industry refers to a tech startup company that reaches a $1…
Transsion Holdings, the makers of Tecno, Infinix and Itel brands, has led $40 million seed funding in PalmPay. The investment was joined by NetEase and Mediatek PalmPay is a product of Transsnet Group, the joint venture between NetEase Group (NASDAQ: NTES) and Transsion Holdings Group. Transsnet already boasts an array of…
Crop2Cash, an agritech startup that provides smallholder farmers with access to finance and markets, has emerged winner of 2019 Seedstars Lagos pitch competition. The pitch competition was held at the Seedspace Growthlab in Lagos. The Ibadan-based startup was founded in 2017 by Michael Ogundare and Seyi Alabi and Emem Essien. The startup has developed…
Bolt has announced the establishment of a 10 million Euro fund dedicated to the environmental impact. The fund is aimed at initiatives that deliver global social and environmental benefits. For its first initiative, Bolt will fund a forest creation project that plants trees to increase natural carbon sequestration, increase biodiversity,…
Tizeti has unveiled its 4G LTE network in line with its focus on boosting access to affordable broadband connectivity in Africa’s underserved populations. The West African pioneer of the solar-based internet service provider also disclosed that it has plans to extend the 4G LTE network to leading cities in Nigeria…
Lori Systems which prides itself as the African Uber of trucks has raised US$30 million in a Series A funding round led by Chinese investment firm Hillhouse Capital Group and Chinese investment fund Crystal Stream specialized in startups in TMT (technology, media, and telecom) field. Apoletto Asia, an early-stage company-focused venture…
Jack Dorsey, the co-founder and CEO of Twitter is presently in Nigeria. He announced his arrival via the social media platform. While in Lagos, he is expected to meet with the tech community. Dorsey had announced back in October that he will be visiting Nigeria during his African tour this…
…..over 12,000 SMEs to sell over 10 million products on the platform during the campaign Nigeria’s e-commerce giant, Jumia has disclosed that its 2019 Black Friday campaign will attract a surge of new shoppers during the campaign period scheduled for November 8th through 29th. The company’s Head of Growth, Ayobami…
Lionheart, Nigeria’s first-ever submission for the Best International Feature Film Award has been disqualified by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for having predominantly English dialogue. Directed by and starring Genevieve Nnaji “Lionheart”, the film, which is currently streaming on Netflix, is mostly in English, running afoul of…
Microsoft has tested a four-day workweek in its Japan offices and found as a result employees were not only happier – but significantly more productive. For the month of August, Microsoft Japan experimented with a new project called Work-Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019, giving its entire 2,300 person workforce five Fridays off…