Social media giant Facebook is in talks with India’s top telco Reliance Jio to acquire 10 per cent stake in a multi billion dollar deal. Reliance Jio’s valuation sits a little over $60 billion. It has more than 370 million subscribers, The company would be Facebook’s door into the Indian…
Author: Charity Mbaka
The World Bank and CES have partnered to launch the Global Tech Challenge to bridge the digital gender divide. CES is one of the largest tech events globally. The aim of the challenge is to reward innovators and startups with solutions that empower women in the following areas: Platforms: The development of solutions that increase the…
Botswana-based food delivery startup MyFoodness, has rebranded to Yamee Africa and announced that it is launching in Dar es Salaam. MyFoodness, now Yamee, is an e-commerce platform that connects consumers to local food merchants. In 2018, the startup won the Botswana leg of the Seedstars World Competition. At its launch…
Coliba, a waste management startup based in Ivory Coast has raised funding from German VC firm, GreenTec Capital Partners. Coliba’s mobile and web application connects businesses and households with plastic waste collectors, hence enabling easier recycling and waste management. The startup’s platform allows users to earn airtime or discounts on…
Kenya’s government has finally approved Google Loon Service to facilitate its citizens’ new remote working arrangement in light of the covid-19 pandemic. Google’s Loon is a 7 year old project whose main aim is to enable universal 4G data coverage across remote areas with little to no internet connectivity. The…
Kenya’s most popular public transport, matatus, have begun embracing mobile payments in a bid to curb the spread of the novel corona virus. Matatus within Nairobi are working with Kenya’s leading telco, Safaricom, to enable matatu crew accept fares via M-Pesa, as opposed to cash payments. Safaricom’s Chief Financial Services…
Kenyan telco Safaricom and local bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, have committed 30 million dollars to a relief fund to lighten the load for their clients amid the confusion caused by COVID-19. The companies will cut mobile money transaction costs and make lending more affordable. Kenya’s president, Uhuru Kenyatta, held a…
Ecobank Group has announced the 2020 edition of Fintech Challenge which is set to take place in Togo, in June at Ecobank Group’s headquarters. The Ecobank Fintech Challenge comprises a business boot camp, afterwhich will be and Innovations Fair and Awards session. All the finalists will be inducted into Ecobank’s…
Kenyan ride-hailing app, Little, has given up its 15% commission to its drivers amic the corona virus crisis. Little’s 50,000 drivers operate in 5 towns and cities in Kenya: Nairobi, Kisumu, Mombasa Eldoret and Nakuru. The firm made the move to encourage drivers to respond to ride requests as they…
Impact investor and business incubator, Villgro Kenya, has selected 3 health-tech startups based in East Africa, and awarded them $20,000 each. The three early-stage startups were selected from 38 applicants. They are all hardware-based health innovations. They are: A-lite(Uganda): a low cost, non-invasive vein locater that aims to decrease the…
San-Fransisco and Lagos-based fintech, Flutterwave, has committed to awarding grants to female SME owners in 5 African countries, in honor of the international women’s day. The grants are aimed at helping them grow their customer-base and increase the volume of their annual transactions by targeting SMEs. Flutterwave’s product is a…
Silicon Valley-based accelerator, Y Combinator, just concluded its 30th W20 demo day. Part of the batch was 13 startups that were Africa-focused or had African founders. They each received $150,000 in funding. The demo day took place digitally due to the current coronavirus pandemic. Each of the selected startups participated…
Bolt CEO Markus Villig has expressed the ride-hailing firm’s intentions to offer financing to drivers in Africa. In an interview with the Kenyan Wallstreet, the CEO discussed Bolt’s strategy in the different markets it operates in, in Africa and Europe. He said that the ultimate goal was to increase the…
Kenyan logistics startup, Sendy, has partnered with local supermarket chain to provide door to door delivery services to customers. Kenyans have been urged to avoid public places and remain in their homes in a bid to control the spread of the novel corona virus. The government also urged citizens to…
Kenya’s telco giant, Safaricom, has waived fees on its mobile money transfer service M-Pesa, for all transactions below Ksh1,000 ($10). In a national address this past Sunday, Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta urged banks and mobile money providers to consider reducing costs of transactions to encourage customers to use cashless modes…
Uganda has finally granted telco company MTN a long term operating license after it listed 20% of its shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange, as well as pay $100 million in blanket taxes.. MTN had sought out the license for well over three years. MTN said it would pay the…
Smartphone giant Apple has temporarily shut all its retail outlets worldwide in a bid to combat the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Apple will keep the stores closed for two weeks, to re-open on 27th March. Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, announced that the firm has reopened all their…
Kenyan recruitment startup, Fuzu has raised close to 4 million dollars in its series A round to ramp up development, onboard more employees and accelerate its expansion into other regions in Africa. Fuzu provides AI-powered personalized guidance to users/job seekers, and talent acquisition and data services to organizations. Fuzu launched…
Popular social platform, Reddit has launched a new ad product dubbed Trending Takeovers. The product allows brands to buy 24 hours or less of ad spots on the site’s popular feed and search tab to reach the millions of users that access these specific pages daily. A Reddit blog read,…
E-commerce giant, Amazon, has announced plans to sell its cashierless checkout system to other retailers. Amazon’s checkout system, dubbed ‘Just Walk Out’, comprises a set of sensors and cameras. The sensors are mounted on the shelves measure any weight changes. The cameras are mounted on the ceiling to monitor shoppers…