Former Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick has resigned from the ride-hailing firm’s board of directors. The resignation comes a few months after Kalanick sold more than 90% of his stock when his vest period ended, which was valued at north of US$ 2.5 Billion. With this sale Kalanick has…
Author: Charity Mbaka
The U.S Navy has barred all its service members from installing TikTok on all devices or risk being expelled from the military service’s intranet. China-based TikTok is deemed a security threat against the US, due to its alleged vast data collection on its US-based users. TikTok is currently the fastest-growing…
Rewound is a music player recently launched on the Apple store by an independent developer that capitalizes on the iPod nostalgia. Rewound, which was released a week ago, has a theme feature that makes a user’s iPhone look uncannily similar to an iPod Classic. The app quickly amassed more than…
AI startup, UTU, has raised US$ 500,000 from Japanese VC firms. Nairobi-based UTU was founded by Jason Eisen and Bastian Blankenburg in 2017. UTU provides trust infrastructure for mobility, sharing, fintech and e-commerce platforms. UTU’s Trust API, seamlessly provides personalised recommendations for trusted service providers on sharing platforms to drive…
South African biotech startup SX4 Genetics has raised a US$ 2.5 million Series A round from Alethea Capital. 3X4 Genetics, which launched in 2018, will channel the funds towards growth in the US market in 2020. The Heavy Chef Foundation recently listed 3X4 Genetics among South Africa’s top five most…
Uganda has approved Loon LLC’s plans to fly its internet balloons over the country. Loon LLC’s Project Loon will see people in rural areas in Uganda gain access to the internet. Loon is also seeking similar approval from the Kenya and Tanzanian governments. Loon LLC is a company running under…
Jumia is suspending its operations in Africa with Rwanda being the latest cut. The e-commerce giant is suspending its delivery operations in Rwanda, after 6 years in the country. In a statement issued to its Rwanda-based customers, Jumia said, “We regret to inform you that Jumia will suspend our on-demand…
WhatsApp has deactivated numerous accounts belonging to Kashmor-based users due to inactivity. This is a direct result of a four-month internet blackout imposed by the government of India. This past August Kashmir was stripped of its autonomy, split into two federally-run territories. The Indian government revoked part of the constitution…
Outspoken Tesla, SpaceX, Elon Musk, has emerged victorious in a law suit that resulted from a past controversial tweet. In July 2018, Mr. Musk called British cave diver Vernon Unsworth, a “pedo guy.” Musk tweeted the insult after Unsworth said Elon Musk’s rescue submarine would not be of much use…
Jumia Kenya has laid off several staff in a bid to reduce operational costs. The firm has been struggling to maintain high operational costs with slim margins. The past few years has seen Jumia report huge losses. Jumia most recently exited Tanzania and Cameroon for similar reasons. The 30 workers…
The National Transport and Safety Agency (commonly known as NTSA), has drafted a regulation requiring ride-hailing firms operating within the country to charge drivers a maximum commission of 15%. The NSTA’s draft regulation aims to bring sanity to the currently unregulated digital ride-hailing sector. The lack of regulations around pricing…
Toyota Motors led Michigan-based startup, May Mobility’s US$ 50 million Series B round. May Mobility operates low speed autonomous shuttle services in three U.S cities: Detroit & Great Rapids, Michigan and Providence, Rhode Island. Last year May Mobility raised US$ 22 million, which it channeled towards expanding its fleet, engineering…
Kenyan telco giant Safaricom is soon introducing “Mali,” an investment tool that will allow M-Pesa users invest as little as US$ 1(KES 100), which will accrue interest daily. Safaricom subscribers, who are also M-Pesa users will be able to register for Mali via USSD (code *230#), and soon via the…
The Nigerian Government has awarded $75 Million to Dutch company, Lumos Global BV, to set up off-grid solar power systems. These will be essential to powering rural households, previously unconnected to the main grid. According to Bloomberg, the funds are a fraction of the US$ 350 million grant to facilitate…
Alibaba’s financial services subsidiary Ant Financial is set to spend US$ 1 Billion in a bid to expand its reach into India and Southeast Asia. Ant Financial, formerly AliPay, is currently the world’s highest-valued Fintech. Ant Financial’s Vice President, Ji Gang, said the fintech will channel the funds towards investing…
Vodacom Tanzania has introduced the first vending machine that accepts M-Pesa payments. Customers can select an item in the machine and pay for it via QR code in the Safaricom mobile App. Once the customer makes the payment, the vending machine dispenses items. Managing Director, Vodacom TZ, Hisham Hendi confirmed,…
China-based autonomous vehicle company, WeRide, has launched the pilot phase of its self-driving taxis in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province. The autonomous vehicles, dubbed RoboTaxi, were introduced to roads within a 144 square kilometer radius in Guangzhou. This is the controlled area in which WeRide’s vehicles are fully…
MTN has launched “Homeland”, a mobile money remittance service for diaspora-based users. Customers in the diaspora will be able to facilitate money and airtime transfers across Europe, Africa and parts of the Middle East. MTN has partnered with MFS Africa, an SA-based fintech, to launch Homeland. MFS Africa has over…
African e-commerce company Jumia has exited Tanzania a mere 10 days after leaving Cameroon. A statement released by Jumia said it has made the move in order to focus on its operations in other countries. Tanzania is one less African country Jumia has been serving, with 12 other countries left.…
Venture Capital firm, Janngo Capital is looking to invest US$ 60m in African women-led startups in a bid to bridge the gender gap. The Abidjan-based VC firm is managed by former Jumia exec, Fatoumata Ba. It has already raised US$ 16.5m. The VC targets to have raised the 60 million…