Author: Staff Writer

Africa’s largest economy offers significant potential but it must widen its tax base and broaden its activities away from oil, according to the latest report by UBS Wealth Management’s Chief Investment Office. Liberalization of naira exchange rates will be crucial in attracting foreign investment, report finds.  UBS Wealth Management’s Chief…

Jumia Travel has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Joe Falter, succeeding Paul Midy who has exited the top post to take a different position in the larger Jumia Group. Falter, who is also the Founder and CEO of Travel’s sister company Jumia Food, assumes the role as part of efforts…

People thought Google’s Android One project was dead. Alas, Google has resurrected the program in the body of the new Xiaomi Mi A1. The new Xiaomi Mi A1 was launched in India yesterday as part of Google’s commitment to work with partners to build phones that run a software experience designed by…

The PitchDrive crew is in Paris!! The final stop on their European cities tour and they are happy to explore the beautiful city. The sports enthusiasts watch the live match between France and Netherlands, whilst the food lovers take in the exquisite fine dining and delicious meals. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcEAJP5YXx4 Missed the…

Taxify, Europe’s fastest-growing ride-sharing platform, launches tomorrow morning in London with thousands of drivers signed up to the platform and ready to accept rides anywhere in the Capital from 10.00am on Tuesday 5 September. To celebrate, Taxify has suspended any surge pricing and is offering a huge 50% discount to…

Google Launchpad Accelerator is a six-month acceleration program for growth-stage startups from emerging markets. Through this program, startups get the opportunity to collaborate with Google engineers, Silicon Valley experts, and top mentors from around the world. The program offers equity-free support, Google product credits, and an all-expense-paid training in San…

The Foundation’s unique Fellowships Programme helps to prepare the next generation of outstanding African leaders by providing them with mentoring opportunities in the executive offices of the African Development Bank, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and the International Trade Centre. The Executive Management office of each organisation hosts…

Sony launched a family of Xperia smartphones at the IFA 2017. They are the Xperia XZ1 and Xperia XZ1 Compact in its flagship range, and Xperia XA1 Plus in the super mid-range. Sony Xperia XZ1 Weighing 156g, the Sony Xperia XZ1 comes with a 5.2″ FHD HDR display in a (148 x 73…

Safaricom’s Little is set to enter into the most populous country in Africa, Nigeria. Kamal Budhabatti, the CEO of the taxi hailing service, said this on Wednesday and even went on to affirm that his team was already in Nigeria for the launch on the 8th of October. He is…

Motorola unveiled a new phone at the IFA 2017 named the Moto X4. One of the biggest highlights of the Moto X4 is that it comes with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant support offering options for voice based search. Its 5.2-inch display has a full-HD (1080×1920 pixels) LTPS IPS display…

These 20 startups were chosen from over 900 that desired to be part of the World Bank’s XL Africa accelerator. We have 9 from Nigeria, 5 from Kenya, 3 from South Africa, 2 from Tanzania and 1 from Senegal. These startups specialise in digital products and solutions encompassing the fields of fin-tech,…

The PitchDrive crew engage in a full day with stops at Google office in Zurich, F10 and World Innovations Forum. Things take an interesting turn at the World Innovations Forum when 3 of the PitchDrive startups go head to head by number of votes, a WINNER emerge! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4BMWMDEutc Missed the…

Bang & Olufsen, Sony have introduced rivals to Apple’s Airpod. B&O unveiled the B&O Beoplay E8 while Sony launched the WF-1000X. B&O Beoplay E8 B&O Beoplay E8 features a touch sensitive surface on both left and right earpieces. The tactile technology gives you a wide range of possibilities at the light touch of your finger.…

Three Nigerian startups Nigerian startups Fyodor Biotechnologies, MailHaven and Mobile Forms have received US$150,000 each in seed funding from the Silicon Valley-based 500 Startups accelerator programme. They will also receive workspace, mentorship and access to the 500 Startups network. These startups are part of the 36 innovative startups from 14 countries in the the…

Visa has announced that it is enabling Visa payments on Fitbit’s first smartwatch – Fitbit Ionic. Eligible cardholders of participating banks will be able to make payments with Fitbit Pay™, Fitbit’s new payment function, when available. With Fitbit Pay, Visa and Fitbit are meeting demand amongst the majority of wearable owners who, according…

Better late than never I guess. Fitbit has now entered into the smartwatch business with its new Fitbit Ionic. Hitherto known for fitness-focussed wearables, this is the company’s first true smartwatch. The Fitbit Ionic builds on Fitbit’s health and fitness expertise with a new relative SpO2 sensor, making it possible…

Finally LG Electronics has unveiled the LG V30 smartphone at the ongoing IFA 2017 in  Berlin. The LG V30 is the South Korean’s company attempt to break into the premium android market currently dominated by Samsung. Some people are already comparing the LG V30 to the Samsung Note 8 that…

A new smartphone app has been developed by University of Washington researchers to check for signs for pancreatic cancer. The app, called “biliscreen” which uses selfies has helped in correctly identifying cases of concern 89.7% of the time. (In an initial clinical study of 70 people, the BiliScreen app — used in…

Samsung Electronics today introduced three new devices to its industry-leading wearable portfolio: Gear Sport, a sleek and versatile fitness-focused smartwatch that is water resistant; Gear Fit2 Pro, an upgraded GPS sports band with smart features; and Gear IconX, a second generation of the company’s groundbreaking cord-free earbuds. These new Samsung…

Today at IFA, ASUS unveiled a host of new devices including  the new ASUS Windows Mixed Reality Headset, the brand-new Republic of Gamers (ROG) Chimera gaming laptop and ROG curved monitor, and the latest thin and light ZenBook and VivoBook laptops, all powered by Windows 10. Here are the devices:…