Egypt’s B2B marketplace startup Grinta has raised $8 million in a Seed funding round co-led by Raed Ventures and Nclude. Other investors include Silicon Valley-based Endeavor Catalyst and 500 Global, bringing its total funding to date to $9.5 million. The funds will be invested in scaling Grinta’s full-stack tech platform,…
Author: Oluwasegun Olukotun
In February, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first person to hit 400 million followers on Instagram. Now the Manchester United and Portuguese football star has become the first to attain 500 million followers making him one of the most digitally influential persons on the planet. PSG and Argentine football ace, Lionel…
The Central Bank of Tunisia and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have launched a free-to-use digital bill payments platform to enable Tunisians to pay for utilities such as water and electricity online and on mobile applications, freeing up time and resources spent on travelling to payment offices. The Tunisia bill…
Two African startups, BleagLee and LiquidGold in addition to Ryp Labs, Earthly and Koltiva have emerged winners of the ClimaTech Run 2022 during the COP27 Conference in Sharm, El Sheikh, Egypt. ClimaTech Run, a global multi-stage program included as part of the preparations for the United Nations (UN) Climate Change…
MTN in its bid to address Africa’s digital skills gap has partnered with SAS Training, Courses & Classes to train up to 100 young people in data analytics. This is part of the MTN Skills Academy’s work to promote digital skills for digital jobs, in turn supporting MTN Group’s strategic…
Visa, the official payment technology partner of FIFA has rolled out innovative payment features at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The global payment company has launched a payments network that will enable contactless purchases throughout all official venues, including eight stadiums and the FIFA Fan Festival. It is estimated…
Nigeria’s payment company Flutterwave and Nigerian 100m hurdles world record holder, Tobi Amusan have partnered to launch Send mobile app to enable users to send money easily and faster from the diaspora to their loved ones in a way that is convenient to them. The Send mobile App is now…
Morocco’s edtech Smartprof has secured $110,000 in pre-seed investment from UM6P Ventures, Plug and Play, alongside other investment angels. Founded in 2021 by Hamza and Mustapha Faiz and Ali Faouiz, the edtech aims to become a one-stop-shop edtech platform for private tutoring in North and West Africa, a market that…
AFG (Africa Foresight Group), the tech talent platform with the largest network of freelance consultants in Africa, has officially announced the launch of its 4th annual Africa@Scale Summit scheduled to hold from 1 – 2 December 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. This year’s exclusive event will bring together visionary…
African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved an equity investment of $20 million in Evolution Fund III, a pan-African clean and sustainable energy private equity fund that is mobilising about $400 million into renewable energy and resource-efficiency assets across sub-Saharan Africa over a 10-year period. Inspired Evolution Investment Management is…
Nigeria’s e-commerce platform for SMBs, SMEs and Entrepreneurs 247Imart has launched to help African entrepreneurs manage their businesses digitally. The platform enables small businesses to gain visibility. It also helps businesses track and increase sales by creating commercial access and driving digital inclusion. The platform was founded in May 2022…
In an impressive financial feat, BasiGo, the innovative electric bus startup, has raised $6.6 million in a new funding round led by Mobility54, the corporate venture capital subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho, along with Silicon Valley’s transport-centric Trucks VC, and the global entrepreneurial catalyst Novastar Ventures. Additional investors that have joined…
Manchester United in partnership with Tezos has announced the upcoming launch of its first-ever digital collectibles. The initial drop of digital collectibles (NFTs) will be gifted to fans, with paid collections coming at a later date. Tezos is an open-source blockchain that can execute peer-to-peer transactions and serve as…
IFC in its bid to help develop the digital economy sectors in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan has launched a new $225 million platform to strengthen venture capital ecosystems and invest in early-stage companies addressing development challenges through technological innovations in climate, health care, education, agriculture, e-commerce,…
Modus, a Venture Platform operating in MENA comprising VC funds, Venture Builders, and a Corporate Innovation arm has launched Modus Africa – a $75 million SDG-focused VC fund that will invest in Africa’s boldest startups powered by AI and Blockchain technologies. The fund is led by two General Partners – Vianney…
IBM has announced Ana Paula Assis has the new chairman for Africa, the Middle East and Europe. She will succeed Martin Jetter who is retiring from IBM at the end of 2022 after 36 years of service to the company. Mrs. Assis was appointed as General Manager IBM EMEA in…
CrossBoundary Energy has joined forces with Bank of America to rapidly scale its investments in renewable energy solutions for commercial and industrial businesses across Africa. The collaboration serves as an example of a blended finance transaction driving capital flow into Emerging Markets and will support CrossBoundary’s delivery of approximately 255MW…
Egypt’s Banque Misr has gotten a loan of $160 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to finance Egyptian businesses that invest in key sectors of the economy. The loan comprises a $130 million line of credit from the Bank and an additional $30 million in funds from the Africa…
Twenty African youth-led enterprises have won grant funding of up to $100,000 each in this year’s African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge (YouthADAPT) competition. The winners in addition to the grant will also benefit from a 12-month accelerator program to help them grow their businesses, deepen their impact and create decent…
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the Silverbird Group have signed a partnership agreement to build West Africa’s largest and most modern educational and film studio complex in Lagos, Nigeria. The Partnership was signed by Mrs. Helen Brume, Director Project & Asset-Based Finance, Afreximbank and Mr. Ben Murray-Bruce, Founder of Silverbird…