OZÉ, the fintech startup which provides digital recordkeeping tools with embedded finance products to MSMEs across West Africa, announces it has raised $3M via a pre-Series A round led by major venture capital fund, Speedinvest. Savannah Capital, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund. several Angels experienced in operating and investing in global…
Author: Oluwasegun Olukotun
Orange Corners South Africa (OC) has teamed up with multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, AstraZeneca to create an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs. To achieve this aim, AstraZenca will support OC’s programme in South Africa. The Orange Corners (OC) programme is an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of…
Visa and financial technology company, Pagaya, have partnered to enable Visa’s expansive network of merchant partners and issuing co-brand financial institutions to leverage Pagaya’s technology to expand customers’ access to financial products. Pagaya is working to reshape the financial industry by using machine learning, big data analytics, and sophisticated AI-driven…
Jobberman in line with its commitment to combat youth unemployment in Nigeria has trained over 280,000 job seekers in soft skills across Nigeria and placed over 130,000 in dignified employment since July 2020 to date. The single largest recruitment platform in sub-Saharan Africa will be actively forging new partnerships with…
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has granted a loan of $15 million to GTBank Kenya to help Kenyan businesses access more financing including those with cash flows disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. GTBank Kenya, a subsidiary of the Guaranty Trust Bank Group will provide access to finance mainly to small…
Meta has announced data2vec, the first high-performance self-supervised algorithm that learns the same way in multiple modalities, including speech, vision and text. Meta says most machines learn exclusively from labeled data. However, through self-supervised learning, machines are able to learn about the world just by observing it and then figuring…
Mastercard has launched a virtual card that uses machine learning and straight-through processing to enable instant payment of supplier invoices. According to Mastercard, slow and inefficient payment processes continue to create challenges for businesses. Lengthy payment terms and late invoice payments impact cash flow for suppliers, while manual invoice approval…
Leading African digital payments company, DPO Group, has been granted a licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide certain types of payments services to businesses across Nigeria. The Licence will enable DPO Group to operate as an independent payment solutions services company in Nigeria as it does across…
Safaricom has announced it is building its first data center in Ethiopia’s Capital city, Addis Ababa. The project according to the mobile network operator will cost $100 million. The data center is being launched as Safaricom looks to commence commercial operations and become the second telecom operator in Ethiopia. Pedro…
Fintech platform Severus (formerly FoxWallet) is launching a world-first NFT collection focused on inspiring African heroism. The limited-edition NFT collection called ‘African Hero’, is being launched to commemorate Africans who have shaped history and to inspire young Africans to build a brighter future. The NFT collection depicts the North African,…
One of the fastest-growing Cryptocurrency exchanges, Bybit has launched its NFT Marketplace, a non-fungible token (NFT) platform that promises to streamline digital ownership and encourage the growth of blockchain games and the metaverse. If you haven’t heard of Bybit before, you can read this Bybit review to get to know the ins and outs of this…
Leading enabler of digital commerce, Network International, in partnership with Mastercard has launched its Tap on Phone technology which will enable an estimated 500, 000 new merchants across Middle East and Africa (MEA) use their mobile phones as payment terminals. Tap on Phone powered by Mastercard Payment Gateway Services (MPGS),…
Adobe today announced new Adobe Experience Cloud tools that empower retailers to deliver personalised shopping experiences both in-store and online. These new product innovations will provide customers with seamless, flexible payment options, allow you to connect with your customers via mobile, and enable seamless experiences from browse to buy.Tory Brunker,…
Opera today unveiled its Crypto Browser Project, with beta versions of the new web browser immediately available for PC, Mac, and mobile phones, delivering a new web experience with Web3 at its core. The company originally launched the first web browser with an integrated cryptocurrency wallet and basic Web3 support…
Senegal-based logistics and delivery company, PAPS has raised a $4.5 million pre-Series A round led by 4DX Ventures and Orange with contributions from existing funds Uma Ventures and Saviu Ventures and new investors Yamaha Motor, LoftyInc Capital, Proparco, Google Ventures, To.org, Kepple Ventures, and Enza Capital. The company will deploy…
Oracle has commissioned a data centre in South Africa to provide local cloud services across Africa. The move marks Oracle’s 37th cloud region. The computer technology corporation has plans to open 44 cloud regions this year as it moves to close the gap with cloud computing rivals like Microsoft and…
Netflix on Wednesday announced the launch of the Emerging Filmmaker Initiative (EFI). The EFI is an annual program created to cultivate and accelerate the careers of the next wave of marquee filmmakers working in high-demand genres like sci-fi, action, horror and thriller. Every year, EFI will work with three breakout…
Mastercard is teaming up with cryptocurrency exchange platform, Coinbase, to enable individuals to buy NFTs with their debit and credit cards. Coinbase in October announced the Coinbase NFT, a peer-to-peer marketplace that will make minting, purchasing, showcasing, and discovering NFTs easier. The company also revealed plans to create a decentralized…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned Nigerians to be on the alert as there is a Cybercrime group with a new scheme to deliver ransomware to targeted organizational networks. The new ransomware was detected by security experts and has been categorised, by the Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team’s (ngCERT)…
American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company, JPMorgan Chase, has disclosed it will spend more than $12 billion on technology in 2002. The company made this known while reporting its fourth-quarter results. It also revealed that is technology spending plans will see it deploy into use microservices architecture,…