Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

The Stockholm-based Norrsken Accelerator is inviting African early-stage founders with innovative visions for a better future to apply for its program. Selected startups will receive $125,000 in funding and participate in an eight-week business development programme. Norrsken was established in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, one of the co-founders of Swedish…

Zeeh Africa, a Nigerian-based fintech company with an open banking system, has unveiled its loan recovery solution that leverages the Global Standing Instruction (GSI) technology. The system, according to the company, will enable lenders to recover funds automatically and directly. The technology also has the potential to be used for…

Online design platform Canva has announced its acquisition of Affinity’s suite of creative software in a bid to empower all types of designers and capture a greater share of the graphic design software market. The acquisition of Affinity Designer, Photo, and Publisher places Canva in direct competition with Adobe, as…

Netflix has announced a revision of its subscription pricing for customers in Nigeria. From April 1, 2024, the Standard Plan will rise from ₦3,600 to ₦4,000, while the Premium Plan will be upped from ₦4,400 to ₦5,000. The Mobile Plan will jump from ₦1,200 to ₦1,600. However, the Basic Plan…

Swedish investment firm VNV Global has reduced the value of its stake in Wasoko, an African B2B e-commerce startup, by 48% according to its 2023 annual report. In this report, Wasoko’s fair value was set at approximately $260 million as of December 2023, coinciding with Wasoko’s announcement of a planned…

MTN Nigeria Communications Ltd, along with its CEO, Karl Toriola, as well as Nkeakam Abhulimen, Fun Mobile Ltd, and Yahya Maibe, have been accused of copyright infringement by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC). The accusation is based on allegedly unauthorized sales and trading of Nigerian artist and comedian, Maleke Idowu…

BasiGo, an electric mobility startup based in Kenya, has raised KSh396 million ($3 million) in equity funding to boost its electric bus production in Kenya and Rwanda. The financing was given by CFAO Group, shared between its Kenyan branch and corporate venture capital subsidiary, Mobility54. This financial boost aims to…

Apple is expected to focus on artificial intelligence (AI) at this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) set to take place from June 10th to 14th. While the event typically revolves around unveiling fall software updates and new hardware, there’s a significant amount of curiosity this year regarding Apple’s strategy towards…

Worldcoin, the controversial crypto biometrics venture, is now banned from nearly all of Europe with the latest prohibition taking place in Portugal due to concerns over data protection. This makes Germany the last standing European country where Worldcoin can currently operate. Portugal’s data protection authority issued a three-month ban due…

The MTN Group has made the strategic decision to withdraw from two West and Central African markets, as outlined in its recent 2023 report. The telecom giant has agreed to sell its equity interests in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry to Telecel as of December 2023, pending the necessary regulatory approvals. This…

Despite facing numerous challenges in 2023, MTN Group successfully managed to witness significant growth in its revenue and subscriber base. The telecommunications company reported a revenue surge of 13.5% to R210 billion ($11 billion). Data revenue contributed R84 billion ($4.4 billion), voice revenue R83 billion ($4.3 billion), and MTN MoMo,…

Heifer International, a global non-profit organization focused on eradicating hunger and poverty through sustainable farming, has published a report detailing the positive impact of a technologically-driven mechanization scheme on the lives of smallholder farmers in Africa. Titled “Mechanization for Africa: Innovative Financing for Agricultural Transformation and Youth Job Creation”, the…

The AgriTech4Egypt Innovation Challenge is inviting applications from purpose-driven scientists and entrepreneurs who are developing agri-tech solutions. These solutions aim to create a more sustainable, efficient, and climate-resilient agricultural system in Egypt. The challenge is particularly targeted towards early-stage agri-tech ventures in Egypt that have a minimum viable product (MVP)…

Kenya’s Interior Minister, Kithure Kindiki, announced in parliament that the US government has been putting considerable pressure on the Kenyan government to permit the resumption of operations relating to WorldCoin, a blockchain-based digital token associated with Sam Altman. However, he informed that the Kenyan government has remained resolute and will…

Threads, the Instagram-linked app resembling Twitter, is introducing live sports scores to its platform. The announcement was made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, outlining that Threads has begun testing live scores for NBA games, with plans to extend this feature to other sports leagues in due course. With the new…

Nigerian fintech firm LemFi has partnered with Visa’s Cross-Border Solutions division in a strategic deal aimed at facilitating its global expansion into key markets such as China, India, and Pakistan. The partnership will leverage Visa’s prowess in cross-border transactions, enhancing LemFi’s capacity to serve its increasing number of users. This…

Gebeya, a prominent Pan-African talent cloud company, is partnering with respected technology and business learning provider O’Reilly. This strategic alliance aims to bolster the skills of African professionals in the rapidly evolving digital arena. Through this partnership, users of Gebeya’s Talent Cloud platforms will gain access to O’Reilly’s extensive catalog…

Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has announced its partnership with South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to combat misinformation on its platforms during the upcoming elections scheduled for May 29, 2024. Nick Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs, shared details about the cooperative effort, stating that they…

The African Confederation of Co-operative Savings and Credit Associations (ACCOSCA) and Visa have joined forces to boost financial inclusion in Kenya and Tanzania. Their collaborative project, dubbed Financial Inclusion in Kenya and Tanzania (FIKT), aims to augment financial accessibility across these two East African nations. The FIKT initiative will capitalize…

Zimbabwe is forging ahead with its plans to make a name for itself in the space exploration arena. The nation is set to launch three additional satellites into space, marking a significant expansion of its presence in space. Among these is the ZimSat-2, an Earth Observation satellite that is already…