Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

The Cape Skills and Employment Accelerator Project has been launched by the City of Cape Town in partnership with the National Skills Fund (NSF) to create employment opportunities for youth and women between 18-35. The City is contributing R55-million over three years towards training and work placement in companies in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)…

One platform to access all payment and fintech services across Middle East & Africa MoneyHash announced its acquisition of an undisclosed pre-seed investment led by Amir Farha’s COTU Ventures in a statement released on 7 June. Kepple Africa Ventures and other angel investors also took part in the round. The Egyptian startup plans to…

Waymo, the self-driving company of Google’s parent company Alphabet, has raised $2.5 billion as its investors appear undeterred by a CEO change and progress that has lagged expectations. The investment comes about a year after the company raised $2.25 billion in its first external fundraising round. Waymo said Wednesday that the new funding came from Alphabet,…

Webrock, venture capital and private equity company headquartered in Stockholm, has partnered with Healthforce, a digital health company majority-owned by South Africa’s leading retail pharmacy chain Dis-Chem, to launch a Swedish healthcare app Doktor.se in South Africa. The launch of the platform in Africa follows a pre-seed round of $3-million in funding secured and…

South Africa’s newest kid in the block and first open banking marketplace, Spot Money has launched a shared wallet feature on their fintech app, Spot. The feature is a digital solution that seeks to create transparency for shared financial investments, like stokvels. New Shared Account feature The Spot app offers customers transactional…

SA-based venture capital fundraiser Akro has joined the University of Cape Town’s Investsoc and Entrepreneur’s Society to launch 2021’s UCT Shark Tank. Applications are open until midnight on 27 August 2021. Applicants must be formally registered current students or alumni from 2018-2020. This year’s event will not be just a pure pitch competition –…

On 22-25 June 2021 the Netherlands Enterprise Agency will launch the Virtual Tech Mission in participation with several South African tech organisations. The event brings together companies active in the healthtech, fintech, and smart logistics industries to discuss local issues affecting both nations and create future networking opportunities. The Netherlands Enterprise Agency works to bring subsidising,…

Forge Academy a forerunner education facility focused on training students for careers that rely on 3D printing, next-generation computing, virtual and augmented reality, and digital marketing so that they can be equipped to have influence, impact, and increase in the Fourth Industrial Revolution will host an SMME Showcase for tech…

El Salvador has become the first country in the world to officially adopt the largest and most popular cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender. Lawmakers in the Central American country’s Congress voted by a “supermajority” in favor of the Bitcoin Law, receiving 62 out of 84 of the legislature’s vote. The price…

Johannesburg-based Khula Africa Innovation Projects an organization dedicated to creating innovative projects that help accelerate Africa’s growth into the digital age has launched a new edutech platform for local teachers and students. Titled Smartpozi, the platform is a digital directory that connects qualified teachers with students who require academic support. Siyabulela Bomvu, co-founder…

Established by Campus AFD (French Development Agency), The Social & Inclusive Business Camp (SIBC) has officially opened applications for this year’s programme. Innovative African entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply to the programme as it aims to drive growth in the continent’s ecosystem. Campus AFD is committed to assisting African social entrepreneurs with…

Five African startups have received a $5000 funding grant from Southern Africa Innovation Support Programme (SAIS) and Seedstars, a private Swiss-based tech company. The startups have been selected from the 2019/2020 Investment Readiness Programme (IRP), a startup education initiative that helps participants convert their ideas into sustainable tech solutions. Investment Readiness Programme Zambian mobile…

Cape Town-founded mobility technology startup WhereIsMyTransport and is a central source of complete public transport data for emerging-market megacities has secured $14.5-million which’s equivalent to at least R42-million in funding from Naspers. This investment forms part of the R201-million funding round led by Naspers Foundry, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, and SBI Investment. Many…

Silicon Cape and the United States Embassy in South Africa will host a virtual hackathon over the weekend of 19 and 20 June 2021. Daily bootcamps will be held from 21 to 25 of June, with the overall winner announced on the 27 of June. This collaboration is part of the Hackathons for South…

Absa Group has opened its user-friendly procurement portal, allowing Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) to apply and be verified as suppliers. This opportunity means that SMMEs, currently the drivers of our post-pandemic economy, will be able to search for and network with corporate suppliers and win tenders that previously would not…

Cape Town – Not-for-profit social enterprise Harambe Youth Employment Accelerator has partnered with SiMODisA and South African tech startup Clickatell to launch DigiLink, an incubator programme that aims to upskill unemployed youth to enter the tech economy and secure long-term employment. The partnership is backed by an industry-level coalition focused on the mutual interests of all…

Google has launched a series of programmes that aim to support the growth and recovery of African SMEs in the continent. The new initiative titled “International Small Business Month” will roll out several programmes this month. Mojolaoluwa Aderemi-Makinde, Google’s head of brand and reputation for Africa explains that the programmes…

Huawei recently launched its own HarmonyOS mobile operating system on its handsets on Wednesday as it adapts to having lost access to Google mobile services two years ago after the United States put the Chinese telecommunications company on a trade blacklist. Huawei announced that about 100 Huawei smartphone models will…

Amazon Founder Jeff Bezos is set to be the first billionaire in space! In a Monday morning Instagram post he revealed that he will be flying to space on the first crewed flight of the New Shepard, the rocket ship made by his space company, Blue Origin next month, together…

South African-based cybersecurity startup Sendmarc has secured an undisclosed amount of funding in an investment round led by Kalon Venture Partners with contribution from Endeavor South Africa‘s Harvest venture Capital II fund. Clive Butkow the CEO of Kalon Venture Partners comments on the funding round injected into the innovative local tech…