Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

The emergence of fully autonomous farming equipment offers a twist to the century-old contest between man and machine. Agricultural equipment manufacturer John Deere is just one of a host of farm equipment makers and agtech startups bringing robotics to traditional machinery in order to boost farm productivity in the face…

Ghanaian startup mPharma, which manages prescription drug inventory for pharmacies and their suppliers has raised $35 million in its latest Series D round and the new funding, according to mPharma co-founder and CEO Gregory Rockson, will be used to build the startup’s data infrastructure, triple its talent pool over the…

Teraco Data Environments has announced that San Francisco based Digital Realty has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Teraco from a consortium of investors, including Berkshire Partners and Permira. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022 and is subject to customary closing conditions. Based…

With an increasing number of countries encouraging citizens to stay, learn or work from home due to the global pandemic, cybercriminals are attacking the computer networks and systems of individuals, businesses, and even global organizations at a time when cyber defenses might be lowered due to the shift of focus…

You soon won’t be able to use that old BlackBerry phone sitting at the bottom of your drawer somewhere. Yes, I realize that this is not the first time we’ve announced the death of the company or its devices, but this is a very definite ending for legacy BlackBerry hardware. Starting today,…

World Mobile, the first mobile network built on blockchain and run by the people, has partnered with Altaeros, and through this partnership, Altaeros and World Mobile will provide low-altitude aerostats (tethered balloon platforms) with a coverage area of approximately 8 000 square kilometres each, forming part of World Mobile’s Dynamic Network. Several aerostats will…

Leading South African technology firm Adapt IT Holdings Limited has been acquired by Volaris Group for R7 per Adapt IT share, effective January 3, 2022. According to a statement released on Tuesday, all conditions and regulatory approvals have been met, including from various competition authorities, the Takeover Regulation Panel, and…

Proptech has received over US$9.7 billion of funding activity in the first half of 2021 and South African property tech and digital solutions provider e4 is expanding into European markets, making the UK its international go-to-market. In a statement, the company says long-standing executive director Simon Slater has relocated to the UK…

Digital learning company Skillsoft has announced a $525 million deal to acquire online education platform Codecademy. The 40% cash and 60% stock deal will close in the first half of 2022, and Skillsoft said it secured financing from Barclays and Citigroup for the deal. Codecademy brought in about $42 million in revenue…

Leading beauty and wellness software platform Fresha has announced over $52 million in additional investment extending the company’s recent $100 million Series C round led by General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, to over $152 million and valuing the company at over $640 million. The extension investment was led…

Sportswear brand Nike has announced its acquisition of RTFKT, a digital design studio producing trainers and other collectibles that can be worn across different online environments. Buying RTFKT could help Nike ramp up its own production of virtual wearables without having to rely on outside help. RTFKT’s products include neon-colored platforms that it created with The Fabricant.…

Google’s first investment from the Africa Investment Fund — launched by Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google and Alphabet, at Google for Africa in October — is in SafeBoda. Google says that the investment will help drive SafeBoda’s growth in Uganda and Nigeria, scaling its transportation-led app to offer new payment and financial…

Vaccination rates increasing, but fear is still out there. According to the World Health Organization, vaccine hesitancy is one of the ten leading threats to global health. In the case of COVID, refusing or delaying vaccination has been a significant problem, with anti-vax and freedom marches dominating news cycles over recent months. Now…

Amazon-backed electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive Inc on Thursday said it will build a $5bn plant in the US state of Georgia, its second United States assembly plant, as it looks to expand production. In its first publicly reported quarterly results since it went public last month, Rivian also reported…

The City of Kigali in partnership with GURARIDE Rwanda has launched a bike-sharing transport program in a bid to promote non-motorized transport as one of the resource-efficient travel modes that are environmentally friendly, improve the health of citizens, and are safe for users. The Minister of Infrastructure (Kigali), Claver Gatete says non-motorized transport plays…

Apple told corporate staff this week that it is delaying a planned return to U.S. offices until an undetermined date, according to reports from Bloomberg News and NBC News reporter Zoe Schiffer. The letter, a copy of which was obtained, said the company’s date for returning to work, was “yet to be determined,” and…

Ventures Platform, an early-stage “discovery” venture capital fund championing the next generation of African entrepreneurs, has announced the first close of its new US$40m Pan-African, early-stage fund to invest in market-creating innovations. With this close led by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the new fund features participation from existing investors…

ITC Secure (ITC), a leading advisory-led cyber security services company and a Microsoft Gold cyber security partner, and Cassava Technologies have announced that they have entered into a Joint Venture (JV) to build and launch an extensive portfolio of cyber security services, powered by Microsoft Azure cloud technologies in Africa.…

Reddit Inc., the social media platform that helped fuel this year’s meme stock frenzy, on Wednesday announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public. The social media company did not make the filing publicly available. The company also did not say…

In a surprise development, telecommunications group MTN has announced that its chief executive for South Africa, Godfrey Motsa will be stepping down from the role effective 1 January 2022. Charles Molapisi who is currently Group Chief Technology & Information Officer will take over the position. Mazen Mroue, currently Chief Operating Officer…