Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

tappi, a SaaS startup specializing in digital commerce, has forged a strategic alliance with Safaricom, leveraging the telecommunications giant’s M-PESA platform to empower 650,000 Kenyan micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The collaboration is designed to enhance the digital footprint of these businesses, significantly bolstering their online credibility and visibility,…

Equinix, the American data center and colocation service provider, has successfully completed the integration of MainOne, a Nigerian connectivity services company, following a significant acquisition worth $320 million in 2022. This move is a strategic one for Equinix as it seeks to solidify its presence in the burgeoning Nigerian data…

The venture capital firm Sawari Ventures, based in Egypt, is gearing up to introduce its latest investment vehicle, “Sawari Ventures II,” in the early part of 2025. According to a report by Launch Base Africa, the firm has set an ambitious fundraising goal of $200 million for this second fund.…

Madica, an investment initiative with a focus on nurturing early-stage African startups, has recently publicized its financial backing of Earthbond, a pioneering climate technology enterprise based in Nigeria. Earthbond’s mission is to make solar energy solutions more accessible and cost-effective for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the region. The…

Accounts on Instagram and Threads that were dedicated to monitoring the private jet travels of various celebrities, including Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Kim Kardashian, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Kylie Jenner, were recently suspended. The accounts were managed by Jack Sweeney, a college student from Florida. Meta, the parent company…

In August, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, known as xAI, announced its intention to release an application programming interface (API) for Grok, its leading generative AI model that powers various functionalities on the platform X. The long-awaited API has now been launched, though it currently offers a rather basic set…

Meta is reintroducing facial recognition technology into its platforms, over three years after discontinuing Facebook’s “face recognition” feature amid widespread concerns about the technology. The company aims to utilize facial recognition on Facebook and Instagram to combat fraudulent activities and assist users in regaining access to their accounts, as stated…

X is revising its privacy policy to include provisions that permit the sharing of user data with external “collaborators” for the purpose of training artificial intelligence models. This updated policy, set to be implemented on November 15, 2024, appears to pave the way for agreements similar to those on Reddit,…

The upcoming release of Apple’s iOS 18.1 is set for next week, as reported by multiple sources including The Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch. This update is significant as it introduces new features such as hearing aid compatibility for AirPods Pro 2 and expanded Apple Intelligence across various devices. Apple…

Intelsat, a prominent provider of satellite communication services, has reported a significant service disruption on its Intelsat 33e satellite as of October 19, 2024. The outage has impacted a wide customer base across Europe, Africa, and certain areas of the Asia-Pacific region. Despite the passage of 48 hours since the…

IHS Towers, the largest provider of telecommunications towers in Africa, has successfully obtained a substantial loan amounting to $439 million. This financial infusion is aimed at mitigating currency-related risks and bolstering the company’s operations that span various regions. A significant portion of this loan, nearly half, is denominated in South…

Worldcoin, the startup co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, is undergoing a significant rebranding by shedding the “coin” from its name. The company is pivoting its focus away from cryptocurrency and towards the enhancement of its identity verification technology. In line with this shift, the startup has also revealed an…

Stripe, a prominent payments company, has completed the acquisition of the stablecoin platform Bridge in a landmark deal valued at $1.1 billion, as reported by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. This transaction stands as the most significant acquisition within the cryptocurrency sector to date. Michael Arrington confirmed the completion of the…

Premier Bank, a leading financial institution in Somalia, has partnered with Mastercard and Tappy Technologies to unveil Tap2Pay, a groundbreaking payment solution designed to enhance the payment experience for consumers in Somalia. This innovative service leverages near-field communication (NFC) technology to embed payment capabilities into everyday accessories like eyeglasses, rings,…

inDrive, a global ride-hailing service provider, has recently expanded its operations to Lusaka, Zambia, positioning itself as a strong competitor against established players like Bolt and Yango in the local market. In a strategic move to attract drivers and gain a foothold in the Zambian market, inDrive has declared that…

PaidHR, an innovative Nigerian startup specializing in HR management solutions, is currently engaged in negotiations with potential investors to secure a seed funding round of $1.5 million. This financial move comes on the heels of a successful $500,000 funding round in February 2023, which saw contributions from a diverse group…

In 2024 so far, Kenya  ($437m, 31%) and Egypt  ($373m, 27%) come out on top with a combined 58% of all the funding raised by start-ups in Africa. For both of them, it is their highest share of funding on record since 2019, but since the start of 2024, only one startup…

I think in the past day, I’ve sent more than 100 messages on WhatsApp. I talked about everyday things like family stuff, work, and just chatting with friends. All the messages were private, safe, and facilitated by WhatsApp’s robust servers, strategically located in data centers across the globe. Operating such…

Mira Murati, who previously held the position of Chief Technology Officer at OpenAI, made headlines last month when she announced her decision to leave the company. In a recent development reported by Reuters, Mira Murati is actively engaged in securing venture capital funding for her new venture in the artificial…

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) is spearheading an ambitious initiative to revolutionize the nation’s payment infrastructure with the introduction of the Fast Payment System (FPS). This groundbreaking system aims to facilitate instantaneous financial transactions across a wide array of financial entities, including banks and payment service providers (PSPs). The…