Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

Sixteen remarkable engineering innovators from seven African nations have been selected as finalists for the prestigious 2025 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, organized by the Royal Academy of Engineering. This year, the competition saw an unprecedented number of applications, with submissions coming from a record 30 countries across the continent.…

Nigeria has experienced the most significant decline in cash transactions among six cash-reliant economies over the past decade, driven by the rapid adoption of digital payments and increasing partnerships with fintech companies, according to a report by global payment processing firm Worldpay. From 2014 to 2024, cash transactions in Nigeria…

Nigerian edtech company Gradely has announced the appointment of Adebayo Alomaja as its new Deputy CEO. Adebayo Alomaja, who initially joined Gradely as a tutor in 2019, has been instrumental in driving the company’s international tutoring business to achieve six-figure annual recurring revenue. In his new role, Alomaja, also known…

South Africa’s Plentify, an innovative home energy management company, has been honored with the EEP Africa Project of the Year 2024 award, recognizing its groundbreaking technology and significant impact in tackling Africa’s energy challenges. This accolade underscores Plentify’s commitment to transforming the energy landscape on the continent. Plentify is a…

For a company that once aimed to revolutionize urban mobility through its technology-driven bus network, Egypt’s SWVL has experienced a tumultuous journey. After a phase of aggressive global expansion fueled by substantial investments, the Cairo-based startup confronted a harsh reality characterized by mounting financial pressures. This situation resulted in widespread…

Egyptian fintech startup Telda, which has garnered support from prominent global investors including Sequoia Capital, has made a significant move by acquiring the local securities brokerage firm City Capital. This acquisition represents a crucial step in Telda’s ambition to evolve into a comprehensive digital financial services platform. The announcement follows…

Egyptian fintech startup Bokra has achieved a significant milestone by securing an essential operating license from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) of Egypt. This approval is a pivotal advancement for Bokra, which operates as a Sharia-compliant investment platform. The license comes approximately one year after the company successfully raised $4.6…

Unity Bank has officially appointed Ebenezer Kolawole as the Acting Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, taking over from Oluwatomi Somefun, who has retired after a decade of dedicated leadership. This significant appointment has received the endorsement of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and was publicly announced during the…

Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder of the blockchain infrastructure firm Mysten Labs, along with his wife, Gloria Abiodun, has announced the establishment of a $1.3 million endowment fund aimed at training African software engineers. This initiative seeks to address the critical shortage of tech talent in the region’s rapidly expanding technology ecosystem.…

Norfund is making a significant investment in the AFGRI Group, a prominent agricultural services company based in South Africa, by providing strategic funding amounting to ZAR 600 million (approximately $33 million). This funding is aimed at supporting AFGRI in various critical areas, including financing capital expenditures, enhancing working capital, and…

Alitheia Capital and Goodwell Investments have officially announced the successful exit of their joint investment in the uMunthu Fund, marking a significant milestone with the divestment from Baobab Nigeria. Baobab Nigeria is a financial institution dedicated to providing essential banking services to individuals and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs)…

Swedfund, the Swedish development finance institution, has officially announced a significant investment of €15 million in the AfricInvest Small Cap Fund, a private equity initiative specifically designed to bolster the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the African continent. This strategic investment acknowledges the vital role that SMEs…

Startups from Kenya and the broader East African region are encouraged to apply for the Startup 360 Connect Programme, an initiative designed to facilitate global expansion for emerging ventures while capitalizing on the vibrant innovation ecosystems present in both Kenya and the United Kingdom (UK). Supported by the UK Government,…

Proparco has entered into a significant partnership with Equity Group to bolster sustainable agriculture initiatives in Kenya. This collaboration is set to provide technical assistance amounting to one million euros to the Equity Group Foundation (EGF) for the implementation of its “Climate Resilient Agri-Food Systems” (CRAFS) project. The formal signing…

Google has officially inaugurated its first “cloud region” in Johannesburg, marking a significant milestone as the tech giant intensifies its efforts to compete with its American counterparts, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS), in establishing robust data center infrastructure in South Africa. While the data center region was initially launched…

Yango Group, a prominent global technology company dedicated to integrating advanced technology into local communities, has officially launched Yango Ventures, a corporate venture fund aimed at empowering promising startups across Latin America (LATAM), Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (MENAP), as well as other high-growth regions…

ValU, the Egyptian financial technology platform renowned for its widely used “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) service, is poised to become a publicly traded company on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX). This development follows the announcement from its parent company, EFG Hermes Holding, which revealed that the board has approved the…

Twelve innovative South African startups have been chosen for the third edition of the Injini Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, a program designed to provide these companies with essential funding and various forms of support to enhance their educational initiatives. Injini, founded in 2017 and a member of the UVU Africa…

MultiChoice Group is set to implement price increases across its DStv satellite and Showmax streaming platforms in 2025 for customers in South Africa, with football fans facing the most significant hikes. While the majority of DStv satellite packages will see modest increases that remain around or below the inflation rate,…

Cairo-based startup Grinta, a fintech-enabled B2B technology platform focused on digitizing the pharmaceutical supply chain, has successfully secured an undisclosed amount of funding and made a significant acquisition as part of its strategy for further expansion. Founded in 2021 by a team of innovators—Mohamed Azab, Yosra Badr, Ali Youssef, and…