Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

Jumia Technologies AG, a prominent African eCommerce platform, has made a strategic decision to discontinue its operations in South Africa and Tunisia as part of a company-wide resource optimization initiative. The planned shutdown by the end of 2024 is aimed at redirecting the company’s focus towards regions with higher growth…

The Kenyan-based company Octavia Carbon, specializing in direct air capture (DAC) technology, has successfully secured a seed investment of US$5 million. This funding will bolster the company’s innovative efforts to harness geothermal energy, particularly the utilization of waste heat, to effectively extract carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and achieve…

Lapaire, a pioneering eyewear startup based in Africa, has recently garnered significant investment from AfricInvest and Proparco to bolster its expansion efforts across the continent. AfricInvest is set to infuse $2.5 million into the venture, while Proparco will augment this with a contribution of EUR 450,000 (approximately $490,278) through its…

Google has forged a pivotal partnership with Kairos Power, embarking on a venture to harness nuclear energy for its AI data centers. The company is charting a course to energize its AI operations with compact nuclear reactors, with the inaugural reactor anticipated to become operational within the current decade, followed…

The Ghanaian digital health startup BIMA has successfully secured a new round of investment from AAIC Investment, with the specific amount remaining undisclosed. BIMA is recognized for providing affordable health insurance and digital health services, specifically catering to the low-income and underserved demographics in emerging markets. As Ghana’s first licensed…

Sistema.bio, a biogas technology firm headquartered in Nairobi, has successfully secured $15 million in new funding to enhance its global reach in providing sustainable energy solutions. This financial boost will enable the company to broaden its operations, venture into new markets, and further develop its regenerative agricultural offerings, aiming to…

The African Business Angel Network (ABAN), a leading network of angel investors in Africa, has joined forces with the Scaling Digital Agriculture Innovations through Start-ups (SAIS) project, managed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), to…

The Reunert Group in South Africa has successfully consolidated its subsidiaries, IQbusiness and +OneX, to form a new entity known as iqbusiness. This newly merged entity positions itself as a “digital integrator” in the business and technology services sector, boasting a Level 1 B-BBEE certification. This merger is a strategic…

South African renewable energy firm Terra Firma has unveiled a substantial R1.3 billion ($73.8 million) solar energy project to combat the country’s escalating electricity costs. The project aims to produce a total of 110MWp of solar power, utilizing Eskom’s grid through an innovative financial approach known as “energy wheeling.” This…

Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform MaxAB has recently made a significant announcement regarding its leadership team. Mohamed Ben Halim, who co-founded the company and has been serving as the Chief Operating Officer (COO), is set to depart from MaxAB to pursue new ventures. This news arrives on the heels of MaxAB’s…

Just one month after its US launch, backed by Uber, the Nigerian fintech startup Moove has broadened its horizons by entering the Mexican market. This move comes with the company’s forecast of achieving profitability by the year 2025. The venture into Mexico is a significant achievement for the African startup…

An extensive data breach at BestFin Nigeria, a Nigerian fintech company, has led to the exposure of highly sensitive personal information of approximately 846,000 customers who use its loan application service. This information was reported by Cybernews to have included private communications among other personal details. The discovery of the…

Rabbit Mobility, a pioneering micromobility enterprise based in Egypt, has successfully secured $1.3 million in a recent funding round aimed at bolstering its expansion initiatives throughout Egypt and into the broader North African markets. The investment round was spearheaded by 500 Global, a prominent venture capital firm, and Untapped Global,…

The Nigerian Federal Government has successfully retrieved a total of ₦160 million from two domestic cryptocurrency enterprises, namely Paparaxy Global Ventures Limited and Lemskin Technologies Limited, following charges that they operated financial services without the requisite authorization. The allegations against these companies included the execution of transactions involving the exchange…

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is set to implement a new real-time tax system designed to integrate with cryptocurrency exchanges, enabling the authority to track crypto transactions and enforce tax collection. Kenya, with an estimated four million cryptocurrency users—one of the highest user bases in Africa—is looking to capitalize on…

Entlaq, an Egyptian entrepreneurial think tank, has joined forces with Savannah, a Sudanese incubator, to empower Sudanese migrant and refugee entrepreneurs in Egypt. Entlaq is dedicated to transforming Egypt’s entrepreneurial landscape, while Savannah stands out as a key incubator and consultancy firm with a mission to unleash the potential of…

DOB Equity, a family-supported impact investment firm with roots in Kenya and the Netherlands, is undergoing a strategic transformation with the induction of Karen Serem Waithaka as its new CEO. The redefined investment direction is a response to the urgent sustainability issues in East Africa and mirrors Waithaka’s intent to…

The World Bank has announced a $2 million grant to support the groundbreaking of Liberia’s inaugural utility-scale solar power plant. Georgia Wallen, the World Bank’s Country Manager for Liberia, revealed that the funds will be allocated towards hiring a transaction advisor to assist in the competitive bidding process for solar…

The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has issued a tax demand to MTN Uganda, the prominent telecommunications company, for the payment of Shs 260 billion ($70.9 million) in outstanding taxes. This sum represents unremitted excise duty and Value Added Tax (VAT) that MTN Uganda collected on the government’s behalf over a…

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has committed up to $25 million to support Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach (H2R) Fund, a significant $200 million initiative aimed at enhancing energy access in the most underserved regions of Sub-Saharan Africa. This commitment by the IFC to the fund’s senior tranche aligns with its broader strategy…