Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

Innovate Africa, an angel investment fund that supports early-stage founders in funding life-changing ideas, taking startups from conception to product and financing innovative ventures, has launched with an initial $2.5 million rollout. Co-founded by Kristin Wilson and Christian Idiodi, the sector-agnostic fund aims to support up to 20 startups in its first year…

Open Startup, a prominent initiative fostering entrepreneurial growth, has officially commenced the application process for its esteemed pan-African OST (Open Startup Tunisia) programme. This initiative is dedicated to nurturing early-stage startups and cultivating the talents of promising individuals across Tunisia, Senegal, and Morocco. The OST Programme is a prestigious collaboration…

Gupshup, a leading conversation cloud platform, in collaboration with Meta, the Sudan Medical Specialization Board, and the non-profit organization Shabaka, recently announced the launch of a telemedicine chatbot service. This innovative solution is designed to provide healthcare access to Sudanese refugees residing in Egypt, Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Djibouti, and…

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is exploring the possibility of creating an indigenous blockchain platform called ‘Nigerium,’ with the objective of safeguarding Nigeria’s data and bolstering national security. The initiative was revealed during a meeting in Abuja, where Kashifu Abdullahi, NITDA’s Director General, welcomed a delegation from the…

Digital banking institution TymeBank has announced the appointment of Karl Westvig as its new Chief Executive Officer. This leadership transition, effective from October 1, aligns with the bank’s strategic move to broaden its range of products and services, transitioning towards becoming a comprehensive service bank. In a recent statement, TymeBank…

The Bulgarian aerospace enterprise EnduroSat recently announced its collaboration with the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) to develop Botswana’s inaugural software-defined satellite, BOTSAT-1. The launch is slated for SpaceX’s Transporter-13 mission, targeting a February 2025 departure. The engineering team from BIUST will work in tandem with EnduroSat’s…

Huawei has declared a significant expansion of its digital skills training initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa, with the goal of providing ICT (Information and Communication Technology) training to an additional 150,000 individuals within the next three years. This expansion is a continuation of Huawei’s previous efforts, which have already yielded impressive…

The Luxembourg-based startup Ibisa, known for its innovative climate insurance solutions, has recently raised $3 million to propel its growth initiatives across Africa and Asia. This funding round was spearheaded by the Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (Araf) and Equator, with additional backing from Asian Development Bank Ventures (ADBV) and continued…

Norfund, the Norwegian investment fund specializing in developing markets, has recently declared a significant investment of $20 million into the Apis Growth Markets Fund III. Managed by Apis Partners, a private equity firm based in the UK, this fund is dedicated to investing in technology-driven financial service enterprises with high…

The Nigerian edtech startup FLOW, which specializes in creating engaging and interactive educational content based on positive psychology and social-emotional learning for students aged 7-18, is gearing up to scale its operations beyond Nigeria to additional African nations and the United Kingdom (UK). Morayo Ojikutu, the founder of FLOW, shared…

EXITS MENA, a fintech platform specializing in facilitating mergers, acquisitions, and investment opportunities for startups and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, has proudly announced the creation of a new strategic joint venture in Saudi Arabia. The platform was established in 2022…

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has recently unveiled plans to broaden the scope of its esteemed NINJA Accelerator program by introducing it to South Africa. This initiative is designed to foster a symbiotic relationship and promote open innovation between emerging South African startups and established Japanese corporations. Under the…

Copia Global, a Kenyan B2C e-commerce company, has ceased its attempts to salvage its operations and is moving forward with asset liquidation, offering severance to its workforce, and settling debts with creditors. The decision to liquidate will result in the cessation of business activities, the dismissal of staff, and the…

The Executive Council for Sustainable Urban Transport (Cetud) of Senegal and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) have embarked on a strategic partnership to enhance urban transportation systems in Dakar and other cities across the nation. This initiative builds on the momentum of Cetud’s recent accomplishment in January 2024, with…

El Kheta, an Egyptian online educational platform, has successfully secured a significant investment of US$400,000. This financial boost was provided by EdVentures, the corporate venture capital division of the esteemed Nahdet Misr Group. Notably, EdVentures stands out as the pioneering venture capital firm in the Middle East with a dedicated…

Ethiopians residing overseas have been provided with a new, streamlined method for sending remittances back home, thanks to a recent agreement between M-Pesa and the international money transfer company Dahabshiil, signed in Addis Ababa. This collaboration offers the Ethiopian diaspora a more convenient and immediate way to transfer funds directly…

Telecom Egypt has recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with 4iG Group, a Hungarian IT solutions company, to create a joint venture (JV) with the ambitious goal of constructing a state-of-the-art fibre network. This network is expected to provide high-speed internet access to six million households. The initiative is…

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has recently announced a new collaboration with Africa50, an influential pan-African infrastructure investment platform, as part of its Energy Transition Accelerator Financing (ETAF) initiative. Africa50 has pledged a substantial investment of $100 million to support and co-finance renewable energy infrastructure projects under the auspices…

The eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is poised to experience a substantial improvement in the availability of electricity due to an ambitious initiative undertaken by Congo Energy Solutions, operating under the brand name Nuru. The World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) has recently made…

CityBlue Hotels, a prominent hospitality brand in Africa, has recently declared a strategic investment in Farm to Feed, a business-to-business platform dedicated to addressing food waste issues in Sub-Saharan Africa. Farm to Feed is at the forefront of combating a critical problem in the region, where nearly half of all…