For a while, there have been talks about revamping the outdated 2007 Act of Nigeria’s information and technology body, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). The bill which established NITDA as the agency to oversee Nigeria’s technological transformation is quite outdated. This past decade, Nigeria has arguably become Africa’s most attractive destination for venture […]
Facebook adds four new branches to its 2Africa subsea cable network
Facebook today announced that it would extend the “most comprehensive” subsea cable to serve the African continent and Middle East region to four more branches. Facebook will do this in collaboration with the 2Africa consortium that includes China Mobile International, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, STC, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone, and WIOCC. The new branches are Seychelles, the […]
WhatsApp and other social media platforms restricted in Zambia amidst ongoing elections
Several users from Zambia have taken to Twitter, informing the general public that WhatsApp has been restricted in the country amidst ongoing general elections holding today. The president and parliamentary elections are heralded by a face-off between current President Edgar Lungu and opposition Hakainde Hichilema. Internet monitoring organization Netblocks further corroborated these reports adding that […]
How Adia Sowho helped steer Thrive Agric through the pandemic crisis
Nigeria’s less than two-decade-old ecosystem is evolving fast. But behind the funding and legitimate hype, there’s without a doubt plenty of learning that needs to be done in running a startup. In retrospect, founders in Nigeria do tremendous work when you consider the kind of harsh market they operate in. They are deserving of all […]
Omnibiz gets $3M to digitize Nigeria’s informal B2B supply chain
Despite the prevalence of shopping malls and the emergence of VC-backed e-commerce companies like Jumia, informal retail in Africa is still king. A 2016 study by PwC states that 90% of sales in Africa’s major economies come through informal channels — markets and kiosks. This presents a large market ripe for digitization, and over the […]
Moove raises $23M to create flexible options for drivers to own cars in Africa
Africa is home to more than a billion people where a majority have limited or no access to vehicle financing. In fact, the continent has the lowest per capita vehicle ownership in the world. In 2019, Africa had fewer than 900,000 new vehicle sales. The U.S. sold more than 17 million new cars that same […]
Raise, a startup building Africa’s Carta, gets backing from 500 Startups
As startups in Africa continue to grow and raise money at a ridiculous pace, so too will their cap tables expand. Most African startups’ bulk of VC money is from foreign investors, making it imperative for African startups to incorporate abroad, especially in the U.S. The processes for incorporation are quite complicated, and even though […]
Nigeria’s Decagon raises millions to finance and train software engineers
This past decade, Nigeria has seen several companies cater to the development and growth of software engineers and tech talent in general. It’s a space many in the Nigerian ecosystem like to think is budding yet overcrowded. So when Chika Nwobi started Decagon in 2018, the perception was generally “here comes another tech talent accelerator.” […]
The first Zambian startup to get into YC is developing Africa’s first card-issuing API
More than 40 African startups from a handful of countries have gone through YC over the past decade. Zambia joins that list today, and its entrant, Union54, is a worthy first entry. Union54 (54 is a nod to the number of African countries) is a fintech company founded by Perseus Mlambo and Alessandra Martini. The […]
Nigerian digital freight provider MVX lands $1.3M to help shippers move cargoes faster
In Africa, chartering vessels and processing ocean freight can be challenging. The sector is largely inefficient and fragmented. Merchants also struggle to access finance to perform cross-border trade in the continent. A couple of digital freight companies are tackling this problem, like Nigerian-based MVX. The company today is announcing its $1.3 million seed round to […]