News
Artificial intelligence: Africa takes up the subject
As AI systems like ChatGPT begin to disrupt our daily lives, the global race for innovation is accelerating. The biggest advances are taking place in the United States, China and Europe.
French-African Fund 2 completes final close at over €50 million
AfricInvest announced a final close of the French African Fund II (FFA II), the successor fund to the French African Fund (FFA), having raised over €50 million of subscriptions.
The evolution of cryptocurrencies - a look at how blockchain technology is going mainstream
Cryptocurrencies have been around for over a decade now and have come a long way since their inception.
[Interview] Anne-Marie Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer, FSD Africa
Anne-Marie Chidzero is the Chief Investment Officer at the Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) Investments. In this interview, she talks about the risks and opportunities in backing Africa’s early-stage startups.
[Column] Alp Tilev: Why the transition to e-mobility in Africa must be expedited
Historically, Asia has been the birthplace of motorcycles. China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam are the world's four largest motorcycle markets. The continent is home to roughly 58% of all motorcycles in the world.
[Column] Hardeep Sound: Close the tech skills gap to unlock East Africa’s economic growth
Is a lack of tech skills hampering East Africa’s economic growth? The World Bank data suggests that the digital economy contributes more than 15% of total global GDP.
Gate Pay partners with CityPay.io startup to advance crypto payment adoption in Georgia and Europe
Gate Pay, the crypto payment service product by the global leading CEX Gate.io, announced a strategic partnership with CityPay.io, a fast-growing crypto payment startup based in Georgia.
Climate tech startup nZero raises $16m Series A funding amid global call for accurate sustainability reporting
nZero, the near real-time carbon management and accounting platform, announced it has closed a $16 million Series A funding round.
The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council appoints Elgon Kenya MD for advisory role
The Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, CWEIC, has selected agro input company Elgon Kenya as its strategic partner and appointed its Managing Director Dr. Bimal Kantaria to its global advisory council.
How blockchain is revolutionizing healthcare
The decentralized and transparent nature of blockchain has the potential to solve many of the challenges faced by the healthcare industry, such as patient data management and interoperability issues.
AlphaSense raises $100m to fuel innovation in AI and market intelligence
AlphaSense, the market intelligence and search platform, announced a $100 million addition to its $225 million Series D financing round at a $1.8 billion valuation.
GigaStar launches next gen funding experience for YouTube creators
GigaStar, a startup bringing Creators and Fans together as partners, announced that its next-generation marketplace launched in beta, offering YouTube Creators streamlined access to Fan funding.
GCPL to invest $12m in early-stage Indian consumer startups
Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), announced that it will be investing INR 100 Crore ($12 million) in Early Spring, a new INR 300 Crore early-stage consumer fund being set up by Spring Marketing Capital (Spring).
ABBANK accelerates banking transformation with Backbase Platform in Vietnam
Backbase, the global player in Engagement Banking, has partnered An Binh Bank (ABBANK) to transform the banking experiences for millions of Vietnamese customers.
Infobip launches Conversational Everything Blueprint to help brands meet evolving customer preferences
Global cloud communications platform Infobip has launched a new Conversational Everything Blueprint to enable brands embed conversational experiences for customer communications.
GRASP fellowship invests in African women researchers
The Kenyan women, and others selected for the GRASP Fellowship, are set to participate in a series of interventions, including leadership and mentoring training, designed to enable them to become more effective policy practitioners
[Interview] James Kilpatrick, Chair, Gravitilab, UK
Gravitilab is a "Space as a Service" business providing research, testing and qualification facilities to space agencies, government, academia and commercial enterprises.
[Interview] Ramanjeet Singh, CEO, Woosper, USA
Woosper is a US-based digital advertising and marketing agency focused on creating experiences that help clients discover their place in the digital world.
Belgian beverage startup Bar.on develops world’s first molecular beer printer
Bar.on, a Belgian beverage startup, has developed the world's first molecular beer printer, capable of creating multiple types of beer in seconds.
[Column] Chris Boshoff: Connecting the digital backbone
The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t new, but it has simmered on the edges of innovation and transformation for years and now it has, as the World Economic Forum puts it, ‘quietly arrived’.
[Column] Gur Geva: Biometric attacks on the rise: the trends financial institutions need to be aware of in 2023
In the past year there has been a 149% increase in threat actors using emulators to attack mobile platforms. There has also been a 295% increase in novel face swaps.
Nigerian fintech firm Zone adopts ThetaRay AI Solution to screen payments
Zone (formerly Appzone) and ThetaRay announced they will collaborate to implement ThetaRay’s cloud-based SONAR solution to monitor and screen Zone’s transactions in Nigeria for illicit activities and sanctions violations.
Nigerian fintech startup Moni unveils new community-powered digital loans for African SMEs
Nigerian fintech startup Moni has launched a new range of business loans targeting SMEs in Africa.
Forces shaping the retail landscape in 2023, ESW
Brands and merchants are constantly adapting to the ever-changing forces that shape the retail landscape
Chinese electric truck startup DeepWay raises $117m Series A+ round to accelerate mass production of smart electric heavy-duty truck
DeepWay, a smart commercial vehicle developer and manufacturer, announced it had raised $117 million Series A+ financing.
Fertility treatments aren't just for the 1%, Sunfish
Sunfish, a fintech company founded last year, aims to make fertility treatments more accessible and has recently designed a new product to help reduce the cost of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
Meet the 10 tech startups in the inaugural Geekz Ventures pre-accelerator
US-based pre-accelerator Geekz Ventures has announced its class of 10 startups for its inaugural cohort program.
TDK Ventures invests in pH7 Technologies for clean extraction and recycling of critical metals
TDK Corporation announced that subsidiary TDK Ventures, its corporate venture-capital arm, is investing in sustainable metal extraction innovator pH7 Technologies and co-leading its Series A financing round.
[Interview] Ayodeji Ayorinde, Co-founder, Artisankonect, Nigeria
Artisankonect is a Nigerian startup that helps outsource user requests to skilled persons. Startup Weekly chats with Ayodeji Ayorinde, one of the Founders.
Why open finance is the future, Plug and Play
In 2018, the UK made history as the world’s first Open Banking Standard was implemented, establishing the foundations for the nation’s pioneering ecosystem and setting a blueprint for other countries.
First Citizens Bank enters into whole bank purchase of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A.
First Citizens Bank, has entered into an agreement with FDIC to purchase out of FDIC receivership substantially all loans and certain other assets, and assume all customer deposits and certain other liabilities of Silicon Valley Bridge Bank, N.A.
Applications for inaugural AWS FinTech Africa Accelerator now open
Amazon Web Services’ Startup Loft Accelerator announced the inaugural launch of its AWS FinTech Africa Accelerator.
African market intelligence startup Rwazi raises $4m funding to accelerate growth
African market intelligence startup Rwazi has raised a $4 million seed funding round led by Bonfire Ventures and saw participation from Newfund Capital and Alumni Ventures.
Intelligent payments startup Toku raises $7.15m seed round to revolutionize subscription payments in LatAm
On a mission to revolutionize the way companies collect payments in Latin America, Toku, the platform optimizing collections for subscription companies, announced it has raised $7m seed round.
Korean foodtech startup Nuvilab selected to join Google for Startups Accelerator: Circular Economy
Korean food-scanning startup Nuvilab was selected to be the only Korean startup among hundreds of candidates to join "Google for Startups Accelerator: Circular Economy".
Interviews.
[Interview] Caroline Mutuku, General Manager, Glovo, Kenya
Caroline Mutuku is Kenya's General Manager of multi-category app Glovo. Caroline joined Glovo in December 2022 from Swvl Kenya where she also served as the General Manager from December 2021. In this interview...read more here
[Interview] Renate Swanepoel, COO, INC. Networking
Renate Swanepoel is an entrepreneur, global networker and inspirational speaker that has helped thousands of people around the world to find their purpose. She has gained significant networking and communication...read more here
[Interview] Anne-Marie Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer, FSD Africa
Anne-Marie Chidzero is the Chief Investment Officer at the Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) Investments. In this interview, she talks about the risks and opportunities in backing Africa’s early-stage startups...read more here
[Interview] James Kilpatrick, Chair, Gravitilab, UK
Gravitilab is a "Space as a Service" business providing research, testing and qualification facilities to space agencies, government, academia and commercial enterprises. The company’s Chair and Chief Finance Officer...read more here
[Interview] Ramanjeet Singh, CEO, Woosper, USA
Woosper is a US-based digital advertising and marketing agency focused on creating experiences that help clients discover their place in the digital world. The CEO Ramanjeet Singh...read more here