August 16, 2022
Africa: Techcrunch+ Roundup - Usage-Based Billing, Web3 Fundraising, Serena Williams' Next Act
Netflix lost almost a million subscribers in the last quarter, and the streaming giant expects to shed hundreds of thousands more this year. Read more »
August 15, 2022
Nigeria: Pastel, a Nigerian Bookkeeping and Digital Platform for Merchants, Raises $5.5m Led By Tlcom
There's no end to digitizing the operations of small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the traditional retail sector across sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria alone, this industry, worth… Read more »
August 14, 2022
Africa: Why More Fintechs May Be Going the Debt Financing Route
Welcome to The Interchange! If you received this in your inbox, thank you for signing up and your vote of confidence. If you're reading this as a post on our site, sign up here so… Read more »
August 11, 2022
Kenya: B2B E-Commerce Platform Marketforce Cut About 9 Percent of Staff in Reorganization Strategy
Kenyan retail B2B and end-to-end distribution platform Marketforce laid off a chunk of its workforce in July, according to sources familiar with the matter. Read more »
August 10, 2022
Africa: Jumia Shares Rise As the Company's E-Commerce Business Revs Up in Q2
African e-commerce giant Jumia reported its second-quarter financial performance today. In the wake of its financial reporting this morning, Jumia's shares climbed sharply, gaining… Read more »
South Africa: DataProphet Closes U.S.$10 Million to Scale Its AI-As-a-Service Platform for Manufacturers
Manufacturing plants or factories take raw material inputs and add value through a sequence of unit processes before shipping a product. Now, this process must follow a recipe.… Read more »
August 08, 2022
Nigeria: Bluechip, an African Systems Integrator With Partners Like Microsoft and Oracle, Is Expanding to Europe
It's not often you hear about African tech companies expanding into Europe. Some examples include fintechs Lidya and Korapay in Eastern Europe and the U.K., respectively. In the… Read more »
August 05, 2022
Kenya: Startups Among Entities to Face Tougher Laws As Kenya Moves to Protect Personal Data
Startups processing personal data in Kenya are among the entities required to register with the Office of the Data Commissioner (ODPC), as the East African country implements a law… Read more »
Africa: Beacon Power Services Raises $2.7m to Improve Electricity Access for Sub-Saharan African Cities
Sub-Saharan Africa's share of the global population without access to electricity stood at 77% in 2020, according to reports. Also, the average daily electricity supply in some of… Read more »
August 04, 2022
Nigeria: Amazon Prime Video Launches Local Service in Nigeria
Amazon Prime Video today announced the launch of the localized version of its streaming service in one of Africa's biggest markets--Nigeria. Just as it did in Southeast Asia some… Read more »
August 02, 2022
Kenya: Insurtech Lami Raises U.S.$3.7 Million Seed Extension Led By Harlem Capital
Right from the launch of its first product in 2020, Kenyan insurtech Lami Technologies set out to increase insurance penetration in Kenya and the rest of Africa. It began on this… Read more »
Africa: Identity Verification Company Youverify Extends Seed Funding to U.S.$2.5 Million
This past month has seen several African fintechs such as Flutterwave and Union54 make headlines for compliance checks and fraud issues. Both unlinked events re-emphasize the… Read more »
August 01, 2022
Africa: Oui Capital, a Pan-African Early-Stage VC Firm, Hits First Close of Its U.S.$30 Million Second Fund
Oui Capital, an Africa-focused VC firm based in Lagos and Massachusetts, announced today that it has completed the first closing of its $30 million second fund, Oui Capital Mentors… Read more »
July 29, 2022
Kenya: Facebook Risks Ban in Kenya for Failing to Stop Hate Speech
Kenya's ethnic cohesion watchdog, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), has directed Facebook to stop the spread of hate speech on its platform within seven days… Read more »
July 28, 2022
South Africa: Startup Qwili Gets U.S.$1.2 Million to Scale Its App and Low-Cost NFC-Enabled Smartphone
Qwili, a startup that provides a hybrid sales product to micro and small merchants in South Africa, has raised $1.2 million in seed funding a year after closing an undisclosed… Read more »
July 27, 2022
Africa: As Africa's Digital Economy Grows, Expensive Internet Hinders Investor Activity in Some Countries
A new report detailing the cost of mobile data in different markets across the world, bears the evidence of why internet use in most of Africa remains low despite the growing… Read more »
July 26, 2022
Egypt: The Fashion Kingdom, A Fashion E-Commerce Startup, Raises U.S.$2.6 Million in Seed Funding
The Fashion Kingdom (TFK), an Egyptian e-commerce marketplace for fashion, beauty and home accessories items, announced today that it has raised $2.6 million in seed funding led by… Read more »
July 25, 2022
Egypt: B2B E-Commerce Platform Cartona Raises U.S.$12 Million to Scale and Explore New Verticals
Startups that solve the supply-chain and operational challenges of players in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry-by helping buyers access products from sellers on a… Read more »
July 22, 2022
Africa: Techstars CEO Maëlle Gavet Outlines the Accelerator's Newest Program in Africa
In April, startup accelerator Techstars, in partnership with ARM Labs, a Lagos-based innovation program focusing on fintech startups, announced the launch of ARM Labs Lagos… Read more »
July 21, 2022
Kenya: Rights Groups Call On Meta to Stop Efforts to Gag Whistleblower
Rights groups are calling on Meta to halt attempts to silence Daniel Motaung, a South African content moderator and whistleblower that is suing it alongside Sama, its main… Read more »
July 19, 2022
Africa: AfricInvest and Cathay Innovation Reach Final Close of Pan-African Fund
Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF), a Pan-African fund launched via a partnership between AfricInvest, a multi-asset investment platform in Africa and Cathay Innovation, a… Read more »
Sudan: Fintech Bloom Nabs U.S.$6.5 Million, Backed By Y Combinator, GFC and Visa
Bloom, a Sudan-based fintech that offers a high-yield savings account and adjacent digital banking services, has raised a $6.5 million seed round. This investment is coming after… Read more »
July 18, 2022
Africa: African Fintechs Halt Virtual Dollar Cards After Union54 Chargeback Fraud Surge
Last Friday, Barter, the consumer app of Africa's most valued startup Flutterwave, told customers via email that they would not be able to access its virtual dollar card service… Read more »
July 13, 2022
Africa: Mr Eazi, Black Coffee and Ajebutter22 - The Music Artists Backing Startups
African music artists are using personal funds and collectives to invest in startups. Soon, they might launch funds Read more »
Africa: Persistent Energy Raises U.S.$10 Million to Grow Its Clean-Tech Venture Building Business in Africa
Persistent Energy has raised $10 million in Series C funding to grow its climate venture building business in Africa, in a round led by Kyuden International Corporation, a… Read more »