April 13, 2022
Nigeria: Digital Bank Umba Raises U.S.$15 Million, Plans to Expand Into Three New Markets
There's no shortage of digital banks in Nigeria and, in general, in Africa. As the region continues to experience rapid growth in mobile usage and the corresponding growing young… Read more »
Kenya: Tech Firms Face Higher Levies As Kenya Plans to Double Digital Service Tax
Kenya plans to double the digital service tax (DST) to 3% beginning July this year, as the government taps the growing online economy to increase its domestic revenues and narrow… Read more »
April 12, 2022
Egypt: Pylon Gets U.S.$19 Million to Scale Software for Water and Electricity Distribution Companies
Pylon, an Egyptian infrastructure management platform for water and electricity companies in emerging markets, has raised a $19 million seed round. Read more »
April 08, 2022
South Africa: Didi Cancels Its Trip in South Africa
Didi Chixung, the Chinese ride-hailing giant, has today shut down its operations in South Africa (SA), a year after it launched in the country, marking its entry into the… Read more »
April 07, 2022
Africa: The Folklore Group Secures U.S.$1.7 Million, Launches Fashion B2B E-Commerce Platform
Fashion e-commerce startup, The Folklore Group, has today announced a shift from direct-to-consumer to B2B wholesale against the backdrop of a $1.7 million pre-seed funding, which… Read more »
Africa: ImaliPay Gets U.S.$3 Million to Offer Financial Services to Underserved Gig Workers Across Africa
The gig economy is experiencing profound growth in Africa. Yet, all that growth hasn't changed the status of workers who are seen as contractors rather than employees. Read more »
April 06, 2022
Africa: Wale Ayeni, Head of Investments for IFC in Africa, Middle East and Central Asia, Is Leaving the Firm
Wale Ayeni, the regional head of venture capital investments for the IFC in Africa, has left the International Finance Corporation (IFC), TechCrunch learned on Wednesday. Read more »
Kenya: Visa Unveils First Innovation Hub in Africa to Drive Product Development
Global digital payments giant Visa has opened up an innovation studio in Kenya, its first in Africa and sixth globally, after posts in Dubai, London, Miami, San Francisco and… Read more »
Africa: Qureos Raises U.S.$3 Million to Grow Its Learn to Earn Platform
Qureos, a UAE-based edtech and remote work marketplace that is changing how people upskill and get jobs across the globe, plans to grow the uptake of its platform by 10 times this… Read more »
April 05, 2022
Nigeria: ZirooPay Raises U.S.$11.4 Million to Scale Its Mobile POS Solutions for Retailers Across Nigeria
The number of POS terminals in Nigeria grew from 150,000 in 2017 to 543,000 in April 2021, according to Statista. During that period, the volume of POS payments in the country also… Read more »
April 04, 2022
Africa: Ups Partners With Jumia to Expand Delivery Network in Africa
Global logistics and package delivery company UPS will leverage Jumia's network across Africa to grow its reach in the continent, following a new partnership announced today that… Read more »