SA-based health tech startup, Syked, has raised an undisclosed seed round from HaloCare. Syked’s digital platform connects users to qualified counselors and allows users access to various resources and guided tools. The startup will channel the funds towards developing its operations and tech development teams. Syked Founder and CEO, Wandile Khumalo, remarked, “We are extremely excited to close this round as it allows us to grow our team and capture the telemedicine market. As a young health tech company, we’re looking forward to this new partnership as we now have access to HaloCare, a managed care organization that specializes in…
Author: Charity Mbaka
KOKO Netoworks has begun the installation of automatic cooking gas vending machines. The venture-backed firm has partnered with Vivo Energy Kenya to roll out the fuel ATMs. Vivo Energy is a licensed Shell vendor that supplies clean bioethanol fuel using its liquid fuel infrastructure, and delivers to about 650 “KOKO Point” Fuel ATMs across Nairobi. KOKO builds hardware and software tools which enable it to deliver gas at much lower prices than traditional fuels such as kerosene or charcoal. In addition to the cheaper prices, KOKOs kits are more convenient, safe to use and are also environmentally friendly. KOKO, which…
Google is set to provide small and medium Kenyan businesses with free website and online profile creation services. Google is providing the service in a bid to increase its visibility to potential customers across the globe. Newly appointed Google East Africa Head, Agnes Gathaiya, said the tech giant has established the ‘Google My Business’ SME hub. The platform will help the SMEs set up their profiles and websites at no extra cost. Speaking at the launch of Google’s ‘Rising Together’ program, Ms. Gathaiya said, “They will be visible across the globe enabling shoppers to find them as well as linking…
South African IT security firm, Afri-ko, has got into a partnership with Korean firm, SecuLetter to supply the latter’s products. SecuLetter has been a member of Born2Global Center since 2017. Afri-ko provides IT solutions, consulting, and security products to major customers such as national government agencies, finance, healthcare and enterprises in Africa. Afri-ko is currently carrying out large IT projects such as Smart city platform and Data integration which is related to Big data and IoT. Through this partnership, Afriko will supply SecuLetter’s email security solution ‘SecuLetter Email Security’ to the African market. Afri-ko CEO, Kenny Mziza said, “Last year, City Power, a…
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is planning to invest up to US$ 6 million in equity investment into Copia Global and Kasha. Copia Global is an e-commerce company that delivers essential goods such as food, personal care products, and school supplies to low- and middle-income consumers in rural and peri-urban areas of Kenya. It will be the recipient of US$ 5 million in equity investment from the DFC. Copia will channel the funds towards growing its mobile commerce platform and logistics network. In late 2019, Copia raised a US$ 26 million seed round led by LGT Lightstone. Copia aims…
Agnes Gathaiya will replace Charles Murito as Google’s new Country Director for East Africa. Her main role will be to manage all regional operations for the tech giant in East Africa. She will also be in charge of developing and executing Google’s in-country strategy for innovation and growth in line with Google’s regional priorities and mission, vision, and values and contributing to in-country growth of Google products and services. Agnes will see to the building and managing of strategic partnerships; this includes all relationships with leading advertisers, agencies, and clients as well as driving revenue growth. She has an impressive…
The first virtual class of Google for Startups Accelerator Africa is graduating this week. The 7-week program has seen 20 startups from 7 African countries refine their product offerings and undergo mentoring and workshops in various areas including; technology, product development and business growth. Google for Startups Accelerator Africa gives early-stage startups access to Google’s people, network, and advanced technologies. The 2020 class included startups from Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, Tunisia and Zimbabwe. The startups operate in various fields such as; logistics, transportation, education, agriculture, e-commerce, media, health and professional services. Onajte Emerhor, Head of Google for Startups Accelerator Africa,…
Eva Ngigi has been appointed by Visa as the new country manager for Kenya effective 9 September 2020. She will serve as the Senior Business Development leader, as well as be part of the East Africa leadership team. In this new role, Ms. Ngigi will develop and implement Visa’s growth strategy in Kenya. She is also tasked with accelerating the firm’s local growth by identifying critical business opportunities. In her 15 years working in the banking industry, Eva has worked in top financial firms such as Cooperative Bank of Kenya, and CFC Stanbic bank. Most recently she served in the…
Transaction Capital is set to acquire a non-controlling 49% stake in South African car buying firm, WeBuyCars for close to US$ 110 million, estimating the company’s value at US$ 219 million. Transaction Capital will seal the deal by paying US$ 87.5 million in cash and shares worth US$ 19.5 million. The acquisition also provides Transaction Capital with the option to take a controlling stake in WeBuyCars in the future. The deal comes after the Competition Tribunal blocked Naspers from acquiring a controlling 60% stake in WeBuyCars earlier this year. Transaction Capital is looking to finance the payment from a combination of existing cash resources,…
German investment group, GreenTec Capital Partners, has invested an undisclosed amount into Cameroonian agri-tech startup, Freshbag. Freshbag is a digital platform that connects farmers to vendors in a bid to ensure a fair and reliable food supply network. Freshbag buys produce from farmers at fair rates and dispatches the produce to street vendors across Cameroon. The start-up works in partnership with agricultural cooperatives to facilitate the collection and transport of crops urban centers for distribution. This in turn enables farmers earn more from their produce by slashing post-harvest losses. In addition to this, Freshbag is offering micro-loans and technical assistance…
Interswitch Founder and CEO, Mitchell Elegbe, will be speaking at the virtual 2020 edition of TechCrunch Disrupt 2020 on September 16. Mr. Elegbe, founded the company in Nigeria in 2002 in a bid to connect Nigeria’s banking system. Interswitch was a digital payments pioneer in Africa, predating even Kenya’s prolific M-Pesa product. By 2019, Interswitch had since risen to unicorn status after Visa took a reported $200 million minority stake in the company. A true rarity among fintech firms on the continent. It is planning to list on a global exchange soon. Interswicth which has a presence in 23 African countries, provides…
Andela is doing away with full-time developer jobs, as it transitions its workforce into gig workers. Current engineers/developers will be transitioned into contractors, afterwhich they will only be paid when they are staffed. A statement from the company read, “We announced last week that we would be allowing engineers to choose whether they wanted to continue as full-time employees or convert to contractors,” the company explained, “They will only be paid when they are working, but not when they aren’t.” The move will also see developers earn wages, as opposed to salaries. The company says that working on a contract…
Telco giant, MTN Nigeria, has announced a partnership with US-based music and entertainment streaming service, Tidal. Following the partnership, MTN subscribers will receive a free 30-day trial period to Tidal. The membership will include high-quality music, videos, concerts, interviews, and more from artists across the globe. Once the trial period has ended, users will be able to subscribe to the service. They can select any of the available plans ranging from 3 days to a year based on their listening patterns: 3 Day, Weekly, Monthly, 90 Day, or 1 Year Access Only3 Day, Weekly, or Monthly Access with Data Srinivas…
Spanish delivery startup, Glovo, has appointed Priscilla Muhiu as its new General Manager for Kenya. Priscilla is taking over the reigns from William Bentahall who has in turn been appointed Glovo’s General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa. Before this appointment she served in the capacity of Africa Marketing Head for Glovo. She was in charge of the team that launched the brand in Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire. Muhiu previously worked at e-commerce company OLX and logistics firm, Sendy. She takes on the new role with a wealth of industry knowledge with regards to growth hacking, market strategy development, and business modelling.…
Ride-hailing service, Uber, will now allow riders to access its services 24 hours provided they are going to or from the airport. At the start of September 2020, Uber Kenya begun allowing riders to hail a cab to and from the following local airports; Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Wilson Airport, and Moi International Airport. The move allows passengers to get to and from airports several hours outside the government-imposed curfew hours. Kenya recently re-opened its skies for international flights. An email from Uber to its Kenyan users read, “With this effect from August 31, 2020, you will be able…
Kenyan telco giant, Safaricom, has announced the second edition of its Spark Venture Fund, which was established to support late-seed and early growth stage companies in Kenya. In this second edition, Safaricom has pumped in 5 million dollars, increasing the fund from 1 to 6 million dollars. Safaricom launched Spark Venture Fund in 2014 in a bid to “grow a portfolio of strategically-aligned tech-enabled start-ups for deeper commercial partnership and/or acquisition by Safaricom whilst transforming lives.” Some of the startups that received the initial $1 million investment are: Sendy, Ajua, Eneza, Lynk, Farmdrive and iProcedure. In the second edition, tech-enabled…
The Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) has appointed Daniel Awe as its new head. The appointment was announced by the management and board of Access Bank PLC. The firm says Awe’s appointment signifies its commitment to advancing innovation in the tech space in Africa’s banking sector. Access Bank, Group Managing Director, Herbert Wigwe said, “We are excited about Daniel’s appointment as we strongly believe that he is the right person to lead Nigeria’s next wave of financial technology disruption. Since its inception, the AFF has created opportunities for African innovators and entrepreneurs to thrive. Daniel’s track record ensures that this developmental pattern…
E-commerce company, Jumia, revealed in its 2020 Q2 results, that it had come to an agreement that would bring the class action lawsuit against it to an end. Jumia listed on the NYSE, in 2019, to a mixture of excitement and skepticism. It was not long until allegations of impropriety in some of its reported numbers leading up to the listing were reported. The firm was soon on the receiving end of numerous class action lawsuits filed against the company, as well as current and former members of its supervisory and management boards. The lawsuits claim that Jumia committed securities…
Mali-based off-grid solar startup, Energy+ has raised over a million US dollars funding from a number of financiers. The consortium of financing partners includes: VentureBuilder, which led the round, a grant from United States African Development Foundation (USADF) and a debt facility from Cordaid Investment Management (Cordaid). Energy+, which was founded in May 2017, will channel the funds towards scaling its off-grid business across Mali, by expanding its “pay-as-you-go” and cash sales offering available through its retail network. The funding will go a long way in ensuring Energy+ is able to expand its services into remote and underserved regions of Mali. Energy+ CEO,…
Kenyan energy company, KenGen, has announced its plans to roll out facilities for electric car charging systems in Kenya. The move is being made in preparation for the possible roll out of electric Public Service Vehicles (PSV). KenGen’s Strategy and Innovation Director, David Muthike said in a webinar hosted by the Energy Society Kenya, that the energy firm is ready to support the electric PSVs, “The case to have electric vehicles is there, and KenGen is ready to support that with renewable energy. On innovation, we are exploring to participate in manufacturing, and we have also rolled out charging infrastructure…
Airtel Nigeria has announced its new partnership with Avaya in a bid to boost remote working and learning initiatives in Nigeria. Avaya, in partnership with Airtel Nigeria, will offer organisations and enterprises in Nigeria full-feature access to its flagship collaboration app, Avaya Spaces. Speaking on the partnership, Oladokun Oye, head of enterprise division, Airtel Nigeria, said, “Our partnership with Avaya supports key sectors by enabling organizations to maintain the safety of workers, students and customers as their top priority, while ensuring minimum disruption to everyday business.” “We have invested in building a robust telecommunications network as an enabler of business…
Social media giant TikTok is planning to sue the Trump administration to counter the executive order issued by President Trump, which bans the service from operating in US. TikTok is set to file the federal lawsuit as soon as this coming Tuesday according to an NPR report. The law suit will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, which is where TikTok’s American operations are headquartered. The lawsuit alleges that Trump’s action against the firm is unconstitutional because it failed to give the company a chance to respond. It also alleges that the administration’s…
Opera Limited (NASDAQ: OPRA), one of the world’s major browser providers and leader in AI-driven content delivery, is extending its offering to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. In 2019 Opera launched OLeads, a lead generation platform, and OList, an online marketplace for local merchants. Today hundreds of thousands of local merchants and businesses have already been onboarded and remain active on these platforms, allowing them to establish an online presence and connect with the quickly growing internet user base in the country. With an internet penetration rate of roughly 47% in Nigeria, the internet is a perfect space…
South African telco giant, MTN has announced its exit from the Middle East. The firm is selling its 75% stake in MTN Syria to TeleInvest which holds the other 25%. After the exit, MTN will focus on growing its operations in the African region. Group President and CEO, Rob Shuter, said, “MTN has resolved to simplify its portfolio and focus on its pan-African strategy and will, therefore, be exiting its Middle Eastern assets in an orderly manner over the medium term. As a first step, we are in advanced discussions to sell our 75% stake in MTN Syria.” MTN’s tenure…
Binance Kenya would like to welcome you to our official Telegram group where you can get real-time updates on upcoming Binance activities in Kenya! From free events to Binance product and features! New members who join the Telegram group between 10:00AM 07/8/2020 to 10:00AM 11/8/2020 stand a chance to win $10 in BNB*! 20 lucky winners will be chosen and a total of $200 in BNB is available to be won! Please note this promotion will be run for a limited time – 10:00AM 07/8/2020 to 10:00AM 11/8/2020 . Join the Binance Kenya Telegram group here t.me/binancekenya How to participate?…
Liquid Telecom, headquartered in Zimbabwe, has rebranded to Liquid Intelligent Technologies in a bid to become Africa’s leading digital services provider. The company additionally stated that it needed to develop people and improve organizational maturity, which will enable it to operate in its intelligent technology business to generate immediate and sustainable value to its current and future shareholders and exceed customer expectations to be more competitive in the industry. The rebrand comes soon after the firm added a new range of solutions in addition to its connectivity offering, and acquired the Samrand data center. Unfortunately, the move has seen the…
Tech giant Microsoft has confirmed ongoing talks with ByteDance to acquire its popular social media app TikTok’s US operations. TikTok is on the verge of being banned by the US government primarily due to suspicion that the company is likely to share user data to the Chinese government. This is a legitimate worry for the US government owing to TikTok’s rising popularity among its youth. Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella, says the companies will be in discussions with ByteDance for the next few weeks, and excpect to complete them before September 15, 2020. Microsoft and ByteDance issued a notification to the…
Kenyan telco, Safaricom, is set to continue providing monthly communication service to close to 5500 front-line healthcare workers. The service enables them to call and access the internet for free. The 5529 workers identified by the Ministry of Health will have access to 195TB of data, 10 million minutes for voice call and 33 million SMSs. Each worker is set to receive a free 128GB data, 600 minutes and 2000 SMSs for the next three months. Chief Administrative Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Rashid Aman, said, “Health workers are our first line of defense, and the continued support from Safaricom…
Kenyan telco Safaricom has appointed former CEO, Michael Joseph as the firm’s Chair after the retirement of long-serving Chair, Nicholas Ng’ang’a. In a statement earlier today, Safaricom’s CEO, Peter Ndegwa said Joseph’s appointment will take effect as from August 1st, 2020. Ng’ang’a had held the position for 13 years, having joined the Safaricom board in January of 2007. Before this he had been a member of the board since May of 2004 as a non-executive director. CEO, Peter Ndegwa, said, “Mr Ng’ang’a took up the leadership reins at a time when the government was starting the process of offering 25…
Nairobi-based Payment Service Provider (PSP), DPO (Direct Pay Online) Group, is set for acquisition by Network International for US$ 288 million. Network International, which has its headquarters in Dubai, is a group of companies that describes itself as a “leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.” The firm is listed on the London Stock Exchange. Network International is planning to leverage DPO Group’s operations in the online, mobile and alternative payments space. DPO currently has a network of 47,000 plus active merchants across 19 countries in Africa. The acquisition will also the growth of…