Africa

African e-commerce Firm Jumia Says It Is Past Peak Losses, Shares Jump

African e-commerce firm Jumia Technologies said on Wednesday it was past peak losses and would focus on promotions, marketing and cost cutting in its quest towards profitability, driving its shares up 16 percent despite a wider quarterly loss. Jumia is an online marketplace for vendors and food sellers, with associated services including logistics and payments. […]

'Looty' Project Launches Digital Art Heists to Reclaim African Artifacts

A Nigerian man has launched a project called “Looty” to reclaim African artifacts stolen by European colonisers by creating 3-D images of them, selling them as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and using the proceeds to fund young African artists. Calls for objects stolen during the colonial period to be returned to their places of origin have […]

Google to set up first Africa product development centre in Nairobi

Alphabet Inc’s Google is investing in its first ever Africa product development centre in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, it said, as it positions itself to serve a growing base of internet users on the continent. By the end of this decade, the continent will host 800 million internet users, the California-based firm said, and a […]

WHO to Deliver Africa with COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Tech

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the six African countries would obtain technology to tool them with the needed means to produce their own COVID-19 vaccines. In an effort to minimize global reliance on vaccine manufacturing from companies outside the continent, the WHO added Egypt, Tunisia, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, and South Africa would have […]

Africa’s Tech Startups Could Secure $90 Bln Funding, Report Finds

In a report released by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Africa could be taking the lead in securing whopping funding exceeding $90 billion by 2030 for tech startups, once policymakers drive growth by trailing essential reforms. The British institute estimated in its report a business-as-usual scenario compared to an enhanced policy-environment scenario by […]

Kenyan Copia Global secures $83,000 in funding rounds

Kenya-based Business to Customer e-commerce company, Copia Global, secured a $50 million funding in a Series C equity round directed by Amsterdam-based Goodwell investments.  The financing round admits a variety of investors, including “Zebu Investment Partners, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Koa Labs, Loghtrock, German development finance institution (DEG), and Perivoli Innovations,” according […]

Investors to list an African blank-check tech company

Two early-stage investors riding the modernization wave of the African continent have expressed interest in listing a blank-check company focusing on technology companies in the region. Vishal Agarwal, an investment banker, and Raj Kulasinggam, a corporate lawyer, are seeking out the possibility of pouring investments into Africa, following the success of similar investors in companies […]

FinTech Companies to Uplift Africa’s Offline and Digital Payments

The Covid-19 pandemic paved the way for a comprehensive technological adoption to push digital payments platforms to reach thousands, if not millions, of users in Africa, with the adoption of contactless means to conduct transactions. What was once perceived as a luxury for making payments now has become a necessity for the sustainability of Africa’s […]

Kenyan BNPL startup raises $12 million, broods over African markets

Kenyan tech-led consumer credit platform, Lipa Later, announced plans to reach different frontiers by widening its horizon to reach new markets in Africa, and be endorsed by a $12 million pre-Series A funding.  Steered by Cauris Finance, Lateral Frontiers VC – one of the platform’s first investors – and GreenHouse Capital, the equity and debt funding round was also […]