- Nigeria's leading fintech startups are reportedly collaborating on a strategy to combat fraudulent transactions in their networks, including the development of a shared registry of suspected criminals, Semafor reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.The proposed initiative, known as…
- Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest internet company is reportedly laying off about 500 employees at its e-commerce unit Shopee in Indonesia, according to a Bloomberg report.In a related development GoTo Group, another of Southeast Asia’s largest internet companies, is embarking on fresh layoffs,…
- Germany is reportedly considering banning certain components from Chinese tech giants Huawei and ZTE in its telecom networks, a government source said, in a potentially significant move to address security concerns.The country's government said it is now carrying out a review of tech suppliers such…
- Telecoms giant MTN Nigeria has raised ₦125 billion (~$302 million) through a commercial paper issuance to promote its short-term working capital and funding requirements.The issuance, part of MTN Nigeria's ₦150 billion commercial paper issuance programme, comprised a 188-day commercial paper at a…
- IoT solutions and data analytics startup Probus Smart Things, has raised $3 million from Unicorn India Ventures (UIV) and a family office from the US in a Series A funding round. The round also saw participation from existing investors, including angels from the US.Founded in 2017 by Anand Singh,
- Andela, the global talent network that connects companies with top technologists, has announced the acquisition of Qualified.io, a leading technical assessment platform.This announcement was made by the CEO, Jeremy Johnson, in a blog post. With this acquisition, Andela is set to revolutionize the…
- Rankmi, the Chilean human resources management startup has announced a merger with the Mexican payroll solutions company Osmos and raised new funds in a Serie A investment round led by the Softbank Latin America Fund. According to the company, both transactions were valued at $48 million.The merger…
- Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) startup Houseware has announced the raise of $2.1 million in seed funding, led by Singapore-based venture capital firm Tanglin Venture Partners.Founded in late 2021 by Saini and Shubhankar Srivastava, the startup empowers businesses in the SaaS sector with more than 1,…
- Nigeria's broadband penetration has reached 48% from 41% in January 2022, per the latest figures released by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC). The country's broadband subscription stands at 92,011,259 million.According to Techloy analysis, the growth rate has been around 0.5% since June
- Upload Ventures, the Latin American-focused investment firm spun out of SoftBank’s investment arm less than a year ago, is looking to raise a $250 million fund, according to regulatory filings.The Mexico- and Brazil-focused firm has already secured an anchor investor, with Brazilian telecoms…
- Humane Inc., a startup founded by former Apple employees, has raised $100 million in a Series C round and will release its first product this spring.The company, founded in 2018 by husband and wife duo Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, who both served as directors of Apple’s
- Chinese online fashion retailer Shein is set to raise around $2 billion in a new funding round this month and is aiming for a U.S. listing in the second half of this year, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter.This comes after the company attempted to
- Galaxy Backbone, the Nigerian government's information technology and shared service provider says it blocked over 200 cyberattacks during the country's presidential and National Assembly elections in February, according to local media reports.The attacks rose to 1.2 million the day after the…
- The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has approved the operational guidelines for open banking, kickstarting an open banking regime in Nigeria. With this regulation, Nigeria becomes the first country in Africa to have an Open Banking regulation.The guidelines were released in a circular by Musa Jimoh,…
- Safaricom, East Africa's leading telecommunications company, is facing two major lawsuits from customers seeking accountability from the telco giant.In a class-action suit against Safaricom, three M-Pesa users alleged that the company uses its customers' money to engage in profit-making financial…
- Indian supply-chain financing platform Mintifi has announced the raise of $110 million in its Series D funding round led by Premji Invest.The latest capital infusion, which comes about a year after the startup raised $40 million in a Series C round in February 2022 and other previous rounds, brings
- China is reportedly making plans to form a national data bureau that will be responsible for coordinating the sharing and development of the country's data resources, according to a reform plan submitted on Tuesday to parliament.This move further strengthens the state's oversight over data collected
- Global Electric Vehicle (EV) sales crossed the 10 million mark to reach 10.2 million in 2022 as sales in Q4 2022 rose by 53% YoY according to the latest research from Counterpoint.During the quarter, battery EVs (BEV) accounted for almost 72% of all EV sales, while plug-in hybrid
- Mexican crypto exchange Bitso haslaunched the Bitso Card, a payment product in partnership with Mastercard to provide secure financial access in Mexico, several months after announcing the collaboration.Bitso Card is a payment method that lets users pay using their Mexican peso…
- South Africa's ongoing power crisis is costing the country $51 million a day, with a predicted total economic loss of $12.7 billion for 2023, according to the country's central bank.Eskom, the state-owned power monopoly, has been blamed for the crisis and its inability to
- The Indian Finance Ministry has issued a notice stating that anti-money laundering regulations will now apply to crypto trading, safekeeping, and associated financial services, per a Bloomberg report.These new regulations introduced by the Indian government aim to increase oversight of digital…
- Baims, a leading edtech startup in the MENA region has secured $4 million in a Series A funding round, led by AK Holding and featuring Al-Wazzan Educational Group, Rasameel Investment House, and other investors.The company operates in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, and Turkey, aiming to…
- According to a report by the South China Morning Post, Hong Kong lost $216.6 million to crypto scams in 2022, which is a 106% surge from the previous year. Hong Kong-based residents lost a total of $407 million in tech-related crimes, and more than 50% of that was due
- Funngro, a platform that offers teenagers an opportunity to earn money through real-life freelancing projects, has raised 50 lahks (~$61,000) in a pre-seed round.The startup raised funds from Shark Tank investors Amit Jain, CarDekho’sfounder, and Emcure Pharmaceutical’s Namita Thapar. Early-stage…
- Logistics firm Pidge has raised $3 million in a pre-Series A roundled by Mountain Partners and with participation from existing investor Indian Angels Network (IAN).The new round follows the $1 million funding from the IAN in 2021. Prior to this, the founders had bootstrapped the…
- Global smartphone sales volume is expected to show flat year-on-year growth in 2023, according to TechInsights (Strategy Analytics)’s Wireless Smartphone Strategies (WSS) service research report.Per region, the Asia Pacific and North American regions are forecasted to post an annual growth rate in…
- The global CMOS image sensor (CIS) market revenue fell for the first time in a decade to reach $19 billion in 2022, a decline of 7% YoY, according to Counterpoint Research’s data. Sluggish demand from the mobile phone, surveillance and PC and tablet segments led to this weaker-than-expected
- The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has launched an inquiry into the conduct of online food delivery and grocery platforms in the country to inform policy options and bolster healthy competition, as well as consumer protection enforcement, according to a report from TechCrunch.The regulator is…
- The number of short video users in China exceeded one billion for the first time as of December 2022, and the user utilization rate grew to be as high as 94.8%, according to the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC).The scale of short video users continues to grow,
- Apple's top manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group has announced plans to invest about $700 million in a new plant in India to ramp up local production, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.Foxconn’s investment in India underscores its accelerating shift of manufacturing…
- Flat6Labs, the leading seed investor in the MENA region, has launched StartMashreq, a two-year entrepreneurship program in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the government of the Netherlands. StartMashreq aims to support entrepreneurs from underserved demographics,…
- NBCUniversal, in partnership with its sister company Sky, is set to acquire a 30% stake in Showmax, a streaming video entertainment platform owned by MultiChoice Group.This is part of NBCUniversal's larger plan to establish itself as the leading streaming platform in Africa. Under the deal,…
- Brazilian fintech company Blipay, which aims to improve financial service experiences, has raised $6.7 million in a Series A debt financing round from SRM Ventures, a corporate Venture Capital focused on fintech.Blipay’s primary business revolves around offering salary anticipation services to…
- Microsoft is having a Santa Claus moment in March.Having been in the news for the most positive reasons in recent weeks with the ChatGPT wave and integration with Bing and bringing AI to its Windows 11 platform, the company appears to be enjoying the attention and wants to do
- From attracting tech talent globally to investing in clean tech initiatives, the United Kingdom has long been known for its efforts in advancing technological innovations.This week, the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary…
- Netflix has reduced the cost of its service in more than three dozen countries in recent weeks, as it tries to attract more subscribers amid stiff competition.The recent price reductions span Middle Eastern countries including Yemen, Jordan, Libya and Iran; sub-Saharan African markets including…
- Colombian fintech Avista, which uses digital financial solutions to provide greater access to credit products, has closed a $22.5 million debt facility from Accial Capital, a tech-enabled investor in small business and consumer loan portfolios in emerging markets.This is not the first debt facility…
- Alpha Blue Ocean (ABO), a structured Private Investments in Public Equity (PIPE) investor, has announced the launch of a new investment company, ABO Digital. Alpha Blue Ocean will offer innovative and flexible funding solutions to early-stage and high-growth companies in the digital asset and…
- Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform, Alerzo, has confirmed it has laid off 15% of its full-time workforce in its second round of job cuts in seven months. This comes after the company’s first layoffs last September, which affected 5% of its full-time employees.The first layoffs were performance-…
- Indian Edtech startup Simplilearn has marked a 2531.6% rise in its consolidated losses for FY22, reporting arrears of Rs 150 Crore (-$18 million), up from Rs 5.6 Crore (-$680,000) in FY21 as total expenses shot up 82% in the year.This loss recorded in the
- Bahrain-based Procural has raised $1.2 million in a seed funding round led by Flagship Holding and Canada's BenchMatrix.Procural is a B2B procurement platform that uses AI algorithms to match vendors and buyers, providing a cloud-based infrastructure, automated purchase orders and real-time budget…
- Chinese firms filed for over 50% of all chip-related patents in 2022, ahead of both the US and the UK, as the semiconductor technology race between the global technology powers continues to heat up, a report by Mathys & Squire, an intellectual property law firm stated.According to the report
- Flutterwave, a Nigerian fintech company, has been at the centre of controversy after media reports surfaced that hackers had stolen over ₦2.9 billion ($6.3 million) from the company.According to Yewande Akomolafe-Kalu, Flutterwave's Head of Branding and Storytelling, the company was not hacked. In a
- Envisionit Deep AI, a South African health tech startup that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the accessibility and quality of diagnostic imaging, has secured $1.65 million in investment from New GX Ventures SA.Envisionit Deep AI was founded in 2019 by Dr Jaishree Naidoo, Terence Naidu…
- Guinean fintech startup YMO has raised €3 million ($3.2 million) in seed funding from a group of venture capital funds including Breega and INCO Ventures. The investment represents one of the largest sums ever raised by a Guinean start-up.YMO was founded in 2019 by Abdoulaye Barry and
- Microsoft is bringing a preview of its PC Game Pass service to 40 new countries, as it seeks to capitalize on new markets to grow its subscription service.The 40 new markets see the service expand to countries across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, including Albania, Algeria, Bahrain,
- Did you know that some companies are allowing their employees to work during vacations?This week (end)'s edition of The Draft – curated by Emmanuel and edited by Loy – highlights the post-pandemic work models that are becoming the new normal.We all know that work-life balance matters.
- In 2022, 8.7% of individuals and corporate users in Africa were affected by phishing attacks, according to a report by the cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. The report reveals that South Africa had the highest percentage of users affected by phishing attacks at 9.7%, followed by Kenya at 8.4%
