Adeniyi Abiodun, co-founder and CPO at Mysten Labs, announced that he and his wife, Gloria, are launching a $1.3 million endowment fund to help upskill aspiring tech talent in Nigeria. “It’s a milestone we’ve dreamed of, and now it’s real,” he wrote on X. “By 2040, Africa is set to have half the world’s working-age population. To really unleash that power, young people need access to quality training and opportunities, especially in fast-growing fields like AI and blockchain,” he adds. Helping young Nigerians upskill Nigeria is currently experiencing a shortage
Kenyan logistics startup Leta has secured $5 million in seed funding to expand its AI-powered platform, which helps businesses move goods more efficiently across Africa, TechCrunch reports. The round was led by European venture capital firm Speedinvest, with backing from Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Africa-focused climate tech fund Equator. Streamling Logistics with AI Founded in 2021 by Nick Joshi, Leta is tackling Africa’s logistics challenges by streamlining supply chains, reducing inefficiencies, and helping businesses save time and money. Its platform integrates with businesses’ sales and ordering systems, pulling real-time data
The Nigerian parliament recently passed a resolution banning pornographic websites with immediate effect. The decision follows a motion presented by lawmaker Dalhatu Tafoki, who raised concerns about the accessibility of explicit content and its perceived impact on societal values, particularly among youth. Concerns over moral decline According to Peoples Gazette, Tafoki highlighted the psychological and social risks he believes are linked to exposure to pornography, citing global research by psychologists and sociologists. “Renowned psychologists and sociologists worldwide have issued strong warnings about the psychological, sociological, and mental consequences of consuming pornographic content,”
Elon Musk’s Starlink is facing significant backlash in Lesotho over local equity. A rights group called Section 2 wants Starlink to give 30% of its ownership to Basotho citizens before obtaining a license to operate, according to TechPoint. The group voiced its concerns to the Lesotho Communications Authority, stating that the licensing deal is unfair since there is no local ownership. They also highlighted that other telecom providers in Lesotho, like Econet and Vodacom, have local shareholders, so why should Starlink receive special treatment? Starlink faces similar issues in South
CEO and co-founder Eric Collins of Impact X Capital Partners announced the final close of its latest fund. Illumen Capital, a BIPOC-led investment firm based in Oakland, California, and Basecamp Fund, a fund of funds investing in upcoming managers from London’s Phoenix Court, supported the fund, as stated by the Voice. This fund will help Impact X fulfill its commitment to tackling systemic barriers in venture capital by assisting underrepresented entrepreneurs in high-growth industries such as technology, healthcare, and targeted creative sectors. “This fund close is about more than capital—it’s
Mastercard Foundation, an international nongovernmental organization, has ended its commitment to invest $100 million in 54 Collective, the most active investor in Africa. 54 Collective (formerly Founders Factory Africa) and Mastercard Foundation “will be pursuing different strategies moving forward, and the partnership will end on 30 April 2025,” the venture capital firm told Rest of World in an email. A setback for Africa’s most active investor On February 20, the leadership team of 54 Collective informed staff that the new changes would lead to layoffs as the firm would end
On Friday, 7 March, South Africa rejected Elon Musk’s statement that his Starlink satellite company could not operate in the country because he is not Black. The country’s telecoms regulator shared that Starlink had not applied for a license, according to Reuters. The founder of Starlink, who was born and went to school in South Africa, wrote on X, “Starlink is not allowed to operate in South Africa, because I’m not black.” Senior official at the foreign affairs department Clayson Monyela responded, “Sir, that’s NOT true, and you know it!
TikTok is profiting from young women and teenagers as young as 15 performing sexual livestreams, the BBC has been told. Three women in Kenya shared they started these activities as teenagers, using TikTok to publicize their business and negotiate payment for more risqué content sent on other messaging platforms. The app takes a cut of roughly 70% from all livestream transactions, according to a previous report by the BBC. Though TikTok forbids solicitation, moderators stated they are aware that it occurs on the platform. Sexual livestreams on TikTok Livestreams in
LoftyInc Capital Management has announced the first close of its third fund at $43 million. The LoftyInc Alpha Fund focuses on investments that will expand Africa’s most talented startups across key areas like Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and Francophone Africa. It has previously invested in notable startups such as Flutterwave, Andela, Wave Mobile, and RelianceHealth. This comes at a pivotal time, as investors were less active in Africa last year. In 2022, 28 were involved in over ten $100,000 deals, but this number dropped to 8 in 2024. LoftyInc has over
Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb Apps are being used to lure women into sex trafficking in Colombia. In an investigation carried out by Bloomberg, several girls shared that they were victims of sexual exploitation. Platforms like Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb allowed predators to lure victims into sex work and plan dates and accommodations with tourists overseas. “With the growing availability of good internet service, the technology to enable this type of crime is on the rise,” Pablo César Villeda Ortiz, former regional president for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International
