Kredete, a Nigerian fintech platform, has raised $2.25 million in seed funding, enhancing its ability to serve African immigrants in the U.S. The funding round, led by Blockchain Founders Fund (BFF), also included investors like Techstars, Tezos Foundation, Polymorphic Capital, among others. Kredete’s mission is to help African immigrants build credit while simplifying remittances, transforming how they send money home. Addressing Financial Barriers for African Immigrants Kredete’s innovative approach has attracted a user base of over 300,000 and processed transactions exceeding $100 million. The platform allows immigrants to send money
TikTok has announced the formation of its inaugural Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council, an initiative aimed at ensuring user safety across the region. This council, the first of its kind for a tech platform in Sub-Saharan Africa, was launched in Nairobi, Kenya. A Regional First for Tech Safety With millions of Africans using the platform for creativity and self-expression, the new council brings together independent experts across various fields, from youth safety to combating hate speech, to help shape policies that maintain TikTok’s reputation as a safe online environment. The
Chpter, an AI-powered conversational commerce platform, recently secured $1.2 million in pre-seed funding to drive the growth of its business. Chpter’s platform helps businesses sell more efficiently on popular social platforms such as WhatsApp, TikTok, and Instagram by automating conversations, marketing, and payments. Making social media sales easier As social commerce continues to grow in Africa—where e-commerce is projected to reach $46 billion by 2025—many businesses face challenges managing customer interactions and conversions, according to Chpter. To address these challenges, Mesongo Sibuti (CTO), Kuria Kevin (CPO), Mark Kiarie (COO) and Tesh Mbaabu (CEO) partnered to build Chpter. Chpter’s
A beauty pageant controversy has ignited a cross-border feud between Nigeria and South Africa, with ride-hailing apps Uber and Bolt becoming the unlikely battlegrounds. The Miss South Africa controversy Last month, Chidimma Adetshina was forced to withdraw from the Miss South Africa contest after becoming a finalist due to xenophobic backlash. The 23-year-old law student says she was born in Soweto, South Africa to a Nigerian father and South African mother with Mozambican roots. After withdrawing from Miss South Africa, Adetshina later accepted an invitation to participate in Miss Universe
Enerpoly, a cutting-edge battery technology company led by Eloisa de Castro, has opened the world’s first zinc-ion battery megafactory. This new facility, located in Rosersberg, near Stockholm, is a massive step in the global efforts to transition from reliance on fossil fuels to renewable energy. Safer, Greener Batteries Batteries are vital to the transition away from fossil fuels, but energy storage needs to increase six-fold to meet COP28 goals of tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030. The new 6,500m² Enerpoly Production Innovation Center (EPIC) aims to produce 100 MWh of
On Friday, Brazil’s top court ordered the immediate suspension of X—formerly Twitter—in the country following a months-long feud with owner Elon Musk. Now, rival platforms are benefiting. Bluesky Sees Surge in Sign-Ups Bluesky, which fully opened to the public in February 2023, is seeing massive surge in users, reportedly gained one million new users in just three days. The decentralized social app started off as a project by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey in 2019 when he was Twitter’s CEO. It has since become an independent public benefit corporation, with Twitter founder
Kenyan HR tech startup, Workpay, has successfully raised $5 million in a Series A funding round, spearheaded by Norrsken22. This new investment will bolster Workpay’s expansion across Africa, enhance its AI-driven performance management tools, and stabilize its financial services, TechCrunch first reported. The funding follows a $2.7 million pre-Series A round in 2023. Strategic Funding to Accelerate Growth Founded in 2019 by Paul Kimani and Jackson Kungu, Workpay has quickly positioned itself as a leading workforce management platform in Africa. The cloud-based solution offers a suite of HR services, including
Kenyan drivers for ride-hailing platforms like Uber and Bolt are pushing back against unsustainable earnings by setting their own fares, defying the companies’ algorithmic pricing models. This rebellion is fueled by the rising cost of living and ongoing economic challenges in the East African nation, according to Reuters. Drivers Push Back Against Falling Fares Across Nairobi, drivers are feeling the pinch of a brutal price war between global and local ride-hailing companies, including Uber, Bolt, Little, and Faras. The fierce competition has driven fares to what many drivers consider unlivable
Elon Musk’s Starlink is set to strengthen its footprint in Nigeria with the construction of new ground stations in three locations: Lagos, Ogun, and Rivers States. Starlink Ground Stations The new ground stations will be situated in Okun Ajah, Lagos State; Sagamu, Ogun State; and Port Harcourt, Rivers State. These locations have been carefully selected to optimize coverage and service delivery across the region. The facilities, spread over approximately 29,000 acres, mark an investment in Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure. Construction has already begun in Lagos, with the completion anticipated by the
Waza, a Y Combinator-backed fintech startup, has officially launched from stealth mode, securing $8 million in seed funding to transform how African businesses manage cross-border trade. The funding round was led by major investors including Byld Ventures, Norrsken Africa, and Timon Capital, with the aim of empowering enterprises across the continent to navigate global markets more effectively. Solving Africa’s Trade Imbalance The African continent faces a significant trade imbalance, driven by a persistent demand for the dollar—a currency essential for international trade. This demand often surpasses supply, resulting in higher costs
