Of course, the closure announcement was a big shock to everyone since Disha had reportedly bootstrapped to more than 20,000 users and had claimed to have a monthly growth rate of about 100 percent. No one expected this would happen, but as with most startups – resources are a significant problem, and a lack of them can mean great companies fall through the gap. The Nigeria-based platform allows digital creators to curate, sell digital content, create portfolios, and receive payments from their audience globally. This is a $100 billion economy.
MFS Africa, an inter-operability hub connecting mobile network operators across the continent through a single API, has raised $100 million in a Series C round. That’s a pretty significant number for a Series C funding round, and it’s split between $70 million equity and $30 million debt. Private equity fund AfricInvest FIVE co-led the round with existing investors Goodwell Investments and LUN Partners Group. New investors CommerzVentures, Allan Gray Ventures, Endeavor Catalyst, and Endeavor Harvest joined in while ShoreCap III returned as an existing investor with other funds. For someone who spent more than
Less than half of Britain’s Black business owners – 43 percent – trust banks to support their interests, a new survey has revealed. The report, entitled ‘Black British In Business and Proud’, highlights the issue of structural racism in terms of accessing capital, and its impact on Black business owners. The research, which was sponsored by Lloyds Bank and undertaken by Savanta, surveyed 808 participants from Black communities in Britain – 345 of whom were Black business owners. It revealed that Black business owners are 21% more likely to be self-financed than
Google has teamed up with the University of Nairobi and Africa Centre for Advanced Technology to honor the 71st birthday of Professor Duncan Okoth Okombo in their latest Doodle illustrated by Kenyan artist Joe Impressions. The Doodle of Okombo was featured on Google’s homepage. His contributions throughout his lifetime, spanning 66 years, have pinned him as the founder of African sign language studies. In addition, the University of Nairobi held a virtual commemoration on the University of Nairobi’s YouTube Channel from 11.30 am. Speaking during the virtual commemoration the Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi, Prof. Stephen G. Kiama,
Like many industries, the tech sector still has some way to go in addressing diversity and bias issues and although there has been some progress with big companies like Google creating initatives specifically for minority communities – the work shouldn’t and doesn’t stop there. After diverse intake in companies – what roles are they being given, the salary disparity once in the role, the treatment among colleagues and the handling of racism allegations. We’ve heard countless of stories of Black employees and their allies being sidelined for speaking out against
Electric vehicle startup BasiGo has today announced the launch of its operations in Nairobi, and the buses will come in 25 and 36-seater capacities, with a range of about 250 kilometers. The startup plans to sell locally assembled electric buses using parts from China’s EV maker BYD Automotive; the company said while announcing it had raised $1 million in pre-seed funding. It is also planning to enter other markets within the East Africa region after establishing ground in Kenya. BasiGo is backed by several investors, including Climate Capital, a Silicon Valley venture capital
Twiga Foods has raised $50M in its Series C round to take its mission to expand food and retail distribution across the African continent. The firm, which launched in 2014, uses technology to build supply chains in food and retail distribution. It claims to simplify the supply chain between fresh food producers, FMCG manufacturers, and retailers through a B2B e-commerce platform and it currently has over 100,000 registered customers and delivers to 10,000 every day. Twiga now plans to use the funding to test out a model they’re developing “to reduce the
An African startup described as the “booking.com for healthcare” by its founder has raised $1.5 million from its most recent round. RecoMed acts as a marketplace where patients can find and book services with healthcare professionals across South Africa. Sheraan Amod first founded the company after a brief stay in the U.S, where he experienced for the first time what it was like to book medical appointments online, which wasn’t the case back in his home country, South Africa. Mr. Amod then returned and created the company he refers to as
Bolt is set to roll out electric taxi options in South Africa four months after introducing e-bike food delivery services as part of its mission to expand across the continent rapidly. The move comes amid plans by Uber to test a carpooling and rideshare service in Nairobi, with ideas to also roll it out in Ghana and Nigeria. Bolt’s electric taxi option is part of the company’s “green category” initiative. The system lets riders only hail an electric or a hybrid vehicle – which is considered more environmentally friendly. The firm
NYSE-listed e-commerce platform Jumia experienced a drastic change in shopping habits across its markets in Africa last year, as more shoppers bought everyday products as opposed to electronics. According to a newly released Jumia Africa E-commerce Index 2021 report – consumables were in demand across the African continent during the series of lockdown. Shopping for essentials such as foodstuff, fashion, and beauty products saw Jumia’s total sales value of Fast-Moving Consumer Goods grow by 13 percentage points last year, from 44% in 2019, the report said. The report also added that
