African mobile video network StarNews Mobile has secured $3 million in pre-Series A funding to empower African content creators to connect with their fanbase and make money. Notable Black French soccer players participated in the funding round, including Aurelien Tchouameni from Real Madrid CF, Jules Kounde from FC Barcelona, and Mike Maignan from AC Milan. Helping African creators monetize their content StarNews Mobile is a leading African media platform empowering content creators by providing opportunities to connect with their fanbase and monetize their content. It was founded in 2017 by
Sony Group has announced the establishment of the Sony Innovation Fund: Africa (SIF: AF) to support the growth of African entertainment businesses. Sony Innovation Fund The Sony Innovation Fund invests in technology-driven transformational companies shaping the future of business, entertainment, and society. Since 2016, Sony has been participating in the ecosystem of new business creation worldwide, with SIF specifically investing in seed to early-seed companies. The fund invests in startups bringing creativity and promising innovations to the world who’d benefit from partnering with Sony. Sony also has the Innovation Growth
Tech-based startup Remoteli connects African professionals with companies seeking to build a more diverse, skilled workforce. According to their CEO, Samuel Brooksworth, “Africa’s most educated generation has emerged from schools and universities.” Despite this, over one-third of the continent’s 420 million 15-35-year-olds are unemployed. According to Forbes Africa, the market for remote workplace services is set to grow from $20.1 billion in 2022 to $58.5 billion by 2027. Founding Remoteli London-born Ghanaian Samuel Brooksworth saw a gap in the market for a platform that could connect businesses with individuals from
Friends Benedict Owanga and Chinelo Adi launched their startup Owanga to deliver clean energy solutions to Congo, Africa. The startup launched in 2022 after Owanga had the idea during his sophomore year at Emory University School of Law. While pursuing an internship, he lost power for two hours during training. The inconvenience made him consider the experience of Congolese people back home. “It got me thinking if someone like me loses power for two hours and it takes me two weeks to figure out something, what about people back home
Zanifu, a Kenyan fintech company that helps millions of African businesses to access financial services, has raised $11.2 million in debt-equity funding in a pre-Series A round. Zanifu Founded by Steve Biko, the Zanifu platform allows small retailers and businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa to access inventory from their suppliers and pay later. They aim to support micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) by bringing their businesses online while providing them with working capital finance. Biko told TechCrunch that the platform targets businesses that need help accessing credit from formal financial institutions for
Seven months after terminating the contracts of almost all its staff in Accra, Ghana, Twitter has yet to provide its African former employees with severance pay or benefits. What Happened? At the end of last year, Musk laid off employees of Twitter Africa as part of a global cost-cutting measure. The Twitter team in Ghana had just opened their first-ever physical office when the team woke up to find they had been locked out of their emails and work laptops. They were also told over email that their contracts were being
25 innovative African startups have been selected for the third cohort of Google for Startups’ Black Founders Fund. Head of Startup Ecosystem, Sub Saharan Africa, Folarin Aiyebusi wrote, “we’ve seen firsthand how the startups in Africa are embracing the limitless possibilities of tomorrow, and it’s truly inspiring.” Africa’s population is rapidly increasing, with projections indicating that by 2050, one-third of Africans will be under 35. This demographic wave offers many opportunities for startups to cater to a booming market. Now in its third year, the Google for Startups Black Founders
To increase AI representation in Africa, DeepMind partnered with The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences to launch a new AI for Science Masters program in Africa. DeepMind, a cutting-edge AI company compromised of scientists, engineers, and researchers, is committed to using science to help benefit humanity. The AI company believes an essential part of the program’s development will be its expansion to different countries. To achieve this, DeepMind has launched a scholarship program to ensure AI technologies are built to benefit everyone. The scholarship program will provide talented students from
25-year-old inventor, Roy Allela, is using his passion for modern technology to change lives – literally. The tech enthusiast and data science tutor at Oxford University has invented smart gloves called Sign-IO to make communicating with the deaf community effortless. Despite over 300 sign languages being spoken by 70 million people worldwide, only a tiny proportion of people worldwide understand them. This lack of understanding has created a barrier between the deaf community and the rest of the world. Allela was inspired to create the gloves after experiencing first-hand how
Fintech companies in Nigeria are rapidly growing. In Q1 last year, funding for African startups hit a new record, with approximately 89% of all funding allocated to fintech startups in the region. Nigeria is one of many African countries working to make financial services accessible to everyone. As smartphone users grow and digital IDs become the norm – all eyes are on fintech startups to pave the way for financial inclusion in Nigeria. Nigeria’s mission to achieve financial inclusion A quick Google search will tell you that there are at least 150 fintech
