Author Archives: Africa Business

How 2021 has shaped the future of IT

Everyone, from software developers to school children, watched in awe as the world rapidly shifted online during the past two years. In fact, COVID has accelerated digital transformation by seven years, says Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader for South Africa and West, East, Central Africa at SoftwareONE. “This has changed, and will continue to shape, the […]

Chimera Investment LLC invests $50m in Airtel Africa’s mobile money business

Further to previous announcements, most recently on 16 November 2021, Airtel Africa, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, today announces the introduction of Chimera Investment LLC as an additional investor in Airtel Mobile Commerce BV (‘AMC BV’), through a $50m secondary purchase of shares from a […]

Ventures Platform Secures First Close of US$40mn Pan-African Fund

Ventures Platform, the early-stage “discovery” venture capital fund championing the next generation of African entrepreneurs, has announced the first close of its new US$40m Pan-African, early-stage fund to invest in market-creating innovations. With this close led by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the new fund features participation from existing investors and some new leading […]

Jiji Kenya Wins as the Mobile App of the Year| Shopping and E-commerce in the Mobile App and Summit Awards, 2021

Jiji, one of the most popular e-commerce sites in Kenya and the largest online classifieds in Kenya, has scooped the Mobile App of the Year, Shopping and E-commerce category. The award was presented to Jiji Kenya during the Mobile App and Summit Awards, 2021, which was held at the  PrideInn, Westlands, on Friday, 10th December […]

WINCH ENERGY OPENS CROWDFUNDING FOR OFF-GRID RENEWABLES

Leading off-grid renewable energy provider, Winch Energy, has opened its crowdfunding campaign to fund solar off grid developments that will connect more people in Sierra Leone and Uganda to clean and reliable power. This campaign enables individuals to invest in Africa’s growing clean energy market via Crowdcube from as little as £10. Winch Energy’s work strives to help […]

Salaam Somali Bank to distribute $4million to Somalia’s best and brightest young entrepreneurs

Salaam Somali Bank has announced that $4 million has been earmarked for Somali entrepreneurs between 2022 and 2024 to ‘kick-start’ economic growth in the Somalia economy at this year’s Mogadishu Tech Summit The Salaam Entrepreneurs Fund (SEF) aims to cultivate young Somali business people and support existing Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in the […]

AUDA-NEPAD, JICA, Afreximbank & BCG Empower Accelerator Cohort Of Five Successful East African Healthcare Companies

This is off the back of the Home-Grown Solutions (HGS) Accelerator for Pandemic Resilience, an initiative that aims to accelerate the growth of African healthcare companies to strengthen the continent’s pandemic resilience The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank) and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) held an event […]

Digital identity is a crucial business requirement post-Covid

It is well-known that the Covid-pandemic has forced change in many industries and driven digitalisation at a pace faster than anyone could have anticipated, but it has happened at the cost of robust security and digital authentication. The ramifications of this could be felt soon as it becomes increasingly difficult to know whether the person […]

2021: The year of the online payment

As the world moved indoors two years ago, the online payment space flourished. These are the biggest developments in 2021, and a brief look ahead. This year, South Africans embraced e-commerce, mobile commerce and digital payments like never before – all four major banks have seen massive increases in these payment methods since the start of the […]

Startup Support and Access to Markets Essential for Further Investment in African Innovation

Applications Now Open for the Telecel ASIP Accelerator, powered by Startupbootcamp AfriTech Over the course of 2021, African tech startups raised $4.42 billion in funding[1] – almost double the record-breaking $2.4 billion raised in the previous year[2]. “With investment in African innovation increasing, so too has the demand for hands-on support and access to markets from […]

Adanian Labs Launches Venture Building Program Call For Tech Startups For 2022 January Cohort

Adanian Labs has launched the Adanian Labs Venture Building Program call for startups for 2022. The program invites applications from tech entrepreneurs for the 2022 cohort of exceptional startups to join Adanian Labs in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Nigeria and South Africa. Since its establishment in 2020, Adanian Labs has incubated fourteen (14) groundbreaking tech startups across […]

Rethinking the norm in the built environment

Hanife Ymer, Head of Sustainability at JLL (Middle East and Africa) joined the Tétris Design and Build South Africa team at the Annual GBCSA Green Building Convention in Cape Town in November to give a talk on ‘How Sustainability is the Now, not the Later’. These are her thoughts. This year’s COP26 – the United […]

South African Proptech Flow Expands Reach Into Australia

API platform connecting real estate agents and social media users leverages significant growth on the continent to target global property market Flow, a proptech startup that enables real estate agents and developers to seamlessly advertise properties on social media, has announced that following consolidated growth in South Africa the company is launching in Australia. Flow’s […]

Internal fraud – who commits it and why

International Fraud Awareness Week is taking place from 14-20 November, highlighting an increasing problem that organisations around the world are facing. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), businesses lose around 5% of their annual revenue globally due to fraudulent behaviour, which experts estimate amounts to a total annual loss around the world […]

Netcore Cloud is the Only Customers’ Choice in Multichannel Marketing Hubs and Top Customers’ Choice for Email

Gartner Peer Insights 2021 “Voice of the Customer” has recognised the company based on Overall Rating, User Interest and Adoption Globally recognised martech SaaS company, Netcore Cloud, has announced that it has been named, Customers’ Choice in Gartner Peer Insights “Voice of the Customer” 2021 reports for Multichannel Marketing Hub & Email Marketing. According to the […]

South African Companies Offer Value Compared To Overseas Counterparts

Heineken’s proposed R40.1 billion offer for Distell is the latest in a series of notable bids for large South African businesses. This follows DP World’s recent proposed R12.7 billion offer for Imperial Logistics and PepsiCo’s R26 billion acquisition of Pioneer Foods in 2020. A key driver for all three deals is using the local companies […]

Water-Saving Toilet Manufacturer Propelair® Advances With New Partner In Key South African Market

 Propelair®, the UK designer and manufacturer of the world’s lowest-water-flush toilet, is making big strides in South Africa as the country continues to urge organisations to conserve water and use it more efficiently, reduce carbon emissions and promote hygiene. Having launched in South Africa in 2019, Propelair has now entered into a distribution agreement with Amalooloo, […]

Global Cities Report – Five strategic imperatives for city leaders

Last year’s edition of the Kearney Annual Global Cities report provided a revealing overview of urban centres amid the unprecedented public health catastrophe of the COVID-19 outbreak. A stark snapshot was painted of a volatile, increasingly fragmented environment characterized by fierce competition among cities for status, a situation acutely exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. “The […]

AFEX launches $100m Food Security Fund

Financing will strengthen Africa’s food security and optimise climate smart innovations across seven countries AFEX, Nigeria’s leading commodities market player, has today announced a new $100m 10-year bond called The Food Security Fund (FSF). The financing will strengthen Africa’s food security and produce three million MT of food annually on the continent. AFEX’s fund will […]

A Just Transition to Climate Resilience Could Transform Kenya into a Green Powerhouse

The Continent Is Highly Vulnerable to Climate Change, However, and Needs Significant Global Investment to Adapt to Higher Temperatures, Build Low-Carbon Economies, and Create Local Green Employment African countries face major climate-related challenges, but at the same time they have the opportunity to achieve sustainable low-carbon economies, according to a new report by Boston Consulting […]

New study reveals how digital technologies are shaping the global recovery

Latest Network Readiness Index ranks world’s most ‘network ready’ markets The latest results and rankings of the Network Readiness Index (NRI) were released today by the Portulans Institute, revealing how countries around the world are leveraging information technologies to emerge from the COVID pandemic and become ‘network ready’. This latest edition – the third compiled […]

Discover the first speakers and themes of the 5th edition of EMERGING Valley

A major annual event for Afro-European Tech players, the EMERGING Valley International Summit will be held phygitally on December 14, at the Palais du Pharo in Marseille, with over 200 speakers and 2,500 digital and face-to-face participants expected. The event is open and free of charge to everyone, just sign up on the official website.    EMERGING Valley is delighted to […]