Startups Archives - Page 15 of 20

17Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News, Startups

First of Its Kind Fund Launches to Fuel Sustainable Development Goal-Driven Innovation in Africa

Focussed on catalysing dramatic change via disruptive tech investments in emerging markets, the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG), has today announced the launch of a unique profit and purpose fund aimed at investing in early-stage tech innovation startups across Africa. The GIIG Africa Fund, a Curaçao-based private investment fund, will invest annually in the winners pool from the African region of the Global Startup Awards (GSA), the worlds’ largest independent start-up ecosystem competition. The aim: to stimulate entirely new industries, accelerate cross-border collaboration and unlock access to new markets across Africa. As the exclusive rights holder for the Awards, GIIG will have access to an active pipeline throughout the African continent comprised of vetted participants a...

17Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

SA’s Proposed Startup Act Soon to be Revealed

On Thursday, 16 September 2021, startup ecosystem stakeholders will be unveiling the latest findings and plans towards the development of a proposed South African Startup Act – a call to the President to unleash the growth and innovation inherent in the country’s entrepreneurs and youth. These findings, gathered over the past six months via desktop research, focus groups and research contributed by the World Bank (one of the main sponsors of the research), provide a holistic overview of the problems affecting the ability of startups to establish, grow and scale in South Africa. The findings, which have been collated into a position paper, suggest that innovation-driven start-ups with a turnover of less than R100 million be exempted from the limitations of existing policies and the red-tap...

17Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

Innovative Ideas for a Smart Stellenbosch: Nominations open for the second annual #IdeasForChange Challenge

With steady population growth and rapid urbanisation in the Cape Winelands expected to put severe pressure on the district’s public services[i], Stellenbosch Network has opened nominations for its second annual #IdeasForChange Challenge. In doing so, the organisation invites all people living, working or studying in Stellenbosch and surrounds to submit their innovative ideas towards making Stellenbosch a “Smarter City” and stand the chance to win their share of R20,000 in cash prizes and more to bring their idea to life. Run in partnership with Stellenbosch University and the SU LaunchLab, the competition seeks to uncover creative, innovative and scalable ideas to improve municipal decision-making and the quality of life of citizens. These ideas must utilise data and technology, but can s...

7Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Startups

LG Announces Global Startup Competition To Recruit New Businesses For Innovation Center

‘Mission for the Future’ Challenge Seeks Innovations that Improve Quality of Life LG Electronics (LG) announces the launch of Mission for the Future, a global challenge competition for startups to identify innovative technologies and business ideas that pave the way to the future. This inaugural competition is hosted by the company’s new Silicon Valley-based innovation center, LG NOVA, a strategic team within LG working with startups and the entrepreneur communities to build new businesses and bring even more innovation from the outside into LG. Mission for the Future is a nine-month annual challenge program created to seek the best ideas, concepts and businesses that will improve quality of life in a greener, smarter, healthier, more-connected future. Selected challenge entrants will be...

2Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News, Startups

Fintech Startup SOL announces rebrand with exciting new virtual card offering

SOL unveils virtual card and new brand as it redefines the customer experience SOLmate, an online payment platform that offers clients a digital wallet facility, has unveiled an exciting new product offering together with an extensive rebrand and renewed corporate vision. Following a name change to SOLmate, the fintech has launched a new, innovative virtual card – placing unbanked and underbanked clients at the centre of SOLmate’s business offering. The new virtual card provides clients with the ability to shop online safely, and to draw cash from various retail stores – making SOLmate one of the first fintech players to offer a virtual card to FICA lite customers who would otherwise not have had access to digital financial services. With a new tagline of “Your money. Your life. Your ...

24Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Business, Startups

Generational Marketing: How to ensure your brand lands with the right audience

Did you know that, contrary to what one might think, older age groups are the fastest-growing segments of many social media platforms’ audiences[1]? Facebook, for example, saw users above the age of 65 increase by roughly 25% over the past year[2], while those aged 50 plus represent Snapchat’s fastest-growing audience segment[3]. “When brands decide that they want to be on social media, they first need to consider the ages of the audiences on each platform as this plays a massive part not only in the messaging they should use but the format thereof too,” says Alistair Errington, Sales Team Lead at Ad Dynamo – Africa’s leading media sales house. He unpacks some of today’s most popular platforms and the typical age groups of audiences associated with each: TikTok’s ability to provide...

24Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

Youth Content Collective connects corporate SA with township content creators, creating income opportunity

Youth Employment Service (YES), in collaboration with Metropolitan GetUp and Ford SA, has launched the Youth Content Collective (YCC) - a platform that connects talented black South African content creators with businesses, so that these young individuals can earn a meaningful living from their creative abilities. YCC launch: From left to right: James Boulton (Marketing Manager: Metropolitan); Nontokozo Madonsela (Group CMO: Momentum Metropolitan); Jason Levin (YCC); Leanne Emery (Acting Co-CEO: YES); Peter Tshiguvho (CEO: Metropolitan); Kgothatso Mahlaku (YCC content creator); Hillie Meyer (CEO: Momentum Metropolitan); Tlalane Ntuli (CMO: Metropolitan); Matshelane Mamabolo (YES); Vaunn Kelly (Acting Co-CEO: YES) YCC’s first cohort is made up of 50 photographers, videographers, fil...

20Aug

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

Four of Southern Africa’s best and innovative legal startups proceed to HiiL Justice Accelerator

The Hague Institute for Innovation of Law (HiiL) has announced the four startups that will go on to the prestigious HiiL Justice Accelerator. The four exciting innovators are part of a global cohort of 18 organisations who will receive EUR 10 000 funding and business development support. Southern Africa’s HiiL Justice Accelerator programme is funded by the Dutch Postcode Lottery. HiiL kicked off its annual global Innovating Justice Challenge in search of the region’s best justice-related social entrepreneurs in March this year which attracted more than 200 applications from startups with high-impact justice innovations. The stringent selection process comprised a week of intensive ‘bootcamp’ workshops for six regional finalists, and a pitching session in which they demonstrated their wor...

SA Startup – Omnisient – Wins Global Award

29Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News, Startups

SA Startup – Omnisient – Wins Global Award

Omnisient is a leading technology provider of a secure data collaboration platform that empowers organisations to derive deep insights from their data. The company helps organisations unlock growth opportunities and new audience segments without compromising the privacy of their customers. Omnisient’s recent recognition by the World Marketing Congress proves yet again that the African continent is producing some astonishing scale-ups and entrepreneurs, along with innovative solutions to complex challenges. On 15 July, Omnisient was awarded the prestigious South African Best Brands citation at the CMO Asia Brand Leadership Awards 2021. Launched in 2010, the initiative’s intention is to identify and celebrate outstanding brand building and marketing by organisations and recognise prof...

Top African regions set to become leading startup and investment hubs

26Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Kenya News, South Africa News, Startups

Top African regions set to become leading startup and investment hubs

On the back of Cape Town being recognised as the tech capital of Africa, topping international rankings for foreign direct investment strategy, Ian Lessem, Managing Partner at HAVAÍC – investors in early-stage, high-growth technology businesses – says several other African cities are quickly emerging as leading startup and investment hubs to watch. “Startups in Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa raised a total of US$625 million last year. Of those, Kenyan startups raised US$191 million, the most of any other African country, according to Disrupt Africa’s African Tech Startup Funding Report for 2020. Distinct startup geographies are emerging in Africa, each with the potential to become its own powerhouse,” he says. In addition, the World Bank predicts that two thirds of the world’s ...