Saturday, November 23African Digital Business Magazine

Tag: investments

The Global Startup Awards Africa is now open for applications for the 2022/23 season
9Nov By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Startups

The Global Startup Awards Africa is now open for applications for the 2022/23 season

By the end of 2022, world leaders will be halfway towards the 2030 deadline of achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of ending poverty, fighting inequality, and stopping climate change. However, seven years on and countries across the globe are on track to accomplish almost none of them[i]. This is no different in Africa – a continent where 40% of all people continue to live in extreme poverty[ii], and where less than half of the African Union member states have experienced sustainable socio-economic growth since the early 2000s[iii]. To achieve the 2030 deadline, African leaders will need to quadruple their efforts and double down on investments into innovation and ingenuity[iv]. Answering this call, the Global Startup Awards (GSA) – in partnership with the Global Innovat...
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Flourish Ventures launches Madica, an Africa-focused pre-seed investment platform
24Oct By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Startups, Zambia News

Flourish Ventures launches Madica, an Africa-focused pre-seed investment platform

The new investment program is targeting up to 30 underrepresented entrepreneurs across Africa who are working in underserved sectors and geographies. The goal of the program is to provide them with the resources and support they need to grow their businesses and impact their communities. Flourish Ventures, a global venture capital firm investing in mission-driven fintech entrepreneurs, today announced the launch of affiliate Madica, a structured investment program for pre-seed stage technology companies in Africa. Aiming to serve mission-driven and under-represented founders, the new sector-agnostic program will invest capital in tech startups and offer founders tailored mentorship and world-class company-building support. Over the next three years, Madica seeks to back 25-30 African entr...
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21Oct By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Tech

One-third of businesses plan to deploy Wi-Fi 7 by 2024, according to an industry report

WBA cross-industry survey reveals Wi-Fi 7 is top global priority to supercharge Wi-Fi capabilities and drive new IIoT use cases  Wi-Fi 7 is emerging as one of the most important areas of investment in new connectivity technologies. That is one key finding from the latest cross-industry survey of service providers, technology vendors and enterprises by the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), the global industry body dedicated to improving Wi-Fi standards and services. The findings, released by the WBA as part of the WBA Annual Industry Report 2023, reveal more than a third (33%) of service providers, technology vendors and enterprises already have plans to deploy Wi-Fi 7 by the end of 2023. Wi-Fi 7 will supercharge current Wi-Fi capabilities with new technologies, such as multilink operati...
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Breaking the boys’ club: If investing in women yields good returns, then why are we still fighting for their inclusion?
5Oct By Africa BusinessNo Comments
South Africa News

Breaking the boys’ club: If investing in women yields good returns, then why are we still fighting for their inclusion?

The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs According to research by Statistics South Africa, nearly half (47%) of South African women are unemployedi. This comes as would-be female employees have a tougher time finding work than men, thanks to the inequalities they face, including unequal pay and fewer leadership positions among others, while at the same time struggling to maintain a matriarchal role in society and family. It is for reasons like these that African women often turn to self-employment by starting their own businesses. According to the World Economic Forum, women make up 58% of Africa's self-employed population and contribute around 13% of the continent's Gross domestic product GDP, with Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, having the world’s highest rate of women involve...
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The first NFT exhibition of African art in France will take place in October 2022
6Sep By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Art, Events

The first NFT exhibition of African art in France will take place in October 2022

Neuvième Toit, a collective of French-speaking artists, and AKAA, a contemporary art fair in Paris dedicated to the artistic scenes of Africa and its diasporas, will exhibit for the first time in France works of African art in "NFT" (non-fungible token) format. Presentation 9TH NFT PROJECT - AKAA OCT22 en-US This project is part of the artistic program of AKAA 2022, around the movement - a polysemous notion with a Spatio-temporal, artistic, and socio-political dimension. It will take the form of an immersive artistic proposal, with physical (wooden tablets, wool carpet) and digital (NFT, virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR)) supports. Supported by Neuvième Toit, this exhibition will welcome its first visitors from October 20 to 23, at the Carreau du Temple (Paris), during ...
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24Mar By Alexandra FraserNo Comments
Business, Startups

Why SMME shaming leads to an investment mismatch

Recent articles on fund-raising activities in Africa paint the picture that capital is abundant and readily available. The first seven weeks of this year have seen continued high investment levels, with start-ups raising over $1 billion through 130 deals. This creates incredible optimism for many, signalling a new investment era for businesses across the African continent. While the continental boom is positive for high-growth start-ups, this does not translate into an abundance of capital for the majority of entrepreneurs in South Africa. Despite popular belief and owing to the overuse and incorrect use of the term ‘start-up’, most entrepreneurs are not building truly scalable, innovation-driven, high-growth ventures. They are building SMMEs. Although it might not be seen as sexy to bui...
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24Mar By Alex SandersNo Comments
Business

6 Easy Ways to Grow Your Money in 2022

Growing your money is an achievement, and many people dream of becoming wealthy. However, the meaning of wealth depends on experience and background. To some people, it means never having to worry about expenditures. For others, it is working extra hours, and others define it as financial liberty. Regardless of your definition of wealth, the following are ways to grow your money and get on the road to becoming wealthy. Bonds Amid negative outputs and fear of a crash in the bond market, many investors have given up on bonds. While bonds were customarily supposed to provide principal and low-risk salaries, some argue that they are now high-risk investments with little to zero returns. For beginners, bonds are a crucial part of any venture portfolio. So, as much as people downplay the sig...
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18Jan By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Fintech, Startups

3 trends set to dominate African mobile apps in 2022

In 2021, the mobile industry in sub-saharan Africa continued to show incredible resilience against the impacts of Covid-19 and experienced high growth. Digital solutions have provided instrumental support for communities and businesses, boosting their transition into adopting a mobile-first approach to tackle most of the daily challenges across the continent, with fintech applications dominating this surge. According to the Mobile Economy Report, 615 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will subscribe to mobile services by 2025, that’s equivalent to 50% of the region’s population. As we enter into a new year, Daniel Junowicz, RVP EMEA & Strategic Projects, at leading mobile marketing analytics platform AppsFlyer, explores three key trends for mobile apps in Africa this year. Inve...
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6Jan By Paul TomNo Comments
South Africa News

Are Brick Houses a Good Investment in South Africa?

Clay bricks are created using the same formula that has been used to build many famous structures. They are a long-lasting, visually beautiful construction material that works effectively over time.  The final combination of raw materials provides clay brick its particular features, such as sturdiness, resilience, dimensional stability, and durability, as well as fire and weather resistance. If you’re considering building or buying a brick house in South Africa, it’s well worth the investment.  Benefits of Brick Houses Clay brick houses are constantly in demand since they don't decay and practically always look like new. These are the main features that homeowners appreciate when it's time to sell.  Clay brick is the preferred building material in the construction of new homes due to...
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16Dec By Africa BusinessNo Comments
Nigeria News, Tech

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 names across Africa’s corporate and tech ecosystems, including UAC Nigeria, VFD Group, Gbenga Oyebode, Shola Akinlade (Paystack), and global investors like; Michael Seibel (Y Combinator) and Adam Draper. A second close of the fund is due to take place in early 2022 and will feature investment from select global Institutional Investors and DFI’s. Building upon its stellar reputation as one of the...
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