Africa Tech News

MOCAPP, Romania's leading Influencer Marketing platform, has launched a new technology solution for international e-commerce firms. The new L!NK app employs a proprietary algorithm that examines the user bases of online retailers in an anonymous manner. The app will enable them to determine which of their consumers are active on social media and so can be more effectively involved in promotions, l...

An Egyptian startup that provides shared transportation services for intercity and intracity trips, has expanded into Turkey with its recent acquisition of Volt Lines, a B2B transportation-as-a-service operator. They primarily stock deal, which was valued at around $40 million, gives Swvl access both to Volt Lines’ tech as well as its over 110 corporate client contracts. The company says this reac...

Ekovention, a venture capital initiative that aims to ease the path of accessing funding for start-ups with potential for growth and competitiveness, hopes to provide the visibility needed to scale their businesses further. Spokesman, Victor Afolabi, says the event launches in June and will welcome companies desiring at least $500,000 in capital to a funding round where pitches will be reviewed. E...

Rise. ng, a Nigerian company, has raised $150,000 in a pre-seed round as it prepares to establish its operations in the nation. The IT business aims to revolutionize service delivery by focusing on low-income workers, particularly craftsmen and vendors that lack access to digital/online exposure, which is the beginning point for searching for such services, especially in the post-Coivd19 era. Beco...

Umba, a Nigerian digital banking platform operating in Lagos, Nigeria, has raised $15 million in Series A funding to expand financial products to underserved populations across Africa. The new funding follows a $2 million seed round in 2020, bringing the total funding received to date to $17.5 million. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/africa-tech-news--5512041/s...

Stitch, a South African-based payments and data API fintech, announced the launch of LinkPay, a product that will simplify bank transfer payments for merchants in South Africa and Nigeria. LinkPay, which utilises variable recurring payment APIs, is the first of its kind in Europe, the Middle East, and the African region. Stitch has unlocked secure and instant direct debit from connected bank accou...

CoinDCX has doubled its valuation to $2.15 billion in eight months following a fresh $135 million funding. CoinDCX says it has amassed over 10 million users. CoinDCX also provides margin trading and the option to stake digital assets. Co-founder and Chief executive of CoinDCX Sumit Gupta, says the quality of investors coming in and the kind of strong confidence they have shown on the market will g...

Alibaba’s fintech affiliate Ant Group has acquired 2C2P, a Singapore-based company that helps enterprises in Southeast Asia move money across borders. Ant will form a strategic partnership with 2C2P and become its largest shareholder, though a figure for the acquisition wasn’t disclosed. Founder and CEO of 2C2P, Aung Kyaw Moe, says the partnership with Ant Group, 2C2P will be connected to a much l...

TikTok is exploring new ways to foster safety and kindness on its app. Regulators and users have turned from Meta to TikTok. Meta might have been under the microscope for a long time but it might be TikTok’s time. TikTok is testing out dislike buttons for its comment section. Tik Tok says it will help the community have more control over comments and individuals identify comments they believe to b...

Kenya’s Film and Classification Board KFCB, has announced new rules that decentralise the board’s responsibilities. The KFCB announced that broadcasting firms, online streaming platforms and content creators would now be involved in reviewing and classifying their content with pre-approved ratings. They introduced ratings that tag movies for violent content, nudity, sex, or other ratings that noti...

DiDi, the China-based e-hailing company has announced it will halt its operation in the country one year after touching down in South Africa. Globally, DiDi is the second-largest e-hailing company, second only to Uber. South Africa marked the company’s 17th country of operations, and its entry into Africa. DiDi faced fierce competition from already-existing platforms in South Africa from Uber and...

FTX is launching a new phase in its operation on the continent with a soon-to-be-released unique product in response to the rapid growth, development, and acceptance of cryptocurrencies all over Africa, The global crypto exchange announced via its official FTX Africa Twitter handle that it will soon start offering deposits and payouts in African currencies on FTX. FTX earlier announced that it par...

An Egyptian infrastructure management platform for water and electricity companies, Pylon, has raised $19 million in seed funding. CEO Ahmed Ashour says the company creates solutions for water and electricity distribution companies in order to increase efficiency and stop the bleeding. CTO, Omar Radi co-founder says some companies have a very high rate of uncollected bills and thus lose out on a l...

Lagos- and Helsinki-based ZirooPay, has raised an $11.4 million Series A round led by Lagos-based VC fund Zrosk Investment Management. The company says the new capital will be deployed toward expanding its payment infrastructure, accelerating growth and growing its team. CEO Omoniyi Olawale says the delay occurred because his company, raised a further €2 million, while fine-tuning its technology a...

David Hundeyin, journalist and founder of West Africa Weekly, stated that he began working on a story about the Nigerian payment company, Flutterwave, six months ago. Hundeyin accuses Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, of bullying and committing some crimes. These include insider trading, and inflating and deflating stock prices as desired. He also said that Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola illegally explo...

Did you catch the cryptocurrency ad that aired during the Oscars on Sunday night? The ad was for cryptocurrency exchange, Crypto.com, and its fundraising drive for Ukraine. The ad tells viewers that Crypto.com is matching donations to the Red Cross Red Crescent in order to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Ukrain Cryptocurrency however is completely unnecessary for these donations Crypto.com we...

Tiktok is reportedly testing a new Watch History feature, making it easier to find videos online. According to a screenshot shared by Twitter user Hammond Oh, TikTok's Watch History should be accessible via the app's settings and privacy menu provided it's been rolled out to your phone. Mashable was unable to access TikTok's Watch History feature in Australia, and it's unclear exactly which market...

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has deemed all products and services from the Russia-based cybersecurity firm Kaspersky an unacceptable risk to national security. The move comes in an effort to uphold 2019's Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act, which requires the agency to publish a list that details any communications equipment or services which may present a risk to nationa...

iPhone camera bump haters, we have some bad news: It sounds like the upcoming (but unannounced) iPhone 14 Pro might be getting an even thicker camera bump on its backside. Back in September, after Apple leaker, John Prosser shared purported product images showing the startling lack of a rear-mounted camera protrusion. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says the wide camera is getting a huge upgrade — from...