Author: Akin Naphtal

Google has announced two new tools for businesses that operate extensive delivery fleets: the Last Mile Fleet Solution and the Cloud Fleet Routing API. The new Last Mile Fleet Solution, which is part of the Google Maps platform, puts an emphasis on optimizing every step of the last-mile delivery process from ordering to delivery. As the name implies, the new Routing API, which is part of Google Cloud, focuses on route planning across fleets of delivery vehicles. The Last Mile Fleet Solution is now in public preview. The Cloud Fleet Routing API will become generally available in the second quarter of the…

Deep-seated anxieties currently cloud the length and breadth of Nigeria’s information and communications technology sector over the proposed National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Bill 2021. Since last year when the news broke out about the contentious bill, stakeholders, operators, startups, among others, have raised the alarm at different fora over some of the provisions in the proposed bill, which they described as ambiguous, overlapping and overbearing and could cause deep frictions within the ICT/telecoms ecosystem. They submitted that the bill requires further consultation before it should become an Act. Industry analysts noted that the NITDA Bill 2021 arrogates…

African startups raised between $4 billion to $5 billion in 2021, according to various reports. For years, tech publications run by local digital media startups have worked hard behind the scenes in placing African startups at the faces of global investors, shaping the narrative of African tech and its build-up to an inflection point last year. However, for all their effort and importance to the tech ecosystem, raising significant venture capital seemed elusive to startups in Africa’s digital media landscape that rely on grants and personal funding to scale. But today’s news shows some promise as Big Cabal Media (BCM) — the Nigeria-based media…

Products and services that benefit life on Earth put a new spin on technology developed for space. This includes inventions at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA engineers and scientists often develop new technology during the course of their mission work. And while the origin of the technology is often to help explore the solar system and beyond, NASA’s Technology Transfer program is bringing them back down to Earth by licensing them to companies and entrepreneurs. The licensees then create new products and services, called “spinoffs” that benefit the economy, protect the environment, and even save lives. There are…

At MWC 2022 Barcelona, Safaricom, Close the Gap and Huawei received the Global Mobile GLOMO Award in recognition of the TECH4ALL DigiTruck project’s outstanding contribution to the UN’s sustainable development goals. The DigiTruck project was launched in Kenya for the first time in 2019. It was launched by Huawei in collaboration with international NGO Close the Gap, Kenya’s Ministry for ICT, Computer for Schools Kenya, GSMA and operator Safaricom. The project aims to bring digital technology to resource-poor regions and enable people to receive quality education and improve their lives. By the end of 2020, the project had provided services…

A digital Iron Curtain may be descending on Russia, as President Vladimir Putin struggles to control the narrative about his war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has already moved to block Facebook and Twitter, and its latest step in that direction came Friday as the government announced plans to block Instagram in the country, as well. But despite Putin’s efforts to clamp down on social media and information within his borders, a growing number of Russian internet users appear determined to access outside sources and circumvent the Kremlin’s restrictions. To defeat Russia’s internet censorship, many are turning to specialized circumvention technology that’s been…

Meta is facing prosecution in South Africa, after the country’s competition regulator, the Competition Commission found as uncompetitive its intention to block the government’s startup GovChat and #LetsTalk from using its WhatsApp Business API. The watchdog, which has been investigating claims of unfair conduct against the startup since March 2021, referred Meta (formerly Facebook) for the prosecution to the Competition Tribunal, which adjudicates complaints of restrictive practices and abuse of dominance. In its referral, the regulator recommends that Meta is made to pay the “maximum penalty” – a fine of 10% of the US company’s local turnover. The commission alleges…

Nigerian prop-tech startup Spleet has raised a US$625,000 pre-seed funding round to help it roll out a new product that provides tenants with affordable loans to help them pay their rent. Founded by Tola Adesanmi in 2018 from the need to find rentals with flexible payment options in Lagos as opposed to the usual one or two year upfront payment options, Spleet allows homeowners to rent to vetted individuals, while also helping people easily find places to stay. The startup enables landlords to verify and vet tenants, and also automates rent collections. Spleet has now raised US$625,000 in an oversubscribed…

South African payments company Yoco has acquired Cape Town-based fintech and Web3 software development agency Nona Digital to accelerate its roadmap by bringing a team of highly-specialised fintech product and technology professionals into the Yoco team. Yoco builds tools and services to help small businesses accept card payments in-store and online, access loans, and manage their day to day activities. The startup has become the preferred payments partner for over 150,000 small businesses across South Africa, processing more than US$1 billion in card payments per year. The company, which secured US$83 million in Series C funding last July, has just…

Nigeria-based mobility fintech startup Moove has raised US$105 million in an oversubscribed Series A2 round to scale to seven new markets across Asia, MENA, and Europe over the next six months. Founded in 2019 by British-born Nigerians Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove is democratising vehicle ownership in Africa by providing revenue-based vehicle financing to mobility entrepreneurs. By embedding its alternative credit scoring technology onto ride-hailing, e-logistics and instant delivery platforms, Moove can use proprietary performance and revenue analytics to underwrite loans to drivers that have previously been excluded from financial services. Over three million rides have been completed in…