Author: Akin Naphtal

Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has been appointed as a member of the Presidential Council on Digital Economy and E-government. This was revealed in a statement by Ibrahim Addra, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor. According to Addra, the appointment notice is contained in a letter signed by Isa Pantami, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy on Tuesday. He explained that the letter indicated the council was part of the effort to implement the National Digital Economy Policy (NDEPS) and the Nigerian E-government Master Plan (NEGMP) The CPS added that the minister described Nasarawa State as critical to the…

Egyptian e-health startup Doxx has raised a US$1.5 million seed funding round to continue building out its fully integrated digital healthcare platform, which connects medical professionals and institutional healthcare providers to support a patient’s medical journey. Founded in 2021, Doxx has developed a medical record compilation service, bringing together a network of 2,600 doctors, 52 pharmacies and 26 medical labs. Doxx allows users to book physical and virtual appointments, and track their consultations while choosing the best medical care through recommendations based on their medical history. The startup’s US$1.5 million seed round, which comes from Openner and Elevate Healthcare, will…

Merchants and consumers from Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa now have another option to make payments worldwide through a Mastercard virtual payment solution powered by Africa focused Fintech firm OPay. Chinese-backed OPay is considered to be among the continent’s biggest payments start-ups. It has now joined forces with global payments company, Mastercard in a development the two companies say will “open up e-commerce to millions of people” across Africa. According to a statement released jointly by the companies, the new partnership enables OPay wallet holders to utilise the new Mastercard virtual payment solution to shop at well-known…

Towards promoting tech innovative talent for an enhanced digital economy, the government of Uganda has entered into a MoU with Huawei to provide adequate skills, training and certification courses such as 5G, AI, cloud, security, data communications and others that are required by employers to Uganda Institute of Communication Technology (UICT) students and ICT officers. Uganda’s Minister of ICT and National Guidance Chris Baryomunsi.Uganda’s Minister of ICT and National Guidance Chris Baryomunsi. Uganda’s Minister of ICT and National Guidance Dr Chris Baryomunsi launched what is described as a talent cultivation partnership MOU between his Ministry and Huawei. According to the…

Kenya’s Bamba, a mobile-first enterprise software for micro-merchants in Africa, has secured US$3.2m in seed funding to scale its app and build out its team. Founded in 2022 by serial entrepreneur and investor Bastian Gotter, Bamba provides a mobile application allowing small businesses to easily manage their customers and stock levels, get paid, payout, and takeout cash advances against their future cash flow. The startup’s US$3.2 million seed round was led by VC firm 468 Capital, with participation from Presight Ventures, Jigsaw VC, and high profile angels Mato Peric, Leonard Stiegeler, Laurin Hainy and Thomas Stafford. The company is currently…

South African agri-tech startup Nile, which enables buyers to purchase directly from Africa’s leading food producers through its marketplace, has raised a ZAR83 million (US$5.1 million) equity funding round led by Naspers Foundry. Nile was founded in 2020 to provide farmers with digital solutions that can address various pain points inherent to food trading – including price transparency, quality verification, speed of payments, the traceability of the produce and food waste. The startup’s end-to-end process connects farmers to commercial retailers of fresh produce both in South Africa and across the continent. The B2B platform facilitates transactions and safeguards payments on…

Oracle plans to establish a new branch of Oracle Labs, Oracle’s advanced research arm, at Casanearshore Park in Casablanca to house up to 100 researchers. Researchers at the new facility will use Oracle’s cloud, AI, and machine learning technologies to tackle the most pressing challenges facing business, science and the public sector. According to Oracle, the team will collaborate with Morocco’s technology sector to support the identification, exploration, and transfer of new technologies that can advance Oracle’s customer’s businesses worldwide. This effort will include expanding intern and graduate recruitment programs, undertaking joint research with local universities and working with the…

The Bank of Zambia, the country’s central bank, has become the latest target for cyber-criminals after its IT systems and some applications were hacked recently, and resulted in disruption to operators within the financial services market. The incident has occurred amid warnings from the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) about an increase in cybercrime, specifically targeting the country’s financial services market. The regulator has identified the increase in adoption and use of the internet as a contributing factor. Bank of Zambia Assistant Director in charge of communication Besnart Mwanza said the Bank experienced a partial disruption of its…

Egyptian startup Instabug, a mobile monitoring, crash and bug reporting solution for mobile teams, has raised US$46 million in Series B funding to add to its product and build what it says will be the first mobile observability and performance monitoring platform. Founded in 2016, Instabug helps developers better understand the performance of their mobile applications, and its impact on user experience. The company’s robust platform scales with any sized business, allowing independent developers and enterprises alike to seamlessly monitor, alert, prioritise and debug during critical phases of the application life cycle. Its US$46 million Series B round was led…

Kenyan fintech startup FlexPay has raised funding from the Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund as it looks to supercharge its growth and help more people avoid debt. FlexPay is an online and offline payment gateway that allows merchants to offer interest-free targeted savings to their customers in Africa. Through FlexPay, merchants give their customers the freedom to choose how and when to pay for high-value goods and services. Shoppers get to spread the cost over time, increasing flexibility and spending power. Merchants can choose to integrate FlexPay as a checkout option online, or offer offline in-store flexibility. The startup has now…