Author: Akin Naphtal

TallOrder, a South African startup developing superior cloud-based point of sale (POS) solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), has raised an additional US$3.1 million in Series A funding to expand operations and product development. Existing investors, including Investec Private Capital, as well as a consortium led by Africa-focused fintech investment firm Nurture Investment Management, participated in the latest funding round. TallOrder has now raised a total of US$5.3 million in funding. TallOrder’s point-of-sale platform, launched in 2014, is compatible with prominent payment services such as SnapScan, Zapper, MasterPass, Yoco, ThumbzUp, MTN MoMo, Innervation, African Resonance, NetCash, DPO, and PayFast.…

Sun Exchange, a South African firm that crowd-sources funds for solar panels and leases them to customers, plans to expand to other countries on the continent. The company, backed by a group part-owned by billionaire Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital Investments, raised US$1.4-million (R21.6-million) for a solar panel and battery storage project at a Zimbabwean fruit and berry producer, in what it says is the biggest crowd-funded project in Africa. Its venture at Nhimbe Fresh sees individuals or other investors buying solar cells at $5 to $10 each on its platform and then leasing them back. Investors are repaid over…

Telecommunications tower operator IHS Holding has appointed Sandile Msimango as vice president and CEO of its South African operation after its recent R6.4-billion towers deal with MTN Group. MTN announced in November 2021 that IHS would buy its South African tower portfolio. IHS is acquiring the “passive” components of the towers, not the “active”, or radio parts, pending regulatory approvals that are expected by the end of the first quarter of 2022. In all 5 709 towers will be handed over to IHS. MTN intends reinvesting the proceeds into strategic growth initiatives, including bidding for spectrum licences at an upcoming…

Tanzanian fintech startup NALA has raised US$10 million in funding as it plans aggressive expansion across Africa in 2022. A past winner of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge and Seedstars Tanzania, NALA has developed an app that allows users to make payments from the United Kingdom (UK) to Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Ghana. The startup is also piloting a service for businesses. The US$10 million funding was secured from Amplo, Accel, and Bessemer Partners, with participation from angels including the founders of Monzo, Robinhood, Alloy and Deel. and Peeyush Ranjan, the head of Google Payments. NALA will be launching a…

Kenyan supply chain-focused Sote has raised a US$4 million seed extension round to expand its offering into the fintech space. Founded in 2018, Sote launched its licensed tech-enabled customs clearing and forwarding service in 2020. The platform provides a real-time dashboard that allows manufacturers, retailers, and distributors visibility on shipment status, saving time and money. The startup grew its customer base by 370 per cent in the last year, and also saw revenue growth of 200 per cent. Having recently secured its Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification, Sote now aims to target larger customers in 2022 and exceed growth targets.…

The Nigerian Postal Service has inaugurated the Nigerian Postal Service debit card, an agency banking platform, and 27 courier service vehicles. The inauguration was made by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, in the nation’s capital, Abuja. The Nigerian Postal Service debit card and the agency banking platform will deepen financial inclusion and boost Nigeria’s digital economy, while the 27 courier service vehicles will make NIPOST and its partner, Speedaf Express, to compete favourably in the industry, according to the minister. He added that a digitised economy would improve the ease of doing business and transparency,…

The race for the share of N12.5 million worth of university scholarships at the InterswitchSPAK 3.0 National Science Competition is gathering momentum. On Sunday, February 6, 2022, three senior secondary school students in Nigeria will slug it out to grab the education grant and other prizes at the grand finale. The contest was put in place to raise interest in the study of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects. This year’s edition is the third. The InterswitchSPAK National Science Competition is an Interswitch Group Switch-a-Future initiative. The competition, which is targeted at SS2 (Year 11) students between the ages…

Google has appointed Zimbabwean James Manyika as the company’s first Senior Vice President of Technology and Society. Manyika will report directly to Alphabet’s (Google’s parent company) CEO Sundar Pichai and will be working on the impact of technology on society and the environment. “I’m thrilled that James Manyika will be joining Google’s leadership team,” Pichai said in a statement. “He’s spent decades working at the intersection of technology and society and has advised a number of businesses, academic institutions and governments along the way. Manyika got his first degree—in Electrical Engineering—from the University of Zimbabwe, and then went on to…

PayPassage, a digital transaction solutions provider offering affordable financial products and services is set to officially launch its financial services platform in Nigeria. The platform will offer digital financial solutions to help drive financial inclusion for the unbanked and underbanked in Nigeria. Nigeria is one of the top three unbanked countries in the world, with 40 per cent of its population without bank accounts. Out of the 59 million unbanked adults, 73 per cent do not have the requisite documents to open a tier 3 bank account.  It is this financial landscape that necessitated the birth of PayPassage to provide…

The foremost ICT infrastructure and systems integrator, Inlaks in partnership with Temenos, a banking software company, has deployed the T24 Transact and Payment Hub for the Bank of Kigali in Rwanda in the bank’s quest to accelerate digital transformation in the region. The implementation will support the Bank of Kigali’s operations while enabling the institution to dominate by providing customers with market-leading services through enhanced functionality and digital channels. The transformation will also enable the usage of enhanced digital products for multiple projects brought on by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on banking operations. Inlaks’ CEO, African Operations, Kyari…