Author: Akin Naphtal

Egyptian curated fashion e-commerce platform The Fashion Kingdom (TFK) has raised a US$2.6 million seed round to accelerate its growth, hire more talent and invest in its technology. A marketplace offering access to fashion, beauty and home accessories, with 360 value proposition for brands, TFK was launched in July 2020 by co-founders Fadi Antaki, Marianne Simaika and Karim Abd El Kader. The startup’s goal is to help local fashion entrepreneurs and brand owners sell online, serving customers through an affordable and convenient shopping experience and creating meaningful careers for young and emerging talents. TFK is currently helping more than 200…

Global Ventures, Oui Capital, has announced the launch of its $30 million fund called the Oui Capital Mentors Fund II. The fund has a mix of local and international investors, including Vibe Capital, D Global Ventures, One Way Ventures, Ground Squirrel Ventures, Seth Levine, Ryan McIntyre, and Tokunboh Ismael. Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO of TeamApt and Gbenga Oyebode, an investor in TeamApt, complete the list. In 2018, Olu Oyinsan, Managing Partner of Oui Capital, left his job as Vice President of Investments at Ingressive Capital to start a VC firm with Francesco Andreoli. The following year, Oui Capital officially launched with…

Towards expanding its operation, Umba, a digital banking outfit operating in Nigeria, has acquired a 66.6% stake in Kenyan microfinance bank Daraja. Founded by Irishmen Kiernan Kennedy and Barry O’Mahony and headquartered in San Francisco, Umba offers free accounts, interbank transfers, P2P transfers, bill payments and loans. The firm first began operating in Nigeria but in April raised $15 million from, among others, Monzo co-founder Tom Blomfield to expand to Ghana, Kenya and Egypt. Already operating a non-deposit taking credit business in Kenya, the outfit has now taken a controlling interest in Daraja, which lends to micro and small enterprises.…

By Sandy Rheeder Fintechs that are innovating, operating, and growing throughout Africa have moved on from the broad academic concept of financial inclusion to the practical onboarding and walking hand in hand with underserved people along a financial journey. The first port of call is understanding that serving the underserved is not just about technology. It’s about the human element of dealing with people that are not part of the mainstream financial system; it’s about reaching them and engaging with them where they are and when they need you. Repeat use of a product or service happens when you create…

Ecobank Nigeria has extended its remittance services to its business account holders. Under the new plan, business customers will be able to instantly receive funds sent through Ecobank Rapidtransfer or any of the Bank’s remittance partners from other businesses anywhere in the world directly into their bank accounts. Similarly, they will be able to instantly receive remittances from their customers and transfer money to other business customers’ bank accounts. The launch of the service follows the implementation of a seamless account opening procedure for customers who do not have domiciliary accounts with Ecobank Nigeria so that they can leverage the…

Mobile financial services technology company VYZYO has partnered with Tunisia-based bank Al Baraka Bank to jointly launch and operate a mobile wallet service in the North African country. According to a statement released to the media, TDFP will deploy the VYZYOPay platform to enable Al Baraka Bank to offer a mobile wallet service to its customers. The companies said the new mobile wallet service will initially enable digital payments for government services, mobile transfers, and merchant payments. Al Baraka Bank’s mobile wallet service will also facilitate the disbursement of government social welfare, health care reimbursements, pension payments, micro-insurance and micro-savings.…

In a bid to strengthen communication between members of parliament and communities, the Botswana parliament has launched its digital platform named “Botswana Speaks.” Botswana Vice President Slumber Tsogwane said the platform was developed after traditional kgotla consultation (when community members meet at a tribal court or Kgotla to discuss, deliberate and make decisions on issues) and will provide “around the clock” access to elected representatives. Tsogwane said Botswana is determined not to be left behind in Africa’s 4IR journey. Botswana Speaks will mean that parliament proceedings will be broadcast and available for live streaming to 57 constituencies. It will also…

Ghana Ministry of Communication and Digitisation has officially extended the SIM card re-registration exercise to September 30, 2022. This was announced by Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Ministry of Communication and Digitisation. “Upon consultation with the industry and in view of the challenges enumerated above, I have very reluctantly decided to grant a conditional extension. The programme will be extended to 30th September to end on the anniversary of its commencement.” the Minister said in a press briefing. “That will give us one full year of SIM registration. It will be reviewed at the end of this month and any SIM that…

In the 21st century, the refrigerator was promoted to the rank of one of the most important, and for many people even the most important, home appliances. With the development of modern technologies, our expectations for all household appliances have changed, but it is refrigerator-freezers that are the segment that reacts most strongly to the needs of consumers. What to look for when choosing a new refrigerator and are there appliances that fit perfectly in each of these areas? We will try to answer this question in this article. Manufacturers almost compete in retrofitting their devices with various amenities and…

Telecom giant, MTN, is in talks to buy South Africa’s incumbent operator, Telkom. As South Africa’s second- and third-largest mobile operators, if approved the deal would alter the competitive dynamics of the market substantially and would effectively create a duopoly in a market that currently benefits from a healthy level of rivalry between operators. In the mobile segment, MTN’s position would improve dramatically. Using the latest data (quarter 1, 2022) available from the operators, Fitch Solutions estimate that MTN’s market share would increase to 48.4% with the acquisition of Telkom’s 16.94 million subscribers it reported for the year ending March…