Nigeria’s Piggybank.ng raises $1.1M, announces group investment product

Jake Bright Contributor Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa. More posts by this contributor Africa Roundup: Safaricom unveils Bonga, Africa’s Talking gets $8.6M, TechCrunch visits Nigeria, Ghana Safaricom rolls out Bonga social networking platform to augment M-Pesa Seeking to tap into Africa’s informal […]

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‘This Is Nigeria’ masterfully reframes Childish Gambino’s epic video for a different audience

Folarin Falana, better known as the Nigerian rapper Falz, did something with Childish Gambino’s incisive “This Is America” music video that no one else has managed: He deconstructed it and rebuilt it for his home audience.
“This Is America” prese…

View More ‘This Is Nigeria’ masterfully reframes Childish Gambino’s epic video for a different audience

No girl’s period should force her to miss school, and this startup is making sure of that

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Growing up as a young girl in Nigeria, Folasade Bamisaye didn’t have access to sanitary pads or tampons. She would cut off parts of her foam mattress, or use scraps of clothing—sometimes even parts of her school uniform. 

Bamisaye’s lack of access to basic menstrual hygiene products didn’t just cut away at her school uniform, it also cut into her school time and prevented her from attending lessons. “I missed a lot of classes, a lot of lectures, and it interfered with my academic performance,” she says. 

Twenty years after Bamisaye finished school, Nigerian schoolgirls continue to face the same challenges when they menstruate. So, she decided to do something about it—by creating a startup that provides girls with menstrual hygiene kits in the hope that they’ll stay in school. Read more…

More about Africa, Nigeria, Social Good, Menstruation Stigma, and Social Enterprise

View More No girl’s period should force her to miss school, and this startup is making sure of that

African VC TLcom Capital invests $5M in Nigerian data analytics firm Terragon Group

Jake Bright Contributor Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa. More posts by this contributor Africa Roundup: Uber says it’s staying, Konga could be epic startup fail Harley Davidson’s EV debut could electrify the motorcycle industry The African venture firm TLcom Capital is betting […]

View More African VC TLcom Capital invests $5M in Nigerian data analytics firm Terragon Group

EdTech is having a renaissance, powered by the emerging world

So-called ‘EdTech’ has seen many false dawns over the years. After being lauded as the teaching platforms of the future, most MOOCs (Massive Open Online Course platforms) have not quite lived up to the superlatives made for them, and the sector has had trouble coming up with more innovative ideas for a while. But that […]

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Africa Roundup: Uber says it’s staying, Konga could be epic startup fail

 Despite exit rumors and quitting Morocco, Uber is staying in Africa, according to its General Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, Alon Lits. Speculation Uber could leave the continent surfaced late last year when a board member of its biggest investor, Softbank, encouraged the company to focus on markets such as the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. “It really was an…article after that… Read More

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A look back at the year that the Sub-Saharan African startup scene found its stride

 African tech in 2017 was about the normalization of market events mostly absent even a decade ago. There were acquisitions, multiple investment rounds, lots of expansion, big strategic partnerships, and some surprise failures. Africa is fast becoming home to a dynamic tech sector. Here’s a snapshot of the news that shaped that transition over the last year. Investment Andela’s… Read More

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Africa’s SureRemit joins the tokenized race to win the global remittance market

 Nigerian based SureRemit has launched a crypto token aimed at money sent home by global immigrants. The startup — which is incorporated in Mauritius — offered pre-sales of its remittance focused tokens this week, before a January 2018 ICO. SureRemit will use blockchain partner Stellar’s platform. The company is connecting its crypto product — which is not redeemable… Read More

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Africa Roundup: ToLet Acquires JumiaHouse NG, Facebook announces NG_Hub, Interswitch IPO Update

 Lagos based online real estate startup ToLet.com.ng acquired Jumia House Nigeria for an undisclosed amount. Jumia House is a subsidiary of the continent’s lone tech unicorn — Pan-African e-commerce giant Jumia.com. ToLet and Jumia House Nigeria will merge platforms under the new name PropertyPro.ng. The $1.2 million Series A startup was able to buy part of a $1 billion company… Read More

View More Africa Roundup: ToLet Acquires JumiaHouse NG, Facebook announces NG_Hub, Interswitch IPO Update

Nigeria women’s bobsled team qualifies for the country’s first Winter Olympics

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Nigeria is going to its first Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, next year — thanks to the women’s bobsled team.

The African country has never competed in the Winter Olympics, but after the bobsled team qualified this week, Nigeria’s green and white flag will be represented at the games.

The three-woman team was elated after qualifying in Canada. To qualify the team had to compete in five races, according to ESPN. The newly formed Bobsled & Skeleton Federation of Nigeria Instagram account was filled excited poses and exclamatory posts. Read more…

More about Nigeria, Bobsledding, Bobsled, Winter Olympics, and Entertainment

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Online real estate startup ToLet acquires Jumia House Nigeria to create PropertyPro.Ng

 African tech can produce surprises. One this week is a $1.2 million Series A startup buying part of a $1 billion company. That’s what Lagos based property startup ToLet.com.ng has done, purchasing Jumia House Nigeria for an undisclosed amount. Jumia House is a subsidiary of the continent’s lone tech unicorn — Pan-African e-commerce giant Jumia.com. ToLet and Jumia House… Read More

View More Online real estate startup ToLet acquires Jumia House Nigeria to create PropertyPro.Ng