The Dakar Network Angels network launched this month, making its first investment in francophone Africa to cleantech venture Coliba. The Ivorian startup—that uses a mobile app to coordinate waste recycling—will receive mentorship and a minimum of $25K in seed funds. The deal is part of Dakar Network Angels’ mission of convening experts and capital to […]
View More Dakar Network Angels begins startup investments in francophone AfricaCategory: South Africa
Flipkart ranked highly for ‘fairness’ of working conditions in India gig platform study
The Oxford Internet Institute has published what it bills as the world’s first rating system for working conditions on gig economy platforms. The Fairwork academic research project is a collaboration with the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore, the University of Cape Town, the University of Manchester, and the University of the Western Cape. As […]
View More Flipkart ranked highly for ‘fairness’ of working conditions in India gig platform studySouth Africa’s FlexClub raises $1.2M, partners with Uber Mexico
FlexClub, a South African startup that matches investors and drivers to cars for ride-hailing services, closed a $1.2 million seed round led by CRE Venture Capital. The company will use the financing to add team members and expand off the continent through a partnership with Uber Mexico. The move comes as Africa’s tech-transit space continues […]
View More South Africa’s FlexClub raises $1.2M, partners with Uber MexicoGoogle has quietly added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for Chrome users in ~60 markets
In an update to the chromium engine, which underpins Google’s popular Chrome browser, the search giant has quietly updated the lists of default search engines it offers per market — expanding the choice of search product users can pick from in markets around the world. Most notably it’s expanded search engine lists to include pro-privacy […]
View More Google has quietly added DuckDuckGo as a search engine option for Chrome users in ~60 marketsNigeria’s Gloo.ng drops consumer e-commerce, pivots to e-procurement
Nigerian startup Gloo.ng is dropping consumer online retail and pivoting to B2B e-procurement with Gloopro as its new name. The Lagos based venture has called it quits on e-commerce grocery services, shifting to a product that supplies large and medium corporates with everything from desks to toilet paper. Gloopro’s new platform will generate revenues on […]
View More Nigeria’s Gloo.ng drops consumer e-commerce, pivots to e-procurementMicrosoft officially becomes first major cloud provider in Africa
Say goodbye to those annoying internet lag times, South Africa.
Microsoft has officially become the first major cloud service provider to open data centers in Africa. The company announced on Wednesday that two of its Azure cloud data centers have gone live in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa.
“The launch of these regions marks a major milestone for Microsoft as we open our first enterprise-grade datacenters in Africa, becoming the first global provider to deliver cloud services from datacenters on the continent,” wrote Microsoft Azure VP Tom Keane in the statement.
The Redmond, Washington based company beat out fellow tech giants, like Amazon, which are also racing to open cloud data centers on the continent. The ecommerge giant previously announced it would have its AWS data centers running in South Africa by 2020. Read more…
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View More Microsoft officially becomes first major cloud provider in AfricaAfrica Roundup: Kenya’s BRCK acquires EveryLayer, Nigeria’s TeamApt eyes global expansion
Kenyan communications hardware company BRCK acquired the assets of Nairobi based internet provider Surf and its U.S. parent EveryLayer in a purchase deal of an undisclosed amount in February. Based in Nairobi, Surf is a hotspot service provider aimed at offering affordable internet to lower income segments. BRCK is a five year old venture that pairs its rugged WiFi routers […]
View More Africa Roundup: Kenya’s BRCK acquires EveryLayer, Nigeria’s TeamApt eyes global expansionTrevor Noah’s inspirational quote at the Oscars was actually superb trolling
Trevor Noah used his stage time at the Oscars to honor his South African roots – and to poke a little healthy fun at white people while he was at it.
The Daily Show host shared a Xhosa proverb while introducing Best Picture nominee Black Panther. Except that it wasn’t an inspirational quote, but Noah saying, “White people don’t know I’m lying.”
“Growing up as a young boy in Wakanda, I would see King T’Challa flying over our village,” Noah joked. “And he would remind me of a great Xhosa phrase.”
It turns out the next part was also a joke; Noah spoke in Xhosa and then translated his words to “In times like these, we are stronger when we fight together than when we try to fight apart.” Read more…
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View More Trevor Noah’s inspirational quote at the Oscars was actually superb trollingAfrica Roundup: Zimbabwe’s net blackout, Partech’s $143M fund, Andela’s $100M raise, Flutterwave’s pivot
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 Partech is doubling the size of its African venture fund to $143 million Zimbabwe’s government faces off against its tech community over internet restrictions A high court in Zimbabwe […]
View More Africa Roundup: Zimbabwe’s net blackout, Partech’s $143M fund, Andela’s $100M raise, Flutterwave’s pivotHealthcare wearables level up with new moves from Apple and Alphabet
Announcements that Apple has partnered with Aetna health insurance on a new app leveraging data from its Apple Watch and reports that Verily — one of the health-focused subsidiaries of Google‘s parent company — Alphabet, is developing a shoe that can detect weight and movement, indicate increasing momentum around using data from wearables for clinical health applications and […]
View More Healthcare wearables level up with new moves from Apple and AlphabetFlutterwave and Visa launch African consumer payment service GetBarter
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 Harley Davidson reveals more about its push into electric vehicles Venture capital, global expansion, blockchain and drones characterize African tech in 2018 Fintech startup Flutterwave has partnered with Visa to launch […]
View More Flutterwave and Visa launch African consumer payment service GetBarterNetflix rival Iflix offloads its Africa business to focus on Asia
Iflix, the emerging market Netflix competitor that’s backed by Sky, is leaving Africa to double down on its business in Asia. The Malaysia-based company announced today it has sold the remaining shares in its Africa business — Kwesé Iflix — to Econet Group, the telecom firm that is already an investor in the business. The deal size […]
View More Netflix rival Iflix offloads its Africa business to focus on Asia