August 17th 2021
KENYA’S PAYLEND TO HELP MSMEs IN NIGERIA AND TANZANIA RECORD DATA AND ACCESS LOANS
Kenyan fintech startup Paylend, which is helping MSMEs better record data and access loans, is conducting surveys in Tanzania and Nigeria ahead of beta tests in those markets.
ABSA BANK INTRODUCES WHATSAPP BANKING IN KENYA.
Absa Bank Kenya, a subsidiary of South Africa’s Absa Group, has launched a WhatsApp banking solution called “Abby” to assist users in making basic transactions. According to the Bank, customers can use the service for bill payments, balance enquiry, inter-account transfers, as well as transfers between bank accounts and M-Pesa/Airtel money.
August 10th 2021
Vodacom Business Africa Expands to South America
In endeavors to expand its worldwide impression, Vodacom Business Africa has moved into Brazil, South America, in this way expanding its fixed-network inclusion to five mainlands across the globe.
Safaricom Customers can now buy Stock Exchange shares with Loyalty Points.
Customers of Kenya’s eminent telco Safaricom can now buy shares listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange using their Bonga Points. This marks the first investment option for redeeming the Bonga Points loyalty reward, which can be used for a multitude of other options in the past.
Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform MaxAB rasies $40M Series A
MaxAB, the largest Egyptian B2B e-commerce platform that serves food and grocery retailers, has secured $40M in a Series A round, led by RMBV, a prominent impact investor in North Africa.
August 3rd 2021
Ghana’s DigiExt Introduces Data-Driven Farming for Smallholders.
Ghanaian agri-tech startup DigiExt is helping farm cooperatives grow via a variety of tech-based platforms and then assisting them in selling their produce to processing companies and export agencies.
The startup gathers data by satellites and drones, weather information and soil sensors to disseminate relevant production information to smallholder farmers at the right time in a cost-effective manner.
Read More.
African DeFi Start-up set to deliver banking to 2.5billion underbanked people globally.
A new African DeFi start-up will deliver blockchain banking to the 2.3 billion underbanked adults in the world. Bora Finance is developing an online banking environment that will include a saving and investment platform, a loan and collateralization segment, insurance, and payment/POS platforms. The Bora Finance solution will give access to secure and cost-effective banking services to billions right through their mobile devices.
Read More.
Nigeria Finally Ready to Deploy 5G
All is now set for the rollout of 5G services across Nigeria, according to Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The announcement was made during a public inquiry on the draft frequency spectrum held recently at the nation’s capital, where the NCC boss noted that the Commission had finally completed its preparations – “crossed all the T’s and dotted all the I’s” – and is currently awaiting approval from the Federal Government to begin rolling out 5G services.