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This Week: Africa’s first vaccine factory

By Timi Odueso Jun 25, 2022

Image source: Techcabal

Editor’s Notes

Week 25, 2022
Read time: 5 minutes

Hi.

This week we published a feature on one of Africa’s oldest fintechs, Cellulant. This story will take you back in time into an ecosystem that existed long before “tech sis” and “fintech dominance” were words. Enjoy.

Kelechi Njoku, Senior Editor, TechCabal.

Editor’s Picks

	Kune’s brief tune A year after Kenyans said it was solving a non-existent problem, food-tech startup Kune has shut down. Kune raised $1 million to provide cheap quality food to Kenyans, but the founder says it’s all gone. Read what happened to Kune on TechCabal
	Kenya’s president rejects the ICT Bill Great news for Kenya’s techies. President Uhuru Kenyatta has rejected the ICT Bill which wants to make all tech bros in Kenya register and pay tax before they can work in the country. It’s not the end for the bill though; the Kenyan Parliament still has some tricks up its sleeve. Find out how on TechCabal
	BII to invest $200 million in Africa Who says investments are drying up in Africa? Definitely not the British International Investment (BII) company. BII wants Africa to bii the best. It’s investing $200 million to construct hydroelectric power plants that will supply electricity to Rwanda, Burundi, the DRC, Madagascar, and Malawi. More on this shocking news on Reuters
	Africa’s first vaccine factory is being built During COVID-19, Africa had to depend on foreign aid to get vaccines. And millions expired before they could be used. BioNTech wants to make sure that never happens again. The German pharma company is building Africa’s first vaccine factory. Learn more on Medical Xpress
	Amazon Prime commissions 3 exclusive films with Nollywood If you loved how Netflix stuck its hand in Nigeria’s King of Boys or South Africa’s Blood and Water, then here’s more streaming news for you. Amazon has signed a deal with Nollywood that will see to the creation of 3 new films. Read more on TechCabal

Partner Content

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	How one of Africa’s oldest fintechs evolved First, it was a mobile content company providing caller tunes. Now, it’s a fintech company with a $100 million Series D in the works. Cellulant has reinvented itself. How did that happen? Find out on TechCabal
	Rwazi is providing data to African businesses Have you ever tried to find data on certain things in Africa? Like how many Africans own generators, and which brand of generators are preferred? It’s hard, but there are people solving it. Rwazi, for example, is going door-to-door to collect this data. How? TechCabal has the full details
	Moringa School set to launch in Nigeria If you want to learn how to get into Africa, there’s never been a better time! More schools are expanding across the continent to teach people tech skills. Moringa School is one of them, and now, it’s planning to expand into Nigeria and Ghana. Read it on TechCabal
	Global Pick: Alexa wants to mimic everyone, even the dead! What if Alexa could sound like anyone instead of a bored gym instructor? That’s what Amazon plans to do. It’s introducing a feature that will let Alexa mimic anyone’s voice, even the dead. Simply record, and Alexa will mimic. NBC News has more

Who brought the money this week?

Ghana-based Fintech Fido raised $30 million.
Kenyan insurtech startup mTek secured $3 million.
Web3 startup Afropolitan raised $2.1 million to build its “digital nation”.
Thepeer also raised $2.1 million to help businesses send money to each other.
Kibo School raised $2 million to root African students in STEM learning.
Tracking in $1.5 million is Healthtracka, a healthtech startup that helps people get lab tests at home.

Puzzle: How many words can you find?

There are 85 words to find in today’s puzzle, and it’s dedicated to all the builders out there. We’ve already given you 1 word, how many more can you create from “founders”?