7. MTN has announced new appointments in its senior management team
The South African telecoms company has announced the appointment of former Vodafone Germany CEO, Jens Schulte-Bockum as their new Chief Operating Officer. He is replacing Jyoti Desai who is retiring. A new Executive Head of Business Enterprise and Group Executive of Marketing will also be joining the team.
Read all about the appointments here.
6. Kenya’s iHub is moving to a new office space
The innovation space will leave its present location to a new space in Senteu Plaza, on the corner of Lenana and Galana Roads in Hurlingham. This relocation is part of iHub’s plans to scale its operations, tighten up service offerings and become sustainable.
Read more about the move here.
5. Kasha has emerged as the winner of Seedstars Rwanda
Online retailer of women’s health and personal care products, Kasha is the winner of Seedstars Rwanda. Out of the 12 startups that pitched at the event, Kasha emerged as the most innovative startup and will go on to compete at the Seedstars World final in Switzerland in 2017 for a chance to win up to $500,000 in equity investment.
More information here.
4. Applications for the third round of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program will open on January 1, 2017
Get your pitch decks ready as the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program will start accepting applications from January 1, 2017.
More information here.
3. eTranzact’s BankIT POS application will let users process payments with their mobile phones
eTranzact has launched a new app that will enable businesses and individuals accept payments from debit cards and bank accounts without a traditional POS machine. All that’s required is registration with eTranzact and download from the app store.
Read all about it here.
2. South African startup, Onyx Connect will start manufacturing smartphones in 2017
The Johannesburg-based firm has signed a deal with Google to load Android OS and other Google apps onto its devices. Circuit boards and raw components will be sourced from China but everything else will be designed, manufactured and assembled locally. Onyx raised $10.8 million from investors to finance the plant and hopes to kick off production in the first quarter of 2017.
More information here.
1. Nigeria’s Lumos Global has raised $90 million in funding for its off-grid solar operations
Nigerian Off-grid solar company, Lumos Global, announced last week that it has raised $90 million in a funding round led by the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). Lumos will use the money to grow in Nigeria and also expand its operations to other countries. According to PR Newswire, this is the solar industry’s largest ever investment.
Read about it here.
