12. Uber and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund are partnering to provide drivers with vehicle financing
The partnership will give Uber drivers the opportunity to access vehicle financing at a fixed interest rate of 5% per annum, with a loan period of 36 months. Drivers with a rating of 4.5 or higher will be able to purchase one of the two vehicle options locally assembled in Nigeria by Stallion Motors and they will only need to contribute 5% of the vehicle purchase price when they buy the car.
Read all about it here.
11. Egyptian recruitment firm, Wuzzuf, has acquired job assessment platform, Viriphi, for an undisclosed amount
This acquisition means that employers will now be able to use Wuzzuf to recruit candidates that have already been assessed by Viriphi making the recruitment process smoother and faster.
More information here.
10. Ringier is allegedly pulling out of its partnership with Ghafla after discovering it manipulated numbers to attract a higher buyout
In an interesting turn of events, the Ringier-Ghafla marriage which was first called an acquisition, then changed to a partnership has come to an end. According to this report by Business Today, Ringier discovered that Ghafla used bots to manipulate its page hits and facebook likes by up to four times the actual amount.
Read all about it here.
9. Kenya’s mookh is expanding to Namibia in 2017
The social e-commerce startup for selling products, tickets and digital content directly from your social media fan page is expanding into Namibia. Mookh is currently running a pilot and hopes to fully launch in Namibia in January 2017.
You can read more about it here.
8. Wema Bank and Etisalat have partnered to launch a bank account targeted at Nigerian youths
The WemaEasySavers account can be opened by Etisalat subscribers using any mobile device via a simple USSD code – *945*10#. The account is targeted at unbanked and under-banked youths and can be used instantly for transactions of up to N30,000 daily.
More information here.
7. SA-based Street Business School is now accepting applications into its 2017 program
Street Business School usually accepts ten students, whose studies will be fully funded, into its program per annum. Young aspiring South African entrepreneurs will have a chance to gain entrepreneurship skills by building startups and gaining commercial business experience in a real-world setting.
You can read all about the program here.
6. ROK Studios will produce 5 new TV series to showcase Africa’s history in 2017
ROK Studio’s CEO, Mary Njoku, announced this during an interview she granted last month. The series will feature several notable Nollywood directors and will specifically showcase traditional stories telling Africa’s history and culture.
You can watch the full interview here.
5. Seedstars World’s 2016 Africa tour comes to an end today
After months of visiting and hosting competitions in several African countries, the Seedstars Africa 2016 tour is wrapping up with a regional summit in Rwanda. The event kicked off on Wednesday with private boot camps for the 16 Seedstars Africa winners but the final day (today) is an open conference where stakeholders will gather to celebrate and promote tech entrepreneurship in Africa.
You can follow the conversation here and here.
4. South Africa has established a $2 million fund for entrepreneurs with disabilities
The fund, tagged the Amavulandlela Fund, will be launched today and is to be managed by the Small Enterprise Funding Agency (SEFA) under the South African Ministry of Small Business Development. It was established as a means to empower people with disabilities and facilitate their access to business opportunities.
Read all about it here.
3. Nigeria’s Ministry of Information and Culture is launching a mobile app
This was announced by the Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, at meeting with Resident Information Officers (RIOs) in the ministry. He said the app will be a means of disseminating information on the government’s activities in real time and was developed as a way to combat the current situation where people do not know what the government is doing.
Read more about it here.
2. Flutterwave is joining FIS Global’s High Potential Network for early stage fintech companies
Fintech solutions provider, FIS Global, has launched a High Potential (HiPo) Network of early-stage fintech companies who have demonstrated substantial promise in the fintech industry. Nigeria’s Flutterwave was announced as a part of the network and is joining five other fintech companies who graduated from the 2016 VC Fintech Accelerator.
Read all about it here.
1. Paradigm Initiative Nigeria (PIN) has launched the first edition of its Digital Rights in Africa report
The report is titled “Choking The Pipe: How Governments Hurt Internet Freedom On A Continent That Needs More Access” and it chronicles the status of digital rights across Africa. This is PIN’s first edition covering the whole of Africa – previous reports profiled the status of digital rights in Nigeria and featured about 30 African countries.
You can read all about it here.
