6. East African pay-as-you-go solar company, Mobisol, has raised $16 million in funding
Mobisol will use the money to scale in Rwanda and Tanzania and expand its operations in Kenya. The funding round was led by IFC equity from the AEF and MASSIF Dutch government funds in partnership with Investec Asset Management’s African Private Equity Fund and DEG.
More information here.
5. MTN has been able to extract a few hundred million dollars out of its $1 billion stuck in Iran
TechCentral reports that they were able to repatriate the funds with the help of European banks. The company had been trying to take the money out of Iran since April after US-led international sanctions were lifted but a lack of ties between Iran and international banks slowed the process.
Read more about it here.
4. Former Kenyan permanent secretary for ICT, Bitange Ndemo and Tim Weiss have published a book on Kenya’s tech evolution
The book is tagged Digital Kenya, An Entrepreneurial Revolution in the Making, and it documents the Kenyan IT journey. It is available as an open-source digital download and also in print.
More information here.
3. Three Egyptian startups win $10,620 at the Innoventures Startup Reactor
Zerowaste Technologies, Tripdizer, and Perligos won the prize money at the Innoventure Startup Reactor demo day which took place in Cairo. The demo day was the final day of their 3-month acceleration program.
Read all about it here.
2. MMM Nigeria has frozen operations until January
According to news making the rounds, popular Ponzi scheme, MMM, has frozen its operations in Nigeria. They say it’s because the number of people seeking ‘help’ is now more than those providing the ‘help’. MMM Nigeria’s No 1 Guider says people should not panic.
Read more on it here.
1. Uganda’s first solar power plant is up and running
The 10-megawatt solar power plant was commissioned yesterday and it is Uganda’s first grid-connected solar plant. The 32,600 photovoltaic panel plant is located in northeastern Uganda and it’s expected to power at least 40,000 homes.
Read all about it here.
