Rwanda is set to open its first smartphone factory
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSORS
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LoftyInc Allied Partners Ltd, a leading enterprise development company in Nigeria; also the mother company of one of the top accelerators in Nigeria, Wennovation Hub and LoftyInc Capital Management (Portfolio companies include Andela, Flutterwave and Printivo) is celebrating 10 years of innovation, development and impact. Learn more.
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| Despite recent gains in gender equality made globally, Nigeria’s tech scene still needs an overhaul. To document disruptions in the country’s digital divide, Techcabal is creating a mapping of organisations that encourage more women and girls to enter the field. If your organisation is working to increase the number of women and girls in tech, fill out this form to share your work. |
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In yesterday’s digest, we shared news on Nigerian fintech, Piggybank’s rebranding and name change to PiggyVest. Please note that there was an error in this part of the blurb:
“CEO Somto Ifezue tweeted that the company is growing steadily with users saving over N1B (~$350 million) in January 2019 alone. Its users saved just under that amount in all of 2017.”
We stated erroneously that 1 billion Naira is approximately $350 million. The correct conversion is ~$2.8 million (at 361.50 Naira = 1 US Dollar). We apologize for the error and any inconvenience caused.
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Techpoint reports that the online sports betting company, KC Gaming (Bet9ja) is the official primary sponsor of the 2019 edition of Big Brother Naija- a reality show in which Nigerian contestants live in an isolated house and compete for a large cash prize by avoiding eviction from the house. Bet9ja is reported to have paid the sum of ₦1.08 billion (~$3 million) for sponsorship of the reality TV show that is popular in Nigeria.
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Shares in EOH Holdings, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange–listed technology services group, plunged by as much as 34.3% on Tuesday morning after news surfaced that Microsoft had terminated two partnership agreements with the group late on Monday. EOH Holdings head of investor relations Debbie Millar confirmed that the agreements had been terminated by Microsoft South Africa but said that the group has not been given reasons by the software giant.
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| According to Ventureburn, VC and former banker, Michael Jordaan, has been appointed to chair the board of South African-founded and Silicon Valley-based tech company Clickatell. Jordaan is also chairman of credit bureau CompuScan, chairman of Wines of South Africa and director and shareholder of the listed data network Rain. |
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Tanzania and Kenya have kicked off a joint power project. The project is tagged ‘Kenya-Tanzania Power Interconnection Project’ and funded by a $258.82 million loan from the African Development Bank and the Japanese International Co-operation Agency, with the completion date set for 2020. Kenya will also extend its transmission line to Ethiopia, while Tanzania will extend its line to Zambia.
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The National Communications Authority (NCA) in Ghana is holding a bilateral frequency coordination meeting with Togo, to collaborate and resolve issues related to the use of Radio Spectrum along the Ghana-Togo Border. The meeting will include the Togolese regulator and Service Providers from both countries. Over the years, consumers living along the Ghana-Togo border, in particular, have complained about accidental roaming charges due to interference as they are switched between networks in the two countries.
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| Stears, an intelligence company based in Lagos, has explained in a post why they have built the Stears Election Centre. The team is motivated “by a simple idea…to share accurate election data as far and widely as possible.” Check out the rest of the article here. |
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| According to iAfrikan, Paula Ingabire Rwanda’s Minister for Information and Communications Technology announced that Rwanda is set to open its first smartphone factory in front the country’s Parliament Standing Committee on Education, Technology, Culture and Youth. The Mara Corporation, a Pan-African technology company, is the investor planning to open the smartphone factory. |
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| Renmoney, a company based in Lagos that gives access to credit to employees of organisations online have now extended their credit facilities to self-employed persons and business owners through a new product called “Micro Business Loans”. The product is an attempt to capture a new segment of the market and according to the CEO at the launch of the product, in testing the viability of this product they have fielded over thirty thousand applications and given out six thousand loans. |
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| Visa has announced it is expanding its fast-track program to support fintechs in the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa as part of its efforts in developing the next generation of digital payment solutions. The program “provides innovative fintechs with a faster and easier integration process with VisaNet, Visa’s global network, in addition to a suite of tailored digital solutions and growth capabilities”. |
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That’s it.
We’ll see you tomorrow.
– Wole
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