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ORide, a new on-demand motorbike hailing service has launched in Lagos, Nigeria. Driven by technology, the ORide service is accessible via the OPay app – a super app with features that cater to a range of lifestyle demands including food order and delivery, utility bills payment, cash access and more. Customers who download the Opay app this July on Google Play store or iOS app store  will pay only N200 for every trip they take that’s less than N2000.
Get started today.

Solar power solutions provider, d.light has raised $18 million in debt financing to grow its operations across Africa. The company raised the funds from a consortium of lenders with a focus on the renewable energy space including; two responsAbility-managed funds, SunFunder, DWM and SIMA. This latest capital brings d.light’s total funding to date to $297 million. The company has provided solar power to nearly 100 million people since 2007 using pay-as-you-go financing solutions and generating 171 GWh of renewable energy in the process.

Careem has partnered with UAE telco Etisalat to launch free unlimited Wi-Fi in all Careem cars from mid-July. The ride hailing company which is present in Egypt, Morocco and other locations in the Middle East, recently signed a partnership with Snapit Digital, a media tech company, to serve advertising in its vehicles. Careem was acquired by Uber for $3 billion in March.

Safaricom’s CEO, Bob Collymore has passed away. Collymore passed away yesterday after battling cancer for about two years. He led the company for more than 8 years and grew it to an 11 billion dollar company. Our deepest condolences to his family and colleagues. May his soul rest in peace.

Forbes Africa has announced the 2019 cohort for its 30under30 list featuring 120 of Africa’s brightest achievers under the age of 30 in four categories including: Business, Technology, Creatives and Sport. Check out the list here.

On the 11th of July, Techcabal is convening African governments, regulators, investors, development agencies, multinationals and entrepreneurs at TC Townhall: Renewable Energy to discuss “The Future of Africa’s Energy”. We will be attempting to answer the question “How do we quickly build a modern energy infrastructure, that is affordable and provides last-mile access, using abundant renewable energy resources, in a friendly policy environment?” Register here to attend.

Liquid Telecom is connecting South Sudan to a fibre network for the first time. The first phase of the project which is expected to go live in Q4 2019 will include a 300km fibre backbone operating from the border of Uganda, through South Sudan, to Juba. The project is expected to connect South Sudan’s 13 million citizens to the 300 million people across the East African Community through the One Africa broadband network thereby boosting trade and the digital economy.

Cape-town based machine learning startup, Data Prophet has been named by the World Economic Forum as one of 56 emerging tech firms for its 2019 cohort of Technology Pioneers. DataProphet, the only African company on the list provides deep learning solutions to the manufacturing industry. Moroccan healthcare app, Dabadoc was also on the list although it was categorized under the MENA region.

Commercial trial for Loon, Google’s internet-over-hot-air-balloon project, will begin in Kenya over the coming weeks in partnership with Telkom. Kenya’s aviation authority is expected to sign its final approval this month. Loon began securing necessary regulatory approvals as well as importing and installing ground infrastructure in Kenya in 2018. Hatched in 2011, Loon aims to bring connectivity to remote parts of the world.

South African animation studio, Triggerfish has launched a free online learning platform in partnership with Goethe-Institut and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. The platform which is called Triggerfish Academy allows people to learn the basic principles of animation. Take the platform for a spin here.

Google and Facebook are circling Africa with huge undersea cables to get millions online

The Rise of The African Tech Scene

Appstech is hiring for UI/UX designer and Backend developer roles in Cameroon. Apply here and here if you meet the requirements.

From TechCabal

+  Nigerian Solar Energy Startup, Arnergy Closes $9 million Series A Round, A Major Milestone for Local Energy Companies

+  Startup Acquisitions Continue to Grow Big in Africa. What Does this Mean for VCs and Startups?