| Johannesburg-based on-demand truck hire startup Droppa has raised over R5-million ($343,000) in the form of convertible notes from IDF Capital. Founded in 2016, Droppa’s web platform and app allows members of the public, and now retailers too, to source trucks and bakkies to deliver goods on their behalf for a 15% commission. Droppa says it now has over 300 drivers on its platform and has completed over 2,000 trips since its launch. The company is looking to reach more South African cities with the new funding inflow as well as to create a booking management system customised per retail sector. |
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| Looking to engage with tech communities in your location? Here’s a rundown of events happening this week in SA, Ghana, Eritrea, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. |
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| Cape Town-based on-demand sales force and market research startup iSpani Group has won R2.5-million ($172,000) in seed funding at the Diageo Empowerment Trust SA Social Tech Start-Up Challenge. The company was selected from a pool of over 2,000 applications to the year-long initiative assisting tech-enabled startups to solve South Africa’s biggest social challenges. Finalists included bursary and scholarship platform Foonda, home security start-up Jonga, on-demand recruitment platform SkillShift and youth-focused sports talent platform BallTalent. The startups will receive the seed funds in tranches as they meet target goals in the course of the next few months. |
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| The Nigerian government has signed a Letter of Intent with the British government to develop a six-year broadband development plan for the country. The last plan, drafted for a five-year period from 2013 to 2018 didn’t bear significant results, according to MainOne’s CEO, Funke Opeke, in an op-ed for The Vanguard. The plan sought to drive broadband penetration from 5% to 30% but analysts say it only reached a 10% mark. Exorbitant Right of Way fees, she said, were discouraging to organisations wishing to invest in the sector. The project development plan is expected to be ready by March 2020. |
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| Apply to participate in the Sciencepreneur Investor Meetup organised by The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) and the Co-Creation Hub (CcHUB). The Meetup is targeted at helping scientists transition their ideas from lab to market. Winning solutions take home $25,000 and a chance to pitch before investors during the NEF Innovation Salon in Nairobi in March 2020, at the NEF Global Gathering where they can raise additional funding. Apply here before December 20. |
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| After nearly three months on the road, a baffling first for the Jollof Road team: a group of tourists who have never heard of Nigeria, who think West Africa and Western Sahara are countries and who wonder if Africans speak any English. You have to read Toke’s journal entry for the full gist. It’s here. The journeying is almost over. Phew! They did the damn thing!! |
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| Africa’s premier motorcycle hailing company, SafeBoda, has finally launched in Nigeria. And it is not in Lagos, Nigeria’s bustling commercial capital where all the major motorcycle hailing players have berthed and are fighting for a chance to thrive. The Ugandan company, which has since launched in Nairobi, Kenya, is starting its foray into the Nigerian market in Ibadan, a semi-urban city neigbhouring Lagos. The many recent regulatory challenges that has assailed operators in Lagos may just be keeping them away for the time being. |
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| Cairo-based cleaning services startup Jinni has raised a six-figure (USD) seed investment from AUC Angels, a university-based angel network of the region. Founded in late 2016 by a husband-and-wife-duo; Mostafa Ghannam and Alaa Shams, Jinni offers different types of cleaning services to both residential users and corporate clients. The company says it has served over 3,000 residential customers and completed over 12,000 orders for them and tens of corporate clients including Uber, Modelez International, and Egyptian Steel. |
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| MainOne’s submarine cable in Cote d’Ivoire is live and ready for service. MainOnehas also launched its Data Center facility built to Tier III standards, to address the needs of corporate clients, public institutions and service providers in Cote d’ Ivoire. MainOne continues to expand broadband connectivity across West Africa driving economy and exchange with the rest of the world and is confident its new services in Cote d’ Ivoire will support digitization and economic growth in the region. |
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That’s it for today,
We’ll see you tomorrow!
– Kay
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