TechCabal Daily – Kigali is the battleground for Nigerian fintechs and others

The Africa Tech Summit will hold from the 5th to the 6th of February, 2020. It will feature more than 600 stakeholders from the tech ecosystem. Disrupt Africa is powering the summit. Tom Jackson, the tech publication’s co-founder, says the summit’s focus is to provide startups opportunity to be on “stage in front of an expert jury panel and hundreds of potential investors, corporate partners, and customers.”

Five out of the eleven startups are Nigerian. Two – ThankUCash and Riby – catch our eye because of the early-stage venture capital firm that more or less discovered and initially backed them for success. Read more about Microtraction’s strategy for identifying ‘remarkable’ founders.

The e-commerce giant has hired Diana Owusu-Kyereko as the CEO for Jumia Ghana, replacing Ore Odusanya who had been the country manager since 2016. Owusu-Kyereko was the chief commercial officer (CCO) for Jumia Kenya, Techpoint reports. She holds degrees from  the London School of Economics and Political Science, and from the University of Leeds.

Why you should care: Jumia Group, despite all of its troubles (and there were many) in 2019, is refusing cower. The size of the famed brand was cut down to 12 last year. But they’ve begun 2020 on an upbeat note; first launching an advertising arm, and now making this optimistic move in Ghana. Sceptics will say they are papering over glaring cracks but Jumia’s state of health is not bad on every score. They want, above all else, to prove that they are capable of rebounding from the annus horribilis that was H2 2019.

Five Zambian fintechs have been selected for the inaugural cohort of the FinTech4U accelerator programme. They are: SafePay Zambia, Digital PayGo, Aretech, Edupay and Virtual Space. The programme is a collaboration of the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and the BongoHive Innovation and Technology Hub.  Each of the startups stands to receive up to $3000 to pilot and improve their product for the Zambian market and beyond, Venture Burn reports.

The countdown to Afrobytes 2020 continues. Afrobytes is the premier event that brings together entrepreneurs, innovators, investors, and more to explore business opportunities between the African tech ecosystem and players in the global tech world. Here are key reasons why you should attend Afrobytes 2020:

• Finance: pitch world-leading Africa-focused tech funds
• Network: connect with global companies and African tech leaders
• Scale: find tech partners at the largest startup campus
• Feature: talk to international media covering African markets

Get your early bird ticket here

Beyond training and mentorship, winners will be offered a residency in France and will stand to participate in esteemed events such as Annecy Animation festival, New images, Paris Games Week or Les Nuits Sonores in France and the Fak’ugesi African Digital Innovation Festival in South Africa. Interested? Apply here.

Come February 28, 2020 the next TechCabal townhall will focus on:
Emerging technologies including 5G, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, Cryptocurrencies, Robotics and 3D Printing. TC Townhall: Emerging Tech will examine how these technologies are changing (and will change) how Africans live and do business.

Want to attend?
Indicate interest by filling this form. Are you a member of the press, fill this form to qualify for a pass. Do you have a startup or project with any of these technologies at the core? Tell us about your project or startup here. 

Have any ideas about the event or suggestions about speakers? Send us an email via team@techcabal.com and we just might make your wish come true. For sponsorship inquiries, please email Chidi via chidi@bigcabal.com.