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Happy Friday!
X marks the spot, unless you are willing to pay the price.
X, formerly Twitter, is releasing a new feature that will allow premium users to hide their likes.
We all saw this coming, but that is not the story. The story is how X announced the update: “Keep spicy likes private by hiding your likes tab 👀🌶️? “
What does that even mean?
In today’s edition
- WhoGoHost acquires SendChamp
- Flutterwave to invest $50 million in Kenya
- Tech Nation set to resume in October
- Kenya’s Digital Health bill goes through first reading
- Funding tracker
- The World Wide Web3
- Event: Moonshot Conference
- Job opportuinities
Acquisition
WhoGoHost acquires SendChamp
WhoGoHost, a Nigerian cloud infrastructure company, has fully acquired SendChamp—a cloud communications startup—for an undisclosed amount.
The acquisition which combines cash and equity, is part of WhoGoHost’s strategic plans to deepen its value offering for its customer base.
SendChamp leadership to join WhoGoHost: Founded by Goodness Kayode and Damilola Olotu in 2021, SendChamp allows businesses to send and receive customer messages across different channels, including SMS, WhatsApp, email, and voice. The acquisition will see Sendchamp’s CEO and CTO assume new roles at WhoGoHost. Kayode will be the Chief Product Officer, while Damilola Olotu will serve as the Chief Technology Officer of WhoGoHost.
SendChamp will continue to operate as an independent product for a few months, and then its services will become accessible via the WhoGoHost integrated platform. In essence, SendChamp will transform into “SendChamp by WhoGoHost.” As it seamlessly integrates with WhoGoHost’s offerings, it will adopt the WhoGoHost company name.
Zoom out: At WhoGoHost, the acquisition of SendChamp is regarded as the first in a strategic series of steps that will see the company transform from a domain and hosting infrastructure company to a diverse digital services platform that focuses on domains, online presence, communication, and online commerce products.
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Fintech
Flutterwave to invest $50 million in Kenya
Nigerian fintech company, Flutterwave is planning a $50 million investment in Kenya.
Olugbenga Agboola, the chief executive officer and co-founder of Flutterwave, shared this during a media interview held in Nairobi.
The fintech company is presently in the process of seeking approval for both a payments service provider license and a remittance license in Kenya. Agboola also mentioned that they have already obtained preliminary approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and are ready to initiate their investment plans once the necessary licence is granted.
Several legal issues may have delayed the licensing process, but the fintech is finally going through the process of approval.
Zoom out: In April 2023, Flutterwave announced that they were going to make Nairobi their main base for doing business in East Africa. Agboola reaffirmed the company’s commitment to opening a fresh office in the area and highlighted their plans to enhance their infrastructure and onboard more personnel within the country. As of now, Flutterwave has a workforce of 27 individuals in Kenya.
Talent
Tech Nation set to resume in October
Tech Nation, a UK organisation that helps bring talented tech talents from Africa to the UK through its endorsement of the Global Talent Visa, is set to relaunch its operations in October. Tech Nation halted operations six months ago but will now relaunch during the Birmingham Tech Week on October 16 according to the UKTN.
ICYMI: In March this year, Tech Nation ceased operations after losing out on a government grant which was its primary revenue stream to Barclay’s Eagle Labs—its primary revenue stream. One month after Tech Nation shut down, it was acquired by Founders Forum in an undisclosed deal. Despite the company’s closure, a small team continued processing applications for the service.
According to local media, Tech Nation will continue to be the endorsing body for digital technology applications under the Global Talent Visa.
Zoom out: Tech Nation’s resumption of operations spells good news for tech talents, especially Nigerians who are looking to explore the Global Talent Visa route to the UK. The West African country ranks third in the world with 11.3% of applications globally.
Policy
Kenya’s Digital Health bill goes through first reading
Yesterday, the Kenyan National Assembly had the first reading of the Digital Health Bill. The Bill was drafted by the government in partnership with healthcare stakeholders.
What is the bill about? The Bill proposes the establishment of a digital health agency that would provide a framework for the provision of digital health services. Through the Digital Health Bill, Kenya will maintain a comprehensive integrated health information system that can be a reference to every health facility that requires a patient’s health history in the country.
Not a standalone bill The Digital Health Bill is one of four bills which the cabinet approved earlier in August. All four bills will replace the NHIF Act. The Social Health Insurance Bill 2023, the Primary Healthcare Bill 2023, and the Facility Improvement Financing Bill 2023 are the three other bills.
Zoom out: While the Digital Health Bill has only passed its first reading, it represents a significant milestone in Kenya’s journey toward a more efficient and patient-centric healthcare system. The legislative process will involve further deliberations, revisions, and rounds of voting before the bill can become law. Nevertheless, its introduction signifies the government’s commitment to harnessing the potential of digital technology to improve healthcare access and outcomes for all Kenyan citizens.
TC Insights
Funding Tracker
This week, raised a $2.4 million seed round. The round comprised $1.6 million in debt and $800,000 in equity funding.
The round was backed by African Renaissance Partners, Norrsken Accelerator Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, with participation from angel investors Marcus Boström, and Zephyr Acorn.
Here are the other deals for the week:
- Nigerian auto startup, Mecho Autotech, received $2.4 million in pre-Series A funding round with the participation of Global Brain Corporation, Ventures Platform, and Uncovered Fund.
That’s it for this week!
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more funding announcements. You can also visit DealFlow, our real-time funding tracker.
Crypto Tracker
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$26,523 |
+ 1.06% |
– 9.79% |
| Ether |
$1,626 |
+ 1.18% |
– 11.81% |
 BNB |
$212 |
+ 0.13% |
– 10.44% |
| Cardano |
$0.25 |
+ 0.97% |
– 13.59% |
* Data as of 12:51 AM WAT, September 15, 2023.
Moonshot Conversations
The past few months have been characterized by a series of coordinated attacks against financial institutions; startups, banks, even telcos.
Join us and some experts tomorrow as they delve into the risk factors for these attacks and how businesses and individuals can improve their security against them.
Job opportuinities
- Derivco – Project Manager Level 2 – Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Hybrid)
- Andela– Senior Data Modeler– Lagos, Nigeria (Remote)
- Canonical- Design Team Manager – Lagos, Nigeria (Remote)
- LemFi – Technical Support Lead – Lagos, Nigeria (Remote)
What else we are reading
