Between 2004 and 2010, the developed world was captivated by upstarts like Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. Uber, Spotify and Airbnb were born in the middle of the Great Recession. The tech arena already featured giants like Microsoft and Google. Amazon was emerging as the global online shopping beast. In Africa however, Safaricom’s MPesa was the […]
Tech companies in sub-Saharan Africa will soon be operating in a recession. The World Bank expects the region’s economies to contract by up to 5.1%, a historic downturn that portends tough times for balance sheets. Global economic uncertainty means African tech startups have to adapt and stay relevant. Despite a decent first quarter, fundraising will […]
A joint venture fund aimed at growing women-led businesses in Africa has reached its second close at $75 million and will announce its first investments soon. Called Alitheia IDF, it is an SME investment fund for businesses with high-growth potential in Africa. The fund invests in businesses that are majority-owned, majority-run or mainly created to […]
Founding an African business is a gruelling endeavor that could end in tears. If you are logistics-minded, you are bothered about the aggressive regulatory posturing in Nigeria’s commercial capital. Ride-hailing is a non-starter in Rwanda, and you would want to think hard before starting anything in Cameroon at this volatile moment. But even when you […]
At the Endeavor Nigeria annual gathering in January, Halima Aliko Dangote walks in with her father who is introduced to a group of Flutterwave volunteers from MIT Sloan. Doing the honours is Bolaji Balogun, a 90’s veteran of First City Monument Bank, and CEO of Chapel Hill Denham, a Lagos-based investment consultancy. The Dangotes’ arrival […]
As it marches into its third decade of startup investing, TLCom Capital has announced the close of its TIDE Africa fund at $71 million. Over the next eighteen months, the venture capital firm aims to invest in 12 startups in the continent’s major markets. The TIDE fund is TLCom’s initiative for the African technology environment. […]