Tech Times 💡
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Funding Announcements🤑➥Egypt-based VC DisrupTech Raises $5 Million Investment From Proparco
Proparco, a subsidiary of the AFD Group focusing on private sector development, has announced an investment in an early-stage venture capital fund managed by DisrupTech Ventures, to support development in Egypt’s fintech sector and help expand access to financial services in the country. Proparco committed $5 million to DisrupTech, which aims to provide seed capital to up to 28 start-ups with a prime focus on financial technology services.
➥DeFi Lending Startup, Jia, Raises $4.3 Million Seed to Drive Expansion in Kenya and West Africa
Jia offers loans of up to $5,000, targeting small businesses in need of financing. The startup aims to fill the gap left by digital lenders and loan apps that typically do not provide credit exceeding $1,000 by replicating the community financing model, commonly referred to as 'chamas' in Kenya.
➥African Climate Tech Startup Amini Raises $2 million.
Amini, an early-stage company focused on solving Africa’s environmental data gap through Artificial Intelligence and satellite technology, has raised $2M in pre-seed funding. The oversubscribed round was led by Pale Blue Dot, a leading European Climate Tech fund. Other investors include Superorganism, RaliCap, W3i, Emurgo Kepple Ventures, and a network of angel investors from the global technology community. Amini has also become the first African company accepted onto the highly selective Seraphim Space Accelerator program, which scouts from the top 2% of global early-stage space companies.
Innovation corner🙌➥Africa’s AI investment evolving into a smart tech economic move
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize Africa’s climate-smart agriculture initiatives. Nigeria’s Data Science Centre in Lagos projects to train over one million Nigerians in data science by 2027. Rwanda is looking to invest $76.5 million over the next five years in setting up a comprehensive AI ecosystem.
➥Nigerian fintech startup Grey picks Kenya as its East African hub
Nigerian fintech startup Grey has picked Kenya as its East African hub as it expands operations in the region.Launched in 2021 by Idorenyin Obong and Femi Aghedo, who wanted to help Nigerians easily exchange to local currency and access the foreign currencies in their accounts, Grey offers an international money transfer service that enables its users to send and receive international payments without restrictions quickly. Its products include foreign bank accounts, instant currency exchange, and international money transfers.
➥Africa’s Leading ID Verification Service, Smile Identity, Steps Up Africa Expansion by Acquiring Ghana’s ID Service, Appruve
Smile Identity has announced its acquisition of the parent company of Appruve, Inclusive Innovations, Inc, and is currently working on meeting regulatory requirements to complete the transaction for all affiliated entities in Africa. Operating for 6 years now, Smile Identity sees the acquisition as a strategic move to expand its presence and become the leading identity verification and digital KYC (know-your-customer) provider in Africa. The acquisition will allow it to strengthen its position in the region having raised $20 million in a Series B in early 2023.Smile Identity provides document verification, face verification, biometrics, and data integrations to establish a person’s true identity. They also collaborate with local trusted ID authorities to provide their services.
➥Nigerian Crypto Infrastructure Startup, Yuki, Partners with Nigerian Neobank, Aladdin Digital Bank, to Mainstream Digital Assets in Africa.
Yuki, a Nigerian fintech company that simplifies digital assets for Web2 fintech firms in Africa, has formed a partnership with Aladdin Digital, a neobank for small and medium businesses, to bring digital assets to the forefront in Africa. Launched in November 2022 by Nigerian invest-tech and robo-advisory startup, ComiBlock, Yuki gives African fintechs and neobanks APIs that make it easy to create and offer unique crypto solutions. For instance, any fintech could use Yuki to build a remittance service, stablecoin payments, crypto trading service, etc. in a week instead of months. They don’t have to write any complex code or worry about compliance like getting licenses or AML.
➥Algorand GameFi Platform, Zone, Reportedly Hits 10.6 Million Play Minutes One Month After Global Launch, Says Kenya Country Rep.
Blockchain GameFi platform, Zone, has reportedly reached 10.6 million play minutes since its global launch 9 months ago making it one of the fastest-growing platforms in Africa, Europe, Asia, and South America. The crypto-gaming platform, which also launched in Kenya in March 2023, has experienced 30 million games played on its platform. Additionally, the platform has facilitated a total of 16 million transactions in cryptocurrency.
➥Unprecedented growth awaits Africa’s fintech ecosystem.
But at what cost?
A report by Boston Consulting Group and QED Investors has projected a fintech revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32% until 2030 in Africa. But financial inclusion is still a problem on the continent. Despite its challenges, Africa’s fintech sector appears to be heading toward unprecedented growth.
The sector is projected to hit a revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32% until 2030, according to a new report [pdf] released by an American strategy firm, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Alexandria-based venture capital firm, QED Investors. South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya—also known as the Big Four—are projected to be the key markets for this growth.
WEB3 Corner🚀➥News Nigeria’s blockchain policy launches paving the way for Africa’s web3 triumph.
The Federal Executive Council approved the Blockchain policy and instructed the relevant regulatory body to act. Local blockchain expert Barnete Akomolafe stated that the Nigerian crypto community would finally thrive without hindrance.Nigeria has hogged the web3 limelight of Africa for some time.
Hailed as one of Africa’s highest crypto trading countries, it has set the bar for digital currency adoption. Fortunately, the nation has surprised its crypto community once more by approving a blockchain policy that might revolutionize its adoption rate. Aside from being Africa’s self-proclaimed crypto hub, Nigeria has astonished the world once more by embracing this new policy.
Worth Reading 📚➥Apple bans ChatGPT use for employees over fears of data leaks
Big Tech giant Apple has restricted company usage of the widely popular artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT over fears its sensitive data could be compromised.
A report by The Wall Street Journal revealed that an internal document to Apple employees had banned the usage of Microsoft-backed ChatGPT and similar AI tools while the company was developing its own AI technology. According to the document, the iPhone developer is concerned about workers using the programs and exposing confidential company information. It also mentioned a restriction on GitHub’s AI tool Copilot, a Microsoft-owned application that automates writing software code.
Introducing an Exciting Addition to our Community🚀👏 The Web3 Developer's Technical Corner👨💻
We are excited to announce the launch of our new Web3 Developer's Technical Corner! This corner will provide developers with the resources they need to learn about smart contracts, including in-depth tutorials, hands-on projects, Q&A sessions, and industry updates.
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We are proud to introduce Dennoh Peter, a seasoned Web3 developer who will be leading the charge in this exciting corner of knowledge. With years of experience under their belt, our dedicated expert will meticulously break down the complexities of smart contracts bit by bit, guiding you through each fundamental concept and helping you build a solid foundation of expertise.
This corner aims to foster a collaborative environment where you can connect with like-minded individuals, share ideas, and collaborate on exciting projects.Get ready to unlock the potential of smart contracts and embark on a thrilling adventure into the world of Web3 development. Join us as we embark on this incredible journey, empowering developers like yourself to turn their ideas into reality.
Stay tuned for our first publish in the Web3 Developer's Technical Corner, coming to you very soon.
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