Author: Kaluka wanjala

Renda, a Nigerian technology solution that simplifies order fulfillment and retail distribution for businesses in Africa, has announced the close of a its pre-seed round at $1.9m in equity and debt funding. The equity investment of $1.3m was led by Ingressive Capital, with participation from Techstars Toronto, Founders Factory Africa, Magic Fund, Golden Palm Investments, Reflect Ventures, and Vastly Valuable Ventures. The debt round of 600k was provided by Founders Factory Africa and SeedFi. Renda will use the funding to enhance its offerings and expand to more cities in Nigeria and in East Africa. It will also use it to…

Summary Yellow Card’s subsidiary in Poland has obtained its Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Polish Register of Activities in the Scope of Virtual Currencies, maintained by the Polish Ministry of Finance. The Company is now also registered for AML data and financial crime reporting purposes with Poland’s General Inspector for Financial Information. Chris Maurice, Yellow Card’s co-founder and CEO, stated, “We are pleased to have completed the VASP registration process in Poland, which represents our first VASP registration outside of Africa. This license really speaks to our world-class compliance and legal functions that work tirelessly to make…

 NTT DATA is urging both private and public institutions across East Africa to reassess their cybersecurity strategies in response to the escalating influence of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen-AI) and its associated risks of misuse. Highlighting the transformative potential of Gen-AI alongside its accompanying ethical dilemmas and cyber threats, NTT DATA East Africa General Manager of Managed Services, Peter Gitonga, emphasized the necessity for specialized knowledge and expertise in addressing concerns such as intellectual property, privacy breaches, misinformation, data integrity, lack of control, and integration complexities. According to data from the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA), there has been a more…

tappi has announced the signing of its Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI). Titled the “Sukuma Biz” initiative, the new partnership will enable tappi to deliver a unique package of digital services specifically geared towards bolstering online credibility and identity for KNCCI’s 30,000+ business members. With an additional focus on women-led businesses, the programme marks the next phase of the startup’s mission to drive online success for Kenya’s 7.4mn MSMEs. For a monthly fee of Ksh.500 ($3.70), KNCCI members will receive their own business landing page on tappi’s platform featuring a KNCCI…

Saad Kassis Mohamed, leading WeCare, proudly announces a milestone achievement with the successful raise of $350,000 dedicated to accelerating innovation in the lab- grown diamond sector. This significant funding marks a pivotal moment in the foundation’s commitment to fostering sustainability and advancement within the industry.  Building upon the success of pioneering funding models in natural diamonds and coloured gemstones, Saad Kassis Mohamed spearheads WeCare’s latest initiative aimed at bolstering research and development in lab-grown diamonds. Through strategic collaborations with esteemed research institutions and industry leaders, this innovative funding model is meticulously tailored to empower emerging researchers, startups, and mid-sized players…

Bolt has selected 120 participants for its Accelerator Program in Kenya. They were selected after an intensive evaluation process as they have innovative ideas and commitment to shaping sustainable transportation solutions making the cut. The next phase of the program is the Bolt Academy where the applicants will go through a comprehensive one-month online business training in partnership with Alison, a leading online training platform. The training is designed to equip them with the skills needed to seize future career opportunities. Participants will be trained in a number of courses from Digital Marketing to Leadership Skills, Project Management, Customer Relationship…

Glovo successfully hosted the third cohort of its Learning and Development Training as part of the Glovo Academy program for partners in Kenya. This initiative, organized in collaboration with the Ongoza Institute—an accelerator for early-stage, high-growth young entrepreneurs in Kenya—aims to equip small businesses with essential skills, fostering digital transformation and expertise in critical business domains such as innovation and digital marketing.  See: Glovo is the Most Preferred App for Grocery and Food Delivery in Kenya The training was conducted at the Ongoza Campus. The Glovo Academy project is designed to help Glovo partners stay current with changes in customer…

Twiga Foods has today announced the appointment of Charles Ballard as its new CEO. Charles was previously the CEO of Jumia Kenya, a position he has held for just one year. He has over 15 years of experience with 9 of those in the Kenyan market. Hein Pretorius, Chairman of Twiga’s board of directors, commented, “We are delighted to welcome Charles as our new Chief Executive. His deep understanding of the Kenyan e-commerce and retail landscape, his proven operational grip, his entrepreneurial drive, and his passion for the Twiga Foods opportunity make him the ideal leader to steer Twiga into…

A collaboration between Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, and South Africa-based IT services and solutions company, TechAccess, is growing the presence of both companies in the region, and providing needed support for data centre-colocation, enterprise, financial sector and mining customers across sub-Saharan Africa. This is the view of TechAccess managing director Jaxon Martin, who says thatin collaboration with Vertiv, TechAccess is rapidly expanding its reach within sub-Saharan Africa, with projects and delivery across the continent. “Our focus is on the delivery of data centre fit-out infrastructure solutions, as well as advanced structured cabling solutions and data centre…

Chowdeck, a Nigerian on-demand delivery service has secured $2.5 million in seed funding from a number of investors. Founded in October 2021, Chowdeck currently has more than 3,000 riders and 500,000 users on its platform. It operates in 8 cities in the country including Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Port-Harcourt, Ilorin, Benin City, Abeokuta and Asaba.  Chowdeck plans to use the fresh funding to expand presence in the cities it currently operates in. The startup also plans to lay the groundwork for expansion to other Nigerian cities. Chowdeck last raised $500,000 in a pre-seed round in 2022 that helped with its initial…