Author: Kaluka wanjala

Equity Bank has announced reduction in interest rates on all new and existing Kenya Shilling-denominated credit facilities, effective February 13th, 2025, for new loans and from 1st of March for existing loans. This follows the recent decision by the Central Bank of Kenya’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut the Central Bank Rate (CBR) by 50 basis points to 10.75% from 11.25% and the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 100 basis points to 3.25% from 4.25%. The reduced interest rates will comprise a revised Equity Bank Reference Rate (EBRR) of 14.39% plus a margin (based on specific customer risk profile). This…

Fincra has announced the appointment of Emmanuel Babalola, also known as Babz, as its new Chief Commercial and Growth Officer. Babz joins us with lots of experience and success in the African fintech industry, having directly led the efforts of Binance scaling across more than 40 markets in Africa and the Middle East. Under his leadership, the platform grew from serving a small user base to empowering millions of Africans and facilitating billions of dollars in transaction volume, helping unlock new opportunities across the continent. In an announcement, Fincra’s CEO Wole Ayodele described Babz as one of the most respected…

Taager has announced the completion of its $6.75 million  pre-Series B funding round, led by Africa-focused tech growth fund Norrsken22.This round will enable the company to fuel its growth in the Middle East. The oversubscribed round included participation from Endeavor Catalyst and Beltone VC, in addition to all existing investors, including 4DX Ventures, RAED Ventures, BECO Capital and Breyer Capital. Over the past two decades, social e-commerce, which is the process of directly buying and selling products through social media platforms, has evolved from a mere concept to a prominent shopping method poised to overtake traditional retail. It effectively blends…

Vertiv has announced the launch of Vertiv Liquid Cooling Services. This offering provides customers with the tools to enhance system availability, improve efficiency, and navigate the evolving challenges of advanced liquid cooling systems with confidence. The offering is now globally available. Vertiv has been delivering these services for more than a year to regional early adopters, refining best practices and gaining valuable insights that have now enabled the expansion of our liquid cooling service capabilities on a global scale. This experience brings a mature and proven approach, providing data centre operators worldwide with expert support based on real-world application and success. AI…

Pretium, a cutting-edge payment platform designed to bring real-world usability to digital assets, is now available as a standalone app on the Google Play Store. This launch marks a significant step forward in integrating digital assets into everyday transactions, allowing users to shop, dine, and send money using their crypto holdings without needing to convert them through peer-to-peer (P2P) exchanges. Bringing Digital Assets to Everyday Transactions Pretium was created to solve a common problem faced by many crypto holders, the inefficiency of accessing and using digital assets for everyday purchases. Often, individuals who store their money in digital assets to…

ToumAI, a Moroccan AI tech startup, has announced the close of a EUR 1 million (US$1.03 million) pre-seed funding round. The startup will use the funding to help expand the development of its personalised, adaptive, and sustainable Customer experience (CX) solution. The funding was led by Launch Africa and joined by Madica Ventures, Orange Ventures, Digital Africa, GO Ventures, and angel investor Bruno Akpaka, with support from BPI France. ToumAI started operations in June 2020 and uses AI to overcome linguistic and cultural barriers to improve customer experience (CX). “This funding is a pivotal milestone for ToumAI Analytics,” said Odin…

The Company for Cooperative Insurance (Tawuniya), the largest insurance company in MENA, today announced a strategic partnership with MoneyHash, the Middle East and Africa’s leading payment orchestration platform, at LEAP 2025 in Riyadh. This collaboration aims to optimize Tawuniya’s payment performance, deliver a seamless customer experience, and empower the company to stay ahead of the curve with next-generation payment solutions. Optimizing for the Future Through this partnership, Tawuniya leverages MoneyHash’s innovative payment orchestration platform to streamline its payment infrastructure. This collaboration will enable Tawuniya to: A Commitment to Innovation “Tawuniya is committed to embracing advanced technologies that enhance our customer…

P1 Ventures – the early-stage, Pan-African VC – has completed the final close of its first $50 million institutional fund and welcomed African conglomerates, family offices, and partners at global VCs, alongside the World Bank’s IFC. Senior advisors include Index Ventures’ founding team member, Bernard Dalle and Emil Michael, former Uber CBO who scaled it globally. With over $60 million now in AUM, P1 Ventures builds on a year of strong momentum in which it completed its largest-ever deal; co-investing as the only African VC alongside Accel into Morocco-based Nuitee’s $48 million Series A round. These achievements underscore P1 Ventures’…

Raenest has announced the completion of its $11M Series A funding. The round was led by QED Investors, with participation from Norrsken22, alongside follow-on investment from Ventures Platform, P1 Ventures, and Seedstars. This equity-based capital injection brings Raenest’s total venture funding to $14.3M. With this new funding, Raenest aims to deepen its operations in Nigeria, while also strengthening its Kenyan presence. The company also plans to enter the United States and Egypt this year, broadening its impact with Africans within the continent and outside the continent, and also attract top talent to support its growth. Currently, Raenest holds licenses in Nigeria as an approved International…

Swypt, a leading digital payments platform, is excited to announce the integration of cKES, Kenya’s first decentralized stablecoin on Mento pegged 1:1 to the Kenyan Shilling. This groundbreaking integration allows users to seamlessly purchase, spend, and transfer cKES across Swypt’s extensive merchant and peer network. Founded in May 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya, by Davis Thoyah, Swypt was created to address the challenges of slow and risky P2P crypto trading. Frustrated by high risks and inefficiencies, the Swypt team developed a secure, fast, and cost-effective alternative. Swypt’s first prototype debuted at ETHSafari 2023, followed by its launch in June 2024. Since…