The Latest from Tage Kene-Okafor
Freelancer marketplace Toptal sues Andela and ex-employees, alleging theft of trade secrets
The war for talent in the tech world can be brutal — and so, it turns out, can the war between platforms that help companies source it. In the latest developement, Toptal — a marketplace f
New South African partnership gets $3M, launches telehealth product
For the early detection and treatment of health conditions, easy access to primary healthcare is crucial. Primary healthcare is best delivered by teams of primary care clinicians coordinating care bet
Nexford University lands $10.8M pre-Series A to scale its flexible remote learning platform
Two profound problems face the higher education sector globally — affordability and relevance. Whether you live in Africa, Europe or the U.S., a major reason why people don’t go to univers
Float wants to provide liquidity to African SMBs in a way never done before
According to research, 85% of African SMBs have zero access to financing, and each day, African SMBs have billions locked up in receivables due to long payment cycles. This leads to cash flow problems
Trump congratulates Nigeria for Twitter ban, says more countries should do the same
Today, former President Donald Trump issued a statement supporting the Nigerian government’s decision to suspend Twitter activities in the West African country. “Congratulations to the cou
Nigeria orders broadcasting media to disregard Twitter as news source
Nigeria’s broadcast regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission, has ordered all broadcasting stations in the country to suspend their use of Twitter. The directive was issued Monday morning
Naspers co-leads $14.5M extension round in mobility startup WhereIsMyTransport
Many people in emerging markets depend on informal public transport to move across cities. But while there are ride-hailing and bus-hailing applications in some of these cities, there’s a dire n
YC-backed Ziina raises $7.5M seed led by Avenir Growth Capital and Class 5 Global
Cash is the predominant method of sending and receiving payments in the Middle East. If you owe someone a cup of coffee or a trip over a long period, repaying via cash is your best bet. This is one pr
Nigeria suspends Twitter operations, says platform ‘undermines its corporate existence’
Through its Ministry of Information and Culture today, the Nigerian government announced its decision to suspend the operations of social media platform Twitter in the country. The statement, made by
Opontia raises $20M to roll up e-commerce brands in Africa and the Middle East
Razor Group. Branded. Thrasio. These are big names in the new wave of e-commerce companies taking the world by storm. Their business of acquiring small e-commerce brands that look promising and consol
Gokada to launch ride-hailing service in two Nigerian cities as part of super app plans
When two of Indonesia’s biggest companies — ride-hailing company Gojek and e-commerce marketplace Tokopedia — joined forces as GoTo Group last month, a key highlight from the merger
Video e-learning platform for MENA, Almentor, closes $6.5M Series B led by Partech
There are more than 400 million Arabic speakers globally and that number isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Arabic, to most people, is a tough language even to those who speak it. According to Duo
SVB-led $100M investment makes Chipper Cash Africa’s ‘most valuable startup’
Fintech in Africa is a goldmine. Investors are betting big on startups offering a plethora of services from payments and lending to neobanks, remittances and cross-border transfers, and rightfully so.
Middle East and Africa will reap benefits from Nuwa Capital’s newest fund
Nuwa Capital, a venture capital firm based in Dubai and Riyadh, announced the first close of its $100 million NVFI fund in February. The close was three-quarters of the target and was done in less tha
African fintech OPay is reportedly raising $400M at over $1.5B valuation
Chinese-backed and Africa-focused fintech platform OPay is in talks to raise up to $400 million, The Information reported today. The fundraising is coming two years after OPay announced two funding ro
Venture capital investment in Africa predicted to reach a record high this year
Investments in African startups keep growing at a healthy pace ever since reports started keeping count in 2015. That year, publications Disrupt Africa and Partech released independently researched an
Seed-stage accelerator Flat6Labs closes $13.2M fund for startups in Egypt
Investment activities in Egypt continue to gain steam, not for startups only but also the funds backing them. Today, seed accelerator Flat6Labs announced the second close of its Egypt fund to support
Nigeria’s Mono raises millions to power the internet economy in Africa
In February, Nigerian fintech startup Mono announced its acceptance into Y Combinator and, at the time, it wanted to build the Plaid for Africa. Three months later, the startup has a different mission
Egyptian furniture marketplace Homzmart lands $15M Series A for MENA expansion
In most parts of Africa and the Middle East, a consumer journey and experience in buying furniture is not fun. A typical shopping process would entail looking for the best price and quality and asking
Bosta raises $6.7M to expand e-commerce delivery business across Africa and MENA
Per a recent report by Bain & Co., e-commerce is expected to grow to $28.5 billion in MENA by 2022 from a 2019 value of $8.3 billion. Egypt, one of the most active e-commerce countries in the regi