This Week in African Tech 🌍

Africa’s e-mobility is powering up 🚗

Author

Caleb Maru
September 29, 2024

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Hey guys!

Caleb here.

I have some exciting news.

Our friends at Pindo just launched Pindo Voice AI to help African companies automate customer comms in local African languages using AI.

Across Africa, low English and digital literacy make responding to SMS and navigating USSD menus tricky, so voice is the preferred way to communicate.

Pindo is helping companies in Africa:

  • Seamlessly talk to customers in multiple local languages like Kinyarwanda, Swahili & Luganda using AI.

  • Track, record, and analyse every customer interaction.

  • Automate support to resolve customer issues faster.

They’re taking on three beta customers.

Alright into the roundup!

Tech Roundup

  • Kenya’s Appeal Court has upheld a court ruling allowing 187 Facebook moderators to sue Meta. The ex-moderators want $1.6 billion in compensation, but Meta had stalled negotiations last October, arguing that it can’t be sued in Kenya as it’s a foreign company. 

  • Nigeria’s digital free zone, Itana, has partnered with Accelerate Africa, an early-stage startup accelerator, to simplify startup registration within the Itana Zone. Startups will now have access to digital infrastructure, regulatory support, and community resources.

  • KCB Bank Kenya and Airtel Money Kenya Limited have partnered to make it easier for Airtel Money customers to make payments directly at KCB merchants’ tills. This will happen through the Lipa Na KCB service.

  • Safaricom’s customers in Kenya will now pay a little extra as their internet speeds get bumped up. The 10 Mbps connection has now been upgraded to 15 Mbps at KES 3,000 ($23). Customers on the 20 Mbps plan now have a 30 Mbps connection, while those on the 40 Mbps plan have doubled their speeds to 80 Mbps. The 100 Mbps package has been increased fivefold to 500 Mbps for KES 12,500 ($97).

  •  Egyptian ed-tech startup EYouth has partnered with Mohamed Farouk, Ahmed Tarek, Mustafa Abd Ellatif and Mokhtar Ahmed, to launch NextEra Education with more than $41 million in funding. The partnership is set to develop Egypt’s education system through career-readiness programmes.

  • Togo's Gozem has announced the launch of its fintech product Gozem Money, in Q4 of 2024. Gozem Money is launched in partnership with NSIA Banque and will allow Gozem customers to transact both within and outside the Gozem ecosystem.

  • Chinese Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD has partnered with LOXEA, a Kenyan fleet management company, to launch the BYD Atto 3, BYD Seal, and BYD Dolphin models in Nairobi. This marks BYD’s second African expansion this year after Zambia where they partnered with Pilatus.

  • Kenyan e-commerce platform Sky.Garden has removed 1,500 of its 30,000 vendors to clean up counterfeit and substandard goods on the platform. The startup also removed brokers who falsely claimed to be sellers while dismissing rumours that some vendors were boycotting the platform.

  • Rwandan E-mobility startup, Ampersand, has partnered with CrossBoundary Energy, a B2B renewable energy solutions distributor. Ampersand will power electric motorbikes with solar energy at charging stations in Nairobi, Kenya. And CrossBoundary Energy will finance the battery ownership and charging infrastructure, while Ampersand maintains the fleet.

  • The Bank of South Sudan (BOSS) has limited cash withdrawals to 10 million South Sudan Pounds ($76,800) as the government moves to discourage large withdrawals and encourage cashless transactions through fintech.

Deal Roundup

  • Egyptian ed-tech startup Farid has raised $250,000 in pre-seed funding from Saudi angel investor Amal bint Abdulaziz Al-Ajlan. The funding will be used to expand its platform by developing new training content, hiring, and expanding into Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

  • Happy Pay, a South African fintech, has raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding from Dotexe Ventures, Launch Africa, and other local investors. The funds will be used to speed up the growth of its Buy-Now-Pay-Later product, launch new services, and expand its user base.

  • Nigerian ed-tech startup, Tespire, has secured an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding. Tespire will use the funds to scale its services by acquiring more schools and improving young learners’ access to quality education.

  • Egyptian angel investment syndicate, Acasia Group, has been acquired by US-based VC firm Sultan Ventures for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will help Acasia scale faster and ramp up its impact.

  • The Agent Banking Company of Uganda has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from Goodwell Investments. The funds will be used to pursue growth by expanding its client base, increasing agent coverage, and launching new services.

  • Kenyan climate-tech startup Flux has sold Africa’s first carbon removal credits worth $370 each to the Milkywire Climate Transformation Fund. Milkywire said it received about 1,000 proposals from climate techs globally, but Flux’s solution was the best one.

  • Zeno, an e-mobility startup has received $9.5 million in seed funding to further its efforts in transforming transportation across East Africa through swappable battery technology. Zeno also plans to produce cheaper electric motorbikes that customers can lease or buy.

Events and Opportunities

  • Are you an aspiring venture capitalist looking to gain the skills, knowledge, and network to break into VC? Applications for CatalyzU’s 6th Venture Capital Fellowship Cohort are now open. Classes start on the 1st of October, and you can Apply here.

  • Compete at the Future of Capitalism Tech Startup Competition for up to $1 million in investment by pitching your startup. Eight finalists will pitch to a panel of investors, founders, and entrepreneurs in London. Applications are open till the 30th of September.

  • Are you building engineering solutions to fix local problems in Africa? The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is offering up to $25k for viable engineering products with social and environmental impact. Apply here by the 15th of October.

  • The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) has launched the sixth edition of its Africa Challenge, focusing on Agri-Tech startups. Winners will get $50,000 in equity funding and support to help them grow their businesses. Applications are open here till the 4th of October.

And that's a wrap!

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