This Week in African Tech 🌍

Kasha's boost for women's health♀

Caleb Maru
September 08, 2024

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Tanzania has restricted access to X as political tensions rise in the East African country. The internet observation organisation Netblocks confirmed the outage. The clampdown follows the arrest of prominent opposition figures.
Flutterwave has appointed Mitesh Popat as its new CFO. With his vast experience in global financial services, Popat will oversee the company's financials and drive its next growth phase.

Mitesh Popat, Flutterwave CFO

TikTok set up its first Safety Advisory Council for Sub-Saharan Africa to improve user safety. The council of experts will give localised insights to help TikTok be more responsive to Africa’s online safety issues.
South African telecoms provider Telkom will sell Swiftnet, its $350 million mast and towers business, to a new entity called Towerco Bidco. South Africa's Competition Tribunal approved the deal, subject to certain conditions, after a nudge from the Competition Commission.
ChitChat, a Zambian social commerce platform with built-in USD digital wallets, teamed up with Mastercard to launch a new virtual debit card. The card lets users make instant cross-border payments and manage their finances within the app.
BYD, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer, has partnered with Pilatus Electric Mobility Zambia Limited to set up BYD Zambia. The company will sell three electric vehicle models in Zambia: the Dolphin sedan, the ATTO 3 SUV, and the long-range SEAL.

Logidoo, a Senegalese logistics solutions provider, has launched Afridoo, a tool designed to simplify online sales for African merchants. The platform has built-in systems for managing orders, warehouses, and deliveries, helping businesses expand their reach across Africa.
Kenya launched two digital platforms to streamline government operations — the Presidential Directives Management Information System (PDMIS) and the Foreign Travel Management Information System (FOTIMS). Both systems aim to make the government more efficient and transparent to the public.

Kasha, a Rwandan e-commerce platform, raised additional funding to expand its operations across Africa. The company sells women's healthcare and hygiene products and aims to increase access to these essential items in the region.
Chpter, a Kenyan AI-powered social commerce platform, has raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding. The funding will help it expand to other African markets and boost its sales and marketing efforts.
Tunisian startup Wattnow, an IoT-based smart energy management solution, has announced the closing of a multi-million dollar funding round to help drive its already impressive growth.
Cercli, a payroll startup founded in January 2024, has raised $4 million in seed funding to expand its operations in the MENA region. The funding will be used to develop new products, strengthen its presence in MENA, and simplify payroll management for businesses.
Akeed Azmi and David Reche, Cercli co-founders.
Kredete, a Nigerian fintech, has raised $2.25 million in seed funding to scale to all African countries. The platform allows African immigrants to send money home and build credit scores, contributing to their financial inclusion.

Resilience17 is launching the Go Time AI Accelerator for Nigerian startups. The accelerator offers up to $200,000 in investment, mentorship, and other resources to help teams build and launch AI products. Applications are open here until the 13th 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.

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.
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 for this week!

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