This Week in African Tech 🌍

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Welcome to This Week in African Tech!

Tech roundup

• Ugandan bike-hailing startup, Safeboda, has launched a new service on its app called “Electric Boda”. This option allows users to hail electric bikes on the platform. And it’s part of Safeboda’s transition towards being an eco-friendly business.

• Kenya’s Interior Ministry is demanding quarterly reports from TikTok over safety concerns. The ministry revealed that the country has one of the highest TikTok usage rates in the world, according to a 2023 report, and it has sparked national security concerns.

• MarketForce, a Kenyan startup, has announced the shutdown of RejaReja - its B2B eCommerce platform - due to constant pricing problems. It has now pivoted to a new venture called Chpter, which will use AI to automate social commerce in Africa.

• Elon Musk’s satellite internet company, Starlink, is facing regulatory problems with its expansion in Africa. This week, Zimbabwe’s telecoms authority asked it to stop operating within the company, citing illegal operations.

• BasiGo, a Kenyan electric vehicle company, has launched the country’s first electric bus assembly line to boost Kenya’s transport electrification. The startup plans to deploy 1,000 buses in East Africa over the next three years.

Deal roundup

• Kenyan InsurTech startup, Pula, raises $20 million in Series B funding from BlueOrchard and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Pula offers affordable and accessible insurance to smallholder farmers in Africa, and it plans to use this new raise to expand its product line.

• Spatialedge, a South African AI research startup raised $3 million from the Hlayisani Growth Fund. The company will use this funding to accelerate its product launch and reach more customers.

• The Folklore, a B2B fashion marketplace helping African fashion retailers access international markets, raises $3.4 million from Benchstrength, Techstars, and Black Tech Nation Ventures. The Folklore plans to use the capital to help more African fashion brands get into global stores.

• Roscas, a fintech startup in Mozambique, raises an undisclosed amount of funding from Renew Capital. Roscas digitizes the country’s traditional savings groups using technology, and the funding will be used to improve its product.

• Hewatele, a Kenyan healthcare company raises $20m in funding to scale up its medical oxygen manufacturing and distribution business. The round was a mix of debt and equity, and Finnfund, US Development Finance Corporation led it.

• OmniRetail, a Nigerian retail-tech startup which provides digital infrastructure to over 140,000 African businesses, raises an undisclosed amount of funding from Goodwell Investments and Alitheia Capital.

Events and Opportunities

• Applications have opened for the Global Startup Awards Africa, looking for African innovators, startups, and ecosystem enablers dedicated to solving critical global challenges. The awards are open to African startups working in the green-tech, e-health, mobility and logistics, agri-tech, fintech, and women in tech spaces. Apply here by the 5th of May, 2024.

• Are you developing an innovative AgriTech solution that can make agriculture in Egypt more sustainable, efficient, and climate-resilient? The Agritech4Egypt Innovation Challenge is currently open to applications. Selected ventures will have the opportunity to participate in a fully funded four-day immersive bootcamp, gain valuable networking opportunities and be eligible for a sponsored six-month accelerator program. Apply here by 11:59 pm on the 28th of April, 2024.

• The next Infobip Connect Meetup takes place at the Nairobi Garage Kilimani on the 30th of April, 2024. The speakers include Wayne Gakuo, Angular GDE and Frontend Engineer at Sky Garden, Caleb Maru, Founder and Writer at Tech Safari, Kendi J, Associate Flutter Developer and Duncan Mochama, Account Executive at Infobip. Sign up here to book your spot.

And that's a wrap for this week!

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