Tag: African tech
In Nigeria PalmPay waives fees and creates ₦100M COVID-19 payout fund
Africa focused payment startup PalmPay will waive transfer fees in Nigeria and offer direct payouts to customers who have contracted COVID-19 in the West African country. The venture — that launched in 2019 backed by China’s Transsion — has created the PalmPay Support Fund. The initiative will start with 100…
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WHO Africa hosts hackathons, offers seed funds to fight COVID-19
The World Health Organization in Africa is holding virtual hackathons and offering up to $20,000 in seed-funds to finalists with digital solutions to stem COVID-19. The regional office of the UN agency completed its first challenge earlier this month and will host a second, for French speaking Africa, in coming…
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Visa’s Africa strategy banks on startup partnerships
Visa has prioritized growth in Africa, and partnering with startups is central to its strategy. This became obvious in 2019 after the global financial services giant entered a series of collaborations on the continent, but Visa confirmed it in their 2020 Investor Day presentation. On the company’s annual call, participants…
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Zindi taps 12,000 African data scientists for solutions to COVID-19
Since its inception, Cape Town based crowdsolving startup Zindi has been building a database of data scientists across Africa. It now has 12,000 registered on its its platform that uses AI and machine learning to tackle complex problems and will offer them cash-prizes to find solutions to curb COVID-19. Zindi…
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Jumia adapts Pan-African e-commerce network in response to COVID-19
Pan-African e-commerce company Jumia is adapting its digital retail network to curb the spread of COVID-19. The Nigeria headquartered operation — with online goods and services verticals in 11 African countries — announced a series of measures on Friday. Jumia will donate certified face masks to health ministries in Kenya,…
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Visa partners with Paga on payments and fintech for Africa and abroad
Visa has entered a partnership with Nigeria based startup Paga on payments and technology. Founded in Lagos, Paga scaled its fintech business in West Africa, before targeting expansion in Ethiopia and Mexico. The startup has created a multi-channel network for over 14 million customers in Nigeria to transfer money, pay-bills…
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