Tag: Nigeria
African fintech firm Flutterwave launches SME e-commerce portal
San Francisco and Lagos-based fintech startup Flutterwave has launched Flutterwave Store, a portal for African merchants to create digital shops to sell online. The product is less Amazon and more eBay — with no inventory or warehouse requirements. Flutterwave insists the move doesn’t represent any shift away from its core payments business.…
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Goldman backed ventures Jumia and Twiga partner on produce in Kenya
Pan-African e-commerce company Jumia and B2B agtech startup Twiga Foods are partnering to deliver produce in Kenya using adaptive measures during COVID-19. In 2019, Jumia became the first VC funded tech company in Africa to list on a major exchange, the NYSE. Based in Nairobi, Twiga raised a $30 million…
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Nigeria’s Okra raises $1M from TLcom connecting bank accounts to apps
A new Nigerian fintech venture, Okra, has racked up a unique mix of accomplishments in less than a year. The Lagos based API developer created a product that generates revenues from both payment startups and established financial institutions. Okra has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding from TLcom Capital —…
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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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African genomics startup 54gene raises $15M led by Adjuvant Capital
Greater availability of African genomic data could lead to medical breakthroughs for the continent’s 1.2 billion people. That’s the driving proposition of 54gene — a U.S. and Nigeria based startup — that collects African genetic code for use in health research and drug development. The company has closed a $15…
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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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