Twitter reignites jollof wars, Amazon lands in South Africa and Uber drivers revolt | The Round-up

It has been another awesome month in the world of African tech, not just because two of the biggest companies in the world opened offices in Africa, but there also continues to be incredible displays of innovation and impressive moves being made by founders on the continent. Here’s a roundup of some of the great things that happened in the ecosystem in April. 

Global tech companies building an African presence
With the world slowly returning to a semblance of normality and businesses slowly resuming service, one key trend expected to continue is the accelerated adoption of ecommerce globally. Mobile penetration is also increasing across Africa so it's no surprise that Twitter and Amazon are setting up bases on the continent. 

As part of its growth strategy, Twitter announced plans to open an office in Ghana explaining that Ghana is “a champion for democracy, a supporter of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet”, which hugely resonated with Twitter. The tech giant also said that Ghana’s recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligned with their overarching goal to establish a presence in the region and support their efforts to improve and tailor their service across Africa.

Amazon also announced a new African base in Cape Town, South Africa. This is projected to create 19,500 jobs across Africa, which will allow the company to tap into the continent’s fast-growing middle class of more than 300 million, estimated to be the biggest in the world.

We know there are many innovators who just need the right support in the ecosystem. Hopefully the arrival of both of these global tech giants will lead to not just more employment in Sub Saharan Africa but also genuinely support the tech start up hubs across the region. 

Here is a round up of other news stories from the African startup scene in April:

• Nigeria’s PiggyVest, the company which enables customers to save securely and invest in specific financial instruments and uduX, a local music streaming platform, have collaborated to launch PopRev, a platform which allows music lovers to invest in their favourite musician’s project and make profits based on the project’s digital streaming performance. Both companies are exploring uncharted territory by turning music streamers into both funders and earners.
  
• Ivorian startup Afrikrea partnered with DHL and Visa to launch SaaS e-commerce platform ANKA. ANKA will allow users to sell from Africa, ship products to anywhere in the world and get paid through local and international African payment methods.
  
• Three Ghanaian Startups, financial technology company, Bosea Micro Credit, delivery platform, Wegoo, and PayLater by Motito, secured support from the Mastercard Foundation and MEST Express Accelerator Program. These top performing startups will receive equity-free grant funding and support that will enable them to address urgent needs and expand their operations. They will receive $10000, $6000, and $4000 respectively.
  
• Malian insurtech startup OKO, which aims to provide smallholder farmers with financial security, has raised US$1.2 million in seed funding for expansion into more African countries.
  
• Kenyan e-health startup TIBU Health, a digital platform that decentralises primary outpatient care to bring it directly to patients, raised a seed funding round from Blue Haven Initiative and Kepple Africa Ventures to help it scale its operations.
  
• Rwandan female-focused eCommerce platform Kasha, which allows women across rural and urban locations to make confidential personal care orders has announced a new investment by Mastercard. The companies say they will continue their shared efforts to ensure women across emerging markets have essential access to health and personal care products along with the information required to support everyday hygiene needs.
  
• Africa-focused venture capital firm Atlantica Ventures is raising a US$50 million fund that will invest in tech and tech-enabled businesses from seed stage onwards. Its new US$50 million pan-African VC fund, through which it has already invested in Nigerian startups Curacel and OnePipe, is financed by development financial institutions, a US fund of funds, and various high net worth individuals, and will invest in tech and tech-enabled businesses at seed stage. 
  
• Impact investment firm Goodwell Investments, a new multi-sector private equity fund focused on inclusive growth and sustainable development in Africa, has launched a new EUR50 million (US$60 million) fund that will channel capital from private investors, family offices and foundations to fast-growing, scalable small and medium-sized companies. 
  
• Uber and Bolt drivers in Nigeria went on strike to protest their working conditions. The ride hailing firms have been considered to favour customers through pricing wars, which have come at the expense of the drivers. The prices are far too low for drivers to meet their running costs and to make a decent living. 
  

What else are we reading:

• Akon is set to build a futuristic cryptocurrency based city in Uganda by 2036
  
• How Ugandan is Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya?
  
• Nigeria’s Flutterwave Recognised as ‘Pioneer’ in 2021 TIME 100 Most Influential Companies
  
• New malaria vaccine hailed as potential breakthrough
  

For more news on African tech startups, follow us on Twitter @DiNNAfrica

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