Welcome to another interesting episode of the Africa Tech News Roundup. Today is the beginning of the first weekend in August. Enjoy it!
MTN Subscribers in Nigeria has increased
From the recently released second-quarter report of MTN Nigeria, we learned that the mobile subscribers grew to 61.5 million within the last six months. Learn More
Social Lender has been selected for the MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge
The Nigeria-based fintech platform made the list of finalists on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Inclusive Innovation Challenge. Social Lender lends money to clients, based on their social reputation on mobile, online and social media platforms. Read More
Fawry will List on the Egyptian Stock Exchange this Month
The Egyptian electronic payment company has revealed plans to list shares via an Initial Public Offering (IPO), on the 8th of August 2019. Fawry plans to sell about 36% of its ordinary shares at EGP 6.46 per share, which will value it at EGP 4.56 billion. Learn More
Farmcrowdy Group Unveiled a Single Sponsorship Platform
During the week, Farmcrowdy Group announced the launch of Crowdyvest, a single platform that connects individuals to multiple sponsorship opportunities. This new channel will enable new and existing sponsors to conveniently sponsor the farms listed on the Crowdyvest platform. Learn More
Flutterwave and Alipay to provide seamless transactions between Africa and China
African indigenous startup, Flutterwave has strategically partnered with Alipay, the payment gateway for popular Chinese leading e-commerce company, Alibaba. This positions Flutterwave as the digital platform that will facilitate payments between China and Africa. Click here to learn more
Camatica’s facial Recognition Software will detect your Mood!
South Africa-based company, Camatica has launched a facial recognition software called Mood Analytics. The new software leverages video footage using computer vision algorithms to help companies detect the moods of their employees to find better ways of serving them. Learn More
See also: Africa Tech News Round-Up
MTN can now provide Financial Services to Nigerians
MTN Nigeria has finally received a license to offer financial services from the Central Bank of Nigeria. This will be executed by MTN’s subsidiary company, Yello Digital Financial Services Limited (YDFS). This way, MTN will be able to proffer financial solutions to the banked, unbanked and underbanked. Learn More
Google now provides Wi-Fi in the streets of South Africa
This week, Google partnered with several network operators, fibre optic providers, and system integrators to launch free high-speed Wi-Fi in South Africa. The initiative tagged “Fast Wi-Fi for Everyone” creates an opportunity for partners to earn from displaying ads to people who access these hotspots. Learn More
Did you know that Global Smartphone Sales declined this year?
According to the recently released Gartner report, the global sales of smartphones declined by 2.5%, amounting to 1.5 billion units in 2019. These also means that the global shipments of PCs, tablets and mobile phones will decline by 3.3% year-over-year (YoY) to 2.2 billion units in 2019. Read the report here
BRCK & Swvl Launches free Wi-Fi on Ride-Hailing Buses in Kenya
A partnership between internet hardware startup, BRCK in Kenya and Egyptian ride-hailing platform, Swvl will provide free Wi-Fi on the ride-hailing bus services in Kenya. Henceforth, BRCK will install its routers on Swvl buses that operate in Kenya and also debut Moja, their free public Wi-Fi during the bus rides. Learn More
Thank you for reading through. Have a fantastic weekend and don’t forget to check out our online gists on @techgistafrica across all social media platforms.
Sincerely,
Team Techgist Africa
