Hi guys,
Welcome to another edition of the Big 5.
Let’s dive in!
Starting up, we have news that, Ride-hailing Company Taxify has announced a change of name. The ride-hailing company changed its name from taxify to Bolt- a name that it has been using for its new electric scooter service. The change of name is in line to highlight the fact that it offers transportation services beyond private cars. They also want to remove the word “taxi” from their name in order to change the impression that the company only offers car-based rides. What do you think?
There is also news that, MEST Africa has announced the names of the top five finalist that will pitch at the 2019 MEST Africa Challenge, finals in June for $50,000 in equity investment. The five startups are from Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Africa respectively. They were selected after the regional final events that was held in; Accra, Nairobi, Cape Town and Abidjan on the 27th and 28th February 2019. The pitch will take place at the fourth MEST Africa Summit in Nairobi, Kenya on the 10th to 12th of June 2019. The sartups are; AMPZ.TV (Nigeria), OZÉ (Ghana), Seekewa (Ivory Coast), Snode Technologies (South Africa) and WayaWaya (Kenya).
Moving on, Alibaba Business School and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) has called on digital innovators based in Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda to apply for Class 5 of the eFounders Fellowship. eFounders Fellowship provides first-hand exposure to ecommerce and digital innovations, access to business leaders across Alibaba and China, and an opportunity to network. Applicants who intend to apply for the Class 5 eFounder Fellowship must be co-founders or founders of digital ventures that have been in operation for at least two years.. Applications will close on 17 March. Interested? Apply here
Next on the Big 5, Microsoft has publicized the launch of its pioneer data centers in Africa that will enable the accessibility of Azure from the new cloud regions in Johannesburg and Cape Town. This centers will make Microsoft the first global provider of cloud services from datacenters in Africa that will aid companies to securely and consistently move their businesses to the cloud. The new datacenters is part of Microsoft’s ongoing investment to enable digital transformation across Africa.
Finally on the Big 5, The African Development Bank aims to create 25 million jobs within Africa through its ‘Coding for Employment’ initiative, by developing and launching the digitally enabled workforce. The coding for Employment program in partnership with Facebook, Microsoft and the Rockefeller Foundation was launched in February 2018. AFDB launched 130 Centers of Excellence within Africa as part of its initiative. The program aims to link 75% of the trainees with employment, while 25% will become entrepreneurs. Great news!
That’s it for the Big 5 Daily.
Thanks for joining!
