Africans in Tech – Page 2 – Africa Tech Digest

10 African tech experts putting Africa on the world map

1Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

10 African tech experts putting Africa on the world map

Africans are often poorly mentioned in the media, but there’s so much more to Africans than the negative stereotype often put forward. They have consistently contributed to the growth and development of society, and to celebrate the International Day for People of African Descent, here are 10 Africans doing the continent proud in tech. Chinedu Echeruo Chinedu Echeruo is a Nigerian-born serial entrepreneur who came to the limelight in 2013 following Apple’s $1b acquisition of his travel app, HopStop. After struggling with finding directions while moving around in the US, Echeruo built HopStop, an app that offered real-time directions when using the bus, train, hiking, or biking. The hugely popular service was present in over 600 US cities until Apple shut it down...

Ridelink raises $150k pre-seed to build e-logistics technology for East Africa

1Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Africans in Tech, East Africa, Start-ups

Ridelink raises $150k pre-seed to build e-logistics technology for East Africa

Ridelink, an Ugandan e-logistics platform, has just closed a $150k pre-seed investment round to improve its technology and double down on its marketing efforts. The investment was birthed from the startup’s partnership with Ortus Africa Capital, Omidyar Network and African Leadership Academy’s Young Entrepreneurs Fund(Anzisha). This round brings Ridelink’s total fund raised to US$250k, having previously received funding from seedstars last year. Founded in 2017 by Daniel Mukisa, Ridelink operates an e-logistics platform developed to seamlessly connect SMEs to a network of transport operators. Uganda’s population grew by 6.8% from over 44 million in 2019 to over 47 million in 2021; this population uptrend has also led to the rise of SMEs across the co...

Somalia launches Child Protection Information Management System to protect vulnerable children amid COVID-19

31Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, AI, Education, Health Tech

Somalia launches Child Protection Information Management System to protect vulnerable children amid COVID-19

In Somalia, 1.8 million children are at risk of violence, abuse and neglect due to the ongoing conflict MOGADISHU, Somalia, August 31, 2021/APO Group/ -- The Federal Ministry of Women and Human Rights Development, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), launched today an online Child Protection Information Management System (CPIMS+) to enhance the protection of the most vulnerable children in Somalia. “Today, we’re taking a crucial step towards keeping the extremely vulnerable children – including children living in the streets, child survivors of sexual violence, children in conflict with the law, abandoned babies, and children without primary caregivers – in our country safe. The CPIMS+ will strengthen our collective ability to identify these children, p...

CM.com recognised as an official provider of electronic signatures in Kenya

30Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, Trends

CM.com recognised as an official provider of electronic signatures in Kenya

This means that the company is licenced to issue digital certificates – a record that supports a digital signature – and can authenticate signatories NAIROBI, Kenya, August 30, 2021/APO Group/ -- It’s been just over a year since CM.com, a global leader in cloud software for Conversational Commerce, opened its doors in Kenya with a mission to transform the local conversational commerce landscape, driving seamless communication between businesses and customers across Africa. We are delighted to finally be acknowledged as an official E-CSP in Kenya During this time, the pandemic restructured traditional working environments, with remote and hybrid working becoming the norm for many organisations. As such, electronic or digital signatures have become a key part of business systems ...

Top 4 Most Trending Stories – Week in Review

28Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Africans in Tech, Telecommunications

Digitization of Africa’s Transport Sector as Businesses Experience Post-COVID Recovery

Truck and bus drivers in Nigeria are using Cellulant's technology - Tingg Proximity Pay (In store payments) - in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19 LAGOS, Nigeria, August 28, 2021/APO Group/ -- Digitizing the transport sector has become inevitable. As the different countries adopted different measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, one of the first sectors to be hit hard was the transport sector as the movement of goods and people came to a standstill. We are seeing the tide turning with the availability of vaccines and the roads and air travel opens up more and more daily. However, businesses operating in the transport sector are having to relook at their operations, especially the need to digitize their payments. The universal quest for leveraging innovative s...

Join Juliet Anammah at the #FutureOfCommerce on the 24th of September

27Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, ecommerce, Education, Events

Join Juliet Anammah at the #FutureOfCommerce on the 24th of September

On the 24th of September, Juliet Anammah, Chairwoman, Jumia Nigeria and Group Chief Sustainability Officer will be speaking at the #FutureOfCommerce. Juliet will speak on a panel session tagged “The Future of Commerce in Emerging Markets” alongside Nkebet Mesele, Senior Director – Solutions Management at Visa Sub-Saharan Africa and other distinguished speakers. This panel discussion will explore what commerce will look like in Africa and other emerging markets over the next few years. It will also look at the biggest growth indicators for e-commerce, what the impediments to this growth are, and how innovators can harness the untapped opportunities. Continue reading

26Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, Telecommunications

Telkom Appoints New CEO of Consumer

South Africa’s semi-private carrier Telkom has named Lunga Siyo as the new CEO of Telkom Consumer effective 1 October 2021. Siyo is set to take over from Serame Taukobong when Taukobong assumes the position of Group CEO Designate. Siyo joined Telkom just over three years ago. Using his experience in the mobile and financial services sector, he led the introduction of Telkom’s value propositions in FinTech, e-commerce and mobile payments, the company said in a statement. Previous to his current position at Telkom, Siyo served as Executive & Head: eCommerce at Standard Bank from 2016 to 2018. Previous to that, Siyo has held a variety of management positions most in the digital space. Continue reading

Ethiopia is Building Local Social Media to Rival Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp

25Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, Apps, Social Networks

Ethiopia is Building Local Social Media to Rival Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp

Ethiopia has begun development on its own social media platforms to rival US-based social networks like Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp. The state communications security agency said on Monday that the country does not have any plans to block the global services, as per Reuters. Instead, according to the director general of Ethiopia’s Information Network Security Agency (INSA), Shumete Gizaw, the government wants its public platforms to “replace” Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Zoom. Shumete also accused Facebook of deleting posts and user accounts that he said were “disseminating the true reality about Ethiopia.” The country has been embroiled in a major armed conflict since last year, which pits the Federal Government against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), an armed gro...

Meet Regina Honu, a Ghanaian software developer teaching thousands of girls to code

19Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech

Meet Regina Honu, a Ghanaian software developer teaching thousands of girls to code

Choosing the name of her company was the easiest aspect of Regina Honu’s journey. It only took her a few hours to connect the dots. She wanted her business to be unique; the word unique in Ghanaian language Twi translated to Soronko, so she named her company Soronko Academy — the first coding and human-centred design school for children and young adults in West Africa. “Some people take days to pick their company name, I tell entrepreneurs that they’re majoring in the minor. I say pick what you like and keep it moving, you can build a brand on it,” she said over a call. Continue reading (Image Credits: Techcabal)