Nigeria – Africa Tech Digest

Nigerian telemedicine startup, iWello, is making healthcare available to people living on less than $1 per day

5Oct

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Health Tech, Start-ups

Nigerian telemedicine startup, iWello, is making healthcare available to people living on less than $1 per day

In 2008, Ismail Adejonwo’s mother experienced a troubling stomach ache. The family had no money and was hesitant to take her to the hospital. But as the clock kept ticking, the pain became unbearable. At this point, he had no choice but to take his mother to the hospital. When they arrived at the hospital, the doctor informed them that they had brought her late. She was diagnosed with appendicitis, which was treated successfully with a simple surgery. Entirely unrelated, Dr Fatima Ajayi, Adejonwo’s pregnant family friend, fainted during a ward round in 2019 after working a 12-hour shift. Sadly, her boss dismissed her for the day without further concern about her well-being. Adejonwo decided not to overlook these events. Continue reading Image: techpoint.africa

How edtech startup, Stranerd is connecting Nigerian students to tutors

24Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Education, Nigeria, Start-ups

How edtech startup, Stranerd is connecting Nigerian students to tutors

At all levels, education in Nigeria is in dire need of intervention. On the supply side, there are more students or prospective students than there are schools. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), about 10.5 million children in Nigeria between the ages of 5-14 are out of school, and one in every five out-of-school children in the world is in Nigeria. According to a study of public and private schools in Lagos State by Elaine Unterhalter, a professor of education and international development at University College London, there are 1,200 primary school-aged children for every public school place available. With governments unable to provide adequate options for education in the country, individuals are picking up the slack. Continue reading Image: techpoint.afric...

A Nigerian fintech startup serving solar providers secures $2m funding

20Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Fintech, Nigeria, Start-ups

A Nigerian fintech startup serving solar providers secures $2m funding

Infibranches Technologies Limited, a Nigerian startup that provides digital payment services to solar energy providers, on Monday said it has secured a $2 million funding from All On, an impact investment company backed by oil major Shell. Through its flagship products – OmniBranches and Green Energy Plug – Infibranches helps companies with large distribution networks, particularly Solar Home System (SHS) distributors and mini-grid developers, manage their operations. According to Infibranches CEO, Olusola Owoyemi, OmniBranches has served over a million customers. Its features include agent hierarchy management, commission tracking, transaction records, transaction analytics, and profile management. Continue reading Image: Guardian Nigeria

Nigerian agritech startup Releaf secures $4.2M to scale its food processing technology

15Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Agri-tech, Start-ups

Nigerian agritech startup Releaf secures $4.2M to scale its food processing technology

The distance between their farms and the nearest processor is key for smallholder farmers who need to process their crops. And though Nigeria’s food processing systems have a keen resemblance to the West with respect to big factories and huge economies of scale in high-demand cities, farmers still suffer from poor logistics networks. With distance and logistics problems, farmers’ crops can go bad and when factories buy them, it affects their processing yields and price. Farmers, witnessing post-harvest loss, also get paid less and miss the opportunity to invest in their crops production. Nigerian agritech startup Releaf is solving this by building proprietary hardware and software solutions to make these farmers and food factories more efficient and profitable. Today, the company is ...

Facebook Launches Campaign to Take on Fake News in Nigeria

11Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Apps, Nigeria, Social Networks, Telecommunications

Facebook Launches Campaign to Take on Fake News in Nigeria

Facebook is collaborating with Nigerian companies Big Cabal Media and Comic Republic to launch the #NoFalseNewsZone educational campaign aimed at helping individuals identify fake news and educate them on how to minimise the spread of false information across Nigeria’s internet and otherwise. “We are super excited to be working with Big Cabal Media and Comic Republic to launch #NoFalseNewsZone in Nigeria,” said Oluwasola Obagbemi, Facebook’s Corporate Communications Manager for Anglophone West Africa, quoted by the Guardian Nigeria. Obagbemi says that the social media giant is committed to the well-being of individuals and communities. Continue reading

Explained: Can the Nigerian government really spy on your WhatsApp messages?

23Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Apps, Cybersecurity, Nigeria, Telecommunications, West Africa

Explained: Can the Nigerian government really spy on your WhatsApp messages?

Barely a month after blocking access to Twitter, the Nigerian government allocated ₦1.93 billion ($4.6 million) to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) for a “WhatsApp Intercept Solution”. An interception solution for WhatsApp would allow an external party (the government, in this case) to access, monitor, or block communications (calls and chats) carried out by users via the app. The move is reportedly aimed at protecting Nigeria from cybercrime and terrorism perpetrated through such messaging platforms. However, it is seen by media stakeholders and activists as yet another attempt to restrict civil liberties. Continue reading

Alerzo raises $10.5M Series A to bring Nigeria’s informal retail sector online

20Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

ecommerce, West Africa

Alerzo raises $10.5M Series A to bring Nigeria’s informal retail sector online

The process of digitizing the operations of mom and pop stores in Nigeria is serious business right now. In fact, it might be the second-best thing after fintech at the moment. Today’s news is from Alerzo, a little-known B2B e-commerce retail startup based in Ibadan, Nigeria. The company is announcing a $10.5 million Series A round led by London-based Nosara Capital. FJ Labs and several family offices from the U.S., Europe and Asia, including Michael Novogratz’s, participated in the round. In total, Alerzo has raised more than $20 million since its launch. Early investors include the Baobab Network, an Africa-focused accelerator based in London, and Signal Hill, a Singapore-based fund manager that participated in its $5.5 million seed round last year. The company also said it cl...

A leaked bill for Nigerian startups reveals a theme of licenses, fees, fines and sentences

19Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Start-ups, West Africa

A leaked bill for Nigerian startups reveals a theme of licenses, fees, fines and sentences

For a while, there have been talks about revamping the outdated 2007 Act of Nigeria’s information and technology body, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). The bill, which established NITDA as the agency to oversee Nigeria’s technological transformation, is quite outdated. This past decade, Nigeria has arguably become Africa’s most attractive destination for venture capital. It is also home to two unicorns (Flutterwave and Jumia) and billion-dollar fintech company Interswitch. Continue reading (Image Credits: Getty Images)

Netflix’s first original Nigerian series builds on a hugely popular political drama set in Lagos

18Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Streaming, West Africa

Netflix’s first original Nigerian series builds on a hugely popular political drama set in Lagos

The official trailer for Nigeria’s first original Netflix series opens with a dramatic question, put by a reporter to fearless political operative Eniola Salami, the show’s lead character: “Madam, why do they call you the King of Boys?” he asks. The answer was first set up in King of Boys, a hugely successful 2018 movie produced by Nigerian filmmaker Kemi Adetiba. In it, Salami is a businesswoman who belongs to a clique of plunderers. The movie portrayed the dark behind-the-scenes machinations of politics in Nigeria, and resonated with viewers in the months leading up to the 2019 general elections. It became even more popular after becoming available on Netflix in September that year. Continue reading (Image Credits: qz.com)

Facebook to Expand Planned Undersea Cable Network in Africa

16Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Social Networks

Facebook to Expand Planned Undersea Cable Network in Africa

Facebook Inc. and some of the world’s largest telecommunications carriers, China Mobile Ltd. and MTN Group Ltd., are set to build a wider-than-earlier planned giant sub-sea cable in Africa. The companies plan to add the Indian Ocean island countries of Seychelles and Comoros, as well as Angola and a new connection to Nigeria, according to a statement released on Monday. This is in addition to a recently announced link to the Canary Islands and would bring connection-landings to 35 in 26 countries. Continue reading (Image Credits: Unsplash)