Mastercard, a technology company in the global payments industry, has collaborated to launch Google Pay in South Africa.

Cardholders can conveniently and securely tap to pay with their Android phones or supported Wear OS devices in stores, where contactless is in operation, online and through apps, strengthening digital payment capabilities across South Africa. A secure, more seamless way to transact, Google Pay saves customers from handing over their payment cards, touching...

Liquid Cloud, a pan-African technology group, has announced that it has been approved by Amazon Web Service (AWS) as a Direct Connect Delivery Partner.

This prestigious certification secured by Liquid Cloud, a business of Cassava Technologies, ensures that it is one of only four partners in Africa to secure this achievement after undergoing an extensive and rigorous technical and business review by AWS. Available to customers in all countries with Liquid operations, existing and potential AWS customers can...

With a goal to curb carbon emissions, South African startup Curbon, will make carbon-neutral online shopping possible through the launch of the country’s very first plugin created to help fight climate change.

Curbon’s unique offering gives shoppers the opportunity to take direct, meaningful climate action with every online purchase. Using data from the world’s leading climate science institutions, the startup’s flagship product estimates the emissions of customers’ carts at checkout and empowers...

Flutterwave merchants can now process payments in eNaira, the Nigerian digital currency issued and distributed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. This aligns with Flutterwave's commitment to providing the best payment experience for businesses everywhere.

The eNaira joins the robust list of payment options available on Flutterwave. Merchants can now enable the eNaira payment option for collection from their customers via API and Checkout.  In what will be perceived as a victory for...

EBANX, a global payments fintech company founded in Latin America, announced it is expanding its operations and payments solutions outside Latin America for the first time during the sixth edition of the annual Latin America Summit powered by EBANX in Mexico City.

After growing its footprint to 15 Latin American countries for more than a decade, EBANX has prioritized global expansion on the African continent, which it believes is the next big growth frontier for digital payments and digital...

DPO Group has partnered with Mastercard to enable thousands of businesses in Ghana to offer their customers greater choice and convenience by pivoting online and accepting digital payments.

Through the collaboration, DPO will leverage Mastercard’s digital payments technology to enable merchants to safely, seamlessly and securely accept a wide range of digital payment methods including mobile money and via e-wallets – both locally and from abroad – in the currency of their...

Verto, a leading provider of cross-border international money transfer services, has confirmed that it will work with Xente, an Africa-focused provider of simplified business finance.

It is thought that the particular target market of the new collaboration will be Uganda, and non-governmental organisations in the country are expected to particularly benefit from the arrangement. These organisations will be able to use simple cross-border payment mechanisms in an attempt to boost financial inclusion. They will also be able to...

Turaco, the insurtech driving mass market insurance adoption, has announced the close of a $10 million Series A equity round led by AfricInvest, via the Cathay Africinvest Innovation Fund, and existing investor, Novastar Ventures.

The round also included participation from Enza Capital, Global Partnerships, Zephyr Acorn, Operator Stack, Asi Ventures Limited, and Push Ventures. Founded in 2019, Turaco is a distributor, broker, and key customer interface between the underwriter and the end consumer. The insurtech company’s...

Xente, a financial technology platform that simplifies company finance acquired a Payment Systems Operator (PSO) license from the Bank of Uganda.

The license opens up opportunity for Xente to provide world-class financial technology solutions to businesses in Africa and is a commitment to Xente customers, partners, and other stakeholders, that they are offered a safe and compliant service. With the Xente platform, businesses and their teams are able to make simple payments to teams, suppliers, and...

Luno, the leading global cryptocurrency investment platform has partnered with Makerere University Business School, Uganda’s leading business school as part of Luno’s nationwide cryptocurrency education drive.

Makerere University Business School students were challenged to submit an essay on “The potential application of cryptocurrency to improve the quality of life in Uganda”. Leone George Okello, the winning essayist, discussed an application of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT - a type of cryptocurrency)...

Nigerian fintech startup Kippa has raised $8.4 million in an oversubscribed seed round. This round of funding was led by Goodwater Capital, TEN13 VC, Rocketship VC, Saison Capital, Crestone VC, VentureSouq, Horizon Partners, and Vibe Capital.

Kippa was launched only last year but has achieved significant milestones in helping small businesses create financial management systems. It started off with a management app where small business owners are able to keep track of their...

The London Internet Exchange (LINX) has announced a strategic collaboration with African Internet Exchange Point, NAPAfrica.

Both Internet Exchanges are similarly run, not for profit, and put their membership community first. Located within Teraco data centre facilities in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg, NAPAfrica’s founding goal is to help make internet access more universal and accessible across the African continent. The partnership will mean networks currently connected and...

Janngo Capital Startup Fund (JCSF) has announced its first close at €34 million in capital commitments, to invest 50% of its proceeds in companies founded, co-founded, or benefiting women.

Backed by global financial institutions as well as leading private corporations, the fund management company plans to invest €60 million in startups leveraging technology to leapfrog development and achieve SDGs in Africa. Janngo Capital Startup Fund, second investment vehicle of the...

Unicaf is an online and blended learning higher education platform that is dedicated to making higher education of international standard accessible, by offering scholarship opportunities to professionals and young school leavers.

What are scholarship opportunities?

A scholarship could be defined as financial aid that relieves the burden of tuition fees and living costs that students and families have to pay to secure a place in secondary and tertiary education. Considering the rising costs of student expenses and debts, we could nowadays describe education...

Tesh Mbaabu is a serial entrepreneur who lives to blend commerce and technology. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Kenyan-based B2B platform for retail distribution of consumer goods and digital financial services in Africa Today, MarketForce MarketForce.

Where is MarketForce headquartered and where else do you have offices? 

MarketForce was founded in Kenya by Mesongo Sibuti and I in 2018. We are headquartered in the US and have offices in Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda. For our readers’ better understanding, who is MarketForce and what...

Nixon Kanali is a Kenyan-based tech journalist, blogger and digital influencer. Since 2014 he has been running TechTrendsKE, a platform that highlights developments and trends in the tech space.  

He is also the Tech editor at Africa Business Communities. Nick has been nominated in the 2022 Pulse Influencers Awards under the Tech Influencer of the year award category. To vote for him click here...

It's true that the only constant is change. And in our modern post-pandemic economy, the rate of change has accelerated and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Today, companies are beset with a multitude of challenges and changes in their operating environment. From dealing with supply chain disruptions to adapting to new ways of work, companies have their hands full. The question is no longer if companies should digitally transform; it's a matter of how quickly and in which areas that digital transformation would...

In February 2022, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of the Republic of Congo inaugurated the African Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence, an initiative committed to researching digital technologies and applications.

The centre – the first of its kind on the continent – will facilitate education and skills development for the integration of new AI-driven solutions, promote economic growth, and reinforce continental ownership of digital tools and resources...

Ask a variety of companies of different sizes in different sectors to define what digital transformation means for them and you will, in all likelihood, receive many divergent responses.

Customers and times are changing, and business must keep apace with those changes. Whilst it is an undeniable fact that in the post-covid world, companies have to embrace new ways of doing business, it is also true that many have not been successful in their migration from paper, bricks and mortar...