News (1339)
Less than a year after it raised $170 million, Flutterwave announced the completion of a Series D financing round, making it the highest valued African startup.
Nigerian payment processor Flutterwave announced it has raised $250 million in a Series D round to implement its expansion strategy. The company says it wants to attract new customers in its operating markets in sub-Saharan and North Africa, and continue its growth through mergers and acquisitions, and partnerships.
Flutterwave also plans to develop new innovative products after the series of services launched in 2021, such as the online market Flutterwave Market and the money transfer platform Send.
“We are delighted that investors believe in us and our story and are committing their resources to this belief. This latest funding demonstrates the conviction of some of the world’s leading investors in both our business model, team, and the Africa technology market. It gives Flutterwave the much-needed support to deliver on our plans to provide the best experience for our merchants and customers around the world,” commented Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, following the fundraising.
Before this recent investment, Flutterwave had raised $170 million in Series C funding in March 2021, becoming an African unicorn, the third in the financial sector. From 2016 to 2020, Flutterwave claims to have processed more than 200 million transactions worth over $16 billion in 34 African countries. The fintech also says it has tripled its customer base to 900,000 businesses worldwide. Its valuation has more than tripled since its last funding round in March 2021.
Fintech companies remain the most funded, and African tech continues to grow with over $5 billion in funds raised in 2021, according to Sherif Makhlouf, Managing Director of consulting firm Boost.
Chamberline Moko
Mobile phones represent a key asset for African countries to accelerate their digital economies. However, a barrier to this goal is the high cost of the devices. To improve mobile penetration rate across its territory, the Algerian government announced last Feb. 13 it has approved "the abolition of all taxes and duties on e-commerce, mobile phones, computer equipment for personal use and startups." The measure is provided for in the 2022 finance law approved in December 2021.
By removing the tax on e-commerce, the government facilitates online transactions, especially for individuals who have become accustomed to buying tech devices abroad. For innovators and startup promoters, this is an opportunity to easily acquire technical equipment. In the Finance Act 2022, a cumulative rate of duties and taxes of 133.05% was applied for the purchase of smartphones and tablets, 60.22% for hard drives. This makes the tax more expensive than the actual imported device.
The tax removal measure came after weeks of protests by Algerians, who kicked off an online campaign using the hashtag #khelini_nechri (let me buy). During the 6th edition of the Forum "Rakmana," held on January 19 in Algiers, the Algerian Group of Digital Actors (GAAN) had also denounced these taxes that "go against the general interest."
According to the Alliance for Affordable Internet and the Global System Operators' Association (GSMA), the high cost of smartphones is one of the main barriers to mobile Internet penetration in Africa, where the rate was only 28% in 2020.
Muriel Edjo
South African Stitch announced it has obtained additional financing worth $21 million to support its expansion strategy. The startup, which develops digital financial solutions primarily for fintech companies, says it will invest the money in developing new services, growing its human resources, and strengthening its footprint in South Africa and Nigeria, where it operates. Stitch also plans to enter new markets including Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt with its low-cost, less fraud-prone solutions.
"We are super excited for the challenge ahead and grateful to be supported by some of the leading fintech investors, founders, and builders in the world,” the beneficiary startup said on LinkedIn. The resources are provided by a consortium of mostly foreign investors, some of whom had invested in Stitch in the past. These include The Spruce House Investment, PayPal Ventures, CRE Venture Capital, and Village Global, all of which are based in the United States.
As a reminder, in February 2021, the company secured $4 million to improve its offers and expand its team. Stitch launched in Nigeria in October 2021 to tap into the opportunities in the country. According to Kiaan Pillay (pictured), CEO of Stitch, Nigeria is not only one of the most populous countries in the world, but also one of the densest and most dynamic fintech ecosystems. “It is fast becoming a hub for engineering and product talent and a go-to-market for fintechs," he said when his company started operations in Nigeria.
In an article published in October 2021, Stitch noted that underinvestment in developer training and infrastructure has hampered the rapid growth of a fintech ecosystem in Africa. Yet, the continent has advantages (rising smartphone ownership and digital literacy) that could unlock the potential of this market.
Chamberline Moko
Malawi has embarked since 2010 on the development of its financial ecosystem. Since then, the country has developed three strategies to achieve its goal, with the digital at the heart of the 2022-26 strategy.
The Malawian government reached a $14.2 million deal with the African Development Fund (ADF) -the concessional window of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group- to make its digital payment system more efficient. The agreement was inked last February 10.
The project includes the extension of the Internet network, the digitization of more payment channels, the development of payment system interoperability, the introduction of digital payment solutions in various sectors such as agriculture. The ultimate goal is to improve financial inclusion in the country, especially for women, youth, and rural people. This will subsequently make business transactions more efficient, allowing small businesses to access new domestic and international markets.
The ADF’s investment aligns with Malawi’s Digitization, Financial Inclusion, and Competitiveness (DFIC) Support Project approved in December 2021 by the AfDB. Sosten Alfred Gwengwe, Malawi's Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs explained that “the DFIC project is aligned with the Malawi Digital Economy Strategy (2021-2026) and the Third National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (2022-2026); both contribute to achieving Malawi’s long-term objective of inclusive wealth creation supported by an inclusive financial system and digital economy.”
AfDB seeks, through the DFIC project, to help increase financial inclusion in Malawi from 58% in 2019 to 65% in 2025 (with 42% women and 37% rural populations); contribute to the improvement of the country's ranking in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) from 5.7% in 2019 to 7% in 2025.
The Bank also aims to contribute to increasing the export penetration rate (number of markets) from 79% (2018) to 100% (2025); increasing the volume of exports from 31% of GDP in 2019 to 35% in 2025, and improving the contribution of ICT to GDP from 5.7% in 2019 to 7% in 2025.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Seven months after an initial investment, the Sawiris family office made a follow on investment in Egyptian propTech company Nawy. In a February 13 statement, the beneficiary reported it has raised $5 million in seed capital.
The resources will be used to support its expansion strategy in North Africa and improve investment in new technologies and the digital (artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc.).
The startup, which facilitates and simplifies the process of buying and selling real estate online, claims to have helped more than 60,000 people find a home to date. Nawy also says it has sold over $200 million worth of real estate through its platform.
"We were one of the first investors in Nawy because we saw the potential of the company and shared its ambition. We immediately increased our investment when we realized how fast they were expanding and the trajectory of the company coming to fruition. We are very excited about the future, especially as Nawy expands its services and continues its momentum in the real estate market," commented Onsi Naguib Sawiris, head of Sawiris family office who led the investment in Nawy.
As a reminder, the Sawiris family office led an undisclosed seed funding in Nawy in July 2021. The money was used to strengthen the company's technology, increase services and increase staff. In its July 2021 forecast, Nawy planned to end the year with 300% revenue growth.
Chamberline Moko
The Ghanaian national ID card is officially accepted as an e-passport in 197 countries worldwide. The country received a certificate attesting to the fact last February 9 from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The ceremony took place at ICAO’s headquarters in Montreal, Canada.
Ransford Sowah, Ghana’s ambassador to Canada, who represented the country during the ceremony, explained that “with the Key Ceremony, all holders of the Ghana Card have an ICAO-compliant e-passport that can be read and verified at all ICAO-compliant airports/border posts across the world. It can be used for international travel - a subject of course to visa restrictions and bilateral agreements. Indeed, the Ghana Card is already valid for travel in all ECOWAS countries.” The Ghanaian ID contains all the biometric information which can be used to authenticate the identity of the holder with a cryptographic digital signature stored on the chip, similar to that of the passport. This transition was already announced last November by Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia during a conference at Ashesi University on the role of digitalization in the transformation of the Ghanaian economy.
As a reminder, Ghana officially became the 79th member of the ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD) community on October 13, 2021. The ICAO PKD is a central repository for exchanging information required to authenticate e-passports.
“For Ghanaians living or born in the diaspora, holders of the Ghana Card can be allowed to board any flight to Ghana without any visa requirement as we seek to give an inclusive Akwaaba [meaning welcome in Twi, a local language in Ghana, ed] experience to all children and descendants of our motherland,” Ransford Sowah concluded.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Togo wants to leverage digital technology to achieve inclusive and sustainable economic growth. To this end, it has established the Togo Digital Agency, which will help the government implement digital projects.
Last Monday, Feb 7, Togo's Council of Ministers adopted a draft bill aimed at accelerating the digitization of visa and resident permit applications and issuance. The meeting was held in Kara (412 km north, from Lomé).
"The main purpose of this draft bill is to update the general rules applicable to the entry, stay, movement, and settlement of foreigners on Togolese territory. In particular, it provides for the digitization of the process of applying for and issuing visas and residence permits," said the Council's statement.
The adoption aligns with the third axis of the government's roadmap, which aims at "modernizing the country and strengthening its structures."
Pending the bill's implementation, foreigners can still get their visas (tourist, diplomatic, business) at Togolese consulates and embassies (which can also issue immigrant visas for Togo).
On the territory, visas on arrival are issued by immigration services at the borders and the Gnassingbé Eyadéma International Airport. They are valid for a maximum period of 7 days, according to available information, but can be extended to a month at the Foreigners and Passports Office. For other types of visas, it is the Direction générale de la Documentation Nationale (DGDN) that handles related procedures.
Ayi Renaud Dossavi
With digital transformation accelerating worldwide, the competition among solution providers is getting tougher. To enable their investors to leverage opportunities brought up by this transformation, some governments have started taking strong measures.
This year, Russia will deploy digital attachés in 16 countries. This was disclosed last Monday, Feb 7, by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko (pictured). South Africa - the largest digital market in Africa and a privileged partner of Russia on the continent through the BRICS (economic grouping formed by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) - is one of the countries to welcome one of these attachés.
The deployment of digital attachés in some Russian embassies is the result of a collaborative agreement between the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Media, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the Russian Fund for the Development of Information Technology (RFRIT), and is part of the government's efforts to support the domestic IT industry.
Recruited attachés will “promote domestic software products abroad, provide consulting, information and analytical, legal and organizational support to Russian IT companies. Their main task is to develop the export of Russian digital solutions," said Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. By 2024, the number of countries where Russian digital attachés will be stationed should grow to 28.
Russia’s digital attaché will be joining the US digital attaché in South Africa. The American representative came into the country in December 2016, to promote US tech companies and help SA navigate through foreign digital and trade policies. The US, let’s recall, launched its digital attaché program in 2014.
In Russia, it is the Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Media that handles the ongoing recruitment of digital attachés.
Muriel Edjo
Acronis, which specializes in data protection services provision, announced yesterday it has opened a center in Lagos, Nigeria. This is the first center of its kind in Nigeria, but the second in Africa. The first is in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“The opening of the Nigerian data center is part of the Acronis Global/Local Initiative, an effort that includes global management for all data centers, geographic redundancy, and control for local partners, and a local disaster recovery site - all with competitive pricing,” the company said in a statement.
The opening of such a center in Nigeria is in close line with the recent digital developments in Africa’s most populous country. Last year, Nigeria captured $1.4 billion in VC investments, out of $4 billion for the whole continent. The ugly side of this performance is the growing cybersecurity issues in the country. According to the global cybersecurity index 2020 published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Nigeria is still lagging regarding data protection, ranking 47th out of 182 countries.
“Today, the world depends so much on data to the point where we can say data is life, and data security cannot be over-emphasized. We at Madonna Systems are so proud to be associated with Acronis, a foremost leader in cyber protection. With the opening of their new Data Centre in Nigeria, Acronis demonstrates its level of commitment to the African Market,” said Chidi Oliseowe, Team Lead at Madonna Systems Nigeria Limited.
The startup accelerator FAST, an initiative of Flapmax in partnership with Microsoft, announced the opening of applications for the Scaling Africa's Digital Ecosystem program. The program focuses on identifying, supporting, and funding the next generation of African innovators for large-scale development.
Applications are open until February 22 at https://www.fastaccelerator.com/. Selection criteria include: being based in Africa, being ready to scale or expand on the continent, having established a product-market fit, and generating revenue.
B2B startups are prioritized. Healthtech, Fintech, Edtech, and Industrials/Agritech startups will be particularly targeted. Applicants should be committed for the entire duration of the program, from March 7, 2022, to May 27, 2022.
More...
The Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie announced the opening of several digital training courses for young Africans. The program, which first targets Tunisia and Togo, is part of the pilot phase of the institution’s "D-CLIC, train yourself in the digital" initiative.
The training targets people aged between 18 and 35. In Tunisia, the first course focuses on the development of multiplatform video games while the second addresses the production of augmented reality / virtual reality applications. The courses are organized in partnership with NetInfo and will be held in the cities of Nabeul and Tunis, starting from February 11, 2022, for 12 weeks each. Registrations are open until February 10.
In Togo, the training will be held in Lome on web and mobile application development. The courses, led by the pan-African organization Energy Generation, will be held over 6 months.
Ten countries overall are targeted by the "D-CLIC, train yourself in the digital" program. These are Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Haiti, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, DR Congo, Togo, and Tunisia. While several of these countries have already hosted training, and will soon host additional modules, Djibouti and Gabon are expected to soon host their first courses.
"D-CLIC, train yourself in the digital" is aimed at strengthening the technical and professional digital skills of young people and women in the Francophone area to increase their chances of accessing decent jobs in business and entrepreneurship.
Vanessa Ngono Atangana
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the Investment Promotion Center (CEPICI) in Côte d'Ivoire are working to digitalize their services. The local company Snedai Technologies is providing its technical assistance to help in the process.
The contract with the Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Observatory of the Quality of Financial Services (OQSF), concerns the development of web and mobile applications that will enable the public body to better ensure financial education of the population. These digital tools will also serve as a financial mediation platform that will further promote the amicable settlement of individual disputes between financial organizations and their clients.
The digital services company will also provide the OQSF with a website to compare the offers of financial services providers. The goal is to promote transparency, ensure user understanding, and enhance the comparability of services. The deal with CEPICI focuses first on the development of a modern digital and responsive platform for electronic mail management (EML), followed by project management, performance management, investor monitoring, and dashboard management through business intelligence.
The acquisition of digital tools is in line with the government’s ambition to digitalize public services in the financial sector, through the Project to Improve Governance and Delivery of Basic Services to Citizens (PAGDS).
Launched in 2019 and financed by the World Bank, the project has already enabled, among other things, the deployment of the electronic revenue payment platform -Net collect- in 54 communities; the operationalization of the Treasury's e-payment platform -Tresor pay- for the online collection of state revenues; and the operationalization of the road contract management platform -ageroutemarche.ci.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
Ranked in 2020 among the least prepared nations in Africa for e-government, Madagascar received $140 million from the World Bank in 2021 to improve its score.
The UK is ready to help Madagascar accelerate its digital transformation. The subject was discussed recently between Tahina Razafindramalo (photo, right), Madagascar's Minister of Digital Development, and the British ambassador to Madagascar, David Ashley (photo, left). The exchanges focused on the digitalization of public services, cybersecurity, and data protection in Madagascar.
David Ashley says his country will offer expertise in this domain to help Madagascar better meet the multiple needs identified for the promotion of e-governance and support the digital transformation process. A possible collaboration with the British private telecommunication sector was also discussed.
With the Covid-19 pandemic, the dematerialization of public services is accelerating worldwide and particularly in Africa. Madagascar ranked 172nd out of 195 countries, according to the UN's E-government development index 2020, with a score below the East African and African average. In September 2021, the country received $140 million from the World Bank to streamline and digitize key services and improve the government's capacity.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The online library YouScribe unveiled plans to strengthen its presence in Africa. Yesterday February 8, it announced it has secured €5 million from the French Banque des Territoires.
The startup will use the money to accelerate its expansion on the continent, especially in the ten countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Morocco, Mali, South Africa, Cameroon, Tunisia, Burkina Faso, DRC, and Madagascar) where it already operates. YouScribe also eyes seven new markets on the continent and plans to expand its collection with new books, and diversify payment methods.
According to Maud Franca, deputy director of the Program of Investments for the Future at the Banque des Territoires, the investment aims to support the profound changes that the French-language book and publishing sectors are experiencing with digital technology.
"YouScribe is a response to the challenges that must be met collectively to provide alternative offers to the large online library platforms, often foreign, and to support publishers and authors in the French-speaking world, while also thinking of the younger generations, who are fans of social media and mobile applications,” she said.
The number of French speakers in the world is expected to increase from more than 300 million currently to 750 million in 2050, making French the second most spoken language after Mandarin, according to the Observatoire démographique et statistique de l'espace francophone (ODSEF). The latter estimates that more than 70% of French speakers will be Africans and Africa will have more than 90% of young French speakers aged 15-29. However, the lack of distribution infrastructure and the high cost of paper books could accentuate the low access to reading for Africans.
The relevance of the project earned YouScribe the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Award in 2013. In 2015, the initiative received the 2017 Digital Africa Challenge Award, organized by AFD, French Tech, and Bpifrance. In 2018, Orange Africa chose the startup to promote access to reading in countries where books are poorly distributed.
By the end of 2021, YouScribe was already claiming nearly 700,000 subscribers, up 100% from 2020. By 2025, the online library with more than one million books, audiobooks, and educational digital documents targets several million subscribers, 80% of which will be in Africa.