The entrepreneur has a great passion for e-sports. With GBarena, he is pursuing his goal of creating a comprehensive gaming and e-sports hub that connects gamers from around the world through daily tournaments, events, and activities.
Samer Wagdy (photo) is an Egyptian entrepreneur and gamer. He is also the founder and CEO of the online gaming platform and community GBarena.
GBarena, founded in 2015, connects gamers through global tournaments and challenges, providing tournament organizers with a tool to help them create and manage their tournaments from start to finish. It also helps businesses reach their target audience through gaming.
A few days ago, the start-up acquired the Tunisian e-sports and gaming start-up Galactech which had 200,000 active users. With that acquisition, GBarena continued its MENA expansion by leveraging its new acquisition's presence and capabilities in Riyadh, Dubai, and Tunis.
"Our goal has always been to provide our users with an unparalleled esports experience, no matter where they’re located in the world. With our acquisition of Galactech, we can now ensure that our users from North Africa will have access to identical features and content they have come to expect from us while providing them with extensive opportunities for growth and development within the esports community," said Samer Wagdy.
In 2014, the latter co-founded an IT firm Rackisland and developed a mobile app GEEXPAD (in 2013), which allows users to play PC games using their smartphone as a game controller and joystick. About three years earlier, he founded the IT agency Double Bridge.
Thanks to GBarena, Samer Wagdy was admitted to the French government incubation program at La Belle de Mai in 2017. In 2015, he was selected to be one of the finalists in the University Startup World Cup competition in Copenhagen, Denmark. With Rackisland, he won the Orange Social Venture Prize in 2014.
Melchior Koba
The partnership will contribute to the automation and digitization of the entire payment cycle to save time and reduce the various costs and efforts needed from grocers and small retailers in the country.
Last Monday, X-ERA Egypt, a leading provider of financial technology and logistics solutions in the Middle East, and Paymob, the leading financial services provider in the MENA-P region, announced a partnership agreement that aims to digitize B2B payments for tens of thousands of grocers and small retailers in Egypt.
"This cooperation aligns with X-ERA strategy to redevelop Egypt’s informal commercial market, by providing a package of diversified fintech tools and payment solutions to small grocers, corner shops, small and medium-sized merchants in different governorates throughout Egypt," said Mahmoud ELenani, CEO of X-ERA.
In Egypt, grocery stores represent 96.6% of the total outlets and account for 74% of overall sales in the food sector, according to data shared in January 2023 by BNP Paribas. With more than 116,000 grocery stores and stalls, this segment accounted for 73% of sales in 2021, or US$23 billion, according to the latest estimates from the USDA.
With the new partnership, Paymob's payment acceptance technology will now be integrated with X-ERA's fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) ordering application, creating an end-to-end digital commerce solution for merchants who previously only had the option to pay for their goods with cash on delivery.
According to a joint statement from the two companies, the partnership will digitize the operation of grocers and small businesses and fuel their growth in the digital economy. Using Paymob's technology, X-ERA merchants will also be able to pay their utility and telecom bills to further digitize their operations.
Samira Njoya
Like many African countries, Senegal is facing the thorny issue of electrical and electronic waste pollution. The situation recently worsened with the massive importation of electronic devices from other continents
The e-waste collection and dismantling center Senegal has been planning for years now will soon become effective, according to Cheikh Bakhoum, director general of state IT agency SENUM SA
" SENUM has decided to create a full-fledged entity that will be exclusively dedicated to this extremely important issue for our Environment and for our citizens. It will dismantle [...] electronic and electrical devices", said Cheikh Bakhoum.
"SENUM already has a section specifically dedicated to the management of electronic and electrical waste. It exclusively sorts them into green waste for recovery or red waste to be sent to a safe location for destruction," he added.
The e-waste (computers, phones, televisions, cables, batteries, etc.) issue is of great concern to the Senegalese government. In 2019, Senegal produced more than 4 million tons of e-waste according to the Solid Waste Coordination and Management Unit (UCG). Its average yearly e-waste production has surely risen due to population growth. From 16.3 million in 2019, Senegal's population was estimated at 17.3 million in 2022.
The dismantling center will significantly reduce the impact of electronic waste on the environment and health, improve income for informal collectors, and promote the creation of green jobs for the youth, among other things.
The country plans to recycle up to 90% of its e-waste by 2025. For that purpose, it is currently preparing a new legal framework for the activity.
Samira Njoya
Ridesharing has become a popular transport system since the onset of Uber, Yango, Bolt, and similar apps in Africa. In the sector, giant groups are trying to conquer the African market but they are faced with competition from rapidly expanding local startups.
Amigo is a carpooling solution developed by a Tunisian startup. The solution allows users to reduce transport costs.
"Amigo is a cab service based on the ridesharing model. It allows you to reduce waiting time and spend convivial moments with passengers taking the same route," the platform indicates.
The solution has a mobile application available for Android and iOS devices. To register for the services, users need to create an Amigo account. Anytime they are going out, they just need to input their destination and let the closest driver pick them up. They can also share the ride and its costs with users taking the same route in a 2-kilometer radius.
The solution often offers discounts to its users. Its aim is to help reduce costs and waiting time. It also helps reduce pollution by optimizing the number of cars circulating. The startup claims more than 500 registered cars, 10,000 trips, and more than 6,000 active users. On Playstore, its Android app has already been downloaded more than 5,000 times. The data confirms the claims made by the startup, which is set on growing market share in its origin country, Tunisia only for the time being.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The award-winning entrepreneur is a tech enthusiast and civic activist. He is committed to education and financial inclusion, notably in rural areas that are usually hard to reach.
Charles Muhindo (photo) is a Ugandan computer scientist and the co-founder/CEO of fintech startup MamboPay.
His startup, founded in 2016, helps businesses and individuals make payments through state-of-the-art NFC cards designed to provide a Tap-andPay experience to recipients and enable real-time fund transfers to or from mobile money wallets. The startup addresses three major challenges in the everyday use of digital financial transactions. They are notably transparency, accountability and personal finance management.
In 2013, Charles Muhindo also co-founded BrainShare Ltd, an edtech startup that gives learners access to top-notch education content online and offline. It creates an inclusive learning environment by supporting the creation of content by local teachers for African learners. He served the edtech startup as CEO up to 2021.
Charles Muhindo's professional career began in 2011 at IntelWorld where he was a senior application developer. As such, he was "responsible for mobile applications with core emphasis on USSD, SMS, mobile and web applications." He developed a range of enterprise, e-commerce, and sports betting applications.
In 2012, he joined Orange Uganda where he worked on developing new applications to ensure better service delivery to customers.
In 2012, he won the bronze medal during the Orange Community Innovation Awards. The following year, he was among the top 40 African entrepreneurs selected by the US State Department's Global Innovation for Science and Technology (GIST). The same year, BrainShare was featured on CNN's list of the top 10 African startups.
He has been invited to speak at events organized by international institutions including the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
Melchior Koba
The project, which is almost completed, will reinforce Senegal's position as an ICT hub in West Africa and accelerate the development of the region's digital and innovative ecosystem.
Senegal Horn of Africa Regional Express (SHARE), the optic fiber interconnection project connecting Senegal and Cabo Verde will soon be completed, according to Cheikh Bakhoum (photo), director general of the state IT agency. The official made this revelation last Friday, during a press briefing.
"We have deployed nearly 95 % of the subsea cable SHARE connecting Senegal and Cabo Verde, two West African countries, [...] The cable will allow access to a better internet connection of up to 16 terabits in the future in Senegal. Once the cable becomes operational, 100 gigabits will be available for the administration and for operators who will need large internet capacities," he said.
The 720-kilometer cable will have landing points in Dakar and Praia. The broadband infrastructure, deployed by Huawei Marine Networks (HMN), will be the first direct link between Africa and Cabo Verde islands, which are located are located approximately 570 kilometers off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.
The project funded by Senegal will introduce an upgraded international bandwidth route to West Africa. According to Cheikh Bakhoum, it will probably be inaugurated in the next few months as works are being accelerated.
Samira NJOYA
After securing initial funding in 2020, the company wants to continue its expansion with additional capital.
Moroccan e-logistics start-up Cathedis recently secured US$735,000 in pre-series A funding from an investor cohort consisting of Afrimobility, a venture capital fund of AKWA Group, and CDG Invest.
According to Imad El Mansour Zekri, founder and CEO of Cathedis, the renewed support from CDG Invest, its old investor and partner, as well as the entrance of Afrimobility into its Cathedis' capital will help the startup consolidate its performance, develop its innovation platform and accelerate its growth.
In 2020, the startup secured MAD3 million (US$296,000) through CDG Invest's 212 Founders, raising the resources to achieve over 300% growth between 2020 and 2022.
In its four years of operation, the start-up has built a fully digital platform that manages all deliveries, based on a system that easily handles every operation from production to delivery, payment, and complaint handling with real-time or near-instantaneous tracking.
Cathedis has also deployed an automated 4,000-parcels-per-hour sorting center, thanks to which it serves more than 160 cities and regions in Morocco. To successfully achieve its goals, the startup turned to the association R&D Morocco, which promotes and drives innovation.
According to its CEO, it is one of the leading e-logistics operators in Morocco, with proprietary industrial and tech solutions. Its goal is to reach an annual flow of 3 million packages by 2024.
Samira Njoya
In Africa, proptech startups are not really popular as their peers in the health, finance, and agriculture industries. Nonetheless, entrepreneurs in that industry are developing innovative solutions to facilitate procedures.
Spleet is a proptech solution developed by a Nigerian startup. It helps users find the real estate properties (either for rental or acquisition) that suit them. Since its launch, in 2018, the startup behind the solution has raised over US$3.5 million to accelerate growth and enter the Ghanaian and Kenyan markets.
The solution is currently accessible only via its web platform. On the website, users can browse available properties, and create an account.
To rent a property they like, they need to register their interest, submit some personal information, and let the request be processed before payment is collected. Users can rent entire places for themselves or choose to share the spaces with other users.
The startup offers additional solutions, including low-interest and no-collateral loans to finance rent. With its service "verify", it also helps landlords and real estate agents perform proper tenant background checks before signing lease agreements. It also offers a service, "Collect," that automatically collects rent on landlords' behalf.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The tech entrepreneur is passionate about robotics innovation. His startup, Nureab, is the first MENA company to go into rehabilitation robotics.
Bahy Elnesr (photo) is an Egyptian tech entrepreneur and the co-founder/CEO of Nureab, a startup that manufactures rehabilitation robots for the Middle East and African market.
The startup, launched in 2020, leverages new technologies to help people with motor disabilities improve their living conditions and quickly recover. The motor rehabilitation devices the startup manufactures optimize patients' recovery process with little pain and maximum movement functions that produce positive results.
Apart from Nureab, Bahy Elnesr is also the co-founder and CTO (till 2021) of The Flankers, an Egyptian startup and innovation center specializing in the robotics, artificial intelligence, and aerospace industries. Since 2015, The Flankers has launched over six products and developed 63 projects with more than 30 national and international partners. It is the first Egyptian company to develop a nanosatellite using tech tools like artificial intelligence.
Before his entrepreneurial career, he had traineeship experience with several international firms. For instance, in 2016, he was a trainee with German Auto Service Egypt, for two months. In 2017, he did a 1-month traineeship at oil and gas firm Bapetco and another month at EgyptAir. He worked at Belayiem Petroleum Company for two months and did another 1-month traineeship at Amal Petroleum Company.
In 2018, after another stint at Bapetco and Belayiem Petroleum Company, he also completed an internship at the Italian energy company Eni.
Melchior Koba
During the multi-month suspension, the California-based company, which entered the country in 2016, developed new offers and services.
U.S ride-hailing Uber announced, Wednesday, the resumption of its activities in Tanzania, marking an end to the dispute opposing it has with local authorities.
In the release announcing the resumption, it said it was delighted to relaunch its operations in the country after nearly 10 months of suspension: "We are excited to kick off the year on such a positive note by re-entering the Tanzanian market[...]It is our priority to provide a platform where drivers can make substantial earnings while providing convenient and reliable options for riders in Tanzania," the release read.
The U.S. company was forced to suspend its services in Tanzania in April 2022 due to changes in government regulations that capped commissions from drivers to 15 percent, down from 33 percent. After months of negotiations, last month, Tanzania's transport regulator allowed ride-sharing companies to charge up to 25 percent commission and 3.5 percent booking fee.
While relaunching operations in Tanzania, Uber has also introduced a new safety check-up technology that the company says will give passengers and drivers more confidence during their rides. "Based on research, most riders seem to be unaware of the safety features available to them. As a result, Uber is launching Safety Check-up across SSA which will encourage riders to complete their safety profile by turning on and utilizing the available features such as Trusted Contacts, PIN verification, and RideCheck," the company added.
The new safety feature also allows for direct reporting of sudden vehicle stoppages due to accidents or breakdowns of any kind, in which case a report is shared with the company, and assistance is requested.
Samira Njoya
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Tunisia's digital transformation strategy provides, among other things, the creation of a regulatory framework and suitable governance and security environment. For that purpose, it is multiplying cooperations between national institutions.
Last Wednesday, in Tunis, the Tunisian Ministries of ICT and National Defense signed an agreement to complete the second phase of the Ministry of National Defense's National Public Key Infrastructure.
In the statement disclosing the agreement, Imed Memmich (photo, left), the Tunisian Minister of Defense, said that this agreement is in line with the national strategic ICT plan, "Tunisia Digital 2020", which aims to develop the administration by adopting digital technologies and promoting their use to ensure efficiency and transparency of policies and decisions.
To develop their National Public Key Infrastructure [which ensures the security of the digital networks of an administration or company by guaranteeing the confidentiality of communications as well as their integrity, authentication and non-repudiation], Tunisian Ministries are assisted by the Ministry of ICT and the National Agency for Electronic Certification (Tuntrust).
Samira Njoya
The solution facilitates the collection and recycling of various kinds of waste to help mitigate global warming, which is taking its toll on the environment.
Zaidi Recyclers is a digital solution developed by a Tanzanian startup to facilitate waste collection in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
"E-waste pollutes soil and water once discarded in an inappropriate manner, but can also cause damage to human health and wellbeing including respiratory issues, oxidative stress, DNA damage and possibly causes various cancers," said Allen Kimambo, founder of Zaidi Recyclers.
Using its Android app, users ate their accounts, and anytime they have waste worth recycling, they can notify the startup. Whether it is electronic and electrical appliances, car batteries, waste paper and cardboard, glass bottles, or plastics, Zaidi is ready to recover them.
To increase its popularity, it ultimately plans to start paying users for the waste they help collect.
The startup claims over 2,200 waste containers collected and 700 tons of waste recycled. It estimates that its actions helped save 4,400 trees. Its ambition is to enter new cities like Dodoma, Arusha, etc, and even go international with Zambia, where it already has a partner.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
The tech entrepreneur wants to improve education using tech tools. Thanks to his startup AltSchool Africa, he helps develop tech talents in Nigeria and in Africa as a whole.
Adewale Yusuf (photo) is a Nigerian tech entrepreneur and the founder/CEO of edtech startup AltSchool Africa.
The startup, launched in 2021, is open to anyone willing to acquire tech skills and start a professional career in the tech industry. It is based in Kigali, Rwanda. It adopts a modern approach to training by delivering courses directly related to the learner's chosen field of study with a curriculum that combines theory with hands-on practice to turn anyone into a top software engineer within a year.
According to Adewale, some startups are willing to take AltSchool Africa graduates as interns. "We’ve signed up some of the best startups on the market, and that’s one of the most exciting things about what we’re doing," he said in January 2022 when his startup raised US$1 million in pre-seed funding.
He got the idea to launch AltSchool Africa when he was managingTalentQL, a start-up he founded in 2020 to hire, develop and manage talent remotely for global companies. At the time, he realized that there was a big gap in the foundational knowledge of some of the software engineers who were going through his company's vetting process. So AltSchool was launched to solve that problem.
The serial tech entrepreneur is the co-founder and former publisher of Techpoint Africa, a media platform dedicated to startups and innovation in Africa.
He is also a Techstars Mentor and board advisor for Life Beyond Disability Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the rights and empowerment of people living with disabilities in Africa. In 2016, he founded Techpremier Media, the publisher of Techpoint Africa. Three years earlier, he had launched OnedotPhoto.com, a photography company he served as the lead photographer till 2017.
The entrepreneur also worked for the IT services company Danami Nigeria as a quality assurance & UX tester between 2011 and 2012. From 2012 to 2014, he was a blogger for OTEKBITS.com.
Melchior Koba
The financial support aims to encourage inclusive growth and accelerate the development of sustainable economies.
The Netherlands will provide US$10 million to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to help developing countries, including many in Africa, take greater advantage of e-commerce and the digital economy to facilitate business and investment.
An agreement relating to that financial support was signed on Tuesday, 17 January, by UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan (photo, left) and the Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Liesje Schreinemacher (photo, right).
"The Netherlands appreciates UNCTAD’s contribution to global digitalization and linking it to improving business and investment opportunities. We are therefore happy to continue our support and hope other donors will follow the Netherlands in its support for this important program," Ms. Schreinemacher said.
According to the agreement signed by the two parties, US$6 million will be devoted to research and technical cooperation activities under UNCTAD's e-business and digital economy program.
An additional US$4 million will "fund UNCTAD’s efforts to strengthen digital government services for micro- and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and international investors. It will also support enterprise development, accounting, and reporting for MSMEs to strengthen business facilitation."
In a release dated January 18, the UNCTAD explains that the Netherlands has been supporting its e-business and digital economy program for years now. The support has helped build more inclusive digital economies for women and promoted partnerships to support the development of e-business in low-income countries. It has also helped strengthen digital business and facilitated investments in six African countries and one country each in Asia and Latin America, we learn.
Samira Njoya