Blog - Afrikan Heroes

Facebook Rolls Out Instagram Lite to Sub-Saharan Africa

March 21, 2021

Today, Facebook has announced the launch of Instagram Lite to Sub-Saharan Africa, a new, lightweight version of the Instagram app for Android that uses less data and works well across all network conditions. The new version of Instagram Lite for Android is less than 2MB in size, making it fast to install and quick to load. It also has improved speed, performance, and responsiveness. Instagram Lite not only works similarly to the Instagram app for Android, but it allows the Instagram experience to remain fast and reliable for more people, no matter what device, platform and network they use.

Commenting on the rationale for introducing the app to Sub-Saharan Africa, Engineering Manager for Instagram Lite, Peter Shin said, “Connectivity in the region can be unstable, slow and expensive, making it challenging for people to have a high-quality Instagram experience. Many people were already familiar with the concept of a Lite app after the successful roll-out of Facebook Lite some years ago. We started testing the new version of Instagram Lite when people across the continent started asking for a Lite app for Android. The feedback was very positive and we are excited to launch it across the continent today”.

“Our team aims to leave no one behind, so today we are very excited to bring Instagram Lite to people in over 170 countries, including the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region,” he added.

Instagram Lite is similar to the core Instagram app experience, though some features are not currently supported, such as Reels creation, Shopping, and IGTV. Instagram Lite is likely to gain appeal to users in locations with limited bandwidth or high data costs, especially in the developing world.

Instagram Lite is currently rolling out in over 170 countries, and Facebook remains committed to building and improving the app to help everyone in the world connect to the people and things they love.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Covid-19: Seven Million Vaccinated in Africa

Africa’s COVID-19 vaccination has gained traction with nearly seven million people already vaccinated across the 38 African countries that have received more than 25 million COVID-19 vaccines and 30 have started vaccination campaigns after months of waiting on the side-lines for vaccines, many of the first wave of countries to start campaigns are rapidly vaccinating high-risk groups.

Countries have accessed vaccines through the COVAX Facility, bilateral deals and donations. Altogether 38 African countries have received more than 25 million COVID-19 vaccines and 30 have started vaccination campaigns. Through the COVAX initiative – which is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with UNICEF – more than 16 million vaccine doses have so far been shipped to 27 countries.

“Although Africa received vaccines late and in limited quantities, a lot of ground has been covered in a short space of time. This is due to the continent’s vast experience in mass vaccination campaigns and the determination of its leaders and people to effectively curb COVID-19,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Compared with countries in other regions that accessed vaccines much earlier, the initial rollout phase in some African countries has reached a far higher number of people.”

Just two weeks after receiving COVAX-funded AstraZeneca vaccines, Ghana has administered more than 420 000 doses and covered over 60% of the targeted population in the first phase in the Greater Accra region – the hardest hit by the pandemic. In the first nine days, it is estimated the country delivered doses to around 90% of health workers. In Morocco, more than 5.6 million vaccinations have taken place in the past seven weeks, while in Angola, vaccines have reached over 49 000 people, including more than 28 000 health workers in the past week.

To ensure the most impact, initial vaccine doses are being limited to priority population groups including health workers, older people and people with health conditions placing them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 illness. While the rollout is going well, there is an urgent need for more doses as Ghana, Rwanda and other countries are on the brink of running dry.

“Countries are clocking an impressive vaccination pace, but we must ensure this speed doesn’t slow down to a crawl,” said Dr Moeti. “Additional supplies are urgently required to narrow the gap between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.”

A few countries in Africa have halted or postponed their use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, following the suspension of the vaccine by some countries in Europe. This precautionary measure is based on reports of rare blood coagulation disorders in people who had received the vaccine. The suspension is regarding one specific batch of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not been distributed to Africa.

WHO’s Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety is carefully assessing the reports on the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to gain full understanding and will communicate its findings. Based on what is currently known, WHO considers that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh its risks and recommends that vaccinations continue.

Vaccinations are occurring as more than 4 million COVID-19 cases have now been reported on the African continent, with 43 000 new cases in the past week, and 108 000 lives lost. In the past month, new cases have decreased by 41% compared with the previous month, but there is an upward trend in 12 countries including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya and Guinea (where an outbreak of Ebola is also ongoing).

Dr Moeti spoke during a virtual press conference today facilitated by APO Group. She was joined by Hon Dr Silvia Lutucuta, Minister of Health of Angola, Professor William Kwabena Ampofo, Chairperson of African Vaccine Manufacturing Initiative and Dr Salam Gueye, Director, Regional Emergency Preparedness and Response, WHO Regional Office for Africa. Also on hand to answer questions was Dr Richard Mihigo, Immunization and Vaccine Development Programme Coordinator, WHO Regional Office for Africa.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Nigeria’s Remittance Platform Cowrie Gets $750k Investment from SDF

With the renewed interest in remittances by the Nigerian government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, remittance platforms are gearing up to improve operations in view of expected rise in activities. This probably informed the decision by Stellar Development Foundation to invest $750K in Cowrie, a Nigeria-based fintech platform facilitating crypto remittance transfers. The investment, made through SDF’s Enterprise Fund, will provide Cowrie with resources to continue expanding its operations in emerging markets, including Africa.

Gbubemi Agbeyegbe, technical director at Cowrie

SDF said the investment, made through its Enterprise Fund, will provide Cowrie with resources to continue expanding its operations in emerging markets and further develop payment corridors between Africa and the world, with an initial focus on Nigeria. Cowrie, powered by Stellar, allows Nigerians in other countries to send money to their families by converting their funds to NGNT, a token backed by Nigeria’s native naira currency. The funds are transferred directly to the local bank accounts of recipients. Around $27 million has been traded on the platform since NGNT’s launch in 2018.

In Nigeria, people are increasingly turning to crypto as a store of value and a vehicle for cross-border payments. But the SDF investment comes after Nigerian authorities recently banned local banks from servicing crypto firms and ordered financial institutions to close bank accounts tied to crypto platforms. Crypto platforms operating in the country, including Binance and Luno, had to shut down naira deposits and withdrawals. Cowrie halted naira transactions as well. (Luno is a sister company of CoinDesk.)

“Due to the ban, we decided to suspend deposits and withdrawals of NGNT for the time being. We have taken these measures to be prudent and wait for further guidance as we engage with regulators,” Gbubemi Agbeyegbe, technical director at Cowrie was quoted as saying.

According to Denelle Dixon, chief executive officer at SDF, Cowrie impressed her team by continuing to engage with Nigeria’s regulators in responding to the uncertain regulatory environment for crypto in the country.

“We are here to support them not only through this investment but also through our shared commitment to creating the right policy and regulatory frameworks for blockchain technology by fostering close collaboration and partnership between the public and private sectors,” Dixon said.

Nigeria is typically one of the world’s largest recipients of remittances. But due to the COVID-19 outbreak, remittances to Nigeria in 2020 plunged to the lowest level since 2008, prompting the government to launch a promotion to attract diaspora remittances. The naira4dollar scheme promised to give away 5 naira per U.S. dollar transferred into the country from March through May 2021.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Facial Recognition for Drivers: Uber Faces Severe Pressures

Uber is facing a new battle that may affect its business model globally. Just after its recent taw in a long drawn battle with British authorities, Uber is facing another challenge as its use of facial recognition technology for a driver identity system is being challenged in the United Kingdom where unions are calling on Microsoft to suspend Uber’s use of B2B facial recognition.

The British App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) and Worker Info Exchange (WIE) are up in arms against the app after finding multiple cases where drivers were mis-identified and went on to have their licence to operate revoked by Transport for London (TfL). The union said it has identified seven cases of “failed facial recognition and other identity checks” leading to drivers losing their jobs and licence revocation action by TfL.

When Uber launched the “Real Time ID Check” system in the U.K. in April 2020, it said it would “verify that driver accounts aren’t being used by anyone other than the licensed individuals who have undergone an Enhanced DBS check”. It said then that drivers could “choose whether their selfie is verified by photo-comparison software or by our human reviewers”.

In one misidentification case the ADCU said the driver was dismissed from employment by Uber and his licence was revoked by TfL. The union adds that it was able to assist the member to establish his identity correctly, forcing Uber and TfL to reverse their decisions. But it highlights concerns over the accuracy of the Microsoft facial recognition technology — pointing out that the company suspended the sale of the system to U.S. police forces in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer.

Research has shown that facial recognition systems can have an especially high error rate when used to identify people of color — and the ADCU cites a 2018 MIT study that found Microsoft’s system can have an error rate as high as 20% (accuracy was lowest for dark-skinned women).

The union said it’s written to the mayor of London to demand that all TfL private-hire driver licence revocations based on Uber reports using evidence from its Hybrid Real Time Identification systems are immediately reviewed. The ADCU said Uber rushed to implement a workforce electronic surveillance and identification system as part of a package of measures implemented to regain its license to operate in the U.K. capital.

Back in 2017, TfL made the shocking decision not to grant Uber a licence renewal — ratcheting up regulatory pressure on its processes and maintaining this hold in 2019 when it again deemed Uber “not fit and proper” to hold a private hire vehicle licence. Safety and security failures were a key reason cited by TfL for withholding Uber’s licence renewal.

Uber has challenged TfL’s decision in court and it won another appeal against the licence suspension last year — but the renewal granted was for only 18 months (not the full five years). It also came with a laundry list of conditions — so Uber remains under acute pressure to meet TfL’s quality bar.

Now, though, Labor activists are piling pressure on Uber from the other direction too — pointing out that no regulatory standard has been set around the workplace surveillance technology that the ADCU says TfL encouraged Uber to implement. No equalities impact assessment has even been carried out by TfL, it adds. WIE confirmed that it’s filing a discrimination claim in the case of one driver, called Imran Raja, who was dismissed after Uber’s Real ID check — and had his licence revoked by TfL.

His licence was subsequently restored — but only after the union challenged the action. A number of other Uber drivers who were also misidentified by Uber’s facial recognition checks will be appealing TfL’s revocation of their licences via the U.K. courts, per WIE. A spokeswoman for TfL told us it is not a condition of Uber’s licence renewal that it must implement facial recognition technology — only that Uber must have adequate safety systems in place.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Barely One Month After Launch, Ethiopian Fintech Startup ArifPay Raises $3.5m

ArifPay, a fintech company based in Bole (Addis Ababa) Ethiopia, has raised $3.5 million (140 million ETB) in a private placement round from 31 investors. The paid capital is $1 million, while the remaining $2.5 million is subscribed capital. Investors are required to pay the subscribed money over a two-year term.

“Never thought raising $3.5M in Ethiopia was possible. This is a proof that anything is possible as long as you surround yourself with visionaries who share your dream. This is a result of team work. Thank you for all shareholders and board of directors for believing in us,” said ArifPay founder and chief executive officer (CEO), Habtamu Tadesse.

Here Is What You Need To Know

AirPay sold 140,000 shares to 31 investors, each worth 1000 ETB ($24.23). The stock was sold on the open market. However, this was a private placement rather than a public offering.

Since the National Bank of Ethiopia, the country’s apex bank, does not allow non-Ethiopian foreign citizens to invest in Ethiopia’s financial sector, all investors are Ethiopians or Ethiopian Born Foreign Nationals.

A Look At What ArifPay Does

Founded on February 26 this year by Habtamu Tadesse, former founder of Zay Ride (which is one of the pioneer ride-hailing platforms in Ethiopia), ArifPay is a mobile point of sale system which will allow ATM cardholders to make electronic transactions via their smartphones.

M-pos and gateway-related digital financial items are among the company’s plans. Its aim is to allow people to perform financial transactions, such as payments, using their mobile phones.

The National Bank of Ethiopia is currently processing ArifPay’s application for a Payment System Operator License (for POS and Online gateway business). By the end of May 2021, Arifpay plans to have its services up and running.

“Once operational, ArifPay aspires to make a significant contribution to the financial sector by offering digital-based payments services that meet the needs of consumers and merchants towards cash-lite transactions in line with the national agenda of the digital economy,” said Tadesse.

Foreign (Non-Ethiopian) Investors Are Barred From Participating In Ethiopia’s Fintechs

The fact that no foreign non-Ethiopian investors participated in ArifPay’s latest round of investment Ethiopia lies in the fact that the East African country (which is Africa’s second most populated country after Nigeria) continues to place a bar on foreigners owning stakes in banking, insurance, brokerage services, and legal consultancy businesses.

In October 2020, after series of negotiations and deliberations, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), finally granted a license to state-owned telecoms company, Ethio Telecom, to start mobile money service in the country. This followed the issuance, in April 2020 by the bank, of a regulation called Licensing & Authorization of Payment Instrument Issuers. For the first time in Ethiopia’s history, the regulation allowed mobile money transactions. However, there is a caveat: any company interested in the new financial service regime must set up a trust account with a deposit money bank in Ethiopia.

“As part of the application process,” the directive read, in parts, “the National Bank, may request for a preliminary meeting and demonstration of the intended payment instrument to be issued, its related services, products as well as operation. Based on requests made and written approval of the National Bank, a payment instrument issuer may be allowed to provide cash-in and cash-out; local money transfers including domestic remittances, load to card or bank account, transfer to card or bank account; domestic payments including purchase from physical merchants, bill payments; over-the-counter transactions; and inward international remittances services.”

The regulation has also opened up the country’s financial services sector to include that a licensed payment instrument issuer may, with the relevant agreement with regulated financial institutions and pension funds, be allowed to provide micro-saving products; micro-credit products; micro-insurance products; or pension products in the country.

The National Bank of Ethiopia also issued, that same year, a “Licensing and Authorisation of Payment System Operators Directive (ONPS/02/2020), allowing financial technology companies (fintechs) to start off payment processing and related services in Ethiopia.

Five licenses under the payment system operator directive include National Switch, Switch Operator, ATM Operator, POS Operator, and payment gateway license.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

fintech ArifPay $3.5m fintech ArifPay $3.5m fintech ArifPay $3.5m

Algeria Creates Nationwide Zones To House Startups, Now Allows $7k In Startup Credits

Algeria is determined to change its startup landscape by all means. Following the passage of an executive decree creating a national committee for the labelling of startups, innovative projects and incubators, the country is about to create national micro-activity zones housing startups. According to the country’s minister Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister in charge of micro-enterprises, Nassim Diafat, the creation of activity zones will be carried out and managed by public enterprises of an economic and commercial nature with a view to renting them out to startups at competitive prices.

Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister in charge of micro-enterprises, Nassim Diafat

“This will allow young people to have the spaces they need to realize their projects through the creation of startups adapted to the specificities of their regions. These young promoters will benefit from support within the framework of the National Support and Development Agency. entrepreneurship,” he said.

Here Is What You Need To Know

Diafat also announced the constitution, next week, of a departmental commission to bring together local representatives of young startup entrepreneurs in order to enable them to raise the concerns and obstacles they encounter and define activities that can be implemented at the level of each province.

He also said that “as part of support for startups suffering from lack of means to finance the acquisition of raw materials, it was decided, as a support measure for entrepreneurship, the granting of operating credits in the amount of one million dinars.”

A Country Greatly Supporting Startups In Recent Times

In December 2020, Algerie Telecom, Algeria’s state-owned telecom operator, unveiled new specifications for its calls for tenders. The new specifications would facilitate access of over 2,300 technological microenterprises to public procurement.

This followed the launch of the Algeria Startup Fund in October the same year. The launch was inspired by the statement of the President of the Republic, who during the meeting of the Council of Ministers held in January 2020, ordered the development of an emergency program for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in particular the creation of a special fund or a bank intended for their financing. Following that, Executive Decree 20–254 of September 15, 2020 creating the national committee for the labeling of “startups”, “innovative projects” and “incubators” was published in the last issue of the Official Journal, Tunisia’s national gazette.

Labelled startups and incubators in Algeria have also been the greatest beneficiaries of the country’s newly passed finance law. The 2021 Finance Act provides for changes in taxes (Tax On Professional Activities, TAP; and Value-added Tax VAT). Under the law, companies in Algeria with a startup label will be exempt from several taxes, starting with the TAP (tax on professional activity) and the IBS (tax on corporate profits. companies) for a period of 2 years from the date of obtaining the said label.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Algeria startups zones Algeria startups zones

Rwanda’s Rabawa Inc Launches Africa’s First Social Commerce Platform on Unemployment

March 20, 2021

Rwanda’s first social commerce platform in Africa to reduce the rate of unemployment on the continent Rabawa established with the objective to support African entrepreneurs leverage social media for curating, promoting, and selling their products to end users has announced the launching of a social entrepreneur platform for the continent. The social commerce platform will give entrepreneurs access to a virtual shop and thousands of products from trusted suppliers.

Rabawa, is a global distribution platform offering e-commerce supply chain solutions in Africa to entrepreneurs, committing to helping them quickly and easily launch their online businesses without any investment or inventory. The company says that this will enable them to resell their products through a manufacturer or wholesale supplier and share with interested customers after adding a margin.

With Rabawa, users can start earning online without any investment. Leveraging the platform, entrepreneurs do not need to own their own shop or inventory to become very successful in their ventures. Rabawa is regarded as the best money-earning platform trusted by hundreds of entrepreneurs across the continent.

Olayinka Akinkunmi, COO of Rabawa says that “Rabawa aims to provide 21 Million Africans with their own businesses by 2023”, adding that the basic requirement for any aspiring Rabawa entrepreneur is to possess a smartphone or computer and a basic understanding of business.

“Rabawa is very confident that their business model will lead to accelerating the eCommerce sector and ensuring financial inclusion.” she added. If you have a basic understanding of business and aspire to have your own business, becoming a Rabawa entrepreneur can be a good starting point here.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

The Node: Bitcoin Is ‘Digital Gold’ Because People Say It Is

By Daniel Kuhn

In early March, the mobile software firm Meitu made headlines as the first public company to put ether (ETH, +1.43%) (ETH) on its balance sheet along with bitcoin (BTC, +4.09%) (BTC). Today, it announced another allocation to those two cryptocurrencies.

Stacked cryptocurrency coins — cryptocurrency coins

In its initial announcement, the firm said blockchain could disrupt finance and technology, like “mobile internet has disrupted the PC internet.” It holds a particularly high opinion of Ethereum and could imagine investing in projects or protocols, or even developing Ethereum-based applications. But it’s Meitu’s reasons for investing in bitcoin that actually bear examination.

One of several publicly traded companies to put bitcoin on its balance sheet over the past several months, Meitu thinks of the cryptocurrency as an “alternative store of value.” Amid “aggressive increases in money supply by central banks globally,” bitcoin has a chance of holding its value, a Board statement says.

But the consensus opinion around bitcoin is more important to Meitu than its fundamentals. Despite cryptographic features including limited supply, portability and fungibility, “[bitcoin’s] price is primarily a function of future demand that is driven by consensus of investors and the general public.” In other words, bitcoin excels as a store of value because that’s what other people say it is.

“Recently the Board has seen growing momentum in the consensus building process,” Meitu writes. It noticed “conservative institutions” such as insurance funds, asset managers and other publicly listed companies – like Tesla, unnamed – moving to accept bitcoin payments as well as adding it to their treasuries.

It’s common to describe bitcoin as digital gold, though as Meitu’s announcement shows, that may be little more than a meme. Bitcoin maintains its value because more and more people believe it will. As Bloomberg’s Tracy Alloway once argued, bitcoin is whatever you want it to be, making it “really the perfect post-modern financial asset.”

Last week, CoinDesk’s director of data and indexes, Galen Moore, wrote that bitcoin is less like digital gold, as it’s often described, than a $100 bill. Bitcoin, designed for online commerce, is a rarely used “bearer instrument” as well as a store of value. “[B]itcoin isn’t valuable necessarily because it is spent, but because it could be spent.” Presumably, there will be counterparty on the other side of that transaction.

Does it matter why Meitu is investing in bitcoin exactly? Not really. It’s all the same to BTC, which carries on regardless, whatever people think of it. But the statement does point to the meta-nature of modern investing, where memes mean as much as revenue and bottom lines. As Satoshi said: “It might make sense just to get some in case it catches on.”

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

South Africa’s Gaming Startup Signs Global Publishing Deal

Emerging South Africa’s gaming startup Carry1st has entered into a global, multi-year publishing agreement with Stockholm based Raketspel to publish the studio’s next casual game, Mine Rescue!, to be launched in Spring 2021. With over 120 million downloads of their beloved games including their biggest hit, Dig This! Raketspel has been installed over 100 million times.

Carry1st started making flash games 20 years ago, the studio has evolved to making fun interactive mobile games with simple mechanics that everyone can enjoy. It is an emerging publisher of social games and interactive content with a focus on frontier markets like Africa. The company partners with studios across the globe to scale and monetize its products.

This development marks the third global publishing deal that Carry1st has announced since they raised their seed round in early 2020, and is their first foray into the hybrid-casual space. Speaking on this global publishing deal, Michael Quacinella, Carry1st’s lead product manager who recently joined the company from Wargaming said:“We have been looking for a great hybrid game and after playing Mine Rescue! we immediately felt it was the right one. Raketspel has a lot of experience building exceptional puzzle games and we can’t wait to work together, aiming for the top charts!,”

Johan Henkow, Raketspel CEO added: “We are really excited to start this partnership with Carry1st. Together we can bring the game to a whole new level and reach an even bigger audience worldwide!”

Raketspel and Carry1st are working together to prepare the game for a global launch in the upcoming months. Thereafter, the gaming startup will be responsible for funding and managing user acquisition, distribution, live operations, and community for the game.

In 2020, Carry1st secured $4 million led by CRE Venture Capital to help grow mobile games in Africa. In the same year, the gaming startup secured a global, multi-year partnership with Ethiopia-based developer Qene Games to publish Gebeta.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Moroccan Fashion Startup “Hob Feel Goods” Secures $22k

Hind Bennis and Samia Benjelloun’s Moroccan fashion startup “Hob Feel Goods” has received DH 200,000 ($22k) from the INNOV INVEST fund to help grow its brand.

“Hob Feel Goods” is the first Moroccan fashion startup to benefit from the Caisse Centrale de Garantie’s start-ups and innovation funding and financing scheme, thanks to a partnership between the Moroccan Denim & Fashion Cluster and R&D Maroc (in the identification and orientation of startups) (CCG).

The brand, which was born out of a personal need, is built on the eco-principles of its co-founders, a concept that combines Moroccan aesthetic and artisanal heritage, baby comfort, ergonomics, and material conformity.

The brand encourages the use of scraps of materials obtained from clothing companies by the two entrepreneurs, which they visually enhance by adding artisanal elements or combining them with vegetable tanned leather for the creation of slippers. The Made in Morocco sole, produced in collaboration with a local supplier, is undoubtedly the slippers’ greatest innovation.

The “Hob Feel Goods” start-up needs to boost its manufacturing potential and turn its focus more toward export, with the incentive money going toward enhancing existing goods, creating new ones, and storing models.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Hob Feel Goods Innov Invest