Blog - Afrikan Heroes

Businessmen Query Africa’s Competitiveness

October 10, 2019

A group of African business people under the aegis of African Energy Chamber at the just concluded Africa Oil and Power Conference and exhibition called on governments to embark on much needed reforms aimed at making the continent more competitive. The group who had a panel discussion addressed several issues such as the upstream sector on a global scale, whether the sector is indeed entering a new era, what makes Africa’s upstream attractive, what is holding the continent back, where the biggest opportunities in the sector are, how the continent can attract further investment, and how private investors can participate in Africa’s greater vision for its economy. The panelists agreed that it is important to look at African countries individually and study their geological terms in comparison to their fiscal terms.

Executive Chairman of African Energy Chamber NJ Ayuk

Casting a spotlight on exploration and production in Africa’s oil and gas sector, the first day of the Africa Oil & Power conference and exhibition concluded with a panel discussion on Africa’s upstream sector. The panel moderated by the Executive Chairman of African Energy Chamber NJ Ayuk invited Robin Sutherland, General Manager of New Ventures at Tullow Oil; Kevin Vorhaben, Africa Unit Business Manager, Noble Energy; Geraud Moussarie, Country Manager, BP; Bongani Sayidini, CEO of PetroSA and David Grislain, Senegal Country Manager for Woodside Energy to discuss the future of exploration and production in Africa.

Responding to the leading question: “what makes Africa attractive?” the panelists agreed that it is important to look at African countries individually and study their geological terms in comparison to their fiscal terms in order to understand the performance of the upstream sector and were it stands on the global stage.

On collaboration and maintaining business in Africa, BP’s Geraud Moussarie, using the Grand Tortue Ahmeyim project as an example, said relationships between investors and the national oil companies are essential. “Dialogue, partnership and commitment from the two partners was tremendous,” he said, referring to the GTA project in particular and adding that, “for a big project to work the companies and national oil companies have to stay committed.”

Representing South Africa’s national oil company, PetroSA, Bongani Sayidini said that although the country is currently inactive in the sector, it is watching and learning from its neighboring countries who are making great progress. “While we are not actively drilling, we are watching what the industry is up to,” he said. Also explaining that while PetroSA has not yet been in discussions with Total regarding its plans for the Brulpadda discovery, it is also keen to see what the French major does with the discovery and where it takes the sector.

Addressing the SADC regions reaction to the natural gas trend on the continent, Sayidini noted that: “the biggest challenge in the SADC region is that the gas market is not that developed and there are very few markets that are developed.”

In discussing how to make E&P work in Africa, the panelists provided their visions for the Africa’s E&P’s sector. “For Woodside, in the next five to ten years, we are focusing on commercializing the SNE phase 1 project and of course, SNE 2, SNE 3. So, it is full steam ahead for us,” said Woodside’s David Grislain.

“We are very very excited to be now in ten different countries in Africa, our focus is the MSGBC which has a special place for us being a new basin with lots of potential and lots of gas and we will work closely with the government to make it a very competitive basin”, said Moussarie.

“We are committed to Africa; I know we recently had a discovery in South America but that is because the geology is similar to Africa where we feel very much at home. We have a long history of opening bases that were deemed to be non-productive by others,” said Tullow Oil’s Robin Sutherland.

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.

Africa’s Most Valuable Company Naspers Is Set To Unveil New Startup Investments Before 2019 Ends

Naspers Foundry, an investment subsidiary of Africa’s biggest company by money, Naspers appears to be on the edge to concluding deals with some African startups. South Africa’s chief executive of Naspers Foundry Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa has disclosed that Naspers Foundry is set to unveil new startup investments before the end of the year, in a drive to support entrepreneurs in South Africa’s tech sector.

“We are working on a number of transactions that we need to conclude before December,” said Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, adding that a formal announcement would be made soon, giving further details of the deals.

Naspers Foundry is a R1.4bn business start-up funding initiative formed by Naspers, with the funds to be used over three years.

Speaking in Johannesburg, Mahanyele-Dabengwa said the company was looking to create growth potential for entrepreneurs to allow them to scale at global level.

Naspers CEO marks ‘several billion’ for tech investments

Mahanyele-Dabengwa was in July appointed to head the Naspers South Africa business, including Naspers Foundry and Naspers Labs.

“What are we doing is providing equity funding, which is typically very difficult. We are using equity funding to support business, and it is important that we are investing in local entrepreneurs,” she said.

In June, Naspers Foundry announced a R30m investment in startup SweepSouth, a tech start-up which provides cleaning services. Mahanyele-Dabengwa hailed the online service, which was co-founded in 2014 by Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribicas, as a solution not only applicable in South Africa but also the rest of the world.

Speaking at the event, Naspers CEO Bob van Dijk emphasised the media and e-commerce group’s commitment to South Africa, following the listing of new company Prosus on the Euronext bourse in Amsterdam. Prosus now owns all of Naspers’ international internet assets.

Van Dijk described the move as necessary for growth.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

Egypt’s RiseUp Acquires StarterHub Marking North Africa’s Fastest Exit

RiseUp, the one-stop-shop for connecting startups in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region with the most relevant resources worldwide, has acquired StarterHub, the online community for startups and aspiring entrepreneurs, to become RiseUp Connect platform. This acquisition marks the fastest exit in MENA region after one month of StarterHub launch. It also aligns ideally with RiseUp community roadmap and is considered a part of the growth plan for RiseUp Connect, which will make MENA entrepreneurship ecosystem more accessible.

Here Is The Deal

The newly formed platform will operate under RiseUp Connect name, and will acquire the StarterHub name, domain name, website and other resources in its possession. Moreover, it will be led by StarterHub Founder “Amr Hussein” who will also lead on other RiseUp community activities as a Startup Community Manager.
RiseUp Connect will act as a full-fledged platform based on scalable, efficient and easy to deploy technology that creates and drives significant community impact, through insightful and engaging content along with distinctive initiatives. Through Riseup Connect, members will get more exposure to the entrepreneurship community, access to desired business resources and events along with numerous benefits that include mentorship sessions, business resources, event access, and possible discounts and offers.
The online and offline platform will provide for all players — investors, startups, organizations, and media the opportunity to engage, RiseUp Connect will thus help connect entrepreneurs with opportunities, and turn ideas into business.

“We are excited about joining forces with StarterHub. The reason behind our collaboration lies in the common values and vision shared by both entities, which is supporting entrepreneurs in MENA with relevant resources, events, mentorship programs and more. We’re proud to have RiseUp Connect platform that will provide a chance for everyone to get closer to the entrepreneurship community, accurately identify their needs and effectively close any gaps in the ecosystem” Said AbdelHamid Shararaa, CEO and Founder of Riseup.

He added “Entrepreneurs are always looking for that engaging community both virtually and physically. With this acquisition we will be able to complement the great virtual with much more content, training and meetups giving the audiences much more needed resources to thrive their business. They will now become part of the RiseUp community giving them access to all the resources that we have.”

“Partnering up with RiseUp will open many paths for StarterHub to become the largest consortium of fast growth founders communities originating from the MENA region, and will broaden our horizons through establishing more connections in the entrepreneurship ecosystem. As StarterHub founder I’m so excited to join the RiseUp journey to help and empower local entrepreneurs through offering a wide range of relevant resources and giving them more exposure, perks, and business events,” Said Amr Hussein, Founder at StarterHub.

RiseUp was founded in 2013 by AbdelHamid Sharara, with the aim of forming a solid platform that connects startups to the relevant resources. Currently, it has become the one-stop-shop for connecting startups in the MENA region with the most relevant resources worldwide.

Founded in 2019, StarterHub started as an online community for startups and aspiring entrepreneurs, with the aim of providing them with all the necessary business resources, online/offline mentorship, training, events, and workshops. Since its launch, Starter Hub-hosted more than 2,370 founders and business owners along with 2350 active members from 70 countries and 100 cities, StarterHub became the pivot of entrepreneurship conversations on social media, garnering an unprecedented amount of conversations and interactions on their community.

About RiseUp:

RiseUp was founded in 2013 in Egypt and quickly became a grassroots movement that spread across the MENA region and beyond. It catalyzed ecosystems and connected regional startups with global resources, beginning with RiseUp Summit (an annual entrepreneurship event) and growing into a range of products and activities supporting startups, and developing ecosystems throughout the year, including RiseUp Connect, RiseUp Explore, and RiseUp Meetup.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

Zambia Abandons Its Proposed Sales Tax Due For 2020

Zambia is no longer going on with its plan to introduce Sales Tax for the country’s businesses in 2020. The Zambian Minister of Finance in his 2020 Budget Speech has announced that the government is abandoning its plans to replace value added tax (“VAT”) with sales tax. Zambian businesses would therefore continue to pay tax on goods and services supplied or imported into the country under the old Value Added Tax Act, instead of the now abandoned Sales Tax.

Here Is All You Need To Know

A Sales Tax Bill, providing for sales tax at the rate of 9% on the supply of goods and services in Zambia and 16% on the importation of goods and services was published in April 2019, but its implementation was repeatedly postponed.
In response to various concerns raised by stakeholders, including the cascading effect, negative impact on GDP growth and job losses through the elimination of intermediaries in the supply chain, it was decided to retain the VAT system, but address compliance and administrative challenges.
The Minister announced various administrative measures to strengthen the enforcement and efficiency of VAT, including upgrading the Taxonline system for domestic taxes and interfacing it with the customs system to ensure that all refund claims for import VAT are validated; making the use of Electronic Fiscal Devices (EFD) mandatory for VAT and other tax types and making it mandatory to capture and electronically transmit to the Zambia Revenue Authority (“ZRA”) the Taxpayer Identification Number and name of both the buyer and seller of goods and services in all Business-to-Business and Business-to-Government transactions; enhancing Data Analytics and bulk data matching with third party institutions such as the Patents and Company Registration Agency; and ensuring the timely audits of VAT claims, including procuring the services of external forensic auditors where necessary.
Proposed amendments to the VAT Act include the zero-rating of capital equipment and machinery for the mining sector as well as copper cathodes sold locally, but ancillary services directly linked to the transit of goods through Zambia are to be subject to VAT at the standard rate. VAT inputs on consumables such as stationery, lubricants and spare parts are to be disallowed and input VAT claims by mining companies on diesel and electricity are to be limited to 70% and 80% respectively.

For Foreign Investors and Businesses

Since the proposed Zambian Sales Tax Act is no longer coming into force in 2020, Zambia will not therefore become the only country in Southern African Development Community and possibly in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa region to have a sales tax system. The proposed Sales Tax which has now been abandoned would have influenced foreign investors in their decision to locate their companies.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

Forum Proposes Way Forward for Sustainable Fertilizer Financing in West Africa region

October 9, 2019

If Africa will achieve self sufficiency in food production, it must first lay the groundwork for sustainable fertilizer financing across the regions of the continent. This was the takeaway as key stakeholders in West Africa’s fertilizer sector call for more action to support the industry, which is central to the continent’s agricultural revolution. The call came out of the first West Africa Fertilizer Financing Forum, organized by the African Fertilizer Financing Mechanism and partners, and held Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire from September 30th to October 1st, 2019.

The Head of Coverage Trade & Agriculture and Food at Société Générale in Côte d’Ivoire Augustin N’dri

The forum which closed with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the West Africa Fertilizer Association and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) aims to strengthen the fertilizer value chain in West Africa and set the scene for the implementation of the regional agenda on sustainable agriculture.Speaking on the development, the coordinator of the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism, Marie Claire Kalihangabo said that after intense days of discussions on concrete solutions,” it is now time for us to follow up and make sure that what was said here becomes a reality”.

Fertilizer is cited as one of the key components in the 2006 Abuja Declaration on Fertilizer for the African Green Revolution. At the time, Africa’s fertilizer use averaged only 8 kilograms per hectare, or 10% of the world’s average, leading to low productivity. Financing remains one of the missing links for a robust agricultural value chain in West Africa, participants said. They also pointed out that fertilizer suppliers and distributors are facing several challenges when it comes to accessing financing through commercial banks and other financial institutions. The challenges include limited working capital, a low equity base and lack of trust.

Major regional commercial banks attending the meeting expressed their interest in risk-sharing facilities and said stronger collaboration with fertilizer suppliers is needed to facilitate bank access to relevant financial information. Bank representatives also suggested increased working relationships with small and medium fertilizer suppliers and distributors from the West Africa Fertilizer Association in order to boost trade credit with guarantees from the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism.

The Head of Coverage Trade & Agriculture and Food at Société Générale in Côte d’Ivoire Augustin N’dri said that most of the commercial banks offer products that can meet the needs of small and medium size enterprises of the fertilizer sector. However, lack of available information limits their access to…available financing resources. High-level African Development Bank representatives engaged with fertilizer stakeholders and reaffirmed support for the development of agriculture in the region.

“I reassure you that the African Development Bank is deploying de-risking financial instruments, including partial risk guarantees and partial credit guarantees, to leverage financing and cover for private lenders/investors,” said Martin Fregene, the Bank’s director of agriculture and agro-industry.

“We can now say that conditions are…in place to achieve our common ambitions to foster the future of fertilizers in our region. I am convinced that large companies as well as small and medium-sized companies in the fertilizer industry will be able to implement the conclusions of this forum to expand their activities and thus develop West Africa’s fertilizer industry,” said Kobenan Kouassi Adjoumani, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The first West Africa Fertilizer Financing Forum was a joint initiative of the African Development Bank’s African Fertilizer Financing Mechanism and the West Africa Fertilizer Association. The forum brought together representatives from the Bank’s regional member countries, commercial banks, development finance institutions and the fertilizer private sector.

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.

Adesina receives Emeka Anyaoku lifetime achievement award

The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina has received The Emeka Anyanoku Lifetime Achievement Award. Presenting the Award, the former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku described Dr. Adesina and the African Development Bank’s work as “legendary, unprecedented and worthy of emulation.”

The Award which is under the auspices of The Hallmarks of Labour Foundation, a non-profit that recognizes Africans who have achieved success through hard work, honesty, integrity, and justice in every field of human endeavour took place in Lagos recently. Previous recipients of the award include Nobel Laureate, Wole Soyinka.

Africa’s Private Sector Gets $3.5 billion Support from Japan and the AfDB.

Thanking the foundation for the recognition, Adesina said that the African Development Bank had helped 181 million people directly through its investments in the past four years

“There is still much to do. We have gone some way, climbing the steep mountainside of Africa’s development, yet there’s still a long way to go until we reach the mountaintop,” he told the gathering of top government officials, industry leaders, and diplomats.

Togo records the highest proportion of female inventors who applied for patents in Africa and the world, between 1998 and 2017

The Bank has connected 16 million people to electricity and provided 70 million people with improved agricultural technologies to achieve food security. The African Development Bank also gave 9 million people access to finance from private sector companies, provided 55 million people access to improved transport, and 31 million people with water and sanitation.

Adesina congratulated his fellow awardees and urged them to be relentless in their efforts to build humanity.

“Recognition is never the expectation or endgame when you are passionate about your work. But when one’s modest contributions and efforts are found worthy of honor, it is both a surprise and a delight,” he noted.

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.

How Tunisia Is Driving Innovation Through Its Startup Ecosystem

According to Bloomberg, Tunisia is the most innovative country in Africa, occupying Africa’s first place for the quality of its entrepreneurial environment (Global Entrepreneurship Index) and having the best mobile internet connection on the continent (Speedtest Global Index) .

The country’s ICT sector which represents 7.2% of its GDP has created over 100,000 jobs (with over 7,500 jobs created per year). It also has over 1,200 established ICT companies. Its universities produce around 10,000 engineers per year for a population of 11.6 million. France with a population of 67 million, trains about 32,000 engineers a year.

Tunisia is also the first country to set up a framework to facilitate the launch and development of a Startup Act.

Leading Africa’s Innovation?

According to Karim Koundi partner at Deloitte, Central Africa—and TMT Industry Leader Africa Francophone Advisory Services–Tunisia represents the best of the continent’s technological hub for many reasons.

“Based on my own experience in the region, in other words, Francophone Africa,’’ he says, ‘‘I have noticed that Tunisia has many assets to play the role of an important hub for Africa’s startup ecosystem. First, Tunisia has the human human resources. Tunisia has a pool of technological and digital skills. Second, its geographical position not only allows it to be a hub, but also is a gateway to other continents for Africans. Third, Tunisia being a small country, has a market which is relatively small. The implication of this is that Tunisians are open to all other markets. This is a major asset.’’

The consequence of these factors is that if the Tunisian authorities commit the necessary resources for some considerable period of years Tunisia would perform wonders.

“In terms of weakness,” Karim Koundi continues, “there is a lot to be done in terms of mobility and transport of products, services and people within the continent. Logistically, to move from Tunisia to the rest of the continent, you have to go through other continents or other countries, with flights of 24 hours … “

Koundi further notes that Tunisia’s national banking network does not support the country’s pan-African ambitions.

“The Tunisian banking network must be more present on the continent,’’ he says.

How Tunisian Startups Are Already Disrupting Industries

More and more Tunisian startups are innovating and exporting local technological know-how to other continents such as Europe.

For instance, startup Enova Robotics is pioneering the manufacture and export of mobile robots in Africa and the MENA region .

“I am originally a teacher — researcher of training,’’ says Anis Sahbeni, CEO and founder of Enova Robotics. ‘‘I taught at the Sorbonne, France since 2004. In 2014, I decided to change my cap and go back to Tunisia to create the first start-up in Africa and the Mena region, which manufactures its own brand of robot .’’

Enova Robotics’ robots are entirely made in Tunisia, from design to manufacturing, through Artificial Intelligence, with an integration rate, according to Sahbeni, that exceeds 70%.

Based in the area dedicated to the Tunisian Tech Innovation City in Sousse, the company, which has a subsidiary in Paris, is also specialized in the security sector.

“Our goal is to go to the international market,’’ says Sahbeni. ‘‘We started with Europe. We work for Airbus, Michelin, Securitas … The goal is to gradually penetrate the security industry through this innovation. This is an ambition fostered by an ecosystem conducive to innovation.’’

Sahbeni says the Tunisian tech ecosystem is buzzing and encouraging more and more startups to take up innovation and the opportunities offered by globalisation.

‘‘Through the Startup Act in particular, which lifts a series of barriers, particularly for export, and facilitates relations with the Tunisian government ,’’ he further notes, ‘‘the Tunisian ecosystem has become almost competitive with the European startup ecosystem.

Sahbeni however concedes that there are still improvements to be made.

“In Austria, for example, there are 250,000 startups, with an average employment rate of 2.5 per start-up. So 500,000 Austrian people work with startups. Today, it is in this sense that we have to go: innovation from Africa to the United States and elsewhere in the world, “he says.

According to him, Africa as a market has more young people than any other continents, an advantage the continent could harness.

“We initially targeted the European market, while waiting for America,’’ he says. ‘‘This is because the European market has the most mature market to absorb this type of technology. But Africa, with its growth, is a target market. By 2025, no later than 2030, Enova will be present on the African market. “

Video game, animation, 3D, virtual reality

Anis Sahbeni is not the only one who is leading this disruption. Since the creation of Tunisia’s Startup Act, Tunisia is experiencing a 30% increase in startup creations. More and more of these startups are directly oriented towards the African market.

Many young Tunisian entrepreneurs have increasingly shown their appetite for entrepreneurship in the area of Artificial Intelligence.

“I think Tunisian expertise is multiple. We have this chance, for a small country, to have good universities and technological institutes, which cover the territory well and have a multisectoral approach, computer, mechatronics, robotics,’’ notes Dounia Ben Mohamed, a writer with Le Point, a magazine focused on the Francophone startup ecosystem. ‘‘But it is also clear that currently great efforts are made around the AI. The Tunisian Government has realized the importance of IA & Industry 4.0, and made it a priority. The AI industry can count on a high-performance startup ecosystem and its diaspora. Tunisia currently ranks 2nd in Africa in the Government AI Readiness Index (2019), which assesses the ability of governments to reap the benefits of AI.’’

‘‘There is a totally unknown sector that has emerged around the School 3D Netindo. It is an ecosystem linked to the creative digital cultural industry, that is to say the video game, the animation, the 3D , VR, special effects, which allows Tunisia to be with South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria in pole positions on this industry of the future. Tunisian expertise is beginning to be recognized in sub-Saharan Africa and is sought after,”he says

Bizerte Smart City, an African laboratory

As the Tunisian technology hub continues to grow, both in terms of public and private initiatives, several smart city projects are also emerging. Notable among them are the Tunisian Smart City initiative and the association, Bizerte 2050, which was created in 2009 and operates for the development of the Bizerte region of Tunisia through innovative, inclusive and futuristic concepts. Benefiting from a partnership with the International Telecommunication Union, Bizerte Smart City is among the top four smart and sustainable cities in the world, alongside Dubai, Pully (Switzerland) and Singapore. The African Union has also included it in its 2063 agenda for the transformation of Africa.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

New Center To Help SMEs In Togo Manage Their Taxes and Accountability Launched

Togo’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIT) has created, with various partners, the Accredited Management Center (CGA) which helps businesses with a turnover of less than XOF100 million ( $167,080) to efficiently manage their accountability, taxes, and elaboration of financial statements.

The firms will in turn pay the institution a percentage of their turnover every month.

“Monthly payments vary according to the turnover amount ranging from XOF5,000 to XOF60,000. In exchange, the CGA produces financial statements which beneficiaries have to submit to tax offices,” Germain Meba, CCIT’s chairman told Togo First. Meba added that regional CGAs all over the country will be created by 2020.

In addition to the above-mentioned benefits, businesses adhering to the CGA also benefit from tax incentives. The latter spans five years according to the business tax regime (Single Professional Tax or Simplified Taxation Regime).

“Businesses that adhere to accredited management centers benefit from a 40% reduction in combined tax over the four years following the date of adhesion. In the fifth year, this reduction is brought down to 15%,” declared Sandra Johnson, Minister-Counsellor to the President, in charge of Business Climate.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

Egyptian Ride-hailing For Kids Startup Hive Raises $400,000 In Seed Funding

Obviously, apart from Swvl, Hive is a new startup making some big noise in Egypt’s ride-hailing industry. With over $400,000 in seeding funding, the Cairo-based startup would be looking to help Egyptian kids have their feel of the growing ride-hailing industry. To put the facts straight, the startup has to be the first in the world with this idea.

“Hive aspires to create a social impact and contribute towards the development of kids by helping improve their lives. We’re cutting down the time that they would normally spend in their school commute and are offering them safe, reliable and comfortable transportation on a daily basis,” says Mohammad Aboali, co-founder and CTO of Hive.

Here Is The Deal

Hive’s $400,000 latest investment came from Abdelmoneim Al-Adawy, an early Hive adopter who has been using the service for his children since its launch.
The startup plans to use this investment to further improve its product focusing on safety and scale.

A Look At Hive

Founded in 2018 by Abdelrahman Osama, a UX consultant with 20 years of experience, and Mohamed Aboali, who has built different tech products in his career of over 20 years, Hive connects comes with over 20 years of experience of building different technology products, Hive offers subscription-based safe ride-hailing solutions for kids.

The startup has completed over 6,000 trips last school year (September 2018 to June 2019) transporting children to 14 schools in Cairo. It also disclosed it is experimenting with ride-sharing service for kids where parents who have extra space in their cars take other children to school (and back home) and make some money in the process. These rides are 40 percent cheaper than what parents have to pay for regular Hive rides but in this case, there are no contingency captains.

According to Abdelrahman Osama, the co-founder and CEO of Hive, school transportation is only the first phase of Hive’s strategy. Eventually Hive hopes to become the platform for all types of kids transportation

“Hive was born with the vision of becoming the first ride-hailing startup for kids providing them the safety and comfort they need. It serves a large segment as 43.7% of the Egyptian population is under 19,” says Osama.

Read also: Egypt Is Setting Up 7 Technology Parks Across The Country And Launching A $50m Fintech Fund

How Hive Works

To use Hive, parents would first download the app, register themselves, and add the children schools and their home address, and some details about the child(ren).
Hive then receives the requests and creates a group of four children living nearby going to the same school. Hive’s staff then assigns a captain for this group and arranges a meeting between the captain and parents where all the documents including copies of license, national ID, drug tests, and criminal records are present to the parents.
Once accepted, parents pay a small upfront fee and the subscription is activated with the rest of money paid by parents in six monthly installments.
The captain takes children to school and brings them back home on a daily basis.
The parents can track all the rides on the app.
The startup uses a distance-based pricing model with different slabs so parents are supposed to pay the fee based on how far they live from the school.
Parents are however required to pay only a portion of fee in advance and the rest in instalments instead of paying the lump sum amount in advance which is how most of the transporters and schools charge in Egypt.

The children using Hive (on average) spend a lot less time in their commute than those who use a school bus as the cars on Hive’s network transports only four children at a time (in some rare cases when requested by parents, they transport five children but compensate it with discounts).

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world

Rwanda Takes the Lead, Launches ‘Made in Africa’ Smartphone

October 8, 2019

True to expectation, efforts by the Rwandan government to jumpstart human capacity development and technological advancement took an upward turn yesterday as President Paul Kagame unveils a Smartphone factory that gives Rwanda the birthplace of Africa’s first indigenous mobile phone company. Mara Phones, a subsidiary of the Mara Group owned by businessman Ashish J. Thakkar, built a high tech smartphone manufacturing facility in Kigali’s Special Economic Zone, Rwanda with the capacity to produce about two million smartphones annually.

Speaking on the need for Africans to be digitally empowered as the 4^th Industrial Revolution beckons, President Paul Kagame said that a smartphone is no longer a luxury item; it is rapidly becoming a requirement of everyday life. President Kagame noted that the trend is bound to increase in the years to come as more and more services migrate to digital platforms. “We want to enable many more Rwandans to use smartphones. The cost and quality is very important and the introduction of Mara Phones will put smartphone ownership within reach of more Rwandans.”

Describing the development as a dream come true, the founder of Mara Group Ashish Thakkar said that the company aims to manufacture very high quality smartphones at an affordable price while improving smartphone growth in Africa. He noted that to create a positive social impact on the continent and in emerging markets there is this need to have high quality and affordable smartphones, thus the reason behind the Mara Phones.

Figures from the Rwandan statistics office show that smartphone penetration in Rwanda currently stands at around 15% with the most basic Tecno and Samsung models sold at $40 and $70 respectively. Mara Phones’ new factory will start manufacturing two phone models, the Mara X and Mara Z. Thakkar says both phones will be retailed for less than $200 and among other things will have a longer-lasting battery than other smartphones, greater storage space and a 2-year Android version update courtesy of a partnership with Google. Mara Phones also has partnered with local banks and telecommunications firms to create a finance model which will allows users to pay for their phones over a two-year period.

This need for a longer lasting battery was informed by Africa’s electricity challenge, thus a full charge will last as long as two to three days depending on usage, officials say. Moreso, the phone will be more rugged to withstand both climate and environmental challenges.

Clearing the air on doubts over the Phone, Mara Group says the new facility is Africa’s first high tech smartphone factory. “What we have around Africa are basically mobile phone assembling plants. What we have built is Africa’s first smartphone manufacturing plant,” Thakkar was quoted as saying. The factory already employs 200 people with women representing 60% of the workforce. Launching the factory, Rwandan President Paul Kagame commended Mara Group’s entry into the affordable smartphone market and underlined the need to boost the adoption of high-tech products in the East African country. Mara Phones will be launching its second factory in South Africa later this month.

Ashish Thakkar, 38, is the founder of Mara Group, a Dubai-based, African-focused conglomerate with interests in the technology, financial services, manufacturing, real estate & agriculture industries.

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.