Global Tech - Afrikan Heroes

Global Marketplace Paxful Taps South African Youth for Global Entrepreneurship Program

July 3, 2020

Tugba Abadan, Head of Community at Paxful.

Efforts aimed at helping young Africans to embrace entrepreneurship formed part of a recent report titled, Workforce of the future 2030 where global consultancy firm PWC contends that by 2030: “Africa will be home to more than a quarter of the world’s population of under 25’s. Under 25’s in total will make up 60% of the continent’s total population. By then, 15% of the world’s working population will reside in Africa. Although Africa will experience unprecedented technological disruption, this also presents an opportunity for the continent to drive inclusion and economic growth the report highlighted.

With the African continent already becoming one of the world’s leading markets for the crypto-economy, leading global peer-to-peer bitcoin marketplace, Paxful, in honor of Youth Month this June, is shining the spotlight on the opportunities the fast-growing bitcoin economy has to offer the youth, despite the challenging economic conditions currently experienced worldwide. What started off as a trial project in South Africa in 2019, Paxful’s Peer Program has turned into a global entrepreneurship initiative that aims to boost cryptocurrency education and build a pipeline of new crypto businesses across the world, and particularly, the African continent. Since January this year, the Peer Program expanded its roots to include many other markets such as Latin America, Russia and India.

“The aim of our international Peer Program is to help students, new graduates, freelancers, and all young entrepreneurial-minded people learn new skills, earn extra income, and extend their network. Through the program, we are creating ‘community leaders’ by giving these young individuals various tools and opportunities to become advocates of Paxful, bitcoin and peer-to-peer finance within their own local communities,” says Tugba Abadan, Head of Community at Paxful.

One South African who has caught the company’s eye is Modibe Matsepane. Hailing from Ga-Sekgopo, a small village in the Limpopo province, Matsepane (26) is set to help lead Paxful’s Peer Program amongst the youth across the African continent through his role as the Program’s African Community Coordinator. His journey with Paxful started when he was assisting a friend in organizing one of the company’s student ambassador initiatives at the University of the Witwatersrand campus last year. During this time, he quickly made an impression and was soon enlisted to kickstart their Peer Program in South Africa by recruiting suitable candidates for the program.

“Being part of this initiative has been so inspiring as the global digital landscape allows us to do business beyond borders. This is where bitcoin and P2P finance contribute to stimulating real economic growth by educating and empowering the youth on entrepreneurial opportunities to achieve financial inclusion,” says Matsepane. Encouraged by the positive feedback received from participants, Paxful is eager to invest in the growth of the Peer Program across Africa and expand its impact. Two South African youngsters who have joined the program this year include Victoria Chauke (24), a BCom Accounting and Marketing final year student at the University of Witwatersrand and Nkhensani Nyalungu (20), a BCom Accounting student at the University of Johannesburg.

“For me it has been a rewarding experience as the program has provided me with a better understanding of P2P finance and how a platform like Paxful can help one build a business in the digital economy,” says Chauke. Nyalungu began trading six months ago and has been passionate about his journey since the start. He comments, “Being a peer has enabled me to earn an income while studying. I get to work with people from all over the world and I have learned how to help others trade on the platform.”

As the frontrunners of early adoption, young Africans are driving the transformation of their continent’s traditional and bureaucratic financial system to a more decentralized and transparent one by embracing digital currencies and technology development. Blockchain skills are in very high demand globally and will continue to be for some time. Our peer program introduced youth to this new economic frontier, and we’re very excited about that. More than half of our global participants hail from the African continent. This is testament to Africa being our fastest-growing region providing the highest number of new users to Paxful per month with young students, graduates, professionals, and aspiring business owners making use of the platform for both personal finance needs and entrepreneurial ventures,” adds Abadan.

She concludes; “With most underbanked and unbanked people residing in Africa and its high youth unemployment rate, our program provides young people a much-needed path to entrepreneurship and growth opportunities through access to the global financial economy.”

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

Living in Lockdown is Set to Boost Smartphone Penetration

June 30, 2020

By Likun Zhao

Living under lockdown has fundamentally changed how the world works and interacts. The need to connect to the office and collaborate with colleagues from home, facilitate homeschooling, access new forms of content, and engage with friends and family has prompted consumers across the board to embrace technology.

**Likun Zhao, Vice President at Huawei Consumer Business Group Middle East & Africa (Southern Africa)**

This trend will continue to drive smartphone adoption in the country, particularly among less technologically inclined consumers, as these devices offer a functional, user-friendly and affordable solution that addresses these unique consumer requirements amid our “new normal” under lockdown.

However, balancing functionality and price has become vital due to the economic consequences of extended lockdown restrictions. Consequently, consumers increasingly demand smartphones that deliver the right mix of features, at the right price point.

As their main source of Internet connectivity, users also increasingly rely on smartphones to act as a Wi-Fi bridge to extend coverage at home

Mid-tier smartphones (which serve as the entry point into the high functionality and performance smartphone market, particularly for the youth) must blend quality yet cost-effective components, with reliable, fast connectivity and software that can optimise performance.

This is the ideal package of features required in a primary device, which end users will increasingly rely on to provide Internet connectivity at home to access cloud-based applications and systems for work, stream entertainment, download learning content, and access social media and other collaboration and engagement tools.

And as their main source of Internet connectivity, users also increasingly rely on smartphones to act as a Wi-Fi bridge to extend coverage at home. While this is a function commonly found in flagship smartphone models, manufacturers like Huawei now include these and other premium features in mid-market devices, such as the recently released P40 Lite and Y7p models.

Comparable performance

These devices offer similar levels of flagship device functionality in terms memory, cameras and battery life, with comparable performance from more cost-effective chipsets thanks to software optimisation. Through innovative manufacturing, Huawei can deliver the ideal package at an entry-level price point to give consumers the best possible features for an affordable solution, at a time when the need to access advanced functionality has never been greater.

And a new frontier in smartphone technology is also emerging due to the world’s renewed focus on health. Smartphones and wearable devices, often sold as a package by manufacturers like Huawei, now offer consumers a proactive means to monitor their health and possibly detect diseases or health conditions in their early stages.

The Huawei P40 Lite

By monitoring biofeedback measures such as heart rate and oxygen saturation (SpO2), devices like the Huawei Watch GT2e connect to a smartphone and send valuable data to a companion app. The information the wearable device provides may indicate a possible health issue or assist medical professionals to make a diagnosis, which the app can alert users to, or automatically send a notification to a linked healthcare provider.

For example, the Huawei Heart Study, conducted at a major hospital in Beijing, found that smart wearable devices may help to detect and treat atrial fibrillation (AF). The study findings, which were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Paris, suggest that combining a mobile app with photoplethysmography technology via a wearable device is able to successfully screen for and identify individuals with suspected AF.

These evolving applications will entrench the smartphone deeper into modern society as the world finds new ways to respond and adapt. In this particular study, a majority of participants identified as having AF were successfully treated using anticoagulated during follow-up sessions with clinicians. This illustrates what is conceivably possible when health-care professionals and technology providers collaborate to combine relatively inexpensive technologies in innovative ways.

And this is a model that South Africa can effectively implement to monitor older populations, children and specific populations, like those with cardiovascular disease, to identify medical conditions or pre-empt events.

Early indicators would allow medical professionals to connect with patients to provide personalised advice, or direct those at risk to suitable facilities for more direct interventions. Embracing these platforms would also accelerate health-care virtualisation, which can reduce health-care provider and patient costs.

Affordable prices

These evolving applications will entrench the smartphone deeper into modern society as the world finds new ways to respond and adapt to the challenges we currently face. As such, providing feature-rich devices at affordable prices will become an increasingly important market differentiator in the battle for market share and sustainability within the highly competitive smartphone sector.

And catering to current and emerging demands among the younger consumer generation, who are more open to try new brands and value innovation, will ensure manufacturers capture this market at a vital stage within their smartphone lifecycle.

The ability to boost penetration at the market entry point, with the right price and feature combination, will deliver greater market share and entrench brand loyalty among consumers who will eventually migrate to more advanced devices.

Likun Zhao, is Vice President at Huawei Consumer Business Group Middle East & Africa (Southern 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

Africa Data Centres Acquires World-Class Data Centre in Johannesburg

June 26, 2020

Stephane Duproz, CEO of Africa Data Centres

The new acquisition of a world-class data centre in Johannesburg South Africa has been described as a worthy investment reflective of significant confidence in South Africa and further consolidates Africa Data Centres’ position as the continent’s leading data centre and co-location provider. This development follows the acquisition within the week by Africa Data Centre, a part of Liquid Telecom Group, of a state-of-the-art Tier IV data centre in Johannesburg from Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank. The acquisition, which has been unconditionally approved by the South African Competition Commission, will prove highly disruptive to the South African data centre and co-location market and consolidates Africa Data Centres’ position as the largest pan-African provider of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centres.

The facility is widely recognised as the most prestigious and highly specified data centre anywhere in Africa, offering world-leading levels of security, resilience and capacity. It is also available on an open-access basis, giving every modern technology-driven enterprise the confidence to innovate and grow. According to Stephane Duproz, CEO of Africa Data Centres, the facility will redefine the data centre experience for regional, continental and global customers. “The unique combination of this outstanding facility and Africa Data Centres’ certified operational excellence is the ideal choice for the most demanding organisations, especially those in the financial services sector, who require the highest standards of security and resilience for their IT infrastructure. We cannot wait to open this hidden gem to the market,” he explains. “The acquisition marks a significant extension to Africa Data Centres’ pan-Africa network of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centres. It cements our continent-leading position and will further accelerate Africa’s digital transformation.”

Jörg Fischer of Standard Bank adds, “Standard Bank is extremely pleased to have completed this historic milestone with Africa Data Centres, which is aligned with the Bank’s cloud-first digital transformation strategy. Our digital vision is to bring innovation into every aspect of the bank’s IT systems, transform the employee experience and in turn enable a consistently rich and rewarding customer experience.” The Johannesburg facility has been purpose-built as a Tier IV data centre, offering maximum levels of security and reliability: an essential requirement for demanding financial services organisations. It is also unique in its configuration, featuring complete redundancy across all power and cooling components, unrivalled physical security and seamless scalability for expansion. In line with all Africa Data Centres’ facilities, the Johannesburg site will also operate on a fully carrier-and cloud-neutral basis.

The unveiling of this remarkable facility coincides with an unprecedented level of demand from national, continental and global customers, expecting the highest levels of quality, security and reliability. In response to this demand, Africa Data Centres has also started work on a further 10 MW IT capacity facility at its Midrand campus. Elsewhere in Africa, the organisation operates facilities in Zimbabwe, Rwanda and Kenya. Its Kenyan facility is currently the largest outside of South Africa.

Commenting on this continued, continent-wide data centre expansion, Strive Masiyiwa, Executive Chairman of the Liquid Telecom Group says, “We are investing heavily in South Africa at the moment, as well as the rest of Africa. We are very confident in the future of South Africa, hence this significant investment.” Masiyiwa also confirmed that plans are at an advanced stage to enter West Africa, adding, “We have secured land to build the largest data centres in Ghana and Nigeria.”

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

Stiffer Competition as French Telecom Giant, Orange, Plots Entry into Nigeria, South Africa

June 20, 2020

One would have thought that two of Africa’s biggest telecoms markets, Nigeria and South Africa had reached saturation levels, with no room for new whosesale investors peeping in. But that may not be the case after all, as French telecoms giant Orange still believes that there are still portions of the big pies that can be shared profitably with existing competitors. This sums up the decision by the company with a huge presence across francophone African countries to venture into the two big markets according to a statement credited to its CEO, Stephane Richard, who said the company would make its move into Nigeria and South Africa in coming months.

Speaking on the plan, Mr. Richard said that “It could make sense to be in economies such as Nigeria and South Africa. If one considers there are things to do, the time frame I’m considering is rather a few months than a few years,” he said. Earlier in the year, Orange opened a regional headquarters for Africa and Middle East in Casablanca Morocco, signaling its interest to increase its presence in the region, particularly Africa. The telco has seen growth in its operation in the Middle East and it’s working to do the same in Africa, targeting the largest economies in the continent.

Orange has operations in 18 countries in the Middle East and Africa that have proved to be the fastest growing market in its grip. Revenues in the region have a record of 6.2% in the first quarter of 2020. Orange has recorded an average annual growth of 6% in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region since 2015. For these reasons, the telco decided to give the region more autonomy to foster the growth.

Orange has continued to deploy the 4G technology in the MEA, reaching 26.5 million customers, 50.6% more than a year ago. However, its interest in South Africa and Nigeria poses concern on whether it could usurp the reign of existing telcos in the countries. MTN leads with the highest subscribers’ base in Nigeria and South Africa, while the others have over time amassed enormous numbers of subscribers. The number of GSM subscribers in Nigeria as of March 2020 stood at 188,989,051, according to data published by the Nigeria Communication Commission. Given a population of 203 million, Orange will find it difficult to disrupt the status quo as most Nigerians are already attached to existing telecom companies.

But Orange knows this, and has come with a plan. At the inauguration of the headquarters in Casablanca, Richard said the potential the telecom operator sees in the African telecom industry goes beyond voice calls and internet data. He said that mobile money is an example of digital transformation that needs to be developed in the African continent. “Orange is one of the rare international groups to have made the strategic choice, 20 years ago, to seek to develop in Africa and the Middle East. We have also always been convinced of the immense potential of this continent. In many ways, it can be seen as a model for digital transformation; mobile money is a great example of this.

“One of the key success factors behind new services is to develop them in Africa so that they are adapted to specific local requirements and so meet the needs of our customers. That is why we decided to organize the management of our business in Africa and the Middle East from within the region directly from the African continent,” he said. Orange has been investing $1.1 billion in the MEA yearly as part of its Engage 2025 plan. The Engage 2025 plan involves a multi-services strategy aimed at diversifying their operation to represent 20% of the business at the end of 2025. The company hopes to derive $1 billion in revenue while it works to develop its energy and e-health services.

However, financial services have become paramount in its strategy to penetrate more African markets. The telco is planning to introduce Orange Credit in every country of the MEA region where it is operational, and it hopes to use its banking system to facilitate Orange Money payment services. While the telecom industry appears to be all taken in Nigeria, the fintech industry is still open and offers amazing opportunities to operators who wish to offer financial services. MTN Nigeria happens to be the only telco in the country that has pushed itself to the limelight with its MoMo financial services. Airtel, Glo and 9mobile are struggling to find their footing, which leaves the sector ripe and open for Orange.Moreover, the number of unbanked and financially underserved people in Nigeria and the rest of the continent is economically viable for companies that want to pitch their trade in the fintech industry.

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 e-Commerce Startup Store251 is Promoting “Made in Ethiopia” Globally

June 9, 2020

Store251, Ethiopia’s leading e-commerce startup is making waves by focusing on marketing Ethiopia to the world through the sourcing of ethically produced and handmade products from local designers – both new and well-established – and sells them online to international clients, thus giving consumers across the world, especially the very large Ethiopian diaspora community in Europe and North America, the opportunity to access home made products from wherever they are.

Store251 which was founded in 2014 with the focus to be a marketplace for “Made in Ethiopia” products like bags, footwear and accessories, combining these unique locally-made products with quick delivery to overseas customers has latched increasingly on the improving logistics infrastructure in Ethiopia and globally.

Speaking on what drives the company, its founder and CEO Maedot Assefa said that they identified a communication gap between product suppliers and the target market about product information, logistics and marketing in general, thus the need to fill that gap.Having identified these gaps, the startup sought to fill them, and over time its platform has developed quite the reputation. “The initial stage was hard and discouraging at times,” Assefa said. “Much of the challenge was convincing suppliers to work with us. The concept of selling online and using distribution channels to drive sales was not common. Once we established trust with our suppliers it got better.”

Suppliers became convinced, and after a while, so did a strong enough customer base. Store251 is now delivering in North America and a few countries in Europe, but Assefa said it still has a long way to go. “We still have many of our plans to execute. Now we want to strengthen the trust from online shoppers in different countries to buy Ethiopian products,” she said. “We really want to collaborate with other African designers and expand into African markets.”

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

Sticitt, South African Cashless Payment Startup Raises 4.2 Million Rands Funding

June 6, 2020

Even in the midst of global despair, venture capitalists are seeking out businesses with opportunities to make an impact in the market, this points out why the fintech sub-sector is making a lot of inroads and attracting great attention. This informs why South African cashless payments startup Sticitt was able to raise ZAR4.25 million (US$249,000) in funding so far this year to cover operational expenses to support its current market rollouts. Founded at the beginning of 2018 by Mitch Dart, Dennis Wevell and Theo Kitshoff, Sticitt was launched to establish a simplified banking alternative. Its wallet-based payment platform Sticitt Pay provides niche communities with an alternative payment solution to cash, formal banking and card-based payments.

Co-founders: Mitch Dart, Dennis Wevell and Theo Kitshoff

The startup’s main focus is the schooling market, where it has partnered with leading education technology business d6 Group to give it access to more than 2,000 potential local school customers. Kitshoff told Disrupt Africa Sticitt has more than 400 contracted schools and processed ZAR10.5 million (US$616,000) in the first quarter of this year.

Sticitt has taken in two batches of funding in 2020 to cover operational expenses of its current market rollouts, which include the launch of its Sticitt Terminal application, allowing its merchants to accept tap or scan-to-pay payments. It secured ZAR1.25 million (US$73,000) from a personal friend of Kitshoff in January, and has just raised its first institutional round by banking ZAR3 million (US$176,000) from Crucis VC, a South African Section 12J Venture Capital Company (VCC). Both investments came in the form of convertible notes.

Kitshoff said Sticitt’s plans for the next couple of years are to dominate the South African cashless school environment in partnership with d6 Group. “We will also be expanding the Sticitt Pay merchant offering to SMEs operating within the school ecosystem via the d6 cashless offering. We also have other strategic niche community partnerships we are working on and are continuously looking for new opportunities,” he said.

Crucis VC chief financial officer (CFO) Francois Herbst said Crucis “invested as much in the jockey as we invest in the deal itself”, and was impressed by how Sticitt conducted its business and its approach to the cardless payment environment. “We have investment committee members with years’ experience in the banking sector, and everyone was keen to see what Sticitt can accomplish as a banking alternative,” he said.

“Sticitt is already post-revenue, and we believe what set them apart was their current network and their existing distribution channel to the end user. Sticitt is still in infant stages, but we believe they are currently cutting themselves a large market share in a niche market, focusing on the school environment.”

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

Nigerian Healthcare Startup Raises the Bar on Quality Delivery

Nigerian healthcare startup, Doctoora e-Health plans to transform the country’s healthcare delivery system in a way that will revolutionise the health sector for the best. Birthed out of the need to close the widening gap in health access for patients, Doctoora e-Health Ltd, connects patients, consumers and professionals to quality healthcare practitioners and their services. One could describe them as the “Airbnb” of healthcare delivery in Nigeria and it would not be out of place. Whilst Doctoora creates access and convenience for patients, it also provides economic opportunities for healthcare practitioners who are unable to set up their stand-alone private practice.

The health startup was founded in 2011 by Dr. Debo Odulana,starting with a two-bedroom apartment in Ikeja Lagos from where it has now expanded to over 20 centers across Lagos and Abuja. Speaking on the humble beginning, Dr. Odulana said that “I remodeled the 2-bedroom flat where I was living in Opebi, kept a room for myself and used the living room and the guest room as the reception and consulting room. It wasn’t long after, that we had our first client.” He noted that “I became more interested in stepping out of clinical practice to do more impactful things,” adding that “I felt like if I continued on my journey to becoming a neo-natal surgeon, I’d be a surgeon that doesn’t operate because there are very few centres which many Nigerians cannot even afford.” It was at St. Nicholas that he observed the three things that would inspire him to launch Doctoora.

First, he observed that St. Nicholas did not keep top consultants or surgeons on their payroll. They were only invited when they had cases that needed their expertise. Secondly, he realised that the hospital usually had excess capacity (in terms of bed space and consulting rooms) whereas several other hospitals, especially government-run hospitals, were grossly overstretched. His final observation was the waiting time for patients. Patients had to wait a while on several occasions before they could see a doctor. All three of these observations became the foundation upon which he imagined a blue ocean opportunity to create an excellent business model for healthcare delivery.

The idea to set up Doctoora did not catch steam until one afternoon in England when Debo and his partner Beatrix Wu (from Hong Kong) were approached by two Asians who wanted help with a business plan for an algorithm they had created for restaurants to sell tables at off-peak periods. Debo and Beatrix took up the challenge and, in the process; they learned something new about utilising excess capacity. It was then Debo decided to approach hospitals with spare capacity for partnership in a bid to connect more patients and doctors to such facilities.

He approached St. Nicholas where he had worked previously before resigning to pursue a master’s degree in healthcare management. They turned him down, as did several other hospitals and investors. Undeterred, he and his team, including Dr. Shakira Saliu would work hard on several other market entry strategies. Not long after and with help from Debo’s uncle, they set up the second centre in Ogudu: a 6-bedroom duplex that was unused by his uncle.

Three months after the Ogudu centre was launched, Debo got into a German accelerator programme and was able to raise 35,000 dollars for the business from Co-Creation Hub (an innovation centre in Yaba, Lagos.). By the end of 2018, they had about 18 facilities running. The team got another 5,000 dollars from the Tony Elumelu Foundation and another 4 million naira from family and friends which put the business in a good position. Debo tells me that “we have now gotten the business to a point where we make about $1,000 monthly and investors are starting to see that we’ve got something good going. We now have a marketplace where people can buy a gym membership, food plans, and fitness plan and so on. We are now seriously considering the medical tourism market as a new focus area.”

Dr. Kafayat Ogunsola, a consultant psychiatrist who runs a private practice and is creating a mental health bank through her organisation Empathy Space Consulting, came across Doctoora when she sought a place to meet with her patients without having to worry about setting up a clinic and dealing with all the overheads. “I have a great relationship with Doctoora and there has never been any issue with using their centre to meet with any of my clients. More so, their platform has offered me an opportunity to make an extra income.”

In December alone, Dr. Kafayat consulted for at least 30 patients using the Doctoora centre. Needless to say, she and other doctors who use the platform are allowed to set their consulting fees. All that is required of them is to pay a small rental fee to Doctoora for the use of the space. Dr. Debo and his team have certainly found a way for doctors in private practice to make extra income and for patients to meet with doctors at their convenience. His eyes, however, are now fixed on solving one of Africa’s biggest healthcare challenges: medical tourism.

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

African Startups Win $26 Million From European Commission-led Hackathon

Some African innovative startups have been selected out of a pool of over 1,000 entries among nine winners of Smart Development Hack, a German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)-led hackathon designed to produce digital solutions to tackle the effects of coronavirus pandemic in developing countries around the world. The €24 million in prize money (that’s about $26 million) on the table. Code-named #SmartDevelopmentHack, the challenge was targeted at innovative digital solutions that are tackling the challenges caused by the Coronavirus outbreak in low- and middle-income countries.

“Inspiring teams, exciting solutions, great commitment and the spirit to make a difference together have made the #SmartDevelopmentHack a unique digital event of international cooperation,” BMZ noted in a statement.

Here Is What You Need To Know

In two days of hacking in a purely digital workshop, winning solutions from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe were developed in a bid to cushion unprecedented consequences of the Covid-19 outbreak in low-income and middle-income countries.
The assessment was based on eight criteria: 1. Strategic Relevance (To what extent is the proposed project a solution to a relevant problem related to the coronavirus pandemic?); 2. Impact (How high do you rate the potential impact of the project?); 3. Scalability (How high is the potential for scaling the project?); 4. Compatibility (To what extent does the proposed project build on existing approaches and allow continuity of development efforts?); 5. Risk Mitigation (To what extent does the proposed project address associated risks, especially concerning a responsible approach to data collection?); 6. Cost Effectiveness (How do you assess the cost-benefit-ratio?); 7. Sustainability (How sustainable is the project overall?); 8. Leave No One Behind (To what extent does the project target marginalized groups?). Consideration was also given to regional diversity when selecting the final winners.
The winning projects will receive technical and methodological support and, if successful, financial support for the final project concept.
The hackathon, #SmartDevelopmentHack was run by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development to “solicit innovative digital solutions to tackle the challenges caused by the coronavirus outbreak in low- and middle-income countries,” and funding came from supporters including the European Commission (through EuropeAid), GIZ, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Smart Africa, Technical University Munich, Oracle, and SAP, and others. The €24 million (about $26 million) in prize money was divided between the nine winners.

*A majority of the winners of the hackathon are African startups*

The winners of the #SmartDevelopmentHack Include:

CallVsCorona: Real-time crisis information in Madagascar and beyond (Region: Madagascar)
The project establishes a hotline to connect the Madagascan government and its people during the COVID-19 crisis. It entails sensitization messages as well as recommendations on infection prevention, symptoms and action in case someone is infected. It moreover strengthens capacity building for health workers providing remote training through interactive voice response push campaigns.
Corona Audio Campaign directed at marginalized population (Region: Global South)
The solution is an open source tool of localized digital audio content and technologies for health education. It provides several innovative solutions to make relevant information accessible to anybody anywhere, for instance using solar powered audio players, mobile web applications and local Wifi hotspots.
Digital Agriculture Africa (Region: Kenya, Nigeria)
The solution will provide a “farm to fork solution”, a digital food security and agriculture supply value chain platform. It promotes zero contact to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by using technology to improve access to food and its distribution. The uber-like digital platform allows delivery riders and drivers to receive requests from consumers who have ordered products to deliver their food items to their doorstep.
Digital Enquirer’s Kit (Region: Chile, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Thailand, Uganda, Colombia, Brazil, Ghana, Laos, Zambia, Mauritania, Philippines, Peru, Turkey)
The solution collects, verifies and disseminates vital information to expose inconvenient truths on COVID-19 and to face censorship, harassment, arrests and other personal safety risk.
Drone and Data Aid (Region: Malawi, Rwanda)
The drone solution ensures an efficient health supply chain in remote areas and moreover maps pre- and post-COVID-19 impacts. The project will establish a “multi-purpose” drone network with local graduates to enter professions such as pilots, project managers and safety and maintenance workers. This solution does not happen in isolation but in an innovative ecosystem with the necessary legal and governmental infrastructure to support it.
Matchmaking platform for national and private health system in Peru (Region: Peru)
The cloud-based matchmaking platform is accessible on every internet-connected device, improving management processes and optimizing logistics in the health care system. It will help the government secure Peruvian citizens’ right to health care and hence plays a vital role in the country’s COVID-19 taskforce.
Mbaza — AI-based COVID19 chatbot (Region: Rwanda)
The solution provides access to valuable COVID-19 information in plain language on any phone at any time and enables feedback connecting people to the authorities. It allows citizens to raise concerns and to provide governments with information on the local situation.
Mobilizing Rural Women Entrepreneurs for COVID-19 Response and Recovery (Region: Bangladesh)
The solution will use existing connections with women entrepreneurs to reach and support the most vulnerable and at-risk groups in these areas. It will hence link with existing resources to build female entrepreneurs’ capacity for service delivery (e.g. home-made masks, disinfectants and soaps) and to integrate them into community-based partnership development.
Yoma powered by Atingi — Diamonds in the rough (Region: Sub-Sahara)
The solution will provide a digital platform for the youth to build their futures by actively engaging in social impact, learning and economic opportunities. The platform creates a marketplace of opportunities for both youth participants who engage in these opportunities as well organisations (social impact, corporate, SMEs, educational institutions, and more).

For the remaining hackathon teams, some of which are still African startups and projects, an event will be hosted after the #SmartDevelopmentHack where they can present their project ideas to an audience of other potential implementing organizations. The goal is therefore to make full use of the potential of all the ideas that were submitted.

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

Dozie, Former Diamond Bank CEO Launches Digital Banking Startup in Nigeria

June 4, 2020

former Diamond Bank chief executive officer Uzoma Dozie

With the accent to an operating license from the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sparkle, a digital banking startup is all poised to commence operations in Nigeria, setting the stage for positive disruptions in the banking sub-sector of the Nigerian economy. Driven by the former Diamond Bank chief executive officer (CEO) and tech entrepreneur Uzoma Dozie, Sparkle aims at providing seamless solutions to Nigerian individuals, SMEs and retailers by offering comprehensive support for individuals, including flexible payments, savings and analytics to provide greater freedom, flexibility and control over finances and lifestyle.

Powered by data and technology, Sparkle is launching a mobile app – available for iOS and Android – giving customers full and free access to one account that offers multiple services and different wallets. Sparkle according to the founder CEO, will be transformational for Nigerians across the globe and I am hugely excited to be launching it today. It is redefining Nigerian commerce by merging financial services with a seamless lifestyle solution, says Dozie, adding that “we are removing barriers using technology and data, driving inclusion at scale. In doing so, we are empowering Nigerians to fulfill their potential, democratizing access to valuable solutions for both business and personal needs.”

Sparkle is partnering with Visa, Microsoft and PwC Nigeria to provide industry-leading expertise in APIs, cloud computing, data science, machine learning, tax and financial advisory services for the benefit of Sparkle’s customers. The services offered by Sparkle are all licensed by the CBN. “We are working with global partners to unleash freedom, flexibility and transparency in Nigeria. We are helping to drive forward the growth of Nigeria’s budding entrepreneurs and individuals,” said Dozie.

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

ProfitShare Partners Launches A $5.9 Million Fund For South African SMEs

ProfitShare Partners, the South African fintech business that provides disruptive short-term capital solutions (from R250,000 — R5m) and transactional support to SMEs who have no access to funding, in partnership with award-winning local community radio station Hot 91.9FM, and the all-new ‘getlion’ mobile app have launched an exciting year-long initiative designed to get small businesses working and creating jobs. The all-new ‘getlion’ mobile app is designed to support SMEs in managing and growing their businesses, and ProfitShare Partners, the disruptive Fintech provider, will invest R100m ($5.9m) in capital to support SMEs to deliver on their contracts this year. The sweetener is a prize of R1m for the small business that has created the most net jobs during the period of the campaign from 1 June 2020 to 31 May 2021.

*ProfitShare Partners’ founder and CEO, Andrew Maren*

“This is an initiative to help boost our economy by accelerating SME business growth and development. With our high unemployment rate and the steep rise in job losses over the past few months, we want to encourage entrepreneurship and assist small business owners in need of capital to start or get going. Unfortunately, many of these businesses do not have the financials, security or track record and are turned away by the banks. How do you develop this track record or get a set of financials if you cannot access capital? Our model is to provide this capital to get them going so they can get a track record, cash in the bank and ultimately, financials so that they can graduate to getting capital from traditional funders such as banks,” ProfitShare Partners’ founder and CEO, Andrew Maren said in a statement.

Here Is What You Need To Know

The Get South Africa Working campaign is an initiative that was introduced by ProfitShare Partners’ founder and CEO, Andrew Maren to help small and medium sized businesses create jobs and to keep them going, and this has become even more relevant now during these challenging times.
SMEs and entrepreneurs have the power to change the status quo, especially in challenging times. Starting today, 1 June 2020, the Get South Africa Working initiative will be providing up to R10m in capital to SMEs per month to grow by partnering with them on their contracts or valid purchase orders that they have or are trying to get with large corporates and certain Government Departments.
To enter, South African SMEs and entrepreneurs must download the ‘getlion’ mobile app, available for iOS and Android devices, to track their business performance and apply for capital support via the ProfitShare Partners website. Full details are also available on the Get SA Working website.

“The getlion app is a purpose-built platform of services, tools and resources from various industry-leading companies, all in the interest of helping small businesses grow. Through the app, business owners will be able to access the tools to make running business easier, from accounting to online sales. As the virtual partner of the Get SA Working initiative, we’re excited to contribute to small business growth and job creation through our platform,” says Mathew Marsden, Co-founder of getlion.

In the final month of this initiative, ProfitShare Partners will give a R1m cash prize to the small business that has created the most net jobs in the period.

“The net jobs that we refer to here are permanent jobs created by the entrepreneur or small business, starting today until the end of May 2021. All information supplied will be audited and verified using our technology and reporting processes because ultimately, our aim is to assist our country in alleviating poverty by helping to create jobs and mobilise the development of SMEs,” adds Maren.

Powering this initiative as the official media partner of the Get SA Working initiative, multi award-winning, local community radio station, Hot 91.9FM, is the proud broadcasting partner and will be running all of the latest news and announcements for the campaign.

“Hot 91.9FM prides itself on uplifting our communities, and what better way to do that than to partner with such a powerful campaign to create much-needed jobs. We are deeply passionate about the development and survival of small businesses and that is why we are a proud partner in this ProfitShare Partners campaign”, says Lloyd Madurai, Managing Director of Hot 91.9FM.

To top it off, together with Hot 91.9FM, ProfitShare Partners will be giving away R10,000 in vouchers every month to help existing and would-be business owners and SMEs to start up or keep going. To enter, download the getlion mobile app, send what your business would do with R10,000 to the Hot 91.9 FM WhatsApp line 084 2212 919 and listen to Hot 91.9FM daily for more.

Visit getsaworking.co.za for more information.

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.