Report - Afrikan Heroes

Top 5 Predictions in the Enterprise IT Space for 2024

December 27, 2023

Technological development is often the result of aspiring to augment the experiences of its consumers. Over the past few years, this notion has only been reaffirmed, with tech powering users through lockdowns, recessions, and other crises. 2023 has been a transformational year, with both existing technologies and novel innovations revolutionising the way organisations work. In 2024, enterprises will continue to embrace further updates to technological measures that design a better digital environment for everyone.

“Although the need to implement a digital-first experience has been constant, the ways by which it can be realised varies periodically. In 2024, we believe that your organisation would benefit from a unified approach of deploying new tech and focusing on demanding aspects of business — such as privacy, LLMs, and orchestration,” said Rajesh Ganesan, President at ManageEngine.

Here are ManageEngine’s top five predictions for trends in 2024 that will help organisations root themselves in the bedrock of this new age of work.

1. Privacy and AI governance will become a top business priority

Although 2023 has witnessed numerous regulations across geographies — including the EU’s AI Act, the UAE’s Data Protection Act, India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, — these are indicators that a further inflow of similar policies is imminent. With AI being integrated into every aspect of business, disruptive technologies (such as deepfakes and augmented reality) threaten privacy and pose significant risks. These technologies should be placed under a keen watch for both public and private use. As an effort to ensure ethical, transparent, and fair use of the technology, AI governance will become paramount importance to businesses. We also believe that privacy will be the core of every business going forward, and protecting it will become the responsibility of every individual in the organization.

2. Enterprises will be keen to adapt to purpose-built LLMs rather than general-purpose LLMs

Ever since the advent of AI, businesses have leveraged its capabilities to fulfil predictive analysis and automate low-skill tasks. However, the narrow applications of AI and its immense engineering difficulties call for AI training models that can cater to all aspects of a business. Enterprise-focused large language models (LLMs) help both employees and customers alike achieve deep-nested conversations with the enterprise’s offerings and align better with evolving software tools. By adapting such models, enterprises will be better able to deploy their vast amount of knowledge to address both their creative and redundant workloads. It will also empower organizations to protect their data, reduce biases in their data, and provide detailed audit reports to understand AI decisions.

3. The power of orchestration will span the entire enterprise

In recent times, many businesses have turned to digital transformation to carry out their core functions online. This transition has presented the challenge of fragmentation — splitting data into organisational silos and hampering the flow of information. Enterprises are likely to overcome the issue of fragmentation by harnessing the power of orchestration, which allows for the construction of interconnected digital pipelines that lead to workflow automation and streamlined operations. By adopting this user-friendly and accessible technology, organisations will be prepared to make complex tasks achievable and survive in the digital realm.

4. The digital-first experience will evolve to the secure digital-first experience

Having moved on from traditional work methodologies, we will observe organisations integrate contemporary IT management tools to provide a holistic and safe digital journey. In 2024, we believe enterprises will also adopt an identity-centric approach, ensuring that only authorized individuals are granted access and permissions, therefore safeguarding their identities and data. Going a step further, cloud infrastructure and entitlement management (CIEM) will be implemented to increase granular visibility and minimize threats by providing a comprehensive view of identities and entitlements across diverse cloud environments. Together, such solutions will bolster security and enable a worry-free digital experience for the end users.

5. Cyber resilience will become a strong business differentiator

Today’s technological landscape presents a series of challenges for modern companies that stunt progress. These challenges include the geopolitical climate, technological disruption, cyberthreats, competitive pressure, and many other factors, all of which could be more easily faced when strategic plans are in place. In 2024, we will see companies actively invest in such plans that bring about the tools, solutions, and culture necessary to enhance their overall cyber-resiliency posture. Consequentially, cyber resilience will emerge as a key business differentiator, enabling organizations to succeed in the complex global market.

ManageEngine envisions that these IT forecasts will help organizations seamlessly pace themselves with an imminent transformation in work culture. By staying attuned to emerging trends and technologies, organisations will be enabled to capitalise on opportunities and remain competitive in this ever-evolving digital ecosystem.

enterprise IT 2024 enterprise IT 2024 enterprise IT 2024 enterprise IT 2024

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert. As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard.

Tunisia Startup Ecosystem Breaks into Top 15 Globally, Reports Impressive 17.3% Growth

October 20, 2023

According to the 2023 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER) unveiled on Wednesday by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), Smart Capital, the World Bank, and Startup Genome, Tunisia has risen among the top 15 global ecosystems in terms of talent accessibility.

The Tunisian ecosystem generated an economic value of $120.3 million between July 1st and December 31st, 2022, marking an annual growth of 17.3%.

Indeed, Tunisia has moved up 3 positions in 2023 compared to the GSER 2022. Looking at its long-term growth from the GSER ranking in 2020 to 2023, the ecosystem has gained an impressive 10 places in just three years.

The MENA region, on the whole, maintained stability from 2021 to 2022, with only a slight 5% decrease in initial funding, a 19% decrease in series B+ transaction amounts, and a 14% decline in total venture capital funding. Despite this slowdown, the region still retained higher funding levels than in 2020.

In the ranking of emerging ecosystems in the MENA region, Tunisia ranked fourth, preceded by Amman, Sharjah, Casablanca, and Beirut, highlighting its growing role as a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.

On this occasion, the CEO of CDC, Ms. Nejia Gharbi, emphasized that this report provides insights into Tunisia’s position compared to other ecosystems and its ranking within the MENA region. She first introduced the Startup Act program for innovative SMEs, launched by the World Bank, aiming to provide funding solutions to all startups in the Tunisian ecosystem.

She also added that the achieved ranking is primarily the result of this favorable climate, reinforced by the Startup Act, as well as all the funding programs put in place to support both support structures and startups. The goal is to energize the ecosystem and attract global investors’ attention.

The top 5 global ecosystems have remained unchanged since 2020, with Silicon Valley in the first position, followed by New York City and London tied for second place. However, Boston and Beijing have lost their places in the top 5, each falling two positions.

They have been replaced by Los Angeles in the fourth position and Tel Aviv in the fifth position. These five ecosystems together represent an economic value of $4 trillion, accounting for 53% of the total of the top 30 ecosystems.

Based on data about 3.5 million startups in over 290 global ecosystems, this report provides new insights and in-depth knowledge about startup trends worldwide. It ranks the top 30 global ecosystems and the next 10, and offers a ranking of the top 100 emerging ecosystems.

ANAVA invests 5 million euros in Tunisian startups

As part of the startup support project jointly funded by the World Bank, CDC, and KFW, the ANAVA fund has announced its commitment to invest 5 million euros in a brand-new fund, Titan Seed Fund I, managed by the Medin Fund Management Company.

With an initial target size of 100 million euros, of which 40 million euros come from a World Bank loan subscribed by CDC, and 20 million euros subscribed by KFW, the fund of funds aims to provide the necessary means for addressing the financing and internationalization challenges of Tunisian startups.

Titan Seed Fund aims to reach a size of 10 million dollars to invest in 280 Tunisian startups. It is the first early-stage Deeptech-focused fund in North Africa. The fund plans to invest an average of between 300 and 650 thousand dollars to prepare them for a “Series A” fundraising.

ANAVA represents the very first fund of funds in Tunisia, denominated in euros. Managed by Smart Capital, it plays a central role in the national “StartUp Tunisia” initiative, aiming to make Tunisia an innovation and startup hub at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, the MENA region, and Africa.

Tunisia Startup Ecosystem Tunisia Startup Ecosystem

Egypt Issues Africa’s First Sustainable Panda Bond Worth 3.5 billion RMB

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard

ConstructAfrica publishes its Ghana Construction Market Report 2023

May 25, 2023

ConstructAfrica , a leading business intelligence provider focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, has published its latest premium intelligence report The Ghana Construction Market Report 2023. The publication of the report is timely, coinciding with the securing of a US$3 billion IMF loan programme, which means foreign companies can look again with confidence at the opportunities Ghana has to offer.

The 124-page Ghana Construction Market Report 2023 is designed to help companies to understand and minimize risk and set a strategy for participating in the Ghanaian construction sector. The report identifies project opportunities and details key clients and contractors in the industry.

As a leading gold producer and major oil and gas supplier, Ghana’s government is committed to developing the country’s infrastructure, and to ease the burden on the treasury, it is keen to engage private funding through public-private partnerships. Investments are planned across education, healthcare, housing, sanitation, transportation and utilities.

Ghana’s construction sector was worth about US$10 billion in 2021 and ranks among the seven largest construction markets in Sub-Saharan Africa. Between 2013 and 2021, the construction sector in Ghana contributed an average of 7.2% to GDP. The sector contracted in the wake of the global pandemic and the destabilising impact of the Russian-Ukraine war on global prices and supply chains. But the outlook for 2023 is for a return to growth.

The Ghana Construction Market Report 2023 report provides actionable insights to help companies succeed in Ghana.

Readers of the report will:

Understand challenges and opportunities in the Ghana construction market.
Identify key players in the Ghana construction industry.
Understand public procurement and tendering processes.
Gain insight into key strategies driving infrastructure investment.
Get an understanding of costs for construction materials, equipment and labour.
Find out about upcoming and ongoing projects in Ghana.

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

Trackforce Valiant Acquires TrackTik Software, Creates the World’s Largest Security Workforce Management Company

June 30, 2022

Trackforce Valiant, a leading provider of security workforce management solutions, today announced the acquisition of TrackTik Software , one of the most innovative and fastest growing cloud-based security workforce management providers. The combination of these two companies has created a new dominant market leader in providing visibility and control for the physical security workforce.

“We are very excited to welcome TrackTik into the Trackforce Valiant family,” said Trevor Campion, CEO of Trackforce Valiant. “Now more than ever, we believe in the importance of providing the right security solutions for companies of all sizes and business needs. The addition of TrackTik enables us to provide a wide range of technology options that are purpose-built for the unique needs of physical security operations.”

TrackTik was founded in 2013 with the mission of providing a complete set of tools through easy-to-use software and taking the fear out of technology in order to put it to work for security workforce management. From their origins in Montreal, Canada, TrackTik provides solutions to over 35 countries across 6 continents and has been steadily innovating the way companies leverage workforce technology for security operations. The platform provides a full suite of applications, combining the needs of back-office administration to front line security operations.

As a result of this new venture, physical security companies now can leverage the combined best-practices of two leading security workforce management providers, providing multiple options for how they can manage security operations. Additionally, the combined technology teams of Trackforce Valiant and TrackTik Software will enable the company to further innovate and enhance their solutions further than any other software provider in the industry.

“The physical security market continues to grow, and with that so does the need for solutions that can grow with them,” said Simon Ferragne, CEO of TrackTik. “This acquisition positions us as the dominant leader for security workforce technology, and we are thrilled to work together to continue our mission to build innovative, leading-edge solutions for our customers.”

Both companies will continue to maintain operations in service of their customers and partners, with Trevor Campion overseeing the combined organization as CEO, and Simon Ferragne, TrackTik’s CEO, entering the role of CTO. Simon Ferragne and TrackTik’s investors, CDPQ Investissements, Georgian, Klass Capital, Inovia Capital, Intercap, and Schauer Ventures have reinvested a portion of their proceeds in the newly combined entity to help foster continued growth in the company. TrackTik will continue to operate and maintain its presence in Quebec as one of Canada’s top small and medium employers. Trackforce Valiant and TrackTik will collaborate on developing and innovating security solutions that include Time and Labor Management, Guard Touring, Incident Management, Dispatch and Mobile Patrol, as well as Billing and Payroll management

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

Autocheck Acquires Moroccan Startup to Drive North African Expansion

May 23, 2022

Africa’s leading auto-tech startup Autochek has acquired Moroccan counterpart KIFAL Auto to drive its expansion into the North Africa region. Autochek aims to build digital solutions that will enhance and enable a seamless and safe automotive commerce experience across Africa. The company uses technology to transform the automotive buying and selling experience for African consumers, by creating a single marketplace for consumers’ automotive needs, from sourcing and financing to after sales support and warranties.

Acquisitions have been central to the startup’s speedy expansion strategy. Autochek launched in September 2020 having acquired automotive marketplaces Cheki Nigeria and Cheki Ghana from ROAM Africa, and raised a US$3.4 million pre-seed funding round shortly after. In addition to Ghana, it has expanded to Kenya and Uganda, with the latter two launches having again been accomplished by the acquisition of Cheki properties.

Now, having banked a US$13.1 million seed round in October of last year, it has announced the acquisition of Morocco’s KIFAL Auto to drive its expansion into North Africa. Founded by Nizar Abdallaoui Maane in 2019, KIFAL Auto has emerged as a trusted partner for individuals and organisations in Morocco seeking to buy and sell used cars, with its transparent, secure and cost-effective processes.

Autochek said the acquisition meant it was uniquely positioned to tap into the innovation that underpins Morocco’s thriving automotive ecosystem, introduce its market leading solutions to alleviate various challenges across the value chain, and further integrate the pan-African automotive industry to drive shared value for consumers, manufacturers, financial institutions and other stakeholders.

“From my first interaction with Nizar and his team at KIFAL Auto, I was so impressed by their passion for delivering effective solutions and their commitment to innovation. They have built an excellent platform and we are thrilled to have them onboard at Autochek to support the work we are doing to improve the automotive finance value proposition in Africa. There are so many parallels in our individual stories and I look forward to a long and mutually beneficial relationship for years to come,” said Etop Ikpe, CEO and co-founder of Autochek.

Maane said he had long been an admirer of the work Autochek has done to enable improved experiences across Africa’s automotive value chain.

“There is so much we can learn from each other and I am looking forward to bringing my experience and expertise to deliver more game changing innovation in Morocco and beyond. In our Industry and especially in an African context, it makes a lot of sense to continue growing with a large player. Morocco is a gateway into North Africa and I am confident that we can unlock new value and drive further transformation across the board,” he said.

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

Meta Set for Showdown with Regulator over Giphy Acquisition

April 26, 2022

The battle between global tech platform Meta and United Kingdom’s regulatory agency over the former’s acquisition of Giphy will reach a head this week at the tech giant attempts to overturn a controversial order to sell off Giphy, in a four-day trial that’ll mark the biggest antitrust court clash in the UK this year.

The Competition and Markets Authority’s decision to unwind the US$315-million GIF search engine deal was slammed by Meta as “grossly unreasonable and disproportionate”.

Lawyers for Meta will try to appeal on six grounds, including arguing the order to sell was flawed because the CMA didn’t prove that Giphy could have become a meaningful competitor to Meta’s Facebook, according to documents prepared for trial. The CMA doesn’t often lose at the CAT, as the tribunal will only look at the legality of the CMA’s decision

The CMA told Meta to sell Giphy after an in-depth investigation concluded in November that the tie-up would allow Meta to increase its power on social media further. It was the first time a global regulator forced a Big Tech firm to unwind a completed deal and the UK was the only major regulator to take a stance on the acquisition.

The dispute underscores the CMA’s increased appetite to intervene in both digital markets and merger control with its desire to crack down on so-called “killer acquisitions” from Big Tech. The CMA and other global regulators have publicly expressed regret on waving through mergers like Meta’s purchase of Instagram and WhatsApp, with the US currently taking another look at those deals.

The CMA doesn’t often lose at the CAT, as the tribunal will only look at the legality of the CMA’s decision rather than the probe itself.

“It’s difficult to overturn a CMA merger decision,” said Tom Smith, a competition lawyer at Geradin Partners, who was a former director at the CMA. “These cases often turn on seemingly minor procedural issues, but the big-picture question is whether the tribunal at some point decides that the CMA has pushed the use of its discretion past its legal limits.”

“By requiring Meta to sell Giphy, we are promoting competition and innovation in digital advertising and ensuring rival social media providers can get competitive access to Giphy’s services,” a CMA spokesman said. “We intend to defend this decision vigorously.”

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

Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Sudan Top Attractive Countries For Entrepreneurs In Africa — New Report

April 7, 2022

The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), a consortium of national teams assessing entrepreneurship surveys from around the world, has released its annual list of the top countrues for entrepreneurs in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF). For the year 2022, this comparative study of entrepreneurship conditions in 50 nations includes four countries in Africa. The objective is to rate countries according to their capacity to foster entrepreneurialism.

The GEM ranking is based on the findings of the National Expert Poll (NES), a thorough national survey in which more than 2,000 experts from 50 participating nations (a minimum of 36 per country) provide their perspectives on the conditions influencing domestic entrepreneurship. The GEM National Entrepreneurial Context Index (NECI) is calculated by averaging the ratings for 13 framework parameters that indicate how well each country fosters entrepreneurship.

These circumstances include access to funding for businesses, the adequacy of government policy support, taxes and bureaucracy, and government business initiatives. Additionally, the ranking considers entrepreneurial education, post-secondary entrepreneurial training, research and development transfers, commercial and professional infrastructures, market dynamics, fees and regulations, infrastructure, and finally, social and cultural norms.

Thus, Egypt, ranked 29th in the world, is the best African country in 2022 for starting a new business, scoring 4.4. Morocco, which is Africa’s second best country for entrepreneurs, is ranked 43rd in the world, with 3.9 points. South Africa is ranked 45th globally, with a score of 3.7. Sudan, which is ranked last in the world, is the fourth best African country for entrepreneurs, scoring 3.2 points.

The United Arab Emirates leads the international rankings with a score of 6.8. This ranking is mostly attributable to two factors: a softer legal framework and more liberal social and cultural values.

Notably, there are additional rankings and information available from international organizations and business periodicals that should be considered before to beginning a new business. Among these are Startups Without Borders’ Attractiveness Index for Startup Visa Programs, TMF Group’s Global Business Complexity Index, and Forbes’ rating of the top nations for business.

You can view the rankings here: https://www.gemconsortium.org/file/open?fileId=50900

countries entrepreneurs Africa countries entrepreneurs Africa

Experts Warn That Fake Android Shopping Apps Steal Bank Account Logins

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh

The Economic Consequences of the Ukraine War

February 28, 2022

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been rapid and dramatic, but the economic consequences will be much slower to materialize and less spectacular. The war itself is enormously tragic, first and foremost for the Ukrainian people, but also for the Russian people and the global order more generally. When something like this happens, we expect it to be like a morality play in which all the bad consequences play out equally dramatically in every dimension, including the economy. But the economy does not work that way.

True, financial markets reacted swiftly to news of Russia’s invasion. The MSCI All Country World Index, a leading global equity gauge, fell to its lowest level in almost a year. The price of oil rose above $100 a barrel, while European natural gas prices initially surged by almost 70%.

These energy-price increases will negatively affect the global economy. Europe is especially vulnerable, because it did little in recent years to reduce its dependence on Russian gas, and in some cases – notably, Germany, which abandoned nuclear power – even exacerbated it.

Oil-importing countries will experience a headwind from higher prices. The United States is more hedged: Because its oil production is equal to its oil consumption, more expensive oil is roughly neutral for GDP. But higher oil prices will hurt US consumers while helping a more limited segment of businesses and workers tied to the oil and gas industry. The price surge will also add to inflation, which is already at its highest levels in a generation in the US, Europe, and other advanced economies.

But some perspective on these immediate consequences is in order. At $100 a barrel, oil is about one-quarter below its inflation-adjusted price during 2011 to 2014. Moreover, prices for oil futures are lower than spot prices, suggesting that the market expects this increase to be temporary. Central banks may therefore largely look through events in Ukraine, neither holding off on tightening nor speeding it up in response to higher headline inflation. And global stock markets are still up over the last year.

Similarly, although the Russian stock market has fallen significantly since the start of the invasion, Western sanctions are unlikely to have immediate dramatic effects. Sanctions rarely do; they are simply not the economic equivalent of the bombs that Russia is currently dropping on Ukraine.

Moreover, Russia is better prepared than most countries to weather sanctions. The country has been running an enormous current-account surplus and has accumulated record foreign-exchange reserves of $630 billion – sufficient to cover nearly two years of imports. And while Russia is dependent on revenue from Europe, Europeans are dependent on Russia’s oil and gas – which may be even harder to replace in the short run.

But, in the longer term, Russia will likely be the biggest economic loser from the conflict (after Ukraine, whose losses will go well beyond what can be measured in the national accounts). Russia’s economy, and the well-being of its population, have been stagnant since the Kremlin’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. The fallout from its current, large-scale invasion will almost certainly be more severe over time. Sanctions will increasingly take a toll, and Russia’s growing isolation, as well as heightened investor uncertainty, will weaken trade and other economic links. In addition, Europe can be expected to reduce its fossil-fuel dependence on Russia.

The longer-term economic consequences for the rest of the world will be far less severe than they are for Russia, but they will still be a persistent challenge for policymakers. There is a risk, albeit a relatively unlikely one, that higher short-run inflation will become embedded in increasingly unanchored inflation expectations, and thus persist. If that happens, central banks’ already difficult job will become even more complicated.

In addition, defense budgets are likely to rise in Europe, the US, and some other countries to reflect the increasingly dangerous global situation. This will not reduce GDP growth, but it will reduce people’s well-being, because resources dedicated to defense are resources that cannot go toward consumption or investment in education, health care, or infrastructure.

The medium- and long-term consequences for the global economy of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will depend on choices. By invading, Russia has already made one terrible choice. The US, the European Union, and other governments have made initial choices on sanctions, but it remains to be seen how Russia will react to them or whether further penalties will be imposed. To the extent that sanctions and counter-responses escalate, the costs will be larger – first and foremost for Russia, but also to some degree for the rest of the global economy.

Global economic relations are positive-sum, and Russia’s growing isolation will remove a small positive. More broadly, uncertainty is never good for the economy.

But, as the world continues to respond to the Russian invasion, concerns about GDP seem minor by comparison. Far more important is a world where people and countries feel secure. And that is something worth paying for – even more than the world’s leaders have paid so far.

Jason Furman, a former chair of President Barack Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, is Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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

Our Top 15 Stories From 2021

January 1, 2022

2021 has been a thrilling year for Afrikan Heroes, writing about everything startup in Africa. As the year winds down, here is the top 15 most read stories covered on Afrikanheroes.com this year. It is also worthy of mention that our reportage on hundreds of fundraising from previously unexplored territories in Africa amassed thousands of new readers from across the continent and beyond, and were excluded from this list.

We sincerely appreciate our readers from all across Africa and beyond and wish you all a very wonderful 2022.

stories from 2021 stories from 2021

From Celebrating $1m Fundraising Round To Apologizing, The Comments That Got Kune Food’s Founder In Trouble

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

A List Of Acquired Tech Startups In Africa

December 29, 2021

African-tech-startup-funding-rises-51-to-195M-in-2017

As the startup ecosystem in Africa continues to gain momentum and mature, a lot of acquisitions of tech startups and established companies are taking place, in leaps and bounds. The country with the most acquired tech startups in Africa is still South Africa. While other African countries are catching up, particularly with the recent multimillion-dollar acquisitions in Nigeria, South Africa has seen a bigger number of acquisitions over the years. The table below provides some insight into how acquisitions have been made on the continent during the last few years. This data is updated on a half-yearly basis.

S/N	NAME OF STARTUP	SECTOR OF STARTUP	PRIMARY COUNTRY OF OPERATIONS	YEAR FOUNDED	YEAR ACQUIRED	NAME OF ACQUIROR	PRIMARY COUNTRY OF ACQUIROR	NATURE/DESCRIPTION OF ACQUISITION

1	GetSmarter	Edtech	South Africa	2007	2017	2U	United States	Sold for $103-million plus $20-million in cash.
2	Kapa Biosystems	Life Science	South Africa	2006	2016	Roche	Switzerland	Acquired for for $445-million
3	Fundamo City	Fintech (Mobile financial services)	South Africa	1999	2011	Visa	United States	Acquired for $110 million
4	Nimbula	Enterprise (Cloud computing)	South Africa	2008	2013	Oracle	United States	Acquired for $110 million
5	Gyft	Mobile Gift Card	South Africa	2012	2014	FirstData	United States	Acquired for $54m
6	WooCommerce	Open source ecommerce plugin	South Africa	2011	2015	WordPress	United States	Acquisition estimated to be worth over $30 million
7	Quirk (Mirum)	Digital agency	South Africa	1999	2016	WPP	London, United Kingdom	Acquired for a reported R350 million to R400-million ($35million to $39 million) at the time of the sale.
8	Buni.tv	Entertainment	Kenya	2009	2016	Trace Tv	Nigeria	Undisclosed
9	Baxi	Fintech (Digital agent network)	Nigeria	2014	2021	MFS Africa	South Africa	Undisclosed
10	Devcorp	Enterprise	Morocco	2014	2021	ABA Technology Group	Morocco	Undisclosed
11	Picup	Logistics	South Africa	2014	2021	Karooooo	Singapore	Acquired for $4.8m
12	FwRun	Ecommerce	Egypt	2019	2021	Diggipacks	Saudi Arabia	Undisclosed
13	WaystoCap	B2B Ecommerce	Morocco	2017	2021	MaxAB	Egypt	Undisclosed
14	CallPay	Fintech	South Africa	2014	2021	Undisclosed	Undisclosed	Acquired at a valuation of ($6.8m)
15	Eventtus	Events management	Egypt	2012	2021	Bevy	United States	Undisclosed
16	Cars45	Car-listing marketplace	Nigeria	2016	2017;2020; 2021	Frontier Car Group; OLX Group; JIJI	Germany; Netherlands; Nigeria (respectively)	Undisclosed
17	Giraffe	Recruitment	South Africa	2015	2021	Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator	South Africa	Undisclosed
18	WizzPass	Visitor Management	South Africa	2015	2021	FM:Systems	United States	Undisclosed
19	Tareeqi	Bus tracking	Egypt	2018	2021	eMushrif	Oman	Undisclosed
20	Digiduka	Fintech	Kenya	2019	2021	MarketForce	Kenya	Undisclosed
21	DabaDoc	e-Health	Morocco	2014	2021	Orange MEA; AXA CIMA	Morocco	Undisclosed
22	WayaWaya	AI and Machine Learning	Kenya	2016	2021	Ajua	Kenya	Undisclosed
23	Lawtrust	IT security	South Africa	2006	2021	Altron	South Africa	Acquired for $17m
24	Ubusha Technologies	Identity Security Solutions	South Africa	2003	2019	Altron	South Africa	Undisclosed
25	Mangwee	Fintech (Mobile payments)	Zambia	2018	2021	Zeepay	Ghana	Undisclosed
26	ParceNinja	Ecommerce logistics	South Africa	2013	2021	Imperial Logistics	South Africa	Undisclosed
27	Surebet	Betting/Gaming	Kenya	2019	2021	TransAtlantic Capital	United States	Undisclosed
28	Delivroum	Food delivery	Togo	2018	2020	Gozem	Togo	Undisclosed
29	Luno	Blockchain	South Africa	2013	2020	Digital Currency Group (DCG)	United States	Undisclosed
30	DPO Group	Ecommerce	Kenya	2006	2020	Network International Holdings plc	United Arab Emirates	Undisclosed
31	Beyonic	Fintech (Payments)	Uganda	2006	2020	MFS Africa	South Africa	Undisclosed
32	Conversio	Digital Marketing	South Africa	2014	2020	CM Group	United States	Undisclosed
33	Harmonica	Dating	Egypt	2017	2020	Match Group	United States	Undisclosed
34	Shago Payments	Ecommerce payments solutions	Nigeria	2019	2021	Alerzo	Nigeria	Undisclosed
35	Paystack	Fintech (Payments)	Nigeria	2016	2020	Stripe	United States	Acquired for over $200m
36	Sa3ar	Auto tech (car assessment)	Egypt	2019	2021	Contactcars.com	Egypt	Undisclosed
37	Cheki (Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya)	Auto tech	Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya	2010	2021	Autochek	Nigeria	Undisclosed
38	Savi.ng	Fintech (Wealth management)	Nigeria	2018	2021	PiggyVest	Nigeria	Undisclosed
39	Exchange4Free	Fintech (Cross-border payments)	South Africa	2008	2021	AZA Finance	Kenya	Undisclosed
40	eLimu	Edtech	Kenya	2012	2020	CcHub	Nigeria	Undisclosed
41	Bottles App	Logistics (on-demand Delivery)	South Africa	2016	2020	Pick n Pay	South Africa	Undisclosed
42	Sendwave	Fintech (Cross-border payments)	Kenya	2014	2020	WorldRemit	United Kingdom	Acquired for $500m
43	Apposit	Enterprise (Software development)	Ethiopia	2017	2020	Paga	Nigeria	Undisclosed
44	StarterHub	Community	Egypt	2015	2019	RiseUp	Egypt	Undisclosed
45	Mobisol	Off-grid energy	Kenya	2011	2019	Engie	Kenya	Undisclosed
46	iHub	Innovation Hub	Kenya	2010	2019	CcHub	Nigeria	Undisclosed
47	Surf Kenya	Wi-fi	Kenya	2015	2019	BRCK	Kenya	Undisclosed
48	Amplify	Fintech	Nigeria	2016	2019	OneFi	Nigeria	Undisclosed
49	OLX Africa	Classifieds	Nigeria	2012	2019	JiJi	Nigeria	Undisclosed
50	Konga	Ecommerce	Nigeria	2012	2018	Zinox	Nigeria	$10m (Reportedly)
51	Kngine	AI	Egypt	2008	2018	Samsung Electronics	South Korea	Undisclosed
52	QuickHelp	AI (chatbot)	Nigeria	2015	2018	1001 Squared Artificial Intelligence	Canada	Undisclosed
53	Cape Networks	SaaS	South Africa	2013	2018	HP	United States	Undisclosed
54	Wezart	Arts marketplace	South Africa	2016	2020	African Fashion International	South Africa	Undisclosed
55	TopCheck	Ecommerce	Nigeria	2015	2018	Silvertree	Nigeria	Undisclosed
56	Stabus	Mobility	Ghana	2019	2021	Treepz (Formerly Plentywaka)	Nigeria	Undisclosed
57	Okuhle Media	Digital media	South Africa	2003	2021	Trace	France	Undisclosed
58	Fundall	Fintech	Nigeria	2019	2021	Emerging Africa Group	Nigeria	Undisclosed
59	QuickCash	Fintech	Côte d’ivoire	2010	2021	E-Settlement	Nigeria	Undisclosed
60	Disha	One no-code tool for content creator	Nigeria	2019	2021	Interswitch	Nigeria	Disha planned to shut down on December 31, 2021, save for the acquisition. Deal amount undisclosed.
61	Nafham	Social startup for free crowdsourced educational content	Egypt	2012	2021	Tyro	Egypt	Undisclosed
62	FarmTrust	Blockchain-enabled ecommerce	Tunisia	2018	2021	LAMMA	Tunisia	Undisclosed
63	Quench	Ecommerce and last-mile delivery service	South Africa	2016	2021	The Foschini Group	South Africa	Undisclosed.
64	SwitchPay	Fintech providing alternative payments options to merchants and retailers.	South Africa	2018	2021	Adumo	South Africa	Undisclosed
65	Crossfin	Card and mobile-enabled payment transactions	South Africa	2017	2021	The EMMF I and ARC consortium	South Africa	$94.3m
66	MainOne	Data center infrastructure	Nigeria	2010	2021	Equinix	United States	$320m
67	Filkhedma	Homes services	Egypt	2014	2021	SweepSouth	Egypt	Undisclosed
68	Thawte	SSL and code signing certificates	South Africa	1995	1999	Verisign	United States	US $575 million
69	ClaimSync	End-to-end claims processing platform	Ghana	2011	2013	GenKey Solutions	Netherlands	Undisclosed
70	Saya	Developer of mobile messaging apps for feature phones	Ghana	2011	2014	Kirusa	United States	Undisclosed
71	Paynet Group	Multi-institutional payments provider.	Kenya	2003	2014	Interswitch	Nigeria	Undisclosed
72	Jobberman	Recruitment	Nigeria	2009	2015	Ringier One Africa Media (ROAM)	South Africa	Undisclosed
73	NgCareers.com	Recruitment	Nigeria	2009	2020	Jobberman	Nigeria	Undisclosed
74	Weza Tele	Financial products, including mobile loans and retail credit cards.	Kenya	2011	2015	AFB	Ghana	$1.7 million
75	Fawry	Financial services backed by tech	Egypt	2008	2015	Egyptian-American Enterprise fund, Helios Investment Partners and the MENA Long-Term Value Fund	Egypt; United Kingdom	$100m
76	Vanso	Mobile and security-focused financial technology provider	Nigeria	2005	2016	Interswitch	Nigeria	Undisclosed
77	One Africa Media	Online marketplaces in the employment, auto, property and travel sectors.	South Africa	2012	2016	Ringier	Switzerland	Undisclosed
78	Popcorn Training	Cybersecurity awareness training provider	South Africa	2012	2018	KnowBe4	United States	Undisclosed
79	3elagi	On-demand Pharmacy delivery	Egypt	2017	2020	Ibnsina Pharma	Egypt	Undisclosed
80	Oltio (formally MTN Mobile Money South Africa)	Pioneered and patented several mobile payments and banking solutions,	South Africa	2004	2018	Mastercard	United States	Undisclosed
81	Teacha!	Online media hub for teachers	South Africa	2016	2020	Snapplify	South Africa	Undisclosed
82	Simulation Engineering Technologies	Creating computer simulation models of complex systems.	South Africa	2004	2018	4Sight Holdings	South Africa	Undisclosed
83	RetailTower	Ecommerce product that helps online merchants sell across multiple shopping engines	Ghana	2010	2018	Kudobuzz	Ghana	Undisclosed
84	AccTech Systems	A professional services firm specializing in Microsoft ERP & CRM and Sage ERP & CRM business solutions.	South Africa	1994	2018	4Sight	South Africa	Undisclosed
85	Dynamics Africa Services	An ISV Partner focusing on Microsoft Dynamics NAV and GP Enterprise solutions.	South Africa	2014	2018	4Sight	South Africa	Undisclosed
86	Media Works	Online-based Adult Education and Training (AET) provider	South Africa	1996	2018	FutureLearn Pty Ltd.	South Africa	Undisclosed
87	Teranga Solutions	A mobile and cloud-based platform for hospitality firms	Senegal	2013	2018	HotelOnline	Kenya	Undisclosed
88	Mubawab	A free to use real estate ad site in arab countries	Morocco	2013	2018	Emerging Markets Property Group (EMPG)	Dubai, UAE	Undisclosed
89	OrderTalk	Develops online ordering software and solutions for the restaurant, takeout, and hospitality industry.	South Africa	1998	2018	Uber Eats	United States	Undisclosed
90	VTN Communications	A provider of voice solutions	South Africa	2011	2018	HeroTel	South Africa	Undisclosed
91	Smart Integration	An integrated automation company.	South Africa	2004	2018	Ulwembu Business Services	South Africa	Undisclosed
92	iSPartners	Business intelligence	South Africa	2001	2018	Altron	South Africa	$16 million
93	Takealot.com	Online shopping	South Africa	2010	2018	Naspers	South Africa	Undisclosed
94	PropSys	Property management solutions for the real estate industry on hosted and on-premises platforms	South Africa	2003	2018	MRI Software	United States	Undisclosed
95	MacroLan	Internet Service Provider that delivers dedicated fibre broadband connectivity.	South Africa	1997	2018	SEACOM	Mauritius	Undisclosed
96	Eazi.com	Proptech	South Africa	2017	2018	Pam Golding Property group	South Africa	Undisclosed
97	Bamba Group	A real-time data gathering platform that engages and access the 1.5B people in the emerging markets via mobile feature phonesa	Kenya	2013	2018	Maximeyes Group	United Kingdom	Undisclosed
98	Clarotech Consulting	An Information and Communications Technology (ICT for short) company offering consulting, products and support services	South Africa	2001	2018	Logicalis	South Africa	Undisclosed
99	Open Connect	Provider of carrier, redundant light and last mile dark fibre services to leading Mobile Operators, ISP’s	Malawi	2016	2018	Harith General Partners	South Africa	Undisclosed
100	Steeple	Low-commission digital agency for property sales	South Africa	2012	2018	PropertyFox	South Africa	Undisclosed
101	TPAY MOBILE	End to end mobile payments platform that maximizes conversions and minimizes risk	Egypt	2014	2018	Helios Investment Partners	United Kingdom	Undisclosed
102	DCBEgypt	Direct carrier billing service provider	Egypt	2014	2017	TPay Mobile	Egypt	Undisclosed
103	WeBuyCars	Offers free online valuations and sale of cars	South Africa	2001	2018	Transaction Capital	South Africa	$116m
104	Crossgate	Payment solutions	South Africa	2007	2018	Crossfin	South Africa	Undisclosed
105	Magnetic Software	Agency Management Platform	South Africa	2012	2018	Silversoft	South Africa	Undisclosed
106	Conor Solutions	Customer solutions provider	South Africa	2007	2018	Adapt IT Holdings Limited (Adapt IT)	South Africa
107	FibreCo	Open access dark fibre network, providing infrastructure, connectivity and services	South Africa	2009	2018	SEACOM	Mauritius	Undisclosed
108	Medco Plast	Packaging and containers company.	Egypt	2011	2018	Indorama Ventures	Thailand	Undisclosed
109	Simfy Africa	Music Streaming	South Africa	2010	2018	MTN	South Africa	Undisclosed
110	Badr	Data solutions and web development company	Egypt	2006	2018	Incorta	United States	Undisclosed
111	Compuscan	Provides consumer and commercial credit information	South Africa	1994	2018	Experian SA	South Africa	Undisclosed
112	Interpay Africa	A payment processor that connects merchants in Ghana to local and international payment	Ghana	2014	2018	Emergent Technology Holdings LP	United States	Undisclosed
113	Founa	Ecommerce	Tunisia	2012	2018	Magasin Général	Tunisia	Undisclosed
114	Fintec Lab	B2B technology provider to major banking and insurance enterprises in South Africa	South Africa	2015	2018	ABSA Bank	South Africa	Undisclosed
115	Touchsides	Uses technology and big data insights to help brands and retailers win and retain loyal customers in high-growth markets	South Africa	2014	2019	Heineken	Netherlands	Undisclosed
116	Teraco Data Environments	A carrier, cloud and vendor neutral data centre provider	South Africa	2008	2019	Berkshire Partners	United States	Undisclosed
117	DotModus	Cloud computing, data analytics and machine learning.	South Africa	2010	2019	Dynamic Technologies	South Africa	Undisclosed
118	TravelCar	Mobility solutions platform	Tunisia	2012	2019	PSA	France	Undisclosed
119	MediaMark	Information services solutions	South Africa	1996	2019	Kagiso Media	South Africa	Undisclosed
120	ConnectMed	E-health	Kenya	2016	2019	Merck	Germany	Undisclosed
121	ArqamFC	Sports data	Egypt	2017	2019	StasBomb	England	Undisclosed
122	IoT.NXT	Internet of things	South Africa	2015	2019	Vodacom	South Africa	Undisclosed
123	SureSwipe	Delivers a simple, accessible and secure solution to payment acceptance	South Africa	2008	2019	Crossfin, Apis Growth Fund I	South Africa	Undisclosed
124	CompareGuru	Independent insurance comparison platform	South Africa	2013	2019	SureStart	South Africa	Undisclosed
125	Heartbeat Adventures	Travel	Kenya	2014	2019	Cloud9xP	Kenya	Undisclosed
126	Empty Trips	Digital freight marketplace	South Africa	2002	2019	RCL Foods	South Africa	Undisclosed
127	ROK Film Studios	Production studio	Nigeria	2013	2019	Canal+ Group	France	Undisclosed
128	eClat Healthcare	Hospital management solutions	Nigeria	2012	2019	Gulf Capital	Dubai, UAE	Undisclosed
129	Yuppiechef	Online retailer of kitchen and homeware products	South Africa	2006	2021	Mr. Price Group	South Africa	Undisclosed
130	MENABytes	Media	Egypt	2017	2019	RiseUp	Egypt	Undisclosed
131	Daily Dish	Delivery	South Africa	2012	2019	TCapital	Norway	Undisclosed
132	Platform One	Healthcare marketplace linking pharmaceutical suppliers and pharmacies	Egypt	2018	2021	Aumet	United States	Undisclosed

Based on reported acquisitions

acquired tech startups Africa acquired tech startups Africa acquired tech startups Africa acquired tech startups Africa acquired tech startups Africa acquired tech startups Africa

Atlantica Ventures, Again, Leads $3.5m Seed Round In Nigerian Fintech API Startup OnePipe

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