Startups and founders - Afrikan Heroes

Key Reasons Why Egyptian Grocery Delivery Startup Appetito Merged With Saudi-based Jumlaty

December 15, 2022

Two foodtech eGroceries startups, Jumlaty in Saudi Arabia and Appetito in Egypt, have announced their merger into a new company, NOMU.

With a capacity to cover the existing infrastructure of 25 million people and 100,000 F&B stores, including strategic partners such as Savola, Almarai, and Nestle, NOMU is currently present in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. It aims to become Mena’s leading food-tech supply chain platform.

“Appetito and Jumlaty have been, separately but similarly, working hard to reinvent the grocery supply chain. Both have focused on reliability, speed, and affordability, building a solid reputation and a loyal customer base of families and F&B businesses. Our merger will set us on the path to reach SAR 100 Million in revenue (USD 25 Million) and positive EBITDA within 2023, with important synergies on the tech, marketing and procurement fronts.” commented Shehab Mokhtar, CEO of Appetito, now CEO of NOMU.

According to Salman Attieh, CEO of Jumlaty and current Chairman of NOMU, the agreement was made possible by a common mindset and direction:

“Both companies shared the same vision on how to transform the industry, combining smart tech, lean operations with a deep focus on unit economics. Together we capture the entire value chain, from monthly shopping to weekly refills and outdoor dining. Most importantly our journey now as one company will be accelerated thanks to an incredible team of international talents and supportive investors,” he said.

Ahmed Demerdash, COO of Appetito and now COO of NOMU, reflects on the merger’s outstanding potential:

“Our new entity is now present in four promising countries, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, with a smart grid of 16 warehouses, and a capacity to cover the existing infrastructure of 25 million people and 100,000 F&B stores, and delivery promises that range from one hour to next day fulfillment”.

Yassir El Ismaili El Idrissi, Chief Growth and Expansion Officer of Appetito and now at NOMU, comments on the company’s growth and goals for the next months:

“We are redeploying our tech talent towards advanced AI-based algorithms covering smart pricing, predictive demand planning and LTV optimisation, and new community-oriented features including group buying, loyalty and embedded finance. On the marketing front, we will keep local brands where it makes sense and all our apps in all our countries will use a common tech and growth platform.”

NOMU’s headquarters will be in Riyadh, with a holding structure in Abu Dhabi’s International Financial Centre, ideally positioned to expand its activities further, with plans to encompass Pakistan and important Sub-Saharan African countries in the near future.

Algerian Super App Yassir Commences Operations In South Africa

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

How Lipa Later Group Acquired Embattled Kenyan Ecommerce Platform Sky.Garden

December 7, 2022

Lipa Later Group has purchased Sky.Garden, re-energizing its dedication to bridge the gap between the merchant and the customer through increased empowerment for both parties, spectacular service, stellar technology, and redesigned tactics that promise to revolutionise the industry.

Lipa Later’s acquisition of Sky.Garden is a significant step forward in the group’s mission of providing creative solutions that satisfy the demands of businesses and consumers. This move will allow Lipa Later to grow its customer base and strengthen our market position.

In recent years, the e-commerce industry has flourished, allowing firms to reach clients more rapidly, cheaply, and frequently. This, according to Lipa Later, is what prompted the decision to invest in Sky.Garden.

Lipa Later CEO Eric Muli stated during the onboarding ceremony that the purchase is timely as the fintech continues to establish an end-to-end channel that links merchants to customers and vice versa.

“Guided by our objective to empower African businesses and consumers to do more by enabling e-commerce, financial inclusion and shopping all on one centralized and fully integrated platform, our plan has always been to venture into e-commerce with unique value propositions for our consumers. Sky.Garden has done an incredible job and checks all those boxes. Lipa Later is no stranger to the e-commerce industry, having already established a strong presence in the online payment and finance sectors. This acquisition has greatly accelerated our plans of redefining the shopping experience for consumers,” said Lipa Later CEO Eric Muli.

Sky.Garden, which had raised more than $6,000,000 prior to this transaction, is now completely owned by Lipa Later Group and will continue to operate under the same name.

Lipa Later is now in a position to provide a comprehensive e-commerce solution to consumers, and with Sky.Garden’s established infrastructure and market presence, consumers will be able to purchase items from Sky Garden using any preferred payment method, including Lipa Later’s buy now, pay later model, which provides a flexible and affordable payment plan through monthly instalments.

“Last month, we saw no other option than to file for insolvency,” Martin Majlund, founder of Sky.Garden, reiterated. “Today, I’m happy to see that Sky Garden will live on with new owners and new management. We built a great product over time, and I believe Lipa Later has the potential to take Sky Garden to the next level. Through this acquisition, the vision of Sky Garden will continue to live on while retaining jobs and businesses on our platform.”

Lipa said this acquisition is a key step forward in its goal of becoming a leader in the e-commerce space.

“The acquisition of Sky.Garden by Lipa Later presents a great opportunity for both companies to benefit from each other’s strengths and further the growth of the e-commerce industry. With the combination of our expertise in financial services and Sky.Garden’s innovative e-commerce platform, the potential for growth is tremendous, and the impact this could have on the industry could be immense. Expansion plans are in place to see Sky.Garden integrated across other Lipa Later countries of operation which include Rwanda, Uganda and Nigeria,” the company said in a statement.

Based in Nairobi, Lipa Later is a lending marketplace that provides postpaid payments at e-commerce stores. The startup which was founded in 2015, has raised over $13M in venture funding to date.

TLcom Capital Leads $10M Series A Round In Nigerian HR And Payroll Startup SeamlessHR

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

Second Market Exit In Two Years: Here’s Why Ugandan Startup Safeboda Is Leaving Nigeria After Kenya

December 2, 2022

Thousands of Nigerian motorcycle riders and drivers may be thrust into the labour market as a result of Ugandan ride-hailing company Safeboda’s decision today that it will depart the Nigerian market.

The news comes just three months after the company expanded its service from bike-hailing to car-hailing.

While the circumstances of the company’s exit are still vague as of publishing time, an unnamed company official confirmed to Nairametrics that the company will be leaving the nation. She indicated that riders and drivers on the platform will be disconnected without providing any details.

This is an unexpected development given that the company only recently introduced a new product. In September of this year, the transportation company SafeCar started a car-hailing service in Uganda and Nigeria. SafeBoda Co-Founder Rapa Ricky Thomson announced the launch, saying:

“We’re very excited to launch SafeCar in our super App with a safer, more convenient solution than what is offered in the market. We’ve talked to drivers and passengers, tested our product, and we are going to change transportation in Uganda forever, we are going completely cashless.”

Earlier this month, the company celebrated 4 million trips and 50,000 deliveries, with over 10,000 riders and 100,000 passengers. The startup was founded in December 2019 in Ibadan, Nigeria, however it did not begin operations until March 2020.

SafeBoda is quitting a market for the second time since its inception in 2017. SafeBoda left Kenya in 2020, fewer than two years after expanding its services to Nairobi. It stated that it left Kenya due to the negative effects of COVID-19 on its operations.

Safeboda Nigeria Safeboda Nigeria

SafeBoda Is Gone In Kenya! A $1.3m Ride-hailing Business Threatened

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 Real Reason Why Kenya’s First Electric Taxi Service NopeaRide, Shut Down

December 1, 2022

NopeaRide, Kenya’s first completely electric taxi service, is leaving the market after its parent company, EkoRent Oy, was unable to obtain further finance to keep it solvent.

According to NopeaRide, EkoRent Africa, the Finnish company’s local subsidiary in Kenya, has filed for insolvency, effectively ending the operations of the all-electric vehicle taxi player, which sought to drive a shift to environmentally friendly transportation options while increasing competition for early market entrants Uber and Bolt.

“We have taken our fleet of electric vehicles off the road and have notified our staff and corporate clients. We are now working with relevant authorities to ensure that our operations are wound up in accordance with local legislation,” said NopeaRide in a statement. “We would like to extend our deepest regret to our dedicated team of staff and drivers. We would also like to thank our loyal NopeaRide customers, corporate clients and other partners who have supported NopeaRide’s vision for electric mobility in Africa.”

Juha Suojanen launched EkoRent Oy in 2014 to create solutions based on electric vehicles and solar energy, which eventually led to the launch of NopeaRide in Kenya in 2018.

NopeaRide supplied the charging network, as well as the driver and rider apps, as well as the electric vehicles. The drivers, on the other hand, were obliged to organise their own financial systems.

After raising secret money in 2019, the firm grew from three vehicles to 70 by the time of closure, and had constructed a charging network around Nairobi.

Last year, NopeaRide obtained €200,000 in investment from EEP Africa, a financing institution for early-stage sustainable energy in Southern and East Africa, to create more solar charging hubs in Nairobi and expand its service radius in preparation for future expansion.

The startup said it was on the mend this year after its business was harmed by the COVID outbreak, which resulted in fewer rides as people worked from home.

“In the first half of 2022 our traffic numbers grew to about the same level as before Covid-19. We also started to put more effort in the corporate segment as their employees were returning to office and managed to sign contracts with a few big international companies, some of them potentially reserving the majority of available Nopea capacity,” it said. “However, EkoRent OY went into insolvency in Finland and was unable to secure additional financing to grow the business in Nairobi to the next level.”

4Di Capital Closes New $25M Seed Fund To Invest In African Startups

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

Barely Two Years After Tussle With Facebook South African GovChat CEO, Chief Data Officer Resign

Eldrid Jordaan, the founder of GovChat, has resigned as CEO. Goitse Konopi, the organization’s chief data officer, has also quit.

The announcement comes just three months after the citizen engagement platform extended its contract with the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs for another five years (COGTA).

Jordaan said in a brief statement this morning that it has been an honour to serve his country through the “extremely challenging” COVID-19 pandemic.

“I would like to thank our phenomenal partners, including the South African government, the United Nations, UNICEF, Absa, Telkom/BCX, MTN and AWS, for an incredible journey. This collaboration of public-private partnerships showed what is possible if we all steer in the same direction, as tens of millions of South African lives were impacted by GovChat.”

Jordaan briefly mentions that he will take some time off to reflect on the journey and evaluate his future contribution.

He also suggests that he will most likely begin writing his book, titled “GovChat vs Facebook: The David & Goliath Story.” “I’ll keep you updated,” he promises.

GovChat was founded in 2016 and launched in 2018 in collaboration with COGTA. It is accessible via WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS, and USSD channels.

The official government communications platform has not had an easy ride.

The start-up had been mired in a legal dispute with Facebook parent firm Meta for the previous two years, with the tech giant accusing it of violating its terms of service.

When Meta-owned WhatsApp attempted to remove GovChat and #LetsTalk, a technological start-up that connects government and citizens, from the WhatsApp Business application programming interface, there was a public outcry (API).

When the Competition Commission referred Meta Platforms (previously known as Facebook) and its subsidiaries, WhatsApp and Facebook South Africa (collectively referred to as Facebook), to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution for abuse of dominance, GovChat emerged victorious.

The commission claimed that Facebook imposed and/or selectively enforced exclusionary terms and conditions governing access to the WhatsApp Business API, primarily data use limits.

In response, Meta committed to protect its platforms against “abuse,” pointing out that WhatsApp’s behaviour to until has been perfectly compatible with the principles of the Competition Act, and it is merely attempting to apply its terms and conditions equally.

To add fuel to the flames, the non-profit Open Secrets published a report titled “Digital profiteers: Who Profits Next from Social Grants?” in November of last year. It lists GovChat as one of the private corporations that profit from the personal data gathered through their digital platforms developed in collaboration with governments.

Jordaan, on the other hand, categorically denied these claims, stating, “GovChat takes data privacy and security very, very seriously.”

“Yes, we are a for-profit company, but not once have we said we will profit out of personal data and information from citizens. The information management system that we provide to various government departments is anonymised, aggregated and stripped of raw information. Based on contractual agreements with government, GovChat cannot sell or transfer data to a third-party.”

The now-former CEO also stated that GovChat’s data collection and use complies with all laws, including the Personal Information Protection Act and the General Data Protection Regulation.

Despite its difficulties, GovChat has been praised for providing public services to more than 9.3 million active users.

Among other things, the platform allows users to submit municipal service complaints across the country to the proper municipality and allows communities to connect with and learn about their ward councillor and traditional authority.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, it enabled millions of South Africans to apply for social relief in distress (SRD) grants from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

It also stepped in to help citizens divert their inquiries about SRD grants to popular instant messaging platforms, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, using its fully-automated chatbot.

SASSA saved R7.5 million as a result of the automated contact centre service, as previously revealed by GovChat.

GovChat has stated that the next phase will include citizens having access to more co-created features and the ability to access more government services digitally.

4Di Capital Closes New $25M Seed Fund To Invest In African Startups

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

Ghanaian Healthtech Startup, Belayab Expands Pharmacy Chain In Ethiopia

November 28, 2022

chief executive officer at mPharma, Greg Rockson

Haltons Pharmacy, a local chain pharmacy founded by mPharma, a Ghanaian health tech startup, and Belayab Pharmaceuticals, has established a second location in Gerji, Addis Abeba. Halton has also added Eshi Express as a delivery partner for its consumers, who will place orders over the phone.

After mPharma negotiated a franchise deal with Belayab Pharmaceuticals through its subsidiary, Haltons Limited, the first Haltons Pharmacy in the capital opened roughly a year ago in Sarbet.

Belayab Pharmaceuticals is a subsidiary of the Belayab Group, an Ethiopian conglomerate that also operates as an official franchisee for firms such as Pizza Hut and Kia Motors.

mPharma, which was founded in 2013, specialises in vendor-managed inventory, retail pharmacy operations, and market information for hospitals, pharmacies, and patients.

mPharma not only manages prescription medicine inventories for pharmacies and their suppliers, but it also operates retail pharmacies and provides market analytics to hospitals, pharmacies, and patients. They can provide lower prices to the public by aggregating and anticipating demand throughout their network of suppliers.

mPharma is one of Africa’s most well-funded healthtech businesses, having received more than $80 million. It is present in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Gabon, and recently purchased a controlling ownership in Healthplus, Nigeria’s top pharmacy chain.

Due to legal constraints, mPharma’s current operations in Ethiopia are limited to Hamilton’s pharmacy, and it does not provide its software solutions to third parties.

mPharma, on the other hand, intends to grow its services in Ethiopia by leveraging its pharmacies as a point of entry. It aims to solve problems in the pharmaceutical supply chain, such as lack of access to drugs and counterfeit drugs, as well as patient misdiagnosis, by expanding its pharmacy network and services.

In the long run, mPharma envisions its Ethiopian pharmacies becoming points of care where patients can come to get a basic diagnosis.

Belayab Ethiopia Belayab Ethiopia

SWVL Lays Off More Staff As It Risks Nasdaq Delisting

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

SWVL Lays Off More Staff As It Risks Nasdaq Delisting

November 27, 2022

The mass mobility startup SWVL, which was founded in Egypt and is based in the UAE, is preparing for drastic monetary austerity measures and organisational restructuring. Over the past few weeks, it has initiated significant layoffs across some of its markets, and more staff members are anticipated to leave the company in the near future.

The majority of these layoffs affect the SWVL team in the nation where it was founded. Former employees are requesting employment opportunities on social media, sending their CVs to Whatsapp groups, and organising virtual events to help link impacted workers with prospective employers.

The recent round of layoffs apparently also affected the company’s personnel in Pakistan and Dubai in addition to Egypt. An ex-employee of SWVL who wished to remain anonymous claims that staff members from numerous departments, including the tech and HR teams, are among those being let go.

“Up until a few days ago and before we were notified about the cuts, all departments were functioning normally. So far, no one knows what will happen next,” they said.

The NASDAQ-listed corporation has not yet disclosed the precise number of affected employees.

This is SWVL’s second round of layoffs after announcing plans to eliminate 32% of its workforce in May with the goal of “accelerating its path to profitability to turn cash flow positive in 2023.”

SWVL went public on the US NASDAQ in March of this year through a SPAC merger with Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital at an initial offer price of $9.95 per share. At the time, the company had a value of $1.5 billion. But after failing to make a profit across all of its markets, the company found it difficult to hold onto its initial share price. In just six months, the value of the company has fallen precipitously from $1.5 billion to $53 million, a nearly 95% decline in share price.

“There have been deliberations between the top management, investors as well as the board of directors going on for some time. There has been increasing pressure on the top brass to focus on profitability in order to be able to regain the minimum bid stock price to $1 per share,” added the source.

SWVL got a letter from NASDAQ on November 4, 2022, stating compliance difficulties due to the company’s shares trading below $1 for more than 30 straight days. As a result, it is currently in danger of being delisted. SWVL’s stock is currently trading at $0.44, up $14 annually from its previous close.

However, SWVL also disclosed in October that operations in 50% of the markets it broke even or turned EBITDA positive in August 2022.

“The drop in the company’s valuation is no flash in the pan, considering that revenues are not going up,” said Ayamn Khalaf, a financial markers technical analyst.

“Similar to other tech companies, a state of lingering high inflation coupled with a slowdown in venture capital has complicated the situation for SWVL. But, I think the model itself is not working well for the startup. To cope with losses, they had to raise their prices. So for users in Egypt for example, the model is poorly suited for their needs and no longer a viable alternative for public transport. This has resulted in a fall in its customer base and thereby revenues. Besides, It has not been strongly validated in some of the markers they expanded to,” he added.

In October of last year, SWVL announced the introduction of clean mobility solutions in Switzerland, bringing the total number of markets it serves to over 18 in Latin America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

In terms of acquisitions, SWVL has recently acquired the mass mobility startup Urbvan from Mexico, the B2B mobility startup Voltlines from Turkey, the German mobility software startup door2door, the Argentine startup Viapool, and the shuttle booking startup Shotl from Spain.

The company’s consolidation and expansion drive, for which it has conducted extensive hiring drives over the previous few years, may also be the direct cause of these layoffs. Many have questioned the enormous expenses associated to these expansion plans and the company’s constant overhiring and high burn rate due to SWVL’s unrelenting pursuit of growth and expansion.

Revio raises $1.1 million to drive better payment experiences in emerging markets

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

South Africa’s SweepSouth Shuts Down Nigeria Operations 4 Months After Launch

November 23, 2022

Aisha Pandor, co-founder and CEO of SweepSouth

South African home cleaning service startup has announced it has shut down its Nigerian subsidiary, SweepSouth Nigeria, effective November 25th, 2022. The decision is coming barely 4 months after the startup was launched .

“Due to the unfavourable global macroeconomic environment, the home service industry continues to be hit hard. This has meant that our business cannot sustainably operate due to the economic pressures being faced at the moment. This has been a difficult decision to make considering our passion to service the Nigerian market. All bookings scheduled to place between now and November 25th will remain in place,” the startup announced in a statement.

The statement also stated that the startup would also be cancelling all its bookings scheduled to take place after November 25th, 2022.

“Customers will receive full refunds for any bookings that have been paid for in advance and full refunds for Sweepcred balance in customer accounts. We encourage our customers to continue supporting our hardworking, vetted SweepStars, by booking them directly,” it added.

The company also added that it will continue to provide its services in Egypt and South Africa, even as it stated that it is still open to re-entry in Nigeria in the future.

A Look At What The Startup Does

Founded in 2014 by Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribic, SweepSouth is a South Africa-based online platform for booking, managing and paying for home cleaning. The startup has also expanded its offering to gardening and pool cleaning, heavy lifting, fixing and maintenance, and most recently, to commercial sanitation.

SweepSouth Nigeria SweepSouth Nigeria

SweepSouth Expands into Nigerian Market

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

Cameroon’s StarNews Mobile Hits 4 Million Users In 5 Years

November 20, 2022

StarNews Mobile, a Cameroonian media startup that provides a network of mobile video channels and allows celebrities and businesses to monetize their fan bases in Africa through exclusive videos, has announced that it has reached 4 million active users throughout its existing markets, both free and premium.

According to the company’s statement, around 500,000 unique active users interact with its platform on a daily basis and receive daily exclusive content from the creators they follow, while another 3.5 million users receive free content intermittently for 30 days.

“Over the course of 2022, over 10 million users have signed up and accessed our platform and that is our actual captive audience. Furthermore, over 90% of our users are located in Ivory Coast and Cameroon, which totals about 40 million mobile subscribers. This means StarNews Mobile has captured the interest of over 25% of the market, a very good indication of our potential,” the startup stated.

A Look At What StarNews Does

Founded in 2017 in Cote D’ivoire, StarNews Mobile is the project of Cameroonian Guy Kamgaing who has over 20 years of experience in the mobile telecom industry.

“I started in January 2016, with $ 250,000 in equity to deploy the platform and carry out the first proof of concept,” said Kamgaing. “At the beginning of 2018, I raised $100,000 as part of a “Friends & Family Round”; and during the summer of 2019, I raised an additional 600,000 dollars from Business Angels based in California.”

The startup which is present in four countries, is a network of mobile video channels that allows celebrities and brands to monetize their fan bases in Africa, the world’s fastest growing mobile market. StarNews Mobile works with popular local and international stars such as Davido (Nigeria — 12.7M followers), Fally Ipupa (Congo — 3M followers) or Sauti Sol (Kenya — 2.2M followers) to create exclusive and addictive short videos that fans are eager to pay for.

The startup also allows creators to earn new income and advertisers to reach their target audiences. To date, the company has also around 40 employees spread across Canada, the United States, India, France and Africa.

Available in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Congo and South Africa, StarNews is working with large pan-African mobile operators such as MTN, Orange and MOOV in order to distribute exclusive and quality video content directly to users.

Cameroon’s StarNews Mobile Joins Snapchat’s Yellow Accelerator, To Secure $150k

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

Nigeria’s Paystack Gets Fintech License In Kenya

November 17, 2022

Paystack, a Nigerian payment company, has announced that it has got a Payment Service Provider Authorization from the Central Bank of Kenya, allowing it to provide payment services to Kenyan businesses.

Kenya becomes the fourth African country, following South Africa, Ghana, and Nigeria, to grant the startup the necessary permission to operate in complete accordance with rules.

Paystack has now launched a private beta in the East African country as a result of the licence.

Paystack is the first innovative fintech in the Federal Republic of Nigeria to get funding from Y Combinator, one of the world’s most efficient startup accelerators. Paystack’s aim is to enable merchants and enterprises accept online payments and transfer money. It was co-founded by Nigerian Shola Akinlade. She began her efforts in Nigeria in 2016, and they were a success. Henri Huet appreciates the fact that half of all online transactions in this country of more than 200 million people now go through Paystack, indicating that e-commerce prospects are expanding.

The company moved to Ghana in 2018, and subsequently to South Africa in May 2021.

Paystack license Kenya Paystack license Kenya

A List Of Acquired Tech Startups In Africa

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