-
iKhokha PoS gets Game distribution deal
It's been a while since we heard anything from iKhokha, one of the many startups trying to bring point-of-sale (PoS) devices to the mass market. As it turns out though, the fintech outfit hasn't just disappeared into the shadows. Instead, it's been working on what may turn out to be an incredibly important deal. The company on Monday announced that its card-reader PoS devices are now available for purchase in Game stores across the country. The low-cost payment system, developed by three Durban-based entrepreneurs, the father and son team Matt and Clive Putman, and close friend Ramsay Daly, only...
-
-
Top startup events in South Africa, Africa you should know about this week [09/05/2016]
Looking to get into the South African startup scene or scratch up on some of your skills? Well, you’ve come to the right place. There are loads of competitions, networking sessions and workshops happening around South Africa and the rest of the continent (namely Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana) that we’ve rounded up to make your life a bit easier. This article is part of a weekly series that highlights all the top startup competitions, networking sessions, workshops and conferences around South Africa, and the greater region. If you have any event recommendations for us to add to the list, or...
-
Nomanini sees 1 500% transaction growth
Pan-African payments startup Nomanini revealed on Monday that, over the past 20 months, it has seen 1 500% growth in transactions on its mobile point-of-sale (PoS) platform for informal markets. Founded in 2010, Nomanini has designed a payments platform, which provides merchant aggregators with sophisticated business insights via a cloud-based platform, and merchants and micro-entrepreneurs in informal markets with the means to sell different types of services electronically and create a sustainable income. Having hit one million transactions in August 2014, the company has seen growth of 1 500 percent since then, and recently saw the 16 millionth transaction take place...
-
Regulation is seriously harming investment in SA’s online startups
Regulating the internet in South Africa could have serious consequences for investment in the country, potentially damaging its prospects for growth. That's according to a new report from investment advisory firm Fifth Era. As the report notes, internet businesses require capital to fuel their growth, and that capital comes both from local in-country investors, as well as from international investors in the form of FDI. Thing is, those investors are almost always put off by ambiguous regulatory environments. That's a stark warning for South Africa, where legislators are trying to introduce a raft of new online regulations, ranging from...
-
Investec backs SA tech entrepreneurs with Seattle trip
This one should be right up our audience's alley. Investec, along with global entrepreneurial networking organisation E-nnovate, is set to take a group of South African technology entrepreneurs to Seattle, to expose them to that city's world-leading startup ecosystem. This is the first time in the initiative's 1.5 year history that it'll be organising a trip to Seattle, although it previously taken entrepreneurs on global exposure trips to Israel and Silicon Valley. Seattle, USA, located in the Pacific Northwest, is home to 2 000 active tech start-ups, and is ranked in the top ten entrepreneurial ecosystems in the world, along with...
-
Real estate startup Property Fox wants to save you money when selling houses
There's a new real estate startup hitting the South African market. Property Fox aims to save customers over 80% of traditional estate agent costs by offering a 1.5% commission rate. In a press release sent to Ventureburn, co-founder Ashley James says: "We saw a gap in the market to help people sell their houses for a fraction of the cost, while simultaneously offering more exposure in the market." The company launched in April with co-founder Crispin Inglis. "Our research showed that unreliable home viewings, expenses involved and agent frustrations were among the most common challenges in selling a home," says James. Customers are...
-
Alibaba’s Hong Kong fund throws cash at ‘Uber for vans’ startup GoGoVan
On-demand logistics startup GogoVan raised a series C funding round, it announced today. The funding amount is undisclosed, but is described as “a decent amount for future business expansion.” The round was led by private equity firm New Horizon Capital and was joined by Singapore Press Holdings, Hotung Investment Holdings, and existing investors. Alibaba’s new US$130 million Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Fund also participated. “This round of funding is fully committed and our new shareholders are very supportive in our strategy and growth plan,” GoGoVan head of operations Eugene Lee tells Tech in Asia. The startup says these investors will also be providing...
-
3 bright spots investors can find in South Africa’s dismal economic news
For nearly a decade, the South African economy took on the role of “Africa’s sick man.” Economic growth nearly stagnated at 1.7% between 2008 and 2015, compared with sub-Saharan Africa’s 4.9%. President Jacob Zuma’s appointment and quick removal of David van Rooyen as finance minister sent the rand, the country’s currency, into a tailspin last year. Calls for Zuma’s impeachment reached a fever pitch after a South African court ruled that he had misappropriated resources for personal home improvements. And as if those political missteps weren’t enough, World Bank data indicate that youth unemployment in South Africa has reached 52.6%. Kenya’s...
-
Turns out private equity is a pretty good bet in South Africa
If you're at a place in your life where you've got a little money to invest, you'll likely have realised how many options there are out there and how confusing they all are. As it turns out though, you could have done a lot worse than putting your money in private equity. According to the latest RisCura-SAVCA South African Private Equity Performance Report for the fourth quarter of 2015, South African private equity outperformed the South African listed equity market over a ten, five-and three-year period to 31 December 2015. The report, which tracks a representative basket of private equity funds...
-
How a Kenyan health startup is transforming the lives of families — one SMS at a time
Your children's health is probably the most important thing in the world to you. But how do you know if your child is developing the way they should be? Even in the UK where there's the NHS, innumerable child development internet sites, or a gazillion baby books, it can be a difficult time. But imagine living in rural Kenya, where health clinics might be difficult to access, there's no internet and in some cases you might not even read or write. That's the problem Nominet Trust 2015 winner, Totohealth is solving, and it is solving it very well...
-
[ Post a job | More jobs ] 
Services
Feeds
About us
Ventureburn focuses on startup news and technology trends in emerging markets. More about us here
Copyright © Ventureburn. All rights reserved. No article may be published or reproduced without prior written permission from Memeburn.
