Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [14/04/2020]

Has Covid-19 put a brake on funding? Tech companies in Africa have raised over $343-million so far this year, which is 27% higher than the same period in 2019, according to figures from GreenTec Capital senior company builder Maxime Bayen.

This, while IBM is offering $270 000 in cash prizes and IBM developer support to developers that build solutions that tackle three key areas responding to the pandemic.

With the coronavirus (Covid-19) headlining news all over the world, Ventureburn has launched a regular daily roundup on the virus and how it is affecting Africa’s tech startup sector.

Those with any news releases relating to Covid-19 and Africa’s tech startup sector can send these to editor@memeburn.com.

Cape Town based healthtech Ingress Healthcare has raised a R6-million investment from Enso Equity

Here then is the latest on the coronavirus and African tech startups:

$270k Covid-19 challenge: IBM is offering $270 000 in cash prizes and IBM developer support to developers that build solutions that tackle three key areas responding to the pandemic, namely: crisis communications, remote learning and community co-ordination. Solutions must be designed using software built on Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, IBM Blockchain, and data from The Weather Company. Applications for IBM’s 2020 Call for Code Global Challenge close on 31 July.

Rupert fund to begin disbursements: Billionaire Johann Rupert’s R1-billion small business fund is expected to begin paying out to businesses today, tech publication BusinessTech reported yesterday in an article. The Sukuma Relief Programme, which is administered by Business Partners, announced last Monday (6 April) that it had to temporarily shut because the fund received applications of R2.4-billion, far exceeding the amount that could be disbursed. Applicants should expect to hear back from Business Partners about their application over the next five to seven working days. The fund will re-open once more funding has been sourced.

So far in 2020, $3️⃣4️⃣3️⃣M+ has been raised by #startups in #Africa. That's 27% YoY vs. 2019. Yes, the crisis is already being felt, but 2020 could still be a strong year for the continent tech ecosystem.

>>2019 data: https://t.co/ZiL8sGrDEL
>>2020 data: https://t.co/OtMnKJSRu2 pic.twitter.com/Wzkc7w61qR

— Maxime Bayen (@MaxBayen) April 13, 2020

Still high in the money: Tech companies in Africa have raised over $343-million so far this year, which is 27% higher than the same period in 2019, according to figures from GreenTec Capital senior company builder Maxime Bayen (pictured above) in a tweet on Twitter. Says Bayern: “Yes, the crisis is already being felt, but 2020 could still be a strong year for the continent tech ecosystem”. It is not clear what definition Bayen has used to define what exactly an African tech startup is.

Indian telemed platform hits SA: A local SA initiative, 4IRCare made up of medical professionals, IT companies and home-care agencies, announced yesterday that it has introduced, the cloud-based telemed platform VCDoctor, which offers secure virtual consultations with doctors. The platform has been licensed from Indian software company DreamSoft4u. Regulations were recently approved during the Covid-19 crisis which have paved the way for telemed virtual consultations in South Africa. The initiative’s collab manager Wendy Mbele told Ventureburn that the platform retains records of every interaction with time stamps of appoint, video call and emails and is compliant with the healthcare industry standard, HIPAA.

Read more: Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [13/04/2020]
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Read more: Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [07/04/2020]
Read more: Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [06/04/2020]
Read more: Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [03/04/2020]
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Featured image: GreenTech Capital senior company builder Maxime Bayen (Twitter)