Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [26/05/2020]

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition said it plans to close down companies that fall foul of Covid-19 regulations when it comes to safeguarding employees.

This, while event ticketing and cashless platform Howler has developed Keep.Out.Covid, an app and suite of tools, that helps with temperature checks, symptom diagnosis, information collection and the flagging of employees that are at risk of having Covid-19.

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

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.

SA startup Howler has developed an app and suite of tools, that helps tackle Covid-19

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

Companies warned: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition said it plans to close down companies that are in breach of Covid-19 regulations when it comes to safeguarding employees, Business Report quoted the department’s director-general  Lionel October as saying in an article yesterday. It comes as South Africa will further ease lockdown regulations from 1 June.

Covid screening app: Event ticketing and cashless platform Howler has developed Keep.Out.Covid, an app and suite of tools, that helps with temperature checks, symptom diagnosis, information collection and the flagging of employees that are at risk of having Covid-19. “Through Keep.Out.Covid, South Africans will get to screen themselves from the comfort of their home, fill in the symptoms questionnaire and instantly be notified if they are at risk or not,” said Tahl Evian, who developed the solution using Howler’s tech platform. Howler was founded in 2014 by Shai Evian (pictured above) and Steve Cuzen. In February the startup announced it had received investment of an undisclosed amount (see this story).

Startup uses facial recognition: SA startup Kenai has leveraged its building access system that uses facial recognition technology to add a Covid-19 screening feature, which also includes QR code reading, a driver’s license scan or a manual employee number entry. The startup was founded by James Lightbody, Stephen Bydawell, Robert Salzwedel and Willem van Dyk, with the first version of their initial visitor product released in 2018. The four have bootstrapped the startup to date and the startup has over 30 clients, including Deloitte, TransUnion, Distell, Total and Massmart. Says Lightbody: “A number of our clients will be reopening at level 3 and requested a flexible screening solution from us. We leveraged our visitor product to rapidly build a number of tools for companies to manage their employee screening process in a simple, affordable and effective way.”

Jean de Villier’s startup goes global: SA startup MyFanPark, which includes as its founders former Springbok rugby captain Jean de Villiers, has launched in Europe. The startup’s platform, which went live in May last year, allows fans to receive video messages from local sports stars and celebrities via messaging platform Whatsapp. The European venture is a partnership with German communications agency GmbH. More than 50 stars including former AC Milan goalkeeper, Jens Lehmann have signed up. The startup also intends to expand to India, after a deal struck with publicist Shailendra Singh, and West Africa, where 25 Nigerian stars have joined the platform. Said sports marketer Iain Banner, who has joined as chairman: “Our expansion has been fuelled in part by the strengthened emergence of the digital age due to the current crisis and this will only continue to accelerate. Then there’s the fact that the platform deals with emotion. When we connect fans with their heroes, they experience this on an emotional level which is very impactful and enhances their lives.”

Read more: Covid-19 and African tech startups roundup [25/05/2020]

Featured image: Howler co-founder and CEO Shai Evian (Facebook)