Startup news

Nigeria’s LifeBank scoops $250k in Jack Ma’s Africa Netpreneur Prize

LifeBank, a Nigerian healthtech startup that delivers blood and other essential medical supplies to hospitals, has been awarded $250 000 after it was named…

Here are SME minister’s new measures to boost small business finance

The Minister of Small Business Development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni last week announced new measures to make funding more accessible and affordable to small businesses. Speaking…

Nigeria’s Hello Tractor, Kenya’s BuuPass win $15k each in Bosch Africa Smart Mobility prize

Nigeria’s Hello Tractor and Kenya’s BuuPass have each won $15 000 and three month’s acceleration in Bosch Africa’s Smart Mobility competition. The two startups…

Africa-UK Female Tech Founders 2020 programme applications to close on Thursday

Female tech entrepreneurs in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa tackling local development challenges have until Thursday (21 November) to submit their applications for the Africa-UK:…

UK-SA Tech Hub, CiTi launch youth-focused Developers Placement Programme

The UK-South Africa Tech Hub has partnered with the Cape Innovation Technology Initiative (CiTi) to launch a youth and female-focused developers placement programme. The…

Venture capitalist questions lack of women, role of foreign founders in Africa’s tech sector

Africa’s tech startup ecosystem may be growing, but the sector is far from being an even playing field, argues Africa Business Angel Network’s (ABAN)…

Here are the startups that won at AfricArena 2019

This year’s edition of the AfricArena tech conference, which took place on Monday and Tuesday (11 and 12 November) saw 33 startups compete in…

How SA ride hailing startup Hailer wants to undercut industry giants Uber, Taxify

Malvin Nkomo might be crazy to go up against ride-sharing giants Uber and Taxify, but the Joburg entrepreneur says he’s confident he has a plan…

PwC probe into financial mismanagement at wiGroup: CFO confirms he resigned

The chief financial officer (CFO) of Cape Town based fintech company wiGroup confirmed today that he has resigned from the company. It comes as wiGroup revealed…

SA startup PropertyFox acquires local platform Steeple for undisclosed amount

Online estate agency PropertyFox has acquired fellow Cape Town based property platform Steeple. PropertyFox did not disclose the amount it had bought the company for. PropertyFox…

Tanzanian mobile money startup Nala wins $10k at Ecobank Fintech Challenge

Tanzanian mobile money startup Nala has emerged as the winner of the 2018 Ecobank Fintech Challenge, clinching $10 000. The mobile money application works offline, without an…

Half of SA startups in ecosystem support initiatives secure investment – VC4A

Half of all SA companies that participate in startup and business support programmes end up securing investment. This, while the average investment secured by such companies…

Four fintech companies selected for R2.5m AlphaCode Accelerate programme

Fintech accelerator AlphaCode has announced the names of four companies selected to join its recently launched R2.5-million accelerator programme AlphaCode Accelerate. The four companies are Entersekt, Livestock…

Mercedes-Benz SA courts students, professionals in new innovation challenge

Automotive giant Mercedes-Benz South Africa in partnership with business incubator LaunchLab has launched the Mercedes-Benz South Africa Ideas Challenge, an innovation initiative aimed at students and…

Are these the messages Springleap’s Eran Eyal sent to investors for funding?

Just months before he shut down his former startup Springleap, SA entrepreneur Eran Eyal who faces fraud charges in the US, appears to have sent LinkedIn…

Springleap’s Eran Eyal removed as CEO of Shopin and replaced with interim head [Updated]

UPDATE: Shopin co-founders Jeremy Harkness and Divakar Rayapaty appear to have taken control of the company, after removing SA entrepreneur Eran Eyal as CEO…

Konza City headquarters expected to be completed by December says agency head

The headquarters for Kenya’s Konza Techno City is just months from completion, Konza Technopolis Development Authority (KoTDA) CEO Eng John Tanui revealed yesterday. Critics in Kenya…

These are the nine Senegalese startups set to pitch at Seedstars Dakar

Seedstars World, a leading startup competition for emerging markets, has announced the nine Senegalese startups that will pitch later this week at this year’s Seedstars Dakar pitch…

Three African startups make it into Katapult Accelerator’s third cohort

Oslo-based Katapult Accelerator has selected three African startups from Kenya, Egypt and Tunisia to join its third cohort, comprised of 12 startups from around…

AfricArena signs up AFD subsidiary Proparco as strategic partner, sponsor

Tech startup conference AfricArena has signed up Proparco — a development finance institution partly owned by the French Development Agency (AFD) — as a…

Springleap’s Eran Eyal did not seem like scammer to me – DocuSign founder [Updated]

UPDATE: Ventureburn had earlier incorrectly reported that Shopin had not yet released a statement in response to Eran Eyal’s fraud charges, when it had indeed…

SA startup Wala wins $100k Zambezi Prize for Innovation in Financial Inclusion

SA fintech Wala has clinched the $100 000 grand prize in the 2018 Zambezi Prize for Innovation in Financial Inclusion. The prize is run by the Massachusetts Institute…

Charges against Springleap founder not first time Eran Eyal’s in trouble with law [Updated]

The latest charges laid against former Springleap founder Eran Eyal are not the first time he has had trouble with the law. Eyal, who currently…

Huawei’s All-Optical smart-home showcase unleashes a new era of home connectivity in Africa

Broadband Africa Forum 2024

Applications for the 2025 Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship are open

Africa’s AI Revolution: Reclaiming the Digital Narrative

South Africa’s Deskless Workers: A Workforce Under Strain

Microsoft launches new Surface devices in new AI era

Honor Magic V3 launches, four things to know

Honor Magic V3, a Guinness world record attempt

What is Northvolt worth for German car companies?

Jaguar rebranding creative is crazy – good?

German luxury cars require a rethink for China