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Nigerian deep tech startup, RxAll is looking to squash the $30 billion global fake drug industry

Fifteen years ago, a young Nigerian boy, Adebayo Alonge slept and did not wake up the next day after taking drugs bought from a street chemist in Ibadan, Oyo State.

He had been earlier diagnosed with asthma and had to buy Ventolin tablets to manage the condition.

“After taking the drugs, I slept that night and did not wake up throughout the next day,” he said.

At the hospital, it was discovered…

Lord’s Dry Gin announces the Lord’s Achievers award attuned with the International day of Achievers.

As part of its mission to celebrate distinct leadership, Lord’s dry gin will be marking the 24th of March – International Day of Achievers by honoring the exceptional performance and accomplishments of 8 under 40 achievers in different professional landscapes in Nigeria:  Health, Professional, Tech, Creative, Arts, Business, and Innovation. Men and women who are driven by passion, consistency,…

A stylish and budget friendly smartphone with a bigger display and better selfies

Huawei fans received good news this year when Huawei decided to launch its latest HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2019 in Nigeria. A smartphone series that has been known throughout the years to be pocket-friendly, fashionable and well-suited for users and this year’s addition maintains this legacy. HUAWEI Y7 Prime 2019 features a large 6.26-inch HUAWEI Dewdrop display to maximize the display area for the…

There’s a new motorcycle-on-demand startup in Lagos looking to give Gokada, MAX a run for their money

You may have noticed some motorcycles with distinctive blue branding, operating along major routes in Lagos, Nigeria.

Even though their riders wear ‘EasyMobility’ branded apparel, they seem to have similar operations with motorcycle-on-demand services like Gokada and MAX, judging by the looks of the bikes.

There is however something unusual about them. Unlike with Gokada and MAX, where users go…

FarmCrowdy raises additional $1million seed investment

Following up on its last seed investment of $1million in December 2017, Nigeria digital crowd-funded agriculture platform, FarmCrowdy has reportedly raised additional seed round of $1million, to bring total seed investment to $2million.

The additional investment came from international investors Cox Enterprises and Techstars, along with local investor Ajayi Solutions.

With the additional…

Jumia, Africa’s first Internet startup to file for listing on the NYSE, might not be truly African

Barely a month after reports of its impending IPO intensified, Jumia made things official by filing to list on the New York Stock Exchange.

According to the FORM F-1 filed by Jumia with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the eCommerce giant’s principal executive office is based in Germany. This begs the question of whether Jumia is truly an African company after all.

The official…

Paylater’s parent company, OneFi acquires Amplify for ‘undisclosed fee’

One Finance and Investment Limited (OneFi), the company behind consumer lending app, Paylater recently announced its acquisition of Amplified Payments Limited for an ‘undisclosed fee’.

The announcement is coming barely two weeks after OneFi secured a $5m debt facility from Lendable.

Amplified Payments Limited (Amplify) is a Nigerian fintech company whose primary offerings are mTransfers, a social…

Google announces Launchpad Accelerator Africa 3

Google last week announced the startups that will be participating in its third Launchpad Accelerator Africa programme.

This third cohort sees new 12 startups from six African countries – Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda — come under Launchpad Accelerator Africa

In no particular order, the 12 startups are:

54Gene(Nigeria): Improves drug discovery by researching multiple…

Call for entry to Itanna Accelerator programme 2019 – Itanna set to invest $300,000 in tech startups

Itanna, the Venture Capital investing platform backed by Honeywell Group, has today announced the commencement of this year’s Accelerator Programme. For those unaware, Itanna, which started operations in August last year, invests in growth stage technology-enabled businesses across Sub Saharan Africa in order to champion entrepreneurial talent and encourage disruptive thought in the African…

Africa’s Boomplay announces licensing Deal with Warner music

Boomplay, the largest music streaming and download service in Africa, has signed a direct licensing agreement with Warner Music to bring the record company’s diverse global roster of music to the region.

The terms of the partnership allow Boomplay to distribute Warner Music’s extensive catalogue of more than one million songs to its community of listeners in ten countries; Cameroon, Cote…

GIGM has a new tech-based solution for investors in Nigeria’s transport sector

Over the years, God Is Good Motors or GIGM has come to be associated with technology and innovation in Nigeria’s crowded transportation industry.

The company has steadily deployed solution-oriented technology to manage and make road travel in Nigeria as efficient as possible.

In a recent press sensitisation, the company unveiled its Enterprise Partner Solution; an innovative and novel concept.…

NITDA is on a mission to safeguard the data privacy rights of Nigerians

On a global level, data privacy has become one of the major concerns of governments and their regulatory agencies as far as the Internet is concerned. Early last year, there was a data breach saga involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica over which the United State Congress summoned Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO for testimony.

Also, the United Kingdom and European parliaments…

Nokia 9 PureView, the world’s first smartphone with five camera array up for pre-order in Nigeria

HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones today announced that fans in Nigeria can now pre-order the new Nokia 9 PureView from March 19th, 2019 to April 9th, 2019 from Konga, Jumia & Slot for N225,000.

Nokia 9 PureView is the world’s first five camera array system with ZEISS Optics smartphone, designed to put next generation computational imaging technology into the hands of photography enthusiasts in…

MTN wants to launch the “WeChat of Africa”, will it catch on?

On March 7, at the financial results presentation for the year ended in December 2018, MTN Group announced that it will launch a new instant messaging (IM) platform this year.

According to reports, Rob Shuter, the group CEO reportedly said that the platform which is already in beta testing will offer a wide range of services including a mobile money offering, music streaming, SMS integration, and…

4 key things to know on your startup’s way to an IPO in the US

After filing for an IPO at the New York Stock Exchange last week, eCommerce company, Jumia is gearing up to become the first Africa-focused tech startup to list on a major global exchange. If everything goes according to plan, the IPO may be concluded as early as March 27th 2019.

The US capital market has long been a favoured destination for foreign companies looking to raise capital or establish…

Are Lagos-based motorcycle on-demand companies really illegal?

Last week, the Lagos State Task Force impounded 115 motorcycles in the state metropolis, 22 of which reportedly belonged to motorcycle on-demand companies, MAX and Gokada.

Requesting anonymity, a source close to the matter told Techpoint the number of impounded MAX and Gokada motorcycles was actually 15 and not 22. The source also said the arrests were made to clear out an area that commercial…

Feature phones and the renewed drive for internet penetration in Africa

According to GSMA, there were 250 million smartphone connections in Sub-Saharan Africa as at the ending of 2017. There’s potential smartphone penetration growth considering that there are currently over a billion people living in the region.

For many Africans, smartphones are one of the first points of connecting to the internet. Increasing affordability will fuel this growth potential while also…