Johnstone Kpilaakaa

BD Insider 184: Airtel Uganda plans $216 million IPO

Most of the over 600,000 graduates produced by Nigerian universities lack digital skills, according to a report by GetBundi. We also covered Airtel Uganda's planned IPO.

Uber launches electric bikes in Kenya, its first in Africa

As part of its efforts to be a zero-emission company by 2040, Uber has rolled out electric bikes in Kenya, its first in Africa.

Ugandan mobility fintech, Asaak acquires FlexClub, expands to Latin America

Asaak has acquired FlexClub Mexico, as part of its expansion into Latin America. The undisclosed acquisition does not include FlexClub South Africa.

Anonymous Sudan hacked X because they want Starlink in Sudan

Anonymous Sudan has taken responsibility for X's (formerly Twitter) outage, stating that it is pressuring Elon Musk to launch Starlink in the country.

India wants to expand its Unified Payments Interface to Africa

The Indian government is planning to expand its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in Africa through commercial partnerships between payment platforms. According to Mint, an Indian business publication, the government is in talks with "several African countries", including Namibia, Mozambique, and Kenya.

Black Ostrich Ventures launches $20M fund to back startups outside Africa’s “Big Four”

US-based firm, Black Ostrich Ventures has raised a $20 million fund to invest in cleantech, supply chain, agritech, and edtech in Tanzania, Zambia, Morocco, and Uganda.

“Most graduates in Nigeria lack basic digital skills” — Report

At the end of each academic year, Nigerian universities produce about 600,000 graduates. A report by GetBundi, a Nigerian STEM and Digital Skills Institute says that about 85% of these graduates do not have digital skills.

ICT was the second-highest contributor to Nigeria’s GDP in Q2 2023

Despite a substantial funding gap between male-led and female-led startups on the continent, four investors see immense potential in these women entrepreneurs and consider them a must-watch.

Bloc launches business banking service, appoints Guobadia to assemble its board

After 18 months of enabling fintech startups to build and deploy banking and payment services, Nigerian fintech startup, Bloc has launched a business banking services.

What we know about the Meta Creator Lab Live for Nigerian creators

Last Friday, over 40 young and aspiring Nigerian creators gathered at the Meta office in Lagos for the Creator Lab Live, an educational event that provides an opportunity for creators to learn from experts and collaborate.

BD Insider 183: Where does Nigeria’s “$500 million digital economy fund” come from?

Where is the Nigeria’s “$500 million digital economy fund” from? We attempt to answer this question and also provided insights into World Bank’s partnership to roll out digital IDs for Nigerians.

BD Insider 182: Nigeria rakes in over ₦2 trillion from Big Tech taxes

Within 15 months, non-resident digital firms paid over ₦2 trillion to the Nigerian government, according to NBS data. We also provided a roundup of tech happenings.