Category: featured

Africa’s e-commerce giant Jumia to list on the New York Stock Exchange

Editor

Reports of an initial public offering (IPO) by Jumia, the pan-African conglomerate of e-commerce businesses, have been finally confirmed but details of its financials do not paint a pretty picture. Jumia has filed to launch its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) show. The intended IPO is a landmark first for e-commerce and tech businesses on the continent. It could also mark a possible exit by Rocket Internet, Jumia’s German parent company, divesting its remaining 28% stake in the company.…

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MPESA option now available on Aliexpress App

olivia Craig

Shopping online can seem like a daunting task to some people, especially considering the  limited payment options and security issues that bog online transactions. Alibaba-owned e-commerce platform, AliExpress, has slowly but steadily gained popularity in Kenya as the platform opens up the Chinese vast goods market to Kenyans. International shopping in Kenya has mainly relied on third-party services such a Vitumob or Something Random, that aim to connect locals to the well-established platforms like Amazon but recently we have seen these shopping websites make an effort to directly reach their…

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PesaPal adds new payments options on app in partnership with M-Pesa, Visa & MasterCard

Electronic payments firm PesaPal has added payment options in its integrated mobile money processing platform for shoppers and those making utility payments. The company said its users will be able to leverage on its new app — dubbed PesaPal Mobile — to buy airtime, pay bills, book flights and holidays, purchase event tickets and pay school fees. It has partnered with Safaricom’s M-Pesa, Visa and MasterCard to enable the payments “Available on both Android’s Google Play Store and Apple‘s App Store, the app is geared towards consumers looking to simplify…

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Ride-hailing platform Taxify rebrands as Bolt

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Bolt Food

Taxify, the ride-hailing platform rebranded in SA as Bolt, after five years in the local market. Uber rival said on Thursday. “This update brings the brand identity in line with the company’s broader vision of transportation that has already expanded from ride-hailing with cars to motorbikes and scooter-sharing,” it said. CEO Markus Villig said in a statement that when the company was founded five years ago, its first product was a taxi-dispatch solution that gave it its original name. Since then, it has outgrown parts of its brand, he said.…

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Net Giants including Facebook, Telegram & Signal, are planning to roll out new cryptocurrencies

SAN FRANCISCO — Some of the world’s biggest internet messaging companies are hoping to succeed where cryptocurrency start-ups have failed by introducing mainstream consumers to the alternative world of digital coins. The internet outfits, including Facebook, Telegram and Signal, are planning to roll out new cryptocurrencies over the next year that are meant to allow users to send money to contacts on their messaging systems, like a Venmo or PayPal that can move across international borders. The most anticipated but secretive project is underway at Facebook. The company is working…

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Uber introduces an electronic chip in NTSA Kenya safety enforcement push

Dianne Jacobs

Taxi-hailing firm Uber has introduced a new safety measure that requires vehicle owners to first acquire an electronic chip windscreen sticker from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). The sticker allows identification and authentication of car ownership before they are certified to offer its service. Uber in a notice to vehicle owners last week said starting March 1 all vehicles were required to have the NTSA’s Radio Frequency Identification sticker before receiving a go-ahead for further inspection at partner stations AutoXpress or Kingsway Tyres. In the latest safety drive,…

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Co-creation Hub’s Design Lab in Kigali, Rwanda wants to own local problems

The launch of Co-creation Hub’s Design Lab in Kigali, Rwanda last week was important in many ways. The ‘CcHUB Design Lab’ is a revolutionary vision from the hub, and will be key to tackling some of Africa’s socio-economic problems. Designers and engineers at the lab will also be working with scientists from around the world to design solutions for some of Africa’s biggest issues in public health, education, governance, and the private sector. It is often said that “African problems require African solutions,” a phrase coined by Ghanaian economist George Ayittey.…

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Uber and lyft race to debut on the stock market

Dianne Jacobs

With the SEC up and running again after the government shutdown, the IPO gears are grinding back to life. Uber Technologies and Lyft Inc., both planning highly-anticipated public offerings, could be two of the first unicorns to take the plunge in the public markets this year. It’s not confirmed publicly which rideshare giant plans to go first, but both reportedly have received feedback from the SEC on their IPO proposals. But the significant disparity in their sizes and valuations could influence how both are ultimately received by the market. That could put pressure on the rival…

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Amazon backs down on New York HQ Plans

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Amazon CloudFront Edge

“After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens,” the company said in a statement. Amazon has announced it will no longer build a headquarters in New York. “After much thought and deliberation, we’ve decided not to move forward with our plans to build a headquarters for Amazon in Long Island City, Queens,” Amazon said in a statement Thursday. The change would have brought 25,000 jobs to the Queens area, but the company would…

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Mobile App ‘State of Mobile 2019 Report’

Voice App

Global app store consumer spend reached $101 billion in 2018, up 75 percent from 2016. This figure is expected to exceed $120 billion in 2019, according to mobile data and analytics provider App Annie. The company released its annual The State of Mobile in 2019 Report — a comprehensive guide for businesses looking at mobile. Screenshot from App Annie 2019 Annual State of Mobile Report China accounted for nearly 40 percent of total consumer spend in 2018. Globally, on a category level, games accounted for 74 percent of consumer spend…

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