Kenya’s Twiga Foods has raised a total of $30 million from lenders and investors led by Goldman Sachs. Top American investment bank Goldman Sachs is the latest to acquire a stake in Kenyan start-up Twiga Foods following a Sh2.44 billion ( $23.75 million) deal that will help the agro-based firm spread across the country and Africa. The B2B food distribution company financed $6.25 million of the funding in convertible debt and $23.75 million in equity, classified as a Series B round. IFC, TLcom Capital, and Creadev joined Goldman on the…
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PayPal to enter new China Market.
PayPal will become one of the first international companies to gain a payments license in China, after news emerged that the state-owned People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has greenlighted PayPal’s acquisition of a majority stake in local company GoPay. PayPal, through one of its local China-based subsidiaries called Yinbaobao, will acquire a 70% stake in GoPay, according to a statement on GoPay’s website [in Chinese]. The deal is expected to close in Q4 2019. The company’s full statement on the acquisition is below: The People’s Bank of China has approved…
Read MoreJumia’s stock losing more than half of its value since its NYSE public IPO
Jumia, the ‘African’ ecommerce company that has its corporate headquarters in Dubai and operations in 14 African countries including Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria, continues to struggle after an initial good run at the New York Stock Exchange. It’s stock closed at $6.68, an all-time low, on Friday, with the market cap going down to ~$520 million. For the sake of context, the Rocket Internet-founded Jumia had become a unicorn (with a valuation of $1.08 billion) in 2016 (when it was known as Africa Internet Group or AIG) after raising…
Read MoreCredoLab fintech company, new launch in Kenya
Alternative credit scoring fintech company, CredoLab, launched in Kenya recently is lined to drive financial inclusion by credit scoring more people, especially those who are new to bank and credit. CredoLab announced that it is in negotiations with the large financial institutions, digital banks, credit bureaus, consumer lenders and retail operations in Kenya. Michel Massain, Sales for Europe and Africa at CredoLab says, “With the trend in Kenya of banks shifting from traditional banking halls to digital platforms, our alternative credit scoring technology is perfectly timed to help lenders provide…
Read MoreCellulant’s super payments app Tingg unveiled in 8 African countries
Cellulant the African fintech company has Tuesday announced the launch of Tingg, an all-in-one, multi-functional consumer super app that will include a wide array of payment, commerce and financial services into a single platform that will revolutionize the way customers interact with digital payment services in the continent. The pan-African payments firm has been quietly building a payments super app to bring bill payments, remittances, lending, group investments, food and gas orders in one app in its eight markets across Africa. The firm has now announced a major rebrand of…
Read MoreNew Ethiopian Government to address diaspora shares confiscated by NBE
Ethiopian parliament recently passed a bill to open up the country’s financial sector to an estimated five million citizens living abroad or with dual nationality, including allowing them to buy shares in local banks and start lending businesses. Reports Reuters The changes are part of a raft of economic reforms initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed when he came to power last year, partly aimed at boosting the country’s foreign exchange reserves, which had dropped precariously low. “The law will enable the Ethiopian born diaspora to take part in the…
Read MoreTala Microloan New Startup gains $110 Million In latest Funding
Tala, a Los Angeles startup that makes microloans to consumers and small business owners in emerging markets, is announcing today that it has raised $110 million in funding. The new Silicon Valley venture capital firm RPS Ventures, cofounded by Kabir Misra, former managing partner at Softbank’s $100 billion Vision Fund, is leading the round. Tala’s backers include PayPal, billionaire Steve Case’s VC firm Revolution, Chris Sacca’s Lowercase Capital and Data Collective, among others. The new funding values Tala at nearly $800 million, according to an investor. Tala has raised more…
Read MoreApple Card just quietly launched, takes a new approach to credit cards use
Last week, Apple Card was launched, a new product that just might make the tech firm a lot of money. However there wasn’t much elation and ululation. This is because, anyone who put their name down to get Apple notifications likely got a highly personalized invitation about the product. To celebrate the launch, Apple didn’t release an expensive ad featuring exited customers, rather, Apple’s YouTube page was filled with explanatory videos. The Card is Apple’s different approach to credit cards use, statements are handled, and rewards are redeemed, without any…
Read MoreNigeria proposes New law to tax local online purchases
Online purchases in Nigeria could soon come with a tax bill in part of plans to raise more revenue to fund a record budget, Nigeria’s government is considering a 5% Value Added Tax (VAT) specifically for online purchases. Babatunde Fowler, head of Nigeria’s federal tax agency, says the government may appoint banks as agents to deduct 5% VAT on all local online purchases with a bank card. The policy could be in place by early next year, Fowler said in an interview with Premium Times, a local online newspaper. This…
Read MoreKenya based Direct Pay Online (DPO) acquires New SA’s PayFast
Nairobi-based online payment service provider Direct Pay Online (DPO) has acquired PayFast, a payment processor based in South Africa. A statement said the transaction by the DPO Group was executed through a mix of shares and cash, with the PayFast management team remaining key shareholders in the Group. Following the transaction, DPO Group said it will be providing services to over 100,000 merchants across 18 African markets. “The integration of PayFast into DPO’s services will increase the range of payment options available to DPO’s business customers, whilst providing a Pan-African…
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