Diool closes $3.5m in funding to expand operations. 2 other things and a trivia

These latest stories from the tech space will keep you updated with trends today.

1.  Diool closes $3.5m in funding to expand operations in Cameroon

 

Diool, a Cameroonian Fintech startup, has announced raising a US$3.5 million in funding to scale its operations.

The startup, which started out as a mobile recharge project in 2015, offers small merchants a way to sell prepaid recharges to their customers from a single app.

Industry insights revealed that the startup has since pivoted into financial services aggregation after realising payment interchanges and financial services access was the pain point of its target users.

Today, the platform makes it simpler for small merchants to accept payments from their customers and repay their suppliers, using many payment methods.

The new funding was led by Lundin family and saw the participation of existing investors as the startup took its total secured investment to US$4.6 million.

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Tech Trivia

Which of these tech companies was founded in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California?

A. Microsoft
B. Hewlett Packard
C. Samsung
D. Apple

Answer: See end of post.

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2.   Angola’s Deya secures pre-seed funding round

 

Deya, an Angolan crowdfunding startup has secured its first round of pre-seed financing of more than US$50,000.

The new fund will help the startup develop its platform as it looks to start generating revenue.

According to review, the four-year-old Deya is the first crowdfunding platform in Angola, boosting access to finance for social impact causes.

Today, the startup has helped projects raise more than AOA15 million (US$22,000).

Speaking on the development, chief executive officer (CEO), Vanda de Oliveira, stated that the new founding would the company develop new products.

He said: “I am thrilled about the success of this financing round, as it lasted for almost a year until we closed negotiations with investors on this round.

READ ALSO: Union Bank unveils UnionX to support startups. 2 other things and a trivia

“This pre-seed financing is important because it will allow us to develop new intellectual property for the platform and expand Deya’s products offer so that its users can get the most value possible, and thus enabling us greater exponential growth.”

3.  TymeBank raises R1.6-billion from global investors

 

South African digital bank, TymeBank, has raised an investment of R1.6-billion from global investors.

The funding, which is expected to be used for bolstering the digital bank’s growth, will enable the bank to expand its current offering of banking products and grow its lending portfolio.

According to reports, the round saw the participation of new investors including Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners (Apis), and JG Summit Holdings (JG Summit).

Dr Patrice Motsepe, Chairman of African Rainbow Capital, the majority owner of TymeBank, while expressing excitement over the new raiser, named Apis and Gokongwei family as new investors.

He said: “As the controlling shareholder in TymeBank, African Rainbow Capital is delighted to have our new co-investors onboard.

“Equally important, Apis and the Gokongwei family invest in TymeBank at a time when significant uncertainty reigns globally and in South Africa as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

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Tech Trivia Answer: Hewlett Packard

The company was founded in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California by Bill Hewlett and David Packard, and initially produced a line of electronic test and measurement equipment. The HP Garage at 367 Addison Avenue is now designated an official California Historical Landmark and is marked with a plaque calling it the “Birthplace of ‘Silicon Valley’”.

The company got its first big contract in 1938, providing its test and measurement instruments for production of Walt Disney Pictures’ hugely successful animated film Fantasia. This success led Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard to formally establish their Hewlett-Packard Company on 1 January 1939. The company grew into a multinational corporation widely respected for its products, and its management style and culture known as the HP Way which was adopted by other businesses worldwide. HP was the world’s leading PC manufacturer from 2007 to Q2 2013.

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