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Kenya’s mobility startup Opibus raises $7.5m funding round. 1 other thing and a trivia

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This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.

1. Kenya’s mobility startup Opibus raises $7.5m funding round

Opibus, a Kenya-based electric mobility startup, has announced raising US$7.5 million in equity and grant funding.

The fund, according to the board, is expected to help it scale its operations in electric motorcycle and bus manufacturing.

Opibus was founded in 2017, and has grown to become a leading provider of electric vehicles designed and manufactured locally.

The startup envisions creating reliable and cost effective products designed for the pan-African mass market.

The round was led by Silicon Valley fund At One Ventures, with participation from Factor[e]Ventures and Ambo Ventures.

Speaking on the development, Filip Gardler, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Opibus, expressed excitement on the news, describing its new investors as globally recognised investors.

He said: “We are proud to be backed by globally recognised investors providing a balance between deep-tech and emerging market expertise.

“We have together reached a clear strategic and visionary alignment – with the conviction that mass manufacturing of electric mobility solutions in Africa will not only make the products more accessible and affordable, but also lead to one of the largest industrialisation and welfare transitions of the region in modern time.

“The targets and objectives we’ve set for Opibus might seem bold, however it is a mission that has become more important than ever. We have a responsibility to the coming generations and the earth at whole.”

Tech Trivia: What is the first natural number?
A NaN
B -∞
C 0
D 1
Answer: See end of post

2. Tanzania M-Pesa disburses R33.8m profits amongst users

Vodacom Tanzania Plc has disbursed profit accumulated on associated Trust Accounts to its over 10 million M-Pesa users.

READ ALSO: Cairo-based fintech startup Dayra secures $3m. 2 other things and a trivia

The profit-sharing development saw its subscribers receiving their share via their registered wallets by 31 October 2021.

According to the company, the profit was paid to individual customers, retail agents and other M-Pesa business partners based on their wallet transactions and account activity over a stated period.

Launched in 2008, M-Pesa grew to become Tanzania’s largest mobile financial service.

Being a Vodacom’s flagship digital payments service, it commands over a third of the estimated 30 million active mobile money accounts that generate approximately 300 million transactions to a total value of around R76.2b in Tanzania each month.

Commenting on the impact of interest pay-outs, Epimack Mbeteni, Vodacom Tanzania Director of M-Pesa, noted that the company is gratified to see progress being recorded despite un-ending challenges.

He said: “We are extremely gratified to see that despite challenging commercial environment being faced by our customers, the M-Pesa service continues to be a major foundation for their economic activities.”

“This revolutionary mobile money platform has played a huge role in building inclusion and access to services in the country.

“Women and youth have seen the ease and convenience of using M-PESA and are taking advantage of the numerous M-Pesa services that simplify and improve their lives.

“It has also been a key resource empowering small businesses to weather the difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. For us at Vodacom Tanzania, our priority is to make sure that this platform remains the most agile and responsive to customer needs.”

Tech Trivia Answer: 1

A natural number is an integer greater than 0. Natural numbers begin at 1 and increment to infinity: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.

Natural numbers are also called “counting numbers” because they are used for counting. For example, if you are timing something in seconds, you would use natural numbers (usually starting with 1).

When written, natural numbers do not have a decimal point (since they are integers), but large natural numbers may include commas, e.g. 1,000 and 234,567,890. Natural numbers will never include a minus symbol (-) because they cannot be negative.

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