Kwara secures $3M seed extension to accelerate growth. 2 other stories and a trivia

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

1. Kwara secures $3M seed extension to accelerate growth

Kenyan fintech, Kwara, has announced securing a $3M seed extension to fuel its growth.

Kwara co-founder and CEO Cynthia Wandia disclosed this in a media statement on Monday.

According to the statement, the seed extension round saw participation from existing investors DOB Equity, Globivest, and Willard Ahdritz.

New backers in the round include One Day Yes, Base Capital, and fintech executives, including Mikko Salovaara, the CFO of Revolut.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that Kwara also signed an exclusive digital solutions distribution agreement with the Kenya Union of Savings & Credit Cooperatives (Kuscco), the national umbrella body representing SACCOs.

Commenting on the funding and partnership, Wandia said:

“The rationale (of the deal) is clear, first it is an opportunity to generate leads and distribute our core product as fast, and to deepen our competitive moat.

“We’re entering an exclusive partnership, which means no other tech company will be able to market with Kuscco.”

The new funding brings the total seed amount raised by the startup to $7 million.

Tech Trivia: The window section that includes the close and minimizes buttons is called what?
A. Navigation bar
B. Title bar
C. Status bar
D. Scroll bar
Answer: see end of post

2. Twitter-backed ShareChat reduces 20% of workforce

Indian social media startup backed by Twitter, Google, Tiger Global, and Temasek, on Monday cut off 20% of its workforce.

Read also:France slaps TikTok with $5.4m fine. 2 other stories and a trivia

ShareChat’s CEO Ankush Sachdeva announced the development in a media statement.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that over 400 employees were affected by the decision.

According to Sachdeva, the decision was implemented to “ensure the financial health and longevity” of the startup.

Sources familiar with the development claimed the startup deactivated access to accounts and wiped out all data of impacted employees.

“Since our launch eight years ago, ShareChat and our short video app Moj have seen incredible growth.

“However, even as we continue to keep growing, there have been several external macro factors that impact the cost and availability of capital,” a spokesperson noted.

3. Last-mile startup, Flyby, secures $1M Seed round

The UAE-based last-mile startup, Flyby, has secured a $1 million Seed round to develop its technology further.

Saher Khattab, Flyby’s official representative, disclosed this in a release on Monday.

The funding was led by FHS Capital based in Silicon Valley and VN2 Capital based in London, according to the release.

The Dubai-based smart delivery box and mobile digital out-of-home (OOH) advertising company claims it creates value within the food delivery ecosystem by realizing new efficiencies, as well as giving restaurants the opportunity for more visibility on the roads

“This investment signals that Flyby could positively disrupt a rapidly expanding sector. It’s a significant milestone on our ambitious journey, a vote of confidence to get our Flyby boxes on the streets of Dubai,” explained Khattab.

Khattab further explained that the fund would be used to scale and advance the technology and introduce a fleet of Flyby smart delivery boxes in Dubai.

Trivia Answer: Title Bar

A title bar is a small strip that extends across the top of a window. It displays the window’s title and typically includes the close, minimize, and maximize buttons.

By Kayode Hamsat

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now