LATEST TECH NEWS: Nigeria’s Helium Health closes $7m funding round. 4 other things and a trivia you need to know today, May 4, 2020

These 5 latest stories from the tech space will keep you updated with trends today.

1. Nigeria’s Helium Health closes $7m funding round

Nigerian healthcare data management startup, Helium Health, has announced securing $7 million investment from Dubai-based Global Ventures. According to the startup, this round saw the participation of other investors including AAIC, China’s Tencent and Noor Sweid.

Analysts say this is Dubai picking interest in fortunes in Nigeria as Global Ventures co-led the $7 million investment with AAIC Japan in Helium Health, West Africa’s largest electronic medical records provider. The 6-year-old startup is gunning to digitize Nigeria’s health sector by helping hospitals transition from the paper-based records system to a smart digital system.

2. Amazon, Flipkart, Ola, Uber, set to resume services in India

Leading E-commerce firms Amazon  and Walmart’s Flipkart, and ride-hailing giants Ola and Uber are partially resuming their services in India. This development is observed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government eased some restrictions late last week to revive economic activity that’s been stalled since the stringent stay-at-home orders were imposed across the nation in late March.

According to official reports from the companies, they were resuming services in green and orange zones, districts that have seen less severe outbreak of the coronavirus, across the country, in a bid to play safe. For Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Paytm Mall, they had resumed business, with the acceptance — and delivery of — orders containing even non-essential items.

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Tech Trivia

Who is a twillionaire?

Answer: See end of post.

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3. Cairo-based Pravica raises $500k in pre-seed round

Egypt’s Pravica has reportedly landed a $500,000 investment in a pre-seed round led by Francisco-based VC, 500 Startups. According to Pravica, the founding also saw participation from Modus Capital, a venture capital (VC) company with offices in the US and Egypt, and Dyres Ventures.

Read also: LATEST TECH NEWS: Nigeria’s Farmcrowdy ventures off as food vendor. 4 other things and a trivia you need to know today, May 1, 2020

Blueprint of the company reveals that the Egyptian email service provider (ESP) which uses blockchain technology, was founded in April 2019 by Mohamed Hussein Abdou. The document further revealed that the startup was previously known as Dmails until a rebrand in March. Statement available on the company’s blogsite stated that the company will use the investment to build its customer base while also investing in the expansion of its team.

4. S. Africa’s Technology Innovation Agency secures co-investment from home-based investors

South Africa’s Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) has entered new agreement with home-based angels network, Dazzle Angels and Jozi Angels. According to the new signing, the investors will co-invest in early-stage startups through TIA.

With one investment already made following the development, TIA, as a national public entity, continues to bridge the innovation chasm through financial and non-financial support. Launching its Industry Matching Fund (IMF) Programme in 2019, it has served as an organisation operating a blended finance model between funders and industry.

5. France’s Bpifrance launches challenge to support startups looking to expand to Europe

Bpifrance, one of French’s business accelerators, has launched a challenge for African startups that plan to expand to Europe, and especially France. The challenge, according to press, is aimed at startups based in Africa that either have small ongoing operations in France or Europe, or are already preparing to enter Europe having secured for example a partnership agreement or letters of intent from customers.

Speaking on the development, a company spokesperson noted that Bpifrance is looking to support startups that are seeking to raise between €1-million and €3-million to finance their market expansion into listed regions. According to industry reviews, this development will enable further domestication and exchange of ideas between Africa and listed regions.

Tech Trivia Answer: A Twitter user with one million followers. 

Ashton Kutcher became the first twillionaire in April 2009 when he beat CNN to 1 million followers. Today, there are loads and tonnes of twillionaires online, including Nigerian controversial Musician Naira Marley.

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