LATEST TECH NEWS: Rwanda’s Kasha secures $1m Series A round. 2 other things and a trivia you need to know today, November 10, 2020

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

1. Rwanda’s Kasha secures $1m Series A round

Rwandan startup Kasha has increased the size of its Series A round to $3 million after securing S$1 million from Swedish development finance institution Swedfund. The company, which is an e-commerce platform, helps to improve women’s access to genuine health, hygiene and self-care products.

Launched four years ago, Kasha sells menstrual care products, contraceptives, pharmaceuticals and a range of beauty products, and delivers to customers confidentially. Industry reviews noted that the startup allows customers to place orders for products via its website, a mobile app, SMS shortcode or phone call.

Speaking on the development, industry analysts revealed that the company does not require a smartphone or internet connection and is focused on female empowerment and self-care. Kasha, which expanded to Kenya last year, has been raising a Series A round this year, and had already taken on funding from Finnfund and the United States International Development Finance Corporation.

It has now added another development finance institution to its roster of investors after finalising a $1 million cash injection from Swedfund.

The funding will enable Kasha to accelerate its growth and impact across Kenya and Rwanda, improve its platform, and support its expansion into other African countries.

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Tech Trivia:

Which tech company changed its motto to “Do the right thing” in 2015?

A. PayPal

B. Google

C. Twitter

D. Facebook

Answer: See end of post.

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2. Orange unveils winners of Africa and Middle East Social Entrepreneur Prize

Orange on Tuesday announced the winners of Africa and Middle East Social Entrepreneur Prize. The prize, which is the 10th edition, saw each winning startups taking home thousands of dollars in prize money. After a round of domestic competitions in the 17 African Orange subsidiaries, during which 41 winners were identified and supported, 18 finalists were selected to enter the international competition which took place at the virtual AfricaTech Festival.

Read also: LATEST TECH NEWS: Cape Town launches brand to become ‘Africa’s Tech Capital’. Two other things and a trivia you need to know today, November 9, 2020

The winner of the International Grand Prix was Tunisian Ahkili psychological assistance telephone hotline, which won EUR25,000 ($30,000), while second place went to Malian on-demand motorbike taxi service Teliman and Liberian ed-tech platform Weeglo.

The International Women’s Prize with a value of EUR20,000 ($24,000) was won by Tunisia’s Ahmini. According to a report, Ahmini is a digital platform to facilitate access for rural women to the Tunisian welfare and healthcare system while the Special 10th Anniversary Prize worth EUR10,000 ($12,000), was won by Burkina Faso’s Toto Riibô, a service for ordering and delivery of meals.

Meanwhile, Jury’s Favourite Prize winner was SOBATIC, another solution from Burkina Faso, which provides training and also designs IT tools for people with impaired vision.

3. Nigeria’s Xend Finance raises fresh 1.5-million funding

Nigerian tech startup Xend Finance has raised a $1.5-million investment round from Binance Labs and other lead investors. The raiser comes on the heels of the company’s launch of the first decentralised finance (DeFi) platform.

According to reports, the platform allows users to save and invest in stable currencies in the global market without the need for a traditional middle man in the country.

Other investors include Google Developers Launchpad, AU21 Capital, Ampifi VC, JUN Capital, TRG Capital, and Matic Co-founder, Sandeep Nailwal.

Speaking on the development, the partner at AU21, Kenzi Wang, commended the Xend finance team for building their network to infiltrate into the finance industry.

He said: “Along with Google, we were very impressed with the team at Xend Finance. They’ve already built a network of 55 000 users and are tackling a trillion-dollar industry that is perfectly suited for DeFi disruption. The Xend Finance product protects people’s savings in developing countries by giving them access to stable currencies on the global money market.

“The Xend Finance platform gives users the opportunity to create their own credit unions as well as cooperatives which will allow them to earn up to 15 percent annual percentage yield on their savings.

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Tech Trivia Answer: Google

As you likely know, the phrase “Don’t be evil” was the company’s motto for about 15 years from around 2000.

However, Google changed the motto to “Do the right thing” in October 2015 after corporate restructuring under the new conglomerate Alphabet Inc.

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