Tech
Nigerian edtech startup, Kibo, secures $2m seed. 2 other stories and a trivia
This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today
1. Nigerian edtech startup, Kibo, secures $2m seed
A Nigerian edtech startup, Kibo, has secured a $2 million seed funding led by Neo to expand the platform’s program.
The funding round saw participation from Future Africa, Pledges, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures, Transcend Network and several angel investors.
Kibo’s Chief Executive Officer, Ope Bukola, confirmed the development in a statement on Tuesday, noting that the funding brings the total capital raised to $2.4 million.
Kibo, which is an online school, offers several STEM degree programs targeted at students in Africa.
The STEM-focused online platform was launched in 2021 by Ope Bukola, Keno Omu and Rob Cobb.
Ripples Nigeria gathered that Kibo has offices in several cities across Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.
Speaking on the new investment, Bukola explained that the latest funding will allow the startup to launch its degree program.
She said: “The primary goal for the seed round is to get the degree program off the ground. We have been doing these short classes, and we’re going to keep doing them and going through the process of applying for accreditation.
“But our primary focus now is bringing in students for our degree programs.”
Tech Trivia: What is the theoretical maximum data transfer rate of a 5G cellular connection?
A 20 Mbps
B 200 Mbps
C 2 Gbps
D 20 Gbps
Answer: see end of post
2. Ghana-based fintech, Fido, secures $30m investment
A Ghana-based fintech startup, Fido, has announced securing $30 million equity investment and some undisclosed debt funding in a Series A round.
Read also:Morocco’s Chari acquires Ivorian startup Diago. 1 other story and a trivia
Fido’s CEO, Alon Eitan, in a statement, on Tuesday confirmed that Israel-based private equity fund, Fortissimo Capital, led the funding round.
According to Eitan, the fund also saw participation from Yard Ventures.
Ripples Nigeria gathered that the new raiser takes the total equity investment raised by the startup to date to $38 million.
Fido, as a fintech player, gives mobile loans, repayable through single or multiple installments for a period of up to six months.
The startup was launched by Nadav Topolski, Tomer Edry and Nir Zepkowitz in 2015.
Commenting on the development, Eitan said: “Customers will be able to deposit from mobile money, cards and even cash, and we receive attractive returns on those savings.
“Our payments product will be layered on top of existing payment rails, as we want to create interoperability between all the different payment rails that are popping up in different countries today.”
3. UAE’s digital financing proptech, Huspy, raises $37m Series A
UAE’s home finance solutions startup, Huspy, has raised a $37m Series A round.
Jad Antoun, co-founder and CEO, disclosed this on Tuesday in a statement, while sharing the vision of the startup.
The new round was led by Sequoia Capital India and saw participation from several investors including Fifth Wall and Founders Fund.
According to Jad, the investment makes its Founders Fund’s debut in the Middle East’s market.
The home finance solution company provides financial facilities to individuals looking to purchase homes, facilitating the purchase process as the clients won’t have to directly talk to the bank.
Jad, while explaining the terms of service, said:
“Our aspiration is to continue building Huspy into a category-defining company and set a new bar for the way people buy and finance their houses.”
Huspy hopes to use the funds to expand across Europe, beyond its current existence in the Spanish market, as well as develop its technology.
Trivia Answer: 20 Gbps
5G is the fifth generation of cellular data technology. It succeeds 4G and related technologies, including LTE.
The theoretical maximum data transfer rate of 5G is 20 Gbps (2.5 gigabytes per second). That is 20x faster than LTE-Advanced, which has a peak download speed of 1,000 Mbps.
By Kayode Hamsat
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