Nigeria’s Interswitch secures $110m to scale venture in Africa. 2 other stories and a trivia

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

1. Nigeria’s Interswitch secures $110m to scale venture in Africa

African giant payments company, Interswitch, has announced receiving a $110 million investment jointly funded by LeapFrog Investments and Tana Africa Capital.

Interswitch Group CEO and co-founder, Mitchell Elegbe, confirmed the development in a statement on Friday, noting that the fund was to scale its platform across Africa.

According to Mitchell, the group is “excited to welcome LeapFrog and Tana on board, as we continue our work to advance the future of the African payments landscape.”

The fintech giant facilitates the electronic circulation of money as well as the exchange of value between individuals and organisations.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the now 20-year-old fintech company was founded by Charles Ifedi and Mitchell Elegbe.

LeapFrog Investments’ Partner and Head of Africa Financial Services, Karima Ola, who spoke on the development, said:

“Interswitch, a pioneer in the African payments ecosystem, has been disrupting the cash economy, driving digital payments, and promoting equitable financial inclusion in Nigeria for two decades.

“This investment by LeapFrog affirms the formidable talent at Interswitch and how well-placed it is to seize the significant opportunity in Africa’s evolving digital payments landscape.”

Tech Trivia: What term is used synonymously with “Refresh?”
A Restart
B Redo
C Reload
D Rename
Answer: see end of post

2. Cairo-based startup, Teegara, secures Bridge round

A Cairo-based e-commerce startup, Teegara, has announced securing an undisclosed Bridge round led by Alexandria Angel Network from several countries.

Read also :Pan-African technology group, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, acquires Telrad

The co-founders, and CEO of Teegara, Ahmad Kayyal, disclosed the latest raiser in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Friday.

Teegara was founded in 2017 by Ahmad AL Kayyali, and Nader Ibrahim who were later joined by Ahmed Samir as the first investor.

Teegara runs an e-commerce website, providing households and users with plastics and hygiene, small electrical appliances, detergents, and more.

Kayyali, while commenting on the raiser and intent, said:

“Teegara obtained a bridge round of financing from Alex Angels with the participation of investors from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan.

“This round will be utilized in its expansion plan of the company by adding more verticals to its platform and hiring more sales and operations forces in addition to enhancing its technical capabilities.

“The company is preparing for its “Seed round” of financing during the second half of 2022 with VCs from the region.”

3. South Africa’s TooMuchWifi secures $1m pre-series A round

A South Africa-based internet service provider, TooMuchWifi, has announced securing a $1 million pre-series A round.

The Chief Executive Officer, Ian Thomson, confirmed the latest development on Friday, noting that the new fund is hoped to fuel its plans to scale operations and increase its footprint in the existing markets.

The round was led by BLOC SA, with $585 000 of the total $1m raiser.

According to Ian, other investors that participated in the round include Connectivity Capital, Atreyu Investments, and a European Family Office together with existing investors.

Founded in 2016, and based in Cape-Town, the startup delivers choice internet service at an affordable price to underserved communities in urban areas.

Commenting on the raiser, Ian said:

“To date, TooMuchWifi has saved Capetonians living in townships over R700 million (about $50 million) in data costs. We have trained and employed more than 245 previously-unemployed young people from the township communities we serve.

“We believe that one of the steps we can take towards a more equitable future is to ensure that all South Africans have access to fast internet for school, work, and entertainment.”

Trivia Answer: Reload

Refresh is a command that reloads the contents of a window or Web page with the most current data.

For example, a window may list files stored within a folder, but may not track their location in real-time.

If the files have been moved or deleted since the window was first opened, the folder contents displayed will be inaccurate. By refreshing the window, a current list of files is displayed.

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