Nigeria’s ScholarX partners Airtel on new product. 2 other things and a trivia

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

1. Nigeria’s ScholarX partners Airtel to launch new product

Edtech startup, ScholarX, has announced signing a partnership deal with mobile operator Airtel to launch LearnAM, a new mobile learning platform.

The new LearnAM is designed to provide skills training content to improve learning outcomes.

ScholarX, now five year old, was founded as an app to allow users select parameters and scroll through lists of available scholarships that match their requirements.

Today, the startup has taken part in a host of accelerators in the last couple of years, including the Cape Town-based Injini ed-tech incubator and the Google Launchpad Africa accelerator, as well as secured pre-seed funding.

Ripples Nigeria had reported that the startup has been selected as one of the grantees of the GSMA Innovation Fund for Mobile Internet Adoption and Digital Inclusion.

LearnAM provides audio and visual content to improve digital and vocational skills of Africans so they can access decent work.

Tech Trivia: Which company is considered as the first Fintech to go global?
A. MasterCard
B. PayPal
C. Visa
D. Microsoft
Answer: See end of post.

2. Flat6Labs Tunis accelerator selects 8 new startups

The seventh edition of the Flat6Labs Tunis seed accelerator programme has enlisted eight Tunisian startups to benefit from its programme.

The 8 startups will secure US$65,000 each in funding for being selected to take part in it.

Flat6Labs is the MENA region’s leading seed and early-stage venture capital firm, running a host of startup programmes and investing in more than 100 startups each year.

READ ALSO: Nigerian cryptocurrency startups lose out on deals as US, African firms position for dominance

Media reports highlighted that the four-month accelerator programmes help entrepreneurs develop their business skills and provide them with a support environment to build their products, test market fit, improve their business models, and pitch to external investors.

Following selection, each participating startup receives US$65,000 in equity funding, as well as various kinds of support via the Flat6Labs network of experts, coaches, and mentors.

3. Lagos-based startup, Appzone, secures $10-million

Based and managed from Lagos Nigeria, Appzone, has secured $10-million in a Series A round of funding led by CardinalStone Capital Advisers.

The Pan-African fintech software provider creates proprietary solutions for Africa’s banking and payments industry.

The funding round saw the participation of V8 Capital, Lateral Investment Partners, Constant Capital, and Itanna Capital Ventures.

Commenting on the development, Emetarom, co-founder and CEO of Appzone, expressed his excitement and welcomed the league of new investors whose interest will be helping the company scale further.

He said: “We’re excited not only to be securing a significant capital raise, but also welcoming on board some strategic investors whose support will be key to our growth journey.

“Today’s news allows us to scale Appzone’s products and services rapidly.

“For the last 12 years, we’ve worked in stealth mode, building the really complex infrastructure to power the continent’s growing digital financial services space and forging partnerships with the continent’s biggest financial institutions.”

Tech Trivia Answer: PayPal

Contrary to popular belief, the first truly successful FinTech companies have been around since the turn of the millennium. Some were even around since the late 90’s. However, the first FinTech to truly become a global financial giant out of this sector is none other than PayPal.

Today, PayPal is worth over 80 billion dollars and is, according to Forbes magazine, the 193rd biggest public company on the planet. Though this success has been nearly 18 years in the making, the rise of PayPal to global domination in the industry it pioneered has not been all smooth sailing.

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