Nigeria’s techpreneur, Agboola, listed among TIME’s 100 most influential people. 2 other things and a trivia

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

1. Nigeria’s Olugbenga Agboola features on TIME’s 100 most influential people list

 

Nigerian techpreneur and co-founder of Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola, has, alongside other 99 prominent individuals, been featured by TIME magazine in its latest 100 most influential people listing.

Featuring on the list, the Fintech player is rated for leading one of Africa’s major payment gateway companies as an industry engineer and product development specialist.

Olugbenga Agboola, who is the co-founder and CEO of Flutterwave, prior to co-founding the payment company (in 2016) had contributed to the development of fintech solutions at several tech companies and financial institutions.

Agboola’s footprints can be found in big enterprises such as Google, PayPal and Standard Bank, among others.

The CEO is a graduate of the MBA program at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

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Tech Trivia:

Which of these is the first web-based e-mail service?

A. Hotmail
B. Yahoo Mail
C. GMail
D. Rediff Mail

Answer: See end of post.

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2. SunCulture raises $11m to expand across Africa

Kenyan solar irrigation startup SunCulture has announced receiving a US$11 million debt funding to see to the company’s expansion plans across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The 8 year old SunCulture offers solutions tailored to smallholder farmers, combining technology with pay-as-you-go (PAYG) financing and value-add services.

With claims to be the first company to commercialise solar-powered irrigation in Africa, SunCulture, according to press, currently reaches customers across Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Togo, and Ivory Coast.

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The new raiser, which comes after a US$14 million Series A funding round of 2020, was led by SunFunder, a financing company specialised in solar energy.

The raiser also saw the participation of other financial partners including the Off-Grid Energy Access Fund of the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Energy Inclusion Facility (OGEF); Triodos Investment Management, the Danish government’s Nordic Development Fund (NDF); and the investment company AlphaMundi.

3. Joburg Smart City Innovation Challenge opens call for applications

In a collaboration with Tshimologong Innovation Precinct, the City of Johannesburg’s Smart City Office has opened call for applications for the Smart City Innovation Challenge.

The challenge seeks smart city solutions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since the lockdown protocols have ignited new thinking about the future of Johannesburg and its residents, the Smart City Innovation Challenge aims to find and develop digital technology solutions that respond to urban and community challenges faced by the city in the “new normal”.

Therefore, the challenge looks out for 4IR startups that have been in operation for between three and seven years and are developing Smart City technologies or innovative solutions.

According to the organising body, an ideal solution should accelerate service delivery, improve the liveability and safety of the city and enhance operational efficiencies.

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Tech Trivia Answer: Hotmail

Hotmail service was founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith in 1996, and was acquired a year later (1997) by Microsoft for an estimated $400 million. Upon acquisition by Bill Gates, it was further developed into a personal information manager web app from Microsoft consisting of webmail, contacts, tasks, and calendaring services under a new name: OUTLOOK.

Before the name change, however, it was first relaunched as MSN Hotmail, and later rebranded to Windows Live Hotmail which was featured as part of the Windows Live suite of products. Microsoft phased out Hotmail in October 2011, relaunching the service as Outlook.com in 2012.

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