TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space

HyperPay, Pharma Run, EdVentures, Kasha, Spiker, DESAISIV, Clafiya, Rainmaking Innovation, Wellx, Amazon, were some of the names that made the headlines this week.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, plans to monetize its artificial intelligence large language model, Llama 2, by charging significant cloud-computing companies when they resell its services.

Also, EdVentures, an Edtech corporate venture capital firm, has entered into a strategic partnership with VMS, a Venture Studio empowering entrepreneurs and startups in the Middle East.

Let’s get into details.

Kenyan agtech startup, FarmWorks, has closed a $4.1M pre-Series A funding round.

The investment was led by Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, an existing investor in the company. Other participants in the funding round included Livelihood Impact Fund, Vested World, various family offices, and angel investors.

With this latest investment, FarmWorks has now raised a total of $5.6 million in equity funding.

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, plans to monetize its artificial intelligence large language model, Llama 2, by charging significant cloud-computing companies when they resell its services.

Entities like Microsoft, Amazon, or Google, who resell the AI model, will be subject to revenue-sharing arrangements with Meta.

While the company expects this revenue to be relatively modest in the short term, it envisions potential long-term gains from this approach.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has launched a new service, AWS HealthScribe, that seeks to cater for healthcare software providers.

This new product harnesses the potential of generative artificial intelligence and speech recognition to automate the drafting of clinical documentation.

AWS HealthScribe is designed to save valuable time for healthcare workers by offering AI-generated transcripts and summaries of patient visits, which can be seamlessly integrated into the electronic health record system.

Wellx, a UAE-based platform with a focus on wellness and embedded insurance, has secured $2 million in a Seed funding round, with the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF) leading the investment.

The injection of capital is expected to support the regional growth of this UAE startup and drive technological innovation to fulfill Wellx’s mission of promoting healthier societies.

The funding round also saw participation from prominent investors such as DASH Ventures, Annex Investments, Sanabil Investments, Plus VC, Aditum Investments, Loyal VC, and Plug and Play Ventures.

Rainmaking Innovation, a globally recognized corporate innovation firm, is making its foray into Saudi Arabia’s startup ecosystem.

With a track record of boosting corporate innovation and running successful startup acceleration programs through Startupbootcamp, Rainmaking Innovation is set to fuel growth and opportunities in the Saudi Arabian market.

READ ALSO:TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space

Having played a vital role in the establishment of Startupbootcamp in 2010, Rainmaking Innovation is committed to supporting ambitious entrepreneurs at all stages of their growth journey.

Clafiya, an African healthtech startup, has closed $610,000 in a pre-seed funding round to expand its innovative digital primary care services.

The investment, according to the team, will be utilized for product development, team expansion, and enhancing their offerings.

The round attracted interest from investors and institutions, going on to underscore Clafiya’s potential in the African healthtech market.

DESAISIV, an insurtech startup based in the MENA region, has secured $2 million in a pre-seed funding round.

Co-founded by entrepreneurs Saed Khawaldeh and Mohamad Nabhan, DESAISIV aims to revolutionize the insurance sector. The startup focuses on leveraging AI to optimize various aspects of health insurance.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the startup’s impressive prediction accuracy and partnerships with leading organizations contributed to its growth in the industry.

Japanese healthcare startup, Spiker, has announced securing a new funding to advance its mission on AI-driven solution, Alert-Monitor, for the healthcare sector.

Combining artificial intelligence (AI) technology with central monitoring software, Alert-Monitor focuses on analyzing fetal heart rate labor chart data.

According to Spiker, the solution aims to address the devastatingly high infant mortality rates in developing countries, particularly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately 3.9 million babies lose their lives each year.

Africa-focused health-technology company, Kasha, has raised over $21 million in a series-B funding round led by Cape Town’s Knife Capital.

The funding round saw participation from various investors, including FinnFund, DFC, Altree Capital, and others.

Kasha operates as a digital retail and last-mile distribution platform, catering to consumers, resellers, pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics.

EdVentures, an Edtech corporate venture capital firm, has entered into a strategic partnership with VMS, a Venture Studio empowering entrepreneurs and startups in the Middle East.

The collaboration, according to the duo, is expected to revolutionize the EdTech industry in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, contributing to societal growth through innovative educational solutions.

VMS’s expertise, resources, and network will support talented startups entering the Saudi Arabian market, while EdVentures will provide specialized incubation, acceleration, and investment programs to enhance the startups’ chances of success.

Pharma Run, an online platform that allows users to find and order pharmaceutical products and services with Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options, has emerged winner of the Pitch2Win startup competition, receiving a prize of US$10,000.

The annual competition focuses on supporting early-stage startups, with participants presenting their business ideas to a panel of judges, including representatives from Ventures Platform, TLcom Capital, SG Verse, Freakout Holdings, and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority.

Founded in 2021 by Teniola Adedeji and Funmilola Aderemi, Pharma Run aims to address the issue of stock shortages in traditional pharmacies, which often lead customers to seek alternatives.

Saudi Arabia-based fintech company, HyperPay, has announced acquiring Sanad Cash, a platform that automates expense management processes for businesses.

The acquisition aims to diversify HyperPay’s product offerings and strengthen its position as a comprehensive digital solution provider across the MENA region.

Sanad Cash’s SaaS platform enables corporate clients to track their expenses and process on-demand payments for employees and others.

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