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

BasiGo, CloudFret, Awfar, GoodNatureAgro, Fawry, Domty, Gozem, Moneex, Socium, Wahu Mobility, AtPay, MNT Halan, JOBJACK, were some of the names that made the headlines this week.

West African super app, Gozem, has acquired Benin-based fintech company Moneex, marking a strategic move to enhance its financial services portfolio across multiple markets..

Also, The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is seeking collaboration with university leaders to address the raising participation of students in cyber fraud, Ripples Nigeria has learnt.

Let’s get into details.

West African super app, Gozem, has acquired Benin-based fintech company Moneex, marking a strategic move to enhance its financial services portfolio across multiple markets.

Group director of Gozem, Jean-Martial Moulaud, confirmed the development in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday, November 9, 2023.

Originally launched as a taxi-hailing service in Togo in November 2018, Gozem expanded its operations to 13 cities across Togo, Benin, Gabon, and Cameroon, accumulating over one million registered users and facilitating more than 20 million trips since inception.

In a departure from its traditional focus on biodiversity, water, and sanitation initiatives, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has allocated $1.5 million to BasiGo, a Kenyan startup specializing in the assembly of electric buses.

The founder of BasiGo, Jit Bhattacharya, confirmed the development in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Friday, November 10, 2023.

This financial injection aims to “support pilot testing and scale-up” of electric vehicles in Rwanda, where BasiGo is expanding its electromobility initiatives.

Moroccan logistics startup, CloudFret, secures a significant boost with a $2.1 million investment in its latest funding round.

The founder of CloudFret, Driss Jabar, while speaking on the prospect of the venture, confirmed this in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Friday, November 10, 2023.

Investors AfriMobility and Azur Innovation Fund contribute to the €2 million infusion.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is seeking collaboration with university leaders to address the raising participation of students in cyber fraud, Ripples Nigeria has learnt.

The EFCC recently faced criticism for conducting a nighttime raid at Obafemi Awolowo University, where eleven students were arraigned for alleged internet fraud before Justice Nathaniel Ayo-Emmanuel of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, Osun State.

According to a statement from the anti-corruption agency, the defendants faced various charges, ranging from one to six counts, as brought against them by the commission.

Awfar, the Egyptian SaaS e-commerce startup founded by Abdelrahman Galal in 2020, has closed a substantial six-figure USD funding boost from Saudi Arabia’s Value Maker Studio (VMS).

The founder of Awfar, Abdelrahman Galal, confirmed this in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Friday, November 10, 2023

The investment aims to fuel Awfar’s expansion efforts within Saudi Arabia

Goodwell Investments, alongside social impact investors, Oikocredit and Global Partnerships/Eleos Social Venture Fund (GP SVF), has committed $8.5 million in equity to Good Nature Agro (GNA), a Zambian social enterprise.

The substantial investment aligns with GNA’s mission to empower around 30,000 smallholder farmers in southern Africa.

Specializing in cultivating drought-resistant, early-maturing legume seed varieties like beans, cowpeas, soybeans, and groundnuts, GNA employs a comprehensive business model covering access to inputs, input finance, climate-smart training, and a guaranteed market for high-value produce.

Fawry FMCG, a provider of financial technology solutions for consumer goods companies, has announced a collaboration with Egyptian food and beverage giant, the Arabian Food Industries Company, also known as “Domty.”

The CEO of Fawry FMCG, Hossam Ezz, confirmed the development in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday, November 9, 2023.

The partnership aims to bolster electronic collection systems, drive digital transformation in the food and beverage sector, and foster financial inclusion across various sectors within the Egyptian market.

African recruitment tech startup, Socium, has announced its latest move in expanding its reach within the African job market.

The CEO, Samba Lo, confirmed the news of the expansion in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.

The inauguration of its new office in Douala, Cameroon, signals the company’s commitment to addressing the growing demand for recruitment and personnel administration solutions across the continent.

A mobility firm headquartered in Accra, Ghana, Wahu Mobility, closed a strategic investment from Blue Lion, an esteemed family office associated with the German-owned Schörghuber Corporate Group.

The CEO, Valerie Labi, while speaking on the startup prospect, confirmed the development in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.

While the exact investment figure remains undisclosed, the injection of funds is poised to facilitate Wahu Mobility’s scaling of operations, broadening its product range, and expanding its presence across Ghana and other African cities.

AtPay, a decentralized finance (DeFi) based buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution, has partnered with core banking platform Pismo in anticipation of a soft launch in Australia.

The Sydney-centered startup offers the standard elements of a BNPL service, with a unique twist: allowing customers to settle payment installment using both fiat currency and cryptocurrency, whether online or in-store.

The selection of the cloud-based Pismo platform, headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil, acquired by Visa for $1 billion in June, will facilitate the issuance of debit, credit, tokenized, and prepaid cards through an API.

An Egyptian fintech startup, MNT-Halan, has closed a $130 million funding to mark the fifth tranche of securitised bond issuances this year.

These funds have propelled the company’s total 2023 funding to over $400 million.

The Founder and CEO, Mounir Nakhla, confirmed this in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday, November 6, 2023.

A global IT infrastructure company, Huawei has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Southern African Railways Association (SARA) to establish a collaborative framework aimed at advancing the digital transformation of railway transport and corridor logistics within the SADC region.

During the recent Southern African Railways Association event, Huawei showcased its role in driving the digital revolution in the railway sector.

The company’s technology solutions, including the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS), 5G Digital Indoor System (DIS), and Rail Cloud, hold the potential to greatly enhance the safety, efficiency, and overall quality of the railway experience.

Riyadh Valley Company, the investment arm of King Saud University, has announced its participation in the venture capital fund known as Flat6labs Startup Seed Fund (SSF), managed by Flat6labs, a player in the Middle East and North Africa region.

The CEO of Riyadh Valley Company, Dr. Khalid Al-Saleh, confirmed this in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday, November 6, 2023.

Ripples understands that the Flat6labs SSF is dedicated to supporting early-stage companies, with a particular focus on Saudi Arabian startup founders across various technology sectors, including financial technology, health, education, and tourism.

South African recruitment startup, JOBJACK, has announced raising a ZAR45 million (US$2.5 million) pre-Series A funding.

The Co-founder, Van den Berg, confirmed this in a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday, November 7, 2023.

The web-based recruitment platform was cofounded in 2018 to help change the narrative of entry-level recruitment in the country, by Christiaan van den Berg and Heine Bellinga.

Kigali-based startup, Norrsken22, has surpassed its target of $200million after closing its first African technology growth fund at US$205 million.

The founder, Niklas Adalberth, stated this while commenting on the raiser.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that Norrsken22 was founded in 2016 by Niklas Adalberth, one of the founders of Swedish fintech unicorn Klarna.

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