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

Flutterwave, BimaLab, Zindi, Meeula, MTN, Earnipay and CrowdForce. These are some of the names that made the headlines this week.

Fintech king Flutterwave got all of us talking after closing a US$250 million Series D funding that tripled the startup’s valuation from $1bn to $3bn.

Also, Meeula, a Nigeria-based tech-solution startup, during the week launched its venture as an e-card domain.

Let’s get into details.

Is it safe to say Nigeria is finally getting it right on supporting local initiatives? The week saw Nigeria’s National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) launching BimaLab, an accelerator programme designed to boost the development and adoption of digital solutions for the insurance sector.

Ripples Nigeria reported that the development was in partnership with FSD Africa.

According to the team, the initiative would borrow from Kenya’s BimaLab I, BimaLab II, and global best practices. What is not clear is Nigeria’s preparedness beyond lip service.

Far South, the uptake on foreign investments continued. Popular Zindi raised a US$1 million seed funding round to help it build on its impressive early growth.

The South African startup was launched in 2018 by Celina Lee, Megan Yates, and Ekow Duker.

Ridwan Adelaja highlighted that the startup runs on a mission to make data science accessible to the public.

5G for Nigerians is becoming a reality. All is now set for Nigeria to begin deployment of fifth generation networks, as the National Frequency Management Council announced it has handed over the 3.5GHz spectrum allocation to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ripples Nigeria reports.

Our correspondent revealed that the handover was done on Thursday, citing a statement from NCC spokesman, Uwa Suleiman.

The reported established that: “The National Frequency Management Council has formally handed over the 3.5GHz spectrum allocation for the deployment of Fifth Generation Networks to the Nigerian Communications Commission.”

A new startup wants Nigerians to conserve paper-use with its new initiative. Tech-solution startup, Meeula, has launched its venture as an e-card domain.

The startup produces smart lead-generating business card to help corporate professionals, entrepreneurs and business owners to network more effectively.

Ripples Nigeria reported that Meeula was initially formed in May 2021, with an ambition to allow users exchange contacts at events, conferences, meetings or meetups with just a single tap.

Identity is everything. Telecommunication company, MTN, during the week, revamped its logo as it looks to operate as a more inclusive tech company beyond telecom services.

The news comes to prepare users’ mind as the African giant noted that details of the development would be revealed much later on the 27th of February.

The newly proposed logo features the iconic yellow colour, but the oval-shaped blue background with a red accent has been dropped.

How does it feel to earn salary on a weekly bases? A startup looking to help employees in Nigeria get faster access to their salaries received investment worth $4 million to build on the idea.

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

Ridwan Adelaja confirmed that the new raiser was led by early-stage venture capital firm, Canaan.

According to the report, Earnipay operates as a fintech player, providing flexible and on-demand salary access to income-earners.

The jaw-breaking deal of the week leaves investors and analysts debating. Flutterwave, a Nigerian fintech company, closed a fresh US$250 million in Series D funding.

The six years old startup noted that the new raiser will go into driving its expansion plan.

Debate sparked up when the startup revealed that the new raiser tripled its valuation to $3bn with many describing the valuation as a wishful claim, urging the fintech king to proceed to list on the stock exchange market for proper valuation.

More fund raiser. CrowdForce, a Nigeria-based Y Combinator-backed agency banking platform, enlarged its purse with a new US$3.6 million pre-Series A funding round, Ripples Nigeria reports.

It was gathered that the startup looks to use the fund to increase its PayForce agent network three-fold this year to deepen its financial service offerings to underserved Nigerian communities.

The startup was founded by Oluwatomi Ayorinde and Damilola Ayorinde in 2015 as Mobile Forms, a data analytics platform that provided insights on hard-to-reach rural and semi-peri urban populations.

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