Togo’s Green Industry Plast receives over $1M in Afri-Plastics Challenge. 2 other stories and a trivia

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

1. Togo’s Green Industry Plast receives over $1M in Afri-Plastics Challenge

Challenge Works in partnership with the Government of Canada has announced Togo’s Green Industry Plast as the top winner of the Afri-Plastics Challenge.

Christopher Thornley, Canada’s High Commissioner in Nairobi, confirmed the award in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Friday.

Afri-Plastics Challenge awarded Innovative thinkers who have developed scalable solutions to combat plastic waste in Africa and lessen the amount of pollution entering the ocean.

The challenge, since inception, has facilitated awards totaling £4.1 million (CA$6.7 million).

Kenya’s Chemolex won £750,000 while £500,000 was won by Mega Gas.

“The winners of the Afri-Plastics Challenge show there is a way forward for establishing a successful circular economy for plastic waste, with innovations capable of changing how we all use and dispose of plastic – not only in Africa but around the world,” said Thornley.

Chanja Datti (Nigeria) leads the other six startups with an award of £750,000.

Tech Trivia: If a device is disconnected from the Internet, it is said to be what?
A. Offhook
B. Offset
C. Offline
D. Offload
Answer: see end of post

2. Egypt’s Almentor secures $10M funding to expand footprints

An Egypt-based Arabic online video learning platform, Almentor, has secured a $10 million pre-Series C round of funding to assist it to meet its target of reaching 10 million learners in the MENA region.

Read also:Nigeria launches $618M subvention to fund startups. 2 other stories and a trivia

Eddy Farhat, vice president at e& capital, confirmed the funding in a media release on Friday.

The company says it will use the funds to accelerate its growth towards its goal of serving ten million learners in the MENA region.

Existing investors include Partech, Sawari Ventures, Egypt Ventures, Sango Capital, and Endure Capital

“Our investment in Almentor intends to capitalize on this economic opportunity while driving significant educational impact in our fast-growing region,” said Farhat.

Since its launch in 2016, Almentor has worked with more than 950 renowned professionals to provide more than 1,000 online courses for individuals, businesses, and governmental organizations.

3. Twitch CEO to step down, president Clancy to take over

Chief executive officer of Amazon.com Inc-owned Twitch, Emmett Shear, has announced plans to step down after over 16 years.

Shear who cofounded the company disclosed this on his official Twitter handle seen by Ripples Nigeria on Friday.

According to Shear, President Dan Clancy, who has been at Twitch since 2019, will take on the role of CEO effective immediately, adding that he will remain on as an advisor.

“In October 2006 we started working on live video for the internet. That became Twitch. More than 16 years later, I’m now a father and ready to move to my next phase of life,” Shear tweeted

Shear co-founded Justin.tv, a live streaming service that later changed its name to Twitch.

Twitch quickly gained popularity in the gaming world because it allowed viewers to message players and each other while watching live games.

It was bought by Amazon for less than $1 billion three years later.

Trivia Answer: Offline

When a computer or other device is not turned on or connected to other devices, it is said to be “offline.” This is the opposite of being “online,” when a device can readily communicate with other devices.

By Kayode Hamsat

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