uLesson secures $15M from Nielsen Ventures and Tencent. 2 other things and a trivia

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

1. uLesson secures $15M from Nielsen Ventures and Tencent

African edtech startup, uLesson, has announced securing fresh $15M led by Nielsen Ventures and Tencent.

The new raiser sets new milestone for the African edtech space being the largest disclosed investment by an African player.

uLesson, earlier this year, raised a $7.5 million Series A.

According to the startup, the new investment saw the participation of five investors: Tencent, Nielsen Ventures, and existing investors Owl Ventures, TLcom Capital and Founder Collective.

uLesson was founded by in 2019 by former Konga boss, Sim Shagaya.

Sources familiar with the startup noted that the startup first launched by providing a product pack of SD cards and dongles with pre-recorded videos for K-12 students.

Tech Trivia: How does a laser printer print images on paper?

A It burns the image into the paper with a laser.
B It lays small drops of ink on the paper, then bonds them with a laser.
C It transfers images onto the paper using a photoreceptor.
D It uses pulses of light chemically change the color of the paper.
Answer: See end of post

2. Kenya’s Kwara closes $4m seed round

Looking to roll out credit union-powered neobank, Kenyan fintech startup, Kwara, has closed a US$4 million seed funding round.

The startup, which helps to turn traditional savings cooperatives into modern digital banks, was founded in 2018 by Cynthia Wandia and David Hwan.

Since its inception, Kwara has built a digital banking platform designed to help unbanked and underbanked individuals to build wealth together in a frictionless way.

READ ALSO: Egyptian ed-tech startup iSchool closes $160k pre-seed funding. 2 other things and a trivia

Sources familiar with the startup noted that Kwara connects the savings cooperatives with banks, payment gateways and other third parties through an open API.

Today, the multi-accelerated startup serves over 60,000 members and handles up to US$40 million in monthly transactions on its platform.

The raiser was led by Breega, and also includes SoftBank Vision Fund Emerge, Finca Ventures, New General Market Partners, Globivest, Do Good Invest, Rabacap, Launch Africa, Norrsken Impact Accelerator, Future Africa, Samurai Incubate and DOB Equity, as well as several fintech executives.

3. Egypt’s Minly acquires Dubai-based celebrity shoutout platform

Oulo, a Dubai-based celebrity shoutout platform, has been acquired by Egyptian media and entertainment startup, Minly.

The acquisition comes as the startup seeks to expand its reach within the MENA region.

Minly was co-founded last year by Mohamed El-Shinnawy, Tarek Hosny, Bassel El-Toukhy, Tarek ElGanainy and Ahmed Abass.

At launch, Minly was built to allow users to buy personalised video messages and shoutouts from their favourite celebrities.

Today, the app is available on Android, iOS, and web, and has experienced rapid organic growth, with more than 130,000 registered users on the platform, along with over 1,000 celebrities.

Following the acquisition, the merged business will operate under the Minly brand and roll out its combined experience offerings across the entire region.

Trivia Answer: Laser Printer

A laser printer is a printer that uses a focused beam or light to transfer text and images onto paper. Though contrary to popular belief, the laser does not actually burn the images onto the paper. Instead, as paper passes through the printer, the laser beam fires at the surface of a cylindrical drum called a photoreceptor. This drum has an electrical charge (typically positive), that is reversed in areas where the laser beam hits it.

By reversing the charge in certain areas of the drum, the laser beam can print patterns (such as text and pictures) onto the photoreceptor. Once the pattern has been created on the drum, it is coated with toner from a toner cartridge.

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