US-based VC, Flourish Ventures, launches Africa-focused program, Madica. 2 other stories and a trivia

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

1. US-based VC, Flourish Ventures, launches Africa-focused program, Madica

A US-based Global VC, Flourish Ventures, has today launched an Africa-focused program, Madica, set to support pre-seed stage startups.

Manica’s head, Emmanuel Adegboye, confirmed the development in a media release on Monday.

The program has set aside $6 million for investment in up to 30 African startups.

Adegboye said that the pan-African investment program will offer funding, technical support, and mentorship to underrepresented founders across the continent.

Commenting on the funding, Adegboye stated:

“We encourage founders across the continent to apply for our program.

“We believe Africans have an unmatched entrepreneurial spirit, and one of Madica’s core goals is to ensure a level playing field for every African founder.”

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the initial investment phase will run for three years.

Tech Trivia: Which of the following combines virtual reality with an open-world multiplayer setting?
A. Multiverse
B. Metaverse
C. Superverse
D. Omniverse
Answer: see end of post

2. South African fintech, Peach Payments, partners Stitch to launch instant EFT checkouts

South Africa-based digital payments gateway Peach Payments, has announced a partnership with API fintech Stitch to launch instant EFT checkouts.

Read also:Paypal cofounder, Peter Thiel, leads $6m seed in Nigerian startup, Maplerad. 2 other stories and a trivia

Rahul Jain, CEO of Peach Payments, confirmed the partnership in a statement on Monday.

With footprints in Kenya, Mauritius, and South Africa, Peach claims it provides a toolkit that enables Merchants to accept, manage and make payments via mobile and the web.

Instant EFT by Peach Payments gives shoppers an additional way to pay, meaning that even if their card doesn’t work, the transaction can still be completed,” said Jain.

Junaid Dadan, Stitch CPO, adds:

“We’re thrilled to partner with a leading player in payments like Peach Payments to help more merchants get paid easier and receive their funds faster with our Instant EFT solution.”

Stitch launched in 2021 has its payments and financial data API footprints in South Africa and Nigeria.

3. Egypt-based proptech, Seqoon, secures $500,000 pre-seed round

An Egyptian proptech, Seqoon, has announced securing $500,000 in a pre-Seed round.

Mohamed ElKhatieb, Co-founder of Seqoon, confirmed the fresh funding in a press release on Monday.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that the pre-Seed round was raised through Banque Misr’s pilot program to support startups in Egypt, with participation from other angel investors.

Omar Eldessouky and Mohamed Elkhatieb founded the proptech startup in 2022.

“I can’t describe the energy we have here. We’re backed by investors and angels with great experience in our domain and have a high-calibre team ready to take the real estate market by storm.

“We want to revolutionise the way people perceive real estate in Egypt making it more accessible & paving the way towards a sustainable approach to home ownership,” said ElKhatieb.

Seqoon said that it will use the fund to grow its team after it has launched its first co-ownership destination in El Gouna.

Trivia Answer: Metaverse

The metaverse is a virtual world where people can interact, learn, work, shop, and create in a 3D environment.

It combines virtual reality with an open-world multiplayer setting, similar to those offered by Roblox and Fortnite.

By Kayode Hamsat

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