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Nine years after selling Paystack to Stripe for $200M, Shola Akinlade of Paystack is back with a new bet – Zap, a money transfer app built for speed. The company’s CEO, Shola Akinlade announced the launch at a special event on Monday. According to Akinlade, instead of being another neo bank, Zap will allow Nigerians to…
Perplexity Starts Testing Ads in AI-Powered Searches AI search engine Perplexity has started rolling out ads, a big step as it looks to boost its revenue model. Ads will appear as “sponsored follow-up questions,” and will be labeled and positioned next to search answers. For now, this experiment is only in the U.S., with partners…
Visa, the second-largest card payment processor in the world has made strategic investments in four African startups, These startups are part of Visa’s biannual Africa Fintech Accelerator program, which launched in June 2023. Standout Startups from Visa’s Accelerator Of the 23 startups in the program’s first cohort, four secured funding, This include: Ghana’s Oze (business…
ARM Labs Lagos Techstars, the accelerator program that launched in Nigeria two years ago, is closing its doors. The third cohort, which started in March 2024, won’t continue, and Techstars’ global Chief Brand and Communications Officer, Matthew Grossman, confirmed the closure via email. “Our partnership with ARM Labs has ended,” Grossman noted, adding that while…
What’s the Buzz?Nigerian fintech Moniepoint just raised $110 million in a Series C funding round led by Development Partners International (DPI). New players like Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Verod Capital joined the mix, along with existing investor Lightrock. This fresh capital is set to nearly triple Moniepoint’s valuation, hitting the coveted $1 billion mark…
Google just announced a $5.8 million investment to bring more AI skills to Sub-Saharan Africa. This funding is set to help people and organizations across the continent learn how to use AI for real-world impact, focusing on areas like economic growth and social issues. From industry workers to government employees, Google’s initiative aims to teach…
Starlink has decided to halt Subscription Price Hike in Nigeria Amid Regulatory Pushback. In a message to users, Starlink explained that it’s putting the hike on hold to address concerns raised by Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC). The company stated its commitment to providing high-speed internet in the country but emphasized that regulatory support is necessary…
Well, that was unexpected. Nigeria has decided to drop all charges against Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance exec who was arrested back in February 2024. Originally charged with tax evasion and money laundering, Gambaryan is now free after the government’s prosecuting team said he was just an employee, not the mastermind behind Binance’s moves. as reported…
Mira Murati, who recently stepped down as OpenAI’s CTO, is already back in the game—this time, fundraising for her own AI startup. According to Reuters, Murati is aiming to raise over $100 million to develop AI products built on proprietary models. Murati left OpenAI last month, saying she wanted “time and space” to explore new…
Yellow Card has raised $33 million to help its business grow across Africa. This funding round was led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from Polychain Capital, Third Prime Ventures, Castle Island Ventures, Block, Inc., Galaxy Ventures, Blockchain Coinvestors, Hutt Capital, and Winklevoss Capital. With this, Yellow Card has now raised a total of $88 million,…
