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Africa’s Startup Ecosystems Are at a Major Turning Point
Back in 2015 the then-African Internet Group (now Jumia) would have been among the few African startups worth a closer look from US tech investors for an international play.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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MIT D-Lab Awards Fellowships to Six East African Social Entrepreneurs
“We are excited to work with a vibrant cohort of East African entrepreneurs whose expertise is grounded in their lived reality,” says Jona Repishti, who manages the fellowship. “Working with local founders has certain advantages — they reflect the demographics of the markets they serve; their lived experience helps them identify unique, scalable, market-based solutions overlooked by outsiders."
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Financial Lifeline for Tech Startups: The Value of Bridge Funds in Social Enterprise
Social entrepreneurs working in next-gen tech startups are often well-versed in the intricacies of acquiring early-stage investments. But according to Sahaj Desai, they may be less aware of another type of financing that can be equally vital to their growth: bridge funding. Desai explores the uses and advantages of this funding, and why it can be uniquely valuable to social startups.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
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A Closer Look at The World’s Largest Unaddressed Disability: Leveraging Inclusive Business to Eradicate Poor Vision
Uncorrected poor vision affects some 2.5 billion people, costing the global economy $227 billion a year in lost productivity. Yet though 90% of these people live in developing countries, the problem ranks low on the global development agenda – even though it can often be fixed by a simple pair of glasses. Jayanth Bhuvaraghan at Essilor explores the issue, and discusses an innovative solution: the Eye Mitra program, which trains youth in emerging countries to become micro-entrepreneurs, providing primary vision care and selling low-cost eyeglasses in their communities.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Health Care
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Venture capital funds are starting to make bigger bets on African startups
Funding has long been a challenge for African startups but the tide has started to turn in the last year as the sector heats up and both investors and entrepreneurs start to see some of their long term efforts come to fruition.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Naspers Arm PayU Buys Fintech Startup Wibmo in $70 Million Deal
Founded in 1999 by Setlur and Veena Mistry, Wibmo provides digital payment security technology in India and other emerging markets.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
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This Kenyan Company Won a Major Fashion Award for Making Fabric from Nettles
Green Nettle won the award along with four other firms that made expanding children’s clothes (United Kingdom), a biodegradable vegan leather (Peru), a digital system that helps make garments recyclable from sketch to scrap (Germany) besides a toxic-free membrane for outdoor wear (Switzerland).
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Environment
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Jumia: ‘Africa’s Amazon’ in Landmark Stock Market Listing
Shares in Africa's largest e-commerce firm have debuted on the New York stock market, which could see other tech start-ups on the continent follow suit.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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