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Brazil’s Black Silicon Valley Could Be an Epicenter of Innovation in Latin America
Salvador (Bahia’s capital) is the natural birthplace of Brazil’s Black Silicon Valley, which largely centers around a local ecosystem hub, Vale do Dendê.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Latin America
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Stripe Acquires Nigeria’s Paystack for $200 Million+ To Expand Into the African Continent
Stripe is acquiring Paystack, a startup out of Lagos, Nigeria that, like Stripe, provides a quick way to integrate payments services into an online or offline transaction by way of an API. (We and others have referred to it in the past as “the Stripe of Africa.”)
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, fintech, startups
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Retailo Raises $2.3 Million in Seed Round To Boost Financial Inclusion
Retailo, the Riyadh-based B2B eCommerce startup, has announced $2.3 million of funding in a pre-seed round to go toward boosting small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the Middle East, according to a press release.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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Kimberly-Clark, Kotex To Mentor Startups Focused on Women’s Health, Access To Sanitation
The Toilet Board Coalition (TBC), with the strategic support of Kimberly-Clark and its Kotex brand, has launched the Women in the Sanitation Economy Innovation Lab — which seeks to cultivate and catalyze early-stage ideas and businesses within the Sanitation Economy that are led by women and/or focused on women’s health.
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Kenya’s PesaKit Wants To Be a Super-Platform for Mobile Money Agents Across Africa
Kenyan startup PesaKit is aiming to become a super-platform for African mobile money agents, enabling them to become a reliable last mile distribution channel for digital and financial services.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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West African Energy Startup Easy Solar Raises $5 Million Series A Round To Scale Operations
West African energy startup Easy Solar has raised a US$5 million Series A debt and equity funding round to help it scale operations and launch new products in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Analysis: Young Population, Financial Inclusion Behind Fintech Boom in Nigeria
Nigeria’s fintech companies raised more than $600 million in funding over a five-year period (between 2014 and 2019), a new report published earlier this month by McKinsey shows.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Can Agile Fintech Startups Be the Answer To Food Insecurity During the COVID-19 Crisis?
COVID-19 lockdowns have threatened small and medium enterprises and vulnerable families around the world. And as Malika Anand and Michelle Hassan at BFA Global point out, inclusive fintech startups are often better-placed than aid agencies to support communities and businesses in urban settlements during the pandemic. They explore how one innovative startup, Sokowatch, has developed a quick and effective way to fight food insecurity in Kibera, Nairobi – while also supporting small local retailers.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Finance
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