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Hello, people! Welcome to today’s edition of TC Daily! If this mail was forwarded to you, please take a moment to subscribe and we’ll have this delivered directly to your mailbox.
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| Cairo-based daily fantasy sports platform, Eksab has raised six-figure seed funding from 500 Startups. The startup, it appears, will use part of the funds for user acquisition during the African Cup of Nations holding in Egypt later this month. Founded in 2017, Eksab rewards users with prizes for making correct predictions about live football games from around the world. The startup processed about five million predictions in its first year. |
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Ethiopia’s parliament has approved a draft law that will allow foreign companies invest in its telecommunications industry. The move is part of ongoing reforms by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who has pledged to split the state-owned monopoly, Ethiopia Telecommunications Corp. and sell shares of the two new entities to foreign organizations. MTN has indicated interest to launch in the country. Vodacom has also shown interest.
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In more news from Ethiopia, Internet connectivity was restored in the country last Friday after about 40 consecutive hours without mobile data and SMS. The government, according to reports, shutdown the internet in a bid to curb cheating during its national high school exams. Observers have called the explanation for the shutdown unbelievable.
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| STEMCafe has launched a new center in Abuja, Nigeria’s Capital. STEMCafe, an interactive experience center where kids learn through play first launched in April in Lekki, Lagos in partnership with Enyo Retail and Supply. The organization is planning to open another center in Lagos Mainland in the future. |
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The Internet Society is now accepting applications for the 2019 IGF Youth Ambassadors Program! Apply here before June 25.
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| Tony Idugboe (Vice President, Head of Investments – Itanna) speaking about our data product, The State of Health Tech in Nigeria: “Overall, I thought the report was great. It’s unbelievable to see a well vetted, carefully researched, and insightful report from a Nigerian establishment. It has all the stats a VC like us will like to see. Points out the problem areas, provided data, and also had a comprehensive list of startups in the space. I found the report very resourceful.” Get the report here. |
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Multichoice has added a sports streaming service to Showmax for its South African customers. Showmax, a subscription-based online streaming service launched in 2015 in South Africa and is owned by Multi choice. Subscribers can now live stream SA’s matches at the ICC Cricket World Cup, and SuperSport Rugby Challenge matches, among other events. Showmax is hoping to use a localisation strategy to take on competitors including Netflix which recently picked up its first animated series from Africa, ‘Mama K’s Team 4’.
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| Techpoint is organizing the first edition of its Writer Bootcamp for aspiring tech journalists in Nigeria. Find out more and apply here before June 25. |
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| The Kenyan government has budgeted 22 billion Kenyan shillings (US$216 million) to be spent on the ICT sector in the 2019/2020 financial year. The government is planning to spend the money in the following areas; digital literary project (US$32 million), government shared services (US$29 million), National Optic Fibre Backbone Phase II (US$28 million), construction of Konza Technopolis Complex (US$71 million), Konza Data Centre and Smart City Facilities project (US$51 million) and installation of an Internet-based 4000 network (US$11 million). |
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| EFInA (Enhancing Financial Innovation & Access) is holding a webinar at 10am today about the Nigerian Fintech Landscape based on its ground-breaking report about the sector. The webinar will involve a conversation about the different sub-sectors in the space, the types of technologies fintechs use and how they enable financial inclusion. It will also discuss trends, challenges and recommendations for stakeholders. Find out more here. There will be a livestream via EFInA’s YouTube page and a post-event recording for those who are unable to join the webinar. |
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| Mauritius-based Inter Africa Transport Forex (IATF) has received an undisclosed investment from Emerging Capital Partners’ (ECP) US$640 million Africa fund. IATF will invest the funds in product development and expanding its operations within its existing markets and into new markets. IATF provides a fintech solution that makes it easier for transport companies to manage their procurement process and costs. |
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| The Google News Initiative Challenge is now open to freelancers, sole traders and organizations of every size that aim to produce innovative, original journalism and to enlighten citizens with trustworthy journalistic content. Find out more here and apply here before September 2. |
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| French financial services group, Societe Generale is reportedly launching a peer-to-peer money transfer service that will be available to customers in areas without ATMs. The service will enable customers find and connect with others who have the cash they require. The customer providing the cash will be credited the amount they are giving and a commission. The p2p service will be available in several African countries including Cameroon. |
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| Sun Exchange, a South African buy-to-lease solar marketplace has raised US$260,000 from US impact investors. This brings its total funding to US$3.4 million. The organization is looking to raise up to US$3 million by the end of July. Sun Exchange raised US$500,000 in October 2018 and US$1 million from its token sale in January. |
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Have A Great Week,
We’ll see you tomorrow.
– Olanrewaju
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