Salve,
In March 2023, former President Muhammadu Buhari's administration launched a ₦284.6 billion ($618 million) Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE).
The fund focuses on supporting young Nigerian entrepreneurs between the ages of 15 and 35 who are actively involved in creating innovative, ground-breaking, and technologically advanced ventures.
What's new? The Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration stated the programme would begin in November 2023.
According to Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, the project is "very key to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's promise, particularly to the youth, of the creation of 1.2 million digital jobs.”
Here's what I've got for you today:
- Dash shuts down
- AWS to open second African Development Centre in Kenya
Dash shuts down
Last Friday, I mentioned that Dash, a Ghanaian fintech startup, planned to cut half its workforce to maintain its runway.
However, new reports on the same day stated that the fintech has shut down.
Prince Boakye Boampong founded Dash in 2019 to guarantee interoperability between mobile money wallets and bank accounts throughout Africa. The plan was to make sending money across Africa simple and efficient.
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The company raised $86.1 million in five years. In 2021, it claimed to have handled $1 billion transactions and added a million users from Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. In five months, those figures showed a 5x increase in users.
However, internal Dash data audits showed that Boampong lied and inflated the number of users. Soon, he was let go. When Kenneth Kinshua eventually replaced him, it was already too late to save the company.
A second audit of the business's financial records found an unreported shortfall of at least $25 million. Boampong reportedly earned $50,000 monthly and allegedly diverted at least $8 million.
AWS to open second African Development Centre in Kenya
Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to open a new centre on Riverside Drive in Nairobi, Kenya, after launching its first African Development Centre in South Africa.
The facility will house AWS Research & Development teams, creating new, highly skilled positions in software engineering, cloud support, and development.
Uwem Ukpong, Vice President of Global Services at AWS, said the centre will allow the local market to access a vast pool of technical talent.
"With a steady injection of home-grown talent on Kenya’s side, we can continue to enhance our commitment to Kenya’s economic development. This is a win-win for all involved,” Ukpong said.
Last week on Techpoint Africa
- Bosun Tijani unveils plan to equip 3 million Nigerians with tech skills by 2027
- After raising $21 million, Stitch gets an additional $25 million Series A to lead the payments market
- Paystack has built an offline payment solution that will not require PoS machines
- Google allows pharmaceutical ads from online pharmacies in Kenya
- Pitch Friday: Learn how to build successful products for the African market
- How an investment in Kora opened the doors of Techstars Toronto for African founders
- Google's VP of Engineering, Yossi Matias, discusses AI and climate crisis in Africa
- Private equity firm set to invest $500 million in Africa gets backing from Aliko Dangote
- A coalition of startup founders and investors wants to drive startup growth in Nigeria’s most populous region
What I'm reading and watching
- Uber drivers allegedly “hack” airport queuing system and milk riders
- When We First Talked
- How Humans Became (Mostly) Right-Handed
Opportunities
- Google has announced the opening of applications for the Hustle Academy Fund strictly for Nigerian SMEs. Apply by October 12, 2023, here.
- Do you live in Nigeria and work with a local or foreign company? Whether it's remotely, on-site, hybrid, full-time, part-time or as a freelancer, @TheIntelpoint is trying to understand the Nigerian workspace: how you work, and toxicity in the workspace among others. Please, fill out the questionnaire here.
- Afrifursa is hosting its annual tech event, Afri Future Tech Summit, in Toronto, Canada, from October 14-16, 2023. At the event, you will gain access to the most innovative companies and tech leaders from across Africa and Canada. Register here.
- Apply for the Design and Digital Marketing School Lagos Program if you want to learn skills in Graphic Design, Product Design, and Digital Marketing for 7 weeks, starting Monday, October 9, 2023. Apply here.
- Are you an MVP-stage impact-driven founder shaping the future of healthcare? Apply for the Halcyon Fellowship by October 21, 2023 here.
- If you are a software engineer, creative designer, product manager, design researcher, or a techie looking for an internship role, please, check out this website.
Have a productive week!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
