Kippa, a Nigerian fintech startup, has moved its agency banking product, KippaPay, to another fintech company, Bloc.
This move follows Kippa's recent decision to shut down KippaPay in November 2023.
Bloc, which disclosed an approval-in-principle from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in November 2023, will integrate KippaPay into GPay, its payment subsidiary.
Here's what I've got for you today:
- Lami's bid to acquire Bluewave failed in 2022
- TikTok's $1.49m fund to support SMEs in Kenya
- Bujeti’s $2m seed
Lami's bid to acquire Bluewave fell through in 2022
The deal to acquire Bluewave fell through in the same year a Kenyan insurtech startup, Lami Technologies, disclosed that it had acquired the insurance company.
According to TechCrunch, when Lami announced the deal in 2022, it was raising $3.7 million in seed funding.
Following the close of the investment, Bluewave's Founder, Adelaide Odhiambo, who joined Lami as Head of Partnerships, stated that the terms of the deal, including the acquisition cost, began to change, forcing her to leave in August 2022.
Founded in 2018 by Jihan Abass, Roy Perlot (CFO), who has been with the insurtech since 2020, was appointed co-founder in 2022.
Through an API, Lami enables businesses to provide digital insurance products to their users. Partner businesses can also use this to manage their insurance needs.
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As part of the acquisition, Lami has integrated Bluewave's technology into its core platform, enhancing its B2B2C capabilities.
Launched in 2016, Bluewave has developed an online platform that enables customers to access micro-insurance products via web applications, USSD, SMS, chatbots on WhatsApp, and various other channels.
TikTok's $1.49m fund to support SMEs in Kenya
Kenya has disclosed that it will not outlaw TikTok after the social media platform announced it would provide a $1.49 million (KSh 229 million) fund to support SMEs in the country.
The funding intends to provide training and mentorship to others in areas like brand building, sales/e-commerce, leveraging digital platforms for business success, and making financial investments in specific social enterprises.
Following a meeting with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in August 2023, Kenyan President William Ruto declared that TikTok and the Kenyan government would work together to enforce community standards on the platform.
In the same month, Briget Connect Consultancy CEO Bob Ndolo petitioned National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang'ula to ban TikTok in Kenya.
The petitioner complained that the social media platform's content is inappropriate and promotes violence, foul language, explicit sexual content, and hate speech, endangering Kenya's cultural and religious values.
He changed the petition to emphasise regulation when they appeared before the National Assembly Public Petition in September.
Kenya, however, has stated that TikTok has implemented more stringent guidelines, so it is not following through with the ban.
Bujeti’s $2m seed
Bujeti, a Nigerian fintech startup, has secured $2 million in seed funding to scale, expand its market presence, and improve its offerings.
Y Combinator led the round with other investors, including Entrée Capital, Voltron Capital, Unpopular VC, Kima Ventures, Alan Rutledge, and Tristan Walker of Heirloom VC.
Cossi Achille Arouko (CEO) and Samy Paul Chiba (COO) launched the startup in 2022 to help Africa’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), enterprises, and other startups manage their finances.
Bujeti streamlines spending procedures by assisting companies in several industries, such as healthcare, logistics, construction, and agriculture, in issuing corporate cards to their workers and contractors.
Bujeti has onboarded almost 1,000 businesses across the continent in the last eight weeks, ranging from SMBs to startups like Mono, Spleet, and Eden Life, according to Arouko. The startup hopes to process transactions worth ₦200 million (~$200,000) shortly.
Bujeti is working hard to add a multicurrency feature that will allow businesses to pay their employees in different countries.
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Opportunities
- Lawyers Hub has opened applications for its 2023 Startup Law Accelerator program. Apply here.
- If you are a female between the ages of 18 and 28 who lives in Africa and is interested in pursuing a career in cybersecurity, apply for the CyberGirls Fellowship by December 11, 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.
- 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 fun weekend!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
