Marhaba,
Victoria from Techpoint Africa here,
Here's what I've got for you today:
- iSchool raises $4.5m
- Bumpa acquires a Toronto-based startup
- NDPC issues a Code of Conduct
iSchool raises $4.5m
Egypt-based edtech startup, iSchool, has raised $4.5 million in a funding round to establish a new team in Dublin, using Ireland as a base to expand its services globally.
VentureWave Capital led the round, with participation from OneStop Capital UK, Webit Investment Network, and Oraseya Capital.
In 2018, Muhammad Gawish, Ebrahim Youssef, Mustafa Abdelmon'em, and Osama Ghareb founded iSchool to provide live gamified classes led by coding instructors to students aged six to 18.
Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, app development, game development, and web development are all part of the curriculum.
iSchool says it has become a leader in computer science labs, technical training, and working with 35 schools.
Per the edtech startup, it has managed national-level initiatives in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. It has over 26,000 live learners, over 1 million training hours, and over 10 million lines of code written by students.
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Consequently, iSchool wants to expand its global reach, forge a foothold in Ireland, and hire more staff in Dublin.
The edtech plans to use the funding to swiftly grow into six more Middle Eastern and North African nations. Additionally, iSchool intends to expand its gamified online classroom app service throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and ramp up its online coding platform.
Bumpa acquires a Toronto-based startup
Bumpa recently disclosed that it had acquired Fyyne, a Toronto-based beauty marketplace, for an undisclosed amount to expand into new markets.
Jeffrey Fasegha (CEO), Olugbenga Olubanjo, and Al-Ameen Ogundiran (CTO) founded Fyyne in 2020 to improve black hair care accessibility in Canada. The company provided a marketplace for beauty services and offered independent beauticians business management tools.
While the company had employees in Nigeria and Canada, most of its users were in Canada, with a few in the United Kingdom and the United States.
As per the acquisition, Fyyne will reportedly transfer its technology, customer base, and some team members to Bumpa.
However, someone familiar with the matter said Ogundiran left Fyyne in December 2022, citing "leadership issues."
Consequently, in March 2023, Fyyne shut down operations, laying off its development team in Nigeria and two employees in Canada.
The source maintained that the company's closure was not due to a lack of funding. For context, Fyyne reportedly raised $300,000 from several investors and got $100,000 from Techstars.
Nonetheless, the company did not provide the impacted employees with severance packages. But before they left, the CEO asked the staff to leave their CVs so that the company could connect them with potential employers.
However, one report says that Fyyne, which has updated its app powered by Bumpa, will continue to operate as an independent platform. Fasegha would also join the eCommerce startup as an advisor, while Bumpa plans to announce Fyyne’s new CEO soon.
NDPC issues a Code of Conduct
The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has issued a Code of Conduct for the nation’s 163 licenced Data Protection Organisations (DPCOs) to guarantee professionalism among businesses licenced to provide compliance services.
It comes 6 months after Nigeria's President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, signed the Data Protection Bill 2023 into law in June 2023. .
Why does it matter? All DPCOs are held responsible by the terms of the NDPA, the Code of Conduct, and any future regulations the Commission issues.
The NDPC states that DPCOs may offer compliance services that, in line with the Code of Conduct, comprise developing awareness and capacity, registering the data controller or data processor with the Commission, and creating compliance schedules.
Moreover, they can offer services like data privacy impact assessments, compliance schedule implementation, NDPA compliance audits, and filing compliance audit returns with the Commission. They can also facilitate and vet data privacy agreements.
The National Commissioner of the NDPC, Vincent Olatunji, urged DPCOs to maintain the utmost sense of responsibility in protecting the public trust, which includes their role in implementing the NDPA 2023.
Sidebar: In July 2023, the NDPC announced that all banks, telcos, schools, and other businesses that manage Nigerians' data must register with the Commission for data compliance monitoring by December 2023.
What’s more, between January and March 2024, all registered organisations must submit annual audit reports to the commission, informing the NDPC of their progress in protecting Nigerians’ data.
In case you missed it
- 11 startups selected for the National AI Research Grant Scheme
- TikTok launches Add to Music App feature in South Africa
What I'm reading and watching
- The road ahead reaches a turning point in 2024
- Are children the losers of the sexual revolution?
- My Mission to Change the Narrative of Mental Health
Opportunities
- Lawyers Hub has opened applications for its 2023 Startup Law Accelerator program. Apply 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 beautiful Thursday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
