This week on TechPoint: The future is mobile, PayPal loves Nigeria, why you should build your startup, more

Published:

March 7, 2015

Subject(s): Opinion, Startups

Psst… you’re reading Techpoint Digest

Every day, we handpick the biggest stories, skip the noise, and bring you a fun digest you can trust.

Here’s a highlight of the stories that made headlines on Techpoint this week:

Free Wins

“Wait you’re giving me over 20 million music downloads for free (legally) if I buy your phone”? Find out how Tayo Ogundipe’s SOLO Phone is reshaping the way Nigerians consume media content.

7 in a Million

Related Story: ariika secures $3 million Series A extension to fuel MENA expansion

So you’ve been nursing the dream to build your own Nigerian startup. But you haven’t quite figured out if it’s worth the risk. Tunde Aguda gives you 7 (out of a million reasons) why should take the plunge.

In other news …

MasterCard is teaming up with the local payment platform, eTranzact, to launch an international remittance services

Nigeria’s internet user population is now over 74 million, according to Internet Live Stats

Instagram Ads are now clickable

‘HackJos’, Nigeria’s first Northern-based Hackathon still on track. Gets more sponsors on board.

But how many are using it? Uber Lagos says they’ve witnessed 100x growth since they launched in Lagos last year.

9 months on, Nigeria has already grown to become PayPal’s second largest market in Africa. Perhaps they will finally consider opening their merchant payment gateway?

Read next

MoneyFellows raises $13m to digitise traditional savings and expand beyond Egypt

MoneyFellows raises $13m to digitise traditional savings groups and expand beyond Egypt, starting with Morocco later this year.

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Seven African pharmacy startups to receive up to $225K from i3

Seven African pharmacy startups will receive up to $225,000 in grant funding from the i3 programme, which supports the scaling of healthtech innovations across the continent.

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Ghana-based energy startup Kofa secures $8.1m to expand across East and West Africa

Kofa, a Ghana-based energy startup, has raised $8.1 million to expand its AI-powered battery-swapping network across urban Africa, boosting clean, reliable energy access. This marks a major step for Africa’s renewable energy sector.

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Glovo and Salad Africa partner to provide financing worth ₦100m for SMEs

Techstars-backed Salad Africa has signed a new partnership that will see it provide up to ₦100 million in financing for Glovo merchants in Nigeria.

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OmniRetail secures $20m to expand across West Africa

OmniRetail has raised $20m in a Series A led by Norfund and Timon Capital, with Ventures Platform, Aruwa Capital, Goodwell Investments, and Flour Mills of Nigeria also participating.

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