Сәлеметсіз бе,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- Bolt rolls out Family ride feature in Nigeria
- Demfati wants to be the one-stop hub for events
- OpenAI’s new agent can now do tasks, not just chat
Bolt rolls out Family ride feature in Nigeria
You know how you can add five family members aged 13+ to your YouTube Premium Family plan and share one subscription? Well, Bolt just rolled out something similar in Nigeria. But this time, it’s for rides. The ride-hailing company has introduced a new “Family Profile” feature that lets users book and pay for rides on behalf of up to nine people, including family, friends, and anyone else close, per Technext.
This new shared ride feature gives users more control over spending and better visibility from one account. Whether it’s elderly parents who don’t use apps or a sibling without data, you can now manage and coordinate their Bolt rides directly from your phone without the usual back-and-forth. Think of it as a mega Bolt account for the people you care about.
According to Osi Oguah, Bolt’s Country Manager, the idea is to make ride-hailing reflect how people move in real life. “It’s about control, visibility, and freedom,” he said. And that’s not just PR talk. Bolt’s internal numbers reportedly show that 2% to 6% of rides are already being booked for others. This new feature just makes that easier, safer, and more seamless.
Here’s how it works: You invite someone to your Family Profile, they join with their own Bolt account (they must be 18+), and you can start managing their rides. You can set monthly spending limits and get real-time updates when rides start, end, or take an odd route. The company says this is great for caregivers, parents, or anyone supporting older folks who may not be tech-savvy.
One important rule, though: no unaccompanied minors. The feature doesn’t override Bolt’s safety and eligibility rules. Everyone on the Family Profile still needs their account and must be legally eligible to use the service. So it’s not a loophole for getting your 13-year-old nephew to “Bolt” himself to school.
Bolt says this is part of its wider goal to improve rider experience across safety, flexibility, and convenience. It’s also rolling out better route mapping, ride monitoring, and trip verification tools. The Family Profile now joins a growing list of safety-first updates like emergency alerts, live location sharing, and support from Bolt’s Safety Team.
Demfati wants to be the one-stop hub for events
You know that moment when one tech headache leads to a big idea? That’s what happened to Emmanuel Ekunke and his brother back in 2017. They noticed African websites were getting pushed down Google search results, mostly because of slow load speeds, missing SSL, and poor structure. At the same time, people were struggling to pay online, especially when it came to dollar transactions. That combo of problems sparked something bigger.
What started as a curiosity project soon became Demfati, an all-in-one platform that lets people buy tickets, find events, book cinema seats, vote, and fill forms without bouncing across five different apps. It’s now plugged into WhatsApp, Telegram, and Messenger, making it super easy for everyday users to hop on and get things done.
Emmanuel built this while juggling school, and not the smoothest academic ride either. He first studied Physics in Calabar, dropped out, restarted, switched to Computer Science, and did most of his actual learning outside the classroom. Somewhere between all that, he and his brother launched a first version called Ocoms in 2017, which was more education-focused until they discovered a Chinese company had already claimed that name. Cue rebranding.
The name Demfati was born out of “The Empathy” because, at the core of it all, the brothers just wanted to make things easier for event organisers and attendees. The official launch came in November 2020, and since then, they’ve kept building for that mission: making digital participation smoother, faster, and way less stressful.
Curious how it all works and what it’s grown into today? Find out in Delight’s latest story.
OpenAI’s new agent can now do tasks, not just chat
OpenAI is taking a big swing with its newest update to ChatGPT, a general-purpose AI agent that goes beyond just answering your questions. Called ChatGPT agent, this new tool can do all sorts of digital errands for you, like scheduling on your calendar, running code, or whipping up presentations. It started launching for Pro, Plus, and Team subscribers yesterday, Thursday, July 17, 2025.
What makes this launch a big deal is that it pulls together some of OpenAI’s most advanced tools. It blends Operator (which could browse websites), Deep Research (which pulls together reports from multiple sources), and other tool integrations. Now, users can just talk to ChatGPT in plain English, and it will do things, not just reply.
Want to turn your grandma’s jollof rice recipe into a TikTok series? Or translate your app UI into Swahili and Yoruba? OpenAI says the agent can handle it. That means it’s reading websites, making decisions, and clicking buttons on your behalf. It also connects with apps like Gmail and GitHub, and even runs in a terminal. This is next-level multitasking.
But OpenAI knows it’s walking into risky territory. The company admits that this agent is powerful enough to potentially amplify bio and chemical threats if misused, even though there’s no evidence of that happening yet. So they’ve built in extra safeguards, including real-time monitoring to catch biological-related prompts and disable risky outputs.
To avoid shady use cases, OpenAI has also temporarily disabled the memory feature for this agent. In other parts of ChatGPT, memory allows the bot to remember past chats and be more helpful. But with an agent that can act on your behalf, memory could be exploited for sneaky data extraction, so it’s off for now, at least until they figure out a safer way to use it.
So, is this the agent that finally makes AI useful beyond just chat? OpenAI says yes, this is their most capable model yet, beating older ones by wide margins on tough tests like Humanity’s Last Exam and FrontierMath. Now it’s just a matter of seeing how well it performs in the messy real world.
In case you missed it
- Rally Cap partially exits its investment in South African fintech Stitch
- Borderless is building the infrastructure to power diaspora investments in Africa
What I’m watching
- Vitamin D Expert: The Fastest Way To Dementia & The Dangerous Lie You’ve Been Told About Sunlight!
- What happens to your brain without any social contact? – Terry Kupers
Opportunities
- M-KOPA is recruiting a Senior Backend Engineer. Apply here.
- Mastercard Foundation is hiring a Lead, Associate Engagement and Services. Apply here.
- Jumia is hiring a Chinese-speaking key account manager. Apply here.
- AltSchool Africa is looking for a Program Associate. Apply here.
- MTN Nigeria is looking for a Manager (Public Sector, Southwest region). Apply here.
- Building a startup can feel isolating, but with Equity Merchants CommunityConnect, you can network with fellow founders, experts, and investors, gaining valuable insights and exclusive resources to help you grow your business. Click here to join.
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Have a fun weekend!
