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As the commercial centre of Abia State, Nigeria, the city of Aba is renowned in Africa for manufacturing and trade.
So if 5 to 10 years ago, someone walked up to you and said that a core tech/software company would exist in Aba of all places, it would be quite understandable if you disagreed. But you would be very wrong.
LearnFactory is an Aba-based software company that, like Andela, trains developers and outsources them to clients in and outside Nigeria. Read more.
This week on Techpoint
Watch a video version of this newsletter or read on below
It’s like Uber, but for Kekes. It goes without saying that Nigerians have a thing for Kekes — the generally accepted nickname for commercial tricycles.This has inspired Samuel Ajiboyede to found ‘Matattu’, an eHailing platform for Kekes in Lagos.
On January 27, 2018, we will be hosting Techpoint Build — our biggest event yet — in Lagos. Here’s an opportunity to meet investors and get free technical, legal and marketing advice for your startup or business. You can register now to attend.
For exhibition booth booking and sponsorship opportunities, please email events@techpoint.ng
Transforming the Port Harcourt tech scene, one developer at a time. Leo Ata and Ebibote Omobo, the co-founders of elitePath, a software company that trains developers and digital marketers in Port Harcourt, are on a mission to contribute their quota to transforming the tech scene in the oil city.
In conversation with Chris Schultz. Chris Schultz has invested in two Nigerian startups — Flutterwave and WiFi.com.ng — but the Silicon Valley based angel investor has an even deeper connection with Nigeria.
The psychology of a profitable pricing strategy. Apple makes really costly products, yet sells them massively! Implementing a profitable pricing strategy will help your business/startup immensely. This week’s guest contributor, John Ade shows us how.
Startup Weekly
Every weekday at noon (WAT), we feature up and coming startups attempting to break into the market.
This week’s featured startups
- Bitpaya — trade bitcoin and etherum online
- Payit — get exclusive deals online and pay seamlessly
- Awoof9ja — build customer relationship and loyalty
- My5kWebsite — get a premium business website for just ₦5,000 monthly
- InstallNG — get on-demand electrical services
Opportunities: $20,000 available for fintech startups, New Ventures Competition 2018 and more opportunities this week.
Around Africa this week
- The ₦19 billion anti-IPO manoeuvre. Majority shareholder in struggling Seven-Up bottling company, Affelka has made an offer to buy out minority shareholders for ₦19.33 billion ($60 million), in a takeover deal that will delist the company from the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Link.
- You can now order Dangote cement online. Dangote Cement has partnered Jumia Nigeria to sell cement online at relatively cheaper rates. But there’s a catch. Link.
- Travelstart acquires majority stake in Safarinow. South African-based travel booking company, Travelstart has acquired a majority stake in Cape Town-based SafariNow.com — South Africa’s largest accommodation booking website. Link.
From around the world
- Bitcoin craze. With all the buzz around the perpetual rise of Bitcoin (1 Bitcoin is now worth over $15,000!) here’s an interesting take on the environmental effects this craze could be having on the planet. Link.
- Uber-Lyfting. Japanese internet corporation, SoftBank has made a tender offer for troubled Uber that will undervalue the company at $50bn. If the deal is not accepted, they might switch attention to rival Lyft Link.
- Facebook Jnr. On Monday, Facebook launched Messenger Kids, a standalone app that will give parents full control over who their children befriend or talk to on Facebook. Link
