Ecosystem

Access Bank reinforces its African leadership by acquiring Standard Chartered’s branches in Angola and Sierra Leone, boosting financial inclusion, trade, and economic growth in underserved markets.

Access Bank UK is expanding its global footprint with the acquisition of AfrAsia Bank, Mauritius’ fourth-largest bank by assets. This strategic move aims to enhance Access Bank’s presence in Africa’s financial hubs

Techstars Lagos has announced its closure two years after it launched in Nigeria. The closure marks the end of its partnership with ARM Labs and comes amid operational challenges globally.

Gebeya has partnered with NVIDIA to launch an ecosystem of 50,000 NVIDIA-certified developers across Africa. The collaboration will proceed in stages, to bridge the AI skills gap and provide African developers with specialised skills.

National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has warned that cyber attackers are using LinkedIn to spread a new malware variant called ‘CovertCatch.’ They impersonate recruiters or job providers, tricking users into downloading malicious files or clicking harmful links.

Google is committing $5.8 million to accelerate AI skilling initiatives across sub-Saharan Africa. This investment will also support organisations dedicated to equipping people across the continent with essential AI skills.

Google has added 15 more African languages, including Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, to Voice Search, Gboard talk-to-type, and Translate dictation features. It attributes this result to advances in AI, specifically multilingual speech recognition, which translates speech into text.

Edge Growth has secured $2.1 million to support South African SMEs, particularly high-growth companies aligned with social impact.

Egypt’s Sawari Ventures is launching a $200 million fund, “Sawari Ventures II,” in 2025, targeting startups in Egypt, North Africa, and West Africa. The fund focuses on fintech, deep tech, digital education, health tech, and climate tech sectors. The news:

Reunert Group of South Africa has merged its subsidiaries IQbusiness and +OneX to form iqbusiness, a business and technology services “digital integrator” that includes iqx and midnight.

DOB Equity, a Kenya-based impact investment firm, is shifting its strategy under new CEO Karen Serem Waithaka. The firm will now focus on sustainable food systems, renewable energy, and water sanitation in East Africa.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has committed $25 million to Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach Fund, a part of a $200 million initiative to improve energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited has signed a deal with Adani Energy Solutions to develop $736 million in transmission lines and substations. Adani will fund the project through debt and equity, to be repaid over 30 years.

he US-based BG Titan Group has launched its Titan E-Farms initiative in Uganda as part of a $650 million project. Following its debut in Uganda, BG Titan Group intends to expand the Titan E-Farms model to neighbouring East African countries.

XA Network, an investment firm founded in Southeast Asia, has said it’s expanding into Africa, with the launch of its subsidiary, XA Africa.

Bpifrance, a France-born venture capital (VC) firm, has set up a new base in Egypt as part of its strategy, with plans to expand across Africa and the Middle East (AME).

VC firm Equator Africa has closed an additional $ 5 million from the International Financial Corporation to bridge funding gaps for African climate tech innovations.