Startups
In nearly a decade, hundreds of entrepreneurs have emerged with innovative startups across the African continent. We provide insights on their experiences and highlight the activities of investors who fund them.
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It has been (jokingly) said that Nigerians go to tech events to do only three things: eat good food, get souvenirs and meet people while doing these. In the comments section of this post , someone added a fourth reason — get free WiFi. As a startup founder, you probably attend events for the third reason, which is…
“Keep showing up every day and trying to get better. Don’t count yourself out.” – Ellen Chisa Every moment is a lesson for us as entrepreneurs, and in the startup world where things move so fast, it would be a sad thing to be left behind. My team and I had quite a tough time…
Paystack kicked off operations with a series of pilots, while in private beta mode in November 2014, with financial support from friends and families
In an industry fueled by all too influential free music blogs, three young entrepreneurs are taking the bull by the horn to achieve the unimaginable. MyMusic.com.ng is an online retail platform that lets Nigerians pay to download high quality music using a convenient payment channel they’re all familiar and very comfortable with — mobile airtime. Techpoint…
A commonly held notion within the local tech space is that Nigerian techies do not like to share ideas; a practice that stifles the growth of this “ecosystem” we are trying to build. In fairness to upcoming entrepreneurs, the mere thought of having an idea you pitched somewhere, or revealed to someone in confidence being plagiarized, is enough…
Have you ever purchased building materials from a next door vendor and somehow felt cheated? Or have you ever felt awkward when you have to chart a separate bargain for delivery? Maybe you were forced to let go of the entire purchase when no agreement was reached for delivery? It’s probably worse when you’re dealing…
Afro positions itself as a local alternative to Uber by letting riders negotiate fares with drivers. While the idea reflects everyday transport culture, the app’s execution, reliability, and overall experience remain inconsistent.
Below is an extract from a Q&A thread on Quora, highlighting the original question and the most upvoted answer. By Navid Zlofaghari on Quora: 1. Your team is everything. 2. Solve a problem you are passionate about. 3. Never outsource your core competency. 4. Be c̶h̶e̶a̶p̶ lean but don’t be afraid to spend. 5. Chase the vision, not the money.…
Editor’s note: This article was published in 2015 and was relevant to its time. Over the course of the last 5 years, we have seen the rise of many technology powered companies trying to address Nigerian problems with their unique solutions. While many have failed in this quest, a good number have diversified or pivoted…
This article is over 4 years old Unofficially known as the ‘Kenyan tech headquarters’, the Innovation hub — abbreviated as iHub — has been in existence for more than 5 years now. This title is well befitting as it hosts more than 120 events in a year, was the first tech hub to be founded…
Showroom.ng engages awesome and trusted furniture makers, who otherwise would not have access to these customers who are willing to pay well for value
Former Director General of Nigeria’s Security and Exchange Commission, Arunma Oteh has joined the league of Nigerians that invest in Nigerian tech startups, even as some seed funding accelerators are exiting the space. Oteh, in an interview with Forbes Africa in Johannesburg, opened up about her angel investing in companies owned by young people who are making…
About a month ago, we informed you about the SME Empowerment Innovation Challenge, which promises at total of $70k in seed investment for the 1st to 3rd place winners. With a focus on East and West Africa, the SME Empowerment Innovation Challenge is anchored by the HiiL Innovating Justice Hub. They are doing this in partnership with the Global Agenda Council on…
Hotel reservation startup, Hotels.ng, has secured an investment of $1.2 million from international investors EchoVC and Omidyar Network. This is the startup’s first investment funding round, following a 2013 seed investment of $225,000 from Jason Njoku’s Spark.ng. Started in 2012, Hotels.ng now covers over 7,000 hotels across 21 regions in Nigeria, with over a million hotel searches on the platform to date. “We’re…
The founders of Ratio, the duo of Olanrewaju Jawando and Bowale Joseph, over the week shared their aspirations and take on the approach that the one-month old company is taking improve the currency exchange industry in the country. Launched on April 28, 2015, Ratio is definitely the youngest startup on our weekly series. However, despite being…
In case you probably have had a terrible experience in the past trying to use one of the numerous online classifieds marketplace as a buyer, such experience might be a thing of the past with Efritin.com. Over the week I tried selling my Smile MiFi and I got a call, not from a buyer but…
Popular eCommerce website, Konga.com will be down for 5 days from the 28th of May to 1st of June, 2015 and it won’t be due to server downtime. As it turns out, Konga has a Big App Sales promotion in the works in a bid to aggressively promote its mobile app. According to our source,…
If you get a “yes” on most of these, your startup idea probably isn’t as great as you think it is
Over the week, I had the opportunity to chat with the duo of Dapo Ademosu and Taiwo Banasko, founders of CityRun. They shared their experience as one of the youngest players in the logistics industry in Nigeria, the challenges and future aspirations. In the beginning “eCommerce seems to be what’s going on in Nigeria now,…
Applications are now open for the African Entrepreneurship Award (AEA), the competition sponsored by The Moroccan Commercial bank BMCE Bank, reports Disrupt Africa. We seek all Africans, around the world, who want to create jobs and improve lives in Africa. Is it hard? Yes! Do we believe this is the best way forward for Africa? Yes! BMCE…