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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Don’t want to be alone on the narrow path to a state of grace? Well, there’s an app for that. Prayerbox is an online platform that lets you share prayer points and testimonies with friends, family and religious communities; and claims to have made US$11,000 in revenue even prior to launch. The platform is not…
The 88mph DealWeek is a 1-week sprint for 88mph and entrepreneurs turned investors to advise and invest in the most promising startups, where those selected to participate can receive between $25k and $250k. 88mph has gathered quite a range of founder-investors to evaluate and invest in startups, so we thought you might like to know…
Preparations for the 2015 edition of DEMO Africa are in full gear as Lagos has won the bid to again host the global event for the second year in a row. The event dates have been confirmed as 24th and 25th of September at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. 40 start-ups from…
Everyone, save this date! We are excited to announce to you that Techpoint will be partnering with iAfrikan as they host Marek Zmyslowski in a fireside chat about “Oyinbo Lessons” and doing business in Nigeria as a tech startup. Marek will also be answering any questions you have about tech startups and what it takes to build…
UPDATE: Inside MainOne’s top secret Data Centre in Lagos (full pictorial tour) MainOne last week unveiled its premier Tier III Lekki Data Center to address the growing demand for Colocation, Cloud and Disaster Recovery Services in West Africa. The Data Center is a N7 Billion ($37.7 million) investment and has capacity for 600 racks. The data center will…
Afrileaks, a whistle-blowing website for Africans, has finally been launched. I’m more than a little shocked that this platform wasn’t made available sooner, considering the level of corruption in a number of African countries, but I’m certainly glad it finally exists. The website was launched by media and campaign groups to expose human right abuses,…
Obiwezy, one of our startups to watch in 2015, just launched a service that is set to cement its status as focus-worthy. They really seem hell-bent on bringing Computer Village to us, and I’m more than glad. Obiwezy Swap allows you — as the names implies — swap your old phone for a new one…
I haven’t ever really had a problem with the time it takes me too carry out payments when I’m performing a transaction online, but I have been said to be patient to a fault. I’m usually too high off the excitement of getting new stuff or experiencing crippling buyer’s remorse. But NeTPlus Advisory thinks the current…
As a young professional or a family person, you need that awesome sofa, dinner set and a proper bedroom to keep your body refreshed after a long day at work. The stress of going from showroom to showrooms might get you settle for less. I found an interesting startup working to bring furniture showrooms online…
So, Jumia released a ‘How JUMIA Redefined e-commerce in 2014; empowering Nigeria and Nigerians’ press-release, complete with infographics a few days back. I read it yesterday, delayed because I felt it would be one of those self-congratulatory posts that have become all too popular in the tech ecosystem; I wasn’t wrong, but after a repeat…
The need for reliable logistics for eCommerce in Africa has become inevitable especially with the growth of online retailing and demand in Africa. There are no other equipped entrepreneurs to take the market than the founding fathers of eCommerce in Nigeria, the co-founder and former Managing Director of Jumia, Tunde Kehinde and former Chief Operating…
Majority of Nigerians haven’t ever really thought about the idea of counselling, and even those who do, sadly see it as some form of weakness, something you do when you have lost the capacity to stand on your own two feet; that couldn’t be further from the truth. I think therapy is very necessary, and…
What this piece strives to do is give a more detailed view into discussed start-ups; finding out why investors and entrepreneurs have decided to spend time, money and energy into developing such companies. We want to see where the opportunities lie, where the challenges lay wait and then make conclusions on the realistic potential for…
Size of addressable market Because of this vagueness in value proposition and a limited number of convincing reasons why this method for buying fruits should be adopted, I arbitrarily estimate that they can create a space worth 10 – 20% of the current fruit market. 10% of the fruit market is still an astounding $180M.…
The hunt for capital has always been one of the most difficult parts of getting a startup off the ground, but fresh platforms have given entrepreneurs around the world a number of new ways to make that happen. Nowadays, there are more options to get a new company funded, one of the most popular being…
Before you roll your eyes, a ‘market gap analysis’ is just a fancy term for sniffing out opportunities for business birth or growth in areas where market demand is greater than supply. One of the rules to creating a successful business is identifying a market gap begging to be filled and finding ways to meet that…
Everyone’s travel nightmare is definitely the thought of their car breaking down right in the middle of the road, or the expressway; you know, right after indefinite traffic. But as long as you have a phone, which – let’s face it – we all have, Autosave Roadside Assistance wants to help you make sure that you…
A joke that got repeated in my NYSC year went like this: Emma’s elder brother “Sam” went to Lagos for his service year and he knew Lagos was rough so he was prepared. After Orientation Camp, he came home and left some money for his parents from his first allowance. He also came home for…
Every year we see the launch of the next generation of successful startups. Unfortunately, 9 out of 10 startups will crash and burn, but my observation has been that those who do succeed do so for their own reasons and not because of some cliche laid out laws of success. But as much as I…