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African Tech Tycoons you should be aware of

African Tech Tycoons you should be aware of

by | Jun 21, 2022 | Africa, General, Opinions, Other News

Africa is known as the land of unending opportunities…the aphrodite for the ailing global economy. The continent is taking baby strides in different aspects, and there are people who are moving forward to be the harbinger of change so far as the African economic resurgence is concerned. Let’s discuss a few African Tech Tycoons and get to know more about their story here.

So let’s have a look at the African tech Tycoons …the black pearls of business in this article. (In no particular order).

1. Tunde Kehinde, Co-Managing Director Of African Courier Express 

Tunde Kehinde is a London-based businessman who co-founded Jumia, Africa’s first unicorn, with a financial investment of around $1 million from a rocket internet German startup. Presently the company has set a strong foot in Nigeria, and it is now the country’s top eCommerce website. 

The path of success with Jumia is so pronounced that Tunde Kehinde set up another tech business in the year 2014, collaborating with Ercin Eksin, founder of Africa Courier Express (ACE). This company aims to streamline the logistics of delivery for various companies working in Nigeria and other African countries.

Tunde recently co-founded Lidya; a digital fintech lender which allows SMEs to unlock one-click, same-day credit and build a credit rating for the first time.

So he is someone who can be a role model for African Youth. Indeed a pathfinder!

2. Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Founder And General Partner, Future Africa

At the early age of 29, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji co-founded some of the most innovative and disruptive tech companies in Africa. Talk of Andela and Flutterwave, companies working actively to transform the tech innovation infrastructure for Africa. His efforts turned Africa’s challenges into opportunities.

With Andela, Aboyeji was of the opinion that Nigerians would love to if they thought they could earn around $105000 or even half from remote work. He joined Flutterwave in the year 2016 and helped raise funding of $35milion in a Series B round. Presently the company has gone on to become the fastest growing payment technology business and Africa’s unicorn. 

Iyin is currently looking to help African startups reach the same scale as western companies with Future Africa. By removing the issue of funding, a primary barrier to a startup’s success.

3. Ken Njoroge, Co-Founder Of Cellulant

Ken Njoroge started with just $3000 on his credit card and co-founded Cellulant, a mobile payment system that connects consumers to merchants.

Presently Cellulent has fitted its flag successfully in 10 countries in Africa. The company now connects to 200 merchants and 44 mobile network operators. 

Impressed by reputation and integrity, the government in Nigeria turned to the company and offered it a four-year-$8.9 m contract to run a registration and validation system for fertilizers at friendly prices. 

4. Obi Ozor, Co-Founder, Kobo360

Ozor Obi began with a small logistic company using the savings that he made by working part-time at a supermarket whilst in school. His small side business began to bring about $7000 every month.

Then he began his business, Kobo 360, a logistic business that uses technology. At that time, the infrastructure of this very business in Africa was not that good enough. But with a never say die attitude, the company has gone on to become one of the largest supply chain providers in Africa, reaching people with resources. It raised $37 million in its series A round.

Conclusion 

Other than these, there are other prominent names like Bright Simons, president of mPedigree Network, Jason Njoku, Founder iRokoTv, and Michael Macharia, the group chief executive SevenSeas Technologies. 

We are all as interested in Africa’s rise, and we know so are you too. There are many books and resources on Africa that you could download at thepirateproxybay.com to gain comprehensive knowledge.

Indeed the names discussed above are like stars that the African youth like to chase. They are working extremely hard to bring in fortunes for themselves, the company, and the continent in general.

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Extended Reality Creators get $30K Africa No Filter and Meta Grant

Extended Reality Creators get $30K Africa No Filter and Meta Grant

by | Mar 15, 2022 | Africa, General, Kenya, Other News, South Africa

Africa No Filter, in partnership with Meta, Electric South and Imisi 3D are awarding African Extended Reality Creators with up to $30,000 in grants to support the production and development of new content.

Six creators are winners of the ‘Future Africa: Telling Stories, Building Worlds’ programme. The program focuses on harnessing and investing in the next generation of Extended Reality (XR) creators and ecosystems in Africa.

The winners come from Mozambique, South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Cameroon, and Kenya. They will incorporate the creative uses of music, multimedia installations, films and sculpture in their work. To explore projects around spirituality, heritage, the cosmos, imagination and memory and masculinity into their extended realities projects. All with a focus on telling compelling African stories that are contemporary, narrative-shifting, and immersive.

Each creator will get funding of up to $30,000. Participate in XR-industry events to improve their creativity and showcase their projects. They will also access mentorship from Electric South and Imisi3D. 

It’s reassuring to see the amount of incredible XR talent on the African continent, says Jessica Hagan, Arts and Culture Program Lead at ANF. “The creativity and innovation we encountered in the selection process has been very exciting. It shows that Africa is also on the pulse of global innovation and tech trends that are redefining how stories are told and experienced. XR content creation is costly, but African creators are not falling behind,” she adds.

Extended Reality Creators Africa

The six Extended Reality Creators are: 

  • Pierre-Christophe Gam, Cameroon: A multimedia artist who is working on a hybrid art installation that fuses VR, film, photography, and mixed-media sculpture to imagine the future of Africa from the perspective of an African family living in 2070.
  • Xabiso Vili, South Africa: A writer, performer and new media artist. Vili’s visual album is a speculative fiction piece that explores reconciliation and healing. Vili hopes to turn toxic masculinity into compassionate masculinity.
  • Nirma Madhoo, Mauritius: A fashion filmmaker, XR creator and Ph.D. candidate. Her work explores African cultures as technologies, which she illustrates through ancient practices like cultural astronomy. 
  • Michelle Angawa, Kenya: A film editor XR creator. This creation centres around a short tragicomedy that depicts a day-in-the-life of a Nairobian boda boda rider. Exploring desire and the complexities of Nairobian life. 
  • Malik Afegbua, Nigeria: A multimedia artist who is curating a virtual heritage experience of the Kofar-Mata dye pit, a cultural and historical site in Kano, Nigeria.
  • Lara Sousa, Mozambique: A director and producer. This creation uses the journey of Lemanjá, the Afro-Brazilian goddess of wisdom, to explore the ocean as a sacred site of spirituality.

“This specially curated program is an opportunity to support African storytellers who are leveraging the power of the next evolution of social technology. Whilst also shining a spotlight on the amazing, creative, and diverse talent pool we have here on the continent. We understand the power of Extended Reality and how it can be used to tell stories that shift narratives about and within the continent. We’re excited to see these visions come to life.”

Sherry Dzinoreva, Meta’s Public Policy Programs Director, Africa, Middle East, and Turkey

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