TechCabal Daily, 616

Orange Group invests in MainOne [View this email in your browser]( PRESENTED BY AIRTEL 17 - 9 - 2018 Sponsor Message Good News! Airtel Nigeria has announced a strategic partnership with the original equipment manufacturer of the Infinix, TECNO and itel smartphone brands that will enable telecoms consumers to enjoy exclusive ‘double data’ offer for a six month period. Purchase any of these smartphones today and enjoy twice the value of any data plan you buy on your newly acquired device. Find a retail store near you [HERE](. According to a World Bank report, it [costs more]( to send money to Africa compared to other continents. The report indicates that for every 200 dollars sent to Africa, a charge of 12% as remittance fee is imposed. In 2017, diasporan Africans sent approximately $38 billion home with West African countries (Nigeria, Ghana & Senegal) accounting for the highest share with a total of $24.1 billion. Mobile Recharge [now offers]( options to send airtime to Nigeria, Gambia and Kenya. The platform which is owned by international telco, KeepCalling, enables diasporans send mobile credits to friends and relatives in Africa. The new networks added in each country are: MTN (data) and Airtel (data) for Nigeria, Comium and Gamcel for Gambia, and Telkom for Kenya. Atura has [received]( an undisclosed amount in Series A funding from investment company, Blue Garnet Investments (which has Investec & Crossfin as investors). Atura is a chatbot for asset management companies and its mother company is Cape Town software firm, New Media Labs. The chatbot is currently being used by Nedgroup Investments, Nedbank Insurance, Direct Axis and 10X. Baltimore medical device startup Sisu Global Health [has raised]( $1.2 million in funding in order to begin sales in Africa. Its device called Hemafuse allows doctors recycle a patient's blood lost through traumatic internal bleeding. The blood will be transfused to the same patient, an alternative to a fresh supply of donor blood which may not be readily available in emergency situations. The device has already won regulatory approval in Ghana and Kenya and there are plans to expand across East and West Africa. Kenya's MPost has [emerged]( winner at the 2018 South Africa Innovation Summit. The startup which beat 24 other start-ups to take the crown will now represent Africa at the Startup World Cup in San Francisco in May 2019. MPost allows users access postal services via their mobile devices. Per a TechCentral report, MTN Group is [considering]( replacing its long-time Board Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko with former SA deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas. Although the change is said to be unconnected with MTN's woes in Nigeria, the current Board Chairman has not publicly intervened in the matter. Nhleko has been with MTN for 17 years while Jonas was appointed non-executive director in June. MainOne [has signed]( an agreement for a major investment from Orange Group to boost internet access in francophone Africa. The partnership will provide for construction of two new branches and stations in Dakar and Abidjan that will be connected to MainOne's 7,000 km submarine cable launched in 2010. The installation of the two new branches will be managed by Orange Marine, a subsidiary of Orange Group. While building out internet infrastructure is great, Quartz [advocates]( that there's a need for a functioning and competitive marketplace in African countries for citizens to enjoy its full benefits. Toro Orero has [stepped down]( as CEO of Zone Tech Park where he spent just 2.5 months. Toro [tweeted]( that himself and the Board were fundamentally misaligned on the direction of the company. Zone Tech Park was opened last month in Lagos as a venture builder for start-ups. Toro is Managing Partner, DDF – a Silicon Valley Venture Capital fund backed by Tim Draper, Founder, DFJ Venture Capital. After about six years at Jumia, Omolara Awoyemi is [joining]( SureGroup as its new MD. Omolara was Country Manager of Jumia Pay for a little over a year before moving to SureGroup, owner of SureCredit, SureRemit and SureGifts. Its companies provide retail solutions around digital retail vouchers. SureRemit raised $7 million via an initial coin offering in January. BrighterMonday has [secured]( a partnership with the Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK). The partnership will connect the over 5,000 members of MSK with marketing jobs on BrighterMonday. Job seekers on BrighterMonday will also be able to get professional marketing certification from MSK. Endeavor has [welcomed]( six new African entrepreneurs into its global network at its 82nd International Selection Panel in Buenos Aires. They include founders from Kenya's Sokowatch and Subculture as well as South Africa's Pargo and Saryx Engineering Group. Endeavor now supports 1,742 entrepreneurs leading 1,088 companies in 32 growth markets around the world. Ahead of its upcoming elections, the Cameroonian government has [invited]( Facebook to help it curb the spread of fake news. Aïda Ndiaye, Facebook Public Policy Lead for Francophone Africa and Lukas Holzer, Facebook Content Policy Head met with government officials last month. The executives trained stakeholders on their company's policies, such as how to detect fake news and report dangerous hate speech as well as abuses to them. MoneyGram and ZeePay have [announced]( a partnership that will allow customers from around the world send money directly to mobile wallets in Ghana. Receivers can pick up the funds at any of MoneyGram's 2,000 partner bank locations in Ghana, directly via a bank account or through a mobile wallet. Nigeria, China, Indonesia, India and Pakistan [will account]( for 50% of the 1.6 billion new mobile internet users between now and 2025 according to a report by GSMA. About 72% of the global internet base (i.e. 3.7 billion people) will be accessing the internet exclusively via mobile per the report. The share of mobile users also using the internet is expected to increase from 65% in 2017 to 86% in 2025. Kaspersky Lab has [launched]( Secur’IT CUP, a global cybersecurity competition with grand prize of $10,000. The competition is open to young people between ages 18 -28 and is seeking solutions addressing cybersecurity issues in connected health, internet of things and personal security. Apply [here]( before November 4. The 2018 Kwara Build Tech Conference is [holding]( on October 1 in Ilorin, North Central Nigeria. The event which is organized by MalHub and Founders Hub is sponsored by Ingressive, VMWare and GitHub. Register for the event [here](. [African experiments with drone technologies could leapfrog decades of infrastructure neglect]( by Jake Bright and Samantha Stein From TechCabal + [Advancements In Road Building Technology May Be The Intervention Nigeria’s Roads Need]( + [Nigeria’s Regulatory Environment Appears To Favour Renewables But There Are Major Issues]( Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful week ahead. We'll see you tomorrow. - Olanrewaju Share this digest, what's the worst that could happen? [Share]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( Copyright © 2018 Big Cabal Media, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up on TechCabal.com Our mailing address is: Big Cabal Media Plot B, Block 1, Industrial Avenue, Ilupeju Industrial EstateIlupeju 100252 Nigeria [Add us to your address book](//techcabal.us7.list-manage.com/vcard?u=516543d20461f295636a963ec&id=ebb229e161) Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.