One step closer to a Startup Act in Kenya

Careem goes permanently remote  in partnership with FLUTTERWAVE, WEMA BANK & ALABIAN SOLUTIONS 25.09.2020 Welcome to TC Daily! In today's digest: Kenya's Startup Bill one step closer to becoming law; the research group digitising heritage sites and Careem goes permanently remote. [Today at 11am,]( Ola Brown]( Founder, Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company will be sharing her entrepreneurship experience in the first event of our Building from Ground Up series organized in partnership with the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub. Don't miss it! [Register here to attend.]( Please take a moment to [subscribe]( to our newsletter if this email was forwarded to you. Also subscribe to [The Next Wave]( our Sunday newsletter designed to be your post-pandemic guide on tech and innovation in Africa. PARTNER CONTENT  Bamboo, a Flutterwave merchant, gives you unrestricted access to over 3,000 stocks listed on the Nigerian stock exchange and U.S. stock exchanges, right from your mobile phone or computer. With as little as $20, you can create and fund your Bamboo account with your Dollar or Naira cards and through bank transfers. Start buying and selling shares or stock bundles (called Exchange Traded Funds) in just a few taps, begin [here](. STARTUPS Kenya's Startup Bill 2020 [has been published]( in the Kenya [Gazette Supplement.]( What this signals is that the bill is one step closer to becoming law in the East African country. While lots of other countries have since initiated a Startup Act following the example of Tunisia, Kenya will be the first of the continent's four largest ecosystems to enact one if it is signed into law. Startup Acts are governments' response to technology innovation in their countries and often provide environments and incentives that enable them innovate and scale as quickly as they ought to. When I spoke with[Anis Kallel, founder of Tunis-based Kaoun]( for my column, [My Life in Tech]( one of the benefits of that act was that his company has been able to make recurring forex payments for digital tools and things like servers in spite of the central bank's limits on forex receipt and expenditure in the country. Under the provisions of the Act, startups domiciled in Kenya or whose majority stakes are owned by Kenyans will benefit from subsidised registration, intellectual property protection locally and internationally, support to patent ideas, receive research and development support among others. The act is also seeking the development of incubation programmes to drive and support innovation and technology development.  DIGITAL ARCHIVES In South Africa, a research group at the University of Cape Town is preserving heritage sites using technology. [The Zamani Project]( founded in 2004 and has since documented more than 200 heritage structures and pieces across 65 sites in Africa, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. After visiting and researching a site extensively, the team translates the data into spatial products, animations and virtual tours that not only preserve the history at these sites against time and age but makes them accessible to those who would not otherwise be unable to get to them. New technologies like drone imagery and the use of laser scanners are impacting the work greatly optimising for precision and higher quality imagery according to founder Emeritus Professor Heinz Rüther. Digital archives are critical. Last year, we [reported]( about the state of Nigeria's National Archives and its crumbling state. "Some are brittle and disintegrating before our eyes, and there’s not much we can do due to lack of funds," a staff said at the time. Unfortunately, with lack of local effort a preservation, receiving help internationally can mean loss of sovereignty over digitised records, a case of having to chose between the devil and the deep blue sea.  PARTNER CONTENT Does your business/solution solve problems in Education, Healthcare, Fintech, Agriculture, Gaming and Betting? Sign up for Wema Bank’s Hackaholics 2.0 and stand a chance to get funding of up to $40,000! [Sign up here.](  WFH  [Careem's staff will be going permanently remote,]( company has said. Director of Talent Ella Fordham says tits offices will be repurposed as collaboration spaces but those who wish to will still be able to work from the spaces. During a Live session on LinkedIn, CEO Mudassir Sheikha, said only 10% of Careem staff had expressed interest to return to their offices since the pandemic-induced work-from-home situation. Careem joins companies like [Andela]( who have permanently moved work remotely. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT Google and the Ministry of Youth and Sports development have partnered to support youth-owned small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria and other parts of the continent. Through its digital hub, 500,000 businesses will receive the digital skills training and tools they need to really take advantage of online sales channels and business opportunities. Google has also set aside US$3 million in grants to support vulnerable populations. These include micro and small businesses in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa through the [Praekelt Foundation]( job seekers through its [Grow with Google training]( [teachers]( through online resources and students in low-income schools through its [Google for Education]( program. PARTNER CONTENT  Coding is not for geeks only, anyone ready to learn new stuff can code. More opportunities are opening up for coders as the economy opens up. Join us in October to learn Python, JavaScript, PHP, Java etc and build apps. Sign up at [bit.ly/alabiantrainings](   WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING?  - [Nigerian property tech startup, PropertyPro is now in Kenya and Zimbabwe.]( They are looking to launch in Uganda and five other African countries in the near future. - Months after plans to assist small and medium scale businesses survive the pandemic, the Nigerian government has commenced registration in readiness [to disburse the MSME Survival Fund](. - [A good weekend listen for you:]( The Flip's podcast episode discussing the African tech space and its contentious relationship with the media featuring some of the most important figures in both sectors including our CEO, Tomiwa Aladekomo. - An agritech company in South Africa is [using infrared imaging to detect diseases]( in livestock.    That's it for today,  Catch up on the latest episode of the TC Weekly Podcast on [Spotify]( [Soundcloud]( [Google Podcasts]( and [Anchor.fm]( Have a good weekend! - Kay   Share TC Daily with your friends!    Copyright © 2020 Big Cabal Media, All rights reserved. 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