$61.8 million boost for AfDB initiative for women entrepreneurship

Global partners announce $61.8 million allocation to boost African Development Bank initiative for women entrepreneurs “This substantial support from the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, We-Fi, will help us scale up our actions and achieve greater results for women entrepreneurs across the continent” – Vanessa Moung The Governing Committee of the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi)…

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Future of Power Whitepaper takes centre stage at Africa Utility Week

As the 19th edition of the Africa Utility week and PowerGEN event kicks off, GE unveiled a whitepaper today on Re-imagining the future of power in Sub-Saharan Africa Whitepaper highlights the future gamechangers in the energy landscape in Sub- Saharan Africa; Discusses the factors contributing to energy transformation and the enabling environment; Outlines the market’s response…

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How marketing systems in developing countries penalise poor farmers

By Charles Dhewa Whether it is potato production in the highlands of Rwanda, cassava production in Northern Mozambique or sweet potato production in Gokwe South district of Zimbabwe, the marketing season presents the same headaches for farmers. While production is now much easier, profitably moving commodities from farms to markets remains a nightmare that cannot…

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Ringier Digital Marketing (RDM) further penetrates Africa with frontline Digital Solutions

When it comes to creating cutting-edge strategies that endear brands to their audiences, Ringier Digital Marketing (RDM) continues to go all out to provide professional digital marketing services to brands in Africa and beyond In a bid to continuously provide world class services to clients, the company has assembled a team of creative strategists –…

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Zoom’s CEO Eric Yuan Emigrated From China 22 Years Ago, Spoke Little English — And Now he’s Worth Almost $3 Billion

Not even Eric Yuan’s closest friends, oldest advisers and earliest investors thought Zoom needed to exist. It was 2011, and the market was littered with video conferencing systems from Google, Skype, GoToMeeting and Cisco, where Yuan had been leading WebEx’s engineering team. “He came to a market that everybody said was done,” said Dan Scheinman, Cisco’s…

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Zinara Bosses Resign

Zimbabwe National Road Administration (ZINARA) acting Chief Executive Officer Ms Mathlene Mujokoro and audit manager Mr Shadreck Matengabadza have resigned, while 19 employees have been arrested for fraud cases involving more than US$210 000, as the dragnet on corporate malfeasance closes in on corrupt officials. More arrests are expected as investigations continue. Some of the…

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SA regtech Intergreatme Out to Raise R24m Through Crowdfunding Site Uprise.Africa

SOUTH AFRICA-Johannesburg based regtech Intergreatme is looking to raise a whopping R24-million through crowdfunding platformUprise.Africa in exchange for a 20% share in the startup. The startup — which was founded in 2016 by James Lawson, Dewald Thiart and Luke Warner (pictured above, from left to right) — has an identity management platform which provides users with control of their…

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Uganda’s SafeBoda Become German Investor Allianz X First African Investment

Allianz X, the digital investment unit of German financial services company Allianz Group has made its first investment in an African-based company — Ugandan ride-hailing startup SafeBoda. Allianz X said in a statement on Tuesday (7 May) that it co-invested in a Series-B round with Go-Ventures, the venture fund of Indonesian logistics startup Go-Jek. SafeBoda was founded in 2015…

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Here Are The Eight Startups Chosen for The Nairobi Finals of The 2019 ASME Innovation Showcase

Eight startups from across the continent will convene tomorrow (9 May) in Nairobi to compete in the regional finals of the 2019 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Innovation Showcase (ISHOW). ASME ISHOW is a global competition for hardware-led social innovation. At the regional finals, three grand prize winners will be selected for a share of $30…

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Zimbabwe’s Fintech Startup Payitup Nets $13m from UK’s Thawer Fund Management

Harare-based payments startup Payitup has secured a $13-million Series-A investment from London’s Thawer Fund Management, CEO Aretha Gonyora has revealed. The funding was secured at a $20-million valuation. Payitup currently helps consumers make payments for MultiChoice’s DStv service. The startup plans to use the investment to further develop its system. The funding will also help it to form…

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Guarantee Risk Solar Energy Partners SA-based Bushveld Energy (eXcess Africa) for the Establishment of 3 Solar Plants With an Output of 250MW

Local energy company, Guarantee Risk Solar Energy has embarked on a partnership with a South Africa-based Bushveld Energy (eXcess Africa) for the establishment of three solar photovoltaic plants with an output of 250 megawatts.  The projects are expected to gobble at least $400 million and will be administered in phases till completion of the scheme….

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Safaricom Launches Affordable 4G-Enabled Smartphones in Kenya

Safaricom has launched a smartphone campaign by introducing the most affordable 4G-enabled smartphones—Neon Ray and Neon Nova—in Kenya. The launching of the smartphones aims at delivering a digital experience for those who do not have smartphones. Sylvia Mulinge, Chief Customer Officer at Safaricom, said:  “At Safaricom, we aim to transform lives by providing solutions to our customers. With…

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APO, AWIEF partner for deeper impact on African women’s entrepreneurship

APO Group (www.APO-opa.com), the leading media relations consultancy and press release distribution service in Africa and the Middle East, has been named Principal Partner to the Africa Women Entrepreneurship and Innovation Forum (AWIEF) (www.AWIEForum.org) Conference to assist in amplifying the forum’s message and core objective of empowering women entrepreneurs across the African continent. The annual Africa…

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ITC and UPS invite women entrepreneurs to participate in export trainings

The International Trade Centre (ITC) and UPS today announced a series of training seminars and workshops for women business owners in Mexico, Nigeria, Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates. The workshops contribute to ITC SheTrades’ commitment to connect 3 million women to the global marketplace by 2021 and to UPS’s commitment to women entrepreneurs’ ability to export….

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SADC makes strides in vulnerability assessments and analyses

The Regional Vulnerability Assessment and Analysis (RVAA) Programme’s regional pre-assessment workshop opened with a call to National Vulnerability Assessment Committees (NVACs) of Member States to harmonise and improve the quality of assessments and analysis; and integrate emerging issues such as nutrition, gender, HIV, markets and urban vulnerability to meet the needs of decision makers. The…

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TECNO Mobile Announced Plans at Google IO 2019 about SPARK 3 Pro

Global premier mobile phone brand TECNO Mobile (www.TECNO-Mobile.com) announced plans at Google IO 2019 which will see its SPARK 3 Pro running on Android™ P™ operating system upgrade to join Q Beta on May 7th. Stephen HA, Vice President of TRANSSION and GM of TECNO Mobile, said: “We are delighted to announce our further expansion…

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Disney Plus Streaming Service: Release Date, Price, Shows and Movies to Expect

Here’s everything we know about Disney Plus, the entertainment giant’s Netflix-like push into global streaming. Disney is betting big on its 2019 streaming service called Disney Plus, and it put (almost) all its cards on the table last month. In a three-hour event, Disney revealed the release date, price, shows and movies planned for its Netflix competitor. Disney…

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Google Play 2019 App Award Winners Revealed Ahead of I/O

To kick off its I/O developer conference, Google announced the winners of the fourth annual Google Play Awards. App developers vied for nine categories that provided the best experience for users, made an impact on communities and raised quality content in the app store, according to Google. Google revealed the award nominees in April. All the winners can be found here. Here’s a…

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Inaugural Agricultural Sector Survey welcomed

By Tatenda Mujeyi The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Vangelis Haritatos,  launched the inaugural Agricultural Sector  Survey in partnership with Zimbabwe Agricultural Society (ZAS), Financial Gazette  and AEDS as the consultant with funding from CBZ and National foods last month. The event was attended by the  Minister and Ministry heads, ZAS executive  board, business leaders,  bankers,…

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Spotify Doubles Apple Music Members After Hitting 100 Million Subscribers

Less than a month ago, it was revealed that Apple Music had overtaken Spotify in terms of paid subscribers in the US – a milestone for the music streaming service – but Spotify’s latest earnings report shows that it’s still well and truly dominating the overall global market. “Premium Subscribers grew up to 100 million, up 32%…

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Italy responds to emergency needs in Zimbabwe

The Italian Government has contributed €250,000 to respond to the needs of communities affected by Cyclone Idai in Zimbabwe. The contribution, provided to the World Food Programme (WFP), will support immediate food needs in the worst-affected areas of the country. An estimated 250,000 people in seven districts of Zimbabwe were directly affected by Cyclone Idai,…

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Extent to which inherited knowledge systems are constraining African Imaginations

By Charles Dhewa The introduction of exotic crops, fruits and livestock into Africa was initially guided and informed by the way indigenous crops, livestock and fruits performed in different micro climates. Unfortunately, instead of cultivating co-existence between exotic and indigenous foods, the colonial knowledge system has sought to completely replace indigenous crops, fruits and livestock…

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Disaster Preparedness and Response are vital tools

By Lovemore Chazingwa (News Correspondent) Communities vulnerable to natural disasters need be geared for preparedness and response in order to mitigate the effects of such calamities, an expert in disaster management has said.      Responding to questions on the sidelines of a recent workshop on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) organised by international non-governmental…

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Liquid Telecom Partners SITA to Deliver Provincial Broadband Services in Eastern Cape

Liquid Telecom South Africa, part of the leading pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom, has concluded an agreement with SITA to deliver much needed broadband services to hospitals, schools, clinics and provincial offices. The high-speed broadband services will enable the Eastern Cape Provincial Government to deliver services to its citizens, using technology to enhance their overall…

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Zimbabwe: Are MNOs Really Overcharging? . . . Evidence May Not be What Customers Want to Hear

It is not every day that you see an industry regulator defending the prices of products and services offered by industry players that it regulates. But this is exactly what the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) had to do recently. Faced with a barrage of criticism and an international report (that has…

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Nelson Chamisa’s Workers’ Day Message: We have a legitimacy crisis

President of the MDC Allaince, Nelson Chamisa said on account of the disputed election in 2018, Zimbabwe has a crisis of confidence and deficit of trust born out of a political crisis of legitimacy. Speaking to thousands of workers at Dzivarasekwa Stadium yesterday, Chamisa said the crisis of governance manifests itself as an economic crisis….

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UNWTO partners with Telefónica to promote tourism sector digitalisation

. The framework agreement between the two organizations was signed in Madrid by Jaime Cabal, Deputy Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, and by Eduardo Navarro, Director of Communication, Corporate Affairs, Branding and Sustainability of Telefónica. • The alliance, whose first phase will be in effect until the end of 2020, revolves around four initial…

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