The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) have launched a youth entrepreneurship programme for the Sahel region of Africa. The TEF-UNDP Sahel Youth Entrepreneurship programme will train, mentor and financially support 100,000 young entrepreneurs in Africa in 10 years . The goal is to contribute to the overall target to…
BMW CEO Harald Krueger is stepping down after a four-year tenure in which the automaker lost its lead in luxury car sales and saw an early head start in electric vehicles evaporate. Friday’s news comes after BMW lost money on its automotive business in the first quarter of the year after the company was hit…
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…
BMW and Daimler are putting more than $1 billion into a joint venture that will develop ride-sharing, charging and parking services. The rival German carmakers announced the investment in Berlin, describing their mobility business as a “global game changer” that could help fend off challenges from upstarts including Uber. “Our mobility services have developed a…
The government says the National Data Centre Project is nearing completion and has called on industry and the continent to invest more in data centers given their importance to regional economies. The Deputy Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere said they are forging ahead with the implementation of the national data center project which…
The Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa Family Foundation and has availed $60 million towards the cholera response in Zimbabwe. Cholera claimed more than 70 lives last year. The commitment from the Econet founders comes on the back of an initial $10 million investment by Econet Wireless Zimbabwe at the onset of the cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe…
Bharti Airtel has decided to sell a further 32% stake in Bharti Infratel, valued at close to Rs 15,500 crore, to create a war chest to bolster its countrywide 4G networks and counter Reliance Jio Infocomm. Separately, the Sunil Mittal-led telco on Thursday also appointed a panel to explore various other fundraising options, and named Badal Bagri as…
Zimbabwe’s Postal and Telecommunications sector registered a 9,2 percent revenue growth in the third quarter to September, 2018 on the back on increased usage of data and internet. In its Postal Telecommunication Sector Performance report for the third quarter, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) said turnover grew to $435 million from…
Strive Masiyiwa, Econet Wireless founder, this week consolidated his position as one of Zimbabwe’s richest investors after his fintech company, Cassava Smartech (CSZL), became the most valuable counter by market value on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) when the company listed on the ZSE through an initial public offering. Masiyiwa, whose Econet Wireless Global group controls…
BMW has joined a handful of automakers to compete with transportation upstart Didi Chuxing, which bought Uber’s Chinese business in 2016. BMW has become one of the first foreign companies to be granted a ride-hailing operating license in China. Last Friday, the German luxury carmaker launched a premium ride-hailing service in Chengdu, the capital of China’s Sichuan…
Econet Wireless Zimbabwe’s fintech business Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe Limited (CSZL) will be listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) tomorrow. This comes after regulatory approvals to spin off the telecoms giant’s smart technology and financial technology businesses under a new holding company CSZL. The company controls 100 percent of Steward Bank, 100 percent EcoCash Limited,…
