Jumia Food closes in December 🍔 | OpenAI to invest $15m in Converge 2💰

TODAY’S MENU

• Jumia to shut down Jumia Food by December 2023; To focus on ecommerce business

• Techstars Unveils 2nd Cohort for ARM Labs Lagos Accelerator, Investing Up to $120,000 in 12 African Startups

• Apply Now for Converge 2: OpenAI’s Startup Fund Offering $1 Million each to 15 Companies

• Nigeria Data Protection Commission Launches 5-year Strategic to create 500,000 Jobs and N125bn in Revenue

ECOMMERCE

Jumia to shut down Jumia Food by December 2023; To focus on ecommerce business

Jumia has unveiled plans to shutter its food delivery arm, Jumia Food. The company will maintain its core physical goods business and JumiaPay operations across all its operational countries.

After conducting a strategic review of Jumia Food, the company concluded that the food delivery business is not well-suited to the current operating environment and macroeconomic conditions in its market. Consequently, Jumia will cease its food delivery operations in all markets by the end of December 2023. This decision aligns with Jumia’s strategy to optimize capital and resource allocation and continue its journey towards profitability.

Jumia Food accounts for approximately 11% of Jumia’s Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) for the nine months ending September 30, 2023, and has not been profitable since its inception.....….read more

STARTUPS

Techstars Unveils 2nd Cohort for ARM Labs Lagos Accelerator, Investing Up to $120,000 in 12 African Startups

Techstars has unveiled the second cohort of its pan-African accelerator program in collaboration with Lagos-based innovation program, ARM Labs. This initiative, known as the ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator, builds on the success of its inaugural program and reinforces its commitment to supporting entrepreneurs driving impactful change in Africa and beyond.

The 2023 cohort, meticulously selected from a pool of over a thousand applications, brings together 12 companies offering tech-enabled solutions across various verticals in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Over the 14-week immersive program, Techstars will invest up to $120,000 in each startup, providing access to over $400,000 in cash equivalent hosting, accounting, legal support, and additional benefits valued at more than $5 million. The startups will also receive tailored mentorship, top-notch company-building support, lifetime access to the extensive Techstars global network, and targeted interactions with potential investors to ensure a seamless flow of follow-up capital as they scale.

By partnering with ARM Labs, founders will gain exposure to ARM’s local network, research, insights, and decades-long financial advisory expertise.…read more

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Apply Now for Converge 2: OpenAI’s Startup Fund Offering $1 Million each to 15 Companies

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has announced the opening of applications for Converge 2 – the second cohort of its six-week program for exceptional engineers, designers, researchers, and product builders using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to reimagine products and industries.

OpenAI commits to invest $1 million in 10-15 selected participants in the program.

The program is for anyone building or aspiring to build with AI and it will run for six weeks, from Monday, March 11, 2024 to Friday, April 19, 2024.

Founders from all backgrounds, disciplines, and experience levels are encouraged to apply. Prior experience working with AI systems is not required.

Launched in December 2022, Converge was created by OpenAI to accelerate startups working on the forefront of the AI evolution.

According to OpenAI, the “Startup Fund was founded on two core beliefs. First, new and powerful AI systems will give rise to a new wave of transformative startups. And next, these new companies will play a central role in making AI a force multiplier for human ingenuity and creativity.”

Interested applicants should click here to apply. Deadline is Friday, January 26, 2024 at 11:59pm Pacific time (08:59 Friday, West Africa Time)

DATA PROTECTION

Nigeria Data Protection Commission Launches 5-year Strategic to create 500,000 Jobs and N125bn in Revenue

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) has taken a significant step towards fortifying the data protection sector with the unveiling of the Nigeria Data Protection Strategic Roadmap and Action Plan (NDP-SRAP 2023-2027). The launch, which took place in Abuja, coincided with a capacity-building workshop on Data Privacy and Protection for Data Protection Officers.

This strategic roadmap, encapsulated in the five-pillar NDP-SRAP, aims to create approximately 500,000 jobs and generate over N125 billion in revenue. The pillars include governance, ecosystem and technology, human capital development, cooperation and collaboration, as well as funding and sustainability.

Dr. Vincent Olatunji, NDPC’s National Commissioner, emphasized the significance of the NDP-SRAP and the accompanying training in fulfilling the commission’s mandate of establishing a robust data protection sector. He underscored that the data protection sector alone holds the potential to create more than half a million jobs..….read more

OTHER STORIES

HIV vaccine trial in Africa halted after disappointing data

A trial of an experimental HIV vaccine in Uganda, Tanzania and South Africa has been stopped early after preliminary data suggested it would not be effective in preventing infection, according to the trial's chief investigator...…read more