🌱Pyramidia Ventures Raises $1.5M for Africa’s Climate-Smart Agritech

Plus: 🤖 Nvidia to invest up to $100B in OpenAI

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Hope you’re easing into the day with something you enjoy (and if this newsletter is part of that, even better). Today’s edition comes with a little extra fuel: job opportunities we’ve handpicked for you.

So whether you’re just curious about what’s out there or seriously hunting for your next big move, scroll down, something might just catch your eye. If not, at least you’ve got us keeping you company this morning.

Today’s Menu ☕️

🌱 Pyramidia Ventures secures $1.5M to scale climate-smart agritech venture building across Africa
📶 Kenya Airways launches KQSafari Data to kill roaming bill shock
💰 Nvidia to invest up to $100B in OpenAI
🌱 MazaoHub raises $2M to scale “Tech & Touch” agronomy, link smallholders to finance and markets
💵 Yango Ventures makes second bet from $20M fund, backs Kenya’s Zanifu to unlock SME credit
💵 LemFi secures State Bank of Pakistan approval, partners UBL to power low-cost remittances

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 🌱AGRITECH

Pyramidia Ventures secures $1.5M to scale climate-smart agritech venture building across Africa

Kenyan agritech venture studio Pyramidia Ventures has secured $1.5 million from Dutch impact investor Triple Jump, including $1.3M in funding and $200K in technical assistance via the Dutch Good Growth Fund. Unlike accelerators, Pyramidia originates ideas internally, pilots them, and then spins off the most promising into independent companies with recruited co-founders. This model aims to reduce early-stage risk while allowing founding teams to focus on scaling and product–market fit.

Founded in 2021 by Ruth Bertens and Joseph Rehmann, Pyramidia targets key challenges in Africa’s agri-food systems—water stress, efficiency, traceability, and protein supply—by adapting proven global technologies to local contexts......continue reading

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📶TELECOMS

Kenya Airways launches KQSafari Data to kill roaming bill shock

Kenya Airways has launched KQSafari Data, a roaming service that offers affordable and reliable mobile connectivity in 180+ countries. Developed through the airline’s Open Innovation Challenge and Fahari Innovation Hub, the product was unveiled alongside a partnership with RoamBuddy, whose CEO Mandeep Birdi joined KQ’s Chief Customer & Commercial Officer Julius Thairu at the signing.

The service consolidates 2,250+ roaming plans into clear Country, Regional, and Global packages, allowing travelers to avoid unpredictable fees, airport SIM swaps, or reliance on Wi-Fi. Kenya Airways positions it as part of a customer-first strategy, extending value beyond flights to the entire travel journey........continue reading

 🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Nvidia to invest up to $100B in OpenAI

OpenAI and Nvidia signed a letter of intent for a sweeping partnership pairing capital with compute. Nvidia will invest up to $100 billion in non-voting shares as OpenAI deploys at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems to train and run next-gen models, with the first phase due in H2 2026 on the Vera Rubin platform. The structure ties cash to hardware purchases, starting with an initial $10 billion after a definitive agreement, and includes roadmap co-optimization across software, silicon, and networking.

The 10GW footprint—roughly the power use of 8+ million U.S. homes—supports OpenAI’s products and 700M weekly users, while leaving its custom-chip and Microsoft plans intact. For Nvidia, the pact secures demand and reinforces leadership, though regulators may scrutinize the alignment between the dominant AI chipmaker and a model developer.........continue reading

🌱AGRITECH

MazaoHub raises $2M to scale “Tech & Touch” agronomy, link smallholders to finance and markets

Tanzanian startup MazaoHub has secured an oversubscribed $2 million round—$1.5M equity led by Catalyst Fund with Nordic Impact Fund, Mercy Corps Ventures, elea Foundation, Impacc, and DOB Equity, plus $500K non-dilutive support from the Livelihood Impact Fund. The raise underscores growing investor appetite for solutions that fuse food security and climate resilience.

Founded in 2021, MazaoHub combines AI-driven soil diagnostics with hands-on support through Farmer Excellence Centres (“Kliniki za Kilimo”). Its “Tech & Touch” model delivers low-cost soil sensors, portable test kits, and offline farm-management tools while providing localized training and troubleshooting. Early pilots show farmers can cut fertilizer use by up to 30%, increase organic practices, boost yields, and strengthen traceability for buyers......continue reading

 💵 FUNDING

Yango Ventures makes second bet from $20M fund, backs Kenya’s Zanifu to unlock SME credit

Tanzanian startup MazaoHub has secured an oversubscribed $2 million round—$1.5M equity led by Catalyst Fund with Nordic Impact Fund, Mercy Corps Ventures, elea Foundation, Impacc, and DOB Equity, plus $500K non-dilutive support from the Livelihood Impact Fund. The raise underscores growing investor appetite for solutions that fuse food security and climate resilience.

Founded in 2021, MazaoHub combines AI-driven soil diagnostics with hands-on support through Farmer Excellence Centres (“Kliniki za Kilimo”). Its “Tech & Touch” model delivers low-cost soil sensors, portable test kits, and offline farm-management tools while providing localized training and troubleshooting. Early pilots show farmers can cut fertilizer use by up to 30%, increase organic practices, boost yields, and strengthen traceability for buyers.......continue reading

💵REMITTANCES

LemFi secures State Bank of Pakistan approval, partners UBL to power low-cost remittances

LemFi has received formal approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to operate remittance services into Pakistan, strengthening its partnership with United Bank Limited (UBL). The authorization enables Pakistanis in the UK, US, Canada, and Europe to send money home with greater assurance on security, compliance, and pricing.

Pakistan is one of the world’s top remittance markets, attracting over $33 billion in inflows in 2024. For LemFi, the corridor is both strategically important and symbolic, reinforcing its mission to make cross-border transfers more affordable and reliable...…..continue reading

  OTHER STORIES

  • Ctrack Secures $23.4M, Led by Sanari Capital with 27four...continue reading

  • Gemini lands on Google TV: conversational AI on the biggest screen in your home…….continue reading

  • OpenAI Study Reveals 70% of ChatGPT Use Is Unrelated to Work…..continue reading

  • Flutterwave Appoints New Leaders in Risk, Compliance & Legal…….continue reading

  • MTN Uganda’s ACE program empowers 103 youth graduates…….continue reading

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Jessica .C. Adiele
Innovation Village