💰 Sim Shagaya unveils The Honey Badger Fund | 🤝 Mono partners Mastercard

In today’s menu ☕️

🏦Mono Partners with Mastercard to Revolutionize Digital Payments in Nigeria
🪵 BURN Manufacturing raises $12M to expand distribution of clean cookstoves in Africa
💰TDB receives $100M funding from British International Investment to boost economic resilience in Africa
💰Ghana-based fintech Zeepay secures $3 million investment from Verdant Capital
💰Serial Entrepreneur Sim Shagaya Unveils The Honey Badger Fund to Empower African Innovators
👩🏾‍💻 Opportunities

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🤝 PAYMENTS

Mono Partners with Mastercard to Revolutionize Digital Payments in Nigeria

In a bid to transform digital payments in Nigeria, Mono, a leading Open Banking platform, has announced a strategic partnership with Mastercard. This collaboration will see Mono’s innovative DirectPay Pay with Bank feature integrated into the Mastercard Payment Gateway System (MPGS), offering businesses a seamless and secure account-to-account payment solution.

The Mastercard Payment Gateway System is renowned for providing developers and businesses with access to cutting-edge payment methods, APIs, SDKs, and fraud protection services through a single touchpoint. By joining forces with Mono, Mastercard aims to further enhance its MPGS tools and services, enabling thousands of businesses to accept payments in a more innovative and efficient manner.

With Mono’s DirectPay Pay with Bank method, businesses can now collect fast and secure account-to-account payments from their customers, revolutionizing the payment landscape in Nigeria. This integration allows businesses operating in the country to leverage the robust MPGS solution to access Mono’s DirectPay feature seamlessly.……continue reading

🪵 MANUFACTURING

BURN Manufacturing raises $12M to expand distribution of clean cookstoves in Africa

BURN Manufacturing (BURN), a prominent clean cookstove production company based in Kenya, has successfully raised upwards of $12 million in funding, with the primary aim of amplifying the distribution of its clean cooking products throughout Africa.

This funding is the result of a successful follow-on carbon project investment initiative, which was spearheaded by Key Carbon Ltd. Previously known as CNR “Carbon Neutral Royalty”, Key Carbon Ltd is now leading the charge to finance BURN’s expansion..……continue reading

💰 INVESTMENTS

TDB receives $100M funding from British International Investment to boost economic resilience in Africa

The Trade and Development Bank (TDB), a major financial institution focusing on African development, has received a $100 million funding package from British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance division. The investment is intended to bolster economic resilience in Africa, foster agricultural development, and tackle issues related to food security through the support of crucial trade finance activities.

TDB, with more than $5 billion in assets, is instrumental in financing and advancing trade, sustainable growth, and regional integration in Africa via trade finance, advisory services, asset management, and project and infrastructure finance.

The funding from BII will boost TDB’s capacity to offer financial assistance to local businesses and financial institutions in vital African markets.......……continue reading

💵 FINTECH

Ghana-based fintech Zeepay secures $3 million investment from Verdant Capital

Ghana-based remittance and mobile money service provider, Zeepay, has secured a $3 million equity investment from investor Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund. This is Verdant’s fourth funding round in the fintech company over the past two years. Consequently, Zeepay, which has raised over $23 million since its inception a decade ago, will utilize the latest funds to reinforce its financial standing in readiness for its expected growth in 2024.

Zeepay operates as Africa’s non-telco mobile money service provider, with licenses in Ghana, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Barbados. The company’s service speciality lies in concluding remittances into mobile wallets, and its services are accessible across all networks and partnerships.....continue reading

💰 VENTURE CAPITAL

Serial Entrepreneur Sim Shagaya Unveils The Honey Badger Fund to Empower African Innovators

Sim Shagaya, a prominent figure in African technology and a relentless advocate for education, has launched a new venture – The Honey Badger Fund (HBF). This fund aims to empower “extraordinary Africans” building businesses that drive positive change across the continent.

Shagaya is no stranger to building impactful ventures. He pioneered Nigeria’s e-commerce landscape with Konga, a company that secured significant funding even in the early stages of the African tech ecosystem. Following his success at Konga, he shifted his focus to education and established uLesson, an edtech startup offering high-quality courses in various subjects. uLesson’s growth trajectory is impressive, having reached the Series B stage with nearly $30 million raised.

The Honey Badger Fund (HBF) goes beyond simply providing financial backing. Shagaya recognises the importance of experience, having learned valuable lessons throughout his own entrepreneurial journey. He emphasises that HBF will not only invest in promising companies but also offer valuable mentorship and guidance to help them navigate the demanding yet rewarding path of business leadership....…..continue reading

📱 MEDIA

Yahoo Acquires Artifact News Aggregation App from Instagram Co-Founders

Artifact, a news aggregation and recommendation app developed by Instagram’s co-founders, has been purchased by Yahoo. The standalone operation of Artifact will be discontinued following the acquisition. In the forthcoming months, Artifact’s artificial intelligence (AI) personalization technology and other capabilities will be absorbed into Yahoo News and other related products.

The acquisition was completed last week, but the financial details of the deal remain undisclosed. During the transition period, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, the founders of Artifact, will serve advisory roles to Yahoo, which incidentally is also the parent company of Engadget.....…..continue reading

OTHER STORIES

• South African startup RNR secures $640,000 funding for expansion in Southern Africa……read more

• Kenyan Travel Tech Startup, Triply, Soars with Y Combinator Investment….read more

• Baobab Network acquires South African strategy and branding agency, Reflector Marketing, to boost African startup….read more

• Microsoft Boosts Nigerian Innovation in Electric Vehicle Hackathon…read more

OPPORTUNITIES

• Norrsken Accelerator calls on early-stage African startup founders to apply…..read more

• AgriTech4Egypt Innovation Challenge invites applications from agri-tech ventures for a sustainable agricultural future….read more

• Invitation for Female Entrepreneurs to Apply: Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Award….read more

• Call for Applications: Amazon Web Services South Africa’s Equity Equivalent Investment Programme for SMEs….read more

• Irish Tech Challenge 2024: Call for South African startups to help address global issues….read more

• 14th Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East Now Open for Applications…..read more

• Applications Now Open for the Second Edition of the BH Africa Startup Awards….read more