Innovation Village Newsletter
Posts
🏦 Standard Bank Taps Egypt for Africa–ME Trade

🏦 Standard Bank Taps Egypt for Africa–ME Trade

Plus: 📱 Android & iOS Finally Enable Direct File Sharing

Innovation Village
November 24, 2025

In partnership with

‘

Good Morning Valued Subscribers👋

After years of complaints, workarounds, blurry screenshots, and the silent (and sometimes loud) rivalry between Android and iPhone users, the wall is finally coming down. Android and iOS devices can now share files directly, no WhatsApp compression, no Telegram detours, no AirDrop envy.

Google and Apple have agreed to make their wireless sharing systems interoperable, meaning Quick Share (formerly Nearby Share) and AirDrop will now talk to each other. For everyday users, this is huge: you can finally send high-quality photos, videos, documents, and other files between devices without losing quality or begging someone to “just send it on Instagram.”

After so many years of iPhone users refusing to send media through social apps to avoid quality loss, or subtly shaming Android users for not having AirDrop, the great peace treaty has arrived. The long-running blue bubble vs. green bubble tension just got a little lighter.

The new cross-platform sharing feature will roll out gradually across Android devices and iPhones in the coming weeks.

Let’s dive in.👇

Today’s Menu ☕️

🏦 Standard Bank Taps Egypt for Africa–ME Trade
💵AfDB’s SEFA Gets €50m Funding
💵Fusepay Launches to Digitise B2B Payments in Seychelles
💰Boxpack Zambia Secures $5M Growth Investment from GIP
📲Australia Extends Under-16 Social Media Ban to Twitch

🏦BANKING

Standard Bank Taps Egypt for Africa–ME Trade

Standard Bank Group has opened a new Representative Office in Egypt, strengthening trade and investment flows between Egypt, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. Positioned at the Pyramids of Giza, the launch highlights Egypt’s growing role as a strategic gateway for north–south trade.

The bank says the office will help connect Egyptian corporates and multinationals to opportunities across its 21-country African footprint, while offering market intelligence and financial support to businesses expanding across regions............…continue reading

The AI Insights Every Decision Maker Needs

You control budgets, manage pipelines, and make decisions, but you still have trouble keeping up with everything going on in AI. If that sounds like you, don’t worry, you’re not alone – and The Deep View is here to help.

This free, 5-minute-long daily newsletter covers everything you need to know about AI. The biggest developments, the most pressing issues, and how companies from Google and Meta to the hottest startups are using it to reshape their businesses… it’s all broken down for you each and every morning into easy-to-digest snippets.

If you want to up your AI knowledge and stay on the forefront of the industry, you can subscribe to The Deep View right here (it’s free!).

💵FUNDING

AfDB’s SEFA Gets €50m Funding

The African Development Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) has secured nearly €50 million in new capital commitments from Germany and Italy, announced during COP30. Germany pledged €44 million—€14 million for universal energy access projects and €30 million for SEFA’s new green hydrogen programme—while Italy contributed an additional €5 million. The funding strengthens SEFA’s mandate to accelerate renewable energy, expand electricity access, and catalyse private-sector investment across Africa, while signalling growing global confidence in Africa’s green hydrogen potential..…...continue reading

💵DIGITAL PAYMENTS

Fusepay Launches to Digitise B2B Payments in Seychelles

Seychelles-founded fintech startup Fusepay has launched its digital payment platform to help businesses replace slow, cheque-based processes with instant, secure digital transactions. Backed by a $350,000 pre-seed round led by Hustle Fund, Fusepay operates under a PSP license and offers virtual business accounts, instant transfers, digital post-dated payments, automated reconciliation, and an API for utilities and government agencies.

Founded in 2024, Fusepay targets over 20 frontier markets with weak digital payment infrastructure, supported by a $25B total addressable market..….continue reading

💰INVESTMENTS

Boxpack Zambia Secures $5M Growth Investment from GIP

Musonda Chipalo, CEO of GIP Zambia

Growth Investment Partners (GIP) Zambia has made its first-ever investment—a $5 million, seven-year royalty-based funding facility for Boxpack Zambia, a family-owned manufacturer of corrugated carton boxes and paper packaging. The flexible structure allows the company to expand without giving up equity or facing strict debt repayments.

The funding will finance a new production line that triples Boxpack’s output from 600 to 1,800 tonnes per month, reducing Zambia’s reliance on imported packaging and strengthening local supply chains.................…continue reading

📲SOCIAL MEDIA

Australia Extends Under-16 Social Media Ban to Twitch

Australia has expanded its sweeping under-16 social media ban to include Twitch, joining platforms like Facebook, X, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, and Reddit. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Twitch’s real-time interaction makes it similar to other restricted platforms.

Under the law—taking effect next month—platforms must take “reasonable steps” to block underage users or face heavy fines. Pinterest remains exempt due to its non-interactive nature..…..…continue reading