- Innovation Village Newsletter
- Posts
- 📱TikTok’s Dramatic Shutdown and Comeback: How Trump Saved the App in Hours
📱TikTok’s Dramatic Shutdown and Comeback: How Trump Saved the App in Hours
Plus: 🪙 Donald Trump Launches $TRUMP Meme Coin
Innovation Village
January 20, 2025
In partnership with
Today’s Menu ☕️
📱TikTok’s Dramatic Shutdown and Comeback: How Trump Saved the App in Hours
🪙 Donald Trump Launches $TRUMP Meme Coin, Sparking Crypto Frenzy
💰 CreditChek Secures Baobab Network Investment to Revolutionize Financial Access for African Immigrants
🛒 Amazon opens walk-in centre in South Africa to boost independent sellers and expand market share
📱Meta Unveils Edits: A New Video Editing App to replace CapCut
If you haven't subscribed, join over 7,000 people curious about Innovation, New Products, New Technologies in Africa.
📱SOCIAL MEDIA
TikTok’s Dramatic Shutdown and Comeback: How Trump Saved the App in Hours
In a dramatic series of events, TikTok briefly shut down in the United States over the weekend, only to return just hours later, thanks to a last-minute intervention by President-elect Donald Trump. The episode highlighted the platform’s immense cultural influence while underscoring the legal and political battles surrounding its operation in the U.S.
On Saturday night, TikTok users in the U.S. found themselves locked out of the app, greeted by a somber message: “Sorry, TikTok isn’t available right now.” The platform went dark in compliance with a new law requiring its parent company, ByteDance, to divest its U.S. operations due to national security concerns tied to its Chinese ownership. Alongside TikTok, ByteDance’s other apps, such as Lemon8 and CapCut, were also removed from Apple and Google app stores.
The shutdown was short-lived. By Sunday morning, TikTok announced its return, attributing the swift resolution to President-elect Trump’s pledge to issue an executive order delaying enforcement of the law. Trump’s move gave the company and its service providers, including Apple and Google, the assurance needed to restore the platform for its 170 million U.S. users. In a notification to users, TikTok celebrated its return, stating, “Thanks to President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”...….…continue reading
🪙 CRYPTOCURRENCY
Donald Trump Launches $TRUMP Meme Coin, Sparking Crypto Frenzy
Donald Trump has once again made headlines, this time venturing into the cryptocurrency world with the launch of his official meme coin, $TRUMP. Announced just days before his second inauguration as President of the United States, the coin has already created a whirlwind of activity in the crypto market. Built on the Solana blockchain, $TRUMP aims to capitalize on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, while showcasing Trump’s commitment to innovation and digital assets.
The $TRUMP coin debuted with a total supply of 1 billion tokens, with 200 million available initially and the rest to be released over three years. Within hours of its launch, the token’s value skyrocketed, starting at $0.18 and surging to over $7.1, eventually trading at around $21.51. The market capitalization quickly hit $8 billion, and trading volumes approached an eye-popping $1 billion. Such rapid growth reflects both the enthusiasm and speculation surrounding the project...…continue reading
TRAINING FROM TENTH CODE MEDIA
2-day training on New Product Development & Management Fundamentals
Join a 2-day training on New Product Development and Management to master the skills needed to innovate, launch, and manage successful products in today’s competitive market. Click here to register and attend the training.
Date: 5-6 February, 2025
💰 INVESTMENTS
CreditChek Secures Baobab Network Investment to Revolutionize Financial Access for African Immigrants
Nigerian startup CreditChek has announced a significant investment from the Baobab Network. The innovative platform is tackling a long-standing challenge faced by African immigrants: access to financial services in their new countries of residence. In 2022, the startup raised $240,000 in pre-seed funding led by Atom Capital
Founded by Kingsley Ibe and Lionel Orishane in 2022, CreditChek is building the cross-border credit infrastructure that enables banks and lenders to assess creditworthiness in less than five minutes, a transformative solution for millions of African emigrants who struggle with financial exclusion due to untransferable credit histories.....…..continue reading
There’s a reason 400,000 professionals read this daily.
Join The AI Report, trusted by 400,000+ professionals at Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. Get daily insights, tools, and strategies to master practical AI skills that drive results.
🛒 ECOMMERCE
Amazon opens walk-in centre in South Africa to boost independent sellers and expand market share
Robert Koen, Amazon's SSA Managing Director
US e-commerce giant Amazon has inaugurated a walk-in centre in South Africa, aimed at helping its independent sellers attract more customers and expand their businesses. This move is also part of Amazon’s strategy to gain market share in the region.
Amazon, which is striving to catch up with market leader Takealot, owned by Naspers, sees the new centre as a way to increase its product range and, consequently, its potential revenue. “The biggest thing is product breadth for our customers. We just want to have loads of products that people can buy,” said Robert Koen, Managing Director of Amazon sub-Saharan Africa, in an interview.....…..continue reading
📱SOCIAL MEDIA
Meta Unveils Edits: A New Video Editing App to replace CapCut
Amid the ongoing TikTok ban and the removal of ByteDance’s CapCut app from major app stores, Meta has stepped in to seize the opportunity with a new offering. The tech giant announced a video editing app called Edits, designed specifically for creators who want powerful, mobile-first tools for producing high-quality videos.
Announced by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, Edits aims to provide creators with innovative tools to craft standout video content. Writing on Threads, Mosseri shared that the app will first roll out on iOS next month, with an Android version to follow shortly after......…..continue reading
OTHER STORIES
OPPORTUNITIES
Applications are now open for the Women Techsters Fellowship Programme, a free, one-year initiative designed to equip young girls and women with high-demand technology skills. Deadline = 31st January 2025……..continue reading
The Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC) calls on bold thinkers and trailblazers to apply for funding and support under its 2024 Innovation Initiative. Deadline = 31st January 2025…..continue reading
Global payment card network Visa has announced the opening of applications for the fourth edition of its biannual Africa Fintech Accelerator. Deadline = 15th March 2025…….continue reading
Applications are now open for the Timbuktoo MineTech Accelerator programme, a groundbreaking initiative by the Timbuktoo MineTech Hub aimed at driving innovation in mining technology, empowering startups, and scaling transformative technologies within the African mining sector. Deadline = 13th February 2025…..continue reading
Do you know you can join and follow us on our WhatsApp Channel?
Did you enjoy this newsletter? Then why don't you forward the newsletter to at least 5 friends to read and subscribe. We’d love to have them aboard too.
Remember that over 7,000 people receive weekly. You can take advantage of this reach by advertising here.
You can reply to this email and send us your news tips, titbits.
Rowland Osahon
Innovation Village