Rwanda like most African countries is gradually reopening its economy after several weeks of lock-down due to the corona-virus pandemic, which threw the country into a deep freeze. Small business and startups are struggling to stay in business.
Africa 54’s Paul Ndiho via skype, spoke to Jennifer Batamuliza, Founder, Rwa Tech Hub, a startup that teaches I.T, mentors’ girls and women to enter the field of Science and Technology.
By Paul Ndiho
A Nigerian entrepreneur is contributing to a drastic change in Africa’s technology landscape. His ability to start multi million-dollar tech companies, create jobs, and solve the continent’s pressing challenges is going very well.
Nigerian technology entrepreneur, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, is arguably one of the most recognized names in Africa’s tech space. The 29 year-old, has already invested in more than 20 technology companies across Nigeria and East Africa.
Here are two examples, Andela, is a talent accelerator that recruits and trains software developers and connects them with employers in Silicon Valley. And Flutter wave is a global payments platform that empowers African merchants to operate on a worldwide scale.
Now Aboyeji is on a new mission to fund promising startups through his venture capital firm “Future Africa.” The company is a people-powered innovation fund that provides capital, coaching, and community to mission-driven innovators that turn Africa’s most significant challenges into business opportunities.
“I’ve spent the last few years at building startups, some of which are most people know like Andela and Flutter wave, and now I’m an Angel investor in businesses. And I intend to build a small portfolio of startups geared to solving tough problems across Africa”.
Aboyeji says his goal is to “create new and more sustainable funding sources for Nigeria’s tech Eco-system. Future Africa comprises diaspora-based Nigerians looking to tap into tech opportunities back home, as well as younger, upwardly mobile Nigerians interested in aggressive investment strategies.
“We usually focus on companies that are solving challenging problems, and it comes from our own experiences as founders when we started Andela. We knew there was a vast unemployment gap; the education that young people are receiving at that time wasn’t going to give them the ability to engage in global jobs, like in development and design. What we did was to devote programs that addressed the challenges that we face, and this created a flooded space of remote engineers, designers, and writers from Nigeria.”
Investment in Nigerian startups has soared over the last five years, making Lagos the most valuable technology hub in Africa. But the financial support is being dominated by funds from Silicon Valley, London, China, or elsewhere, rather than from local investors or high net worth individuals. They tend to focus on more traditional sectors like energy and agriculture.
“Nigeria is an interesting country. In terms of Africa, Nigeria is a critical factor. It’s the largest economy, and it has the largest population and a very diverse market. So, understanding this place and conquering it means not just to getting richer but really to providing people with the playbook for scaling across the continent.”
Aboyeji has hosted several tech giants in Nigeria, including Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook and Jack Dorsey, co-founder, and CEO of Twitter. Both men are invested heavily in the Nigerian market.
Much of the collective’s credibility likely stems from Aboyeji’s track record as a startup founder and investor, having co-founded Andela and Flutterwave. The companies have received a combined $235 million in funding.
54gene, a genomics research firm that Aboyeji has invested in has raised $15 million dollars. For a man whose dream is to change Africa’s technology scene, the sky is the limit.
Ghanaian shoe marker horseman shoes says that his full-year profit was likely to fall by at least 50% and he was unlikely to hire new people, while all options were open for his footwear business.
Horseman, which makes shoes and other leather products, has been grappling with harsh conditions as a result of COVID 19. For more, Africa 54’s Paul Ndiho via Skype, spoke to Tonyi Senayah, C.E.O., horseman shoes in Ghana.
A Sierra Leonean mechanical engineer based in the United Kingdom is making his mark in the automobile and technology industry.
Festus Vandy, Co-Founder, Turbo Electric has designed an electric car that he hopes to bring to the market soon.
He has a passion for electric cars, but his ability to build his car from scrap metal is remarkable. His dream is to become one of Sierra Leone’s budding automotive engineers.
Africa 54’s Paul ndiho via Skype, spoke to, Festus Vandy, currently in Free Town, Sierra Leone.
Even before covid-19, there was already high growth and adoption in education technology; thus, education has changed dramatically, with the rise of e-learning, whereby teaching is undertaken remotely and on digital platforms. But what does it take to develop and build e-learning platforms?
For more, Africa 54’s Paul ndiho via skype, spoke to a software engineer, Victor Oku Kanayo, co-founder, children in freedom school, in Nakuru Kenya.
Health experts say the app-based contact tracing are appealing in part because the corona-virus’ spread is so stealthy. Infected people can transmit the virus for days before they develop symptoms.
Last month, Eritrean American Beruk Habte launched an Android app called “Tracker” – that tracks user’s locations and notifies them if they’ve been within a certain distance of someone who tested positive for COVID 19.
For more insight, Africa 54’s Paul Ndiho via Skype, spoke to Beruk Habte, the creator of the contact tracing mobile application “tracker,” based in the us state of Maryland.
EdTech companies are changing the face of Kenya’s education system. Budding entrepreneurs have re-imagined the traditional classroom entirely, offering schoolchildren alternative models for learning through EdTech.
Africa 54’s Paul Ndiho via skype, spoke to Willis Njumbi, co-founder, Elimu Popote aims to build an education and life skill platform for kids while making learning fun through mobile phones, and computer tablets.
Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on small businesses, and people employed by small businesses are at risk of unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic.
And startups in Ghana have not been spared. For some perspective, Africa 54’s Paul Ndiho via skype, spoke to Nana Ama Yankah, founder and CEO, Naya by Africa, a lifestyle brand for natural products in Accra Ghana.
The covid-19 pandemic has strongly impacted the journalism industry and affected journalists’ work. In Zambia, many journalists continue to risk their lives to produce human interest stories, combating misinformation, providing public health updates, and help people cope with the virus’s impact.
For more insight, Africa 54’s Paul Ndiho via Skype, spoke to Arthur Davies Sikopo,SABC correspondent
Kiira motors corporation (KMC), a Ugandan government enterprise, is betting on manufacturing commercial electric buses as a new game-changer. Analysts say this initiative will create employment for thousands, add value in the regional automotive industry, and diversify the economy.
The locally assembled buses are already are causing a buzz and providing select shuttle services.
For more insight, Africa 54’s Paul Ndiho via Skype, spoke to Paul Isaac Musasizi
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