Zimbabwe

The arrest heard ’round the crypto world

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Chain Reaction. Last week, we discussed $4.5 billion in new crypto funds from a16z. This week, we’re talking about the arrest that has everyone in the NFT space

South Africa’s Talk360 raises $4M to build single payment platform for Africa

Many businesses looking to set up pan-African operations are often met with the challenge of establishing payment services that are appropriate for each country they go to. Most of the payment service

FlexID gets Algorand funding to offer self-sovereign IDs to Africa’s unbanked

Much of the world’s attention around blockchain is on the highs and lows of cryptocurrency values. Startups like FlexID remind us that distributed ledger technology has the potential to play oth

Dear Sophie: How to maneuver the latest travel bans, H-1B alternatives

Here's another edition of “Dear Sophie,” the advice column that answers immigration-related questions about working at technology companies.

This pan-African freelance platform is the first Zimbabwean startup backed by Techstars

On the 25th of January, Techstars Seattle announced its 12th class, featuring 10 startups from different parts of the world. The accelerator, which has accepted only a handful of African startups, inc

Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Impact entertainment ‘accelerator’ inks deal with Netflix

Imagine Impact, the entertainment accelerator launched by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard to try and bring Silicon Valley-style mentorship and project development techniques to Hollywood, has inked a deve

Uber Africa launches Uber Cash with Flutterwave and explores EVs

Uber is launching its Uber Cash digital wallet feature in Sub-Saharan Africa through a partnership with San Francisco-based — Nigerian-founded — fintech firm Flutterwave. The arrangement will allo

Africa Roundup: DHL invests in MallforAfrica, Zipline launches in US, Novastar raises $200M

Events in May offered support to the thesis that Africa can incubate tech with global application. Two startups that developed their business models on the continent — MallforAfrica and Zipline —

Vaya Africa launches electric ride-hail taxi network

Vaya Africa, a ride-hail mobility venture founded by Zimbabwean mogul Strive Masiyiwa, has launched an electric taxi service and charging network in Zimbabwe with plans to expand across the continent.

These specialized Africa VC funds are welcoming co-investors

For global venture capitalists still on the fence about entering Africa, a first move could be co-investing with a proven fund that’s already working in the region. Africa’s startup scene

TLcom Capital closes $71M Africa fund with plans to back 12 startups

VC firm TLcom Capital has closed its Tide Africa Fund at $71 million with plans to make up to 12 startup investments over the next 18 months. The group —  with offices in London, Lagos, and Nairobi

Voter manipulation on social media now a global problem, report finds

New research by the Oxford Internet Institute has found that social media manipulation is getting worse, with rising numbers of governments and political parties making cynical use of social media alg

DHL expands Africa eShop online retail app to 34 countries

DHL has expanded its DHL Africa eShop business to 13 additional markets, upping the presence of the global shipping company’s e-commerce platform to 34 African countries. DHL went live with the digi

Telegram’s crypto tokens are (kind of) going on sale to the public for the first time

Telegram, the most hyped ICO in the history of ICOs, is finally making its tokens available to retail investors through a limited listing that will precede a full sale later this year — but ther

Africa Roundup: Zimbabwe’s net blackout, Partech’s $143M fund, Andela’s $100M raise, Flutterwave’s pivot

A high court in Zimbabwe ended the government’s restrictions on internet and social media last month.

Zimbabwe’s government faces off against its tech community over internet restrictions

After days of intermittent blackouts at the order of Zimbabwe’s Minister of State for National Security, ISPs have restored connectivity through a judicial order issued Monday.