HAVAC, based in Cape Town, is an investment and advisory firm that invests in and supports early-stage, high-growth African technology businesses with proven concepts and global prospects, providing sophisticated private and institutional investors with high-return and impactful investment opportunities. The HAVAC Universum Core African Fund is the company’s second pan-African investment fund, with a third and final closing of US$20 million in partnership with Universum Wealth, as well as institutional investors from South Africa and the United States, including Fireball Capital....

Mutiga is taking over from an outstanding business leader, mentor and coach to many who has been with the firm for 17 years having joined Safaricom in May 2005 as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer. Ogutu also served as Chief Human Resource Officer and Director – Resources and later on appointed as Director – Strategy & Innovation. As a new EXCO member, Mutiga will lead Safaricom’s business development and transformation agenda, and will be responsible for Strategic Partnerships, Mergers and Acquisitions, Safaricom’s funding strategy and asset optimization....

SafeBoda, a safe and secure motorcycle-taxi experience began its life in November 2014 in Kampala with just 20 drivers and most people kept dismissing them (including us-yes, we were wrong) but the team’s less-press more-work attitude has seen them grow, beating global competitors such as Uber, Bolt who also have motorcycle hailing in their apps. Living and working in Kampala for a few years, I saw the chaos associated with motorcycle drivers firsthand....

Early this month, Samsung Electronics Africa unveilled a new brand campaign ‘What If I Can’. The initiative is an attempt at shifting the mindsets of normal people to believing they can contribute towards the greater good because they have the power in their everyday routine to change people’s lives and circumstances. So to make the initiative stronger, the electronic company is working along side with a UK-based company called Pavegen by laying a 68-tile walkway, situated in Sandton City Johannesburg....

Price and availability Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 which comes with 12GB RAM and 512 GB internal storage will be retailing at Kshs 256,999 whereas Galaxy Z Flip 4 which comes with 12GB and 256GB internal storage will be retailing at Kshs 142,999. The smartphones will be available on Preorder as from 11th August to 31st August. The pre-order offers include; – Galaxy Z Fold 4 comes with a Phone Cover, S-Pen, Samsung Care Plus, 24-month Warranty....

A new expandable screen from Samsung It is now time for an extendable screen after the Foldable screens. Samsung is always at its toes to keep up with the most recent technological challenges, and its R&D does not falter. The all-around performance of this new Screen can be seen in the embedded video below. From the video, we can see an expandable screen manufactured by Samsung which outputs a 3D rendering of content previously set in 2D....

The appointment is set for this afternoon at 5 pm, and you will be able to follow all this from the YouTube channel or the official social networks of Samsung. Samsung Unpacked: what to expect? It has been said: the emphasis should be placed on the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3, the two new foldable flagships of Samsung. To compensate for the absence of a new Galaxy Note this year, the Fold 3 would be compatible with the S Pen....

Claes will be leaving the company after nine years almost since its inception in 2009. Claes explained why now is the right time for him to hand over his CTO responsibilities. “SEACOM is heading into a new future of investment and growth, focusing on the rapidly expanding corporate segments in our key markets. This requires fresh ideas and new skills that will take SEACOM from its current strengths into its future expansion and development....

Swiss company Seedstars, which works to impact people’s lives in emerging markets through technology and entrepreneurship, partnered the Peace and Human Rights Division of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) to run the Migration Entrepreneurship Prize 2021. The Migration Entrepreneurship Prize was created to identify and promote socially-driven businesses in the Middle East and Africa with a mission to enhance migrants’ socioeconomic inclusion. The Seedstars Investment Readiness Program was offered to the winners, as well as access to the Seedstars network of partners, mentors, and investors....

Recently Africa has moved from traditional banking to web-based services. These web-based services have helped people and especially the youth to get loans easily than before. In Kenya the well-known M-pesa has created avenues for people to get loans faster. Most banks and money lending companies usually look at your financial background as well as your stability. The most interesting kind of development in Africa is Nigeria’s new system where they look at borrower’s social media profile to assess their credit worthiness....

The KaliSpot network is named after the Fulani/Peul term “Kalis” for money. Each KaliSpot point will be equipped with an infrastructure of ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) and ITMs (Interactive Teller Machines) integrating services from Banks, Mobile Money Operators and Fintechs, in a network of locations. KaliSpot thus becomes the first independent ATM operator in Francophone West and Central Africa. Mika DIOL, Founder of Outsource Monetic Group, the parent company of KaliSpot, said, “We are excited to bring our transformative vision of financial inclusion and PhyGital (physical and digital) infrastructure to Francophone West Africa....

The winners had a chance to present their businesses to delegates at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) where they participated in Africa’s biggest agribusiness match-making platform, the AGRF Agribusiness Dealroom . Over 800 companies, 15 government delegations and 150 public and private investors convened at the Dealroom to generate exciting new opportunities. “Pitch AgriHack is about creating impact through investment in the young agritech entrepreneurs of Africa.” said Mumbi Maina, Agribusiness Dealroom Lead at AGRA....

Smartphones have long been used in almost all situations. Whether for navigation, hobby photography, or even to control the television if you wish. For the past few years, this has worked for all smartphone devices and televisions. Lost remote controls or dead batteries are a thing of the past. We introduce you to the best smartphone apps for the most famous TV brands. Remote control for Samsung TVs: Samsung SmartThings SmartThings App provides you with the ability to connect and control many devices more straightforward and faster....

Following the launch of Public Profiles for Creators, Shows, and Snapchatters, Snapchat is giving businesses a more “permanent home” on its platform as well. In the announcement last week, Snapchat explains that the new Public Profiles for Businesses will give brands the ability to place their organic Snapchat content in one “discoverable place” and connect with their customers “by highlighting useful and engaging content, showcase existing Lens AR Experiences, and share shoppable products directly within the Snapchat app....

As the official digital partner for the iSchoolAfrica and Saray Khumalo Literacy Labs, the foundation will provide digital books and e-resources for the libraries, selecting content according to each school’s unique needs. Using a mobile iPad lab provided by iSchoolAfrica, thousands of students will now have access to their own fully functional school e-library. Each digital library uses Snapplify’s award-winning technology and comes with curated content that targets learners’ particular age group, reading level and interests....

SoftBank‘s $100bn Vision Fund‎ is said to be in preliminary talks with the Japanese company’s founder Masayoshi Son and Glovo CEO Oscar Pierre. If SoftBank were to proceed with an investment in the delivery platform, it would commit several hundred million dollars to the business. The reports come after Glovo recently raised $150 million in a Series D funding round, bringing the amount that it has received since its incorporation almost five years ago to around $285 million....

Drake tax software is a very popular software and very easy to use. The tax program of this software makes the submission of tax returns in an efficient way. The software has a lot of interesting features that make tax preparation a lot easier. The idea of hosting Drake software on the cloud can be very useful, as it will improve the features of the software. Hosted Drake software will be mainly beneficial for those who have less technical knowledge....

South Africa’s Peach Payments, a fintech startup that makes customer payments to online merchants seamless and secure has launched in Kenya and Nigeria with plans for other African countries. Launched in South Africa just three years ago, Peach payments is now processing more than R1-billion in transactions per year and this month it launched a new offering, PaySafe, which has already processed transactions worth R1-million, and will change how businesses collect invoices and payments globally....

Startupbootcamp AfriTech is working with Telecel Group for the previously announced ASIP Accelerator Program, which is looking for the next generation of early-stage African tech startups disrupting a wide range of industry sectors are being sought. The accelerator is looking for ten startups to participate in the Program that will give them access to expert-led masterclasses covering scaling fundamentals – from the business model canvas, and lean methodology, to fundraising....