Hello, Briefing readers!
Here is a rundown of the biggest stories in the tech and startup space in Africa.
Gitta is now a Rolex laureate
Ugandan innovator Brian Gitta, who alongside his team invented Matibabu, a bloodless malaria-diagnosing device, has been named a 2019 Rolex laureate.
The only African in the race, Gitta competed with other 9 innovators from France, Argentina, Canada, U.K, America, India, Brazil, and Pakistan.
I am so proud of @gittabrian a Ugandan who became a Rolex Awards for Enterprise Laureate this week! As a 2010 Rolex Awards Jury member I met Brian, who has invented a technique of diagnosing malaria without taking a blood sample! #RolexAwards @GCCoffee1 @InsideNatGeo @CTPHuganda pic.twitter.com/qQRCTdQarx
— Gladys K Zikusoka (@DoctorGladys) June 16, 2019
Nakawa ICT Innovation hub complete
The National ICT innovation Hub will soon be unveiled for use. Recent pictures shared on social media by an official from the NITA-Uganda show that the over 500-seater facility is now complete, and it is just awaiting being equipped with furniture.
Located in Nakawa, Kampala, the hub will serve as a resource center for Ugandan innovators by giving them free access to all the necessary services such as internet, computers and among others to facilitate the development of their projects.
Happy to note progress thus far in completion of the Government Innovation and Incubation Center @uictug in Nakawa, With seating capacity of 500 +, the centre will offer free: space, internet, mentorship, funding opportunities to Innovators @NIISP_ICT @MoICT_Ug @FrankTumwebazek pic.twitter.com/ZexzAm3cnV
— Joshua Akandwanaho (@akajosh1) June 14, 2019
Constructed by the UPDF engineering brigade, the project was kicked off on November 8, 2017. The government said it would spend Shs5bn on the project.
Read more about the facility here
Kabushenga is now Jobberman CEO
Jobberman Nigeria has appointed Hilda Kabushenga Kragha as its Chief Executive Officer. She will be responsible for the growth and operations of the company.
Mrs. Kragha was previously an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, advising blue chip clients on strategy, human capital, and organizational transformation projects.
Jobberman is Nigeria’s biggest jobs and careers platform. It has Jobberman has over 2.5 million candidates, matching them with more than 100,000 employers in their database.
Read the full press release here
Norrsken launches in Rwanda
Norrsken, a foundation based in Sweden and support entrepreneurs, has rolled out a unit in Kigali, Rwanda, with plans to expand its reach across the East and Central African region.
The foundation was founded by Niklas Adalberth, also a co-founder of Swedish fintech unicorn Klarna. It was started in 2016 to help entrepreneurs solve the world’s greatest challenges.
Its ecosystem consists of Norrsken House, a co-working space for over 350 impact entrepreneurs in Stockholm, and the Norrsken Founders Fund, reports Disrupt Africa.
The foundation’s portfolio already features a number of companies with operations in Africa, such as WeFarm and Ignitia, and Norrsken is now aiming to scale this and invest directly in African companies with the opening of Norrsken Kigali, according to Disrupt Africa.
Norrsken will offer training, capital and advice to entrepreneurs, and establish partnerships with other incubators and accelerators.
Read the full report here
New Tecno phones will come with Chinese literature app
Transsion, the largest smartphone distributor in Africa, with brands including Tecno, Infinix, and itel, is planning to preinstall an application containing a collection of Chinese literature. The content will be in English. And the company behind the application is called China Literature.
Read full report
Meanwhile, Transsion remains the largest distributor of smartphones in Africa, according to a recent report, claiming 33.1% of the market. In the second position is Samsung with 24.5%. Huawei follows with 11.8%
Max Nigeria to expand to Ghana, Ivory Coast
Max.ng, Nigerian motorcycle taxi-hailing startup has raised over $6m to expand to Ghana and Ivory Coast. This comes after its competitors SafeBoda and Gokada have also raised money and ORide, which is owned by Opera also injected a lot of cash in its project.
Read full report
