Alleged security breach leaves millions of dollars missing from Flutterwave accounts

Alleged security breach leaves millions of dollars missing from Flutterwave accounts

Last month, Flutterwave, Africa’s largest startup by private valuation, was involved in a hack that resulted in over ₦2.9 billion (~$4.2 million) missing from its accounts, according to local tech publication Techpoint Africa. According to the documents seen by the publication and reviewed by TechCrunch, unknown actors transferred the funds across 28 accounts in 63 transactions […]

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Chipper Cash executes second round of layoffs less than three months after axing 12.5% of staff

Chipper Cash executes second round of layoffs less than three months after axing 12.5% of staff

African cross-border payments platform Chipper Cash conducted a second round of layoffs last Friday just ten weeks after it cut approximately 12.5% of its workforce (affecting its engineering team the most). The company’s V.P. of revenue shared the news on LinkedIn, saying “all areas” across Chipper Cash’s markets were impacted this time. “Friday was a […]

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Smartphone woes continue as global market dips 9%

Africa’s smartphone market shrunk by 18% last year

Africa’s smartphone market shrunk by 18% in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC). The slump was driven by a reduction in consumer spending due to inflation, and economic uncertainties, but it was not unique to Africa as smartphone shipment dipped across major markets last year. According to IDC, […]

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Sendmarc nabs $7M to offer email protection from phishing attacks and email impersonation

Sendmarc nabs $7M to offer email protection from phishing attacks and email impersonation

Over 90% of cybercrime activities that lead to financial fraud or identity theft start with an email impersonation, commonly known as phishing and spoofing. Several platforms offer individuals and businesses email protection from such attacks and general email impersonation — and Sendmarc, based in Johannesburg but with global clients — has raised $7 million in […]

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Nigerian agritech Releaf gets more capital as it launches new tech for food processing

Nigerian agritech Releaf gets more capital as it launches new tech for food processing

Releaf, a Nigerian agritech startup that supplies ingredients (starting with the oil palm) to consumer goods manufacturers and their food factories, has received $3.3 million in an oversubscribed pre-Series A round. The Jack Ma Foundation-backed startup, which announced a $4.2 million (including a $1.5 million grant) seed raise in September 2021, said the funding will […]

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Cameroonian crypto and savings platform Ejara raises $8M, led by Anthemis and Dragonfly

Cameroonian crypto and savings platform Ejara raises $8M, led by Anthemis and Dragonfly

Ejara, a Cameroonian fintech offering an investment app that allows users to buy crypto and save through decentralized wallets, has raised $8 million in Series A investment.  London-based venture capital firm Anthemis co-led the growth round alongside crypto-focused fund Dragonfly Capital. Anthemis is a follow-on investor in Ejara, having also led the fintech’s $2 million […]

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FTX processed billions monthly in Africa before going bust

FTX processed billions monthly in Africa before going bust

On November 14, Nestcoin, one of the startups leading crypto and web3 efforts in Africa, announced that it was laying off several employees. At least 30 employees across various departments were let go, while those who were left at the company had their salaries slashed by as much as 40%, according to people familiar with […]

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Nigerian blockchain payments startup Bitmama closes $2M pre-seed as it scales to new markets

Nigerian blockchain payments startup Bitmama closes $2M pre-seed as it scales to new markets

Africa is the world’s third fastest-growing crypto market, with crypto adoption increasing by more than 1,200% over the last two years. Countries such as Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa are majorly responsible for skyrocketing adoption rates as citizens try to hedge against currency devaluation and build wealth. Despite African governments’ inconsistent stance on cryptocurrencies, these […]

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One year later, Apple’s privacy changes helped boost its own ads business, report finds

One year later, Apple’s privacy changes helped boost its own ads business, report finds

A new report examing the impact of Apple’s privacy feature, App Tracking Transparency, indicates Apple’s ads business appears to have financially benefitted as a result of the feature’s launch. Now over a year old, App Tracking Transparency, or ATT, reached mass adoption in June 2021, allowing for a comparative year-over-year analysis of the post-ATT mobile […]

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Metaverse Magna raises $3.2M at a $30M valuation to build Africa’s largest gaming DAO

Metaverse Magna raises $3.2M at a $30M valuation to build Africa’s largest gaming DAO

This February, Africa and emerging market-focused Nestcoin raised a pre-seed round to build, operate and invest in its web3 applications, including crypto content platform Breach Club and gaming guild Metaverse Magna (MVM). Nine months after its launch last December, the latter has completed a seed sale token round of $3.2 million at a $30M fully […]

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