Author: Elan

Talent doesn’t always announce itself when someone turns 18 or 21. Sometimes, it shows up much earlier in a child who can consistently create magic through speaking, writing, dancing, drawing, sewing, and even before reaching their teenage years. Interestingly, most Nigerian parents have been seen to “catch them young” by identifying their potential early, nurturing their abilities and giving them room to grow. In Nigeria’s movie industry, there are already examples of young talents whose early exposure to performance, storytelling and the creative arts has opened doors to opportunities many only discover much later in life. Take the Ikorodu Bois,…

YouTube is said to be offering some of its top creators millions of dollars to keep their content off Netflix and other streaming platforms. Reports from Bloomberg and Business Insider say creators would need to agree to an exclusivity period, though the exact length is not known.Those who sign on would receive direct funding for large-scale projects and a share of major brand deals. The move appears to be a response to Netflix targeting YouTube’s most popular creators.YouTube’s Reported Creator Talks and Payment StructureAlan Chikin Chow and Nick DiGiovanni are reportedly in advanced talks with YouTube. The company is also…

By Christine Wachira, Senior Manager, Marketing and Corporate Communications Kenya’s next financial challenge is not access, it is understanding. Kenya is often held up as a global success story in financial inclusion. With the rise of mobile money services such as M-PESA, the country has shown how technology can bring millions of people into the formal financial system, many for the first time. According to the Central Bank of Kenya’s 2024 FinAccess Household Survey, formal financial access reached 84.8 per cent in 2024, up from 26.7 per cent in 2006. [1] But access, impressive as it is, should not be…

Brent Blankfield, investment executive at Westbrooke** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **South African alternative asset manager, Westbrooke, has recently invested more than R750 million ($46.5 million) in founder-led and family-owned South African businesses.These recent South African investments include:A partnership with the founder of an equipment rental business who wanted to realise partial liquidity while retaining operational involvement and securing the capital needed to support the company’s continued organic and acquisitive growth;An investment in a family-owned distributor and retailer, allowing them the flexibility to pursue further organic and acquisitive growth opportunities…

Audio By Vocalize Hiruy Amanuel, Managing Director, Gullit VC. [Courtesy] Something is changing inside African venture capital, but it is not the kind of change that announces itself loudly. There are no defining moments or dramatic turning points that clearly mark the transition. Instead, it is unfolding gradually through changing investor behaviour, shifting founder expectations, and a growing emphasis on discipline across the ecosystem. It is quiet, but it is real. For years, Africa’s venture capital playbook was authored abroad. It was driven by a compelling narrative: a young and rapidly growing population, underserved markets, accelerating technology adoption, and…

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In brief Bitcoin surged above $79,000 Friday as ETF inflows, macro conditions and developments in Washington boosted demand. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted more than $1 billion over two days as institutional demand picked up. Billions of dollars in short positions were liquidated as Bitcoin rallied, accelerating the move higher. Bitcoin surged above $79,000 Friday as renewed institutional buying, improving macro conditions and a friendlier regulatory outlook in Washington collided with billions of dollars in short liquidations.The rally has pushed Bitcoin sharply higher this week, but analysts say the move began taking shape before the latest breakout.Myriad: Will the Clarity…

Google Gemini is available in Nigeria, and you do not need to pay for a Google AI subscription to start using many of its most useful features. The free version can do far more than answer questions or help you write an email. You can use it to research complex topics, analyse documents, hold voice conversations, generate and edit images, create study materials and even work on projects inside a dedicated workspace. That does not mean the free and paid versions are identical. Google AI subscriptions, including Google AI Plus, Pro and Ultra, generally give users higher usage limits, greater…

One of the more popular locally hosted AI assistants would be OpenClaw. It’s a free and open-source AI agent that can make use of LLMs to generate responses. It also supports both cloud and local AI models, and I was curious to see how well it would fare on a relatively high-end laptop. To this end, I deployed OpenClaw on my Arch Linux install, intent on finding out its limits (and uses). I hit a wall quickly, but the journey itself was fascinating (and educational!). All things considered, I’d consider OpenClaw a worthy assistant to have on your PC, local…

Christine Mwangi, head of AgDevCo Ventures** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **AgDevCo Ventures has reached a $49 million first close to invest in early-stage agri-SMEs in East Africa.The vehicle is a subsidiary of AgDevCo and seeks to address a gap in the market for long-term capital for early-stage agricultural SMEs.AgDevCo Ventures will make investments of $1 million to $3 million into farming and agri-processing companies. The aim is to help build the next generation of African agribusinesses. The vehicle complements AgDevCo’s main strategy which focuses on later-stage companies with larger…