Author: Elan

Listen to this article Tokyo is redefining its engagement with Africa, transitioning from traditional aid-based approaches to strategic venture capital (VC) investments focused on long-term partnerships, innovation and capacity building. Several Japanese private companies are making Japan’s presence felt in Africa’s VC landscape, particularly in high-growth sectors such as fintech, climate tech and mobility. Growing demand for innovative, technology-driven solutions in Africa has drawn increasing interest from international investors. VC funding in Africa rose from over US$2 billion in 2019 to a peak of US$5.2 billion in 2022. Though investment declined to around US$3.6 billion in 2023, the continent’s start-up…

Earlier this year, I pondered what the African tech industry would look like in the next 10 years.  For much of the past decade, the story was about possibility. Could Africa really become a serious player in the global tech ecosystem? Could African founders build companies that travelled beyond the continent’s borders? Was there enough talent to sustain it all? Today, the story reads differently. Africa’s startup ecosystem has matured significantly, with companies serving millions of customers, expanding across borders and increasingly building products and services that compete in global markets. That progress has not come without turbulence. The funding…

Will South African xenophobia derail the drive for continental unity? – African Business Will South African xenophobia derail the drive for continental unity? – African Business

In brief Strive bought another 1,800 BTC for roughly $143 million at an average price of $79,431 per coin, raising its total holdings to 23,156 BTC, worth about $1.76 billion, CEO Matt Cole said. The purchase extends an aggressive accumulation strategy for the firm, which trades as ASST after merging with Asset Entities.. It lands amid renewed sector buying: Strategy broke a two-month pause with a $370 million purchase, and Bitmine made its largest Ethereum buy since June. Strive is continuing to stack Bitcoin, snapping up another 1,800 BTC worth roughly $143 million as the asset manager expands one of…

For South African startups, getting customers is only half the battle. Even after people start paying for their products, raising enough money to grow can remain difficult. That is the funding gap Mamor Capital Ventures wants to target with its first venture capital fund. The black women-owned and managed firm has raised R300 million ($18.8 million) in the first close of its inaugural fund, with the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), South Africa’s largest asset manager, as its anchor investor.  Mamor is still raising towards its R550 million ($34.375 million) target and says it will invest in South African technology companies…

Excel has been around for decades; somewhere along the way, Microsoft buried a handful of genuinely brilliant features so deep in menus that most people never stumble onto them. These aren’t obscure formulas or power-user shortcuts either. They’re built-in tools that could save you hours if you just knew where to look. Related I typed three semicolons into Excel and found its strangest formatting trick Excel keeps a display layer and a data layer. Not on the ribbon, but three clicks from your toolbar Of everything Excel hides, the Camera tool is probably the most underused. It lets you take…

Time Out has launched a dedicated Durban platform as it expands its South African media presence into KwaZulu-Natal. Image credit: Time Out South Africa / supplied Time Out has expanded its South African footprint with the launch of Time Out Durban, adding KwaZulu-Natal to its growing network of locally curated city platforms. The new Durban platform becomes the third dedicated South African city destination in the Time Out portfolio, following Cape Town and Johannesburg. Time Out South Africa operates through a franchise partnership with Kagiso Media Radio (KMR), which was announced when the global city-guide brand expanded its South African…

By PwCWe are pleased to share the latest edition of PwC Kenya’s Public Sector and Infrastructure Insight, our thought leadership publication exploring the key trends shaping public sector transformation, development financing and infrastructure investment.Under the theme “Adapting with purpose: Embracing change, empowering a sustainable future,” this edition examines how governments, development partners, not-for-profit organisations, and the infrastructure sector can respond to shifting funding models, fiscal pressures, technological advancement, and increasing demands for transparency and accountability.The publication features insights on sustainable infrastructure financing, health financing in a post-aid environment, urbanisation and affordable housing, AI-enabled government, blended finance, evolving financial reporting standards…

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Circle’s wrapped Bitcoin product entered the market with unusually strong institutional credentials and almost no visible scale.The company paired cirBTC with segregated reserves, a federally supervised custodian, direct minting and redemption for eligible businesses, and the distribution infrastructure behind USDC. Circle’s Aug. 27 reserve panel nevertheless showed just 40.02450077 cirBTC outstanding about 11 weeks after its Ethereum launch.The same panel showed 42.5114162 BTC in reserve, equal to about 106.2% coverage and a 2.48691543 BTC cushion across 14 disclosed Bitcoin addresses. The reserve cushion settled the backing question at that snapshot. The 40-token float exposed the harder problem: Circle had built…