Author: Elan
Many UI trends are designed to capture attention and signal innovation, but those goals often conflict with the needs of mental health apps: reducing cognitive strain, fostering trust, and providing a sense of refuge. Kat Homan introduces an evaluation framework that helps designers assess whether trendy visual and interaction patterns support or undermine the unique goals of mental health experiences.Mental health applications keep facing a continuing, measurable crisis: many people stop using them quickly. The data is stark: almost 95% of users who open the app on day 1 abandon the app by day 30, with a median 30-day retention…
yuan corridor Following in the footsteps of Standard Bank and Afreximbank, the Lomé-based pan-African lender is plugging its vast cross-border footprint into Beijing’s clearing architecture as China-Africa trade hits record highs. By Leanne de Bassompierre The Ecobank logo during the inauguration of the bank’s new headquarters in Abidjan on 10 July 2015. © Sia KAMBOU/AFP Published on October 13, 2026 at 17:00 pm (GMT +1) Ecobank Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with China’s Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS), paving the way for direct renminbi (RMB) clearing and settlement across its 34-country footprint in sub-Saharan Africa.
After eight years of advising startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Irtus Consolidated is moving into private capital, seeking to raise between $15 million and $20 million to invest in businesses it believes can capture large sections of Nigeria’s economy. Tamara Posibi, CEO of Irtus Consolidated, said the move represents a natural progression for the firm after years of working closely with founders, tracking the performance of their businesses and observing the challenges confronting early-stage companies. The firm, established in 2018, began primarily as an advisory business supporting founders with business formation, growth strategy and fundraising. It has since…
IMF: Time to rebuild ‘resilient’ world economy – African Business IMF: Time to rebuild ‘resilient’ world economy – African Business
A video of drivers protesting against inDrive and Bolt is trending on X, with one driver demanding that inDrive “pack your load and go” while Bolt “increase your price”. It surfaced on Monday, Oct 12, as e-hailing drivers began an indefinite strike. The clip, posted by Nigeria Stories, had passed 62,000 views at the time of filing this report. The video shows drivers chanting “inDrive must go” and “enough is enough”. The camera stays mostly on one man, who is not named. He says he is a driver and a father of four. “Do you want to kill us?” The…
Artificial intelligence (AI) has reshaped how the world works, and African AI startups, venture capital and tech ecosystems are no exception. The technology is evolving so fast that many investors are still working out how to evaluate AI startups, let alone how to fund them. Over the past six months, this column has spoken to African investors across regions, sectors, and funding stages about where AI creates genuine value, where it falls short, and what merits institutional capital. They are Babacar Seck, founder of Askya Investment Partners; Eloho Omame, partner at TLcom Capital; Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica; Magnifique Ishimwe,…
Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority TL;DR In a new YouTube video, an early Pebble Round 2 tester has shared largely positive impressions after several months of everyday use. The watch’s slim design and comfort impressed him, but the buttons were occasionally unresponsive on two units. Battery life has varied during his testing, with the latest figure coming in at around 10 days. The Pebble Round 2 certainly impressed us when we got our hands on it at CES earlier this year, but a brief hands-on can only tell you so much about a device. With the long-awaited wearable still…
Joanna Okedara-Kalu, founder of startbuddi. Image credit: startbuddi team. Built in Ibadan within the Techdella business, startbuddi brings customer management, marketing and everyday operations into one connected workspace. Founder Joanna Okedara-Kalu explains the thinking behind the platform and the commercial questions it still needs to answer. A small business can have plenty of software and still struggle to keep its work organised. Customer details sit in one application, bookings in another and project updates in a third, while conversations continue through email and WhatsApp. Connecting those records can become a job in itself. That problem is the starting point for…
Sim Tshabalala, Chief Executive of Standard Bank GroupBy Standard BankStandard Bank Group, Africa’s largest bank by assets with a presence across 21 African markets, has signed a subscription agreement to invest in OPay, a digital financial platform primarily offering a comprehensive suite of integrated fintech solutions in Nigeria and other countries.This investment is expected to close concurrently with or shortly after the closing of OPay’s proposed initial public offering, subject to completion of the offering and receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. OPay has publicly filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection…
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