With a funding round recently concluded to the tune of USD 175 Mn, Taxify has amassed a war chest that not only raises their valuation to the billion-dollar mark but also gives them the strategic flexibility to lay an assault on Europe, the Middle East & Africa (EMEA). These are all territories where Uber had enjoyed first mover advantage but is slowly losing its grip. Daimler AG took the lead in a round of investment that included Korelya Capital, Taavaet Hinrikus, and Didi Chuxing.

Some might look at this funding round purely as a Daimler investment in Taxify, however, the German-based, global automotive giant has been involved in backing a lot of Uber’s competitors in Europe and Asia. They are the majority shareholders of MyTaxi in Germany, England, Ireland and Spain, as well as investors in Chauffeur-prive in France and Careem in the Middle East & Africa. In all these territories Daimler is competing directly with Uber, and now as an investor in Taxify they are only set to sink their teeth even deeper into the market Uber has enjoyed for a long time.

Uber and Taxify have had their fair share of competition, and in markets like South Africa where Uber commands a staggering 25% commission per trip, Taxify reentered the market on a 5% commission and has since increased to 15% according to www.fin24.com. This model has not only made the ride-hailing app a more appealing competitor to drivers but also allows them to offer much cheaper rates to customers per trip in comparison.

It has seemingly become a trend that the go-to tactics in these wars are pricing strategies, with some ride-hailing apps making it cheaper for customers whereas others prioritize the returns for the driver. In both cases, one would assume a win-win situation, but having interviewed Taxify drivers in Cape Town, it stands to reason that some have opted to migrate from one platform to the other or employ some form of arbitrage leveraging the use of both apps.

However, a peculiar competitor also joined the Fray in Taxify’s last round of funding – Didi Chuxing. Didi forced Uber out of the Chinese market, and it seems that the Chinese ride-hailing company is through their investment in Taxify, making a total play at the global ride-hailing industry. If for argument’s sake Didi – valued at USD 60 Bn – acquired Taxify in totality, they would not only surpass Uber as a global competitor, but they would inevitably control the market.

If Uber is to maintain its strategic position within the ride-hailing industry, it must fight a war on several fronts. In Egypt, they were recently successful in a court battle that saw them win a decisive victory, regulating their operation in the North African country. Closing out legal cases like this will allow them to consolidate their presence and pave the way for their other services such as Uber Eats. The Uber Eats service certainly gives them an edge and has been a strong performing component of their business model.

Uber is no longer competing with Taxify as usual, new battle lines have been drawn through the additions of Didi and Daimler and watching how this unfolds will be an interesting spectacle.

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Macron has since his inauguration been adamant that although France’s ties with Francophone countries as well as its relationship with the wider continent were paternalistic, he’s looking to build mature relationships that display Africa’s growth and potential for true independence. During his tenure as President, Macron has made seven visits to the continent, been to nine countries all in the space of 12-months – a sure sign of intent.

But perhaps the surest sign of intent is that macron has put his money where his mouth is.

The French President has made massive guarantees both to the continent and to individual countries. As Gambia begins to rebuild its foundation after Yahya Jammeh was ousted from power, France will not only be reopening an embassy in the country – that was shut down in 2013 – but will also contribute to the USD 1.6 billion ask. In Brussels, Gambian president Adama Barrow appealed to international donors for assistance in meeting the country’s National Development Plan (NDP), Macron obliged and announced a USD 58 million packages to be dispensed until 2022.

At Vivatech’s most recent trade exhibition, Macron was also a central figure and his support for African startups was evident. He toured the packed Paris exhibition with Rwanda’s Paul Kagame making it a point to show African entrepreneurs some love. This was also followed up by a bold USD 76 Mn announcement that French development agency AFD will be pivotal in, “[filling] the gaps in the support with small sums ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 euros, which is what startups need.” He continued to add that, “African startups have energy, but the big providers of development aid and financiers have not adapted to that. We ourselves are too slow, too hesitant.”

According to a report on disclosed funding, Africa continues to display stellar growth year on year. In 2017, South Africa had the most funded startups with 74 startups getting funded last year, followed by Kenya, which counted for 46 startups and the third spot being grabbed by Nigeria with 34 startups. The three countries have together made up 77 % of the total number of funded startups (disclosed), in the last two years. There’s no doubting the capability of Africa when it comes to innovation and the following reasons make her especially attractive to investors.

Four reasons make Africa a ripe option for investors like Macron, a growing middle class, continent-wide digital transformation, sustainable development and political shifts toward democracies. Together these features not only make a considerable case for investment but they speak to the future of the continent, shaping a legacy long after the likes of Macron, Kagame, and Barrow have left office. There is a need to look at the continent with optimism because often the stereotype of a poverty-stricken, war-torn, disease-ridden continent persist and it is in these moments that the real rather than the perceived operational risks need to be considered.

Growing middle class

In 2013, Nigeria had a population of 160 million people with a median age of 19, showing that in one of the fastest growing economies not just in West Africa but the continent – youth is a significant driver. According to Deloitte, in 2017, 200 million Africans were aged between 15-24, a figure expected to rise to 321 million by 2030. This not only points out a younger generation more inclined to adopt the use of technology but also speaks to a young African workforce that in a few years will number some 1.1 billion people, surpassing China and India.

Sustainable Development

Gone are the days when the only foreign investment was in the form of aid or through public financial markets, Africa is undergoing a renaissance that has seen a rise in investment through private equity and Venture Capital. Now, investors no longer need to compete in a saturated market with companies that have shown longstanding growth, they can now pick their own horses to determine their growth and scalability potential and cheer them on into the big leagues. The startup tech ecosystem in Africa is not just a for-profit landscape, real problems are being solved, lives being saved and access is granted. Agritech startups are at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, healthtech startups are making use of AI technology to bypass centuries of diagnosis methods and perhaps the most significant and longstanding tech developments, fintech startups across the board are leading the way in giving previously unbanked populations access and financial tools to compete in their respective markets. A look at this report highlights some of the startups contributing to the Renaissance.

Digital Transformation

One of the reasons fintech startups have picked up in Africa over the last decade is the rate at which mobile adoption is sweeping through the continent. This is not only a good indicator for access but also a good foundation for “cross-sectoral economic opportunities”. East Africa has been a major protagonist when it comes to leveraging mobile technology. Mobile platforms like M-Pesa have not just been instrumental in serving unbanked populations but have been key to aggregating these population to a wider global economy. According to Deloitte, 97% of Africans have leapfrogged landline infrastructure jumping straight into digital mobile technology. Of the Africans surveyed, most credited their mobile devices as being their main source of access to the internet. One in five young Africans surveyed had purchased a service through the use of their mobile device and seven in ten use their mobile devices for social media interaction.

Political Stability

Any media outlets that still portrays the African investment landscape as insecure due to political instability, is outdated and displays the kind of bias that distorts the African renaissance. There are no large-scale wars on the continent, save for individual hotspots much like you would find in the Middle East or Europe and this does not negate the entire continent’s potential. To add to that, there is a shift in politics with most countries tipping the democracy scale. This not only gives investors the kind of assurance they need but democratic markets will often open doors to wider economic improvement, feeding small businesses and startups in the ecosystem. Additionally, the continents bloc regions are beginning to take shape in strategic and meaningful ways. Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have all taken the mantle when it comes to leading their respective regions. There has been unprecedented growth and consolidation in these markets like we have never seen before over the last few years and it leaves investors salivating at the prospect of a truly Continental Free Trade Area.

Image courtesy: Flickr

The post VivaTech USD 76 Mn Announcement For African Startups – Four Reasons Why They Get This Attention appeared first on WeeTracker.

To this end, both HearX and Listen longer launched their in-ear tracking app. HearX has already made its mark in South Africa by introducing an app that detects an early hearing loss in under 3-minutes. With backing from the Gauteng Province and clinical validation from the University of Pretoria, HearX went on to partner with The American Academy of Audiology.

Building strong relationships with governing bodies as well as international partners has given the South African startup a good foundation to be a leading voice when it comes to offering hearing solutions. Currently, 1.1 billion youth are at risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss due to unsafe listening. With hearing loss among teenagers rising from 3.5% to 5.3% between 1994 and 2006, and for the same age group, listening to music through headphones has increased to 75%.

According to the World Health Organisation, loud sound is the single biggest cause of preventable hearing loss. One in six adults has a hearing loss that causes difficulties interacting in social situations and one in five adolescents in the United States is already experiencing hearing loss.

‘dbTrack’ is intended to be the latest hardware and software technology for monitoring and tracking listening behavior of individuals in their ear canal. It consists of a monitoring device to track and measure sound exposure in the ear canal and indicates when a predetermined level of exposure has been reached. The mobile application promotes healthy listening and guides individuals on safe listening time when listening to music.

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Winners on the day stood a chance to secure a USD 150k investment from Connecticut Innovations for a first-place finish and a USD 5 k  grant awards each for the runners-up. In order to qualify for the competition, the startups needed to be operational for a minimum of one year and display some level of customer acquisition. The startups chosen to compete at the Venture Clash event were Solynta Mobile, Sattrak Services Limited, CompareIN Ltd, Kangpe Inc, Advancio Interactive, Amplify, Beeptool Comm. & Integrated Services Limited, Virtual Farm, SBSC. eMed Diaries, Peach Water Consulting, Social Lender and FINT.

CompareIN is an online web platform that allows users to compare multiple insurance quotes for the same products in one place. They also facilitate quotes and manage in real-time, your online insurance policies once you have made a purchase. The online platform is the brainchild of Alex Aquereburu and his co-founder Kayode Awogboro. They won first place securing the grand prize of USD 150 k but were closely followed by Social Lender and Amplify who both took home USD 5 k.

After a successful inaugural program, Oni Chukwu’s efforts seem to have paid off with CompareIN set to represent West Africa at Yale during the semifinal VentrueClash pitch. Winning that competition will not only result in another round of funding but the startup will be invited to move their base of operations to Connecticut Innovations base of operations where they will receive mentorship and business development expertise.

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The letter stated that “All cryptocurrency exchange houses operating in the country, including Bitfinance (Private) Limited (also known as Golix), are required to cease all virtual currency exchange operations,” wrote Norman Mataruke, in a letter to dated May 15. The letter also directed all cryptocurrency exchange platforms in Zimbabwe “to take all the necessary steps to close the cryptocurrency accounts or ‘wallets’ of customers and to make good any funds currently held on behalf of customers” trading and investing virtual currencies.

Following the ban, Golix took the fight to Zimbabwe’s High Court, pushing back at the directive in what it calls an illegal law-making procedure usurping rights that only the legislative branch of government can wield. In their application to the High Court, Golix requested that the directive be made null and void stating that, “The Respondents are in fact purporting to classify the trade in cryptocurrency as illegal and that the ban in effect outlaws and classifies as illegal the Applicant’s operations.”

In an interesting turn of events, the High Court ruled in favour of Golix seeing as there was no formal representation on behalf of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe. After a firm stance on the matter, a no-show is a disappointing turn of events and perhaps speaks to the depth of the decision to ban cryptocurrency operations in the country. The decision to ban crypto appears to have been a knee-jerk reaction based on how the economy is poised to suffer if cryptocurrency becomes commonplace.

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After his visit to Nigeria in July 2017, the Google Chief made a promise to commit USD 20 Mn to the benefit of non-profits over five years. In a bid to materialize that vision, the Silicon Valley company has launched the Google Impact Challenge Africa initiative in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.  Affiong Osuchukwu, Google’s current head of marketing in Nigeria has promised that an initial USD 2 Mn in grants will be awarded to a dozen non-profits in the West African country.

“There will be four winners receiving a USD 250 k grant each. Three of these winners will be selected by a panel of judges, one winner will be selected through a public vote. The remaining eight runners-up will receive a USD 125 k grant each”, explains Google’s Product Marketing Manager, Abidan Adepoju. This initiative will be replicated in Kenya and South Africa respectively with the total amount of grant funding amounting to USD 6 Mn.

This will mark the inaugural Impact Challenge in Africa with past challenges having been held in Europe, South America, America, Asia and Australia. Some of the projects include Infoxchange -an Australian mobile directory providing critical support for the homeless; France’s Libraries Without Borders – that runs a global portable library solution applicable to refugees around the world and California’s Hack the Hood – a platforms that gives students real-world technology training by connecting them to small businesses that need websites. Thirty-six non-profit organizations are set to benefit from this initiative and perhaps what is most exciting about this project is the innovative ripple effect sure to be felt in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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Such is the magnitude of the transport tech players that only recently, 15 of the major players signed an agreement on Shared Mobility Principals for Livable Cities. Their collective bargaining power is such that they can on a political scale influence the way large cities operate globally. The New Delhi agreement includes signatures from Lyft, Uber, Ola, Citymapper, Zipcar, Ofo, Ola, Didi, Keolis, Transit, BlaBlaCar, Via, Scoot Networks, Mobike and LimeBike. Globally, these 15 companies have a significant impact on how people live, responsible for up to 77 million passenger trips daily. Together they agreed to prioritize the needs of people over vehicles, decrease their impact on the environment and encourage data sharing that can ease congestion and pollution in major cities.

Since its launch in 2013, the ride-hailing giant has made eight successful launches on the African continent. Just recently winning decisive court rulings in Egypt to protect their operations. The Uber Movement platform will share anonymized data from passenger trips allowing transport planners and third parties to assess current infrastructure requirements better while also determining areas of improvement.

The digital platform was launched at the East Africa Com Conference which attracted government officials, city planners and local as well as international think tanks. In a country that struggles with traffic congestion, an improved understanding of its transportation needs only stands to make transport tech players like Uber more palatable to governments. Loic Amado, General Manager of Uber in East Africa, said, “Uber movement is a data sharing website for city planners, civic leaders and third-party developers to understand transport needs of Nairobi better.”

With the rise in urban population, traveltech is gaining prominence in the city landscape. Recently, South Africa’s GoMetro unveiled its new app for streamlining the information related to traffic movement.

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With over 10000 drivers on their platform in Kenya – a hundred-fold increase since October of 2017 –Kamal expects that in their first three months of operation they will manage to secure at least 3000 drivers in Kampala. He attributes this rapid uptake due to the presence of Craft Silicon in both Uganda and Nigeria.  “Nigeria is where we have our biggest continental operations as Craft Silicon and so we believe we have leverage there. The same applies to Uganda where we are also based,” Mr. Budhabhatti had said.

Nevertheless, it is uptake with customers that should be the focus of Little Rides with international players like Uber at least having a 2-year head start in Uganda and a 4-year lead in Nigeria. While expansion plans into Uganda look an exciting prospect, Nigeria may be altogether a different animal. The West African country has witnessed the rise and fall of several ride-hailing apps, but with a population of 186 million people, the market is dense enough to accommodate competition. The fall of GoMyWay has seen the rise of competitors like Smart Cab and Oga Taxi. Both players are not only exerting their dominance on the Nigerian market and giving the Ubers, and Taxify’s of this world a run for their money but are prowling and bidding their time before expanding into the rest of the continent.

Nevertheless, Kamal has expressed that Little’s expansion plans will disrupt other ride-hailing models based on their prioritizing of drivers’ compensation, reduction of their daily expenses and prioritizing customers’ safety as well as maintaining fare transparency. “Little is more favorable for both the driver and customer. For drivers, the commission we take as Little is lower as compared to our competitors. Also, we have partnerships that reduce driver expenses; therefore, they end up saving more money. We also offer them discounted fuel and car maintenance, and most importantly we provide our driver’s kid-free Basic Computer Classes.

As for our customers, we offer them an affordable, efficient and convenient means of transport. We say affordable because our fares are transparent and at no point will our customers be surprised with higher fares for the same distance covered. Our prices are consistent be it rush hour or not. Moreover, Little puts safety as its priority to the passengers. With this in mind, we have partnered with KK Security who service an SOS button (a panic button feature) which is in our application. When on a ride, the passenger and driver have access to the SOS feature when they feel insecure at any particular time. KK Security will respond in less than seven minutes to secure both the passenger and driver, Mr. Bhudabhatti is quoted as saying.

Uganda and Nigeria while ambitious, pale in comparison to Bhudabhatti’s ambitions of expanding into 30+ countries over the next five years. “We have a very aggressive plan for Little Ride. We want us to be in 30+ countries in the next five years and change the transport ecosystem to suit all stakeholders,” he said. His approach with Little is a very inclusive one and perhaps a feature that will differentiate them from competitors in the market.

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