Welcome to yet another weekend where we take you on a ride of all that happened during the week. So, while you rest from the hassles of the weekend, take a glance at the summary of the week.
Twitter Appoints Ngozi-Okonjo Iweala to its Board
Nigeria’s former minister of finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been appointed to the board of popular social media company, Twitter.
The excited former Minister of Finance took to her Twitter page to share the good news.
Excited to work with @Jack and an incredible team on the Board of Twitter, a global platform that is such a strong connector of people and ideas.
— Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (@NOIweala) July 19, 2018
She was appointed to the board alongside Robert Zoellick, the former President of the World Bank between 2007 and 2012. Dr Okonjo-Iweala joins the board to replace Marjorie Scardino.
Okonjo-Iweala is already a powerhouse in the finance world. She is a two-time Nigerian finance minister. She had her first stint during the Obasanjo era between 2003 and 2006. And served her second term during the Jonathan era between 2011 and 2015.
After her second stint as Nigeria’s finance minister, Dr Okonjo-Iweala has taken on a few important roles.
She holds the position of Chair of the board of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). And since 2015, she has been a Senior Advisor to Lazard Ltd, a global investment and asset management company.
AlphaHUB, First Hardware Innovation Hub in Northern Nigeria, Opens
Owing to the high cost of manufacturing or setting up manufacturing infrastructure in Nigeria, a good majority of young tech engineers and entrepreneurs opt for having a software startup rather than hardware.
To ease the pain of gestation, AlphaHUB, an innovation centre, dedicated to driving research and development in Hardware and Embedded System Technology, has opened in Kaduna State (Northern Nigeria). Its aim is to provide training, support and co-working space for budding entrepreneurs interested in the hardware development in Nigeria and Africa at large.
The Founder of AlphaHUB, Victor Jibro, an entrepreneur with a passion for solving problems, explained the need for a tech hub with a focus in Hardware Technology to be established in Nigeria to meet the growing demand for smart devices.
Victor Jibro also noted that “AlphaHUB is all about convenience and work efficiency.” It offers office spaces for teams and desk spaces for individuals. For members that signup at the Hub, they stand to enjoy privileges, which include a 12-hour daily access, free Wifi, free coffee, meal discounts in hub cafe, front desk service, office address, and lots more.
Leap Africa Opens Applications for its Social Innovators Programme 2018
Leadership, Effectiveness, Accountability & Professionalism (LEAP) Africa has opened applications for its 2018 Social Innovators Programme & Awards (SIPA). Targeted at young Nigerian entrepreneurs, the programme is designed to provide them with the requisite skills and effective tools for building sustainable enterprises.
LEAP Africa’s Social Innovators Programme and Awards (SIPA) 2018/2019 for young Nigerian Social Entrepreneurs. 20 social entrepreneurs would be selected for the programme and they would participate in series of activities such as training sessions (both physical and online), mentorship, provision of local & international funding and partnership opportunities.
LEAP Africa’s Social Innovators Programme and Awards (SIPA) 2018/2019 for young Nigerian Social Entrepreneurs. @LEAPAfrica #Nigeria
Click the link for more details n how to apply 👉https://t.co/pXe9U8gjfT pic.twitter.com/di8MFBUICc— TechNext.ng (@technextdotng) July 19, 2018
The 2018/2019 fellowship cycle for SIPA begins in November 2018 and ends November 2019. Applications are currently open till 31st July 2018.
Ventures Platform Launches New Fund to Allow Big Nigerian Companies Invest in Start-ups
Ventures Platform is a Nigerian accelerator and investment company based in Abuja. The company which runs a 4-month incubation programme in Nigeria’s capital originally provided accepted start-ups with funding of up to $20,000.
Nigerian early-stage investment firm, Ventures Platform, has announced a new partnership with the US-Nigeria Council to set up the Corporate Leaders Funds.
Interestingly, the fund allows participation from top Nigerian corporations giving them a chance to invest in the domestic start-up ecosystem. This is significant because top Nigerian corporations have rarely delved into start-up investing.
African Artisans Get Access to Global Markets as MallForAfrica Launches MarketPlace for African Product
Domestic crafts makers are about to get a huge online exposure for their products. African E-commerce player, MallForAfrica, has partnered with the logistics company, DHL, to launch MarketPlaceAfrica, a new online marketplace for African made products.
The service aims to make it easy for African craftspeople to list their products online and sell directly to customers in the US and the global market. Using DHL’s existing logistical infrastructure, MarketPlace Africa gives sellers access to over 200 global markets.
.@DHLAfrica and @MallforAfrica‘s new Marketplace Africa platform is helping bring African-made products to the global market
🚛 https://t.co/T7lxvTKgaU #distribution #ecommerce pic.twitter.com/gr03l3vjvB
— Business Chief (@Business_Chief) July 16, 2018
With a unique payment and delivery system, the platform makes it easy for African consumers to purchase items directly from international online retailers. MarketPlace Africa is its latest attempt to boost African online e-commerce activities.
TaxiTV Raises Over $50k to Provide Ads & In-Ride Entertainment in Uber, Taxify
TaxiTv, a Nigerian advertising tech startup has just completed a seed funding round led by Beta.Ventures. This is the first announced round funding in Nigeria in Q3. The startup provides entertainment in ride-sharing vehicles such as Uber and Taxify.
The startup is still a relatively young company. It was founded in October 2017 by Akinbola Asalu, CEO, and Dami Osiyale, COO. With the new round of funding, the startup is looking to scale. The focus will go into product development and in improving sales execution.
An Abuja expansion is set to begin in August 2018 and soon, it will launch a new feature that allows SMEs run ads for as low as N25,000.
That is it on the week’s roundup and we do hope you enjoyed it. Have a fruitful weekend!
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