SmartProf raises seed
Online tutoring marketplace for school-aged students SmartProf has raised USD110,000 in a seed-round backed by Plug and Play, UM6P Ventures and some angel investors.
Month: November 2022
Start-Up Nation Central hosts UM6P
Start-Up Nation Central and Morocco’s Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) have got together to promote greater partnership between the innovation ecosystems in both countries. A delegation from UM6P has just visited Start-Up Nation Central, a non-profit that promotes the Israeli innovation ecosystem around the world. The delegation’s visit follows the memorandum of understanding (MOU) that the … Read more
WafR raises dosh
Moroccan retail-tech startup WafR has raised USD120,000 from First Circle Capital, a previous investor. This latest round comes on top of an earlier seed round which raised USD1.075m. It is now valued at USD10.12m. WafR will use the new money to expand its network of grocers. Founded in 2021, it helps retail brands to deliver … Read more
Morningstar on UK Autumn Budget
Michael Field, European Equity Strategist, Morningstar, said this about today’s Autumn Statement from the UK Government: “Austere budgets are nothing new from this government, the difference being this time around, is there have been significant allowances made for the least-well off in society, with committed amounts to the NHS, social services, and schools all raised … Read more
Cryptocurrency hardware expands
The global cryptocurrency hardware wallet market will be worth USD1328.7m by 2028, up from USD250.7m in 2021. Cryptocurrency hardware wallets are physical devices used to store the digital keys pertaining to any crypto based asset. It enables users to securely the critical information needed to authorise any sort of outing transaction on the blockchain network. They enable enable crypto owners to facilitate the buying and selling … Read more
Underbanked driving growth of mobile digital wallets
The underbanked in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America will experience the strongest growth in mobile digital wallets. So says a new report from ABI Research which concluded that over the next five years the number of mobile digital wallets will almost double. ABI which estimates that mobile digital wallets will increase from a … Read more
Paysend helps Northern Central America unbanked
UK-based fintech Paysend is about to launch a new payment service. It enables unbanked users in Northern Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador) to receive instant remittances from the US to a Paysend virtual Mastercard digital card. Called Paysend Libre, the virtual card is ready to use in minutes for cash withdrawals and online purchases. It allows the millions … Read more
Digital wallet helps children with financial literacy
Parkway Nigeria has launched a new digital wallet for children. It’s called Little and the aim is to help Nigerian children with financial literacy. Chief Operating Officer Angela Essien told The Guardian (Nigeria) that the digital wallet is “…bridging the gap between financial education and financial independence. “It comes with a debit card for children. … Read more
Most SE Asians remain underbanked, or unbanked
Rinkesh Sharma, Regional Director of PayerMax, reminded the audience at the recent Singapore Fintech Festival that six in ten Southeast Asians remain underbanked, or unbanked. He said: “Technology is opening doors to newer solutions to enable financial inclusion and we expect to see the digital transformation of banking only grow with time. The on-going payments … Read more
Use of digital wallets in Bahrain tripled last year
The number of payments in Bahrain which were made using digital wallets last year has tripled. The value of transactions rose 112%. The figures come from a new report by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB). The first edition of Bahrain Digital Payment Landscape Report highlighted the increased popularity of digital wallets, especially after the … Read more
African Development Bank backs First City Monument Bank
The African Development Bank has backed First City Monument Bank (FCMB) to the tune of $50m. The line of credit has been created support access to finance for small and medium-sized and women-owned businesses. FCMB will use the credit to expand lending activities to boost the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery and drive more inclusive and … Read more
Thursday November 3rd – the day when scale-ups fell back to earth
Thursday 3rd November is going to be remembered as one of the darkest days this year for scale-ups. On that one day alone, three high profile scale-ups announced major job losses. Uber competitor Lyft said it will lay off 13% of its staff, or nearly 700 employees. Ubiquitous payments company Stripe chopped 14%, some 1,100 … Read more
Soft nanny finance is now punishing us all
Charles White Thomson, CEO at Saxo Markets UK (a subsidiary of leading fintech specialist Saxo Bank) comes off the fence about nanny finance.
