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The Pakistan government is supporting climate-tech startups with a $50m fund. The Climaventures initiative is led by the National Rural Support Programme (NRSP). The money will be used to provide technical help, grants and equity to those startups involved in the climate tech industry. It is hoped that the project will increase private sector investment … Read more
Pudu Robotics has unveiled its latest service robot. The PUDU D7 is the company’s first general embodied intelligent semi-humanoid robot. The company, which is based in Shenzhen, China, says the robot represents a significant advancement in the company’s mission to develop cutting-edge solutions that address persistent operational challenges faced by businesses worldwide. In May of … Read more
Australia was the first in line as the latest global IT outage brought systems to a grinding halt. At about 9am Sydney time on Friday, it all kicked off, with transport, healthcare, media, and healthcare systems taking the brunt. Airlines had to cancel flights, TV screens went blank, hospitals were paralysed, and doctors were unable … Read more
Stand aside Arnold Schwarzenegger, a new kid is in town ready to flex his muscles. Engineers have developed a low-cost artificial actuator that moves by expanding and contracting just like a human muscle. The breakthrough from a team at Northwestern University means that low-cost, simplified soft actuators enable worm-like crawling and bicep-like lifting. The researchers … Read more
A new study projects a substantial rise in global revenue generated by Banking-as-a-Service(BaaS) platforms. The report, from Juniper Research, anticipates a 158% growth in revenue stemming from account/card issuing and transaction fees, catapulting figures from $36.4 billion in the current year to an estimated $94 billion by 2028. This surge is primarily attributed to the … Read more
In a move to boost Morocco’s startup ecosystem, the Mohammed VI Investment Fund (FM6I) has unveiled plans to establish dedicated “startup funds” in collaboration with key governmental and financial institutions. Announced in Rabat, it signals a pivotal moment in the nation’s efforts to foster a vibrant startup culture with global impact. Teaming up with the … Read more
The total capital invested into fintech globally has almost halved. It reached $51.2bn in 2023, a decrease of 48% compared to 2022, when total investment amounted to $99 billion. The 2023 spend was spread across 3,973 deals compared to 6,397 deals in 2022. The US received the most investment in 2023, bringing in over $24bn … Read more
The global transaction value processed via soft POS will reach $11.8bn by 2028, up from $1 billion in 2023. Major growth drivers will be driven by Apple’s launch of Tap to Pay, coupled with soft POS’ low cost of acceptance, which will lead to significant small business adoption. Soft POS allows NFC‑enabled smartphones or tablets … Read more
Put a foot wrong in San Francisco and you might find yourself on the wrong end of a gun, pointed by a robot. The Californian city has made global headlines by giving its police robots permission to shoot and potentially kill suspects. The City’s Board of Supervisors has approved a new policy which lays out … Read more
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.
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
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
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
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
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
