• The African firm which provides shared transportation services for both intracity and intercity movement acquired the Turkish firm at around US$40 million
• Swvl currently repurposes underutilized, privately owned buses or minivans for different purposes throughout the day
• Swvl said the acquisition of Volt Lines would add an incremental US$4.3 million of annualized revenue to its balance sheet

Egyptian startup Swvl has expanded into Turkey after it recently acquired B2B transportation-as-a service operator Volt Lines. 

The African firm which provides shared transportation services for both intracity and intercity movement acquired the Turkish firm at around US$40 million.

The acquisition now gives Swvl access to Volt Line’s tech as well as over 110 corporate client contracts. 

Swvl currently repurposes underutilized, privately owned buses or minivans for different purposes throughout the day. 

Some of these include shuttling intercity commuters along fixed routes, providing rides between cities and driving corporate employees to work …

According to the Future Market Insights report, around 9.2 billion tonnes of plastic have been manufactured globally, out of which only 9 per cent is recycled!

The technology helps to protect manufacturers and consumers against food and drug counterfeits. 

 With the plastic waste menace causing unprecedented damage globally, there has been an ongoing movement to discover and use alternative packaging materials, such as paper, glass, and metals.

The dilemma facing the world right now is that even the processes of creating plastic-free solutions often release more significant carbon emissions than conventional plastics.…

This comes after a few weeks ago, a law firm threatened to sue Meta (formerly Facebook) and Sama over the alleged unsafe and unfair work conditions dolled on its content moderators. 

Nzili and Sumbi Advocates alleged that Sama had breached a number of rights including the health and privacy of its Kenyan and international staff. 

The law firm demanded that both Meta and Sama adhere to Kenya’s labour, privacy and health laws, including that it provides its content moderators with adequate mental health insurance and better compensation.

Additionally, the law firm demanded that the two firms recruit qualified and experienced health professionals for the content moderators. …

• It is not easy to create a common currency since it needs the creation of a central monetary system for several nations
• The AU and ECOWAS should reconsider their approach—a common physical currency—and move their attention to building a common digital currency, as the EU is doing
• With the establishment of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), which allows for the simple conversion of numerous African currencies, some progress—or maybe too little—has been achieved
• When turned into digital money, Africa’s weak currencies have little chance against stablecoins backed by the US dollar

It is not easy to create a common currency and it would need the creation of a central monetary system for several nations.

This is a regime that, given the diverse economic demands of countries, may be judged undesirable for some member states. Africa’s desire for economic and monetary integration dates back many years.

African Union

• Degan Ali, has been advocating for a movement dubbed “decolonizing aid”, which seeks to decenter the voices of Western decision-makers and shift more power to nonwhite and local leaders in the global south.
• Ali said they were going to try and turn the US$5 million Scott grant and other funds they get in the next few years and grow Adeso into a US$30 million to US$50 million endowment in the next ten years
• Adeso is also planning to launch a new online platform, a website called Kuja Link, that will allow organizations worldwide to create connections with philanthropists

For the last decade, donors and funders worldwide have capitalized on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and nonprofits to issue humanitarian aid in Africa at the grassroots level.

One such donor is billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.

Scott issues a US$5 million grant to Adeso

MacKenzie issued a US$5 million grant to Adeso, …

• Through its app, Zenda allows parents to pay fees directly to schools, all while streamlining collections by enabling schools to accept and manage online payments
• Parents do not necessarily need to provide bank deposit slips as proof of payment because all transactions on Zenda happen in real-time
• Zenda’s users have increased 20 fold, with the app reaching over US$100 million in annual contracted payment volumes by the close of last year

UAE- based startup Zenda is now eyeing Africa as its next frontier market for growth. 

The company which is looking to change how parents pay school fees and the way in which educational institutions manage the collection of fees is looking to expand its reach to Africa. 

Formerly known as nexopay, the firm plans to penetrate the African market through Egypt in the coming months as the firm embarks on a growth drive accelerated by a US$9.4 million seed …