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• 2021 was a significant year for venture-backed companies worldwide, investing more than US$ 675B into startups globally, with more than US$5B allocated to African startups
• VCs have been keenly eyeing a spectrum of sectors from fintech, edtech, biotech, health tech, insurtech, mobility, logistics, e-commerce, crypto, connectivity, proptech, software and mobile commerce
• A report from Partech further reveals that more than 600 tech companies in Africa, raised US$5.2B from venture capitalists in 2021. 

Striking whilst the iron is hot, is the shrewd move that Venture Capitalists (VC) are making, to seize opportunities presented by the lucrative African Startup ecosystem that is burgeoning by the day; heralded by the massive technology wave sweeping across the continent, a prominent harbinger that the fourth industrial revolution is but within grasp.
Currently, Africa boasts of a myriad of VC-backed startups, with big investors like Jeff Bezos sinking tentacles into this frontier, that has seen the …

Over 30 million people from 249 countries and territories have been helped by Microsoft to acquire relevant digital skills owing to the evolving technological job market. Microsoft has surpassed its initial goal of helping 25 million last year in June. Microsoft is also extending the company’s commitment to help 250,000 companies make a skills-based hire in 2021.

Since the outbreak of Covid-19 many companies, state public departments to private owned factories saw many employers lose their jobs due to financial restraints brought about by the pandemic. From this laid-off factory workers to retail associates and truck drivers, millions of people worldwide have since turned to online learning courses from GitHub, LinkedIn, and Microsoft during the pandemic to help prepare for and secure the most in-demand roles, including customer service, project management and data analysis.

The announcement, detailed on the Official Microsoft Blog, builds on the company’s efforts to help people …

The U.S. Department of State gathered a group of private sector representatives to explore investment and collaborative business opportunities in Ethiopia, during the Global Entrepreneurship Week.

A week was spent by the Partnership Opportunity Delegation (POD) engaging with government leaders, private sector entities and Ethiopian entrepreneurs to understand the challenges and opportunities facing Ethiopian innovators and share expertise on how the country can better provide an enabling environment for tech and startups. The delegation included more than 15 companies representing Japan, United States and Sweden.

Also Read: Awash Bank, USAID to help small Agribusinesses in Ethiopia

The Office of Global Partnerships led the POD in exploring opportunities in various sectors of the Ethiopian economy such as digital connectivity, Fintech, creative industry and startups. From these first-hand engagements, several delegates committed to supporting Ethiopia’s economy in tangible ways through workforce development, social entrepreneurship, startup investment, exploring opportunities for telecom privatization …

The world top-notch technology firm Microsoft and African Development Bank (AfDB) have launched the digital training platform for African youth, named –Coding for Employment.

The platform is expected to provide digital skills to youth.

According to the a statement from the AfDB, the platform was launched during the 2019 African Economic Conference in Sharm El Sheikh- Egypt, with the sole aim of promoting a continuous learning culture among young people and build their capacity to share the future of the continent.

Africa has nearly 420 million youth, which almost one-third of them are unemployed and 10 to 12 million youth enter the workforce every year to find only 3.1 million jobs created, hence—AfDB data show that, by 2050 youth in Africa will double to 830 million.

The African Development Bank Group is Africa’s premier development finance institution, with a rather strong foothold in supporting African nation’s development initiatives. It …

Microsoft has appointed Harvard trained Jack Ngare as the managing director Africa Development Centre in Kenya that the company launched in May 2019.

With more than 15 years of experience in various business functions, Ngare joins Microsoft from Finserve Africa part of Equity Group where he served as managing director.

Ngare brings a wealth of in-depth knowledge around topics like management, telecommunications, financial services and emerging technology. Prior to his work at Finserve Africa, Ngare held the position at Stanbic Bank, NIC Bank, as well as spending seven years at British Telecom with assignments in the UK, Saudi Arabia, Peru and Japan.

He holds a Master’s degree in management from Harvard University, a Master’s degree in advanced computer science and a Bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Leicester.

“The ADC is unlike any other existing investment on the continent, helping us better listen to our customers, develop …