Simon Schwall News Today

“I paid 20,000 CFA francs (€30.50) to ensure my [bean] harvest, and after the drought destroyed everything, the people at OKO paid me 30,000 CFA francs (€45.70). I was really surprised, it's a (...)

While the "big four" African startup markets are dominated by English-speaking countries, in the recent past Francophone Africa has made strides

Global entrepreneurs unite for a tech competition on an ancient island

Technology entrepreneurs in Africa could save the planet but need to bridge the “capital gap”

Technology entrepreneurs in Africa could solve the continent’s biggest problems while saving the planet but still need to fill the capital gap

Mobile service Oko uses Microsoft Azure and artificial intelligence (AI) to help farmers easily access crop insurance, reducing the risk of food...

OKO secures Ksh. 129 Million seed funding to expand services to farmers Shares Insurtech start-up, OKO, has closed a Seed investment of Ksh. 129,480,000 ($1.2 million). The investment round was led by by Newfund and ResiliAnce. Mercy Corps Venture, Techstars, ImpactAssets and RaSa also participated in the round. The start-up which currently operates in Mali and Uganda, uses satellite data and mobile payments to create automated insurance products for farmers whose fields are affected adversely ...

KAMPALA, Uganda, April 22, 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- OKO, an Insurtech start-up that provides inclusive agricultural insurance to secure farmers’ income across Africa, has closed a Seed investment of $1.2 million. The round was led by by Newfund and ResiliAnce. Mercy Corps Venture, Techstars, ImpactAssets and RaSa also participated in the round. The start-up which currently operates in Mali and Uganda uses satellite data and mobile payments to create automated insurance products for...

OKO secures $1.2-million in seed funding According to reports, the insurtech that provides inclusive agricultural insurance to secure farmers’ income across Africa, will be using the funding to expand its footprint in Mali and Uganda along with other African markets such as the Ivory Coast. Read more Augustin Sayer, partner at Newfund attributes their investment into the insurtech startup to its growing business model that has approximately 7 000 paying customers in Mali and compensated more ...

Like last year, the whole presentation and selection process will take place online.  Shortlisted applicants will be invited to pitch live online in front of an expert jury of investors, innovation, business and tech specialists, with winners to be announced in an online awards ceremony at the end of the year.  “Innovation is a driving force of the ICT industry, and SMEs are a huge source of innovation, jobs and economic growth,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao. “We all need to c...