UNICAF, one of the leading online higher education platform in Africa raised a $28 million Series B last week. While OyaPay, Mula and Xente have all announced new features. That and more in today's brief.
Africa Prize announces 2019 shortlist
Included in this year’s shortlist are the innovators behind a smart glove that translates sign language to speech in real time, a secure currency exchange platform that moves money between users instead of banks, and a ‘farm-in-a-box’ vertical garden that uses waste to grow food in small urban spaces. Royal Engineering Academy.
Cellulant owned Mula has launched an Augmented Reality bot
According to the story, the Facebook Messenger bot will help customers to discover and try out products before they buy in a move expected to provide simple and convenient payment experiences in partnership with Facebook. In other launches, Uganda's Xente today announced that they added a feature allowing their users to book and pay for movie and bus tickets. Lastly, Nigeria's OyaPay released a feature called “Order ahead”. This allows users and business owners to order, receive orders and transact payments for goods in-app.
The Kenya Blockchain Taskforce Concludes Its Report
According to Michael Onyango, a member of the task force, the report will be handed to Joe Mucheru, ICT cabinet secretary, before being released to the public. The 192-page report looked at various fields where the blockchain technology can be applied in line with the government’s Big Four agenda. Kenyan Wall Street.
UNICAF raised $28 million to meet the demand for higher education in emerging markets
The round was led by Goldman Sachs with participation from existing investors, including the UK Government's development finance institution CDC Group, leading higher education fund University Ventures, and EDEX, the founder of the University of Nicosia. Markets Insider.