Every fortnight we compile a list of important news updates and events covering the African FINTECH, MFGTECH, CLNTECH, AGRTECH, and MEDTECH sectors.

FINTECH Roundup

M-Pesa Agent Innovates Automatic Money Sanitizer, via Kenyans.co.ke.
An M-Pesa agent in Mwea, Kirinyaga County Kenya has wowed many with his ingenious innovation, a money-sanitizing machine to help curb the spread of Covid-19.

How ease of lock down has shown Nigerians’ poor acceptance of online, digital banking system, via ICIR Nigeria.
After 5 weeks of lock down people in Nigeria have been seen crowded in banks in various parts of the country may have shown that Nigerians are yet to completely embrace digital and online banking system in Nigeria.

NMB, Stakeholders Launch E-Fare Payment Platform, via Daily News.
NMB has partnered with MasterCard and transport solutions provider EYWA to launch digital transactions consisting of the use of a mobile App and Transit Card to ease commuters’ fare payments.

SA Fintech company Zoona sells its Malawian assets as it refocuses on B2B, via Disrupt Africa.
South African fintech startup Zoona has sold its Malawian operational assets to global money transfer group Makukuru as it scales its over-the-counter money transfer business to focus on B2B.

In Nigeria, telecom’s revenues are under pressure, via techcabal.
As Nigerians went into lock down in late March and people began to work from home, Nigerian telecom companies came under pressure with more complaints by Nigerians that the data bundles are expensive now that they work from home.

Safaricom’s profits jump nearly 20% following M-Pesa purchase, via CommsMEA.
Kenya’s biggest telecom saw a sharp rise in profits of 19.5 per cent jump in full year. Profits rose to $747 million, with revenues being spurred on by the company’s acquisition of the M-Pesa mobile money platform from Vodafone.

Flutterwave launches a new eCommerce platform for businesses in Africa, via News Origins.
A Nigeria and US based fintech startup, has reportedly announced that it has launched a new e-commerce platform called Flutterwave Store. This store allows African merchants to sell their products online by making digital shops.

Airtel Enhances Financial Inclusion via Technology, via Daily News.
Airtel Tanzania has said it is committed to enhance innovation and technology, particularly through Timiza Akiba platform that enables customers to save for a purpose while curtailing luxury spending.

Visa Partners with Kenya’s Safaricom on M-Pesa, Payments and Technology, via Tech nova.
Visa has officially partnered with Kenya’s telecom, Safaricom and Visa will now be connected to their mobile money network. The partnership will focus on development of products that will support digital payments for M-Pesa customers.

SEC Leverages Fintech in Capital Market Regulation in Nigeria, via This Day.
The Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stated that it is leveraging the various opportunities available in the Fintech space to ensure proper regulation of the capital market in the face of COVID-19 pandemic.

A Fintech & Innovations office for Bank of Ghana, via Tech in Africa.
The new office is meant to oversee the drive in the growth of financial technology in Ghana. This movement by the Bank of Ghana is long overdue and aims at entrenching cash-lite, electronic payments, and other forms of monetary digitization throughout the country.

Vodacom Tanzania’s Income up as telco maintains market lead, via The Citizen.
The company’s preliminary financial results for the year under review show that sound growth rates in M-Pesa and mobile data income streams were enough to offset the impact of a fall in revenue from mobile voice, mobile incoming and other services, as well as non-service income streams on the telecom firm’s overall income for the year.

COVID-19 inspires new Cassava Fintech product, via chronicle.
A subsidiary of Econet Global, CASSAVA Fintech International (CFI), has introduced an enhanced voice and video conferencing service that allows up to 20 people on one call.

AGRTECH Roundup

Farmcrowdy, A Nigerian Agri-tech startup opens e-commerce food platform, via Tech in Africa.
As many businesses are changing how they do business in the COVID-19 climate, the Nigerian startup has launched Farmcrowdy Foods as a one-stop digital market place giving consumers access to high quality and pocket-friendly food options while at home.

MEDTECH Roundup

Rwanda expands drone use to deliver medicine, via The East African.
California-based robotics firm Zipline is pioneering the use of drones to deliver medicine in Rwanda to help cure patients suffering from cancer and other diseases due to ongoing restrictions due to COVID-19, making it difficult for many patients to access medicine.

Smart lockers fast-tracked during corona virus pandemic, biz community.
To make sure that South Africans are  not missing their chronic medication during the lock down and don’t have to wait long queues at clinics or hospitals to collect their monthly medication, Right e Pharmacy and National Department of Health is fast-tracking innovation Collect & GO smart lockers.

CLEANTECH Roundup

African Clean Energy’s Off-Grid Solar Power Technology, via Azo cleantech.
A Dutch-South African enterprise, African Clean energy (known for its ACE 1 energy system) is providing an off-grid energy solution that enables decentralized access to clean energy in rural, “bottom-of-the-pyramid” households in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Upcoming Events

FinBank Innovation Conference & Expo 2020, via Finbanking Innovation.
The platform will cover professionals from payments, retail, fintech and insurtech to discuss new ideas about digital transformational in financial ecosystem. You will hear more from thought leaders across Africa and the globe and new technologies from prestigious tech startups.

AGRITECH AFRICA June 2020, via Agritech Africa.
An International Agriculture Technology Conference & Exhibition, The First edition of the International Agricultural Technology Exhibition – one of the most important exhibitions in the field, will for the first time take place in Cape Town, South Africa.

East Africa Fintech Summit May 2020, via CIO Events.
A two-day event that will gather disruptors, tech and finance professionals, regulators, and investors from across East Africa to discuss the technologies revolutionizing finance.