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South African insurtech startup, Pineapple secures $21.3m funding

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South African insurtech startup, Pineapple has announced raising $21.3 million in a Series-B funding round to boost its growth.

The Series B funding round led by new investors, Futuregrowth, Talent10 and MIC, is coming on the back of earlier investment support from existing investors including Old Mutual ESD, Lireas Holdings, ASISA ESD Fund and E4E Africa, according to co-founder and CEO, Marnus van Heerden.

The funding round was completed off the back of robust growth and sustainable claims ratios that significantly exceeded industry standards for a newer insurance portfolio, he stated.

“This funding round stands as a testament to our tech and AI-powered operating model, enabling our mission to offer affordable and comprehensive insurance to all South Africans,” van Heerden said.

Founded in 2017, Pineapple offers customers service at 20 per cent of the cost of traditional insurance providers.

“This enables them to pass on this cost saving in insurance premium savings for customers, further accelerating growth,” van Heerden added.

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Morocco’s retail-tech startup Chari partners with Orange to digitise retailers

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Morocco’s retail-tech startup, Chari, has entered into partnership with telecoms giant, Orange Maroc, to boost the digital transformation of Moroccan neighbourhood retailers.

According to the CEO and co-founder of the startup, Ismael Belkhayat, through the partnership, Orange Maroc and Chari will offer Moroccan neighbourhood retailers tailored digital solutions, with Chari leveraging the distribution network of Dislog Group, its exclusive logistics partner.

“This collaboration will enhance retailers’ competitiveness by facilitating payments and accessing new financial services,” he said.

“The partnership will also support financial inclusion offering merchants and their customers innovative and secure payment solutions.

“The vast majority of Moroccan grocery stores already distribute services from the telecom operator Orange. This partnership with Orange will allow Chari to digitise the distribution process of these services by adding them to its eCommerce app.

“This will contribute to better training grocers in using digital tools and promoting their digital inclusion,” Belkhayat said.

Founded in 2020 by Belkhayat and his wife, Sophia, Chari allows traditional proximity store owners in Morocco to order products and have them delivered.

The platform has onboarded over 20,000 food businesses in Morocco, and expanded into Tunisia and Ivory Coast.

In 2023, the startup raised $1 million in funding from Orange Ventures, and has now deepened is relationship with the operator through this partnership with Orange Maroc.

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MTN Nigeria set to acquire two more licences for its fintech

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Nigeria’s largest telecommunications company, MTN Nigeria, is on the verge of obtaining two licences that will enable it expand its fintech subsidiary, MoMo PSB, signaling an increased focus on digital payments within Nigeria.

The company, in a statement on Wednesday, said it has applied for Payment Service Solutions Provider (PSSP) and Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTSP) licenses for Momo in a bid to upscale it to a full fledge payments platform.

“The PSSP license will enable MoMo PSB to offer payment processing gateways, create financial solutions, and provide merchant aggregation and collection services,” the statement said.

“With this license, MTN can process its payments in-house, reducing its reliance on external PSSPs and minimizing associated costs.

“In addition to addressing MTN’s internal payment needs, MoMo PSB will also be equipped to handle payment processing requirements for merchants and partners.

“The PTSP license, meanwhile, will allow MoMo PSB to deploy and service POS terminals, develop POS applications, and provide training and support to over 302,000 merchants, agents, and 5.3 million users on the MoMo PSB,” it added.

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