Tech

Nigerian fintech Thepeer shuts down after failing to secure funding

Published

3 weeks ago

April 8, 2024

Nigerian fintech, Thepeer, has shut down its operations after failing to raise the needed funds to scale up its services.

The startup which was founded in by the duo of Kosisochukwu Chike Ononye and Michael Okoh in 2021, was a leading provider of APIs that allow fintechs and other businesses to embed different sets of financial products into their applications and websites.

Thepeer which took the Nigerian tech ecosystem by storm after securing a $2.1 million seed fund in June 2022, announced that it is closing down and will return its remaining capital to investors after failing to scale up.

“We embarked on a mission to create something unprecedented, a unique method for transferring money between digital wallets and making payments for goods and services directly from these wallets,” the statement issued by Ononye said.

“Yet, we soon realised that exceptional technology alone wasn’t sufficient.

“Our unique service had its challenges, the first being compliance issues that hindered us from launching key wallet providers or maintaining their services.

“Additionally, the overall acceptance of wallets as a viable payment option didn’t grow as rapidly as we had hoped; this meant we had to spend a lot of time and resources educating people about what we do.”

Ononye added that the challenges faced by the company meant it needed to “make a decision to either do a hard pivot, an M&A deal, or return capital to investors.”

“After carefully weighing our options, we decided that returning the remaining capital to investors was the best decision,” he said.

“We could not align our product with the market’s needs at our current size and scale,” Ononye added.

He stated that Thepeer will now be placed on maintenance mode, while the founders will work to maintain the platform for as long as possible until they discover a new home for it.

Related Topics:Featured fintech Funding Thepeer

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Tech

RepAir, Cella partner to launch carbon capture in Kenya

Published

2 days ago

April 27, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Global Direct Air Capture (DAC) firm, RepAir, has entered into a partnership with carbon storage technology company, Cella, to launch a first-of-its-kind innovative Carbon Capture and Storage venture in Kenya.

In a statement on its website on Friday, RepAir said the venture will see a replication of its “cultivating partnerships” with storage firms in Europe, U.S. and Africa.

“This storage agreement will streamline the sale of high-quality carbon credits to off-takers, enabling corporations to meet evolving ESG standards, manage offsets and advance towards net zero goals,” the statement issued by RePAir CEO, Amir Amir Shiner, stated.

“Our solution sets a new standard, requiring only 600 kWh per ton of CO2 captured, marking the lowest energy consumption on the market.

“This agreement is perfectly aligned with the launch of our commercial demonstrator in 2025, empowering RepAir to offer high-quality carbon credits to our customers.

“It will see to the establishment of a storage partnership with Cella aimed at creating dedicated value chains for extracting CO2 from the atmosphere and permanently storing it underground through in-situ mineralization.

Corey Pattison, CEO, Cella, who also issued a statement on the partnership, said “by partnering with Cella at our first demonstration site, RepAir can capitalize on two critical resources: the potential for truly permanent, highly verifiable carbon storage via mineralization combined with Kenya’s abundant renewable energy sources.

“Together these resources provide a comprehensive solution for capturing and storing CO2 for off-takers. This collaboration represents an extraordinary opportunity to nurture mutual growth.”

Tech

Intel Liftoff Hackathon 2024 calls for applications from African AI startups

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

Akanimoh Etim

Applications for the 2024 cohort of Intel Liftoff Hackathon has opened for African AI startups designed to bring together aspiring tech entrepreneurs, software developers, and AI enthusiasts to collaborate, innovate, and create solutions to concrete African challenges.

In its second edition, the hackathon welcomes pioneering early-stage AI startup teams from the African continent, delving into experiments with LLM technology, a statement on the website of the organiser stated.

It added that the Intel Liftoff Hackathon for African AI Startups, which will be held online on May 27-31, is themed “Hack and Connect”, and will take place in partnership with Modus Africa, University Mohamed VI Polytechnic, Morocco

Other partners include TUT Hub of Artificial Intelligence Institute of South Africa, Prosper Africa, UM6P Ventures, FAST Accelerator, Innov8 Technology Hubs, and Open Startups International.

“The hackathon will feature hands-on workshops that will allow learning of AI essentials; three days of challenges with mentors to test skills; exhibition opportunities to showcase startups and forge partnerships with industry leaders; and networking opportunities to engage with fellow startups and gain insights from domain experts in the AI ecosystem,” the statement said.

“Winners will be invited to join the Intel Liftoff for Startups programme, and receive unique mentoring sessions with ecosystem partners and marketing opportunities with blog articles,” it concluded.