Tech

Google relaunches Hustle Academy with AI focus to empower African SMBs

Published

5 months ago

May 16, 2024

Google has relaunched the 2024 cohort of its Hustle Academy, a programme dedicated to accelerating the growth of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Making the announcement on Thursday, Google said it is opening of applications for the Hustle Academy with a special focus on using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide comprehensive business education, mentorship, and networking opportunities to SMBs.

According to Kristy Grant, Head of B2B marketing for Sub-Saharan Africa at Google, the 2024 cohort of the programme introduces a significant upgrade – business-focused AI training integrated directly into the curriculum.

“This year, the new AI modules focus on data-driven decisions, optimising operations, and building AI-powered marketing strategies,” Grant said.

“AI holds immense potential for African small and medium-sized businesses SMBs, enabling them to drive innovation, increase efficiency, and unlock new levels of economic growth.

“The Hustle Academy has supported over 10,000 businesses who have gone ahead to raise funding and create jobs since inception.

“By incorporating AI into our curriculum, we aim to further amplify this impact, equipping SMBs to harness AI technologies for improved business performance and economic progress,” Grant emphasized.

She added that applications for the 2024 Hustle Academy cohort are open to SMBs in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

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Tech

South African fintech Peach Payments partners Kenya’s Sukhiba for conversational commerce

Published

22 hours ago

October 10, 2024

Isaac Dachen

South African payments service provider, Peach Payments, has announced a strategic partnership with Kenyan commerce and CRM platform, Sukhiba, to offer its South African merchants a new conversational sales channel, and facilitate WhatsApp-based sales.

Peach Payments, which was founded in 2012, provides a complete toolkit to help businesses accept, manage and disburse payments through web and mobile, and is the second largest online payment gateway in South Africa, and has also expanded to Kenya and Mauritius.

Ananth Raj Gudipati, the CEO of Sukhiba who spoke on the partnership, said the platform was built on top of WhatsApp, and was currently active in South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Oman and India.

“Sukhiba is used by more than 35,000 SMEs dealing directly with manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors.

“Sukhiba’s technology lets merchants add their catalogues to WhatsApp and facilitates everything from product purchases to payments to scheduling deliveries.

“We are confident that the deep knowledge and network that Peach Payments brings to this partnership will accelerate WhatsApp commerce and payments in South Africa,” said Gudipati.

“This partnership effectively utilises Peach Payments’ platform on WhatsApp, which opens up a new sales channel for our merchants in the run-up to Black Friday and that gives their customers the flexibility of paying by card, EFT, buy-now pay-later and other alternative payment methods,” said Peach Payments CEO and founder Rahul Jain in a statement.

Tech

France’s VC firm Bpifrance launches in Egypt in bid to expand into Africa

Published

2 days ago

October 9, 2024

Isaac Dachen

France’s largest venture capital firm, Bpifrance, has partnered with Egyptian venture capital firm, Sawari Ventures, to launch a new base in Egypt in its strategic bid to expand into Africa.

In a statement by the VC firm, the move is to ease its entry into the North African region and enhance cross-continental collaboration.

It added that another key player in Egypt’s startup scene, Flat6Labs, will be actively involved in this new venture.

‘Together, we aim to support growth-stage companies and entrepreneurs by providing crucial access to funding, resources, and networks.
This partnership is consistent with Bpifrance’s desire to strengthen ties between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East,” the statement said.

“This partnership comes as African entrepreneurship continues to garner global attention. Startups across the continent are flourishing, and this collaboration will tap into this momentum by offering critical financial support and guidance to innovative businesses.

“This development provides better access to financing for French companies expanding into African markets and offers African startups opportunities to establish research and development (R&D) operations in France,” it added.