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Category: Fintech

Now That Chinese-Owned OPay Has Become Africa’s Third Tech Unicorn, the Magnitude of What Happened Last Week is Starting to Settle In

When the Chinese-owned African mobile money app OPay wrapped up a massive $400 million investment round led by Japan's Softbank and a who's who of Chinese venture capital firms, the magnitude of what happened hadn't really registered. Those investors now value ...

MSA Capital is the Chinese VC Firm to Watch When it Comes to Investing in African Start-Ups

Announcing yet another early-stage Africa-focused company being backed by the Beijing-based MSA Capital is becoming a monthly ritual. African mobile money start-up PawaPay is the latest to attract MSA Capital financing as part of a $9 million seed round.

Nigeria-Based, Chinese-Backed Mobile Money Platform OPay Raises $400 Million From Softbank-Led Round

The Nigeria-based, Chinese-owned mobile payment platform OPay closed its latest funding round with $400 million of new investment in a deal that values the company at an impressive $2 billion. This latest fundraising round marks was led by Japanese ...

Ethio Telecom Launches New Huawei-Powered Mobile Money Service

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed oversaw the launch this week of Ethio Telecom's new mobile money service "Tele- Birr" which will be powered by technology from Chinese telecom equipment giant Huawei. Ethiopian officials have high expectations for Tele-Birr's future ...

Huawei Mobile Money is Quietly Becoming an Important Fintech Engine For Emerging Market Payment Platforms

Most of the discussion about Huawei in places like Africa or the Americas centers on the company's 5G technology that officials in the U.S., Europe, and some Asian countries believe presents a security threat. But the Shenzhen-based company isn't generating $137 billion in annual ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

Chinese Foreign Minister to Lead UN Security Council Meeting on Gaza

Wang Yi, China’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, will chair a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting in New York on the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
China, the current UNSC president, called the meeting scheduled for November 29. It comes as the two sides are looking into extending the temporary ceasefire that started last week to allow for the return of further Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees.

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China’s Transsion Holds Firm to the Top Spot in Africa’s Smartphone Market

Transsion's dominance of the African mobile phone market remains fully intact despite last year's major economic disruption brought on by the pandemic, according to new data released by the research firm IDC. Transsion's suite of brands (Tecno, Infinix, and Itel) has a commanding 48.2% ...

The China-Funded Mobile Browser That’s Zeroing in on the African Market

Four years ago, Opera was most famous for Opera Mini, a simple data compression browser, gaining traction in African countries with high data costs. Today, Opera’s software holdings have developed into an interconnected nexus spanning file sharing, news, digital payments, ride hailing, food delivery and news.

Chinese Tech in Africa: What Happened to OPay & What Will Happen to Huawei?

Chinese-owned Nigerian tech company OPay started 2020 with $170 million of cash bursting from its pockets but even that much money wasn't enough to save the company from the dramatic economic downturn brought on by the COVID-19 ...

“Blitzscaling” in African Markets: Opera’s Opay Optimizes Its Operations

Recently, OPay, the Chinese-backed super app operating in Nigeria made an announcement that garnered plenty of attention. Best known for its lime-green ‘Uber for motorcycle taxis’ service, the company, which is backed by Softbank and Meituan Dianping (China’s other super ...

OPay’s Failure Prompts Reflection in Nigeria’s Tech Community

Last week's announcement by the Chinese-owned Nigerian-based e-commerce and payments company OPay to suspend four of its services (ORide, OTrade, OCar, OFood) caught a lot of people by surprise. After raising an impressive $170 million in a Series B funding round last fall from some ...
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