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Uber is rolling out new safety features across Africa, Middle East and Europe through its Safety Toolkit. The features include an emergency button to connect quickly with emergency services, trusted contacts to easily share trip details with, safety centre for safety information and speed alerts.   

Greenlight RE has invested an undisclosed amount in Click2sure, a South African insurtech startup. Click2Sure provides a range of API’s which enable cross-selling of product insurances directly at the point of sale. Launched in 2017, the startup was one of four fintech start-ups that participated in the inaugural AlphaCode Accelerate program. Some of its clients include Takealot, Uber, Xiaomi phones, and Pricecheck.

Another SA Insurtech starup, Simply, raised undisclosed figures from Yellowwoods. Yellowwoods has also backed Naked Insurance and AI startup, Data Prophet in the past.  

South African bank, FNB has extended free Wi-Fi coverage to 603 of its branches. The bank is doing so to encourage customers who visit its branches to use its digital platforms. As at 2017, only 383 of its branches had free Wi-Fi. 

Zambia’s Central Bank has warned residents against trading cryptocurrencies in the country. The regulator says cryptos increase the risk of “money laundering, financing activities of terrorism and general consumer protection risks such as fraud and hacking.” Although it has not issued an outright ban, it is reported to be investigating companies trading cryptos in the country. Zambia joins the list of African countries like Kenya who have issued cautions about virtual currencies without an outright ban. Meanwhile other countries like South Africa and Swaziland have favorable stances towards cryptocurrencies. 

Kenyan authorities have increased the excise duty tax on voice, SMS and data services from 10 to 15%. This follows the passage of the Finance Act 2018. This is in addition to a 16% VAT on mobile services. Following the development, Safaricom, the country’s leading telco, has announced an increase in prices. The telco increased its SMS tarrif by 30%, data by 7.5% and voice (off-peak) by 10%.

Nigerian start-ups raised about $35.6 million in Q3 2018 according to TechPoint’s quarterly funding report. A total of 32 start-ups raised funding with about 87% being fintech start-ups. Approximately 96% of the funds were Series A & B rounds. Check out the rest of the report here.  

Liquid Telecom has completed the acquisition of CEC Liquid Telecom, its Zambian subsidiary. The telco bought the remaining 50 per cent stake from Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc. Liquid Telecom and CEC first entered into the joint venture in 2011. The latest acquisition deal will enable Liquid Telecom further invest in its fibre network in Zambia. 

Greentec Capital has opened a Lagos office to expand its presence in West Africa. The new office will be supported by David Ogundeko and Eniola Lawal. Greentec recently invested in Parcel IT and is also an investor in FarmCrowdy and AgroCenta. The investment firm has a plan to support 50 African investments annually by 2023.