Stripe-owned Nigerian fintech startup, Paystack, has announced that it is expanding into one of Africa’s largest markets, South Africa.

Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, Paystack uses its API to help African businesses process payments from anywhere in the world.

In 2018, Paystack raised its first major funding round ($8 million Series A funding), led by Stripe (which eventually acquired Paystack). Its plan was to expand into other African countries with that funding round – first stop was Ghana.

Related Article: Paystack Commerce: Helping African Creators Bring Ideas to Market

Expansion And Growth

Since expanding to Ghana, Paystack’s growth has been tremendous. It claims that it currently powers 50% of all online payments in Nigeria with around 60,000 customers, including small businesses, larger corporates ( MTN, SPAR, UPS, etc), fintech (Piggyvest), educational institutions, and online betting companies.

According to Shola, CEO of Paystack, “South Africa is one of the continent’s most important markets, and our launch here is a significant milestone in our mission to accelerate commerce across Africa. We’re excited to continue building the financial infrastructure that empowers ambitious businesses in Africa, helps them scale and connects them to global markets.”

Also, Paystack’s Product Marketer, Abdulrahman said “we ran a pilot in South Africa and worked closely with incredible developers and business owners. They helped us appreciate the local commerce landscape and deepen our understanding of your needs.”

Head of product expansion, Khadijah, added that “for many businesses in South Africa, we know that accepting payments online can be cumbersome. Our pilot in South Africa was hyper-focused on removing barriers to entry, and making it a lot simpler for businesses to accept payments online, eliminating tedious paperwork, providing world-class API documentation to developers,

In that time, Paystack said it also helped hundreds of businesses (Tech startups, eCommerce stores, agencies, and creators) in South Africa accept payment online.

In conclusion, Paystack’s expansion to South Africa will not be so smooth, though. With already established brands likes of Yoco and DPO holding a large chunk of the market, Paystack will face stiff competition for market share.

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Twitter, via a blog post announced the addition of a new feature -Tip Jar – to the social app. Tip Jar will make it easy for twitter users to support and send money to their favorite creators on the platform.

Esther Crawford, Senior Product Manager at Twitter said, “We $ee you – sharing your PayPal link after your Tweet goes viral, adding your $Cashtag to your profile so people can support your work, dropping your Venmo handle on your birthday or if you just need some extra help. You drive the conversation on Twitter and we want to make it easier for you to support each other beyond Follows, Retweets, and Likes. Today, we’re introducing Tip Jar – a new way for people to send and receive tips.“

To help users receive payment, the feature will utilizes a couple of payment platforms, including PayPal, Venmo, Patreon, Cash App and Bandcamp. The payment platforms available to use will depend on your location, though.

Twitter has began rolling out Tip Jar to select groups of users, including creators, journalists, nonprofits, and experts. However, Twitter plans to roll the feature out to additional groups in the coming months. So, don’t panic just yet if you can’t access the feature.

Furthermore, it is currently available to users with IOS and Android devices.

Related Article: How to get verified on Twitter

To send funds to a user, simply go to the user’s profile page, then click on the “Tip Jar” icon – its right next to the notification and follow icon – and select your preferred payment option; Bandcamp, Cash App, Patreon, PayPal and Venmo – depending on which is available to you.

Related Article: 5 Twitter Tips for Power Users

In addition, Android users can also send money through the Twitter Spaces. Twitter says it will not take a percentage of the transactions done on Twitter Spaces.

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The itel online launch Nigeria is an online event by itel where it introduces new devices to the Nigerian market. This year’s edition held today with the brand unveiling the next iteration of smartphones in the ‘P Series’, new sets of itel earbuds, a new Smart TV series, and to our surprise, an itel Laptop.

This post takes a broader look at all the devices iTel unveils at the event.

itel P37 Series

The itel P37 Series (P37 and P37 Pro) comes in as the successor to the iTel P36 Series released in 2020. itel says it has enhanced the P37 smartphone in major areas including battery, memory, and display.

The new itel P37 series features a 5000mAh battery and comes with an upgraded AI power master. It claims to have increased its battery life by 10%. It is backed by a 2GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage.

The P37 has a 6.5-inch waterdrop full HD display, while the P37 Pro is a 6.8-inch HD display (waterdrop, as well). The P37 Pro comes with a 13 mega-pixel AI dual camera.

iTel Earbud T1

The itel earbuds T1 comes with a Bluetooth version 5.0 with a faster and long-range connection, and it has got an IPX5 water-resistant rating. itel also claims the earbud comes with a ‘one charge for all-day use’ feature.

According to itel, the Earbud T1 should give you 8 hours of music playtime and 30 hours battery life from its charging case.

itel Earbud X

From the looks and specifications of the itel earbud x, it feels like a budget-friendly earbud. It comes with a style loop charging case and a liquid metal design. It also comes with an IPX5 water resistance rating.

This earbud will provide up to 5 hours of music playtime and a charging case of up to 25 hours of battery life.

itel G Series Android TV

During its last online launch event in Nigeria, itel unveiled its first set of Smart TVs and promised that its Android TVs will be available in Nigeria, and will sell at budget-friendly prices. itel has finally unveiled the Android TV set, dubbed ‘G Series Android TV’.

The itel G Series Android TV features Google assistant, 20W stereo sound, and Google ecosystem which will let gain access to content on one TV.

This TV also has Google Play built into it. This means you get access to your favorite streaming and gaming apps. It also comes with Chromecast Built-in.

itel Laptop

itel has unveiled its first laptop which it calls the ‘Able 1’. This device is a sleek-looking portable laptop – judging from the images itel showed us, at least.

According to itel, the Abel 1 laptop is coming with a 3000mAh battery and iPad, a quad-core CPU with 1-terabyte of internal storage to ensure you’ve got enough storage space.

This device also features a micro SD card reader, headphone jack, an HDMI port, USD 3.0 ports, and an RJ45 Ethernet Port.

Conclusion

itel didn’t tell when these devices will be released or available for sale in retail stores across the country, but we’re certain we’ll see them in the coming days.

The post itel Online Launch Nigeria: Here’s Everything That Was Announced appeared first on Dignited.

Mono, founded by Abdul Hassan, a formal product manager at Paystack and Prakhar Singh in 2020, is an infrastructure built to power the new set of internet businesses and developers building apps that require secure and reliable access to financial accounts in Africa.

Mono allows these internet businesses and developers to retrieve information like real-time account balance, account statements, income, expense, transaction history, and account owner identification with the consent of the users.

Mono, via a blog post, announced that it has raised a $2M seed round of funding from Entrée Capital (Investors in Stripe, Gusto, Kuda) and Gbenga Oyebode’s fund (TCVP), as well as existing investors, Lateral Capita. Babalola Ogundeyi (CEO of Kuda Bank), and a number of incredible angel investors also participated in the round.

Prior to this round, Mono had raised $500,000 in pre-seed last September and $125,000 from U.S-based accelerator, Y-Combinator. This brings Mono’s total investment to $2.625 million.

According to Abdul, “This new capital will help us double down on our core platform (Mono Connect) and launch new products and features to ensure Mono is the most powerful — and reliable — way for businesses and developers to access financial accounts in Africa.“

According to Tech Crunch, Mono has already secured partnerships with more than 16 financial institutions in Nigeria. This is in addition to having over a hundred businesses under their belt including Renmoney, Autochek, Carbon, Inflow Finance, Aella Credit, and Credpal, and helping them access customers’ bank account for bank statements, identity data, and balances.

Furthermore, it has connected over 100,000 financial accounts for these partners and analyzed over 66 million financial transactions.

Mono has been impressive in Nigeria over the last couple of months. And with its latest funding round, it plans to expand into other African countries – with Ghana and Kenya, a top priority.

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The tech scene advances really really fast and forms the backbone of most innovations in numerous other fields like Governance, Healthcare, Engineering, Entertainment, and so on. However, the mainstream media seems to only focus on the global tech leaders while emerging markets like Africa are seemingly forgotten about.

It is, perhaps, in recognition of this that Kenyan tech publication, Gadgets Africa and the Nation Media Group have partnered to bring is the Vifaa Tech Festival, an expo that will allow consumers and brands to connect, showcase and usher in future technologies in the region.

The festival’s aim is to offer a platform that should then spark conversations around issues such as consumer technologies beyond gadgets, while showcasing flagship products, and technology that can then be useful to millions of Africans.

“Consumer technology and electronics brands are celebrated, criticized, and appreciated in the US, SE Asia, and EU. One of the key motives of launching Gadgets Africa was to empower the Kenyan consumer in making informed decisions in buying electronics. Today, we’re moving a step further and joining us is Nation Media Group in launching Africa’s very own consumer technology launchpad forum.”

Rishabh Lawania, CEO of Wee Media Africa.

The two-day virtual festival will take place on June 11th and 12th and will bring together industry stakeholders and consumers onto one platform. The expo will include product showcases from several consumer brands operating in Kenya and will address subjects such as:

• Geo-restriction of content and services,
• Unsolicited texts and data protection,
• E-Sports and mobile gaming in Kenya,
• 5G and the future of home connectivity,
• TV vs Streaming,
• Influencers and the new wave of digital marketing,
• The work from home era and the tech that enables it and
• The future of mobile money and digital payments in Africa.

The festival will also include a Consumer Awards segment that will showcase and run polls on various selected categories, all aimed at shining a light on brands and products that users in Kenya find appealing.

The Categories for the Consumer awards in the upcoming Vifaa Tech Festival are as follows:

• Best TV in Kenya
• Must-have mobile accessory
• Best DSLR Camera
• Coolest home appliance in Kenya
• App of the year
• People’s choice electronics store
• Most reliable home internet provider
• Best mobile data package

• Best budget laptop
• Best laptop brand in Kenya
• Best entry-level smartphone
• Best budget smartphone
• Best mid-range smartphone
• Best flagship smartphone
• Best battery-life on a phone

The consumer award polls are already running and you can cast you vote by visiting gadgets-africa.com/vifaa-tech-festival

It is initiatives like these that go to build the local tech scene to levels we see in other countries and as tech continues to trickle down to even the lower-end segment of the market, conversations like these help users to make the most out of the tech that’s available to them while also showcasing what the future has in store.

To take part in this Vifaa Tech Festival, you are encouraged to book a slot through https://gadgets-africa.com/vifaa-tech-festival/.

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Devkids by ULesson is a platform that provides personalized live coding classes for 4-18-year-olds. On the platform, kids get to explore HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python from scratch. Plus a dive into cybersecurity, AI, and machine learning.

Devkids by ULesson is a subsidiary of ULesson – an Edtech startup based in Nigeria and led by former Konga Founder/CEO, Sim Shagaya. ULesson – which recently raised $7.5 million in Series A funding – is focused on bridging the educational gap for K-12 (primary and secondary) education in Africa by providing learning resources and delivering affordable, high-quality, and accessible education using technology.

Related Post: Will Sim Shagaya’s uLesson crack EdTech in Nigeria?

Who is Devkids Built For?

From the website, Devkids’ coding curriculum is targeted at three different categories of kids:

• Explorers (4-7-year-old kids)
• Builders (8-12-year-olds)
• Innovators (13-18-year-olds)

Explorers (4-7-year-old kids)

For this age group, the curriculum includes Coding fundamentals, Animations, interactive stories, and Game design. While what they stand to achieve include Coding Fundamentals, becoming Digital Authors, and Game Designers.

Builders (8-12-year-olds)

Kids in this age category will be introduced to the fundamentals of coding, digital art, and game design, as well as an introduction to web development. At the end of these courses, kids will be able to:

• Design interactive games
• Build websites using HTML, CSS, and Javascript
• Create digital art projects

Innovators (13-18-year-olds)

The curriculum for this age group includes an introduction to web development, Game design and app development, and Cybersecurity & Data Science.

Related Post: How to Get Started with uLesson

How Devkids Works

Lessons are highly personalized live-tutoring experiences delivered by expert tutors. The classes are also made flexible, you get to select a preferred time and date. Also, your kid(s) needs a laptop or tablet, and mobile data to join sessions.

After signing up, you get one free class, but subsequent classes are subscription-based. Here is a breakdown of the subscription packages:

• 1-month membership: ₦ 38,500
• 3 months membership: ₦ 96,000
• 12 months membership: ₦ 360,000

This subscription plan is applicable to all learning categories (Explorers, Builders, and Innovators) on Devkids.

The post Devkids by ULesson: A Platform For Kids to Learn to Code appeared first on Dignited.

Nigeria-based, Chinese-backed fintech platform, OPay, is in talks to raise up to $400 million in Series C funding, this is according to TechCrunch.

OPay’s journey started in Nigeria in 2018 when it launched its mobile money platform in Lagos. And while OPay tried to branch out into other areas like bike hailing with the launch of ORide (a now-defunct bike-hailing service), OBus, a bus-booking platform (also defunct) OExpress, a logistics delivery service, OTrade, a B2B e-commerce platform, and OFood, a food delivery service, it is its fintech and mobile money business that has performed well.

Related Post: What’s different about OPay in Nigeria?

OPay claims it processed around $1.4 billion in payments in October 2020 alone in Nigeria, and that figure jumped to $2 billion by the end of Q4, 2020. 

Also, according to Techcrunch, OPay claims to currently process about 80% of bank transfers that happened among mobile money operators in Nigeria and 20% of the country’s non-merchant point of sales transactions.

If its $400m Series C fundraising is successful, that’ll bring OPay’s total funds raised to $570million.

Its first funding round happened in 2019 – it raised $50 million from Sequoia Capital, IDG Capital, Source Code, GSR Ventures, Opera (its parent company), and Meituan-Dianping.

It then raised a jaw-dropping $120million in Series B funding a few months after that.

Related Post: OPay raises $120 million as it plans expansion to other African countries

What’s Next For Opay?

When OPay raised its Series B, it stated that it had plans to expand into other markets in Africa, however, it has only been able to launch in Egypt. But with a large share of the Nigerian market on lockdown and an incoming Series C funding, we expect an aggressive expansion into other promising markets like Kenya and South Africa this year.

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Africa’s fintech startup, Chipper Cash has confirmed that it has raised $100m in Series C funding. A round led by SVB Capital, the investment arm of U.S. high-tech commercial bank Silicon Valley Bank led this Series C round. Other participants in this round include some of its existing investors: Tribe Capital, Deciens Capital, Bezos Expeditions, One Way Ventures, Ribbit Capital, 500 Startups, and Brue2 Ventures. 

For obvious reasons, venture capitalists are scrambling for startups in the Fintech space to invest in. They are betting on companies solving financial problems on the African continent. From remittances to neobanks, to payments and lending platforms, cross-border transfers, etc.

Chipper Cash is a cross-border money transfer startup that facilitates cross-border payment across Africa.

The startup was founded in 2018 by Ham Serunjogi and Maijid Moujaled. It began its journey with two seed rounds worth $8.4 million in 2019. And in 2020, it raised $13.8 million in Series A funding from Deciens Capital.

The startup was in the news again in November of 2020 when it raised $30 million Series B led by Jeff Bezos’ ‘fund Bezos Expeditions’ and Ribbit Capital.

Chipper Cash is present in seven African countries including Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa, and Kenya. Also, according to TechCrunch, Chipper Cash is expanding to the UK, its first market outside of Africa. 

Related: A Quick Guide to Using Chipper Cash in Nigeria

Chipper Cash’s Growth

The startup looks to have been growing steadily over the years. According to Tech Crunch, Chipper Cash has grown its user base to 4 million – a 33% increase from 2020. It is, however, unclear what those figures are at the moment.

The company says it is has launched its card products in Nigeria and has also launched its crypto product. It also says it will be launching its US stocks product in Uganda, Nigeria, and a few other African countries in the coming months.

The post Chipper Cash: Africa’s Money Transfer Startup raises $100m, Attains Unicorn Status appeared first on Dignited.

Twitter, today, announced the addition of a new feature (Twitter Blue) to its platform. Twitter Blue is a paid subscription service that will offer paid subscribers access to a set of new features like ‘Bookmark Folder’, ‘undoing tweets’, and ‘Reader Mode‘ to view threads in an easier-to-digest way.

According to Twitter via a blog post, “We’ve heard from the people that use Twitter a lot, and we mean a lot, that we don’t always build power features that meet their needs. Well, that’s about to change. We took this feedback to heart, and are developing and iterating upon a solution that will give the people who use Twitter the most what they are looking for: access to exclusive features and perks that will take their experience on Twitter to the next level.“

Starting Thursday, Twitter will be rolling out the feature to its users in Australia and Canada, and users that subscribe to this feature will get access to:

1. Bookmark Folders

Basically, what this feature does is lets users organize all your bookmarked tweets into separate folders. The Bookmark Folder feature will definitely make it easy for users to find saved content when they need them.

2. Undo Tweet

The ‘Undo Tweet’ feature will let users retract their tweet before it actually goes live. With Undo Tweet, users can set a customizable timer of up to 30 seconds to click ‘Undo’ before the Tweet. This is useful in cases when there’s a typo, you forgot to tag someone, or you just want to preview and revise your Tweet before it goes live.

3. Reader Mode

The Reader Mode feature helps you keep up with threads by “turning them into easy-to-read text”. Twitter says the aim here is to ‘provides a more beautiful reading experience by getting rid of the noise’.

Related Article: Twitter Introduces Tip Jar to Let You Pay Your Favorite Twitters

Conclusion

For its Canadian users, subscription will cost $3.49 CAD and $4.49 AUD for Australian users per month. Other perks available to subscribers include customizable app icons for their device’s home screen, fun color themes for their Twitter app, and access to dedicated subscription customer support.

The post Introducing Twitter Blue – Twitter’s First-Ever Subscription Offering appeared first on Dignited.

Vivo is not a newcomer in the Kenyan market anymore. The Chinese OEM with ties to global brands like OnePlus, Oppo, and the newest entrant into the Kenyan mobile scene, Realme, has given us pretty decent devices over the few years it’s been around.

Early this year, we saw Vivo bringing the Vivo Y20s into the Kenyan market, a device that brought so much value to its users for a rather reasonable Ksh 20,999.

In keeping with the same momentum, and probably in response to the ‘smartphone season’ we’ve been treated to over the past two months or so by Transsion-owned Infinix and Tecno, Vivo is set to introduce yet another device.

Reports now indicate that the Vivo V21 is coming to Kenya in the next couple of weeks.

Specs

The Vivo V21 offers quite the Android experience as demonstrated by the following spec-sheet.

Perhaps the headlining feature of the Vivo V21 is the 44MP selfie shooter that has both OIS and EIS. This should, at least in theory, see the V21 produce crisp selfie shots.

At the back, the device will come with a triple camera set up, a 64MP which is also equipped with OIS and EIS to capture ultra-high-definition photos and videos at night, an 8MP wide-angle rear camera to capture the entirety of a scenic view, and a 2MP macro camera for close and personal shots to complete the V21 making it truly the camera smartphone for all occasions.

Pricing and Availability

Now, the Vivo V21 is yet to be officially launched in Kenya but the company says that we are looking at a launch date slated for later this month. It is at that event taht we shall learn more on the device’s pricing.

That said, the device has been selling in other markets for a price of about $380. This means that we should expect a price of around Ksh 40,000 as the retail price for this device.

The post Vivo V21 set to launch in Kenya, brings 44MP Front Camera with OIS appeared first on Dignited.

What a wild ride 2020 has been. From battling a global pandemic, to fighting towards racial justice, there’s no doubt last year will go down in history as a time when so many things changed.

Despite all of the chaos last year, in Uganda, the second wave of the pandemic is here and new cases have skyrocketed through the roof the past couple of days. The country has recorded over 10,000 new positive cases in the last 10 days alone. This clearly implies that there is a need for reliable and accessible testing and healthcare-related services.

With just an internet connection and or a mobile phone, you can order a COVID-19 test or call a doctor at the comfort of your home or office from Rocket Health in Uganda at an affordable fee.

When faced with the need to get a COVID-19 test, it is important to note that the choice depends on why you’re getting it and how soon you need the results.

The three types of COVID-19 tests are;

1. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) Test which cost 200,000UGX
2. Antibody Test at 100,000UGX
3. Rapid Test (Antigen) for a low as 70,000UGX

If you do not know what type of test you can take. The team at Rocket Health has written a detailed and resourceful blog on Which COVID-19 test do you need and digested the major differences? How long or duration of each test and which kind of people is it recommended for?

Click this link here to devour and read more for a better understanding.

RELATED ARTICLE: You Can Now Consult a Doctor or Order Drugs in Uganda via Rocket Health’s *280#

How to Order for COVID-19 Test From Rocket Health in Uganda?

1. Option 1 is through the newly released USSD *280# short code. Dail *280# either on MTN or Airtel number, choose option 2 of Laboratory Test and Option 1 of Request Lab Test. A doctor will give you a call to confirm your details and the type of laboratory test you want to be done.
2. You can as well order the COVID-19 test through their WhatsApp number +256790512074.
3. Call a dedicated 24-hour toll-free number 0800277015 using any telecom network in the country and book a test with the Rocket health doctors.
4. The last option can be through their e-shop www.rockethealth.shop and search for COVID-19 test or click here to choose the package you are interested in.

Rocket health offers a wealth of additional services in case your COVID-test results turn positive. They have a wellness package and home-based care plan which is available for clients who are paying through insurance or cash.

Telemedicine and e-health have always seemed like a far-fetched idea but the pandemic has helped accelerate the adoption of tech and here we are having Rocket health doctors keeping us safe through the pandemic and making deliveries across the whole country.

Let us in the comment section how you are keeping safe during the second wave of the deadly Coronavirus here in Uganda. Do not forget to sanitise, wear a mask and social distant whenever you are out of the house. In a nutshell, follow the standard operating procedures(SOPs).

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Last October, Google rebranded “G Suite” – its collection of professional productivity tools, which was only made available to business accounts – to become “Workspace“. And eight months later, Google has now announced that Workspace will be free to everyone. Until now, only paid users had access to it.

Related Article: Why Google Workspace is More Than a G Suite Rebrand

Google made the announcement via a blog post. Here’s what they had to say: “Since the launch of Gmail in 2004, and Google Docs two years later, we’ve been building flexible, helpful and innovative solutions that allow people to connect, create and collaborate securely — from anywhere on the planet and on any device. When we debuted Google Workspace last October, we not only introduced a new brand, but also our vision for a single, integrated experience for everyone: Everything you need to get anything done, now in one place. Across apps like Gmail, Chat, Calendar, Drive, Docs, Sheets, Meet and more, our consumer, enterprise and education users choose Google Workspace to stay in touch, share ideas and get more done together every day.”

With Workspace, users have every tool they need to get their tasks done, quickly, all on one platform.

Google Workspace For Individuals

If you want more value from Google workspace, Google also created a paid plan targeted at entrepreneurs and small business owners who may need additional tools and features to help them ‘grow, run and protect their business.’

The paid plan is $9.99/month, with an introductory price of $7.99/month. This solution provides them with what Google calls “premium capabilities”, and they include smart booking services, professional video meetings, and personalized email marketing. They also promised there’s much more on the way.

The new paid plan will be launched soon in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, and Japan.

The post Workspace, Formerly G Suite, is Now Available to Everyone appeared first on Dignited.

Applying for a Tax Identification Number(TIN) has always been a pain in the ass for many Ugandans as URA(Uganda Revenue Authority) would require you to download a Microsoft Excel, hustle to fill in all mandatory cells, and re-upload it back to the website for the process to get completed.

It is until recently that they have revised the application process and made the whole TIN application available on the web for users.

The improved TIN application has started with the individual TIN application by converting the current MS-based template into a web form to facilitate a better user experience.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Use of URA Tin and Why You Should Apply For One

Key Features That Has Changed

1. Pre Population of data from NIRA/URSB Databases. The Authority would like users to note that NIN(National ID Number) would be used as the primary identifier. The URA and NIRA systems have been synchronized to auto-fill and validate bi-data information like Names, Citizenship, Gender, Date of birth among others once the NIN has been provided by the applicant.
2. Removal of referee and alternate contact details.
3. Requirement of unique email and upload of attachments.
4. No document required if the applicant has a valid NIN or BRN(Business Registration Number).
5. Applicants will no longer have to print, sign and deliver the signed T&Cs to the nearest URA offices has it has been the case. They will rather acknowledge their agreement of the terms and conditions by ticking the T&Cs agreement tab.
6. TIN applicants who are employed will have to provide their employers TIN and details about the employer/company will be auto-filled.
7. TIN application service is still available under the e-services page on the URA website or clicks here on this link.

How to Apply For a Tin in Uganda Using the New Web-Based System

Step One: Go to URA’s website and navigate to the e-service page on the landing page. Click on TIN registration which will open in a new tab to start the TIN registration process.

Step Two: Before you click on the button to start your TIN application process. You are reminded to read the Taxpayer Rights, Obligations, and requirements for Individual applicant which are available in an accordion layout within the website. Click the start button to begin your TIN application process.

Step Three: Enter your email address and choose the type of TIN application(Individual or Non-Individual) you are going to do before your click the Proceed button. A unique digit code will be sent to your email, copy the code and paste it into the next field to continue.

Step Four: Provide all the needed informations across the different tab pages and submit your application when done. Keep in mind you can save changes and come back later to finish the process where you left it off.

And that’s it for applying for a new TIN in Uganda with the revamped browser-based application. Go ahead and let us know in the comment section if this was something you were patiently waiting for from the URA team.

FEATURED IMAGE: New York Public Library from Unsplash.

The post URA TIN Application Is Now Completely Web-Based: Here Is How You Can Apply For a TIN in Uganda appeared first on Dignited.

Jiji, one of the largest marketplaces for classifieds in Africa, and by far the largest in Nigeria, has today announced that it is acquiring transactional car marketplace, Cars45 for an undisclosed amount. This will see Jiji venture into the transactional marketplace for the first time.

Jiji was launched in Nigeria in 2014 as an online marketplace that provides buyers and sellers with an avenue to meet and exchange goods and services.

Cars45 on the other hand is a transactional marketplace for car buyers and sellers. The company was founded by former Konga executive Etop Ikpe and has been under different ownership over the last couple of years.

Cars45 first received $5 million in funding in 2017 from the Frontier Cars Group (A company that subsequently became the parent company of Cars45), with support from Balderton Capital, EchoVC, and TPG Growth.

Soon after, Netherlands-based OLX Group acquired Cars45 from FCG, via its OLX Autos brand.

Although Jiji didn’t disclose the details of the acquisition of Cars45, it feels like a total acquisition from the OLX group.

This, however, is not Jiji’s first acquisition. Back in 2019, Naspers-owned online marketplace, OLX, sold its assets in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda to Nigeria’s biggest classifieds player.

Per Techcrunch, Jiji’s co-founder Vladimir Mnogoletniy stated that vehicle listing is the second most active category on the platform. He also added that while the platform’s total listing exceeds $10 billion (with real estate contributing almost $7 billion), the cars listing category has over $3 billion worth of listings.

He added that “We have leading positions in all markets we’re present in and are definitely the classifieds leader in the region. Also, we are probably the largest e-commerce company in Africa by GMV.”

What Next for Cars45?

Cars45 will merge its operations in Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya with Jiji to help grow the vehicle category on the platform. Jiji’s co-founder noted that the acquisition has a lot of benefits for both. “It’s a very common practice when marketplace and transactional business models work together as one project,” he added.

The post Classifieds Marketplace, Jiji, Acquires Cars45 appeared first on Dignited.

Yesterday, the National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) launched a Cyber Security Awareness Campaign dubbed “Be Safe Online” focused on increasing public awareness and vigilance about the day-to-day cyber threats.

As per the, We Are Social x Hootsuite 2021 Digital report, there was a 14% increase in the number of internet users in Uganda following a 3.5% growth at the start of 2020. The NITA-U Executive Director, Dr. Hatwib Mugasa said, “With the number of internet users ever-increasing, there is a need to raise awareness about the cyber-related threats and to empower the Ugandan citizens with the knowledge and sense of shared responsibility to practice safe and informed decisions while using the internet.”

Michael Atingi-Ego, the deputy governor of, Bank of Uganda revealed that between June 2019 and June 2020, the value of internet banking transactions increased 52.9%. He also added that active users on the internet banking platforms grew by 36.7% during the same period citing coronavirus pandemic.

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This increase of new internet users trying to circumnavigate the pandemic’s ripple effects and adapt to technological changes has created the perfect breeding ground for hackers and bad actors. There are more risks of cyber threats to users who are unaware of cybersecurity mechanisms online.

“We need to remember as technology users that safeguarding the Internet is a responsibility we all share. Digital technologies and the Internet have transformed our everyday lives since we can now access information, conduct business, keep in touch with family and friends, and engage online, but we need to remember cyber-attacks are becoming more common.”

NITA-U Executive Director, Dr. Hatwib Mugasa

According to Uganda Police files, reported Cybercrimes have increased from 62 cases in 2013 to 198 cases in 2018. Cyber threats have not only increased in frequency but also sophistication. This has resulted in the losses of hundreds of millions of shillings.

The cases handled by police included offenses related to electronic fraud, threatening violence, defamation, offensive communication, impersonation, cyber harassment, theft, pornography among others.

The cybersecurity awareness campaign is funded by the World Bank as part of the Regional Communications Infrastructure Project (RCIP).

RCIP Uganda has focused on complementary infrastructure investments to ensure greater access to affordable, high-quality Information and Communications Technology (ICT), and the development of a range of enabling e-Government foundations such as shared infrastructure and e-services for MDAs (Ministries, Departments, and Agencies) among other interventions.

On the side of proactive protection measures, NITA-U has in place the Uganda National Computer Emergency Response Team and Coordination Center to effectively analyze and respond to cyber threats for better protection of Uganda’s critical digital infrastructure and the availability of dependent services and support provided to the government agencies, citizens and businesses.

NITA-U’s Cyber Security Awareness Campaign “Be Safe Online” is to help it deliver on its promise of safeguarding the Ugandan people.

Users can follow campaign content online through the website, www.besafeonline.ug  or on social media Twitter @NITAUganda1  Facebook: NITA. Uganda. Instagram: nitaug.

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In November of 2020, Twitter announced that it was adding a new feature, Fleets – a row of fullscreen tweets that appears at the top of the Twitter timeline and expires after 24 hours – to its platform. You can equate Twitter Fleets to “Status” and “Stories” on social media platforms like WhatsApp Status, Instagram Stories. The feature was met with mixed reactions when it was released.

However, fast forward eight months later, Twitter has announced that it is shutting down the feature. Per a blog post, Twitter says it ‘built Fleets to address some of the anxieties that hold people back from Tweeting. A lower-pressure, ephemeral way for people to share their fleeting thoughts’.

According to Twitter, things didn’t go as planned. It hoped that Fleets would help more people feel comfortable joining the conversation on Twitter, but since it launched, it has mostly been used by people who are already Tweeting to amplify their own Tweets and talk directly with others. It didn’t see an increase in the number of new people joining the conversation with Fleets.

Related Article: Twitter is Testing Clubhouse-like Audio Chatrooms — Spaces

When is it Shutting Down?

Twitter confirmed that from August 3, Fleets will no longer be available on Twitter. However, Twitter says it will explore other ways to address what holds Twitter users back from joining conversations on Twitter. So, going forward, at the top of the timelines, Twitter users will only see active live audio chat rooms (Spaces) of people they follow, when they are hosting or speaking in a live audio conversation.

Also, Twitter says it is going to be ‘rigorous, continue to evaluate what works, and know when to move on and focus elsewhere.’ What this means is, there will be more testing and shut down of features in the future – which shouldn’t come as a surprise when it happens.

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Xiaomi has enjoyed a lot of success in the smartphone market over the years and even recently Apple to be the second-largest smartphone vendor. This makes for a great time to release its first tablet since 2018 when the Mi Pad 4 was launched. So it’s understandable why the Mi Pad 5 has a lot of clout and considering Xiaomi’s history of value for money, there is a lot of excitement about this tablet.

There is a lot of news circulating about what features and specs are on the Mi Pad 5 but what we know is that there are most likely two models. The base model will be powered by the Snapdragon 860 and feature a stylus with a projected price of about $310. This model is also rumoured to come with a 33W or 22.5W fast charging, 12MP main camera and an 11-inch 120Hz display.

Read More: See if Your Xiaomi, Poco and Redmi Smartphone Will Get Android 12

Furthermore, the higher-end variant will be Xiaomi’s first 5G tablet and will feature the Snapdragon 870 chipset and feature a 48MP rear camera and 67W quick charging. This is about all the differences between this and the base model. Although the pricing for this higher variant is not known yet, you can expect aggressive pricing as per Xiaomi’s tradition.

Both of Xiaomi’s tab models will feature a stylus and a leaked technical sketch of the device confirms the widely believed renders which looks more like the predecessor but with thinner bezels and the Mi 11 kind of camera setup. Also, the Mi Pad 5 series is expected to come with MIUI 12.5 (Android 11) and a 2K resolution screen.

According to the expected specs on the Mi Pad 5, it will place it in direct competition with Apple’s iPad Mini and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 both of which all comes with an 11-inch screen. You can expect cellular connectivity on a variant of the Mi Pad 5 and a WiFi-only option as well.

Update: What appears to be a real life image of the Mi Pad 5 has appeared and confirms the leaked renders and technical sketch.

Source: Gizchina

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Xiaomi has enjoyed quite a lot of success this year passing new milestones along the way. Earlier this year, the Chinese smartphone maker surpassed Apple in smartphone sales to become the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world behind Samsung for the second quarter of the year. After that, it went ahead to surpass Samsung in Europe to become the leading smartphone manufacturer in that region.

They didn’t stop there, Xiaomi was able to topple Samsung for the top spot in June according to Counterpoint. They’ve been able to record a YoY growth of 83% which is quite impressive in comparison to Samsung’s 8%. For perspective, only one brand has been able to achieve the feat of becoming the number one smartphone maker in the last decade and that was Huawei for a quarter.

Read More: MIUI 13: Here’s what you should expect

However, Xiaomi is planning to ditch the Mi branding on their smartphone and other products, so you would be seeing Xiaomi instead. This wouldn’t be affecting its sub-brands like Redmi, Poco, and Blackshark. Xiaomi doesn’t only make smartphones though, they’ve got the Mi Notebook, Mi earbuds, Mi TV, Mi routers, and so on. However, their smartphone brand still remains the most popular out of all and where they’ve recorded most of their success.

You see, Mi smartphones are like the primary smartphone brand and a change of name is quite a big deal when you consider the range of other products that would now have ‘Xiaomi’ pasted on it instead of the ‘Mi’ we are all used to seeing. It’s not like the Mi brand hasn’t been doing quite well especially lately, selling over 200, 000 units of its Mi Pad 5 tablet series in just 5 minutes, and even the Mix 4 got sold out at launch. So why the change?

Read More: See if Your Xiaomi, Poco, Blackshark and Redmi Smartphone Will Get Android 12

In the past, we’ve seen the ‘Mi’ brand given two meanings which are ‘mission impossible’ and ‘mobile internet’. As it appears, the switch from Mi to Xiaomi has started already with the Mix 4 smartphone recently released. This would continue to their subsequent releases according to one of the Company’s Rep.

What do you think about this new development? Do you think it would affect the company’s growth in any way especially outside China? Let us know what you think.

Source: xda-developer

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When Opay launched in Nigeria in 2018, it came in really hard. The startup came in backed by a $50 million investment (the highest raised by a Nigeria-based fintech startup, at the time) raised by its parent company, Opera.

Opay, however, put that money to good use. The mobile money provider has done incredible numbers and achieved tremendous results in different areas like market penetration (spreading rapidly around Nigeria), transactions processed, number of users, and number of offline agents. For instance, OPay says it processed around $1.4 billion in payments in October 2020 in Nigeria, and that figure quickly rose to $2 billion by the end of the Q4, of the same year. 

A couple of months back, we reported that the Nigeria-based, Chinese-backed fintech platform, was in talks to raise up to $400 million in Series C funding at a $1.5billion valuation. We can now confirm that Opay has finally completed this funding round. Bloomberg reported that the $400 million investment round was led by Softbank Vision fund 2.

Other investors that participated in this round include Sequoia Capital China, Redpoint China, Source Code Capital, and Softbank Ventures Asia. DragonBall Capital and 3W Capital also took part in the round. This is interesting because this marks Softbank’s first investment in Africa – joining the already long list of high-profile investors scrambling for the right startups on the continent to back.  

In the early days, Opay was well known for its ride-hailing and bike-hailing services. But following the ban on bike-hailing in some parts of Nigeria, Opay focused its attention solely on the financial sector. 

Related Article: Tricycle ride-hailing platform – OTrike launched by OPay in Nigeria

Opay Expansion Plan

Softbank’s aim with this investment is to help Opay grow and expand into other emerging markets.

Per Bloomberg, Kentaro Matsui, a SoftBank Group Corp. managing director said, “We believe our investment will help the company extend its offering to adjacent markets and replicate its successful business model in Egypt and other countries in the region.” 

We hope, with this latest funding round, Opay can replicate this success in other emerging markets on the continent. You should check out the list of all startups in Africa that have attained unicorn status.

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NITA-U has launched the data protection office to promote awareness of the new office and its mandate, and at the same time, raise awareness of the various stakeholders about the Data Protection Act 2019. At the same event, NITA-U has announced the collaboration with UNCDF to develop a Data Protection Portal.

Data is an essential aspect of digital transformation. For public and private institutions to develop solutions and provide services that improve people’s quality of life, it is inevitable for them to collect personal data. However, the increasing data security breaches present a significant challenge for organizations and governmental institutions to protect personal data.  This has also increasingly become a concern for individuals providing their personal data to the government and individuals.

To protect citizens’ privacy and personal data, the Government of Uganda enacted the Data Protection and Privacy Act into law in 2019. The law regulates the collection and processing of personal information. The law also provides for the rights of the person whose data is collected and processed and the obligations of data controllers and data processors to regulate the use of that data.  To ensure the successful implementation of this regulation, the National Information Technology Authority of Uganda (NITA-U) has established a Data Protection Office.

“The Personal Data Protection Office is now fully operational with a competent and experienced team up to the task. I, therefore, urge all organisations that collect, process and/or control personal data to start registering with the office. The door is also open for data subjects to raise complaints.”

Ms. Stella Alibateese, National Director Personal Data Protection Office

To support the operationalization of this Data Protection Act 2019 and the operations of the Data Protection Office, the United Nations Capital Development Fund is collaborating with NITA-U to develop a platform that will make it easy and convenient to identify personal data breaches and misuse of data. The data protection portal will provide a quick, convenient and easy access channel to report issues related to data protection and seek redress. The service will include SMS/USSD functionality for access and usage by ordinary citizens.

The incredible power of digitalization in improving people’s lives and livelihoods, creating quality jobs, and fostering greater inclusion is undisputable. However, digital economies are not inherently inclusive. Without deliberate digital inclusion strategies, digitalization can exacerbate already existing inequalities, fuel tensions, and alter the course of entire societies.

The UNCDF strategy, ‘Leaving no-one behind in the digital era’, aims to empower millions of people to use services daily that leverage innovation and technology and contribute to the SDGs.

UNCDF focuses on accelerating the development of digital economies at the country level with the government, the private sector, and academia, with specific attention given to developing the right services to reduce the digital divide and empower key customer segments. UNCDF is driving universal access to secure, affordable, and trusted digital systems, a key prerequisite for the growth of a digital economy.  UNCDF recognizes that people’s trust in digital technology will increase their use of the internet and thus contribute to SDG 1 of No Poverty and SDG 8 of Economic Growth. 

Consequently, UNCDF is collaborating with NITA-U to develop a data protection portal to achieve the following objectives

• Offer electronic seamless registration for data collectors, data processors and data controllers
• Give a platform for data subjects to easily file a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Office
• Act as a platform to promote knowledge about personal data protection and privacy best practices, guidelines, and tips
• Provide a central point for reporting, processing and resolving data privacy complaints and breaches in real-time
• Improve accountability for data controllers and processors responsible 
• Improve compliance with the Data Protection and Privacy Act (2019) 
• Provide a one-stop centre for information and guidance related to the Data Protection and Privacy Law
• Promote awareness of data subjects’ rights amongst the citizens

The increased digitalization of services and the need to work remotely presents numerous challenges for organizations and consequently the need to be more vigilant towards personal data protection. These include data theft, data extortion, data alteration, and destruction among other threats. Most of this data will include large volumes of personal data because most services require valid identification and therefore must collect one’s particulars before they can provide the appropriate service. Before and after they collect that personal data, it is incumbent upon the organizations to comply with the Data Protection and Privacy Act 2019 and other relevant laws.

In conclusion, I would like to pose a question. Are you scared of handing over your personal data to companies offering you services? Do you know your rights as a data subject? Let us know via Twitter @Dignited.

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