Category: 3-SometimeTechTalk

Everyone loves a good love story. Especially when things go according to plan: start-up founder meets venture capitalist with deep pockets, tons of real-world experience, great contacts and, of course, a tried and tested system for navigating to success. For most African tech startups who have been financed by one of Africa's leading venture capital funds, this idyllic scenario couldn't be further from reality. Exclusive to the African Tech Round-up, Hong Kong’s only private, full service startup accelerator, Nest, has told us the news of their plans to ride into Africa's startup funding scene like a knight in shining armour to "make an impact" by sweeping pretty damsels (aka promising startups) off their feet. Their first stop will be setting up offices in Nairobi, Kenya. Listen in to hear Nest's Africa Managing Partner, Aaron Fu, tell us what he and his team plan to offer investable prospects on the continent by way of finance, expertise and other key elements of startup support. Also in this week's show-- all the week's digital, tech and innovation news from across Africa: --A quick update on the official launch of Facebook Africa's office in Johannesburg, -- Details on the far-reaching consequences of the embarrassing security breach at controversial spyware company Hacking Team, -- Worrying news on internet security laws being proposed by the Kenyan government, -- The low-low on a multi-million dollar locomotive scandal in South Africa, and -- The latest on bitcoin platform BitX's foray into the Nigerian market. Music Credits: All Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

As concerns continue to be raised over the potetial threat to internet neutrality posed by Facebook's aggressive roll-out of its Internet.org platform, South African telecoms operator, Telkom is proving that the public's growing distrust of big tech firms is not unfounded. Large tech firms seem only too happy to test limits of what is ethically acceptable in terms of violating personal privacy, while capitalising on the lack of consensus around what constitutes internet neutrality. Little fuss has so far been made over Telkom's recent employment of tactics that would generally be associated with illicit hacking syndicates, following the telecoms giant being caught adding JavaScript to web pages of its ISP clients via a "man-in-the-middle attack". In this week's discussion, Tefo Mohapi and I discuss this unsettling development. Given how we cannot seem to trust big tech interests to behave ethically by defending our right to privacy and security, is internet regulation the answer? Could Telkom's recent behaviour be used to validate the need for the adoption of a regulatory framework like that proposed by South Africa's Film and Publication Board some months back-- the potential unconstitutionality of which was debated in Episode 8: Is This The Worst Censorship Law Ever? Catch the biggest digital, tech and innovation news from across Africa: --Find out which Ugandan serial entrepreneur has being appointed to replace Dell's Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Elizabeth Gore as the Chair of the UN Foundation's Global Entrepreneurs Council, --Discover when Facebook will launch its shiny new Africa office and which big South African ad agency executive has been head-hunted to lead its come September 2015, and --Learn how South African mobile subscribers will soon be able to buy airtime and data using Bitcoin. Music Credits: All Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

The race is still on to discover the formula for successfully distributing digital content in Africa. In a recent blogpost, Jason Njoku, the outspoken founder of iRokoTV, announced that his company would soon retire the desktop version of their platform (for African users) to concentrate on building a mobile application that he says will better service the African consumer. The article is basically an eloquent admission that iRokoTV's efforts to "win Lagos" and then conquer the rest of Africa have so far failed. In this week's African Tech Round-up, iAfrikan Executive Editor, Tefo Mohapi and I discuss the challenges that home-grown content streaming platforms like iRokoTV, Wabona, Tuluntulu and others may be facing in their attempts to profitably deliver digital entertainment content to African consumers. While YouTube's growing success in Africa is proof that consumers have an appetite for content streaming, it seems that African platforms are yet to crack the code for how to best to get in on the action. As usual, be sure to catch up on all the week's biggest tech, digital and innovation news from across Africa: --Find out more about a cutting-edge medical innovation that has led to the city of St Louis, Missouri awarding their highest honour to a Nigerian-born scientist, --Get details on how Facebook plans to roll out its Internet.org platform in South Africa in partnership with mobile network operator, Cell C, --Learn why Nigerian e-commerce platform, Konga's acquisition of mobile banking and payment provider, Zinternet is such a smart move, and --Discover what we found odd about Twitter's recent talent call for young Africans. Music Credits: All Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Nigeria's "company that builds companies", Spark, announced last week its plans to drop some startups it invested in. This announcement comes just a week after 88mph's notice that it will be "taking a break" from investing in African startups. While it is not uncommon for investment funds to pause on-boarding when funds available for employment are temporarily exhausted, it seems odd that 88mph would go out of its way to alert the public to something that would occur in the normal course of business. Similarly, given how startup failure is not uncommon - with some investment funds said to be aiming to achieve a success rate of approximately one in ten, why would Spark ceremoniously trot these "dead businesses" out in this manner? In this week's discussion, iAfrikan Executive Editor, Tefo Mohapi and I ask whether the current approach to tech venture capitalism in Africa is flawed. Perhaps investors are beginning to realise that successfully investing in African startups is in fact a science that involves a lot more than throwing money at promising prospects. Here's to hoping the investment notices by 88mph and Spark are not precursory tremors to a major shaking in Africa's tech investment scene. Be sure to stay up to date with all the week's biggest news from across the continent: -- Find out what major global deadline both Uganda and South Africa have missed, -- Discover how a landmark court ruling has seen South African billionaire Mark Shuttleworth lose $20 million, -- Get details on how an ambitious cable car project in Kenya which promises to alleviate Nairobi's traffic congestion, and -- Learn more about a 3D-printed prosthetic hand which promises to put South Africa on the map in terms of medical innovation. Music Credits: All Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Uber's Roman-style campaign to achieve utter and complete worldwide domination has encountered a teeny tiny setback in Kenya. Much to the surprise of many, the company is yet to enjoy the runaway success it has become accustomed to. In last week's episode of the African Tech Round-up we reported on Uber's plans to run a limited experiment to allow its Kenyan customers to pay for trips using cash and M-Pesa. This followed claims made by the company that the slow adoption of their service in Kenya was due to the fact that many Kenyans are unbanked and do not possess credit and debit cards. In this week's show, Andile Masuku and guest co-host Vouchercloud South Africa Managing Director Lyndon Munetsi discuss the challenges that Uber might be facing in rolling out its hugely successful business model in Kenya-- especially given the company's well-documented zero-quibbles approach to taking on new territories. In the meantime, it remains to be seen whether their latest attempts to woo Kenyan users will prove to be effective. Also, be sure to stay up to date with all the week's biggest news from across the African continent: -- Find out why African seed fund and accelerator 88mph is taking a break from investing in African startups, -- Get details on how tech education innovators Andela and WeThinkCode_ are poised to disrupt tech talent development on the continent, -- Learn why Ad Dynamo is giving up its reputable contextual ad network business to concentrate on servicing Twitter, -- Get the low-low on the launch of a new Kenyan laptop brand called Taifa, and -- Discover which major African capital city is set to get free movies and calls via WiFi. Music Credits: All Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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