This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today
1. Nigerian SME fintech, Payhippo, acquires Maritime Microfinance Bank
Nigerian credit-led SME fintech, Payhippo, has acquired Maritime Microfinance Bank (MFB), subject to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s approval.
Adetola Atekoja, Chairman of MFB, confirmed the acquisition in a press release on Tuesday.
MFB, which is a financial institution, specializes in saving products, demand deposits, and investments as well as micro and SME loans.
MFB was founded in 2014, and is expected to provide its team of experienced professionals to Payhippo.
Atekoja while stating his excitement over the acquisition said:
“We believe Payhippo is well-positioned to develop new and customized financial products for SMEs in the country.
“The team is incredibly talented, resilient, and exudes excellent leadership.”
Tech Trivia: Which is the component that keeps the CPU from overheating?
A. Heat mat
B. Heat block
C. Heat pull
D. Heat sink
Answer: see end of post
2. Car subscription and mobility startup, invygo, secures $10 million in Series A
invygo, a car subscription, and mobility startup, has announced securing $10 million in a Series A led by Middle East Venture Partners (MEVP).
Read also:Nigeria’s proptech startup, SmallSmall, secures $3m seed. 2 other stories and a trivia
Eslam Hussein, co-founder, and CEO of invygo announced the funding in a media statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday.
Launched in 2019, the startup’s funding also saw participation from Al Rajhi Partners, Arab Bank and Amana Capital, Palm Drive Capital, and existing global investors Signal Peak Ventures and Knollwood Investment Advisory.
The startup said that it is planning to hire more talent in the next 12-18 months.
Commenting on the funding, Hussein said:
“Since our launch, invygo has achieved leadership in the car subscription category, with 4x average growth annually.
“Today, we are excited to welcome world-class investors on board as we strengthen our leadership position in KSA and the UAE, along with plans for regional expansion.”
3. Volocopter secures additional $182M after initial $170M funding
A German startup building electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, Volocopter, has announced securing an additional $182M on top of the $170 million Volocopter raised for the same round in March at a $1.87 billion post-money valuation.
Helena Treeck, Volocopter’s head of PR, made the announcement in a statement on Tuesday.
The two-seater VoloCity air taxi said that it will use the funding to bring the air taxi closer to certification.
Volocopter fashions itself as an urban air mobility company that develops eco-friendly air taxis to transport people.
The German aerospace company was founded in 2011 by Alexander Zosel and Stephan Wolf.
Commenting on the raiser and intent, Treeck said:
“First commercial operations will be a small number of Volocopters flying on specific routes (maybe one or two) with paying customers.
“From there, the network of routes will continuously grow to offer more and more routes and flights on connections, where we can add value (beyond the fantastic view) to our customers, like time savings and predictability of services.”
Ripples Nigeria gathered that if VoloCity is certified, Volocopter can begin offering rides immediately.
Trivia Answer: Heat Sink
A computer’s CPU may perform millions of calculations every second.
As the processor continues to work at a rapid pace, it begins to generate heat.
If this heat is not kept in check, the processor could overheat and eventually destroy itself.
By Kayode Hamsat
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