This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today
1. WhatsApp to tweak interface on Android beta
Popular messaging app, WhatsApp, has announced intent to roll out minor tweaks to its app’s interface on Android beta.
WABetainfo, a platform dedicated to monitoring news development of WhatsApp, made the disclosure on Tuesday.
The new update comes hot on the heels of releasing a business tools tab and a communities tab along with the camera shortcut.
“As a part of the tweaked interface, WhatsApp is also redesigning all buttons in the application: they show up with a rounded style to some beta testers,” WABetainfo claimed.
Ripples Nigeria understands that the meta-owned platform seems working to comply with the recent Material standards for Android regarding the typography and buttons.
Tech Trivia: Which statement about block-based coding is true?
A. It requires knowledge of a low-level programming language.
B. It uses a visual drag-and-drop interface instead of a source code editor.
C. It does not support conditional clauses, such as if-then statements.
D. It was designed for creating mobile apps.
Answer: see end of post
2. Egyptian e-commerce platform, Kenzz, secures $3.5M seed funding
An Egyptian e-commerce platform for the mass market, Kenzz, has announced securing a $3.5M seed funding.
Ahmed Atef, a cofounder at Kenzz, confirmed the raiser in a media release.
Ripples Nigeria gathered a U.S.-based and MENA-focused venture capital firm Outliers Ventures led the round with participation from other investors including HOF Capital, Foundation Ventures, and Samurai Incubate.
Playing in the e-commerce landscape in Egypt, Atef said Kenzz was launched “to deepen e-commerce adoption in Egypt.”
The company was founded this February by Ahmed Atef, Mahmoud Al Silk, and Moataz Sami.
“We’re going after a completely different segment that Amazon and the big platforms are not looking at as they are centralized in big cities and towards the people who are comfortable buying online,” explained Atef.
Atef further explained that the seed round will be used to grow its product categories and increase its workforce.
3. Jane Technologies launches first iOS app to ease cannabis shopping
A US-based cannabis retail-tech company, Jane Technologies, has today launched its first iOS app to ease cannabis shopping.
CEO and founder, Socrates Rosenfeld, disclosed the app launch in a media release on Tuesday.
The California-based tech company claims it provides its consumers with an online experience for shopping and reviews.
“We’ve been a boring company for some time, and we’ve been focused on developing proprietary technology.
“And we have a lot of IP now that can cleanse and locate a single SKU in real-time,” said Rosenfeld.
Launched in 2015, Rosenfeld claimed that the idea is to enable users to browse the inventory of local cannabis dispensaries and make purchases within the app.
Trivia Answer: It uses a visual drag-and-drop interface instead of a source code editor
Block-based coding is a type of programming that uses a visual drag-and-drop interface instead of a source code editor.
By connecting various blocks, novice developers can write programs without knowing a programming language.
By Kayode Hamsat
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