SweepSouth Secures $11 Million In Funding

Brand Spur
-
0
SweepSouth Secures $11 Million In Funding

SweepSouth, an online home services platform with presence across Africa, today announced that it has completed an US$11m investment round led by Alitheia IDF (AIF), Africa’s first and largest gender-lens private equity fund.

The size of the round, which is SweepSouth’s largest to date, is a result of strong growth in the company’s valuation and social impact since the previous funding round. Current investors Naspers Foundry, The Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, and Futuregrowth Asset Management all committed to participate in this new round, as did new investors Endeavor Catalyst, Endeavor’s Harvest Fund II, Caruso Ventures, and E4E Africa.

 

Co-founded in 2014 by Aisha Pandor and Alen Ribic, SweepSouth has a presence in Africa’s four key tech markets: South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt. This latest round of funding will allow the company to further develop and grow its infrastructure and team in South Africa, rollout new services in existing markets, and pursue both greenfield expansions and acquisitions across the African continent and beyond.

“This new funding round is an important one for our team as we continue to scale in South Africa, and further grow our operations in Kenya, Nigeria, and Egypt,” says Aisha Pandor, co-founder of SweepSouth. “We’re excited to continue SweepSouth’s work in connecting customers with home service providers across the continent, building a platform that empowers domestic workers and local tradespeople. We are particularly proud to have raised funding from Alitheia IDF, a female-led fund, and to have included more women investors on the cap table via a female-focused SPV during this round. We are excited about what this means for us going forward and thrilled to have Polo Leteka from Alitheia IDF join the board.”

 

Alitheia IDF (AIF), Africa’s first women-focused and women-led private equity fund, is a US$100 million gender-lens fund co-founded and managed by two women-led firms – Alitheia Capital (Lagos, Nigeria) and IDF Capital (Johannesburg, South Africa). The fund, which announced its final close in 2021 to become the largest gender-lens private equity fund in Africa, identifies, invests in, and grows SMEs led by gender-diverse teams in six African countries: Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.

 

“We are proud to support SweepSouth’s growth as it expands its platform that substantially improves the financial and social outcomes for domestic workers across Africa, most of which are women. In the domestic services industry, which is notoriously informal and exploitative, SweepSouth’s model solves autonomy, security, and increasing income for its service providers, and affordability and flexibility for its end users. AIF’s investment will enable the development of infrastructure and operations that will deliver growth for stakeholders – particularly domestic workers and local tradespeople at the base of the economic pyramid,” says Polo Leteka, Principal Partner, Alitheia IDF Fund.

 

In addition to its expansion efforts, SweepSouth will scale its current efforts to improve the economic and legal rights of domestic workers through efforts such as the SweepSouth Report on Pay and Working Conditions for Domestic Workers Across Africa – a report that highlights the struggles of domestic workers in Africa and encourages more action from governments and stakeholders.

 

Alen Ribic, co-founder of SweepSouth, adds: “We’re excited about bringing new shareholders on board in our mission to build technology that aids in providing meaningful connections – giving customers access to safe, convenient services, and home service providers access to decent work opportunities under dignified conditions.”

How Standard Of Living In Africa Is Making Start-Ups Innovate Around Disposable Income

Brand Spur
-
0
How Standard Of Living In Africa Is Making Start-Ups Innovate Around Disposable Income

An organization in its early phase of existence is referred to as a start-up. Entrepreneurs that desire to create a product or service think there is a market for launching start-ups.

 

Because start-ups often have high startup costs and low revenue, founders frequently look for money from a variety of internal and external sources, including personal savings, loans from family and friends, business venture capitalists, and crowdsourcing. There are start-ups in different industries like Information Technology, agriculture, communication, health and other sectors.

 

Start-ups and Innovation

Establishing a start-up takes careful planning, including consideration of factors like business location, cost of goods or services, product packaging, and supply efficiency. Start-ups frequently run the risk of failing because of unfavorable environmental and industry conditions. Embracing new opportunities and focusing on innovation, among other methods, are accelerators for a business’ survival and growth. Although, it is true that established businesses also frequently collapse. Technology has advanced throughout time, and many start-ups are combining the cutting-edge idea of tech into their respective fields. For example, tech is now being used to improve education as in edtech, finance as in fintech, and more use cases are being introduced to daily activities. Statistics show that start-ups are expanding most quickly globally in the technology sector. Over the past few decades, Africa has seen an exceptional number of start-up generations.

 

 

 

The State of Start-ups in Africa

The phrase “start-up” became more common in the 1990s as the number of enterprises centered on technology and the internet rapidly increased.

According to an analysis, African start-up marketplaces hit historic heights in 2021 at over $4 billion, which represents a nearly 20x rise since 2015. Start-ups have been increasingly popular in Africa as a consequence of a variety of factors, including drawing on previous success stories from the west, attempting to address grassroot challenges, adapting global content to local quirks, and adhering to supportive policies. Both in terms of current economic events and cultural developments, there are numerous different facts at play here.

 

In terms of living standards, the rate of extreme poverty in rural areas in Africa was close to 50%, which was far higher than the rate in urban areas, which was about 11%. According to the conference board’s Global Economic Outlook, the pace of global GDP growth will reach a recessionary level in 2023 after starting to decline from 3.1% in 2018 to 2.7% in 2022.

 

Africa has clearly also been impacted by the global economic downturn, which has resulted in a sharp decline in living standards, lower-quality goods, higher costs, and inflation. When prices increase generally yet fewer goods are available for the same amount of money in an economy, this is called inflation.

 

When there is inflation, sources and forms of incomes are affected from passive income to investment income to disposable income. Our focus here is the disposable income which is the money left to take home after tax and other deductions. Most households depend on disposable income for survival and the trending inflation gradually steals from this income of an individual in form increased grocery prices, cost of feeding. This has led to the term “sachetization”.

 

This approach is used by startup business owners to satisfy declining demand and maintain operations. Sachetization is the idea of distributing products, which are typically sold in greater amounts, in smaller quantities using sachets in an effort to increase sales. Sachetization helps consumers purchase what they can afford. When only a small amount is required, consumers do not need to buy big quantities of the commodity. So far, this has appeared to be sustainable, with the exception of its drawbacks, where it has been observed that sacheted items are of low quality, contain fewer items than is indicated, and even defraud the consumer into purchasing smaller packages when, in reality, a larger package would have been more appropriate.

 

Reduced disposable income has also affected start-ups in maintaining production costs, purchasing raw materials, increased interest rates on loans, market instability and declined demand.

 

Therefore, to get through the process of inflation individuals, households and businesses seek sustainable measures to meet their needs. A few include:

  • Cost efficient purchases
  • Budgeting
  • Opportunity cost methods
  • Valuable investments etc.

BingX Launched a New Bug Bounty Program on Hackenproof

Media Outreach
-
0
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach – 29 September 2022 – BingX, the leading crypto social trading exchange, introduced a new bug bounty program on Hackenproof.

BTC USDT, , and to more than 100 countries worldwide with over 5 million users. BingX connects users with expert traders and the platform in a safe, simple, and transparent way.

Official :

Financial Phishing Cyberattacks Significantly Increase In Kenya And Nigeria In Q2 Of 2022

Brand Spur
-
0
Financial Phishing Cyberattacks Significantly Increase In Kenya And Nigeria In Q2 Of 2022

According to Kaspersky’s Financial Cyberthreats report , attacks in the financial sector are becoming increasingly corporate-oriented and shifting away from consumers.

Kaspersky  Security Network data shows that the number of financial phishing attempts in the African regions increased significantly from Q1 to Q2 of 2022. Banks, payment systems, and e-commerce websites were attacked.

Financial phishing is a deceptive way of stealing information and is gaining momentum in the region. Phishing is a type of online fraud where the scammer sends fake alerts from banks, e-pay systems and other organisations to trick consumers into sharing their financial details. The alerts sent by the scammer can be related to loss of data, update credentials or system breakdown, which results in theft of passwords, credit card numbers, bank account details and other confidential information.

According to the Kaspersky telemetry, in Q2 of 2022 a total of 100,192 financial phishing attacks aimed at organisations were detected in Kenya, a 201% increase compared to Q1. The largest share of attacks was directed at e-commerce websites (58%), with banks (21%) and payment systems (also 21%) following. For the same period in Nigeria a total of 61,344 financial phishing attacks aimed at organisations were detected, an increase of 79% compared to Q1. The largest share of attacks was directed at e-commerce websites (52%), with payment systems (42%) and banks (6%) following.

“A life without Internet is strange to us. So much so that our financial life is now digital. This is the magic of digitisation. But we also need to be aware of an unprecedented wave of challenges. Financial threats are one such challenge which is becoming more advanced in exploiting human behaviour and will only continue to grow. Businesses trying to stay ahead of such evolving, complex cyberattacks should make fraud prevention a focal point to control fraud transactions, eventually reduce fraud risk in the future and avoid reputation damage” said Emad Haffar, Head of Technical Experts at Kaspersky.

To help businesses stay ahead of financial threats and phishing attacks, Kaspersky recommends the following:

  • Educate employees as they are considered the first line of cyber defence. Make it a continuous learning experience and teach them about the red flags they need to keep an eye out for.
  • Similarly, extend the dos and don’ts of cybersecurity to your customers so that they protect themselves against falling victim to Phishing fraud.
  • Use the Kaspersky Fraud Prevention solution, which proactively analyses and detects whether a customer’s device is infected with malware in real-time.
  • Organisations should rely on Kaspersky Threat Intelligence to increase visibility and feed its security operations with advanced insights.

TRON Founder Justin Sun Attends Milken Institute Asia Summit, Presenting TRON’s Vision on Inclusive Finance

Media Outreach
-
0
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Media OutReach – 29 September 2022 – On September 29, TRON founder Justin Sun attended the 2022 Milken Institute Asia Summit, where he had an in-depth conversation with Curtis S. Chin, Chair of the Asia Center, about issues including crypto technologies and the digital economy. This dialogue was also live-streamed globally on the official platform.

E-commerce App Marketers Spent $6.1 Billion On User Acquisition Worldwide According To New AppsFlyer Report

Brand Spur
-
0
E-commerce App Marketers Spent $6.1 Billion On User Acquisition Worldwide According To New AppsFlyer Report

 AppsFlyer, the global marketing measurement leader, has released the 2022 edition of its State of eCommerce App Marketing report. Within the report, AppsFlyer outlines key global trends,guiding marketers in building a mobile-first experience that will drive engagement and sales for the upcoming holiday season.

 

Following the past few years of significant e-commerce growth resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, e-commerce in general and app marketing, in particular, have entered into a natural slowdown. In 2022, e-commerce is no longer attracting the same volume of new users, and rising prices are starting to take their toll on marketing budgets and planning. Heading into the holiday season marked by an economic downturn, supply disruptions, and continuing privacy changes and data restrictions, efficiency should be at the forefront of marketers’ minds.

On the continent, there was a general increase of 54% in e-commerce apps between January 2021 and July 2022. Unsurprisingly, the peak time for in-app purchases fell naturally during the Q4 holiday season, particularly in November.

Regarding organic vs non-organic installs, shopping apps slowly saw their share of non-organic installs fall on Android in South Africa, perhaps a sign that marketers are spending less. In January 2021, non-organic installs made up two-thirds of an app’s total installs. Approximately a year and a half later, in July 2022, this fell to 57%.

In Nigeria, however, the opposite trend was recorded, with non-organic installs making up the vast majority of an app’s total installs – likely to do with lower cost-per-install (CPI), which has increased over time. In January 2021, non-organic installs made up 64% of an app’s total installs, whereas in July 2022, this was 79%.

Commenting on the release of the report Shani Rosenfelder, Director of Market Insights at AppsFlyer, shared. “The likelihood of a downward trend for e-commerce apps is not the end for marketers, as November is annually the best month for installs and sales across most markets with the likes of Black Friday. This year, especially, consumers might still have an appetite for spending in the holiday season thanks to the addition of the World Cup. For this reason, apps should focus on remarketing to retain the users they did pick up over the past few years and publishers need to make the most of their owned media channels.”

Additional Key Insights from the report globally and for the continent include:

  • E-commerce app marketers spent $6.1 Billion on user acquisition. Still, global ad spending nosedived over – 50% Year-over-Year (YoY) due to rising iOS media cost, post-Covid relative return to normalcy, and other macroeconomic conditions. Globally, app installs ad spending among e-commerce apps took a significant hit due to rising and volatile CPI, with a 55% YoY drop in Android in January, and a similarly steep 53% dive for iOS.

  • Globally, thirty-day retention on Android declined 13% as mobile users continued to explore new apps and services. Meanwhile, iOS dropped 5% while reporting better overall retention than Android users, keeping with historical trends.

  • Regarding app overall installs on the continent  – South Africa saw total e-commerce installs on Android grow 16% from H1 2021 to H1 2022. On iOS, they grew 12%.

  • In Nigeria, total e-commerce installs on Android dropped 28% from H1 2021 to H1 2022. On iOS, they dropped 18%.

  • In Kenya, total e-commerce installs on Android dropped 15% from H1 2021 to H1 2022.

Hebe Beauty Cosmetics Inc. launches a new high-end makeup brand Dazzle Me Cosmetics.

Media Outreach
-
0
MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach – 29 September 2022 – Recently, Hebe Beauty Cosmetics Inc., an Indonesian beauty group, launched a brand new high-end makeup brand Dazzle Me for the Southeast Asian market. Dazzle Me offers the boldest and trendiest cosmetic products—and they are especially affordable to teens, students and/or women looking for their first step into the glamorous make-up industry. With an international presence and customer satisfaction as the main priority, Dazzle Me Cosmetics has been rated over 4.9 on Shopee.

One of the best sellers, the Dazzle Me Ink-Licious Lip Tint comes with a special water-based formula that is light and highly pigmented. Lip tint has been a popular makeup item for three reasons. It’s possible to wear it to almost any occasion, and it doesn’t require a lot of skill to use. And since everyone wants a little dazzle, not everyone knows how to get it. And while there are definitely products that make lips look better, some of them can be pretty expensive, but Dazzle Me created a lip tint that’s easy to use and doesn’t break the bank. Comes in 4 color variants, namely Oran-gee (fresh orange vibe), Swipe Up (sweet in pink), Touch Down (gorgeous in red), Smiley (rosy pink shade) that are naturally bright and pigmented. It is also formulated with Hyaluronic Acid to continuously hydrate and nourish lips, giving it a smooth and soft texture with a sweet pomegranate scent. They’re easy to apply and last up to 12 hours which means even if customers don’t have any time to reapply it during their activities, the color and smooth lips will stay with customers throughout the day. The perfect companion for students and teens with extra-curricular activities for back to school.

Dazzle Me Ink-Licious Lip Tint in the shade Touch Down is perfect for those who are looking for something bold but fun. This rosy tint will make customers’ lips look natural and beautiful, with a hint of color on them. No need to worry about the application of this product, just put it on it and blend it perfectly with the easy-apply applicator to get the desired result. Customers can use this as their daily tint or go for a night out on the town with just this shade in tow.

Dazzle Me is definitely a brand to watch, as it stands for all the good things about the cosmetics industry. They seek to provide young women with a wide range of cosmetics products that will suit their needs, whether they are looking for an everyday lip tint or bold colors that they can only wear during special occasions.

Check out more of the Dazzle Me products on Shopee (https://shopee.ph/dazzlemeofficial.ph) , Lazada (https://www.lazada.com.ph/shop/dazzle-me) and Tiktok Shop (https://www.tiktok.com/@dazzleme.beauty.ph).

For updates on everything Dazzle Me, please follow it on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dazzleme.ph/), Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/dazzleme_ph/) and Tiktok (https://www.tiktok.com/@dazzleme.beauty.ph).

Hashtag: #HebeBeauty

Six Of The Coolest Things Google Announced During Search On

Brand Spur
-
0
Six Of The Coolest Things Google Announced During Search On

Search On, Google’s annual event held to announce new features and developments in Search, took place yesterday, revealing how machine learning advancements are helping people to gather and explore information in new ways.

 

Here’s a closer look at some of the announcements:

 

  1. Multisearch is expanding:

Each month, people use Lens to answer more than 8 billion questions, using their camera or an image, and earlier this year, Google introduced multisearch—a major milestone in how people search for information. With multisearch, you can take a picture or use a screenshot and then add text to it — similar to the way you might naturally point at something and ask a question about it. Multisearch is available in English globally, and will now be rolling out in 70 languages in the next few months.

 

2. Multisearch near me

 

“Multisearch near me”which was previewed during Google I/O earlier this year supercharges multisearch capability, allowing you to take a screenshot or a photo of an item, and then find it nearby. So if you have a hankering for your favorite local dish, all you need to do is screenshot it, and Google will connect you with nearby restaurants serving it. Multisearch near me will start rolling out in the U.S.A later this year.

 

3. Translation in the blink of an eye

One of the most powerful aspects of visual understanding is its ability to break down language barriers. With Lens, Google has gone beyond translating text to translating pictures- with Google translating text in images over 1 billion times per month, in more than 100 languages.

 

With major advancements in machine learning, Google is now able to blend translated text into complex images, so it looks and feels much more natural. For example, if you point your phone at text on a poster, the translated text will be realistically overlaid over the pictures underneath. Google has also optimized their machine learning models to do all this in just 100 milliseconds — shorter than the blink of an eye. This uses generative adversarial networks (also known as GAN models), which is what helps power the technology behind the Magic Eraser on Pixel. Google has announced that the improved experience is launching later this year.

 

4. Google for iOS updates

Google is putting some of its most helpful tools right at your fingertips on iOS. From now on, you’ll see shortcuts right under the search bar to shop your screenshots, translate text with your camera, hum to search and more.

 

5. Even faster ways to find what you’re looking for

Google is working to make it possible to ask questions with fewer words- or even none at all- and still help you find what you are looking for. In the coming months, when you begin to type a question, Google will start providing relevant content right away, before you’ve even finished typing. And for those who don’t know exactly what they’re looking for until they see it, Google will help you to specify your question. So if you’re looking for a holiday destination in Kenya, Google will provide keyword or topic options like “best cities in Kenya for families” so you can find results that are most relevant to you.

 

6. New ways to explore information

Google is reinventing the way it displays Search results to better reflect the ways people explore topics. So you’ll start to see the most relevant content, from a variety of sources, no matter what format the information comes in — whether that’s text, images or video- including content from creators on the open web. So if you’re searching for topics like cities, you may see visual stories and short videos from people who have visited, tips on how to explore the city, things to do, how to get there and other important aspects you might want to know before you embark on your travels. These new updates will be rolled out in the coming months.

 

To read more about Google’s Search On announcements, visit https://searchon.withgoogle.com/

Celebrating Heritage, Tourism And Public Servants In Public Sector Leaders

Brand Spur
-
0
Celebrating Heritage, Tourism And Public Servants In Public Sector Leaders

Celebrating Heritage, Tourism and Public Service month, the September 2022 Edition of Public Sector Leaders, the magazine for South Africa’s decision makers in government, showcases a number of articles that illustrate the nation’s rich cultural and natural heritage.

With tourism on the rise once again, the publication analyses the industry by identifying top tourist destinations, but also shines a light on the phenomenal work conducted by four female SAPS officers, who dedicate their lives to keeping our nation safe.

This edition features the CEO of Numolux Group, Hilton Klein, as well as Professor Pamela Naidoo, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation, as this month’s Trailblazer. Women in Leadership features Deputy Public Services Minister, Dr Chana Pilane-Majake.

With the regional focus being the Western Cape, you can get up-to-date on exciting developments across this province. The National Energy Plan feature addresses one of the issues uppermost in our collective minds as we head into another round of load-shedding.

 

Other features include:

 

  • Probation: the responsibilities of companies and employees
  • Plastic recycling: Cleaning up is on the up

 

Whether you are in the public sector, the private sector, supply chain or an interested individual, PSL has something for everyone. To download the September edition, click here.

Progress Of Delta Plus Diagnostics: How It Started, How It Is Going

Brand Spur
-
0
Progress Of Delta Plus Diagnostics: How It Started, How It Is Going

Following the breakout of Covid-19, ND Western Limited, an indigenous oil and gas company and its partners built a medical diagnostic facility in Ogunu, Warri, Delta State named Delta Plus Diagnostics.

The facility is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of the Independent Petroleum Producers Group, ND Western, and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.

The ND Western/NPDC/IPPG Laboratory is a well-equipped institution created to offer hospitals, health management organizations, and individuals in Delta and its neighboring states the most practical, friendliest COVID-19 and blood testing services. COVID 19 test, tumor markers, cancer screening, tests, HIV test, HBV test, HPV test, STD panel, respiratory panel, hepatitis b test, tuberculosis test, gene expression, miRNA profiling, protein therma shift, high-resolution melt, HRM, SNP genotype, DNA test, oncology, liver and kidney function test, fertility testing, and many other services will be offered at the laboratory.

With this initiative, Delta Plus diagnostics has been able to impact the lives of indigenes of Delta State and its environs by providing them with reliable testing processes and other critical medical diagnostic services to the medical community, corporations, HMOs.

Delta Plus Diagnostics conducted a 2-day free medical outreach, which was aimed at giving back to the community by providing free medical service and exposing the laboratory to the public domain. Also, they offered free tests in Annunciation Catholic church Ogunu community, the services offered were, hepatitis B Surface Antigen test and Random Blood Sugar test.

Delta Plus Diagnostics understands the dynamics of improving the health sector in Nigeria by being a role player to the development of the sector. To contribute to the growth, they engaged in a health sensitization program during the 2-day medical outreach on Hepatitis B. They presented a health talk on Cholesterol, blood sugar, hepatitis B, and Prostrate Cancer during the Rotary club fellowship. These talks were aimed at maintaining and improving community health and enhancing individual decisions when it comes to health matters.

A continuous trend as above would see Delta Plus Diagnostics towards the improvement of lives in Delta State and the Nigerian health sector at large.

1...2,2262,2272,228...5,527Page 2,227 of 5,527