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BD Insider: United Nations' “Billion Dollar” Dream for Africa

In this letter, we explore; South Africa’s struggles with cyber theft, UNDP billion dollar dream for Africa, AMD steps up rivalry with Nvidia.

The Kenyan President is still facing pressure from last month's protests. In response to the ongoing scrutiny over his leadership, he has now taken another decisive action by immediately dismissing all his ministers and the attorney general.

The answer is 7. They are Flutterwave, Interswitch, OPay, Wave, Andela, Chipper Cash and MNT-Halan.

It’s difficult to say who’s still a unicorn or whether we have new unicorns these days.

In this letter, we explore:

South Africa’s struggles with cyber theft
UNDP billion dollar dream for Africa
AMD steps up rivalry with Nvidia.

We also curated updates on startup funding in Africa, weekend reads, and several opportunities.

THE BIG THREE

South Africa struggles with cyber theft surge

Photo Credit: TechTrends Africa

South Africa is struggling with a relentless surge in cyberattacks targeting public and private entities. According to the newly appointed public works minister, Dean Macpherson, cybercriminals have looted R300 million ($16.5 million) from his department in 10 years. The latest attack saw R24 million ($1.3 million) stolen in May 2024.

The latest breach prompted a full investigation involving the Hawks, the South African Police Service, the State Security Agency, and experts in the cybersecurity industry. This investigation has led to the suspension of four officials, with 30 laptops seized.

Zoom In: Several high-profile cyberattacks have plagued South Africa in recent months. On July 8, a cyberattack on Sibanye-Stillwater, a major mining company, disrupted IT operations. Within the same month, customers' accounts at Standard Bank were flagged for fraudulent activities. The National Health Laboratory Service also experienced an attack that compromised patients’ lab results.

Other government agencies affected by this series of attacks include the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the country’s pension agency, and the business registry.

Zoom Out: South Africa is not alone in facing cyber threats. Kenya reported earlier this year that it had detected over a billion cyber threats in the last quarter of 2024. Nigeria also has had at least one local cloud service provider hit with a ransomware attack.

UNDP kickstarts its billion-dollar dream in Africa

Photo source: United Nations

Africa, with the world's fastest-growing and youngest population, is primed to continue experiencing tech developments, and the United Nations is the latest organisation willing to bet on it. Through its development programme, the agency plans to raise $1 billion for the development of tech hubs across different African cities.

On Tuesday, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) took a major step towards fostering Africa's tech ecosystem. At its innovation centre in Lagos, Nigeria, the UNDP launched the first of a planned network of tech hubs (called Project “Timbuktoo”). This is just the beginning—further hubs are slated for Kigali, Cairo, Accra, Cape Town, Nairobi, Casablanca, and Dakar.

The UNDP isn't stopping there. They've also established University Innovation Pods in 13 African cities. These pods will serve as launchpads for young innovators, providing them with the resources to turn their ideas into viable products.

The Lagos hub launch wasn't just about infrastructure. Forty-two promising startups from 31 African countries were selected to participate in the Timbuktoo Fintech Accelerator Program. These startups will receive a significant boost—$25,000 in equity-free funding and mentorship from industry experts and African entrepreneurs.

Context: In January, the United Nations announced its partnership with African countries to launch this initiative, which aims to create 10 million job opportunities and transform 100 million lives on the continent. In 2022, the UNDP partnered with First City Monument Bank to launch an AgroHack challenge to crowdsource innovative solutions to agricultural challenges. These are a few of the many projects by the UN to boost the African economy.

AMD steps up competition with Nvidia

Photo by BoliviaInteligente on Unsplash

In June, Nvidia became the world’s most valuable company. Fast forward a month later, and one of Nvidia’s biggest competitors has announced the acquisition of Silo AI, a Finnish AI startup, for $665 million in cash. This move strengthens AMD's position in the competitive AI chip market, currently dominated by Nvidia.

Context: Nvidia currently holds a significant market share (between 70% and 95%) in the AI chip market. However, established chipmakers like AMD and Intel and startups like Tenstorrent are vying for a larger piece of the pie. AMD's acquisition of Silo AI, a company with over 300 AI experts, is a strategic move to bolster its AI development capabilities.

AMD almost bought Nvidia in 2006. The merger reportedly fell through because Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang wanted to lead the combined company.

Zoom out: The demand for AI chips is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. This acquisition is part of AMD's larger strategy to expand its footprint in the AI landscape and build a comprehensive AI stack to rival Nvidia's. Other tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon are also investing in AI chip development.

💰 Recently Funded Companies

Here’s a roundup of African startups that secured funding last week:

Nala, a Tanzanian fintech startup, has raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Acrew Capital. Contributors included DST Global, Norrsken22, Ryan King, and Vlad Tenev.
BasiGo has secured $ 225k in funding from the Rwanda Green Fund.