Newsletter

BD Insider, Letter 88: Tech PR, Bitmama Credit Programme, Tech in Northern Nigeria

Letter 88 covers the emerging tech ecosystem in Northern Nigeria, Bitmama Credits Programme, the importance of tech PR amongst other issues.

This is a blog copy of the 88th version of our weekly newsletter, BD Insider. Subscribers get to read it first and can take action based it.

You can subscribe to be a BD Insider here.

Hey,

If you were the founder and CEO of a tech startup and you have only two dollars left, how would you spend it? The co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates said he’ll spend one dollar on public relations (PR).

The importance of PR, or tech PR in the case of startups, can’t be overemphasized. With good PR, tech companies can build their reputation, which in turn leads to increased revenue. Learn more on how startups can build their reputation with tech PR.

In Letter 88, we are covering:

What’s happening inside the emerging tech ecosystem in Northern Nigeria
Bitmama’s plan to enable young people to transition into the blockchain industry
How an Iranian hacking group, called Lyceum, is targeting telecoms in Africa

As always, we also share job opportunities, fundraise and other things we found interesting within the last week. Let’s go inside!

Inside the emerging tech ecosystem in northern Nigeria

Oftentimes when you see Northern Nigeria in the media, it’s rarely about tech. Most of the news comes with gory images from Boko Haram’s attack in the North-East; bandits kidnapping travellers in the North West or farmers-herders clashes in the North Central.

So I put on my solution journalism glasses and explored the efforts of stakeholders in the northern Nigeria tech ecosystem to change this narrative. And indeed, they are building communities and training across the region.

Read all the juicy details about the tech ecosystem in northern Nigeria here.

Bitmama wants to enable young people to transition into the blockchain industry

Bitmama, a female-led blockchain technology startup in Nigeria, has launched Bitmama Credit Programme (BCP) to provide digital natives with blockchain learning materials, internships, community, and venture support.

BCP will commence next year with a learning curriculum covering cryptocurrencies, decentralised finance, NFTs, DAOs, and web 3.0. It’ll have beginners, intermediate, and advanced tracks.

Iranian hacking group is targeting telecoms in Africa — NCC

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reported that Lyceum, an Iranian hacking group is targeting telecommunications companies, internet service providers and Ministries of Foreign Affairs in Africa “with an upgraded malware in recent politically motivated attacks oriented in cyberespionage”.

The Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT) said the probability and damage level of the new malware is high. But here’s how to stay safe from these hackers.

🗓️ Events

Here are some events coming up:

November 24th: Register to attend the inaugural Women in Tech Global — Nigeria Chapter Launch.
November 25th: Register to attend Lagos Digital Summit
November 26th: Register and learn how to apply to YCombinator
December 9th: Technext Coinference on cryptocurrency in Africa
Applications are now open for Google for Startups Accelerator: Africa

💰 Fundraising

Find some of the recent startup fundraises across Africa that you should be aware of here:

South African fintech startup Ozow raised $48m in a Series B funding round
Shuttlers secured a $1.6 million seed investment for pan-African expansion
DrugStoc closed a $4.4 million Series A to fund expansion plan across Africa
Aboki Africa closed an undisclosed pre-seed round led by Mono's CEO Abdul Hassan
Kippa raised a $3.2 million pre-seed fund to solve the accounting and book-keeping challenges of small businesses across Africa.

Tip: If you're looking to improve your take-home (salary) by moving jobs, companies that have just raised are a great place to apply. Companies almost always hire after a significant raise.

🧐 Interesting? Yes!

Here are some of the most exciting stories we've written and read over the last seven days:

What can tech companies learn from Korty’s marketing approach? A lot!
Jobberman is closing the skills gap in agri-tech. Really? How?
20 African companies are among the 2021 Inclusive Fintech 50. Check them out.
“Amazon failed to protect customer personal data” How?
Lagos is among emerging hotspots for female fintech founders in Africa. Really?
Benjamin Dada talks about Stitch's plans for Nigeria and the evolving tech ecosystem in Africa