Category: Technology

Catalytic Africa: African startups can now rely on a new investment tool. Catalytic Africa, developed in collaboration with African Business Angels Network (ABAN) and AFriLabs, was designed to strengthen African startups, innovation hubs, and angel investors by connecting startups with powerful funders. Catalytic Africa co-invests with “angel investors” to provide extra funding to innovative startups. Angel investors are people and groups who provide early capital for a business or startup in exchange for ownership equity. This funding usually takes place in the startup’s initial stages, when it is harder for them to secure funding from banks and other traditional sources of revenue. Catalytic Africa works by teaming with angel investors to provide matching funds to startups in the form of a grant. “If the business angel invests an amount less or equal to €10,000, then the matching fund will double the amount of funding the startup receives from the angel investors. If the business angel invests more than €10,000, then the matching fund will triple the amount of funding the startup receives from the angel investors.” Project leaders at AFriLabs hope that this program will provide much-needed funding for African tech companies.  

For more information on AFriLabs and Catalytic Africa, please go to https://catalytic-africa.com/. 

Black artists tend to be left out of the mainstream art world, but are getting their art exposed, and sold, through non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. NFTs are becoming part of the digital art world — and Black artists selling NFTs are starting to benefit. On the art global market, just 1.2 percent is artwork, according to September 2018 data.