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Akon is a strong believer in the future of Africa. Back in 2020, the musician and businessman first announced that he was spearheading a $6 billion project — Akon City — as previously shared by AFROTECH. Akon City was incepted to be a safe space for Black Americans and others facing racial injustices. The futuristic pan-African city is reportedly being built in Senegal, where Akon was raised.
Softbank is betting big on Africa for the first time ever with a hefty investment in Nigerian fintech startup Opay. Bloomberg reports that the financial giant’s SoftBank Vision Fund 2 led a $400 million funding round for the fintech company, now bringing its value to $2 billion. Others that participated in the round include Sequoia Capital China, Redpoint China, Source Code Capital, Softbank Ventures Asia, DragonBall Capital and 3W Capital. Opay — a one-stop payment platform for consumers’ everyday needs founded in 2018 — previously raised two funding rounds back in 2019 with a $50 million Series A and $120 million Series B, TechCrunch shares. According to an emailed statement from OPay Chief Executive Officer Yahui Zhou, the hope is that the new funding will help the company “be the power that helps emerging markets reach a faster economic development.” “We believe our investment will help the company extend its offering to adjacent markets,” said Kentaro Matsui — a SoftBank Group...