An investment has been made to make pharmaceutical products more reliable and safer for people in Nigeria.

The phrase “NEPA took the light” is something that you hear quite often in Nigeria. The acronym stands for the National Electric Power Authority, the former name for the company that keeps the power running in the country. Now, named the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, electricity cutting off sporadically continues to be an ongoing issue. In 2014, Beacon Power Services (BPS) founder and chief executive officer Bimbola Adisa launched his company to help improve electricity access in not only Nigeria but across Africa, TechCrunch reports. A report says that in 2020, 77 percent of Sub-Saharan African countries had no access to electricity, having to turn to alternatives like generators. After eight years invested in providing energy management software and analytics for utilities, BPS has recently raised $2.7 million, according to the outlet. “Africa is home to the fastest growing cities in the world, but when most people think of energy access in Africa, they think of the rural...

Business is always booming for Aliko Dangote — the richest man in Africa. However, his latest project may become his biggest venture yet. According to Business Insider, the Nigerian tycoon recently opened the continent’s largest fertilizer plant on the outskirts of Lagos on March 22. The Dangote Fertiliser Plant comes during the time of the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia — in which the latter country plays a crucial role as a key player in fertilizer supply. According to Trade Data Monitor and Bloomberg’s Green Markets, Russia “accounted for almost one-fifth of 2021 fertilizer exports.” With the current sanctions against Russia causing fertilizer costs to increase, customers are now “begging” for the Dangote Fertiliser Plant to sell crop nutrients, according to Dangote. “We are lucky to have this plant,” Dangote told CNN. “It is coming at the right time with the Ukraine-Russia conflict as both Ukraine and Russia control substantial amounts of agricultural inputs.” The...

It’s official — international superstar Davido has kept his word to support Nigerian youth. In November 2021, the Afrobeats artist took his fans by pleasant surprise when he requested for his followers to send money for his birthday to his Wema account, which turned out to be for donations to orphanages across Nigeria and the Paroche Foundation — an organization working to fight substance abuse — as previously reported by AfroTech. “My goal is to do this fundraising every year to celebrate my birthday and give back to people in need. It is my hope that my friends, fans, colleagues in the industry, and the public will continue to support me as I drive this cause,” he shared in a statement via his Instagram. Davido’s social media outreach of 72 hours — along with his own contribution — brought in a whopping 250,000,000 Nigerian Naira (over $600,000 USD). View this post on Instagram A post shared by Davido (@davido) From there, Pulse Nigeria reports that Davido disbursed the donations...

Lack of accessibility to essentials for everyday living is often the story behind the downfall of systems around the globe. For instance, Nigeria is the home of some of the world’s brightest minds, but significant setbacks include its healthcare system, which impedes its citizens from seeking to live fruitful lives. However, healthcare should be a human right, and this is what pushed DrugStoc co-founders Chibuzo Opara and Adham Yehia to create what is now Africa’s leading health tech platform. Their platform serves as a tech-enabled solution that combats the continent’s broken pharmaceutical supply chains through connecting drug store companies with hospitals and pharmacies in Nigeria. Before launching DrugStoc, Opara and Yehia founded Integra Health, a hospital management company, which paved the way for their discovery of how tech could break barriers within the pharmaceutical market. “It was quite a black box what tech could do,” Yehia told AfroTech. “We came from the health...

This startup is on a fast track to success. Despite only launching two months ago, edtech startup Teesas has secured $1.6 million in a pre-seed round to enhance Nigeria’s education sector through tutoring. TechCrunch reports that the round was led by Haresh Aswani, Tolaram Group’s Africa managing director, and included others like Olivegreen Advisory Partners plus more. The funds will propel the edtech startup into additional markets throughout Francophone, East, and Southern Africa. The investment will also create a marketplace to connect learners to more private lessons with tutors and integrate other products on the platform.

The E-Naira has arrived, and less than a month after its arrival, it has created a revolution in Nigeria. According to Bloomberg, the Central Bank of Nigeria reports an “excellent” adoption rate for this digital currency. “More than 488,000 people have downloaded the consumer wallet that’s needed to transact E-Naira while about 78,000 merchants from more than 160 countries have enrolled,” said Osita Nwanisobi, a representative for the Central Bank of Nigeria, to the outlet. Furthermore, according to Nwanisobi, 62 million naira ($150,000) of the virtual currency have been traded since it was introduced. While Nigeria has been quick to adopt the cryptocurrency, it’s not the only African country to do so. Nigeria has the E-Naira, but Ghana has the E-Cedi. As AfroTech previously reported, the e-cedi is the first digital currency of its kind in Africa. According to Dr. Ernest Addison, the governor of the country’s central bank, the new proposed digital currency will go into effect after...