South Africa’s Tyme, one of the fastest growing digital banking groups in the world, has raised US$77.8 million as part of its pre-Series C capital raise to further operations in South Africa and the Philippines, as well as for future expansion in Southeast Asia.
Ethiopia’s JEMLA is a B2B e-commerce wholesale platform that is helping informal retailers access a wide variety of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) products. The platform connects dukas, kiosks or souqs with FMCGs, providing them with a dependable and cost-effective supply chain and distribution network customised to their requirements. In addition, the platform provides access to working capital and a range of services to help retailers expand their businesses, including data insights through the use of technology.
India’s government plans to take action against Alphabet Inc’s Google after an antitrust watchdog last year found the group to have abused its market position by indulging in anti-competitive practices. India’s antitrust body had, in October fined Google $275 million in two cases, which involved abusing its dominant position in the Android operating system market, and pushing developers to use its in-app payment system.
Martech keeps taking larger bites out of marketing budgets: 17.3% last year, 19.9% this year, 23.5% next year, and 30.9% five years from now, according to the latest CMO Survey. This despite barely more than half (56.4%) of current tools being used and nearly half (48.8%) of the survey respondents reporting worse-than-expected results. Oddly enough, marketers rate selecting marketing technologies as the thing they do best.