VENTURES AFRICA – SleepOut.com, Kenya’s leading online accommodation marketplace where users can find, offer and book unique accommodation online, announced today that it has raised approximately $200,000 in seed funding to finance expansion across markets in Africa and the Middle East. Leading the funding round for the Nairobi company, which launched its BETA site in June [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – Nigeria’s Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment on Tuesday, inaugurated the University Entrepreneurship Development Programme (UNEDEP) in Abuja, to promote self-employment amongst youth right. According to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, the programme was part of government’s proactive strategies to tackle graduate unemployment. UNEDEP will be implemented by [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – South Africa-based mobile phone operator, Vodacom, is on the prowl for acquisition targets on the African continent, it has emerged. Majority-owned by UK’s Vodafone Group, Vodacom is poised to set up shop in two or three African countries in the next three years. According to Fox Business News, CEO Shameel Joosub, told [...]

VENTURES AFRICA – Kenya’s CFC Stanbic Bank posted a pretax profit explosion in the first quarter of this year as lending in Kenya surged exponentially. The Kenya-based financial services firm on Tuesday said pretax profit leapt 79.5 percent to 1.45 billion Shillings ($17.2 million) as Kenya’s booming economy boosted lending by banks. According to Reuters, [...]