Tired of bookkeeping? Become a 📙Kippa

Dec 17, 2021

Hello Venturer,

What was your most difficult subject back in school? Mine was Maths. But the truth is that it wasn't a difficult subject until I met Mr. C in primary 3.

I had dreamt of becoming my country’s first female astronaut, but you can tell what happened to that dream. Mr. C was a tough one, and because of that, I struggled with maths until my final year in college, the same way Nigerian SMEs struggle with finance and bookkeeping.

Many small business owners spend a lot of time manually adding entries to their large sales ledgers. And attempts to build for this segment have been poor copies of imported solutions that are too complicated or expensive.

But Kippa is here to fix that! The tech startup has created the simplest accounting software for Nigerian small businesses. Read about this and more on today’s issue of VA weekly.

Ishioma Emi

Staff Writer, Ventures Africa.

Kippa is giving small businesses a make-over.

According to the e-Conomy 2020 report by IFC and Google, most of the successful businesses in Africa’s internet economy are solving problems in the informal sector. Kippa, a Nigerian startup, is one of these businesses. By giving small business owners an easy-to-use finance management app, Kippa is reducing their chances of bankruptcy. Read more.

The Middle East and Africa are experiencing a rise in super apps. Here's why.

The MEA region is expected to be home to 3.4bn people by 2050, making it the potential most populous region in the world. While governments in the Middle East are investing in emerging technologies and fintech, Africa is hosting a teeming digitally savvy population with an unquenchable thirst for new technologies and innovation. Read more.

Oluyomi Ojo’s COVA is influencing the modern culture of investing.

After stepping down as CEO of Printivo, Ojo focused on creating a product that helps investors track all their assets in one place. Today, COVA keeps track of digital assets such as stocks and crypto, as well as physical properties. In its first year, COVA has garnered users from all over the world. In this interview with Ventures Africa, Ojo discusses the journey so far. Learn more.

Sympl’s $6 million seed fund will be used to expand its “save your money, pay later” model in Egypt.

Before October 2021, startups including Fawry, valU by EFG Hermes, Shahry, and Valeo dominated Egypt’s BNPL market. But with a soft launch in October and a recent $6 million seed funding, Sympl, an Egypt-based eCommerce/BNPL startup, is moving to expand its offerings in the country. Read more.

Treepz partners with CMS T&M to digitize transportation for 1.2 million customers annually.

As many transportation stakeholders look at how to move away from paper ticketing, cash-based transactions and understanding their customer inventory, bus operators are turning to Treepz to build the technology that will allow them to reach their goals. Read here.

The best and worst African cities for expatriates to work in 2021.

Expatriates have ranked the best cities to work in this year. The 2021 Expat City Ranking includes 57 cities from around the globe. However, only four African cities had enough respondents to qualify for this year’s ranking, and two of them ranked in the bottom ten. Read more.

Digitalization readiness is key to unlocking SME growth potential in the Middle East & Africa.

Increasingly, SMEs are recognizing the practical benefits of digitalization in day-to-day operations, as opposed to viewing it as a long-term project for the future. There’s a solid case for this when data shows that 41 percent of SMEs that implemented digitalization initiatives, had stronger revenue growth in 2020 than non-adopters. Read more.