20 startups have been selected as part of the 5th edition of Google for Startups Accelerator Africa Program. Among them are three companies seeking to reinvent logistics in African markets: Thumeza, Amitruck and Send. Google’s prestigious Startups Accelerator Africa Program …

Standard Chartered has announced that Kasapreko Company Ltd (KCL) has become its first client to tap into the bank’s $1bn financing commitment to help companies tackling COVID-19. KCL, which makes the popular Alomo Bitters brand, will set up a production facility …

DHL Express has taken a minority stake in Link Commerce, the UK-based e-commerce platform that sits beneath MallforAfrica.com and DHL’s Africa eShop service. DHL is betting on a fundamental change in purchasing behaviours in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which …

Ghanaian startup mPharma, which provides a digital prescription drug inventory service for pharmacies and their suppliers, has raised $17 million in its latest funding round. In March 2019 it raised $12m in a Series B round. The company has operated …

At Trendtype we have decided to put our thoughts down on paper, as it were. Headline: there are lots of reasons to believe that African countries may emerge from COVID-19 in better (or less worse) shape than developed economies in …

SA mall owner Hyprop Investments, which has 54,569m² of exposure to struggling SA retailer Edcon, is still looking to sell its underperforming malls in Ghana and Nigeria. The company has stakes in Accra Mall, West Hills Mall and Kumasi City …

The problem is retail development rankings are useless. Worse than useless, actually. We explain why we don’t trust AT Kearney’s Global Retail Development Index when it comes to Africa. A few years ago we wanted to build a retail market …

Massmart, Walmart’s South African subsidiary, has started the consultation process to close up to 34 stores in South Africa as part of the turnaround plan from new CEO, Walmart veteran Mitchell Slape. But Massmart needs a more radical change of focus. …

So here are our big themes in 2019 and a look ahead to 2020. It’s been another eventful year in African consumer and retail markets in 2019. Some big retail players coming unstuck In grocery retail, some big players have come …

Peer to peer farmer network and marketplace WeFarm has raised $13m in Series A round of funding. The round was led by True Ventures, with AgFunder and June Fund also investing. It means WeFarm has raised a total of $20m to …

Olam Ghana joint venture Nutrifoods Ghana, the leading manufacturer of biscuits in Ghana, has launched the Milky Magic Eggrich biscuit brand in Accra and Kumasi. The new brand is designed to provide a healthy snacking options for kids. The Eggrich brand’s ingredients …

South African fashion retailer TFG (The Foschini Group) is assessing whether its twelve stores in Kenya and Ghana will remain open. The company will review economic prospects, tax legislation and lease costs to decide if it is worth continuing. The …

Woolworths has exited Ghana, closing its two stores in Accra. The South African retailer also exited Nigeria in 2013 and follows Truworths in leaving Ghana. Woolworths no longer has any stores in West Africa but is seeking to expand in East …