Five Nigerian firms have been shortlisted among the 12 African startups to pitch live at this month’s digital Africa Tech Summit Connects in Kigali, Rwanda.

This is to showcase their solutions to the global audience of 500 investors, corporates, and other stakeholders.

Disrupt Africa and Africa Tech Summit (ATS) disclosed it had reviewed its partnership to integrate startup-focused sessions plenary and pitching chances in its virtual Africa Tech Summit Connects event scheduled to hold virtually on the 20th – 22nd of October 2020.

What you need to know

ATS is a fully-virtual event and not a webinar. The event would maximize their time with AI-powered smart matchmaking and give startups opportunities in the online business community.

Why this matters

The three days course will enable them to engage with parties through a variety of online mediums. It would encourage the exhibition of recent developments in the continent across the start-up world, and it would focus on fintech, logistics, ed-tech, agri-tech, e-commerce, investment, regulation and policy, blockchain, connectivity.

With over 50 African tech start-up applicants seeking to raise either pre-seed, seed, or Series A funding; 5 out of the 12 selected to participate and present their solutions to the audience, and also connect virtually with those interested are Nigerian start-ups. The selected start-up companies are;

• Medsaf (Nigeria),
• Seso Global (Nigeria),
• Wella Health (Nigeria),
• Vybe (Nigeria),
• Scrapays (Nigeria),
• Agro Innova (Ghana),
• PayDunya (Senegal),
• Snode (South Africa),
• Moja Ride (Ivory Coast),
• Eneza Telecom (Kenya),
• Kolute Systems (Senegal),
• Abiria (Kenya).

Popular hacking group, Anonymous has claimed via its Twitter handle, that it had breached some Nigerian government websites.

READ: PZ Cussons suffers a pre-tax loss of N7.984 billion in 2020

The act is said to be in support of the ongoing #EndSARS protest that has taken over many cities in Nigeria, following calls for the disbandment of notorious police unit, the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) which has been alleged to be involved in abduction, harassment, extortion and murder of innocent victims.

READ: #EndSARS: I support the youths in this peaceful protests – Pastor Adeboye

Anonymous tweet, “Nigeria: Anonymous hacks multiple government websites in solidarity with #EndSARS protestors and retribution for violence by police. #OpNigeria #EndSARS Protest.”

#Nigeria: Anonymous hacks multiple government websites in solidarity with #EndSARS protestors and retribution for violence by police. #OpNigeria #EndSARSProtest

src: https://t.co/cjDdEfPB8w pic.twitter.com/F2J7qvz35W

— Anonymous (@YourAnonCentral) October 14, 2020

That said Anonymous did not disclose the identity of websites breached.

READ: #EndSARS: IGP says checking phones of Nigerians by any officer not acceptable

Backstory

Nairametrics had earlier given vital insights on how for years, young Nigerians, mostly via social media, have called for the unit to be disbanded and rogue elements in the force brought to justice. Despite repeated promises by the government, they have failed to heed to their demands, triggering a new wave of protests that have now spread across the country.

READ: #EndSARS: Lagos sets up N200 million fund for victims of police brutality

What you should know

Anonymous is a popular decentralized global activist group that is popularly known for many cyberattacks against several governments, government agencies, corporations, and the Church of Scientology.

READ: #EndSARS: Despite scrapping SARS, why are Nigerians still protesting?

Why it matters

From demanding an end to SARS, prosecution of rogue police officers, and reforms; protesters are more emboldened, threatening to continue if all their demands are not met. The government is scrambling to contain a situation that is escalating and could dangerously metamorphose into violent clashes with authorities, leading to loss of lives and destruction of properties.

Billionaire boss of the leading social media platform Twitter, and payments company Square, Jack Dorsey, has joined in support of the #EndSARS protest that has overtaken Nigeria.

A few hours ago, Dorsey took to his Twitter handle to solicit support for Nigerian protesters seeking an end to Police brutality and calling for reforms.

He tweeted, “Donate via Bitcoin to help #EndSARS,” while also retweeting a tweet from the Feminist Coalition informing people of the modes by which contributions can be made.

Donate via #Bitcoin to help #EndSARS 🇳🇬 https://t.co/kf305SFXze

— jack (@jack) October 14, 2020

Twitter CEO has been a longstanding Bitcoin supporter. In the past, he has said Bitcoin is “probably the best” native currency of the internet due to it being “consensus-driven” and “built by everyone.”

Recall, some days ago, Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) led by Twitter’s Jack Dorsey on October 8th disclosed that it purchased, 4,709 bitcoins at an estimated worth of $50 million.
Square added it invested in cryptos because it saw it as a tool for economic enhancement via participation in the future of payment systems, which aligns with Square’s objectives.