Alibaba partners Rwanda to Launch a 4-year eCommerce Training for Rwandan students, Ogun State Launches Ogun Tech Hub to Boost Local Innovation in Nigeria and More

Hi Guys,

Welcome to a new edition of the Big 5 Daily! Today, we will be treating you to a juicy bonus!

Guess what? Jack Ma, the co-founder and Chief Executive of Alibaba Group has stepped down. Daniel Zhang who is currently Alibaba’s chief executive, will replace Jack Ma as the Executive Chairman. We say happy retirement to him.

Now for the Big 5 proper, have a fun read!

Big news! Alibaba Group and the Rwandan government collaborated to launch a training program for students to learn cross-border e-commerce. The training program will last for the next four years. This collaboration will facilitate the exportation of additional Rwandan products to China via the Rwanda Development Board (RDB). Alibaba’s New Retail-powered supermarket chain, Freshippo will leverage the MOU with RDB to import Rwandan chilli across its 150 stores in China. Nice initiative!

Drum roll! Ogun State, Nigeria has launched Ogun Tech Hub– an open living lab and pre-incubation space designed by the state government to boost local creativity and innovation in Nigeria. The hub was launched by Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun. The hub will aid technologists, tech companies, social entrepreneurs and impact investors to co-create new solutions to the state’s social problems. Applaudable!

Next on the Big 5, the World Bank and World Economic Forum (WEF) is partnering with the Rwandan government to host the Africa Drone Forum and Flying competition. The Africa Drone Forum (ADF) and Flying Competitions is an event that showcases the use of drones and its different purposes. The event will take place in Rwanda by February 2020. Applications for Africa Drone Forum and Flying Competition closes on September 30, 2019. Interested? Apply here.

Also, Doctoorum – a curated medical tourism online marketplace based in Egypt has secured undisclosed pre-series funding. The capital was secured from the Numu Capital’s seed fund that invests in promising MENA tech startups based in Dubai. Doctoorum will leverage the funds to scale growth locally and expand internationally.

Finally, popular ride-hailing company Uber, has revealed plans to launch Uber Bus, its bus sharing transport system in Lagos, Nigeria this year. First launched in Cairo, Egypt, the company is looking to transform Africa’s transport sector and give their competitors a run for their money.

…and that’s it for today’s edition of the Big 5 Daily!

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