Victoria here,

World Food Safety Day is June 7, 2022. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this is to shine the light on and mobilise action to prevent, detect, and manage foodborne risks and improve human health.

What is the significance of food safety? Per the WHO, unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances causes over 200 diseases ranging from diarrhoea to cancer.

Consequently, access to adequate amounts of safe and nutritious food is critical to sustaining life and promoting good health. Also, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and drinking plenty of water is an excellent place to start.

So, today I'll be discussing:

• ShopEX’s $635,000 pre-seed
  
• Some interesting Apple updates
  
• Indicina’s $3 million seed
  

Unrelated, but help Techpoint Africa determine how much African tech workers earn by filling out this form or sharing it with your developer friends.

With Basqet, you can accept crypto payments from your customers anywhere in the world and get your payments in crypto, USD or your local currency without fear of volatility. Plus zero chargebacks ever!

Sign up on Basqet to start accepting crypto payments.

ShopEX, a Nigeria-based multi-channel retailer, announced a $635,000 pre-seed yesterday, June 6, 2022.

HAVAÍC, Echo VC, and Expert Media Partner invested in this round.

Founded in 2018 by Isi Abebe (CEO), the company says it’s “on a mission to bring ‘teleshopping’ to the everyday life of Nigerians by creating direct to consumer live shopping experiences.”

How does it do this? It uses video ads across television and other channels to provide an immersive experience for its customers.

To be clear, teleshopping companies, as opposed to traditional eCommerce companies, run advertisements on TV or social media channels demonstrating how the products work. The ads also include customer testimonials and a phone number where buyers can place orders.

So, ShopEX handles the delivery to the customer after the orders are placed. The company also has a phone number for purchasers to place orders via WhatsApp.

According to the company, it will launch its buy now, pay later scheme and collaborate with retail and affiliate startups to ensure that customers get the best value for money when purchasing the high-quality, globally acclaimed products in its offering.

The funds will be used to launch new products and improve technology to provide "an exceptional customer experience" as it expands into new markets.

Chimgozirim provided more information about the startup here: Nigeria’s ShopEX raises $635,000 to build the QVC of Africa

Payment collection just got easier on Fincra! Receive payments from your customers via debit/credit cards or bank transfers and settle these payments to your Fincra wallet or your bank account.).

As a business, you only need to create easy-to-share payment links from the Fincra merchant portal or embed payment buttons on your online platform to gain access to Fincra Checkout; no coding is required. 

Create an account in less than 2 mins and Try Fincra checkout here

If you've got an Apple device, this is especially for you! Did you know that with the upcoming Apple software update, iOS 16, you can edit your iMessage conversations after sending messages or completely cancel them by clicking "undo send"? Reminds me of Instagram, though.

This was revealed at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2022 on Monday, June 6, 2022.

There are other things, too: The iOS 16 will include the Apple Fitness app, meaning you won't need an Apple Watch to use the Fitness app on your iPhone.

Also, the next version of its watchOS will include several new health-related features. It will introduce new running metrics and medication reminders.

Concerning safety, Apple announced that iOS 16 would include a new feature called Safety Check. The company believes it would be quite useful for people in abusive relationships.

Safety Check can assist users in managing app access and passwords and inform them of who has access to their passwords and personal information. Consequently, it will make it easier for people in abusive relationships to cut ties with their partners across devices.

Apple joins the BNPL bandwagon: With iOS 16, Apple Pay introduces a new feature called Apple Pay Later. This allows you to pay for purchases over time in four instalments without incurring interest.

You will make the first payment in advance and the remaining three every two weeks. This is managed in the wallet app, and you can pay them ahead of time if you prefer.

Also, Apple is expanding your options for interacting with your selected text in both photos and videos. You will soon be able to translate live text into another language or convert currency amounts in real-time.

This means that if you're watching a video, you'll be able to pause the frame and select the text, just like you can now in a photo and with the translation app. To access this feature, go to Apple's translation app, which now includes a live camera view.

To the last item on this list: Apple also intends to enhance automatic dictation, and you can now use your voice to add emojis.

The new dictation features will make switching between typing and dictation easier, making the transition between voice and touch a little more seamless.

Indicina, a Nigerian fintech startup, has announced a $3 million seed.

The round was led by Target Global, while Kuda, Kippa, Greycroft, RV Ventures, and Edukoya participated.

Launched by Yvonne Johnson (CEO), Yemi Ajao, Jacob Ayokunle, and Carlos del Carpio in 2018, Indicina is a digital lending platform that provides lenders with data-driven credit decisions.

This means that the company employs a data-driven approach to help lending institutions provide credit underwriting at scale. Its API-based platform develops products that help lenders from loan application to decision, disbursement, and collection.

Besides, it uses artificial intelligence to provide insights into potential customers and de-risk unsecured loans. This also empowers lenders to drive new uses of data beyond default prediction.

To diversify its offerings and revenue streams, Indicina says it will launch a B2C offering in the coming weeks.

While the company currently operates in Nigeria and Kenya, the new funding will help it expand into other African markets. It will also strengthen its key product offerings, develop more consumer credit recommendation products, and expand its infrastructure.

If you want to know more about how the startup operates, kindly check out Ogheneruemu’s story: With products like Originate and Decide, Indicina is enabling lenders give millions of Africans loans using alternative data

• Elon Musk Says Twitter’s Lack of Info on Bots Breaches Merger Deal
  
• Could a Body Double Help You Increase Your Productivity?
  
• How to Tell If Your Child Has Binge Eating Disorder (and What to Do About It)
  
• MultiChoice earnings to take a big hit on forex losses
  
• 15 Emerging Technologies that Will Change the World
  
• New Discoveries That Completely Alter Human History
  
• Why the world is going crazy—and how to win back our minds
  

In case you missed it

• How to spend your Friday evening
  
• How I Work: Korty EO, Indie Filmmaker and YouTuber
  

Opportunities

• Torche is looking for a UI/UX designer to join its team. If you’re one, apply here.
  
• Binance has open roles in Communication, Business Development, Customer Support, Engineering, Marketing, Product, Customer support, and other departments. Check out the details and how to apply here.
  
• The African Leadership Group and Udacity are offering 5,000 scholarships to African citizens who want to advance their careers in tech. by learning new digital skills. Scholarship recipients will enrol in one of the following Udacity Nanodegree programmes: Data Analyst, Full-Stack Web Developer, or Cloud Developer. Apply here.
• Grant Master has announced the start of its second Creative Writers Fellowship cohort. The Fellowship for Creative Writers will take place virtually from July 4th to August 26th, 2022. Apply here.
  

• Did you enjoy reading this? Help spread the message by forwarding to at least 10 of your contacts. Also, let us know what you think by filling this quick survey.
• Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.
• Want to advertise with us? Email business@techpoint.africa.