A platform similar to LinkedIn Clubhouse, fintech predictions for 2022, and JABU $3.2 million seed

A platform similar to LinkedIn's Clubhouse, fintech predictions for 2022, and JABU's $3.2 million seed 

Is there anything exciting in store for the fintech industry in the year 2022?

In recent years, the fintech industry in Africa has experienced rapid growth. For example, in 2021, startups across the continent will have raised approximately $5 billion in funding. Surprisingly, this investment outperformed 2020's expectations and represents nearly four times the amount raised five years ago. As this demonstrates, the fintech industry has advanced at a rapid pace in recent years.

Furthermore, financial technology is reshaping and simplifying our lives. In a decade, who would have predicted that point of sale (PoS), mobile banking, and Internet banking would become so ingrained in our daily lives?

While the year 2021 was a great year for fintech startups, the year 2022 has the potential to be even better in this regard. What are your thoughts on the matter? We have no way of knowing what will happen in 2022, but we can predict the future by looking at the past.

Here's what Emmanuel Paul had to say in response: Nigerian fintech forecasts for the years 2018-2022: Dollar exchanges will follow in the footsteps of Bitcoin.

LinkedIn is planning to launch a Clubhouse rival

In conjunction with the launch of a new events platform, LinkedIn, a professional networking site, will allow users to list, host, and market interactive, virtual live events in real time. It will include tools for executing interactive content from beginning to end without the need for any additional third-party software to be installed.

I'm not entirely sure what this means. In addition to providing tools for online attendees and hosts to communicate in real time and moderate discussions, this feature allows users to record and manage events directly from their LinkedIn profile pages. As an added bonus, attendees can communicate with one another both during and after the event.

Beginning in January, the new events platform will launch with an audio-only offering — clubhouse-style audio events — that will be available for testing in a closed beta. This will be followed by a video version, which will be released in March 2022. It will, on the other hand, be targeted at users who use LinkedIn to connect with a larger group of people.

Is this the first time we've seen something like this? Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces are comparable, but the emphasis is on career development, professional topics, and other LinkedIn-specific areas of expertise rather than on general social networking.

Keep in mind that LinkedIn Stories will be discontinued in September 2021, in part because the company discovered that users disliked videos that disappeared after they were viewed. Additionally, Twitter, the social media behemoth, will phase out Fleets, a product that is similar to Stories, by the year 2021. Twitter discovered that users did not respond to short videos in the way that was expected.

LinkedIn confirmed in March 2021 that it has been working on a Clubhouse competitor in order to cultivate a larger and more active Creator community on the social media platform. Over the course of the last year, the company has also been experimenting with new features for this events service, including a paid, ticketed option that will initially be offered for free.

JABU’s $3.2m seed round 

It has been announced that JABU, a Namibian B2B eCommerce startup, has completed a $3.2 million seed round. The funds will be used to assist small retailers in placing orders and stocking their shelves with their products, as well as to provide data-driven services to manufacturers and suppliers.

Along with other unnamed investors, the round was led by Afore Capital and Y Combinator. It also included participation from FJ Labs, Quiet Capital, Kli Capital, and Pareto Capital.

JABU, which was founded in 2020 by CEO David Akinin, claims to be the solution to Namibia's inefficient and nearly non-existent supply chain and distribution.

The company maintains a fleet of vehicles and eight distribution centers, as well as a platform that connects more than 6,000 retailers to local and multinational suppliers such as Namibia Breweries Limited, ABInBev, Bokomo, Coca-Cola, and Namibmills. The company also operates a fleet of vehicles and eight distribution centers.

Product location tracking, key performance indicator monitoring, and merchandising scheduling are all made possible by dashboards available to suppliers who use the platform. Additional options include conducting marketing campaigns, hosting product giveaways, and generating revenue through merchandising.

The company, which currently operates in three Namibian cities and has recently expanded into two Zambian cities, is preparing to raise a Series A round of capital this quarter, which is quite intriguing to say the least.

What I'm currently reading and watching is as follows:

• This is why we should get used to living with COVID-19 by the year 2022.
• The World in the Year 2050. Keep a close eye on things.
• Making yourself familiar with the Scattered (ADHD) Brain is important. Watch.