In a significant development in the autonomous vehicle sector, Nigerian startup Moove has partnered with Waymo, an American startup that makes autonomous technology for cars, to manage fleet operations for its robotaxi service in Phoenix and Miami. This partnership strengthens Moove's role in fleet management and could lead to working with self-driving cars in the future.

The partnership will see Moove responsible for keeping Waymo's self-driving cars running smoothly, as well as setting up charging stations and depots in both cities. Waymo intends to transition fleet operations to Moove in Phoenix by early 2025, with Moove also helping with the development of charging stations and depots for the company's fleet in Miami. This is the first time Moove is working with autonomous vehicles, and the partnership reflects Waymo's strategy to delegate operational management while concentrating on advancing its self-driving technology.

In other news, Jumia's Black Friday sales campaign has seen a significant increase in customer orders, with 2.6 million orders recorded in 30 days across its nine markets. This represents an 18% increase from last year, and accounts for 44% of the total orders the e-commerce company recorded in Q3 2024. The increase suggests that people are shopping online in Africa despite macroeconomic challenges, but it also raises questions about the sustainability of incentivized buying and how companies can make tradeoffs for incentivized buying while striving for maximum profits.

In related news, Nissan Egypt has announced plans to invest $45 million to produce its third locally assembled car, targeting an annual production of 17,000 units. The plan, made possible through an agreement with the government, aligns with the recent trend of giant Asian car-makers growing their interest in the continent. Egypt's Automotive Industry Development Program (AIDP) offers tax breaks, subsidies, and other benefits that make it cost-effective for companies to manufacture in Egypt while serving both local and regional markets.

Additionally, a report by Caribou Digital highlights the need for collaboration across six key components to drive AI innovation in Africa. These components include policies that are catalytic to AI innovation, grassroots communities that build talent, academia to teach AI, investors to seed ideas, Big Tech for infrastructure, and skilled human capital. While five African countries have national AI policies, most operate in silos, leaving the continent unprepared to build impactful local solutions.

Finally, the Funding Tracker reports that several startups have secured funding this week, including Sylndr, an Egyptian automotive e-commerce startup, which secured a $7.45 million working capital facility from the Investment Banking division of EFG Hermes. Other deals include Stima, a Kenya-based cleantech company, which secured undisclosed funding from Renew Capital, and Hydrobox, a Kenya-based energy startup, which raised $9 million in debt financing from FMO.

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