Airtel Africa had a tough 2023. The telecom reported a significant loss after tax of $151 million in Q1 of 2023, and ultimately a 99% decline in profits, dropping from $523 million to $2 million by year-end. Currency devaluations in key markets like Nigeria, Malawi, Zambia, and Kenya, were the main cause for the loss.

To improve its financial health, the telecom announced plans for a share buy-back programme in February 2024.

Sidebar: A share buyback simply means that Airtel is repurchasing its own shares from the market.

In its ongoing share buyback programme, Airtel Africa has acquired a total of 8.6 million shares from Citigroup Global Markets Limited. The most recent purchase involved 487,985 shares at an average price of $131.70 per share. 

The buyback programme, which began on March 1, 2024, involves the repurchase of $100 million worth of Airtel Africa’s shares in 12 months, and is divided into two tranches, with the first tranche of $50 million running from March to August 2024. The buy-back programme will help reduce share capital and lower debt and operating costs.

Family-owned businesses are everywhere, shaping our world in ways you might not expect. We’ve found some insights into how they work, and we’d love to share them with you. Dive in right away here.

Last week, Zimbabwe replaced its inflation-hit official currency, the Zimbabwe dollar with a new gold-backed currency, “Zimbabwe Gold” or ZiG.

The currency change was the country’s sixth attempt at restoring parity to the world’s worst-performing currency which had shed 75% of its value since the year began. 

Zimbabwe’s apex bank will begin circulation of the new currency by the end of April and has given Zimbabweans 21 days to exchange the old currency with the newly minted ZiG. However, local traders are steps ahead of the curve and have begun dumping the old currency. 

The news: According to local media, informal traders no longer accept the Zimbabwe dollar for trade and have opted to transact in the US dollar for fear that the old currency will become worthless. The development has seen a surge in the demand for the greenback on the black market, with black market forex traders upping their fees to take advantage of the demand. 

Larger supermarkets are also catching the wave, with some starting to display prices in ZiG. However, some retail stores— Zimbabwe’s OK and South Africa’s Pick n Pay—still accept the Zim dollar.

A way out of trouble: Before the ZiG was introduced, the Zim dollar traded at 28,720 to the US dollar. The ZiG which has an initial value of 13.56 to the dollar is the country’s latest attempt to tackle decades of monetary chaos. Zimbabwe’s central bank governor, John Mushayavanhu, is hopeful the new currency change will reduce the inflation rate between 2% and 5% by year-end. 

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In September 2023, Ezra Chiloba, the former Director General of the Communications Authority (CA) in Kenya faced suspension amidst accusations of corrupt practices involving a staff mortgage scheme. The CA alleged he attempted to defraud the agency and approved his mortgage improperly.

In October 2023, Chiloba resigned from his position as CA Director General. But despite the fraud allegations against him, President William Ruto nominated him for the Consul General of the Kenyan mission in Los Angeles, USA.

EACC clears Chiloba of wrongdoing: In September, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) launched an investigation into allegations against Ezra Chiloba. To gather evidence, they requested Treasury audit reports, the authority’s mortgage loan policy and loan book, and the authorised panel of valuers from the CA. 

However, an EACC letter released yesterday found “insufficient evidence” to support the claims against Chiloba, effectively clearing him of any wrongdoing.

With the EACC clearing his name, Chiloba’s nomination for Consul General seems to be moving forward.

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Hewatele, a healthtech company based in Kenya, secured a $20m funding package from Finnfund, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), and UBS Optimus Foundation and Grand Challenges Canada.

Here are other deals for the week:

• SunCulture, a Kenyan climate tech startup, raised $12 million in a Series B round that was a mix of equity, debt and carbon financing. Funding was led by InfraCo Africa and Savant Ltd, with support from Acumen Funds, Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, and Eric Schmidt, former CEO and Chairman of Google.
• Affinity Ghana, a full-scale digital bank, secured undisclosed funding from the investment firm Renew Capital. 
• Kenya based WeCare raised $350k from Red Capital towards the production of lab diamonds.
• Inputi LTD, an agritech firm based in Uganda, announced an undisclosed investment from the DFC.

Before you go, our State Of Tech In Africa Report for Q4 2023 is out. Click this link to download it.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more funding announcements. You can also visit DealFlow, our real-time funding tracker.

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$70,532	+ 0.69%	– 2.04%
Ether	$3,517	– 0.08%	– 11.61%
Tether	$1.00	+ 0.01%	– 0.04%
BNB	$605.12	– 0.10%	+ 16.62%

* Data as of 09:01 PM WAT, April 11, 2024.

• The second edition of TechCabal’s Moonshot Conference is set for October 9–11, 2024, at the Eko Convention Centre, Lagos, Nigeria. Moonshot will assemble Africa’s biggest thinkers, players and problem solvers on a global launchpad for change. If you want to join the stakeholders in Africa’s tech ecosystem for three days of insightful conversations, then get an early-bird ticket at 20% off. 
• Nigeria’s biggest women-only festival, Hertitude, is back for a third time. For those new to the scene, Zikoko brings all the girls to the yard every year to let their hair down, form bonds and celebrate what it means to be a hot babe. It’s happening on April 20, 2024, in Lagos and will feature everything from talent shows and karaoke sessions to spa services, live music performances and an afterparty. Click here to get tickets.
• Attention all music lovers! On Saturday, May 11, 2024, Zikoko wants you outside for a day of link-ups, games, drinks and live performances at Muri Okunola Park, Lagos. Strings Attached is an opportunity for friends to reconnect, lovers to bond and individuals to make friends and build community. To get a free ticket, download the Onebank by Sterling App and sign up using ZIKOKO as the referral code. You’ll get your ticket in your email once tickets are available. Click here to get the app.

Here’s what you should be looking at

• US biotech Moderna suspends plans to build vaccine plant in Kenya
• World Bank warns of debt distress in Eurobond buyback
• Uber Teen Accounts in South Africa

Written by: Mariam Muhammad & Faith Omoniyi

Edited by: Timi Odueso

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Today, Apple announced its latest MacBook Pro lineup, alongside its new M3 chipset, its latest chip for Macs.

The new chips—M3, M3 pro and M3 Max—are the first chips for a personal computer built using a 3-nanometer technology. This means that they are smaller, more efficient, and more powerful than the previous M1 and M2 chips.

MacBook Pro features: The new MacBook models include the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3, and the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro and M3 Max.

All MacBook Pro models come with a Liquid Retina XDR display, a built-in 1080p camera, and an immersive six-speaker sound system, all supported by up to 22 hours of battery life. The release also includes macOS Sonoma, introducing a new high-performance mode in Screen Sharing that enables responsive remote access to another Mac so professionals can securely work on their content from anywhere.

Pricing: The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 is priced at $1,599, while the 14‑inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro costs $1,999, and the 16‑inch MacBook Pro is offered at $2,499. Additionally, the MacBook Pro models with M3 Pro and M3 Max come in a stunning new space black colour.

Options for every user: The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M3 caters to a diverse audience, including students and entrepreneurs, the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Pro is designed for users with more demanding workflows, such as coders, creatives, and researchers, and the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max is designed for extreme workflows, serving machine learning programmers, 3D artists, and video editors.

Customers can start placing their orders for the new MacBook Pro today, with deliveries set to commence on November 7.

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Bolt is driving to freedom in Kenya. 

Yesterday, the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) renewed the company’s operating licence weeks after it initially declined the ride-hailing platform’s request. Bolt had recently removed its problematic 5% booking fees in the country pending the NTSA’s decision.

Why is the fee problematic? The regulator declined the initial request, stating that both Bolt and Uber were charging illegal booking fees which were contrary to Kenyan regulations. 

Bolt, in November 2022, introduced a 5% booking fee which it says “covers support and enhanced technological features that ensure an even more efficient service on our platform”. Uber also charges an 11% booking fee which it says is used for VAT. 

Initially, the NTSA didn’t appear too confident in these responses, and the regulators even received letters from drivers who threatened to strike unless the charges were removed. It appears that everything may have worked out as the company’s renewed licence indicates that the NTSA believes Bolt is adhering to Kenyan regulations. 

Zoom out: It may have worked out for the company, but riders in Kenya will be facing higher fares moving forward. The company recently announced a fare increase in response to Kenya’s rising fuel prices. The base fare was increased between KES70 ($0.46) and KES100 ($0.66) across the economy, base, boda, and XL categories. The minimum fare was also increased, with a range of KES200 ($1.33) and KES250 ($1.66) across the categories.

Airtel Africa reported a 19.7% increase in revenue in the first nine months of this year, according to its financial statements published on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) on Monday.

The result indicates that Airtel is bouncing back from a $151 million loss which it incurred in the first quarter of the year due to the naira devaluation.

A mixed tale: Despite increasing revenue, the company lost $13 million after tax due to a $471 million foreign exchange loss, and a $317 million loss after tax due to the naira devaluation. Per the report, Airtel experienced double digits growth on its mobile services—data and voice—and its mobile money services. 

Airtel’s voice revenue grew by 11.5% and its data revenue grew by 28.1%, while its mobile money revenue grew by 30.9% in constant currency. Airtel’s customer base grew by 9.7% to 147.7 million, with data customers increasing by 23% to 59.8 million and mobile money customers growing by 23.1% to 36.5 million.

Lights out: Airtel’s revenue increase shows a positive sign after the telecom battled a loss due to gruelling naira devaluation and inflation which affected consumer spending. The company is also planning to list shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange. The telco intends to sell 20% of its wholly-owned subsidiary in Uganda, Airtel Uganda Limited.

In this longform Decode Fintech piece, Paystack explores agent networks in Africa, how they converge with SMEs, and what the future of agency banking means for how money moves across the continent.

Read the blogpost.

African telecoms are not giving in. 

MTN’s revenue in Nigeria also increased by 21.76% in the first nine months of the year, according to the company’s financial statements.

A decline in profits: While the telecom’s revenue grew by 21.76% to ₦1.77 trillion (~$2.1billion) in the first nine months of 2023, profits declined by 45.22% to ₦148 billion ($188 million).

According to the CEO, Karl Toriola, high rising inflation, fuel subsidy removal, and a currency devaluation affected the telecoms revenue. MTN’s financial statement showed that it added 2 million mobile subscribers to reach a total of 77.6 million in the 9 months. Active data users increased by 3.6 million and active mobile money (MoMo PSB) wallets increased by 53.1% to 3.6 million. MTN’s service revenue grew by 21.4%, driven by a 10.6% increase in voice revenue and a 36.4% increase in data revenue.

More data: MTN Nigeria will increase investments in data revenue as the telecommunication giant saw a slump in its profit after tax for the first nine months of 2023. Toriola said the telecom will expand their quota of 4G and 5G data subscribers. 

Zoom out: The telecom is also doing all it can not to lose any more money. Last week, after a year of consideration, a Lagos-based Tax Appeal Tribunal ordered the telecom to pay $72.6 million in unpaid taxes and penalties. The telecom, yesterday, announced plans to appeal the decision. 

Speaking of new devices, Kenya is manufacturing its own smartphones. 

The country has partnered with East Africa Device Assembly Kenya Limited (EADAK), Safaricom, and Faiba, to launch the first of its kind locally assembled smartphones—Neon Smarta and Neon Ultra. 

The devices will sell from KES7,499 ($50) and will be available countrywide at Faiba shops and dealer stores as well as Safaricom shops and Masoko online platform. Both phones have 2GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, and support 4G. The Neon Smarta has a smaller display than the Ultra, measuring 5 inches compared to the Ultra’s 6.5 inches. The partnership plans to diversify the product range in the coming months and add a locally assembled tablet.

Lights out: The average price of a smartphone in Kenya is around $100. Kenya’s new development offers more affordable phone options in the country. The assembly plant will support the government’s goal of enhancing digital inclusion in Kenya. The new phone assembly plant joins a list of phone manufacturers in the country including HMD Global, which manufactures Nokia phones, and has plans to assemble its devices in Kenya to lower smartphone prices.

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$34,293	+ 0.11%	+ 27.24%
Ether	$1,802	+ 1.18%	+ 7.83%
BigTime	$0.18	– 4.32%	+ 162.39%
Polygon	$0.64	– 1.39%	+ 20.32%

* Data as of 06:30 AM WAT, October 31, 2023.

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• The New Venture Competition by the HBS African Business Club is now open to applications. The competition is aimed at fostering and supporting innovative businesses on the African continent. Ten semi-finalists will be invited to pitch their business in front of over 1,000 attendees at the conference, and the three top companies will receive non-dilutive cash prizes of $30,000, $15,000, and $10,000. Apply by November 15.


• The citizens of Commonwealth countries in Africa can now apply for the Commonwealth Africa Cyber Fellowship Programme 2024. Selected experts will serve as fellows for a year, and get exclusive access to academic research opportunities, networking events and annual conferences, with a focus on enhancing cybersecurity policies and institutions across Commonwealth countries in Africa. Apply by December 10.


• Applications are open for the Mastercard Foundations Scholars Program 2023/2024 at the Carnegie Melon University Africa. The program provides generous financial, social, and academic support for students whose talents and promise exceed their financial resources. Apply by January 15, 2024.


• Applications are open for the Aurora Tech Award 2024. The Award is an annual global prize for women founders of tech startups. Winners of the first prize get $30,000, the second prize gets $20,000 and the third prize gets $10,000. Apply by December 1.

What else is happening in tech?

• A clash between Nigerian banks and neobanks highlights financial industry’s complicated fraud problems
• X is officially less than half what Elon Musk paid for it
• MarketForce withdraws from three African markets and launches a new social commerce initiative
• Surviving the Nigerian market: Entrepreneurship nuggets from Chuks Aylor
• Traavu is helping businesses expand into the UK, and helping their execs get the UK Global Talent Visa. Here’s how

Written by – Mariam Muhammad & Faith Omoniyi

Written by – Timi Odueso

Want more of TechCabal? Sign up for our insightful newsletters on the business and economy of tech in Africa.

• The Next Wave: futuristic analysis of the business of tech in Africa.
• Entering Tech: tech career insights and opportunities in your inbox every Wednesday at 3 PM WAT.
• In a Giffy: business decisions powered by data-driven insights and analysis you can trust.

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Moove is not slowing down. The automobile financing startup has raised $76 million in a new round. 

This round includes equity and debt and comes from existing and new investors including BlackRock. It also comes soon after Moove raised about $183.3 million in 2022 across four separate funding rounds: $10 million in February, $105 million in March, $20 million in debt funding in June, $18.3 million in October, and$30 million in debt funding in December.

Mooving to profitability: Moove says its new funding will be used to help the company achieve profitability over the next 12 months. According to Ladi Delano, a co-CEO, the startup is already profitable in the UAE, India, the UK, and South Africa. With this funding, Moove is valued at $550 million.

Since its launch in 2020, Moove has rapidly expanded its operations within Nigeria and entered new African markets including Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. It has also expanded to other regions across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. 

Zoom out: Moove’s rapid scaling is, however, coming at a huge cost. In February, Moove drivers protested in Nigeria over unfair working conditions. In May, Rest of World reported that Moove impounded vehicles for nonpayment of loans in Lagos, Nigeria, as drivers continued to complain. These “mooves” have evidently not dampened investor confidence

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Millions of people can no longer use Safaricom’s services in Amhara, Ethiopia’s second-largest region.

Why? Safaricom Ethiopia closed its sites in Amhara due to an ongoing crisis involving the military and the Fano militia, a part-time group without a formal command structure. The crisis led to the federal government declaring a six-month state of emergency in the region on August 4, 2023.

How many sites were shut down? The telecommunications company operates 1,272 sites in Ethiopia, but it has not revealed the number of sites affected by the shutdown. Michael Joseph, chairman of Safaricom who recently stepped down as Safaricom’s board director, mentioned that this situation has interrupted the company’s progress in expanding across the country. Safaricom aims to establish 3,000 network sites in Ethiopia by the end of 2024.

In the telco’s latest filings, Safaricom Ethiopia has built 875 network sites and partnered with other entities to establish an additional 397 network sites. These sites cover 22 cities within the country.

Safaricom Ethiopia has 2.1 million active users who have used its services in the past 90 days. The goal for the year 2024 is to increase this customer count to 10 million.

Despite facing challenges, the telco is still committed to launching its mobile money service in the country soon.

Download the Smile ID State of KYC in Africa Report on the latest trends in identity verification across Africa, highlighting the power of biometric verification and document verification in combating fraud. It is a must-read for any business looking to acquire users across Africa and keep up with fraud trends.

Airtel Africa has announced plans to list shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE).

According to a statement published on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), the company plans to sell 20% of its shares—equivalent to 8 billion shares— to the public via an initial public offering (IPO). It will do this through its subsidiary in Uganda, Airtel Uganda Limited.

What do they hope to gain? Airtel Africa stated that the offer is expected to result in significant local ownership of Airtel Uganda Ltd., prioritising Ugandan investors. Additionally, this initiative is anticipated to play a role in advancing the development of the capital markets within Uganda.

Pending approval from the Capital Markets Authority of Uganda, the shares will be made available to investors through conventional channels as well as the Airtel Money platform. This approach is intended to enhance retail participation in the investment process.

The transaction process: Absa Bank Uganda Limited has been chosen to be the main advisor for the transaction. Crested Capital has been selected as the primary sponsoring broker to facilitate the process. Katende Ssempebwa and Company Advocates will provide legal advice and support, and EY (Ernst & Young) will handle financial reporting and related matters. 

Zoom out: Airtel Africa is following in the footsteps of MTN Uganda, which recently celebrated its first anniversary as a publicly listed company trading its shares on the (USE).

This week, Nigerian mobility company Moove raised $76 million in an undisclosed funding round led by Mubadala Investment Company with participation from Blackrock and other undisclosed investors.

Here are the other deals this week:

• Talents Arena, an Egyptian human resource(HR) company, raised $750,000 in pre-seed funding from UI investment.
• Egypt-based Bugaurd, a cybersecurity company, secured $500,000 in seed funding; the round was led by A15 with participation from angel investors.
• FinMeUp, a South-African fintech company, raised undisclosed funding from SAAD and Blu Sky Investments.

That’s it for this week!

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more funding announcements. You can also visit DealFlow, our real-time funding tracker.

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Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$29,385	– 0.47%	– 4.18%
Ether	$1,844	– 0.25%	– 2.01%
XRPe	$0.63	+ 0.00%	+ 34.20%
Worldcoin	$1.71	– 6.82%	+ 2.99%

* Data as of 06:15 AM WAT, August 11, 2023.

Nigeria is finding new use cases for blockchain. Yesterday, Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the director general of the country’s ICT watchdog NITDA, announced that the country would deploy blockchain in the issuance and verification of NYSC certificates. 

Side-bar: NYSC is a mandatory one-year service programme all Nigerian graduates must participate in. 

Since its establishment in 1973, there have been several instances of forged NYSC certificates. Previous attempts at stemming forgery included proposals for jailing and fining, but NITDA believes blockchain is the answer to the authenticity of NYSC certificates. Per Abdullahi, “We have agreed to help them develop that blockchain certificate authentication so that all NYSC certificates will be on the blockchain where people can check and verify.”

The announcement was made in Lagos, Nigeria, at a stakeholder meeting for the implementation of the National Blockchain Policy, a policy that highlights a comprehensive framework for integrating blockchain into every vertical of the country.

It is presently unclear when NITDA plans to implement its new plans.

Early-bird tickets are still selling out fast for Moonshot by TechCabal!

If you’re an international fan eager to be part of this incredible event, the time has come for you to secure your seat and get an exclusive discount.

Be part of the gathering of the most audacious players in Africa’s tech ecosystem and get your early-bird ticket now.

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• Asviol – Finance Officer, Programs Officer, Communication Officer – Nigeria (unspecified)
• Pade – Senior Tech Sales Specialist, Finance Manager – Lagos, Nigeria
• Rise – Mobile Developer (React Native Engineer), Senior Backend Engineer – Nigeria (Remote)
• Kaelo – Digital Marketing Manager– South Africa(On-site)
• Anvil Shield Holdings – Software Developer (Java) – Nairobi, Kenya (Unspecified) 
• Kuda – Product Manager – Nigeria (Remote)
• Axiz (Pty) Ltd – Junior Product Manager – South Africa ( Unspecified)
• Wikimedia Foundation – Senior Software Engineer – Nigeria (Remote)
• Incubeta – Paid Media Manager – South Arica (On-site)

There are more jobs on TechCabal’s job board. If you have job opportunities to share, please submit them at bit.ly/tcxjobs. 

What else is happening in tech?

• Apply for Twitter Blue in Nigeria; X Premium 2023
• IMF says Nigeria’s economic policies are too loose to support the naira
• Knife Capital closes $50 million fund to invest in growth-stage SA startups
• Twitter (X) has been fined for missing the deadline to release Trump’s records
• BasiGo has introduced 36-seater electronic buses in Kenya

Mariam Muhammad, Tomisin Bamidele & Faith Omoniyi

Edited by –

Timi Odueso

Want more of TechCabal? Sign up for our insightful newsletters on the business and economy of tech in Africa.

• The Next Wave: futuristic analysis of the business of tech in Africa.
• Entering Tech: tech career insights and opportunities in your inbox every Wednesday at 3 PM WAT.
• In a Giffy: business decisions powered by data-driven insights and analysis you can trust.

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Explain your job to a five-year-old.

The toys you play with, I design them. It’s my job as a product designer to ensure that you, first, have the right kind of toy. Creating toys that just make you happy when you use them is what I do. 

And is product design something you stumbled on? Or is it something you’ve always wanted to do?

For my adult years, it’s definitely something that I wanted to do. I started first as a graphic designer and I also was interested in product management and engineering; I even learnt to code at some point. So I looked for something that was in between

Product design was what made most sense. I’m also very interested in building products that people will actually use and enjoy. So it’s a little bit of both. 

I wouldn’t say my life’s dream was to be a product designer. But, it’s something that I stumbled upon and something I was also very interested in basically.

What’s one thing you think any aspiring product designer should know?

That product design is not just about pixels, it’s not just about shiny things. It’s about the thinking. It’s about really understanding how products works.

It’s not just going on Figma and putting squares, circles and text together. Understanding how people use things, understanding people’s mental modes for the basic things that they use, that’s product design. It’s seeing beyond the shiny interfaces and shiny looks of products generally.

You’ve had freelance and salaried employment. Which do you prefer? And why?

For me, I prefer salaried. I’m not the biggest planner, but when it comes to things within my sphere of control, I don’t mind having them within my sphere of control. 

And I think the non-predictability that comes with freelance requires meticulous planning. I personally paid employment, especially in a startup, not in a company. Because in a startup, you get to do a lot of exciting stuff all the time. In bigger companies, it’s very easy to be very obscure, and just faff around and not do anything. 

Can one become a product designer with Canva alone? Or are tools like Illustrator and Figma critical?

That’s actually a very interesting question. I think you can, especially with the new AI tool that Canva has.

If we go back to what I said about what product designers need to understand, which is the product thinking itself, and how people use products, I think it’s less of the tool that you use, and more of the thinking behind what you’re creating that determines how good you are as a product designer.

It’s less of the tool and more of the thinking. 

Speaking of AI, what do you think about the rush for AI? Is it legit? Or will it die down as Web3 did?

I think there are two sides to it. 

There’s the business side and there’s the product side, which is the everyday use. I think that AI is not just unlike Web3 because everyday people use it. Web3 is very specific to people that just have an interest in it. AI is something that goes into everyday life. And a lot of people in the world have access to it so I think it’s something that is here to stay for a very long time.

Final question. What’s something you’re insanely proud of?

I designed Termii to be what it is right now.

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Airtel Africa has reported a loss after tax in its Q1—April 1 to June 30, 2023 results.

The telecom reported a loss after tax of $151 million, compared to a profit after tax of $178 million during the same period in 2022 due to the currency devaluation in Nigeria. 

Growth in revenue but a currency exchange loss: The telco’s financial statement reported that its mobile services revenue grew by 19.1% in constant currency, driven by voice revenue growth of 11.9% and data revenue growth of 29.8%. 

Mobile money revenue grew by 31.2% in constant currency. Similarly, its total customer base grew by 8.8% to 143.1 million, as the penetration of mobile data and mobile money services continued to rise, driving a 22.0% increase in data customers to 56.8 million and a 24.3% increase in mobile money customers to 34.3 million.

The telco’s revenue also grew by 9.6% to $1.37 billion in Q1 2023, compared to $1.25 billion in the same period in 2022. 

Comments on financial performance: Airtel Africa’s CEO, Olusegun Ogunsanya, stated that the group delivered a strong operating performance with improvement in both constant currency revenue growth and Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) margin despite the challenging macro environment. The telco saw an improvement in voice, data, and mobile money but its results were impacted by foreign exchange “headwinds”.

 Zoom out: Despite the foreign exchange devaluation, the company will continue to have positive outlooks for Airtel in Nigeria and sees it as the most significant market for the company.

Kenya is getting hacked.

Yesterday, a pro-Russian hacktivist group called Anonymous Sudan claimed responsibility for a series of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks on websites of Kenyan media, hospitals, universities, and businesses, including Safaricom.

Sidebar: DDoS attacks are cyberattacks where the attacker overwhelms a website, online service, or connected device with excessive internet traffic, making it impossible for regular users to access the targeted platform.

A series of attacks: Media websites including The Standard Group, and Kenya News Agency were attacked. On Monday, 10 university websites, including the University of Nairobi, experienced attacks while on Tuesday, the focus shifted to seven hospitals and Kenya’s transport agency’s website. 

Additionally, the eCitizen platform—a platform that provides Kenyans with access to a wide range of government services online—also faced an attack. The Kenyan government is now granting visas on arrival to travellers due to the current unavailability of the eCitizen online application portal, but Eliud Owalo, the cabinet secretary overseeing the ministry of information, communication, and the digital economy, assured that no data was compromised or lost during the incident.

Furthermore, Safaricom’s M-Pesa service and Kenya Power, the national utility company were also targeted. 

Why the attack? Since April 15, 2023, Sudan has been experiencing internal conflict between its military factions, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and there have been disputes and power struggles within the Sudanese government. 

The group attacked Kenya because the country “released statements doubting the sovereignty of [the Sudanese] government.” Additionally, the Sudanese government rejected the appointment of Kenya’s president, William Ruto, as leader of a mediation group, accusing Kenya of lacking neutrality in the Sudanese conflict.

A report on Twitter shows the group is demanding an official apology from the Kenyan government or a ransom payment of $200,000 worth of Bitcoin to cease their attacks.

Download the Smile ID State of KYC in Africa Report on the latest trends in identity verification across Africa, highlighting the power of biometric verification and document verification in combating fraud. It is a must-read for any business looking to acquire users across Africa and keep up with fraud trends.

This week, Kenyan agritech company Farm Works raised $4.1 million in pre-series A funding. The round was led by Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, other participating investors included Livelihood Impact Fund, Vested World, a number of family offices, and angel investors.

Here are the other deals this week:

• Clafiya, a Nigerian health-tech company, secured $610,000 in pre-seed funding from Norrsken Accelerator, Acquired Wisdom Fund (AWF), Hustle Fund, Voltron Capital, Microtraction, Ajim Capital, and other investors.
• Kenyan health-tech company, Zuri Health, raised an undisclosed funding round from Five35 Ventures.

That’s it for this week!

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more funding announcements. You can also visit DealFlow, our real-time funding tracker.

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$29,135	– 0.56%	– 4.82%
Ether	$1,859	– 1.31%	– 1.68%
Worldcoin	$2.10	– 9.46%	+ 25.85%
Kaspa	$0.037	– 3.04%	+ 43.05%

* Data as of 21:50 PM WAT, July 27, 2023.

Join us on Friday, August 4, 2023, for a special edition of TC Live, as TechCabal Insights will be launching The State of Tech report, the Q2 2023 edition. This is our flagship report offering a bird’s eye view of African tech trends and analyzing quarterly data on funding, acquisitions, expansions, regulations, policies, and emerging developments in the continent’s digital economy.

The latest edition will explore happenings during the previous quarter in retrospect with actionable insights and expert perspectives on notable patterns and trends to look out for. At the launch event, we would also bring together various ecosystem stakeholders to discuss our exciting findings and highlight from the report with you towards shaping conversations about the general outlook of African tech. 

Register to reserve your seat here.

• The AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards 2023 ($5,000 prize)  is now open to applications from reporters doing work for independent news organisations around the world, with articles readily accessible to the public by subscription, newsstand sales or online access, with the submitted work available in English are eligible to Apply by August 1.
• If you are a young (no older than 24 years of age) and emerging photographer looking to embark on a career in the world of photojournalism, the Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant 2023 (up to £10,000) is open for Applications. Apply by August 31.
• Applications are open for the L’Oreal-UNESCO Young Talents for Women in Science Program – Maghreb 2023. Awarded doctoral and post-doctoral candidates will each receive an endowment of €10,000. Apply by July 30.
• Are you a startup founder looking to build your company? The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator program is open for applications. Each company receives up to $120,000 in funding, and access to the worldwide network of investors, hands-on mentorship, and over $4M of perks. Join the 7,000+ founders who built their businesses with Techstars. Apply by August 9.

What else is happening in tech?

• SA houses 78% of all healthtech innovators in southern Africa, according to report
• South Africa starts fund to fast-track power generation projects
• The US Senate panel has advanced bills to childproof the internet
• Flutterwave is a debacle. Is it really too big to fail?

Written by –

Mariam Muhammad & Tomisin Bamidele

Edited by –

Timi Odueso

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