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

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.
• TC Scoops: breaking news from TechCabal

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Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures (VKAV), a pan-African Venture Capital firm, just closed its first fund at $60 million. Led by investors like Nigeria’s SCM Capital, Taiyo Holdings, and C2C Global Education Japan, the fund will see investments in up to 21 high-growth startups across Africa. 

Per the firm, ticket sizes will range between $1 million and $3 million in startups across various sectors like fintech, mobility, e-commerce, and healthcare across Africa. So far, Verod-Kepple has already invested $17.5 million in 12 companies from countries like Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya. 

Why is this good news? Considering the current investment downturn, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures is stepping in to bridge the gap for startups needing capital to scale their businesses. Their focus on Series A and B rounds fills a void where local funding options are limited.

In an interview with Tech Crunch, VKAV partner Ory Okolloh said, “Over the last few years, we have seen a growth in pre-seed and seed funds, and we felt there are not enough funds at the growth stage of investing to get these companies to the next level in terms of scale, exits or even being around as sustainable profitable businesses,”

“Our focus is Series A and B but we have the ability to go earlier to pre-Series A if we think it is a good opportunity. We think there’s still a need for more growth-stage capital with locally based investors,” she said.

The firm’s portfolio presently includes high-hitters like Moove which recently raised $100 million in a Series B round, Moroccan B2B Chari, and fintech Ceviant.

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.

TikTok has revealed it took down 1.7 million videos posted by Nigerian users in the last quarter of 2023.

Why? According to the platform, these users weren’t following the rules. In its Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, Nigeria was placed among the top 50 countries with videos violating TikTok’s guidelines which include policies on safety, privacy and authenticity. The report by the company also states that the top 50 markets which violated its policies accounted for about 90% of all content removals. In total, TikTok removed 176.5 million videos globally. 

From October through the end of the year, the platform also took a firm stance against fake or spam accounts by removing 169 million fake accounts. The company also said it removed 1.03 billion likes from videos, along with 720 million fake followers and 4.9 billion fake follow requests, all of which were identified as originating from automated or inauthentic means, as per TikTok. About 1.2 million bot comments on content tagged with hashtags related to the Israel-Hamas war were also removed. 

It’s not the first time Nigeria’s been on TikTok’s feed: In Q3 2023, TikTok did something similar and removed 1.4 million videos from Nigerian users. During the evaluation period, 136.5 million videos were taken down from the internet worldwide. They were removed based on the violation of TikTok’s policies.

Despite this purge, TikTok’s popularity shows no sign of declining. The platform continues to be a favourite among social media users, particularly young people worldwide. As per a recent data.ai report, TikTok amassed $3.8 billion in consumer spending through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in 2023, contributing to its total revenue reaching $10 billion.

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Eight out of ten cars sold on the continent are used vehicles. Africa’s used car market is estimated to be worth $61.24 billion by 2029. Egypt and Morocco have been identified to be the biggest contributors to these numbers. However, countries like South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya are among the continent’s top importers of used cars.

South Africa experienced a surge in the number of used vehicles sold in the past year, listing up to 100,000 new cars for sale, per data from AutoTrader. The country’s used-car market leader is on track for new heights. 

The road to IPO:  Launched in 2001, South African used-car platform, WeBuyCars, started as a family business. The vehicle trader now buys and sells about 13,500 vehicles monthly and has grown to be South Africa’s leading pre-owned vehicle trader, taking an estimated 10%-12% of the market share. 

The company is taking even bigger strides as it goes public.

On Tuesday, WeBuyCars raised R902.7 million ($49 million) ahead of its listing on Johannesburg Stock Exchange today. WeBuyCars listing comes on the back of a new listing wave on the South African bourse after the Johannesburg Stock Exchange deprioritized listing new companies. 

WeBuyCars stock will trade for R18.75 ($1) per share. The company issued 417,181,120 shares while its parent company, Transaction Capital, an investment holding company, sold 8.145 million WeBuyCars shares for about R152.7 million ($8.14).

The company which will begin trading tomorrow, Friday, has set sights on new funding. Per reporting from TechCabal, WeBuyCars seeks to raise about R7.8 billion (~$420 million). Analysts expect WeBuyCars’ share price to rise to about R25 ($1.3) per share in the near future. However, critics are wary about the company’s IPO fortunes. Its earnings from the previous year dropped 14%. The company also had a surge in its cost-to-income ratio—a measure of how the company can convert revenue to profit. It remains to be seen whether these factors will dampen investor confidence in the company’s stock.

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Conversations around carbon credits and carbon offset seem to be the hottest topics today.

Carbon credit and carbon offsets? For countries that emit large amounts of greenhouse gases (CO2 emissions), carbon credits represent the allowed amount of CO2 emission a company can have. Carbon credits on the other hand represent projects that reduce, avoid, or remove these greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. When you buy a carbon offset, it’s like paying for someone to clean up an equivalent amount of pollution you create. 

Africa, despite not being a major contributor to carbon emissions, has been the target of carbon offset by European counterparts, striking deals to mitigate their excess carbon emission and compensate Africans with deals such as investment in renewable energy projects amongst others. 

The news: SunCulture, a solar irrigation startup, is among the companies at the forefront of the conversation on how carbon offsets can be used for sustainable development in Africa. The company, which offers small-scale farmers solar-powered water pumps, has raised new funds to continue its mission. 

Netflix’s co-founder, Reed Hastings, and Eric Schmidt, the former chief executive officer of Alphabet Inc. alongside InfraCo Africa Ltd. and Acumen Fund Inc., participated in the $27 million funding round. 

Zoom out: While there might be concerns that some carbon offset deals might not be equitable, with some worrying that wealthier nations might simply be paying to pollute more elsewhere, without truly helping Africa achieve sustainable development. SunCulture’s deal promises farmers replacement of diesel-powered pumps, helping them increase yields in previously non-irrigated fields.

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$70,610	+ 1.77%	+ 2.90%
Ether	$3,563	+ 0.74%	– 11.67%
Saga	$5.74	– 9.91%	– 1.51%
Solana	$172.95	+ 0.61%	+ 12.89%

* Data as of 06:40 AM 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

• Everyone is rich, no one is happy. The pro golf drama is back
• Think Tesla is in trouble? Pity even more its wannabe EV rivals
• Air Peace accuses Gatwick Airport of deliberately obstructing its UK flight operations

Written by: Towobola Bamgbose & 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.
• TC Scoops: breaking news from TechCabal

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Nigeria is introducing a scorecard system to gauge the performance of its public officeholders. 

The news: In a recently released Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU), the government hopes to offer its citizens a medium to measure and review the performance of public officeholders. The Bola Tinubu-led administration says it has a goal of “ensuring citizen-centric governance for accountability and transparency.”

Central Delivery Coordination Unit? The CDCU is the second iteration of two performance tracking platforms the government had earlier created in August 2022. Both platforms—Presidential Delivery Tracker (PDT) and the website of the Central Delivery Coordination Unit (CDCU)—were designed to help citizens track the government’s deliverables and performance on policies, projects, and programmes.

In its latest iteration of the CDCU, the government has launched an app alongside building a Delivery Reporting Framework and Template that mirrors international standards. 

Will this project hold water? Nigeria’s latest swing at open governance is not a first on the continent. Morocco’s revised constitution of 2011 outlined government goals in making information available to its citizens. Similarly, Kenya’s constitution—section 35—guarantees its citizens’ rights to government information. 

While the Nigerian government has implemented the tracker, questions in the hearts of the citizens will be whether the data captured is accurate and not manipulated. As the tracker brings to the fore the performance of public officials, citizens will also be eager to know if there will be consequences for public officials who consistently underperform according to the scorecard or whether the data be readily available and easily understandable for the public.

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.

A week after Nigeria announced plans to develop its National AI strategy, Kenya is following suit. 

Let’s—pardon our AI—delve into it: In a recent kick-off meeting held on April 8, 2024, the Kenyan government, in collaboration with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) known as “German Development Cooperation” in English, launched a project to formulate a National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy. 

With support from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the European Union, the initiative, named “FAIR” which means “Forward Artificial Intelligence for All,” aims to leverage AI’s potential for driving Kenya’s digital transformation and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. 

The effect of the launch of Kenya’s AI strategy: AI can positively impact various sectors in Kenya, such as health, education, finance, and security and forming a strategy which will include policy and regulation-making will reduce its excesses. 

Bodo Immink, the Country Director of GIZ said the project represents a significant step forward for Kenya in harnessing the power of AI for sustainable development and social inclusion. 

Prior to the launch, on March 26, 2024, the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO (KNATCOM), in partnership with UNESCO, hosted a Stakeholders’ Consultation Forum in Nairobi to address Kenya’s Readiness Assessment (RAM) on AI. 

The forum marked a significant step in Kenya’s dedication, alongside UNESCO’s 193 Member States, to champion ethical principles in AI development. 

The 2021 adoption of the Recommendation on the Ethics of AI has shown Kenya’s commitment to prioritising human rights and promoting inclusivity in the advancement and deployment of AI technologies.

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Over the past ten years, SA has suffered load shedding which has seen citizens enjoy barely 10 hours of electricity per day. One of the culprits: data centres, which typically guzzle 12-20MW of power, creates a problem in the country as South Africa is known for its frequent power cuts.

To address this, Teraco, an African major data centre provider, announced plans in February 2024, to build a 120-megawatt solar farm in the Free State province to supply clean energy to its facilities across South Africa.

Africa Data Centres (ADC), another major player, has followed suit. It has partnered with its sister company, Distributed Power Africa (DPA) Southern Africa, to build a 12MW solar farm also located in the Free State province to power its data centres. 

The partnership, which is part of a 20-year power purchase agreement signed in March 2023, will ensure a steady supply of clean energy for ADC’s data centres, and is said to reduce reliance on South Africa’s national grid and transition to cleaner energy sources.

The rollout will occur in two phases. The initial phase prioritises supplying ADC’s Cape Town data centre, as a result of Cape Town having the necessary regulatory framework and infrastructure for power wheeling in place, ahead of Johannesburg and Tshwane (Pretoria). “Construction starts in the next three months, and we are looking to have 12MW available for the grid in the next 12 months,” said Finhai Munzara, chief financial officer at ADC.

Meanwhile, South Africa recently took a breather from load shedding. Between March 26 to April 5, 2024, Its citizens reportedly enjoyed a 10-day reprieve from load shedding, the longest stretch since December 2023. The Easter holiday weekend naturally led to lower power demand, and cooler weather also played a role as Eskom’s coal fleet performed surprisingly well, generating enough electricity to meet demand without resorting to blackouts.

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In January this year, Nigeria’s mobile subscription numbers took a tumble due to the implementation of the mandatory National Identification Number (NIN)-SIM card linkage requirement by the country’s telecom regulator, to mitigate the use of unregistered SIM cards in the country. 

In December 2023, the total number of active subscriptions across four mobile networks—Airtel, MTN, Glo and 9mobile—stood at 224.4 million. However, January 2024 saw a drop to 218 million as subscribers scrambled to comply with the NIN-SIM directive.

MTN in particular, suffered a 2.8 million internet subscription loss leaving 67.8 million subscribers in January 2024, from 70.6 million subscribers in December—the most decline the telcom has seen since May 2023. 

Well, those numbers are starting to bounce back. As of February 2024, active mobile subscriptions in Nigeria climbed back to 219.7 million. The industry’s top dogs, MTN and Airtel, were the key drivers of this growth. According to NCC data, MTN, the market leader, added 1.1 million new subscriptions, bringing their total subscribers to 80.9 million. Airtel wasn’t far behind, adding 434,175 new subscribers and pushing their base to 63 million. Globacom, the third-largest operator, chipped in with a modest increase of 176,756 subscriptions.

The NCC’s directive for network barring of unregistered SIM cards remains in effect. This may lead to further fluctuations in subscription numbers in the coming months, as deadlines for NIN submission and verification have passed.

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Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$69,072	– 2.66%	+ 0.72%
Ether	$3,525	+ 7.85%	– 9.04%
Saga	$6.23	+ 6.80%	+ 6.80%
Solana	$171.53	– 3.56%	+ 21.81%

* Data as of 06:15 AM WAT, April 10, 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

• Who calls the shots at Susa Ventures-backed Okra?
• Access, UBA and Zenith, total assets exceed ‘N20 trillion, form largest banking trio in Nigeria
• Elon Musk says his posts did more to ‘financially impair’ X than help it

Written by: Mariam Muhammad, Towobola Bamgbose & 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.
• TC Scoops: breaking news from TechCabal

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