CRYPTO MARKET

Bitcoin	$20,816	+ 3.20%
Ether	$1,562	+ 5.56%
BNB	$291	+ 2.17%
Solana	$31.70	+ 1.83%
Cardano	$0.40	+ 1.43%
Name of the coin Price of the coin 24-hour percentage change		Source: CoinMarketCap

* Data as of 06:20 AM WAT, October 27, 2022.

NIGERIA REDESIGNS NAIRA NOTES

The Nigerian government is on the hunt for solutions to its devaluing currency, and its latest fix is a brand currency redesign.

Yesterday, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele announced that the apex bank would be redesigning four of the country’s notes: the ₦100, ₦200, ₦500, and ₦1000 notes.

What does this solve?

According to Emefiele, the redesign and reproduction will reduce the circulation of counterfeit notes in the Nigerian economy.

“Recent development in photographic technology and advancements in printing devices have made counterfeiting relatively easier,” Emefiele said. 

The governor also mentioned that the redesign would help curb the large amounts of cash outside of banks’ control. There is reportedly ₦3.2 trillion ($7.3 billion) in circulation within Nigeria, of which ₦2.73 trillion ($6.2 billion) was outside the vaults of the banks. 

“This trend of lots of money out of the bank vault is unacceptable, we want to have a firm grip on the money supply in Nigeria,” he said.

Zoom out: Nigerians have until January 31, 2023 to deposit all old bills to the bank, after which they will cease to be legal tender. The redesigned notes are expected to be in circulation by December 15, 2022.

DJIBOUTI’S PLAN TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE

Djibouti is gearing up to adapt to climate change. 

On Tuesday, the Djibouti government inaugurated a research observatory with support from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The observatory—named the Regional Research Observatory on the Environment and Climate (RROEC)— will use nuclear techniques to create data frameworks that the country can use to manage climate adaptation and resilience. 

Why is this important? 

Djibouti is plagued by drought and famine due to global warming and this observatory will help the country better manage its food and water resources. 

Over 134,000 people in Djibouti suffer from food insecurity brought on by chronic droughts and floods caused by climate change. According to available research, the country is subject to even more droughts as poor seasonal rainfall persists. Also, if the temperature rises by 2°C compared with pre-industrial levels, over 90% of East African coral reefs are projected to be severely degraded by bleaching, and African marine and freshwater fisheries will be significantly threatened.

According to the IAEA director, “The burden of climate change falls disproportionately on the most vulnerable among us. Here in Djibouti, and across Africa, higher temperatures, droughts, and rising sea levels threaten lives and livelihoods…I am delighted that the IAEA was able to make it (RROEC) happen. But we will not stop here, we will continue to assist Djibouti to achieve its priorities including its climate change adaptation goals.”

The Observatory was inaugurated at the Climate Change and Research Conference which was held from October 23 to 25. Scientists, researchers and policymakers from the East African region converged to discuss environmental and climate issues affecting the region.

NALA LAUNCHES GOOGLE PAY INTEGRATION

If this headline looks familiar, it’s because NALA has been in the news recently.

Two weeks ago, the Tanzania-based fintech launched a feature that allows Kenyans to pay their bills with M-PESA. And just last week, it integrated Apple Pay for payments from the UK and the US to Africa.

Now it’s done the same with Google Pay. Yesterday, the company announced that it had added Google Pay as a payout option for NALA’s customers in the diaspora.

NALA’s integration with Google Pay comes seven months after the startup launched operations in the US with an event held in New York, attended by six members of the Tanzanian parliament. 

Speaking on the Google Pay integration, Benjamin Fernandes, NALA’s founder and CEO, said that NALA’s moves are geared towards connecting Africa with more global payment options while building a rich financial infrastructure for Africans.

SAFARICOM WANTS TO ACCELERATE IOT IN KENYA

In a press release seen by TechCabal, Safaricom has announced a strategic partnership with Arm (E3)NGAGE to support the growth of the Internet of Things Developer(IoT) ecosystem and accelerate IoT Development and testing in Kenya using Arm-based technologies.

Arm Limited is a semiconductor and software design company based in Cambridge, UK and currently, more than 80% of IoT devices in Kenya are running on Arm intellectual property.

Side bar: Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the ability of physical devices to collect data and connect to the internet due to sensors, or software embedded in them. Think of remote-controlled devices like rechargeable fans, toys, traffic lights, or even jamboxes.

What does this partnership mean?

The partnership will strengthen the core initiatives in local Communities of Practice focused on the education and engagement of students, developers, and embedded system engineers while extending the network of ARM labs across the African continent. 

The collaboration will also result in showcase occasions that honour regional IoT solutions in real-world settings, inspire customer confidence, and foster quick innovation that will multiply business potential.

Speaking on the partnership, Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom’s CEO, said, “We are undergoing a transformation with the goal of becoming a purpose-led technology company offering more solutions including IoT, 5G, and Cloud. This partnership will enable our country to strengthen its position in the global digital space by building a vibrant device ecosystem.”

CELL C HIKES PRICES FOR CONTRACT SUBSCRIBERS

South African mobile network operator Cell C has hiked prices for its contract effective from December 1.

According to MyBroadband, the price hikes will affect all postpaid customers, including those in the middle of their contract periods.

Why, though? 

Cell C’s chief commercial officer Simo Mkhize cited high inflation and rising input costs as the main reasons for the price adjustments.

“We have not affected any increases to our pricing since 2019 in our quest to ease some of the hardships of the past few years, exacerbated further by the global pandemic that brought along its own set of challenges,” Mkhize said in a letter to affected subscribers.

The majority of the price increases are between 5% and 6%, with some being as high as 12.7% and one legacy package getting a 20% increase.

Bigger picture: In September, the once debt-riddled Cell C completed a recapitalisation process funded by its majority shareholder Blue Label Telecom to service its R7.3 billion (~$414 million) debt.

EVENT: INSIDE IDENTITY

What is the first thing every fintech founder needs to do to be compliant?

“Research is the first important step every fintech founder needs to do to be compliant,” says Ebi Wanapere, head of platform and treasury operations at Bamboo.

On Friday, September 2, we held the fifth edition of the Inside Identity series. TechCabal’s senior reporter, Daniel Adeyemi spoke with Esigie Aguele, co-founder and CEO of VerifyMe, Michael Safo, a compliance/KYC expert from Ghana, Daluchi Iweanya, head of compliance at Quidax and Ebi Wanapere, head of platform and treasury operations at Bamboo.

Each speaker shared important perspectives on how fintechs can build a strong foundation for risk and compliance management by leveraging identity and KYC. They also talked about how compliance and AML professionals can strike a balance between existing systems and the evolving regulatory requirements in the financial service industry.

Want to watch the full conversation? It’s right here.

The Inside Identity series is brought to you by VerifyMe Nigeria in partnership with TechCabal.

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OPPORTUNITIES

• Increase your online sales with your own website built in one hour! Join this free live masterclass at bit.ly/24HRNOCODEWEBSITETC and learn how to build your website, get customers and take your business global without the tech headache, paying costly developers, or spending ad dollars.

• Applications are open for the UK Research and Innovation African Research Leaders’ Programme. Talented researchers in sub-Saharan Africa leading quality health research in the region can apply to get up to £750,000 in funding. Apply by December 1.

• The Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme and the Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique of Nairobi are offering a three-month long fellowship in France for postdoc researchers from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, and Eastern Congo (Kivu) who have presented their thesis from 2017. Laureates will receive a monthly stipend of €1,600 at the start of each month. Apply by December 9.

• If your startup or innovation is focused on climate-smart agriculture practices, apply to the THRIVE|Shell Climate-Smart Agriculture Challenge for a chance to win $100,000, a spot in a prestigious accelerator, publicity and more. Apply by December 11.

• Telecel Group’s African Startup Initiative Program is now open for applications. The 10 selected startups will receive €15,000 in cash each and benefits valued at more than €500,000, including credits from AWS, Google Cloud Services, Hubspot, and more. Apply by November 11.

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