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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Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission (NDPC) had a busy 2023. Asides earning over ₦400 million ($287,044) in revenue for the year, it also investigated three big companies—Opay, Meta and DHL—amongst others, for data infractions.

Now, the Nigerian digital lending sector is under the NDPC’s scrutiny. The watchdog is investigating 400+ cases where lenders accessed borrowers’ private information without consent—a violation of the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) of 2023.

What has the NDPC found? Its investigation reveals that loan apps are “overly intrusive,” collecting unnecessary data despite Google’s policy changes which restricted loan apps on its Play Store from accessing users’ photos and contacts in April 2023. The NDPC now seeks to restrict or ban phone numbers used by lenders for such breaches.

To address this issue, the NDPC has adopted a multi-faceted strategy: teaming up with regulators and platforms to deny access to lenders misusing data. The NDPC is also drafting the Nigeria Data Protection Act-General Application and Implementation Directive (NDPA-GAID) to address data ethics and hold third-party platforms accountable for breaches.

Additionally, the NDPC will work with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to ensure lenders obtain data protection clearance before operating.

Zoom out: The Nigeria data protection framework empowers NDPC and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) to fine entities violating the Act, with penalties directly linked to the severity of data protection breaches. Fines range from ₦2million ($1,435) to ₦10 million ($7,176), or 2% of the company’s annual gross revenue of the preceding year. In August 2021, NITDA fined Soko Loan ₦10 million ($7,176) for illegal data tampering with users’ private data.

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After Nigeria restricted users’ access to the website of Binance, the global crypto exchange, two of its top executives—Tigran Gambaryan and Nadeem Anjawarlla, regional manager for Binance in Africa—flew into the country to resolve the dispute. On arrival into the country, the office of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) seized the travel documents of both officials, detaining both executives without any criminal charge.

Both executives remained in detention for more than two weeks before Anjarwalla, fled the country using a smuggled passport. Gambaryan, the remaining Binance employee left in detention is now looking for respite.

Tigran Gambaryan has filed a lawsuit against the NSA and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for violating his fundamental human right to liberty by detaining him and seizing his travel documents.

Per Gambaryan’s lawsuit, the seizure of his travel documents and detention violated Section 35 (1) and (4) of Nigeria’s Constitution, which safeguards the freedom of movement for all persons. The suit aims to halt the detention of Gambaryan for investigations related to Binance. The former crypto-focused US Federal Agent is seeking release from detention and return of his travel documents. Gambaryan also wants a public apology from the NSA.Gambaryan’s case has been adjourned to April 8, 2024.

In other news, Nadeem Anjawarlla also filed similar charges against the NSA and the EFCC. However, lawyers representing Anjawarlla have bailed out of the case, leaving him without legal representation. Anjawarlla’s case has been adjourned till he gets legal backing. 

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Curiosity isn’t just for cats anymore. 

In a bid to outlive its competitors, Meta has discovered a newfound interest in what other social media platforms are up to. 

The news: New court documents show that Meta, owners of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been spying on Snapchat’s web traffic.

How? The court document revealed that in 2016, Meta—then Facebook—launched a secret project, stylised “Ghostbusters”, to acquire, decrypt, transfer, and use private, encrypted in-app analytics from Snapchat, YouTube, and Amazon.

Mark Zuckerberg was at the helm of the plan. Court documents show that Zuckerberg, Meta’s leader, via an email correspondence with three other top executives, launched a query into Snapchat’s numbers and users’ activities due to how fast the company was growing and the difficulty in getting its metrics. At the time, Snapchat had grown from 100,000 daily active users about a year after its launch in 2011 to 158 million by 2016, with Facebook at 1.86 billion users. 

Javier Olivan, now Facebook’s COO, was sold on the plan as well. Together with Guy Rosen, CEO of Onavo, a web analytics company owned by Meta, they cracked the code and figured out a way to extract users’ data from Snapchat. Meta intercepted users’ data from their phones before it reached Snapchat’s servers, a technique known as SSL bumping. 

Meta continued spying on Snapchat users’ data from June 2016 until early 2019. Spying on Snapchat wasn’t enough. Meta also engaged the tech in spying on competitors, YouTube and Amazon between 2017 and 2018, extracting useful decision-making information in the process. 

Meta now faces a lawsuit for “anti-competitive conduct and exploiting user data through deceptive practices.”

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Dodai, an Ethiopian electric vehicle manufacturing company, secured $4 million in Series A funding from Nissay Capital, Musashi Seimitsu, and Inclusion Japan. (Mar 24)

Here are other deals for the week:

• Egyptian AI-focused edtech startup Sprints.ai closed a $3 million bridge fundraising round led by Disruptech Ventures, with EdVentures, CFYE, and others joining the investment. (Mar 26)
• Right Now Response (RNR), a South African breakdown management platform for truck fleet managers and OEMs, raised $634k from HAVAIC. (Mar 26)

Before you go, our State Of Tech In Africa Report for Q4 2023 is out. Click thislink 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	$71,006	+ 2.57%	+ 13.90%
Ether	$3,575	+ 2.02%	+ 6.19%
Tether USDt	$1.00	+ 0.03%	– 0.06%
BNB	$584.99	+ 1.81%	+ 41.02%

* Data as of 12:26 AM WAT, March 29, 2024.

• The second edition of TechCabal’sMoonshot 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 getting 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

• CBN withdraws Cellulant’s mobile money licence as company focuses on payments solutions
• Inflation is forcing auto financing startups to rethink financing strategies
• The Washington’s Post first AI strategy editor talks LLMs in the newsroom
• Women founders and venture capital—some 2023 snapshots

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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Ethiopia’s biggest bank, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), has made significant strides in recent years. With over 46 million account holders and 82 years of experience, the CBE oversees the country’s financial sector. However, even giants stumble. 

A glitch in the CBE system allowed for free cash withdrawals at ATMs and electronic transfers, losing up to $14 million in the process.

For thousands of Ethiopians, especially university students, March 16 was unlike any other day. A technical problem during routine “maintenance and inspection activities” led to the glitch. News spread quickly; over 15,000 people took advantage of the glitch, with withdrawals ranging from 9 cents to over $5,000.

Currently, the CBE has recovered 80%— about $11 million of the money lost in its glitch. While nearly 15,000 Ethiopians have willingly returned the extra funds they withdrew, the bank has reportedly released the names and account details of the remaining 567 individuals in an attempt to shame them into giving it back. 

According to Abe Sano, the president of the CBE, the outstanding amount is insignificant to the bank, but not collecting it sends the wrong message.

Zoom out: 490,000 transactions were reportedly conducted before the CBE detected the glitch. News of the glitch initially spread particularly amongst university students, prompting universities nationwide to urge their students to return any extra funds they received.

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In a bid to strengthen Uganda’s banking system and make it more resilient to external shocks, the Ugandan government implemented stricter capital requirements for financial institutions in July 2023.

The Ugandan government, through its finance ministry, implemented new regulations that require commercial banks to hold a minimum of $38.6 million in capital reserves. This is a 506% increase from the previous requirement of $6.4 million. Banks have until June 30, 2024, to comply with the new rules.

As a result, some banks have downgraded operations. Guaranty Trust Bank Uganda Ltd, a subsidiary of Nigeria’s Guaranty Trust Bank, applied to be downgraded from a commercial bank to a credit institution following anticipated failure to meet the new capital buffer requirements.

Uganda’s apex bank granted the request and demoted Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) from a Tier I commercial bank to a Tier II credit institution which has a minimum capital requirement of $275,802. This change also affects Kenya’s ABC Capital Bank and Opportunity Bank. 

As a result of the downgrade, these banks are restricted to accepting customer deposits and maintaining savings accounts. However, they are no longer permitted to open current accounts for customers or engage in foreign currency trading.

Since 2020, French broadcasting company, Canal+ has increased its stake in MultiChoice, Africa’s pay-TV giant from 20.1% to 35.01% and made an offer in February 2023, to buy Multichoice’s remaining shares for R105 per share. The offer was deemed too low by Multichoice and was rejected.

Earlier this month, Canal+ increased its offer to R125 per share—a 20% increase from the initial offer of R105—a week after a regulatory panel mandated the French broadcaster to make an offer to MultiChoice’s ordinary shareholders and extended the offer deadline to April 8, 2024.

Although both companies agreed to cooperate following the offer increase, the bid for MultiChoice just got a whole lot more interesting.

Why? Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football and South Africa’s wealthiest Black man, reportedly worth $2.4 billion, is entering talks to join Canal+’s bid. According to Bloomberg, the discussions are still at an early stage and there is no guarantee that an agreement will be reached.

Motsepe, who founded Ubuntu-Botho Investments and African Rainbow Capital (ARC), also holds investments in mobile network operator, Rain and neobank, TymeBank.

Why is this important? Canal+ might only be able to hold a maximum of 20% of voting rights, a major hurdle due to South African regulations that limit foreign ownership of broadcasters to 20%. Motsepe’s involvement in the deal could ensure MultiChoice remains a South African entity, meeting the local ownership threshold required by authorities.

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In 2021, ByteDance, makers of TikTok brought the fight to WhatsApp and Telegram on the continent through its messaging platform: Let’sChat. Launched in March 2021, LetsChat allowed users similar capabilities to other messaging platforms: text, voice call, and video call. 

While experts gave the budding messaging platform little or no chance of displacing established rivals like WhatsApp on the continent, Let’sChat forged on, amassing over 7 million users in the process with a bulk of them from Nigeria and others from Mali, Angola, and Côte d’Ivoire.

To set itself apart from the market, Let’sChat heavily advertised itself as a data-saving platform, offering free video and voice calls to its users. The feature was a great incentive for Nigerians where internet subscription prices are among the most expensive in the world. Let’s Chat also engaged major Nigerian influencers to board people onto the platform. 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. While the app had gathered about 440,000 monthly average users (500 times fewer than WhatsApp’s), downloads fell after it struggled to keep users glued after its dramatised launch.

ByteDance seems to have given up the chase on WhatsApp and is now pulling the plug on LetsChat to “focus on other priorities”. 

The news: Per reporting from Rest of World, ByteDance has shut down LetsChat. According to a note on LetsChat website, the platform was shutdown on March 23. Per the website statement, LetsChat’s mobile app was removed from various app stores on February 26. 

The website has announced that “all reward tasks will stop.” However, “completed tasks will be distributed in the form of credit” to users’ wallets, urging them to keep an eye on their balance. 

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Telecom Egypt isn’t holding back!

Recently, the mobile operator has been making huge power plays. In January, the telecom was Egypt’s first mobile operator to obtain a 5G licence, acquiring a 15-year, $150 million licence.

In February 2024, it partnered with 4iG, a Hungarian IT solutions provider, to build an express subsea cable that’ll connect Albania to Egypt. Upon completion, the subsea cable is expected to connect Africa and Asia to Europe through Egypt, the Mediterranean, and Albania.

The news: The telecom is buddying up with Tejas Networks, an Indian broadband, and data networking products company, to create job opportunities for Egyptians through telecom and research skill development. Tejas Network will also set up technical support services in Egypt as part of the collaboration arrangement to help clients in Egypt and throughout the larger Africa and Middle East area. 

Tejas Network’s experience in implementing projects like the Nigerian Rural Broadband project and India’s National Knowledge Network project—estimated to have impacted India’s ~550 million young population—positions it as a top trainer for Egyypt’s learners. 

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$69,320	– 1.15%	+ 21.77%
Ether	$3,512	– 2.26%	+ 10.74%
Tether USDt	$0.09997	– 0.03%	– 0.09%
BNB	$574.23	– 0.79%	+ 43.59%

* Data as of 10:42 PM WAT, March 27, 2024.

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• Ride-hailing platform, Bolt has launched an Accelerator Programme for its drivers and riders in Kenya. The program will see the company invest €20,000 (about Ksh2.92 million) in seed funds to support business plans developed by Bolt drivers and couriers or their family members that link to sustainable transport. Apply by April 4.
• The Corporate Social Responsibility arm of MTN Nigeria, MTN Foundation has opened applications for phase two of its “Yellopreneur” Initiative, through which it intends to offer 150 female entrepreneurs with ₦3 million ($1,900) each as loans to boost their businesses. Apply by March 30.
• Applications are open for the Access Bank Youthrive Program for Nigerian MSMEs. The program is a collaboration between the bank and the Vice President’s office, dedicated to empowering individuals and MSMEs. With a focus on capacity development, financial empowerment, and business exchange, the program aims to impact 4 million youths over the next four years. Apply here.
• The 2024 African Business Heroes Competition is open for application. It aims to identify, support, and inspire the next generation of African entrepreneurs who are making an impact in their local communities, working to solve the most pressing problems, and building a more sustainable and inclusive economy for the future. Finalists get grant funds of up to $300,000, global recognition and exposure and targeted and practical training programs. Apply by May 19.

Here’s what you should be looking at

• Benjamin Oyemonlan is creating a protean payment platform at Platnova
• Access Holdings’ Hydrogen posts first profit in two years
• Kenya Airways cuts down losses, records first operating profit in years
• Starlink terminals are falling into the wrong hands
• African B2B e-commerce giant Wasoko marked down to $260M after VC halves stake

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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While Uber, a ride-hailing giant leads a$100 millioninvestment in Nigerian fintech Moove, the company is also locked in a data privacy dispute with the Lagos state government in Nigeria.

How it started: This disagreement follows a 2020 agreement between ride-hailing companies, and the Lagos state government, at the time, demanded backend access to user trip and location data for planning, revenue, and security purposes. 

Two weeks ago, the government further demanded real-time access, threatening sanctions for non-compliance. Uber, however, maintained that they’ve been fulfilling their obligations under the agreement.

Now, the ride-hailing company faces potential sanctions from the government as it insists that access to real-time trip details is crucial for security and user well-being in the state. 

Unlike its ride-hailing competitor Bolt, which has embraced the new data-sharing requirements, sources close to Uber reveal the company is hesitant to comply, citing user privacy concerns.

Zoom out: Finding a solution that balances safety with privacy is crucial. It remains to be seen whether Uber and the Lagos state government will reach an agreement that will keep Lagosians safe without compromising user data.

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Starlink’s launch in Africa has been a mixed bag. While it has received wide embrace in Nigeria and Rwanda, holders of the satellite based internet provider have been considered criminals in countries like Zimbabwe, Senegal, Botswana, South Africa and Ghana. Yes, Ghana! 

The bone of contention for most of these countries has been Starlink failing to obtain regulatory licence and approval to operate in the country. 

However, one particular country might be having a rethink.

The news: Ghana’s National Communication Authority is in talks to grant Starlink a licence of approval to operate within the country. The decision comes after severe subsea cable cuts have affected the country’s internet reception, hurting businesses and the country’s stock exchange in return. Ghana shifted the closing hours on its stock exchange by one hour on Thursday and Friday last week due to the outages.

While Ghana’s regulator had estimated a five weeks repair time for the subsea cable cuts, Starlink’s approval will provide a lifeline for businesses within the country. According to Starlink’s website, the internet service provider will be available in Ghana by Q3 2024. 

Starlink, however, reportedly told government officials that its services will first cater to high-end customers upon entry into the country. 

Zoom out: As Ghana looks to Elon Musk owned Starlink to salvage its messy internet, the country is also on the lookout for other saviours. The country’s minister for communication urged new internet providers to enter into Ghana, while encouraging existing ones to explore partnerships with RASCOM (Regional African Satellite Communications Organisation) for broader telecommunication services across Africa.

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Lemfi has basked in some recent milestones. 

In August 2023, the Nigerian fintech platform launched in the US. In the same month, it secured $33 million in funding led by LeftLane Capital to ease remittance for immigrants. Six months later, LemFi hired ex-Opay COO Allen Qu, to lead its expansion to China.

The international payments company has partnered with Visa’s Cross-Border Solutions division to expand its reach and simplify cross-border money transfers for its users.

Under the agreement, LemFi will gain access to new markets like China, India, and Pakistan, and Visa’s Cross-Border Solutions will become LemFi’s primary partner for processing these international transactions. Additionally, over 250,000 LemFi users in the UK and broader Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) region will now have access to Visa debit and prepaid debit cards. 

For existing customers, the partnership ensures continuity. LemFi will continue to provide e-payments and foreign exchange services for its users. This means UK residents from various African nations can continue relying on LemFi for the remittance of funds.

Spin up a sales force with dozens – even hundreds – of Virtual Terminal accounts in seconds, without the headache of managing physical hardware. Learn more → 

Moove, the Nigerian vehicle financing platform, secured $100 million in Series B funding this week in a round led by Uber, with participation from investors, including sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, The Latest Ventures, AfricInvest, Palm Drive Capital, Triatlum Advisors, and Future Africa. 

Here are other deals for the week:

• Nigerian blockchain-powered fintech Zone raised $8.5 million in a seed round led by TLcom Capital and Flourish Ventures. 
• South African BNPL startup, Float, raised $11 million from Standard Bank. 
• Kenyan insurtech startup mTek secured $1.25 million from Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures and Founders Factory Africa. 
• Tunisian AI startup Clusterlab raised $600k pre-seed from Karim Beguir and regional angel investors. 
• Egyptian healthtech Pharmacy Marts secured an undisclosed six-figure bridge round from Acasia Ventures. 

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	$65,396	– 3.34%	+ 25.45%
Ether	$3,487	– 0.05%	+ 19.35%
Tether USDt	$0.9999	– 0.06%	– 0.01%
BNB	$553.35	– 0.30%	+ 48.02%

* Data as of 10:45 PM WAT, March 21, 2024.

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• Kuda – Android Engineer – Cape Town (Hybrid)
• Remotepass – QA Engineer – Nigeria (Remote)
• MaxAB – Group Product Manager – Egypt
• Flutterwave – Product Manager – Lagos
• MainOne – Product Manager– Lagos
• GoLemon – Quality Control Specialist – Lagos

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

Here’s what you should be looking at

• Startups, remote workers seek normalcy after internet disruption
• Microsoft agreed to pay Inflection $650 mln while hiring its staff, source says
• US sues Apple for illegal monopoly over smartphones

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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As far as ambition goes, Nigeria’s largest commercial bank by asset, Access Bank, is one to be reckoned with. The bank in recent times has been deepening its roots across the continent and beyond. 

Now, the bank is making a bold move to solidify its East African presence.

The news: Yesterday, Access HoldCo signed an agreement to acquire Kenya’s National bank. The acquisition, touted to cement Access’ East African presence is the company’s second acquisition in the Kenya. The Nigerian lender bought Transnational Bank Ltd. in 2019.

Why Kenya? When compared with Nigeria, Kenya has a more developed lending sector, and its economy is expected to grow at a quicker rate than Nigeria’s, making it an appropriate location for the lender to extend its footprint.

Before the acquisition of NBK, the company has demonstrated its voracious appetite for acquiring banks within the continent. 

In July 2023, Access HoldCo, its parent company, reached an agreement with Standard Chartered Bank for the acquisition of Standard Chartered’s shareholding in its subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, and Sierra Leone, and its consumer, private and business banking business in Tanzania. The bank received regulatory approval to conduct business in Asia, in December 2023, joining the ranks of South Africa’s TymeBank on the continent. In February,, the bank acquired Megatech Insurance Brokers Ltd, an insurance brokerage company licensed and regulated by the National Insurance Commission. 

The bank says is sticking to its ambitions of doubling its assets outside NIgeria by 2027.

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Founded in 2016, DocFox carved a niche for itself by tackling the bane of banker’s existence: the account opening process. The company provided automated onboarding solutions for commercial and business banks, reportedly boasting over 450 customers across three continents.

DocFox’s ambition, however, isn’t limited to regional dominance. 

The news: In a move to enhance its cloud banking suite, nCino, a US-based cloud banking solution has acquired DocFox for $75 million. The acquisition is expected to close in March 2024.

nCino helps financial institutions modernise their operations, making it easier for businesses and individuals to onboard, secure loans, manage accounts, and navigate the loan lifecycle. Merging with DocFox will create a single platform for banks to manage the entire client lifecycle, from information gathering to due diligence.

For DocFox, the $75 million price tag will propel its solutions onto a global stage, giving it the resources and reach to empower banks worldwide.

Many justice systems around the world have traditionally been bogged down by mountains of paper—case files stacked high, endless reams for printing documents, and a complex process for navigating legal battles. This reliance on physical records can lead to inefficiency, delays, and difficulty for citizens seeking justice. 

In Kenya, a new chapter is about to begin. The East African country is using tech to improve how justice is delivered in the country.

On March 11, 2024, Chief Justice Martha Koome launched a Nationwide E-Filing, Data Tracking Dashboard, and Causelist Portal dubbed “All Courts Go Digital,” to revolutionise the Kenyan legal system.

All Courts Go Digital: Starting July 1, 2024, the new system will streamline case management with e-filing, eliminating the need for physical documents. This not only reduces paper waste but also allows for efficient tracking through an e-filing data tracking dashboard that will monitor case progress, identify reasons for delays across courts, and help with strategic planning by highlighting trends in caseloads. The Causelist portal will also allow lawyers and anyone involved in a court case to easily see which cases are being heard each day. 

The new initiative will improve transparency and accessibility by offering a central location to find daily court schedules.

E-filing is gaining traction: South Africa’s court system also utilises an online case management system, which includes some e-filing capabilities including access to upcoming hearings, filed and served documents, and court notifications. Additionally, the platform allows secure document exchange and sharing with other parties in the case.

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Telkom Kenya has hit a rough patch in the last couple of months.

Between March 2022 and June 2023, the telecom lost 1.62 million subscribers due to a crackdown on irregularly registered SIM cards. To worsen matters, it lost another 800,000 subscribers due to unpaid leasing fees—$51.7 million—to American Towers Corporation (ATC), which forced the shutdown of 246 Telkom towers. 

A bid to recover financial ground: Now facing a dwindling subscriber base of 1.3 million, Telkom is in discussions to sell its Kenyan mast and tower business, Swiftnet—reportedly valued at $332 million— to private equity firm Actis LLP.

The potential deal could provide much-needed financial relief for Telkom Kenya, grappling with a shrinking subscriber base and network issues. The deal would also include a smaller, local partner which, at this point, remains unnamed. 

This development follows Telkom’s announcement in November 2023, that it was in exclusive negotiations with a “reputable private equity firm” to sell Swiftnet. The unnamed firm was leading a consortium that included a Black economic empowerment partner.

Tower spin-offs: Many mobile network operators (MNOs) follow a similar path by divesting their tower infrastructure and entering into “sale-and-leaseback” agreements. One such example is MTNs deal with IHS Holding Ltd. In 2022, MTN sold over 5,700 of its tower sites in South Africa to IHS Holding Ltd, a telecommunications infrastructure company, in a sale-and-leaseback deal.

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Africa’s remittance market is estimated to grow to about $2.68bn in 2028, and many fintech startups on the continent are riding the wave and tapping into that potential. 

LemFi, a Nigerian fintech which allows people to receive and send money to 12 countries globally, expanded into Tanzania and China this year. Similarly, Pryme received a European banking licence to allow it offer its services to the 12 million Africans living in Europe. 

Onafriq and Safaricom are teaming up to be the latest players in that space

News: Ethiopia’s National Bank has approved Safaricom’s Payment Instrument Issuer Licence that would allow it to receive foreign income via M-PESA, its mobile money platform. 

Ethiopians abroad sent $4.2 billion in remittances home in 2022, accounting for roughly 5% of GDP. The country aims to double that figure within five years, and the new Safaricom-Onafriq partnership is seen as a key driver. Safaricom boasts a vast mobile money network, M-Pesa, widely used in East Africa. This extensive network could simplify receiving remittances for Ethiopians, eliminating the need for traditional bank accounts.

The move is the latest in the cards of Onafriq which recently rebranded as MFS AFrica. The fintech obtained three licenses from the Bank of Uganda (BoU) one year after it acquired Beyonic, a Ugandan-based digital payments services provider for enterprises operating in Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda.

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$67,719	+ 5.83%	+ 30.01%
Ether	$3,498	+ 6.16%	+ 16.92%
Tether USDt	$1.00	+ 0.10%	+ 0.05%
Solana	$189.68	+ 9.40%	+ 76.28%

* Data as of 10:55 PM WAT, March 20, 2024.

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• Ride-hailing platform, Bolt has launched an Accelerator Program for its drivers and riders in Kenya. The program will see the company invest €20,000 (about Ksh2.92million) in seed fund to support business plans developed by Bolt drivers and couriers or their family members that link to sustainable transport. Apply by April 4.
• The Corporate Social Responsibility arm of MTN Nigeria, MTN Foundation has opened applications for phase two of its “Yellopreneur” initiative, through which it intends to offer 150 female entrepreneurs with ₦3 million ($1,900) each as loans to boost their businesses. Apply by March 30. 
• Applications are open for the Access Bank Youthrive Program for Nigerian MSMEs. The program is a collaboration between the bank and the Vice President’s office, dedicated to empowering individuals and MSMEs. With a focus on capacity development, financial empowerment, and business exchange, the program aims to impact 4 million youths over the next four years. Apply here.

Here’s what you should be looking at

• DOB Equity shakeup: Co-CEOs step down in leadership overhaul 
• TechStars-backed GetEquity is raising $1 million to add bonds and fixed-income assets
• tappi partners MTN to help Ivorian businesses create online presence
• Nigeria’s 8 subsea cables spur new investment in hyperscale data centres

Written by: Mariam Muhammad & Faith Omoniyi

Edited by: Timi Odueso

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Koffi Kelvin is a QA Engineer at GitHub and an Andela technologist. He is passionate about learning and recently graduated from an 11-month leadership course. Koffi is an Andela community champion, supporting and mentoring other community members across the globe, as well as organizing region-wide events for Andela. Outside of tech, Koffi is interested in music, art, and African culture.

• Explain your job to a five-year-old

Imagine you built the world’s most incredible treehouse ever! It has slides, secret tunnels, and a throne made from your softest teddy bear. But before you invite all your friends over, wouldn’t you want to ensure it’s perfect?

That’s where a QA engineer comes in, like the ultimate fort inspector with a magnifying glass! We’re the ones who crawl through the tunnels, bounce on the pillows, and push all the buttons (carefully, of course!) to see if anything is wonky or doesn’t work quite right.

We might find a slide that topples over too easily or a tunnel too small for even the tiniest teddy bear. We’ll then tell the treehouse builders (the programmers) about these funny mishaps so they can fix them and make the treehouse even more epic!

• Can you share a memorable experience where your attention to detail in QA uncovered a critical issue in a project?

Off the top of my head, I discovered a critical OS issue when I was at Hewlett-Packard. I was analysing data, and it revealed a bug; I would upload a particular file to an RGB keyboard app, which then caused the entire operating system to crash. This was precarious because, of course, apps require operating systems to run. We were building the operating system alongside the required apps; one needed the other to perform efficiently. It was a close shave!

• Your background also showcases a transition from hands-on QA engineering to customer support. What sparked this shift in focus, and what excites you most about the support role?

QA is a very customer-centric role where, in some instances, during user acceptance testing (UAT), one works with the actual application users to address any issues they might have with the product, making customer support a function within QA. Hence, the transition was as seamless as running from walking.

• What skills would you say have been critical to your career growth and trajectory?

Curiosity and tenacity. I remain curious and interested in all functions within and around my work. I’m constantly researching, reading, and learning. This exposes me to as many recent and emerging technologies as possible, which helps keep me sharp and up-to-date. I tend to seek out content from some notable thought leaders within QA like James Bach, who is christened “The father of Agile testing” through his blog and a few others like.

I gravitate towards the daunting and challenging tasks many people avoid, which has ensured I’ve learned the most within the team. I welcome a challenge, as it makes me learn the most or fail spectacularly. And when you fail, you learn; you never make the same mistake twice. 

• You’ve been a digital business mentor for two years now. What would you say is the most rewarding thing about mentoring?

At this point in my career, I would love to give back to the Andela community as much as possible because I realise how privileged I have been in my career journey. This is why I am drawn to mentoring and supporting other technologists. The Andela community is a network of global technologists, and I regularly speak to people worldwide. The most rewarding part is helping others be successful in specific fields using tools that improve the quality, efficiency, and even the quantity of their output.

I guide new members through the Andela talent community landscape, offering support and advice on everything from how to navigate the job engagement process, to questions about tax and, of course, technology and skills guidance.

• What are some of your hobbies or passions that fuel your creativity and energy outside of work?

I always make time for physical activity, regularly playing at the local rugby club and swimming. Recently, I’ve embraced farming, starting with building two beehives, planting some fruit trees (mango and apple), and growing hot chilies. I love being outdoors as much as possible.

• Finally, what lessons have you learned from your experiences in QA that have had the most significant impact on your professional growth and development?

Developing my teamwork and collaboration skills during our day-to-day QA operations has impacted my leadership. Most recently, I took an 11-month leadership development program led by renowned scholars including Dr Phidel Baraza (Ph.D.) and Professor Emmanuel Bellon, where I was recognized as one of the course’s top performers. When I first began leadership training, I was taught to lead from the front and demonstrate/explain how my team should perform. But working in QA, I’ve learned how to lead from behind when needed, encouraging and trusting my team to have autonomy over their roles. 

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If you experienced bad internet service yesterday, we are here to let you know that it’s not the fault of your network provider, it might just be a case of the Red Sea parting—again. 

The news: Yesterday’s internet disruptions were due to damaged subsea cables of MainOne—a major internet provider for most Nigerian banks and internet providers— in Ghana and Seacom, South Africa’s internet connectivity provider. 

The cuts affected several mobile operators and internet service providers across eight African countries. Per NetBlocks, an internet watchdog, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Benin were the most affected, while Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon were mildly impacted. 

The disruption also affected several Nigerian banks with users losing access to their banking apps and being unable to use any USSD service. Similarly, In South Africa, network providers, MTN Group and Vodacom Group Ltd had connectivity issues as a result of the disruption. Also, Microsoft cloud services and its Microsoft 365 applications were hampered by the internet cuts.

Not a first: The latest internet disruptions come less than month after after three telecommunications cables were severed in the Red Sea. This follows similar damage last year to the West African Cable System and the South Atlantic 3 cable, near the Congo River mouth, caused by an undersea landslide.

Zoom out: While the cause of the cable faults is yet to be determined, network providers are currently working to speed up the repair process for the damaged cables. MTN is also looking to “reroute traffic through alternative network paths.”

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After a tumultuous period marked by website bans, executive detentions, and accusations of illegal activity, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, is attempting to mend fences with Nigerian authorities.

The exchange released a statement emphasising its commitment to compliance with Nigerian authorities.

Binance pointed out that since 2020, it has responded to over 626 information requests from Nigerian authorities, often within a quick turnaround time of less than 38 hours. This information, according to Binance, has been instrumental in helping Nigerian officials investigate financial crimes like scams, fraud, and money laundering.

Binance also claims to have conducted specialised training sessions in August 2023 for Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and has also reportedly been in talks with the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Nigeria Police Force to discuss ongoing training and ways to cooperate more effectively.

Zoom out: A condition for the Binance executives who are currently detained, to be released is that Binance releases the info of the top 100 crypto users in Nigeria. If Binance itself has admitted to cooperating with the Nigerian authorities before, does this mean they’ll also share the data that the Nigerian government is requesting for?

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In recent times, Africa has witnessed a surge in crypto adoption, prompting regulatory bodies to enact new guardrails for the space. Weeks after Nigeria lifted its 3-year ban on crypto transactions in the country, it introduced strict rules to allow virtual asset providers to obtain licenses in the country. 

South Africa is set to join the regulatory bandwagon as it will license 60 cryptocurrency platforms by the end of the month. 

The news: South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) yesterday released new frameworks for licensing Crypto advisory services, exchanges, payment gateways, and crypto wallet services. 

Per TechCabal, the regulator has given exchanges until November 30 to brief in their license application. The FSCA received 355 applications of which 60 were approved. The regulator has also promised dire consequences to crypto entities that continue to operate without applying for a license. 

Crypto stakeholders across South Africa and Nigeria agree that the current framework for obtaining licences is steep in both countries—Nigeria requires crypto exchanges to have at least ₦500 million ($553,000) in capital—however, critics say the regulations are a good place to start. 

Zoom out: The FSCA said that licensed entities will be under continuous scrutiny after licensing. The regulator says it will continue to police people operating crypto-related financial services without authorization.

African fintech giant Flutterwave has once again added a new name to its organisational chart.

After Oneal Bhambani, Flutterwave’s former CFO abruptly left the company in November 2023, Flutterwave hired five new high-profile executives across its risk, compliance, and expansion departments in December 2023. Two weeks ago, the fintech also added a new board member, Olajumoke Adenowo, as part of its efforts to drive its international expansion strategy. The fintech giant didn’t stop there.

In its latest appointment, Flutterwave has named Dipo Fatokun, a former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) director, as its new board chairman, and Tosin Faniro-Dada, a partner at Breega, an early-stage VC fund in Europe and Africa, as an independent non-executive director.

According to CEO Olugbenga Agboola, the recent leadership changes is a commitment to maintaining the highest regulatory and operational standards 

Building a strong foundation: Fatokun brings a wealth of experience, having served on multiple boards over the past decade and leading critical initiatives at the CBN, including the Cashless Nigeria Project and the Bank Verification Number (BVN) system.

Since its 2016 founding, Flutterwave has grown rapidly, establishing a presence in roughly 30 African countries. This ambition extends beyond the continent, with the recent expansion into India.

This week, Planet42, a South Africa-based car subscription company, raised $16m in local-currency debt and equity funding from Standard Bank. 

Here are other deals for the week:

• South Africa-based earth observation startup Simera Sense raised $14.8 million in investment from NewSpace Capital and Knife Capital. 
• Egypt-based adtech dKilo secured $3.2m in seed funding, a mix of equity and financing, from Upturn Ventures. 
• Morocco-based fintech startup ORA Technologies raised $1.5 million in seed funding from local entrepreneurs. 
• Youverify, a Nigerian-based platform that provides banks and startups with identity verification and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions, raised $2.5 million in pre-Series A investment from Elm Investment. 
• Egypt-based healthtech startup 30Med raised an undisclosed amount in pre-seed funding from anonymous angel investors. 

Before you go, our much anticipated State Of Tech In Africa Report for Q4 2023 is now out. Click thislink 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	$71,335	– 2.54%	+ 44.00%
Ether	$3,875	– 3.00%	+ 47.25%
Tether USDt	$0.9992	– 0.14%	– 0.15%
BNB	$605.40	+ 1.01%	+ 86.68%

* Data as of 11:39 PM WAT, March 14, 2024.

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• LemFi- Senior IOS Engineer – Nigeria (Remote)
• Paystack – Design Manager – Nigeria (Remote)
• Bamboo – Communications Associate – Lagos, Nigeria (Hybrid)
• Paystack – Senior Backend Engineer – Cape Town, South Africa
• LemFi – Country Marketing Manager – Kampala(remote)
• Visa – Biz Dev Analyst –  Lagos – Nigeria
• Renmoney – Product Manager – Lagos, Nigeria

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?

• Thabo Bester’s showdown with Showmax heads to court
• Caxton says Google has morphed into a rival
• Is this the end for South African Airways?

Written by: Mariam Muhammad & Faith Omoniyi

Edited by: Timi Odueso

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While Nigeria’s space ambitions face a temporary setback, its achievements shouldn’t be forgotten. Launched in 2003, NigeriaSat-1, Nigeria’s first earth observation satellite supported disaster responses in Argentina, Paraguay, and West Africa before its decommissioning in 2014.

Its impact also extended to vital mapping projects in the Amazon rainforest and Vietnam’s coastlines.

Nigeria’s space programme has a history of reaching out a hand from beyond Earth’s atmosphere. However, ambitious plans to launch a Nigerian astronaut and a domestically-built satellite in 2025 have been put on hold.

Why? The Director-General of Nigeria’s National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Dr Halilu Shaba, disclosed that the agency’s ambitious plan to launch a satellite by 2025 hit a financial roadblock. 

Additionally, launching an astronaut into space is currently deemed economically unfeasible. NASRDA anticipates it may take up to five years to secure a launch slot, making immediate astronaut training impractical. Despite the delay, NASRDA maintains its 25-year plan to send a Nigerian astronaut into space and launch an indigenous satellite from Nigeria. The agency projects significant growth potential for Nigeria’s space industry, aiming for a valuation of up to $1 billion.

Zoom out: Meanwhile,NigeriaSat-2, another earth observation satellite launched in 2011, remains functional, providing high-resolution imaging for various purposes. NASRDA utilised it for estimating population and partnered with China to monitor earth tremors in Nigeria and across Africa.

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African mobile mobile money providers have experienced a surge in investment in recent times. Two years after its $100 million investment in Airtel Money, Mastercard acquired a minor stake in MTN’s mobile money arm.

In 2021, Airtel hinted at a possible public offering for its fintech arm after receiving investments from TPG—$200 million—and Mastercard—$100 million—valuing the unit at $2.65 billion.

Now, Airtel’s mobile money arm might be ready to go public. Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Airtel Africa is exploring taking its mobile money unit public, with a potential valuation surpassing $4 billion. 

Talks of the IPO are in preliminary stages and the company may decide against going public.

Airtel Money is Airtel Africa’s fastest-growing arm. While Airtel 2023 profits plunged by almost 99%—recording $2 million in profits compared with $523 million it made in 2022—due to currency devaluation, its mobile money arm recorded a 31.8% revenue growth. 

The telecom currently offers its mobile money services in 14 African countries. In Nigeria, it competes with MTN Momo, while it is dwarfed by competition from Kenya’s mobile money giant, MPesa. Last year, it received approval to allow customers to transact up to KES 500,000 ($3,400) up from KES 300,000 ($2085) which it was previously allowed to do. 

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Telkom’s race to become Kenyans telecom choice has hit another roadblock. 

Over the years, the telecom has tried to keep pace with Safaricom—who holds the largest market share with 65 million subscribers—and Airtel with 18 million subscribers, for the largest slice of Kenya’s telecom market. However, financial troubles and a declining user count means that the dream is fast becoming out of reach. 

Between March 2022 and June 2023, Telkom lost 1.62 million subscribers due to a crackdown on irregularly registered SIM cards.

New reports show that Telkom has lost about 800,000 more subscribers due to unpaid leasing fees to American Towers Corporation (ATC). 

ATC switched off 246 Telkom towers in February after it defaulted on leasing fees. Currently Telkom owes the ATC about KES 7.1 billion ($51.7 million). Both parties entered an agreement two years before. 

ATC asked Telkom for an initial payment of KES 500 million ($3.6 million) and a monthly payment of KES 150 million ($1.09 million) to reactivate the towers. Telkom said it was unable to pay the debts due to its financial struggles. 

Telkom’s mobile subscribers count as of December 2023 had dropped to 1.3 million down from 3 million.

Before now, Telkom owned and managed its towers before it sold about 723 to the ATC in 2018. At the time, the telecom said the move would “enhance the quality and reliability of our network to benefit our customers.” It now appears the move might have served the wrong purpose. 

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Africa’s fintech leader, Interswitch, isn’t content with just being a payments powerhouse. After its surprise foray into Nigeria’s telecom sector via a Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) licence acquisition in May 2023, its ambitions haven’t stopped there.

Its latest move involves a merger with mobile money provider M-Kudi, to acquire a Payment service Bank (PSB) licence from Nigeria’s central bank.

What’s the deal? Currently, Interswitch focuses on processing payments. The merger with M-Kudi—subject to regulatory approval—will allow Interswitch to create accounts and hold customer deposits. With a PSB license, the company will also be able to receive foreign currencies for its customers and offer agency banking services.

Aside getting regulatory approval for the PSB licence, a challenge Interswitch will have to face is convincing Nigerians who are known for being cautious about adopting new financial products.

Heating up competition: Interswitch isn’t alone. Considering its recent foray into the telecoms sector, entering the PSB market means facing established players like MTN MoMo, whose PSB wallet base reportedly has 5.3 million monthly active users. However, Interswitch’s established presence in Nigeria, where it derives 94% of its revenue could be an advantage.

NVIDIA GTC returns on March 18–21, 2024 to San Jose, California and virtually. It is renowned for being the premier AI event that brings together the brightest minds in the technology industry. 

Register now.

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$73,220	+ 3.01%	+ 46.42%
Ether	$3,996	+ 1.16%	+ 51.12%
Tether USDt	$1.00	+ 0.03%	– 0.01%
BNB	$607.76	+ 12.81%	+ 87.58%

* Data as of 11:23 PM WAT, March 13, 2024.

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• In partnership with Spurt!, Oui Capital is hosting the 2nd edition of the African Amazon Masterclass for female founders taking bold steps to build & execute on the African continent.  Apply by March 18
• In collaboration with AfriGloCal VC, a venture capital firm building the African future by investing in entrepreneurs with global perspectives and innovative solutions, Lagos Innovates unveils its latest initiative, the Female Founders & Funders Program, an incubation and acceleration program designed for women. Female Startup Founders, apply here. Female Funders/Angel Investors, apply here. 
• As the world marks the 2024 International Women’s Day, Moniepoint Inc has announced the launch of this year’s edition of the Women-In-Tech initiative. Ten women will take on roles in various teams that include Cloud Engineering, Backend Engineering, Technical Product Management, Data Engineering, Systems Administration, Technical Support and User Experience. These women will be provided with a salary, work tools, merch, the opportunity to work on live projects during the internship and an offer of full-time employment depending on assessment post-internship. Apply by March 17.

What else is happening in tech?

• Meet the 15 startups founded by former Monzo employees
• UK invites African tech startups to apply for its Pathfinder Awards
• Makate wants Vodacom PCM appeal thrown out
• 60 crypto platforms set to be licensed 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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Depending on who you ask, Softcom was the dream place to work. The software agency had great perks for employees—including work retreats to Dubai and SA—and lucrative contracts from clients like Coca-Cola, MTN, and the Nigerian government.

In 2021, the company stopped building software for its client and took an ambitious turn to produce a fintech giant in Eyowo. Everyone loved Eyowo. Early users also gushed about the product. Ex-employees believed they could change the world.

However, five years down the road, salary delays, service outages, and ultimately, a revoked licence, meant that this bet failed. How did such a promising product with its sights on becoming a fintech giant run into problems?

Dig Deeper here

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In June 2022, MTN Nigeria, the Nigerian arm of one of Africa’s largest telecom companies, disclosed a ₦22.3 billion ($14 million) mobile money fraud that involved 18 Nigerian banks on its mobile money platform— MTN MoMo. The fraud happened due to a glitch on the platform, one week after its launch in May 2022.

Despite MTN’s ₦16 billion ($10 million) investment in MoMo, its 2022 financial report revealed that MoMo incurred a loss of ₦10.5 billion ($6.5 million) due to the glitch.

The news: MTN has successfully recovered ₦12.5 billion ( $7.85 million) of the funds lost during the glitch in its mobile money service. However, the remaining balance of ₦9.5 billion ($5.97 million) will be absorbed by MTN Nigeria under a shared services cost agreement between the telecom company and its MoMo service.

How has this loss affected MoMo’s service?  As at June 2023—one year after its launch— the service was reportedly still seeking adoption by Nigerians. MTN Nigeria’s CEO, Toriola, noted slower-than-anticipated business development. Regulatory approval delays and challenges with NIN requirements hindered MoMo’s growth. However, Toriola expressed satisfaction with MoMo PSB wallet base, which has increased from 3.3 million monthly active users to 5.3 million, supported by 326,000 MoMo agents and 324,000 merchants.

Meanwhile, MTN Nigeria has also swallowed its first loss in three years. The telecom reported a loss after tax of ₦137.0 billion ($86 million) in 2023 compared to profits of ₦348.7 billion ($218.9 million) in 2022, after a naira devaluation and rising cost of doing business ate into its margins.

In July 2023, Ubuntu Towers Uganda rebranded into TowerCo of Africa Uganda after TowerCo of Africa (TOA)—a tower infrastructure company—acquired a 90% stake in Ubuntu Towers.

Already managing a network of towers spanning 360 locations, with most utilising hybrid energy solutions, TowerCo is keen on adding more sites in a few years.

Fueled by a $40 million investment, TowerCo Uganda wants to expand its reach by constructing 506 new towers in underserved areas in Uganda. The project aims to expand mobile network coverage in Uganda from 65% to 95%, reaching remote areas currently lacking access, and will enable rural communities to access 4G and 5G data services.

The investment: The European Investment Bank, in partnership with ACP Trust Fund, will provide $16 million, and $12 million each will come from the Development Bank of Austria (OeEB) and the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO) over the next 10 years.

Multiple mobile operators will share the towers and a significant portion will be solar-powered for sustainable development. The tower construction is expected to create 2,000 jobs and be completed within the next two years. TOA also operates in Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Tanzania.

Zoom out: In other African countries like Zambia, following their announcement of digital centres for free internet access, the Zambian government plans to construct 60 new 4G mobile towers specifically targeting remote areas.

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Last year, Nigeria’s Security Exchange Commission (SEC) began processing the application of digital exchanges on its capital market, a move to attract the country’s young digitally-savvy population.

The commission’s head of securities and licence investment at the time said it was going to register tokenized assets backed by equity, debt, and real estate. 

Now, as the NGX inches closer to including digital assets in the capital markets, it has released new guardrails to mitigate risks associated with the asset class. 

The news: Yesterday, the commission released new regulations aimed at licensing and registering new digital and virtual asset service provider (VASPs) entrants to the capital market. The regulations, aimed at reducing the participation of bad actors from trading in the capital market, packs a punch with three separate guidelines, including Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Countering Proliferation Financing (CPF) onboarding manual. 

The new regulation is another litmus test for Nigeria’s crypto landscape which has seen Binance discontinue providing naira services in the country after the government blamed it for currency speculation and remanded two of its executives. 

While exchanges in the country are gearing up to include digital assets in their list of trading options, it remains to be seen if Nigeria will not go back on its word given its relationship with crypto.

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This week, MDaaS Global, a Nigerian healthtech startup, raised $3 million in pre-Series A funding. Aruwa Capital Management and Newton Partners co-led the round, while Ventures Platform participated. 

Here’s the other deal for the week:

• Moroccan finTech start-up Tookeez announced a fundraising round of $1.5m from the Azur Innovation Fund. 

Before you go, our much anticipated State Of Tech In Africa Report for Q4 2023 is now 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	$67,331	+ 1.51%	+ 52.41%
Ether	$3,877	+ 0.93%	+ 59.78%
Tether USDt	$1.00	– 0.00%	+ 0.07%
BNB	$470.52	+ 10.03%	+ 55.24%

* Data as of 11:07 PM WAT, March 7, 2024.

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• Paystack – Design Manager – Nigeria (Remote)
• Bamboo – Communications Associate – Lagos, Nigeria (Hybrid)
• Paystack – Senior Backend Engineer – Cape Town, South Africa
• LemFi – Country Marketing Manager – Kampala(remote)
• Visa – Biz Dev Analyst –  Lagos – Nigeria
• Renmoney – Product Manager – Lagos, Nigeria

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?

• Record funding in women-led healthtech startups sets agenda for founders
• CBN signs MoU with blockchain firm to boost eNaira adoption
• Senegal’s presidential election is set for March 24
• How much fuel tax government loses with every electric tax in South Africa

Written by: Mariam Muhammad & Faith Omoniyi

Edited by: Timi Odueso

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As funding levels across the continent return to pre-pandemic levels, growth-stage startups are finding it increasingly difficult to raise funding. Verod-Kepple hopes to change that. The venture capital firm that has backed 11 growth-stage startups in two years with ticket sizes ranging between $1 million and $3 million, 

The $45 million fund is a successor to Kepple Africa Ventures, the early-stage investment firm that backed over 100 pre-seed and seed startups in three years with cheques worth between $50,000 and $150,000. 

Now, it has shed the seed-stage investing and speed that Kepple Africa was known for as it looks to increase its portfolio. The fund’s leadership team—Ory Okolloh, Ryosuke Yamawaki, and Satoshi Shinada—are looking to back “market-creating startups”. They also invest in startups that solve friction for businesses and the general public. 

In an interview with TechCabal, they shared their investment thesis and what they have learned from investing in more than 100 African startups across multiple sectors and countries. 

Here’s how Verod-Kepple is thinking about investments on the continent.

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Before 2021, operating a digital lending business in Kenya was easy. Registration was all it took, leaving customer data protection and lending practices largely unchecked. This lack of oversight led to a chaotic market with predatory lenders.

After defining new regulations in October 2021, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) decided to tighten its grip on the digital lending industry in September 2022, and issued a strict 3-day ultimatum to digital lenders to either comply with the new standards or face closure.

Digital lenders were required to re-register with the CBK and submit to their oversight. By March 2023, a total of 32 licences had been granted from a pool of over 400 applications.

One year later: The CBK has granted licence to 19 more digital lenders, bringing the total number of licenced Digital Credit Providers (DCPs) to 51.

The new regulations aim to bring order, in response to issues such as high costs, unethical debt collection practices, and misuse of personal information by unregulated providers. Since March 2022, CBK has received 480 applications from entities seeking licensing as digital credit providers. However, many applicants are still in the process, awaiting the submission of required documentation.

Zoom out: Another country taking its digital lending seriously is Nigeria. In August 2022, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) implemented a new regulatory framework that requires all digital lenders to obtain a licence and register with the FCCPC before operating within the country. As of April 2023, Nigeria had approved 173 loan companies.

Last week, we brought you news of Elon Musk suing OpenAI, makers of ChatGPT for towing a for-profit route for the company.

Now the fight seems to be heating up. 

Round two, fight: Musk who invested more than $44 million in OpenAI between 2016 and 2020, claimed the ChatGPT maker had derailed from its founding objectives of making AI free for the use of all. However, new email evidence from OpenAI shows that Musk was in on the for-profit mission.

A hypocrite? Yesterday, OpenAI released a blog post detailing an email correspondence in which Musk had agreed with other chief executives at the company to go a for-profit route in 2017.

That’s not all. 

The blog post also claimed that Musk proposed a merger with his startup, Tesla. 

Before the release of the blog post, Jason Kwon, an executive at OpenAI, sent out a memo that contained a rebuttal to one of Musk’s claims that the company was acting as a subsidiary of Microsoft. “We decide what to research and build, how to run the company, who our products serve, and how to live out our mission,” Jason Kwon, wrote in the Memo. 

Open AI’s revealing blog post puts Musk as a subject of scrutiny in the legal battle. It remains to be seen whose version of events holds water. 

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In June 2023, French VC firm, Ring Capital successfully closed its Ring Mission impact fund—a fund that focuses on early-stage tech ventures in Europe—at €66 million ($71.9 million), exceeding their initial target of €50 million ($54.4 million). 

Following this achievement, Ring Capital has unveiled its latest venture—Ring Africa, another impact investment fund targeted at French-speaking West Africa.

In addition to launching Ring Africa, Ring Capital has bolstered its leadership team with the appointment of Elisabeth Moreno as President of the Board. Moreno previously served as the French Delegate Minister for Gender Equality, Diversity, and Equal Opportunities.

Investing in Sustainable Solutions: Ring Africa seeks to address pressing issues like climate change, transition to a formal economy, and improving agricultural productivity. They’ll partner with Mstudio, a startup studio based in Abidjan, to identify and support impactful ventures, with plans to establish a local investment team in the city.

Mstudio, a firm with the ambition to build multiple sustainable companies across the francophone region launched in March 2023, and has already invested in over eight startups including Tajiri and Djoli, with a focus on sectors such as fintech, edtech, and social commerce.

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Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$66,748	+ 5.88%	+ 57.56%
Ether	$3,853	+ 11.34%	+ 68.53%
Tether USDt	$1.00	+ 0.10%	+ 0.15%
BNB	$427.45	+ 10.43%	+ 40.94%

* Data as of 10:15 PM WAT, March 6, 2024.

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The Africa eGovernance Conference is set to hold from the 12th to the 14th of March 2024. The conference and exhibition will feature plenary and deep-dive, networking and dealmaking sessions featuring relevant technology solutions tailored for the urgent transformation of Africa. Join strategists and policymakers like Bak Barnaba Chol, Minister for Finance South Sudan; Cina Lawson, Minister for Digital Economy and Transformations, Togo; and Paula Ngabire, Minister of ICT and Innovation, Rwanda to create the pathways into the future of digital governance. Register here. 

What else is happening in tech?

• Navigating the African tech media landscape for startups
• South Africa is reinventing cricket using AI
• Safaricom’s Ethiopia arm could surpass its Kenyan counterpart soon
• South Africa’s companies database shuts down IT services after breach

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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