Read this email in French.
Editor’s Note
Week 31, 2023
Read time: 5 minutes
Hello
This week, we bring you updates from Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal.
By the way, have you had a chance to complete our quick 3-minute survey yet? If not, we’d really appreciate it if you could spare a few moments to do so.
Pamela Tetteh Editor, TechCabal.
Editor’s Picks
Copia lays off staff for the third time
Copia, a Kenyan e-commerce platform, has laid off 25%—350 members of its workforce. This is the third time this year that Copia has trimmed its headcount.
CBN retraces its steps
Nigeria’s central bank unfroze 440 bank accounts of some companies that it previously accused of “illegally trading” in foreign exchange. This includes tech startups like BetNaija, RiseVest, Bamboo, Chaka, and Yellow Card.
Flutterwave accounts remain frozen in Kenya
This week, Judge Nixon Sifuna of the Kenyan High Court refused a request from Kenya’s Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) to drop their case against Flutterwave.
Hackers unveil themselves
A pro-Russian hacktivist group called Anonymous Sudan claimed responsibility for a series of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks on websites of Kenyan media, hospitals, universities, and businesses, including Safaricom.
Entering Tech
Interested in getting tech career resources and insights?.
Starlink launches in Kenya
Namibia has given its official seal of approval to crypto exchanges by introducing the groundbreaking Namibia Virtual Assets Act 2023.
Freelancers to pay taxes in Kenya
The Kenyan government now mandates that Upwork collect and remit Value-Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services, including freelancer services.
Sonatel acquires 5G licence
Telecomms company Sonatel—Orange Senegal—has acquired 5G licence in Senegal.
Airtel Africa loses $151 million
Airtel Africa has reported a loss after tax in its Q1—April 1 to June 30, 2023 results.
Who brought the money this week?
Kenyan agritech company Farm Works raised $4.1 million in pre-series A funding. The round was led by Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund, other participating investors included Livelihood Impact Fund, Vested World, a number of family offices, and angel investors.
Clafiya, a Nigerian health-tech company, secured $610,000 in pre-seed funding from Norrsken Accelerator, Acquired Wisdom Fund (AWF), Hustle Fund, Voltron Capital, Microtraction, Ajim Capital, and other investors.
Kenyan health-tech company, Zuri Health, raised an undisclosed funding round from Five35 Ventures.
What else to read this weekend?
Eden Life is experimenting with affordable fast-food delivery
Inside Kasha’s mission to revolutionise healthcare in Africa
How to fix the Nigerian economy according to the World Bank
M-PESA is launching in Ethiopia, but will it stand a chance against Telebirr?
Written by: Ngozi Chukwu
Edited by: Pamela Tetteh