👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Google launches first African cloud centre

In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy new month You can start your month with learnings from Africa’s tech ecosystem.  Last week, we launched the State of Tech in Africa Q4 2023 report, and it contains critical details on how the ecosystem performed in 2023, and forecasts by industry experts. Download it for free here.  In today’s edition Google launches its first African cloud centre Kippa pivots to edtech Bolt expands to Zimbabwe Bboxx moves its HQ to Rwanda Ghana’s mobile money agents have a new deadline The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Big Tech Google Cloud has set up shop in South Africa The clouds are gathering over South Africa, and it’s not just a weather forecast. The high cost of cloud computing is stifling African startups. Just last week, social media erupted with frustrated founders and operators complaining that cloud services eat up a huge chunk of their budget, making it difficult to stay afloat. This sparked debates about whether Africa needs to develop its own cloud solutions to break free from this financial burden and empower its growing tech scene. While homegrown cloud solutions hang on the horizon, more international cloud service providers are setting up shop in the continent.  The news: Yesterday, Google announced the launch of its cloud service in South Africa, its first on the continent. Google became the latest cloud service provider in the country after the launch of Microsoft Azure in 2018, Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2020, and Alibaba Cloud in 2019.  Why does it matter? Google’s entry into South Africa means that local businesses get direct access to Google’s powerful cloud services, giving them improved speed and storage space to help optimise their service delivery.  While the launch in South Africa serves as a huge boost for its tech ecosystem, the move also signals fierce competition to existing cloud service providers. The diverse cloud landscape might force cloud service providers to offer competitive prices to businesses in the country. For the everyday Joe, the move means faster downloads; and no more buffering videos or lagging apps. Zoom out: While Google’s entry into South Africa offers exciting opportunities for businesses and individuals, it also raises concerns about data privacy and security, particularly with local data now stored on the cloud. Recent high-profile data breaches and government surveillance programmes, both globally and within Africa, highlight the need for robust data protection laws. South Africa should consider policies similar to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to ensure user control over personal data, increase transparency from cloud providers, and hold them accountable for data breaches.  Access payments with Moniepoint Moniepoint has made it simple for your business to access payments while providing access to credit and other business tools. Open an account today here. Startups Kippa makes an edtech play It’s not every day you get to see a fintech become an edtech. What? In an interesting turn of events, Kippa, a Nigerian startup which started as a fintech is pivoting to provide edtech services. Kippa’s new edtech play will allow users create new online courses or deliver existing ones in bite-sized formats using AI.  Kippa’s new website Why? While Kippa’s pivot might have you howling, its pivot remains unsurprising given the startup’s recent turn of events. Kippa laid off 40 of its employees in 2023 after it shut down its agency banking subsidiary, KippaPay. The startup later transferred KippaPay to Nigerian fintech, Bloc, with some of its employees moving to the startup as a result. Kippa also struggled to make severance payments for its laid-off employees after it suffered a ₦‎30 million ($33,516) internal fraud.  Before the eventual shutdown of KippaPay, the startup made efforts to resuscitate the ailing business. Kippa tried to unify KippaPay with the bookkeeping app. It also tried to monetize its Invoice service, all of which yielded no results.  Zoom out: While its effort to salvage the troubled startup continues, Kippa has embraced an edtech play, putting out a new website that would allow users to produce online courses and deliver those courses using messaging tools like WhatsApp and Telegram. It remains uncertain what Kippa will do to its existing fintech customers. Secure payment gateway for your business Fincra’s payment gateway enables you to easily collect Naira payments as a business; you can collect payments in minutes through bank transfers, cards, virtual accounts and mobile money. Create a free account and start collecting NGN payments with Fincra.  Mobility Bolt expands to Zimbabwe Bolt has crossed the 12-country mark in Africa, with a launch in Harare, Zimbabwe.  In Zim, Bolt is taking the same route it used in its 2022 Zambia launch: it’s starting with a zero-commission policy for its first six months and 300 drivers.  Bolt’s Zimbabwe expansion aligns with its plan to invest $530 million in Africa over the next two years, which will also see the creation of 300,000 driver jobs across the continent. The company operates in over 45 countries globally, serving over 150 million customers and working with over 3 million drivers. A familiar strategy: New market entrants are sacrificing short-term commissions to drive down prices and attract customers. This strategy, witnessed in the relaunch of rival companies like inDrive and Rida in Zimbabwe, relies on retaining price-sensitive consumers as prices undergo eventual adjustments. Bolt enters the fray: Local players like Hwindi have been the dominant ride-hailing platform in Zimbabwe since 2015. However, with the recent launch of inDrive and Rida in 2023, the landscape has shifted. They’ve lured customers with low fares fueled by massive ad campaigns and no initial commissions. According to drivers, inDrive reportedly charges a 10% commission while Hwindi charges 16%. With Bolt joining in, the competition is set to intensify even further. Accept fast in-person payments, at scale Spin up a sales force with dozens – even hundreds – of Virtual Terminal accounts in seconds, without the headache of managing physical hardware. Learn more →  Cleantech Bboxx shifts headquarters from London