Four suspects in Equity Group card fraud scheme wired $2.4 million to Abu Dhabi
A Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) letter seen by TechCabal showed that four suspects involved in a $2.4 million Equity Group card fraud transferred the funds to an account in Abu Dhabi within hours. DCI alleged that three suspects—whose names TechCabal will withhold for legal reasons—altered an integration in Equity’s CyberSource system, a payment gateway, allowing them to process multiple fraudulent card transactions. The funds were then transferred to a fourth suspect, who wired them to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Investigators are working with a theory that the merchants colluded with bank insiders, reflecting mounting concerns over internal involvement in fraud within Kenya’s banking sector–a problem that costs the industry millions of dollars annually. “One suspect, in a scheme to widen the scope of laundering of the funds, further transferred the stolen funds from Mobile VOIP Networks Limited account to Geonosis Capital Limited account held at I&M Bank by [name withheld] who in turn transferred the funds to [name withheld] domiciled in Abu Dhabi,” DCI said in a letter to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). “As a result of the fraud, Equity Bank lost a sum of KES322,154,851 ($2.4 million) through online fraud committed by the four suspects.” Equity Group declined to comment. One person with direct knowledge of the matter told TechCabal that the four suspects, who are now facing money laundering and cyber fraud charges, are part of merchant networks that exploit loopholes in banks’ card management systems to steal billions. Equity Group has been the hardest hit in recent years, that person said. While the amount of money Kenyan banks have lost in fraud this year is unspecified, the investigator said fraud cases have risen by more than 50%. Most banking fraud cases go unreported, as lenders resolve them quietly, albeit with the knowledge of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), and other financial sector regulators. In 2023, Kenya’s Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), an agency that tracks the flow of money in financial institutions flagged more than $600 million linked to card fraud, corruption and terrorism. The lenders also lose about $130 million through identity theft and loan stacking.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Free money
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning! Tech events on your calendar are closer than they appear. Moonshot, the most important tech gathering in Africa, is now only a week away. We are still offering 30% off all tickets with a few spots remaining. Join the conversation on Africa’s digital landscape and treat yourself to two amazing days of gaining valuable insights from industry experts, networking with potential partners and investors, and being a part of the groundbreaking innovations shaping the African digital economy. Don’t miss out—this exclusive offer ends in 2 days! Get tickets here. Four Kenyans want a share of Netflix’s ‘Free Money’ earnings Communication solves deep tech’s trust issues Exxon’s sale to Seplat could help Nigeria meet its OPEC quota The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Streaming Four Kenyans want a share of Netflix’s ‘Free Money’ earnings Netflix’s Free Money documentary When people in vulnerable communities are the subject of documentary filmmaking, are they being exploited? There are no easy answers. Seeking consent on what to portray and the experiences that subjects feel comfortable sharing is a big ethical quandary. Four Kenyans told a court their images and videos were used without consent in a 2023 ‘Free Money’ documentary on Netflix and want to be compensated for the documentary’s earnings. Their photos and videos were taken while receiving $22 cash donations from GiveDirectly, a US-based non-profit, as part of a 12-year financial support programme that began in 2018. The petitioners, John Omondi, Jael Songa, Immaculate Adhiambo and Milka Okech, claim they were not given the details of the production and content of the two-hour documentary filmed over five years. They’re suing GiveDirectly, Insignia Films Inc. and Goodhue Pictures Inc. which produced the documentary. The petitioners claim GiveDirectly only informed them the documentary was due to premiere in Canada and other cinemas weeks before the launch. The lawsuit could set a precedent for how filmmakers in Kenya seek consent and portray individuals. Read the full story here. Read Moniepoint’s Case Study on Funding Women After losing their mother, Azeezat and her siblings struggled to keep Olaiya Foods afloat. Now, with Moniepoint, they’re transforming Nigeria’s local buka scene. Click here for a deep dive into how Moniepoint is helping her and other women entrepreneurs overcome their funding challenges. Emerging Tech Communication solves deep tech’s trust issues Image Source: Science, Technology and Innovation Secretariat of the Republic of Uganda On the second day of Uganda’s deep tech conference, I had time for one-on-one conversations with some interesting people from MIT and AfricInvest. But first, a quick rundown of what we got up to on day two. The format of the conference—a few panels and group conversations to point out the challenges and solutions for Uganda—remained the same, but the focus shifted to stakeholders like academia and investors. Deep tech relies a lot on research making researchers at top universities key stakeholders. Why aren’t some of Uganda’s brightest and best turning their research ideas into commercial opportunities? To hear Khaled Ben Jilani, a Senior Partner at AfricInvest, tell it, researchers must overcome considerable bottlenecks to turn these ideas into commercial opportunities. First, there’s the question of who owns the intellectual property (IP) of the ideas they come up with. Then, there’s the more practical concern that many academics aren’t entrepreneurs and may not be natural risk takers. For Jilani, the government has to lower some of these barriers, considering that even with the right funding and support, innovations in deep tech can be a long game. These conversations are critical because all parties—government, investors, founders, and academics—are present. They can come away from all this having agreed on a central source of truth. For Kristy Morse, an MIT representative, this engagement can solve the trust problem for all stakeholders. “One relevant solution is partnerships and collaboration.” Founders, who are often distrustful of regulators and regulators who sometimes view innovation with skepticism can use this to find common ground. Next up: presenting a clear plan to the government on Wednesday. See you then! Issue USD and Euro accounts with Fincra Whether you run an online marketplace, a remittance fintech, a payroll, a freelance platform or a cross-border payment app, Fincra’s multicurrency account API allows you to instantly create accounts in USD and EUR for customers without the stress of setting up a local account. Get started today. Economy Exxon’s sale to Seplat could help Nigeria meet its OPEC quota Image Source: Zikoko Memes Seplat, the Nigerian energy supplier, will complete its purchase of Exxon’s oil and gas assets in Nigeria in “a matter of days.” The approval, which comes two years after its initial announcement, will alleviate Nigeria’s fuel scarcity and bolster its economy by increasing the availability of crude oil for domestic refineries and the demand for imported fuel. Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, has consistently fallen short of its OPEC production targets due to years of underinvestment in the oil industry—a critical driver of economic growth and government revenue. The country produced 1.48 million barrels of crude per day, slightly below its OPEC quota of 1.5 million barrels. That deficit could be filled by Seplat, as the oil company has previously stated that the deal would almost quadruple its oil output to more than 130,000 barrels per day. The sale could also help mitigate Nigeria’s age-long fuel scarcity issues as Dangote’s refinery becomes a possible source of fuel for the country. Exxon’s sale could lead to a more stable and abundant supply of petroleum products domestically, reducing dependence on imports and easing fuel shortages. This, in turn, could stabilise fuel prices and mitigate the cost-of-living crisis affecting many Nigerians. The Tinubu administration, which is hungry for quick wins, will count the sale as a win especially since the President’s economic reforms have contributed to a cost-of-living crisis. While the President can claim that since taking office in May 2023, those economic reforms have attracted more than $30 billion in foreign direct investment, the average Nigerian
Read MoreKenyans claim consent breach in Netflix’s Free Money documentary
Four Kenyans told a court their images and videos were used without consent in a 2023 ‘Free Money’ documentary on Netflix and want to be compensated from the documentary’s earnings. Their photos and videos were taken while receiving $22 cash donations from GiveDirectly, a US-based non-profit, as part of a 12-year financial support programme that began in 2018. The petitioners, John Omondi, Jael Songa, Immaculate Adhiambo and Milka Okech, claim they were not given the details of the production and content of the two-hour documentary filmed over five years. They’re suing GiveDirectly, Insignia Films Inc and Goodhue Pictures Inc. The petitioners claim GiveDirectly only informed them the documentary was due to premiere in Canada and other cinemas weeks before the launch. “The petitioner and the Kogutu clan members learnt about the production of a documentary about their lives after it was released on Netflix. All the time their pictures, videos and voices were being recorded they were never informed that it was for the purpose and intention of coming up with a documentary for commercialisation,” they said. GiveDirectly donates cash to poor households as part of universal basic income (UBI) testing. The Free Money documentary tracked the group’s activities in Kenya, where it made monthly cash payments to adult residents. While the petitioners agreed to continue receiving the financial support, other clan members opted out of the programme, citing privacy concerns over their images. Court filings show that some families walked out of the arrangement in a meeting held in February 2018. “Most of those who remained in the meeting and their photos and videos taken were recruited in the programme of monthly income of $22 for 12 years by Give Directly,” they said. “Give Directly informed members in the meeting that taking of photos and videos formed part of the conditions of money donation and that should the clan members refuse the blessing and favour of the money will not dawn on them,” they said in court filings. The lawsuit could set a precedent for how filmmakers in Kenya seek consent and portray individuals, continuing an ongoing debate on exploitation in documentary filmmaking especially in vulnerable communities.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Is Africa ready for deep tech?
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy Independence Day! Only 8 days left! Moonshot is offering 30% off all tickets with a few spots remaining. Join the conversation on Africa’s digital landscape and treat yourself to two amazing days of gaining valuable insights from industry experts, networking with potential partners and investors, and being a part of the groundbreaking innovations shaping the African digital economy. Don’t miss out—this exclusive offer ends in 3 days! Get tickets here. Uganda looks to deep tech Switching a bank’s core banking platform is complex Kenyan ISP Mawingu turns focus to fibre Kenya’s health committee clears Safaricom-led digital health project Starlink doubles subscription prices in Nigeria The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Emerging Tech Uganda looks to deep tech Participants pose for a photo at the Uganda Deep Tech Summit 2024/Image Source: Nile Post Almost a year ago today, I visited Uganda for the first time when the country invited investors and founders to discuss what it needed to do to spur investment into its super early tech ecosystem. Here’s what I said then: “It’s a good start but still far from what the Ugandan Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovations has in the works. ‘We may not start perfect, but we’re aiming for what will work best,’ the minister told everyone in the crowd.” Spoiler: we’re back in Uganda this week, this time for a summit on deep technology, an arm of technology focused on substantial scientific or engineering challenges. Think artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and even climate change. It’s a different kind of conference, organised in partnership with BRAIN (Bridging Research And Innovation), an initiative of Open Startup. Let’s back up a little. One persistent critique of conferences is that they may not always produce actionable results on a continent short on execution. BRAIN works around this problem by holding workshops during this week’s event with stakeholders from academia, government, foreign investors, and Ugandan founders who understand the lay of the land. Over two days, participants will hear from a few panels and work in groups of six to figure out Uganda’s most significant challenges and their solutions. The problems and solutions are grouped along six themes: policy, infrastructure, funding, interconnectedness, talent, and education. At the end of the exercise, the answers from these workshops—each group presented their answers on day one—will be shared with the government. With most of the 100 or so participants who attended the event still in their seats as Khaled Ben Jilani, a senior partner at AfricInvest, gave the closing remarks, this was remarkably strong engagement. It was also pragmatic about the challenges. “In Africa, the demand for deep tech is very low,” said Jilani, pointing out the need for models that integrate global demand. Jilani should know a thing or two about this stuff, given that his company successfully exited InstaDeep, the Tunisian AI startup that sold for $683 million in January 2023. Read Moniepoint’s Case Study on Funding Women After losing their mother, Azeezat and her siblings struggled to keep Olaiya Foods afloat. Now, with Moniepoint, they’re transforming Nigeria’s local buka scene. Click here for a deep dive into how Moniepoint is helping her and other women entrepreneurs overcome their funding challenges. Banking Switching a bank’s core banking platform is complex Image Source: Wunmi Eunice/TechCabal If you’re a banking customer, you probably don’t know what core banking platform your bank uses. After all, you don’t think about how the power grid works until it collapses. Over the weekend, Zenith Bank customers found that their bank’s core banking platform matters. The bank told its customers that they would be unable to access the bank’s online banking services, app and USSD channel till Wednes day due to an ongoing banking platform switch to Oracle’s Flexcube from Phoenix, which only Zenith previously used. It highlights the challenges of switching banking platforms. In September, we exclusively reported that over 3 million Sterling Bank customers could not use any of its banking channels because the bank was switching its banking platform to a custom-built platform. We also reported on GTBank’s switch to Finacle, a software built by Infosys in September. A core banking platform manages all banking transactions and stores critical customer data, including unique identification and daily transactions across multiple channels such as branches, ATMs, and online and mobile banking. Switching bank platforms is a time-consuming and error-prone process, which directly contradicts the ethos of banking—speed and stability. Most of the issues that a bank staff will experience when switching to a new platform will occur during the data migration phase due to the large amount of data banks have on their customers. Every banking platform is also different from the other, requiring the banks’ engineers to integrate with different interfaces during the migration process. After data migration, the bank staff will still need to validate each record, like customer balances and the unique identification number banks use for customers, through a maker-checker process to ensure accuracy. After all this, the engineers would have to test the new banking platform for functionality, making sure that everything works before going live. And even after a successful migration, engineers would have to constantly monitor the new banking platform. Issue USD and Euro accounts with Fincra Whether you run an online marketplace, a remittance fintech, a payroll, a freelance platform or a cross-border payment app, Fincra’s multicurrency account API allows you to instantly create accounts in USD and EUR for customers without the stress of setting up a local account. Get started today. Internet Kenyan ISP Mawingu turns focus to fibre, fixed wireless to unlock economies of scale Image Source: Google Kenyan internet service providers (ISPs) have long been criticised for a lack of responsiveness to customer needs. Mawingu, an ISP conceived by the government and Microsoft in 2016, stands out owing to its start in the internet business. Conceived to take advantage of freed TV frequencies (also known as white spaces) to provide internet services to government institutions, schools
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Breaking: Starlink doubles subscription price in Nigeria to ₦75,000
Customers roaming with Starlink have received the largest price increase. The price for the Starlink kits, however, has not been changed. Starlink, the satellite internet company owned by SpaceX, has doubled its base subscription prices in Nigeria, citing soaring inflation in the African country. “Due to excessive levels of inflation, the Starlink monthly service price will increase,” Starlink told customers in an email seen by TechCabal. The standard residential plan with a 1 TB fair usage policy will now cost ₦75,000 ($48), up from ₦38,000 ($24). Customers who use Starlink to roam will face the most significant price hikes; local roaming, which allows customers to use Starlink kits beyond their homes or workplaces within Nigeria, will now cost ₦167,000 per month, up from ₦49,000. International roaming will cost a ₦717,000 per month. Existing customers will begin paying these new rates starting October 31st, while new subscribers will be immediately subject to the revised pricing. Starlink introduces $30 residential plan after Safaricom’s speed increase Incentives missing in Starlink Nigeria The Starlink kit in Nigeria remains priced at ₦440,000, and unlike Kenya, there’s no rental option for those unable to pay the full amount. Nigerian customers also don’t have access to a cheaper 50GB plan like the KES 1,300 option available in Kenya. In Kenya, customers can also buy a more affordable Starlink Mini kit for KES 27,000. While it offers lower speeds of up to 100 Mbps (compared to the standard kit’s 200 Mbps), the monthly subscription is also cheaper at KES 4,000. The standard subscription in Kenya costs KES 6,500. These incentives are likely a response to increased competition from leading internet service providers such as Safaricom and Jamii Telecommunications. For instance, Safaricom recently increased its speeds to retain customers complaining about slow speeds and high prices. African tech leaders and global players will be at Moonshot by TechCabal. You can get tickets here.
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