The Senegalese government is taking its internet shutdown very seriously. 

Yesterday, one week after another internet shutdown was effected, the government began arresting Starlink sellers. Per the government, the sellers are guilty of “illegal provision of internet access and irregular marketing”. 

The five people arrested by the Department of Urban Security of the National Police face up to five years imprisonment and a fine of CFA60 million($100,000). The telecommunications regulatory authority has also issued a warning for any service providers marketing Starlink and any other company with similar activities to immediately cease all service throughout the country.

Conflict in Senegal in June. Image source: Annika Hammerschlag

What’s happening? One week ago, the Senegalese government shut down its internet, citing a need to prevent disturbances to public order. This was the country’s second internet shutdown in two months. 

The first internet shutdown was an aftermath of the violent protest in the country which started after Senegal’s opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko, was sentenced to two years in prison for “corrupting the youths.” The first shutdown lasted about 3 days according to Netblocks, and it’s presently unknown how long the present one will last. 

Zoom Out: The Senegalese government can not shut down Starlink as it is a satellite-based internet service and does not rely on physical infrastructure such as data centres, fibre-optic cables, and cell towers like traditional internet services and physical locations on which the government can easily exert control.

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Image source: Yung Nollywood

Safaricom Ethiopia has bagged significant funding from the World Bank’s private investment arm for its greenfield telecommunications project.

On Monday, the telecom finalised an agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), to receive Ksh36.8 billion ($257.4 million) in funding. The deal was first announced in June. 

The funding agreement: The IFC is providing a loan of Ksh14.3 billion ($100 million) to Safaricom and investing ($157.4 million) Ksh22.5 billion in Global Partnership for Ethiopia BV (GPE). This investment will give the IFC a smaller ownership stake in GPE, with Safaricom PLC remaining the major shareholder.

Furthermore, MIGA will provide guarantees for ten years worth Ksh143.1 billion ($1 billion), safeguarding the investments of Safaricom Ethiopia’s shareholders, which include Vodafone Group, Vodacom, Sumitomo Corporation, and British International Investment. Additionally, the MIGA Guarantee Facility is contributing an extra ($76 million) KSh10.9 billion to support these guarantees.

The investment is intended to support Safaricom Ethiopia’s ongoing greenfield telecommunications project to deploy and operate 4G and 5G mobile networks across the country.

Zoom out: According to Safaricom’s chief business development and strategy officer, Michael Mutiga, the entire package amounts to more than $1.275 billion. This funding comes after Safaricom Ethiopia secured a mobile money license, seven months after launching its operations in Ethiopia.

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X is marking the spot for many influencers.

Yesterday morning, several influencers and Twitter X Premium users were greeted with credit alerts. These users each received payments of between $251 and $500 for being active on the platform.

Image source: Y Combinator

Why is Elon paying influencers? These payments, which make up X’s Ads Revenue Sharing programme for creators globally, are a part of Musk’s strategy to encourage subscriptions to X Premium by sharing income made from advertising with the creators. 

The company sent out the first round of payments for eligible accounts in July before opening up registration to more people. Four days ago, the company’s support account apologised for delayed payments as their system received more registrations than they had anticipated. 

However, it seems that has been sorted as numerous users globally have taken to the app to share screenshots of their payments from the platform.

How can you get paid:The criteria for eligibility include being subscribed to X Premium, and having a minimum of 500 followers and at least 15 million impressions on cumulative posts within the past three months. Subscribing to X premium cost about $8/month for a monthly plan or $7/month for the annual plan

Zoom out: While some influencers acknowledge that the new incentive by Elon Musk might raise the stakes for influencer marketing, others worry that the platform is about to get riddled with more toxicity as people will go the length to spread misinformation and hate, to elicit engagement and grow their followers. More worry that as demand for X Premium grows, the Ads revenue programme will get stricter and less welcoming. It remains uncertain how long Musk can sustain these payouts considering the company’s declining revenue.

In South Africa, ride-hailing drivers have gone from prey to predators. 

ICYMI: In early June 2023, Uber and Bolt drivers were attacked at Maponya Mall in Sowetofollowing violence over customers with taxi drivers. Lately, though, the tides have changed. Over the past month, there have been at least six instances in South Africa where Uber passengers have reported late-night attacks by their drivers while attempting to reach their destinations.

Torched Uber/Bolt vehicles from the June conflict

One such incidentis the case of Kayleigh Marx and her friend. Three weeks ago, while on a night out in Pretoria, an Uber driver pepper sprayed Marx and her friend, and led them into a terrifying ordeal at the hands of two attackers he attempted to allow into the car. The victims attempted to escape, but one was caught, beaten, and left bruised by the attackers who then fled with the Uber driver.

What is Uber doing about it? Uber says the allegations are “concerning” and affirmed its engagement in an internal investigation regarding the incidents. 

The company also highlighted its practice of restricting a driver’s access to the ride-hailing app in such situations to minimise the potential for subsequent incidents, and once the investigation is concluded, a determination could be reached to permanently revoke the driver’s access.

In early June, after a series of attacks on Uber drivers in Soweto, the Soweto United E-hailing Association and the Soweto Taxi Association reached a compromise agreement. Under the agreement, e-hailing drivers, including Uber and Bolt, were briefly banned from dropping off or picking up passengers inside malls in Soweto for a period of three months.

In mid-July, Bolt and Uber drivers in South Africa also threatened to shut down operations due to ongoing safety concerns and low pay.

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Coin Name

Current Value

Day

Month

Bitcoin
$29,742

+ 1.75%

– 1.77%

Ether
$1,857

+ 1.30%

– 0.58%

XRP

$0.64

+ 2.91%

+ 37.73%

Worldcoin
$1.93

– 0.94%

+ 15.82%

* Data as of 06:55 AM WAT, August 9, 2023.

On Saturday, August 12, 2023, AFEX is set to open up the gates at Landmark Event Center, for the Code Cash Crop 4.0, a one-of-a-kind agritech event, celebrating innovations and collaboration across Africa. 

This Pan-African event is designed to bring together young innovators, market players, investors, and tech enthusiasts in the fields of technology, finance, and agriculture across Africa to discuss industry issues, growth opportunities, and trends that will scale market-led solutions. It’s going to be a day full of exciting activities including an opportunity to witness a live pitch storm where 6 ag-hackathon finalists pitch brilliant solutions for a chance to win a whopping sum of $10,000.

Join speakers like Jude Dike, Yinka David-West, Adédèjì Olowe, and Sikemi Tayo in networking activities that connect people with other innovators, a fun cocktail party, games, freebies, and more.

Get your free tickets here. 

In support of the Government’s Youth Initiative to develop a pool of young talent for the Kenyan labour market, Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA) is open for applications from undergraduates and diploma students for its three months Industrial Attachment Programme (Ksh.7000 monthly stipend). Apply by August 6.
The Thomson Foundation Young Journalists Award 2023 is open for applications from brilliant young journalists to demonstrate a wealth of investigative journalism skills. The three finalists will be flown to London to attend the gala award, along with other potential award winners and leading figures from the world of journalism. Apply by August 11.
Google is offering 2000 African Scholarships for a  Career Certificate in Cybersecurity. In this certificate program, you’ll learn in-demand skills that can have you job-ready in less than 6 months, and gain hands-on experience with Python, Linux and SQL. Enroll here.
If you are an aspiring economist entering your first year of undergraduate studies in the 2024 academic year, the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB)  Economic Research Department in collaboration with the SARB Academy, invites you to apply for competitive SARB bursaries in the field of economics, economics and econometrics, economics and mathematical statistics and economic science. Apply by September 30.

What else is happening in tech?

Exclusive: Sendy, the Kenyan logistics startup in acquisition talks
South Africa’s Competition Commission denies approval for Vodacom-Vumatel deal
Gamifying Financial Literacy: Zedcrest Wealth is redefining the future of savings and investment
The Kaduna State governor in Nigeria has signed new bills into law, including a tech-enabling one

Mariam Muhammad & Faith Omoniyi

Edited by –

Timi Odueso

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