👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Nigeria’s fraud-fighting faction
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy salary day It’s the day many people get paid only to find out that inflation has beaten the competition out of their salaries. Nigeria’s, for example, reached a 27-year high at 28.92% last month. And how will the country solve inflation? CBN governor Yemi Cardoso might have some ideas on how to score some good wins, but he’s keeping mum so far. At the NESG Event yesterday, Cardoso estimated that Nigeria’s headline inflation will moderate in 2024 to around 21%, adding fuel to reports that the bank will raise interest rates next month. While that is neither here nor there, what’s clear though, is today’s newsletter. Let’s go. In today’s edition Selar has built a $4 million business Nigerian financial institutions forge fraud-fighting faction OPay to block non-compliant accounts by March 1 Cova shuts down AltSchool launches in Kenya The World Wide Web3 Events Startups How Selar grew a $4 million creator platform with 21 employees In December, creator platform Selar ended the year by showing its creators some love. Designers, writers, and marketers across Nigeria received customised boxes with notes that advertised its newest product, Show Love. The simple campaign, according to chief marketing officer Milton Tutu, drove over 2,000 creators to use the platform within weeks. It’s a new year, and the platform has shared its 2023 numbers: over 150,000 creators made ₦4 billion ($4 million) in sales. How? From the get-go, Selar listened intently to creators’ needs. The platform, which was founded in 2016 by Douglas Kendyson, had a focus on addressing the needs of creators looking to sell digital products. Per Kendyson, it took four years of constant customer feedback and cold-calling creators to perfect the product. Success on a lean team: 2023 was a year where global creator platforms crumbled, with funding down by 58%. But Selar more than scaled through, doubling its 2022 numbers with a lean team. Kendyson shared some unusual cost-saving measures used at Selar, such as not providing custom email addresses for everyone, emphasising their commitment to efficiency. The startup’s revenue model—a 4%-6% commission on product sales, a subscription-based SaaS model, and earnings from a foreign exchange spread—is also proving to be sustainable. The platform’s growth, however, has a lot more interesting lessons. Read about it here. 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. Cybersecurity Nigerian banks and fintechs unite against fraud Last year, a number of Nigerian fintechs came together to collaborate in their fight against fraud. Codenamed “Operation Radar,” the idea was to create a united front and share information and data on bad actors. But save for its very cool name, Project Radar didn’t seem to do much and now financial institutions are back to the drawing board. They’re hoping another attempt at collaboration will work its magic. Everyone is running at a loss: This time, the banks are also looking for regulatory approval to launch their fraud-fighting mission. According to an insider, a presentation to the Central Bank is due by the end of Q1 2024. A recent report shows that deposit banks alone lost a staggering ₦9.75 billion ($10.8 million) in Q2 2023, a 276% increase compared to the same period in 2022, with Bureau de Change operators and banking agents emerging as key vulnerabilities, often serving as fraudsters’ cash-out channels. The Central Bank isn’t sitting idle: The CBN has been actively seeking solutions, mandating the establishment of fraud desks in financial institutions since 2015. Individual measures such as linking Tier-1 bank accounts to the Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identity Number (NIN) have been commended and also frowned upon, as industry experts argue that these measures haven’t stopped the bleeding. This time, things might be different. The new solution proposed by Nigerian banks and fintechs will see all financial institutions held accountable, including fintechs who are often blamed for lax security. Secure payment gateway for your business Fincra payment gateway enables you to easily collect Naira payments as a business; you can collect payments in minutes through cards, bank transfers and PayAttitude. Create a free account and start collecting NGN payments with Fincra. Regulation OPay to block non-compliant accounts by March 1 Starting March 1, 2024, OPay says it will block accounts that are non-compliant with Nigeria’s KYC regulations. Why? The Central Bank of Nigeria, last year, instructed that all tier 1 bank accounts—the lowest tier of a bank account—be linked with the NIN and BVN over concerns about increasing fraud cases. OPay has been under intense scrutiny over its porous KYC verification system. In October last year, Fidelity Bank, a Nigerian commercial bank blocked transfers to OPay and other neobanks over concerns that their lax KYC processes contributed to increased fraud cases. New reforms: The fintech has taken measured steps to restore the loopholes in its system. New customers will be required to link their BVN and NIN upon opening of accounts. The fintech also said it is working on perfecting its porous facial verification system which has long been explored by bad actors to impersonate people and commit fraud. The company faced scrutiny last year when users, who had registered for its vertical services such as ORide or OFood, reported unauthorised opening of bank accounts in their names. The twist: Although OPay seems to be addressing KYC methods and app security, some users assert that malicious actors are still attempting to infiltrate OPay’s system, evident in a viral video where a customer alleges impersonation and unauthorised opening of 10 business accounts in her name. Whether these incidents predate the fintech’s crackdown on such activities or are recent remains to be clarified. Introducing Transfers to bank accounts in Ghana Paystack merchants in Ghana can now send single and bulk transfers to Ghanaian bank accounts from the Paystack Dashboard and via API. Learn more → Shutdowns Wealthtech
Read MoreChange JAMB details like name, DOB, email, and more 2024
Ensuring that your personal information is accurate on your Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) profile is crucial for a smooth registration process. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the peculiarities involved to change or update your name, number, email, and date of birth (DOB) for JAMB in 2024. 1. Correcting JAMB name details If you need to make minor spelling corrections to your name, such as changing “Mari” to “Mary” or “Danel” to “Daniel,” you can do so without much hassle. This is a straightforward process during JAMB registration. Simply raise a ticket via the JAMB support centre online or visit an accredited JAMB registration CBT centre to get it done. Please note that you cannot change a name completely or significantly alter a name. For example, you can’t change from Daniel to Damola or Magdalene to Mary. Also, you cannot add or delete a name you have already registered your JAMB with. So you can’t go from Tunde Olubori John to Tunde Olubori. Similarly, you cannot go from John Okafor to John Nnamdi Okafor. 2. Change of name procedure for 2022 JAMB candidates and below For those who wrote JAMB from 2022 downwards and need to change their name, an indemnity form must be filled out, submitted to the institution, and sent back to JAMB. It’s a crucial step to ensure that the name change is reflected accurately in the JAMB records. 3. Important note on name changes Even if you obtain a court affidavit and change your name with NIMC after writing JAMB, it’s essential to understand that JAMB will not automatically update your name. Your change of name may be valid, but the records with JAMB will remain unchanged. 4. Changing date of birth Changing the date of birth is usually not allowed either. However, in error evident cases, it is allowed and a change of date of birth requires a payment of 15,000 Naira at an accredited JAMB CBT registration centre. It’s important to note that this correction must be done first on NIMC before the integration can be possible on JAMB. 5. Bio details and NIMC Before registering for JAMB 2024, it’s highly recommended to update any bio details with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). Especially, you are enjoined to ensure your O’level or A’level names tally with your NIN details before you register for JAMB. This ensures that your information is consistent across platforms and reduces the likelihood of discrepancies during the registration process. 6. Updating emails and phone numbers Once used, emails and phone numbers for JAMB cannot be changed. However, if a mistake has been made, you can raise a ticket to have the profile with incorrect details stepped down. This allows you to start fresh with accurate information. Final thoughts on change of name and other details on JAMB Proactive management of your personal information is key to a seamless JAMB registration process. Follow the outlined steps to ensure that your name, date of birth, and contact details are up to date for JAMB 2024. Also, always ensure to provide accurate and complete details any time you are undertaking any registration. It saves you the hassle of integration elsewhere or issues that may arise due to discrepancies.
Read MoreNigeria’s CBN governor keeps promising to tackle inflation but is light on details
Nigeria’s Central Bank governor, Olayemi Cardoso, expects headline inflation to decline to 21.4% in 2024 as the apex bank prepares for its first rate-setting meeting since July 2023. Cardoso, who spoke at an event on Wednesday, said inflation will moderate “due to the CBN’s inflation-targeting policy.” He made a similar statement in December 2023, although the CBN’s strategy remains unclear. Decreasing inflation in 2024 would significantly impact businesses, provide “a more predictable cost environment,” and lead to “lower policy rates,” said Cardoso. He also argued this would stimulate investment, fuel growth, and create job opportunities. The CBN is expected to raise interest rates at its next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on February 26-27, 2024, even as headline inflation soared all through 2023 to a 27-year high of 28.9%, driven by food inflation. Under the acting CBN governor, Folashodun Shonubi, the bank raised interest rates twice. However, the new CBN governor took office last September and took a different approach, failing to call a rate-setting meeting in four months. His silence and lack of urgency has worried analysts and investors, particularly as the naira trades at some of its lowest levels amid a dollar shortage. Cardoso made his first policy speech as CBN governor last November at a gathering of bankers in Lagos, where he said monetary transmission mechanisms had rendered the rate meetings “largely ineffective.” Nigeria is expected to experience moderate inflationary pressures this year, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), a think tank, said in its 2024 macroeconomic outlook. The report projects the country’s inflation rate to average 21.5% in 2024 compared with the estimated average of 24.5% in the previous year. This slowdown will be driven “by lower deficit monetisation structural, relative exchange rate stability and other heightened monetary measures by the Central Bank,” the report said.
Read MoreGreen light for crypto in SA? 50 applications shortlisted for first-ever licenses
South Africa’s crypto regulator has stated that 50 license applications have been referred to the licensing committee for review, with the decision on their status to be announced in “a few weeks.” South Africa‘s Financial Sector Conductor Authority (FSCA) will issue licences to crypto asset service providers (CASPs) in the next few weeks, and 50 crypto companies are hoping their applications will be approved. Gerhard van Deventer, the head of enforcement at the FSCA, confirmed the timeline in a media engagement on Wednesday morning. While 105 companies applied for the CASP license, only 50 applications were presented to the licensing committee in December. 20 companies also pulled their applications. Many in the crypto space see the move as a sign of an embracing of the technology in the country in the country. “The requirement for licensing is a move in the right direction as it validates the operations of crypto companies,” Christo De Wit, Luno country manager for South Africa, told TechCabal. Evolution of South Africa’s crypto regulatory landscape The earliest step in liberalising South Africa’s crypto regulatory landscape came in November 2018 when the SARB, in conjunction with the FSCA, South African Revenue Services (SARS) and the FIC established the Crypto Assets Regulatory Working Group. Brenton Naicker, currently principal and head of growth at CV VC, was a stakeholder in the working group and according to him, it contributed significantly towards the more friendly regulations. “The working group helped the regulators understand the operations of crypto as well as the risks and rewards associated with it,” Naicker told TechCabal. “Conversely, the regulators also gave crypto service providers an idea of their requirements regulation-wise.” In July 2021, the working group published a position paper [pdf] with recommendations for a revised South African policy, legal, and regulatory position on crypto assets. In August 2022, SARB issued guidelines for how financial institutions including banks could service crypto clients. The apex bank explicitly advised the institutions against refusing to serve crypto clients. “Obtaining reliable banking infrastructure is important for any crypto player and with licenses I think it will get easier, especially for newer players,” Blake Player, head of growth at VALR, told TechCabal. This was followed by the FSCA declaring crypto assets as financial products in October 2022, meaning they would fall within the regulatory jurisdiction of the FSCA which then opened applications for licenses in June 2023. Even startups and companies who aren’t necessarily crypto exchanges but have crypto products laud the move to license CASPs. Fintech startup Stitch, which has so far raised $52 million in funding, recently launched its “Pay with crypto” product. According to Junaid Dadan, co-founder and CEO, the crypto asset service provider license will help in formalising the industry, further driving adoption. “It’s an opportunity to grow the industry because it will open up banking for crypto companies as it will make it clear to banks which entities are legitimate or which ones are not,” Dadan told TechCabal. Cedric Jeannot, CEO of neobank Be Mobile Africa, which also has a pay-with-crypto product offering, concurs that the licensing move will contribute a lot towards growing crypto in the country. “By introducing licensing, the government is pushing for proper regulation which serves the commercial interests of all parties in the ecosystem positively,” concluded Jeannot.
Read MoreHow to raise JAMB ticket for complaints in 2024
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) strives to provide a seamless experience for candidates. However, you may encounter and need to solve common JAMB registration issues relating to NIN, profile code, or you may just have concerns regarding the examination. Sometimes you need to raise a ticket through the JAMB support system to address these issues. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the process in 2024. Accessing the JAMB support page to raise a ticket To begin, visit the JAMB support page at https://www.jamb.gov.ng/support. On this page, you’ll find various options catering to different stakeholders within the JAMB ecosystem. 1. Development Partners and Center Support Tailored for Development Partners requiring assistance. 2. Professional test centres and registration centres Specific support for professionals involved in the JAMB process. 3. Candidate / General Support Ticket This is the option you should choose as a potential candidate or a past JAMB candidate. 4. Local Support Reserved for Servicom and JAMB staff handling candidate tickets. Initiating a Candidate / General Support Ticket Once you’ve selected the “Candidate / General Support Ticket” option, a pop-up will appear. Answer “YES” to proceed. This action directs you to a new page where you can articulate your complaint or issue. Providing details of your complaint The new page is thoughtfully designed with well-labelled spaces to input the necessary details of your complaint. Whether it’s a technical glitch, registration issue, or any other concern, take advantage of the provided spaces to be clear and concise in describing your problem. Response time frame from JAMB after raising a ticket After submitting your ticket, JAMB commits to responding within 24 hours. This quick turnaround ensures that your concerns are acknowledged and addressed promptly. The efficient response time is part of JAMB’s commitment to providing excellent support to candidates. Final thoughts on how to raise a JAMB ticket Raising a ticket through the JAMB support page is a proactive way to ensure that your concerns are heard and resolved swiftly. As a past candidate, current candidate or potential candidate, take advantage of this streamlined process to make your JAMB experience as smooth as possible in 2024 and beyond.
Read MoreSolving main JAMB issues 2024: NIN, password, profile code, OTP
Sometimes, navigating the JAMB registration can be a hassle, with common issues like password resets, NIN integration problems, and admission status uncertainties. This guide simplifies the process, offering practical solutions to streamline your experience and address these challenges efficiently. 1. Resolving JAMB password reset issues Are you grappling with password reset issues on your JAMB portal? And you aren’t receiving an OTP via your registered mail? Follow these steps to troubleshoot: Send a text with “PASSWORD (space) email address” to 55019 from your registered JAMB phone number. E.g PASSWORD kunleokokmaiko@gmail.com You should receive a default password for your JAMB account. That password should successfully reset your account for continued access. 2. Verifying and syncing JAMB with NIN Encountering a “No record found” message when syncing your JAMB registration with your NIN? That simply means your details can’t be pulled by 55019 because NIMC has not synced your details with JAMB yet. Here’s what you can do: Send your NIN digits alongside your issue to nimc-jamb2024@nimc.gov.ng If the Above does not work, you need to visit NIMC to complain and ensure proper integration of your details or visit a JAMB CBT registration centre to lodge a complaint. 3. JAMB Profile Code issues Not receiving your profile code despite sending the required SMS and waiting ample time? Take these steps: Send “RESEND” to 55109 for a reissue of your profile code. In many instances, you should get it this time. If the issue persists, raise a JAMB complaint ticket or visit an accredited JAMB registration centre. 4. Decoding ‘No Admission’ Status for JAMB DE Waiting for admission but stuck with a “No admission” status? Understand the dynamics: Confirm that your school has verified your results and sent a response to JAMB. Recognize that admission decisions lie with the specific institution, not JAMB. Exercise patience and persistence while awaiting updates on your admission status. Final thoughts ON solving JAMB issues like NIN Understanding the steps to troubleshoot common issues with the JAMB portal can significantly ease the frustrations faced by many students. Whether it’s a password reset, syncing details with NIN, or addressing admission concerns, proactive steps and patience can pave the way for a smoother academic experience.
Read MoreExclusive: Nigerian Banks and fintech join forces to tackle soaring fraud, seek CBN approval
In response to growing fraud incidents that have caused billions in losses, Nigerian banks and fintech companies are in talks for an industry collaboration to fight fraud, one high-ranking executive at a Nigerian bank told TechCabal. The proposed solution from those talks is expected to be presented to the Central Bank of Nigeria for approval by the end of Q1 2024, the same person said. Two fintech founders said they were aware of the conversations but said there’s still some way to go in finding common ground for the banks and fintechs. The industry-wide collaboration will create a solution that holds all financial institutions accountable for fraud, TechCabal learned. Two areas that may receive special focus include Bureau de Change operators and banking agents whom fraudsters usually turn to after successfully withdrawing the stolen funds, said one person close to those discussions. Deposit banks lost ₦9.75 billion to fraud in Q2 2023, a staggering 276% increase compared to the same period in 2022, according to data from the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC). The total losses from incidents of fraud amounted to ₦5.79 billion in Q2 2023. The CBN goes hard on fraud As fraud rises, the Central Bank of Nigeria is scrambling for solutions. In 2015, the regulator mandated all deposit money banks, mobile money operators, switches and all payment service providers to establish a fraud desk. The CBN argued that the fraud desk was an effective mechanism for receiving and responding promptly to fraud alerts. The apex bank has also slammed fines on banks and fintech companies found to have relaxed KYC rules. Since October 2023, licenced entities have paid hundreds of millions in fines,” said a fintech founder with first-hand knowledge of the companies which were fined. Some financial industry stakeholders have commended the apex bank for mandating that all Tier-1 bank accounts and wallets for individuals be linked to either the Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identity Number (NIN) or both by 1 March 2024. Others have argued that these measures are not enough. Collaboration hasn’t always worked Two banking executives said the CBN’s efforts have not translated into policies that bring circuit breakers into the system and lead to shared responsibility. They also pointed out that banks and fintech companies have attempted to solve the problem collaboratively in the past. A low-trust environment and a preference for building in silos have led to little or no results. There have also been efforts made by CBN, CeBIH, NFIU, and NSA to unite the operators, but the solutions have not been implemented. Financial institutions may continue to solve the problem individually TechCabal reported last year that Fidelity blocked Opay and other neobanks to mitigate exposure from fraud. Complaints from customers over the opening of accounts in their names without their consent also caused a stir. For the banks, one of the concerns is that when fraud is committed and it involves a fintech, it is impossible to get a refund. On the other hand, banks tend to make refunds to avoid public embarrassment and a loss of reputation. Ironically, even Nigeria’s big banks have also been accused of lax KYC and compliance measures. Last year, MTN Nigeria sued 18 banks after their customers received money from a breach of MoMo, the telco’s mobile money service. “Whenever fraudulent money enters your bank, money that is not consistent with a particular customer’s behaviour, the receiving bank will be the one to pause the check and not allow them to withdraw the money,” said one banking industry leader. A solution stakeholders recommend is to have a layered system where older customers with proven identities and a history of transactions get instant value while customers who have just opened their accounts or been around for less than a year get delayed value. The new customers would be allowed to see their money but cannot withdraw it until after a couple of hours or even a day. The delay gives the customer who has been defrauded enough time to make a complaint and for action to be taken by the third party or recipient bank.
Read MoreBootstrapped hustle: how Selar grew a $4M+ creator platform with 21 employees
Ebuka first heard about Selar, a digital creator marketplace, when he was looking to sell his colouring book. Selar, which offers creators a wallet, assistance with delivery and charges a 4% commission for its troubles, was the platform Ebuka turned to. In the one year since he started using Selar, he has brought in ₦400,000 ($443) in revenue from his colouring books. Founded in 2016 by Douglas Kendyson, a member of Paystack’s founding team, Selar began because Kendyson saw that customers often reached out to Paystack during its early days looking to sell digital products like ebooks and online courses. Initially a passion project that took three weeks to build in 2016, Selar’s first customers were Kendyson’s friends. It took him four years of constant customer feedback and cold-calling creators in Instagram DMs to perfect the product while working at Flutterwave and startups in Dubai. Emmanuel, a part-time author, told TechCabal that he had sold his first e-book on the now-defunct Okada Books in 2019 when he first heard of Selar. Two years later, when he was looking to sell his second book, he chose to use Selar because he had heard good reviews, and the startup allowed customers to download books. He told TechCabal that he sold 100 copies of his book in the first month and has made “decent money” through Selar. Selar is a strong contender in Africa’s creator economy, which remains small compared to other continents. Globally, creator economy startups had a tough 2023. Funding fell by 58% and at least 8 startups shut down while 36 were acquired by competitors. Creating avenues for African creators Last year, the creators on Selar made more than ₦4 billion ($4.4 million)—twice what they made in 2022. With 150,000 of these creators selling courses, books, tickets, and anything else that can be sold online on its platform, the startup has helped African creators solve their biggest challenge: receiving payments. It partners with global payment providers like PayPal, Stripe, Paystack and MPesa. Selar also allows creators who don’t sell digital products to receive tips and donations from their followers through its Show Love product. The product allows content creators to receive tips and donations in over 11 currencies through a custom link. “That’s our bet for the year. We think financial support for creators will be a big thing,” Kendyson said. Kendyson told TechCabal that the startup, which is bootstrapped and has yet to receive any institutional funding, achieved this by operating with a lean team (Selar has 21 employees) and keeping costs low. “Not everybody at Selar has a custom email address. Only people who actually send emails. I know it’s a mini cost, but it also adds up because that’s a recurring monthly cost.” How Selar makes money Selar has three sources of revenue: a commission on each product sold, a subscription model for its software-as-a-service (SaaS) business and a foreign exchange spread. The startup charges a 4%-6% commission fee for African currencies and 7% for dollar transactions. For its SaaS business, the startup runs two paid plans that give creators customisable features; the Pro and Turbo plans, which charge ₦8,000 ($8.81) and ₦15,000 ($16.6), respectively. Creators can get extra features like integration with PayPal and Stripe, access to affiliates, and a custom domain. “Our pricing philosophy is trying to get as much as we can without bleeding our customers,” Kendyson said. The startup also makes money through a forex spread when it converts foreign currencies to the Nigerian naira. Kendyson told TechCabal that the startup “has never really checked” how many active monthly users it has or the average revenue per user because Selar does not have a data analytics team. Selar’s lean team is a necessity of being bootstrapped since its inception, Kendyson said. Although Selar focuses its marketing efforts in Nigeria, it has users in Ghana, Kenya and francophone African countries, Kendyson said. “A lot of the work we’re doing now is product stability and team efficiency. So hopefully, as we get better at these things, we can start expanding.” Besides creators, Selar also creates an avenue for marketers to earn money. The startup runs an affiliate program where marketers can earn a commission through a custom link for every digital product bought through their link. Last year, 8,000 products were sold through the program, and marketers made ₦187 million ($207,506). “There’s just still much more opportunity that we can take. It’s just finding the right people [and] finding the right creators,” Kendyson said. Exchange rate used: $1= ₦915
Read MoreExclusive: Ojoma Ochai, CcHub’s new MD, is eager to bring emerging tech to the mainstream
Often described by colleagues as fun and easy-going, Ojoma Ochai takes her work seriously. The creative and digital economy expert sits on the board of several companies and projects, including CcHub, the Expert Panel on Diversity and Cultural Expressions, and BTrust. She considers herself to be intensely curious, and it is this curiosity that has shaped her professional journey for the past two decades. Ochai has spent the past 20 years working between the creative industry and the tech sector in Africa and has created a space for herself at the intersection of these two fields. Now, her work revolves around providing support to tech startups that are building for the creative industry. Beginning as an arts and administrative assistant in 2006, Ochai rapidly moved up the ladder at the British Council, and in May 2010, she became director of arts in Nigeria and West Africa. By 2018, she was director of programmes in sub-Saharan Africa, where she started working on creative economy projects across the continent. According to Ochai, her background in tech made her particularly curious about how technology was impacting activities in the creative sector and social space. So she delved deeper into exploring that, one research paper at a time. This curiosity eventually brought her to the doorsteps of CcHub, where she is excited about making emerging tech mainstream, among other things. Ochai and two other Nigerians—Khalil Nur Khalil and Obi Nwosu— sit on the board of BTrust, a bitcoin non-profit set up by Twitter’s founder Jack Dorsey and rapper Jay-Z to support bitcoin development with a focus on Africa and Asia. She regards her work at BTrust as transformative, and the entry point into her journey into that space was curiosity. In 2017, while working at the British Council, she commissioned a study on how arts and culture practitioners were leveraging tech in their practice. Driven by curiosity, Ochai dove head-first into a research rabbit hole until she eventually landed on the most fascinating answer: bitcoin. “I was fascinated by the opportunity in blockchain and bitcoin,” she shared. Before then, she’d had minimal interaction with the digital currency, and although she’d bought some in 2013, she had no sense that it was going to be a big thing. “If you’ve been in the creative industries, you’ll know that there were a lot of issues around licensing, royalties, payments, and cross-border remittances, and I got fascinated by the opportunity in blockchain [and consequently bitcoin] to solve that,” she said. And so, when, in February 2021, Jack Dorsey put out a tweet looking for three board members for BTrust, she signed up. The entire process included four rounds of interviews and an essay, where she hesitantly shared her theories on how the creative economy could leverage Bitcoin to grow. This impressed Dorsey because, in November 2021, she was sent a Google Meet link for the final stage of the screening process. “I don’t think I knew it was the last stage,” she recalls. “I just got on a Google Meet, and there I am, on a call with Jack Dorsey. How is this my life?” That same year, Ochai left her job at the British Council to cofound the creative economy practice at CcHub. This pivotal decision came after she analyzed the creative industry and digital economy in about 94 countries, which made her realise that it was getting more difficult to distinguish between the creative industry and the digital economy, as their value chains were intertwined. Ochai already believes in the core purpose and direction the previous leadership at CcHub had established: providing support to founders building tech-based solutions for social impact. “There won’t be a dramatic shift in how the company runs,” she shared over a call on a Friday afternoon. “Much of my effort will go towards staying on track rather than charting an entirely new course.” She, however, shares that she will be building on the current foundation to expand further thematically and into more countries across the continent. Expanding thematically means that CcHub will be paying special attention to emerging tech like blockchain, artificial intelligence(AI) and intelligent automation (IA) with their main focus being how to mainstream it into the current work being done. “If these emerging technologies like AI, bitcoin or blockchain, are going to revolutionise the world, then we can’t just be interested spectators. We have to be participants,” she shared. Currently, the company supports 24 startups across Nigeria and Kenya, with its main focus being edtech. It is running an accelerator for startups to receive up to $100,000 in non-dilutive capital and six months of acceleration. CcHub also has its eyes on the creative industry and is backing early-stage startups like Nollydata which aggregates service providers in Nollywood, and Orange VFX, a visual effects company. “We’re consuming, and it’s great, but who on the continent supports the people building the tech for creative industries?” Outside of emerging technologies and the creative economy, another area Ochai is looking to bring mainstream is climate and environment. She believes that builders in the ecosystem must pay attention to how issues like climate change can impact other outcomes like health and the economy and find ways to innovate around that. CcHub will also be supporting founders in building solutions to adapt or mitigate the changes currently happening due to climate change. In December 2023, Ochai was named MD of CcHub following its founder and former CEO Bosun Tijani’s appointment as Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation and digital economy. For twelve years, Tijani led CcHub from a small innovation centre in Yaba, Lagos, to becoming one of the most noteworthy tech hubs on the continent, with centres in Kenya and Namibia. Now, Ochai, who shares that she has always been a CcHub fangirl, has stepped in to lead the company, with a staff strength of about 200. Predictions for the creative and digital economies According to Ochai, one of her biggest predictions for the digital economy and creative industries is the emergence of
Read MoreFintech and energy illuminate DR Congo’s nascent startup ecosystem
This article was contributed to TechCabal by Conrad Onyango via bird story agency. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one of the world’s most resource-rich countries, is carving out a new prosperity niche as it emerges on the global tech scene. Known for its green metals, cobalt and copper, and the world’s second-largest rainforest, the newest member of the East African Community is having a moment in the startup ecosystem. In 2023 the country raised $62 million in startup funds, making it the single largest contributor to startup funding growth (33% year-on-year) in the Central Africa region, where it is clustered. “While being the only region to grow significantly, from $51m in 2022 to $68m in 2023, Central Africa continues to represent a fraction of the total funding, orders of magnitude smaller than its neighbours,” according to a report from Africa: The Big Deal. Of other startup hubs in Central Africa, Cameroon recorded just US$4 million and Chad less than $2 million. The huge central African country is ranked sixth on the continent, after Benin, and although each attracted less than $100 million in 2023, both toppled Ghana, a top contender in the ‘second tier’ of Africa’s startup rankings. “There has been a drop in most of the countries, not just the big four,” said Co-Founder of Africa: The Big Deal, Max Cuvellier Giacomelli in a 2023 Start-up Funding Round-Up webinar, pointing also to expectations of the return of Ghana to the top tier of African startup investment destinations in the coming years. Ghana ranked seventh in the report with US$57 million raised, after raising almost $103 million in 2022, according to Statista. Benin raised $71 million. Kenya topped Africa’s startup table with $800 million in startup funding, climbing by one position compared to 2022, despite a 29% drop in annual fundraising. Egypt ($640 million) came in second, making North Africa the second most attractive market for the first time, followed by South Africa (US$600 million) while Nigeria (with $410 million) dropped from first position to fourth. For the full year, 2023 fundraising by African startups dropped 39% year on year, from $4.6 billion in 2022 to $2.9 billion. While the startup scene in the DRC is still in its infancy and does not feature in most global startup ecosystem rankings, several interesting startups have begun paving the way for greater recognition of the country as a startup hub. Nuru, which focuses on solar energy, successfully raised $40 million in equity funding for its Series B round in July 2023, to grow its offering of utility-scale solar mini-grids in Goma, Kindu, and Bunia in the country’s east. In June 2003, Tuma raised $500,000 in funding, the largest investment round raised for a Congolese fintech, ever. In August, another fintech, VaultPay, secured a historic spot in Y Combinator’s 2023 summer cohort, becoming the first Congolese-led enterprise to be chosen among 202 startups worldwide for this prestigious program. According to the Big Deal report, fintech (41%) and energy (28%) startups attracted the most funding in Africa for 2023. Energy rose from $670 million in 2022 to $800 million in 2023, while Fintech dropped from $1.8 billion in 2022 to $1.2 billion in 2023. “Energy is the only sector – together with health-tech – that have seen year-on-year growth last year,” said Lead Venture Partner, Catalyst Fund and Co-founder of Africa – The Big Deal, Maxime Bayen. In Eastern Africa, “nearly half a billion dollars raised by Sun King and M-Kopa alone,” helped propel the region’s total fundraising to $880m in 2023 – 31% of all start-up investment on the continent – according to the report, signalling the significant role of energy startups in the ecosystem. In yet another indicator of its growing role, the DRC is likely to begin attracting more funding in the e-commerce space after the entry of Wasoko, valued at $625 million in the market. The e-commerce startup is among a few on the continent that has actively expanded to new markets (it also expanded into Zambia) at a time when many startups have announced plans for downsizing or even closing shop amidst an almost halt to new investment rounds. In December 2022, the DRC joined a growing list of African countries such as Senegal, Nigeria and Tunisia to introduce startup acts in a bid to turbocharge their entrepreneurial ecosystems.
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