Nigerian B2B platform Sabi reaches $1 billion in GMV
Sabi, a Nigerian B2B platform, has reached $1 billion in GMV annually. Sabi’s co-founder & CEO, Anu Adasolum made this known on Day 2 of Moonshot by TechCabal. Sabi, a Nigerian B2B platform that provides merchants with tools to grow their businesses, has crossed $1 billion in annualised gross merchandise value (GMV). The company’s co-founder & CEO, Anu Adasolum stated this on the second day of TechCabal’s flagship Moonshot Conference, Thursday, October 12. “At some point this year, we crossed a billion dollars in GMV. We have also onboarded over 200,000 merchants on our platform,“ Adasolum said in a fireside chat with the CEO of Big Cabal Media, Tomiwa Alakademo. Launched in 2020 as a spinoff of Rensource, an African energy company offering power-as-a-service to customers, Sabi provides merchants and resellers with business tools and services that help them reach new customers, improve cash flow, and streamline logistics. In 2021, the company raised $6 million in a round led by CRE Venture Capital, an investment firm that was also involved in Sabi’s $2 million seed round in 2020. Explaining what Sabi does, Adasolum said, “We are a platform that enables other businesses to grow. We build interventions in different value chains that add up to commercial infrastructure. Being our client means accessing services. It could be accessing credit and working capital. You can use our logistics services. We also provide free software for merchants to track their sales.” Data from World Economics puts it that the size of the informal economy in Nigeria is estimated to be 57.7% representing $1,164 billion at GDP PPP levels. The informal sector includes over 39 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. That’s 39 million businesses that need efficient platforms that can connect them to their prospects and existing customers and tools to help serve them best. Adasolum said that Sabi is solving this problem. “We are serving an underserved market, not in terms of what people normally think of us, which is a B2B marketplace. What we are doing is building very customised products for market gaps,” she said.
Read MoreEU investigation of X should affect Starlink’s Zimbabwe license application, says legislator
The EU’s investigation of Elon Musk for X’s failure to tackle misinformation is affecting his other company Starlink ’s operating licence application in Zimbabwe. In a Q&A parliamentary session yesterday, October 11, member of parliament Supa Mandiwanzira suggested that the European Union’s investigation of X for misinformation should be factored in the vetting process for Starlink’s operation licence application in Zimbabwe. Mandiwanzi argued that because Musk’s X is being used to allegedly disparage the country’s leadership, including president Emerson Mnangagwa, Starlink, by virtue of being associated with Musk, should also be scrutinised on the basis that its founder is being investigated by the EU, albeit on separate issues not in any way associated to Starlink. “Given the misinformation concerns raised by the EU regarding one of Elon Musk’s channels, I wanted to ask the minister of ICT whether the action by the EU will be considered when deciding whether to license Starlink?” asked Mandiwanzi. In response, Zimbabwe’s minister of ICT, Tatenda Mavetera, stated that X’s reported issues should not impact the application process for Starlink as it’s a separate company, albeit with the same owner. In another question to the minister, Mandiwanzira also sought to know if, like the EU which announced that X might incur penalties of 6% of its revenues for failing to regulate misinformation, Zimbabwe would also enforce the same punishment. Mandiwanzira again cited the alleged abuse of the country’s president and other politicians on X. In response, Mavetera stated that X would be regulated by the country’s Cyber Protection Bill and that should any of those alleged cases be proven, the platform would be punished as per the aforementioned legislation. Regarding the current status of Starlink’s application, the minister stated that Starlink has not paid any fees associated with the application and, hence, the company is yet to be issued an operating licence. Last month, Zimbabwe’s minister of information, publicity, and broadcasting services, Jenfan Muswere, confirmed that the country’s communications regulator had received an application for an operating licence from Starlink. Additionally, Muswere added that the application is currently being reviewed by the Postal & Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ).
Read MorePossible EVS wants to become Nigeria’s first manufacturer of electric vehicles.
Possible EVS, a Nigerian electric mobility firm, is set to launch EV assembly plants in Nigeria that will produce up to 10,000 EVs annually. Possible Electric Vehicle Solution (Possible EVS), a Nigerian electric mobility company in Abuja, is setting up plants to manufacture electric vehicles in Nigeria. “We’re in the design and production phase,” Mosope Olaosebikan, CEO of Possible EVS, told TechCabal in an interview. “Hopefully, by next year, we will start assembling in Nigeria but right now we’re assembling abroad.” Located in the Idu industrial area of Abuja, the manufacturing plant, when fully operational, will produce up to 10,000 electric vehicles yearly—including minibuses, tricycles, pick-up, and taxis—at its initial phase, according to Olaosebikan. Possible EVS is among other electric mobility startups on the continent justling for a top spot in Africa’s nascent EV sector, which is estimated to reach $21.4 billion in value by 2027. Spiro, an e-mobility company, signed a $63 million debt financing to fund two electric motorcycle assembly and battery manufacturing plants in Benin and Togo in 2024. Roam, an electric mobility company, recently introduced Kenya’s first locally manufactured electric bus and Qore, a Sterling Bank-backed company in Nigeria, is converting regular vehicles—motorcycles, tricycles and mini buses—to electric vehicles and will deploy 100 electric tricycles in the next month. Electric taxis While Possible EVS is primarily a manufacturer of electric vehicles, the company recently launched an EV based taxi service as a use case. Currently, it is testing the electric taxis in Abuja and will deploy them for use this month. “The testing phase is for us to get the data and understand human behaviour,” Olaosebikan told TechCabal. “So far, the feedback has been exciting.” The electric taxis can go 400 km on a single charge—about 37 round trips between Garki and Jabi, or a one-way trip from Abuja to Kaduna. Possible EVS has plans to expand fleets of electric taxis to Lagos and Akwa Ibom at the end of the year. Possible EVS also offers a public charging station at its recently launched electric vehicle experience centre (EVEC)—which it opened to sensitise people on the use of electric vehicles—in Abuja. While other EV companies like Qore offer battery swaps for depleted batteries at its charging station, Possible EVS fast charging infrastructure recharges an electric vehicle to full capacity in under an hour at the rate of ₦1,200 ($1.56). The startup also runs a mobile charging station that can recharge EVs at any location—just in case your electric vehicle runs out of battery in the middle of the road. Electricity supply is abysmal in Nigeria; the startup operates a hybrid electric charging station, a 50% mix of solar energy and grid electricity supply. The company plans to deploy a completely off-grid solution which Olaosebikan explained was a cheaper alternative. Funding strategy and sales model The company raised $5million internally for its initial fund raise and is looking to raise more funds by Q1 2024. The company, which runs an asset financing model, says it primarily makes money off the sales of electric vehicles. Olaosebikan says the company is currently in talks with financiers and people willing to do hire purchase. “We are manufacturers, at the end of the day and we just seek partnership with various companies: banks, the government and companies like Moove, that can do asset financing.” While Possible EVS is looking to explore the partnership route for the sale of its vehicles, Olaosebikan says there are arrangements for individuals who want to purchase the EVs for personal use. By his estimates, the average cost of an EV is between ₦12 million ($15,629) and ₦200 million ($260,497). While Possible EVS is putting finishing touches on the launch of its assembly plant, the company is set to launch an EVEC centre in Lagos and expand its multiple charging points across the country before the end of the year. It will also expand its fleet of electric taxis to Lagos and Akwa Ibom states in Nigeria, Olaosebikan told TechCabal.
Read MoreNigeria’s president Bola Tinubu reappoints Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi as director general of NITDA
Tinubu reappoints NITDA Director and new special adviser on technology and digital economy. Nigeria’s president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed new and returning CEOs for offices under the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy. Special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, shared the new listed members in a statement yesterday. Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, who has served as the DG/CEO of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) since August 2019, has been granted a renewed appointment by the president to continue as the DG/CEO of NITDA. Vincent Olatunji, who has been in the role of National Commissioner/CEO at the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC) since February 2022, has also been reappointed as the national commissioner/CEO of NDPC. Newly appointed CEOs Aminu Maida assumes leadership as the executive vice chairman/CEO at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nkechi Egerton-Idehen assumes leadership as the MD/CEO of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT), and Tola Odeyemi assumes leadership as the postmaster-general/CEO of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST). Additionally, Idris Alubankudi has been assigned a new role as special adviser to the president on technology and digital economy. According to Ngelale, these appointments are effective immediately, marking a significant step in President Tinubu’s vision for a digitally empowered and economically inclusive Nigeria.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Another Moonshot Day!
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy Moonshot Week Thank you so much for joining us on Day 1 of the Moonshot Conference! Day 2 promises more excitement, with keynotes from Sabi’s Anuoluwapo Adedoyin Adasolum, PiggyVest’s Josh Chibueze, and Flutterwave’s Olugbenga Agboola, and panels with Fisayo Fosudo, Jola Ayeye, and Korty EO. There’s also the announcement of the winner of TC Battlefield! Check out the full schedule to find out what’s coming up. P.S. If you came over yesterday, please don’t forget to come along with your access card so you can breeze through registration. In today’s edition Nigeria has new leaders in tech and innovation Kenya declines to renew Bolt’s licence Nigeria shares plans to train tech talents Meta launches $500,000 grant programme to support AI Payhippo appoints new CEO The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Policy Nigeria appoints new leaders in tech and innovation Image source: ZikokoMemes Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of new and returning CEOs across multiple tech agencies. According to the statement issued by the special adviser to the President on media and publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, on Wednesday, October 11, President Tinubu approved appointments under the ministry of communications, innovation, and digital economy. Who’s in? Here’s a list of who we’ll expect to see leading tech regulation and policy: Aminu Maida assumes leadership as the EVC/CEO at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). Nkechi Egerton-Idehen assumes leadership as the MD/CEO of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT). Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, who was at Moonshot yesterday, has been reappointed as the DG/CEO National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). Vincent Olatunji also returns as the National Commissioner/CEO Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). Tola Odeyemi assumes leadership as the Postmaster General/CEO of the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST). Furthermore, a special adviser to the President on technology and digital economy, Idris Alubankudi, has been appointed. Zoom out: These appointments are effective immediately, marking a significant step in President Tinubu’s vision for a digitally empowered and economically inclusive Nigeria. Get a working card from Moniepoint With the Moniepoint personal banking app, you get reliable payments every time and a card that always works. Enjoy seamless payments powered by the infrastructure that 1.5 million businesses trust. Download the app. Mobility Kenya halts Bolts licence renewal Image source: ZikokoMemes Kenya`s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) isn’t renewing the licence of the ride-hailing platform, Bolt, just yet. Why? According to the law, ride railing platforms in the country should receive 18% commission from drivers. However, Bolt defaulted by charging additional booking fees, and higher commissions than the NTSA benchmark. The clock is ticking: Bolt had written for a renewal of its operating licence with only 17 days left to its expiry. However, the NTSA deputy director and head of licencing, Cosmas Ngeso, informed Bolt that the ride-hailing company would lose its license unless it addressed the breaches. Bolt told TechCabal that it is working with the regulator to get its licence. The NTSA has asked Bolt to explain the rationale behind its commission structure, and also stop its “ïllegal” booking fee. Per Bolt, the booking fee is an additional fee that “covers support and enhanced technological features that ensure an even more efficient service on our platform”. The regulator says it has received several formal complaints from drivers on the non-adherence of Bolt to regulations, and says these complaints must be addressed before the company’s licence can be renewed. Zoom out: Bolt is not the only ride-hailing company in Kenya that charges booking fees; Uber does too but Uber has explained that its booking fees are used to cover taxes such as VAT. Without charging the booking fee, the charges would reduce driver earnings, the company explained. Economy Nigeria share plans to train tech talents Minister Bosun Tijani at TechCabal’s Moonshot Last week, the Nigerian minister of comms, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani, announced plans to equip 3 million early-to-mid-career Nigerians with tech skills by 2027 as part of the ministry’s strategic blueprint. At TechCabal’s Moonshot Conference, the minister revealed plans for how the country will achieve that goal. A 1-10-100 model: According to Tijani, the ministry will kick off with a pilot phase of training 1%—about 30,000 people—of the 3 million target within the next three months. Tijani hinted that the 30,000 learners will be spread across each state of the country. After that, it will commence training 300,000—or 10%—of the 3 million target. According to Tijani, the 1-10-100 approach is a good route to reach its 3 million target and bridge the talent gap in the Nigeria tech ecosystem. Applications for learners and tutors will open by Friday, October 13. Zoom out: The ministry’s approach to training tech talents in the country is not a one-off model. Per the minister, the model will replicated to achieve the ministry’s goal to position Nigeria in the top 25% percentile in research globally across six pivotal Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Accept payments fast with the Paystack Virtual Terminal Paystack Virtual Terminal helps businesses accept blazing fast in-person payments at scale, with ZERO hardware costs. Enjoy instant transfer confirmations via WhatsApp, multiple in-person payment channels, and more. Learn more. Funding Meta launches $500,000 grant programme to support AI-Powered solutions GIF source: Zikoko Memes Meta is offering $500,000 in grants to projects that use its open-source AI model. The Llama Impact Grants programme, initiated by Meta, is offering $500,000 in grants to projects using Llama 2, its open-source large language model to address challenges in education, environment and social innovation. Meta and Microsoft released Llama 2 as an open-source program in July, making it available to researchers and developers around the world. Llama 2 is a powerful AI model that can be used for a variety of tasks, including generating text, translating languages, and writing different kinds of creative content. Yesterday, at TechCabal’s Moonshot event, Adaora Ikenze, Meta’s public policy director for Anglophone West Africa, expressed that AI should not be monopolised, echoing Meta’s
Read MoreHow startups can scale across Africa
An easy way for startups to offer returns on dollar investments is to operate in multiple markets. The chief operating officers at Flutterwave, Paystack and Autochek share how startups can scale across Africa. For most African startups, achieving the right level of scale means being present in multiple countries. But expansion comes with a lot of challenges; a startup must consider the legal and regulatory requirements, the market size, and finding product market fit for each country. Speaking at a panel session at Moonshot by TechCabal on Wednesday, October 11, the chief operating officers of Flutterwave, Paystack, and Autocheck, startups in multiple African countries, shared how their startups were able to expand. One thing a startup must get right before expanding from their home country is a paying customer base. Mayokun Fadeyibi, the COO at Autocheck, said that a startup should have found a product market fit in a country before considering expansion. She added that an operator should also have “self-awareness” and a good grasp of the metrics of the business and that by scaling their technology as they scale the business, startups could avoid a common pitfall that might hinder their expansion drive. Bode Afobarin, the COO at Flutterwave, said that for Flutterwave’s expansion, the company developed a playbook covering business development, regulatory requirements, and information the startup had gathered since its inception. Likening the effect of the playbook to how Catholic churches are similar despite location, she advised all startups to create something similar. Last month, Axel Peyriere, the CEO of Auto24, an Ivorian startup that expanded into four countries simultaneously, told TechCabal that he leveraged his company’s documentation process to start the expansion process months before and that he was already preparing to launch in more countries because of this documentation. One issue with expansion is finding a cost-effective approach to entering multiple markets. Amandine Lobelle, the COO at Paystack, advised startups to make tradeoffs and find a balance between expansion and cutting costs. She added that because of the year’s funding challenge, startups should not take the “growth at all costs” approach.
Read MoreHow tech businesses can win in an African market
Investing in the tech industry can be dicey. Startup investors share how they navigate the market. Investing in any business comes with its own risks and rewards, and the African tech space is no different. Per Statista, the average startup failure rate in Africa stood at 54% in 2020. However, no investor takes a bet on a business expecting losses or risks, according to Olumide Soyombo, a partner at Voltron Capital. Soyombo made the assertion at the ongoing Moonshot conference, a flagship conference by TechCabal which has gathered players and builders in the African tech space to network, collaborate, share insights, and celebrate innovation on the continent. “When I am investing, I am optimising for the upside not down sides,” Soyombo said during a panel on “Thinking about risk and reward in Africa.” It is important to note that the investing landscape of African startups has transformed over the past decade from very few players to a plethora of venture capital funds. A Disrupt Africa 2022 report alluded to this growth, noting that total annual funding for African tech startups has increased by over 1,000% since 2015. Founder & MD at Ingressive Capital, Maya Horgan Famodu, another contributor on the panel, admits that the African tech startup ecosystem had changed since 2014 when she began to invest in the sector. “This is my 10th anniversary in tech since I started out in 2014—straight out of college,” she added. The risks Nonetheless, the risks in the tech ecosystem are as many as they come. The tech landscape can be quite daunting. The sector seems to be in a recovery mode this year as it opened with sober tales of a funding downturn. This has been exacerbated with the currency devaluation, corporate governance issues, and economic reforms which have stretched the Nigerian masses. The rewards Two other panellists, senior associate, Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures, Oliva Gao, and Dolapo Morgan of Ventures Platform said that rewards abound in investing. However, Morgan said it is vital that when funds are raised via Venture Capital, they are returned at a 10 times rate. To achieve that, Morgan explained that the startup receiving the fund must be solving a huge problem that can earn it a lot of revenue. One of the major goals of establishing a startup is to see it exit. Paystack’s acquisition by a US-based global payment company Stripe has demonstrated what is possible. However, the reality of that billion-dollar exit is quite grim. Morgan states that exits won’t look like Silicon Valley billion-dollar ones. “Sometimes, exits can take three years for a company to mature to a $100 million to $300 million exit,” Morgan said.
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Exclusive: Meta-backed 45,000km subsea cable to land in two Nigerian locations in November
The 45,000 km long undersea cable will land in 32 other African countries. The new deep-sea cable project will encircle Africa when complete and is expected to land in Lagos and Kwa Ibo, a river town in Nigeria’s southeast this November, TechCabal has learned. 2Africa is the brainchild of a consortium led by Meta, China Mobile International, and several telecom companies. When completed it will be the world’s longest undersea cable built to primarily serve Africa. It also holds the title of being the largest undersea cable project constructed in the cost-effective capacity category, thanks to new technology from Alcatel Submarine Networks. 2Africa begins from Genoa in northern Italy and encircles Africa with landings in Spain, France, the Middle East, Pakistan and India. The 45,000 km undersea cable system terminates near the southern tip of the UK. Photo: Screengrab from Submarine Cable Map More than 1.2 million kilometres of undersea cables keep the Internet alive. Most of them were laid and owned by telecommunications companies, especially at the turn of the last century during the dot com boom. The more recent surge in internet use that followed the rise of social media and streaming services (known as Over-the-top (OTT) platforms) forced companies like Netflix, Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Meta to begin to move down the internet value chain and build deep sea networks to handle the growing internet traffic. Meta and Google are reported to be behind roughly 80% of recent investments in transatlantic deep sea cable projects.
Read MoreHow to build the rails for the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy
Nigeria’s digital economy will record impressive growth in the coming years. Experts at Moonshot by TechCabal said this can only be achieved if stakeholders collaborate. Depending on who you ask, Nigeria’s digital economy is on course to record impressive growth. The last decade has seen the emergence of multimillion-dollar startups like Paystack and Flutterwave and billions of dollars flowing into the tech ecosystem. In 2019, the World Bank predicted that Nigeria is “well-positioned to develop a strong digital economy, which would have a transformational impact”. But it will take strategic efforts to build a thriving digital economy in Nigeria, according to Juliet Ehimuan, immediate past director of Google West Africa. Ehimuan, who spoke during a panel session at Moonshot by TechCabal on Wednesday, October 11, highlighted four key things needed to build the rails for the growth of Nigeria’s digital economy. “The first is access to the marketplace. Second, it’s important for us to have locally relevant content and ensure that we have use cases, tools, and solutions that address the various gaps in the market. And the third is capacity—making sure we have the talent who can build these solutions and people who can use them. And the final is funding for tech entrepreneurs,” she said. Another panelist, Oswald Guobadia, former senior special assistant on digital transformation in Nigeria’s last administration, opined that some of the challenges of Nigeria’s digital economy are tied to a lack of collaboration between policymakers and practitioners, leading to a drawback in policymaking. “When a practitioner creates an idea to disrupt things, the policymaker sees displacement. The only way to solve that problem is through collaboration. The Nigeria Startup Act provides a framework for collaboration between the government and private sector to deliver value,” he said, adding that the appointment of tech stakeholders like Bosun Tijani into government is a good starting point. Like Guobadia, Ehimuan said partnerships between startups are necessary to scale greater impact. “We have celebrated a few unicorns in the continent. For every unicorn out there, there are probably 1,000 more businesses in that space doing great work, but they don’t have visibility. They don’t have the support that they need. And this is when the ecosystem needs to pull together to provide that level of support,” she said. Despite the generational shift to tech jobs in the past decade, the Nigerian tech ecosystem still grapples with a talent gap. At the same time, it is losing tech workers to companies in developed economies as part of a brain drain wave. Speaking earlier at the event, Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, Bosun Tijani shared how he intends to achieve the ministry’s goal of training 3 million tech talents over the next four years. Ehimuan said that beyond the ministry’s ambitious goal, the government needs to work toward building the capacity of the teeming number of graduates produced by universities annually to join the tech workforce. “We need to ensure that we’re creating opportunities where a lot of our very talented and vibrant learners can get support,” she said.
Read MoreAI offers opportunity to digitise African culture
Microsoft principal programme manager Nnanna Orieke calls for digitisation of Africa’s culture at Moonshot by TechCabal. A quick search of something of African origin on ChatGPT or any other generative AI system gives a scant or inadequate answer. Current generative AI systems are not equipped with enough data to adequately reflect Africa’s diversity, but this provides an opportunity for Africans to digitise their rich and diverse cultures and languages, according to Nnanna Orieke, principal programme manager at Microsoft. Orieke made this observation at the ongoing Moonshot conference, a flagship conference by TechCabal, which has gathered players and builders in the African tech space to network, collaborate, share insights, and celebrate innovation on the continent. Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an integral part of our lives, transforming various aspects of human existence, from healthcare to finance to manufacturing. Its ability to simplify systems and enhance productivity is evident. However, AI’s application in Africa has been hampered by the lack of adequate data, resulting in biases and inaccurate representations of Africans. Orieke notes that generative AI systems often fall short because they lack comprehensive data on African cultures. “Nobody is documenting all of our culture,” he said, highlighting the pressing need for greater representation in AI technology. Despite the challenges, Africa is making strides in digitising its own culture. “The work is being done,” says Fatima Tambajang, head of developer relations for Africa at Nvidia. Initiatives like Indaba aim to address the data gap, providing a platform to document and preserve African languages and traditions. These efforts show promise in bringing authentic African voices to the world of AI. But barriers such as poor electricity access, limited internet penetration, and the high costs associated with AI technology pose a challenge. In many African countries, electricity is a scarce resource. Data from the PwC show that only 58% of the continent’s population have access to electricity and two-thirds of Africa’s existing grids are considered unreliable. Asides electricity, internet quality on the continent is faint. When compared to most other world regions, fibre networks have a limited reach in Africa. Also, AI is an expensive technology to implement and maintain. The costs associated with infrastructure, software, and hardware can be prohibitive for many African communities and governments. To overcome these barriers, Tambajang is of the opinion that collaborative efforts between governments and private stakeholders are crucial.
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