👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – A strike of genius?
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning Looks like Muskerberg event might not happen after all. Yesterday, Meta CEO said he’s ready to move on from the planned fight as his opponent, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, doesn’t appear to be ready..or serious. Since Musk and Zuckerberg agreed to a fight in June, the world has waited to finally see the rich eat themselves. So far, only the Meta CEO has shown any enthusiasm with Musk delaying for several reasons including surgery, and more recently, a request for a practice match with Zuckerberg. C’mon Elon, you can do it, pave the way, put your back into it. In today’s edition South African taxi drivers call off strike Kobo360 CEO appointed commissioner China reduces screen time for children How fintechs should adapt to FX reforms The World Wide Web3 Event: The Moonshot Conference Job openings Mobility South African taxi drivers call off strike South Africa’s mobility industry is once again in the news. Last month, it was because Uber drivers were implicated in attacks on passengers. This month, it’s because taxi drivers in Cape Town embarked on a week-long strike that caused hardships for everyone from commuters to e-hailing drivers. On Thursday, August 10, eight days after it began, the strike was called off. Why did they strike? Late in July, the city of Cape Town implemented a new by-law that allows the city to impound vehicles that don’t have licence plates displayed. Under the old laws of 1996, drivers who did not display licences were simply fined but their cars weren’t confiscated. This new law, however, means something different. Subsequently, on August 3, the Western Cape branch of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO) announced a one-week strike which immediately turned violent after the government began impounding cars under the new law. The taxi drivers, at the time, vowed to strike until the new law was repealed. Image source: Reuters Five dead and 120 arrested: Angry protesters took the street, torching buses and cars that refused to join in the strike action. Per South African police minister Bheki Cele, five people were reportedly killed during the protests while 120 suspects have been arrested in connection to the violence. SANTACO also says about R120 million ($6 million) was lost in income and properties during the strike. Many others were affected by the strike action including commuters as taxis make up 75% of transportation in the province. Local media reported that dozens of passengers who could not get buses or ride-hailing services slept at bus stations or their workplaces. Even ride-hailing services who did not join the strike and were caught with commuters had their cars burnt. Zoom out: After eight days, the association called off the strike as SANTACO and the government reached an agreement that would see to the release of impounded vehicles. The new laws will still be in force, under the agreement, but a task team with participation from SANTACO will define which offences other than operating without a licence will make drivers liable for impoundment. Secure payments with Monnify Monnify has simplified how businesses accept payments to enable growth. We are trusted by Piggyvest, Buypower, Wakanow, Fairmoney, Cowrywise, and over 10,000 Nigerian businesses. Get your Monnify account today here. Ecosystem Kobo360 CEO appointed commissioner in Nigeria Obi Ozor, CEO of Kobo360 Nigeria’s tech ecosystem is slowly infiltrating governance. Last week, Obi Ozor, CEO of logistics startup Kobo360, was appointed commissioner of transport in Enugu, Nigeria. This comes weeks after founder of incubator CcHub Bosun Tijani was nominated and confirmed as a federal minister for the country’s new regime. Ozor was one of 20 ministers appointed by state governor Peter Mba who, in his speech, said that the commissioners were appointed based on their experience and track record. The Kobo360 founder spent five years studying in a seminary before serving as Kobo360’s CEO for the same duration. Prior to this, he held positions at JP Morgan and was the director of operations at Uber Nigeria. Kobo360 which Ozor co-founded with Ife Oyedele in 2017 is a digital logistics platform that enables cargo owners to book freight trucks via phone or online. If anyone knows about transportation, it’s definitely Ozor. The big picture: While startup founders have previously been appointed to governmental roles in Nigeria, such as Oswald Guobadia during President Buhari’s administration, the appointments of Ozor and Tijani offer fresh recognition for the Nigerian tech sector. With governmental barriers now reduced, the Nigerian tech ecosystem is poised for its next phase of growth. Discover Trends with Smile Identity Download the Smile ID State of KYC in Africa Report on the latest trends in identity verification across Africa, highlighting the power of biometric verification and document verification in combating fraud. It is a must-read for any business looking to acquire users across Africa and keep up with fraud trends. Global News China reduces screen time for minors For kids in China, the word “Tik Tok” will have a different meaning. Earlier this month, the Cyber Administration of China released a new proposal that will reduce screen time for minors to two hours. ICYMI: In 2021, the Chinese government implemented new laws that limited the number of hours minors can spend gaming online. Minors were barred from gaming during the weekdays, and weekend gaming was limited to three hours. At the time, Douyin—China’s alternative to TikTok—also implemented new policies that limited the amount of time children under 14 could spend on the app to 40 minutes per day. GIF Source: Zikoko Memes Limited screen time: Now, under the proposed laws, all minors—people under 18—will have limited screen time. With “Minor Mode” on across devices, no minor will be able to access their screen between 10 PM and 6 AM. Kids under eight can use their phones for up to 40 minutes daily. Those aged 8 to 16 are allotted an hour of screen time, and those between 16 and 18 can
Read MoreObi Ozor, Kobo360 CEO appointed commissioner in Enugu
Obi Ozor, the CEO of Kobo360, a logistics startup, has been appointed as commissioner of transport in Enugu, Nigeria. This comes a week after Bosun Tijani’s ministerial confirmation, signifying new heights for the country’s startup ecosystem. On Thursday, Peter Mba, the governor of Enugu, appointed 20 commissioners who will support the implementation of his policies in the eastern Nigerian state. The newly sworn-in commissioners include Obi Ozor, the CEO of Kobo360, a Nigerian logistics startup. Ozor will serve as the commissioner of transportation in Mba’s cabinet. In his speech, Mba said that the commissioners were appointed based on their experience and track record. “It’s our hope that you are going to bring those experiences to bear and to work for the people of Enugu State,” he added. Mba also spoke of his ambition for Enugu and charged the commissioners to help achieve it. “We want to attract investments to Enugu and it will require you, deploying not only your skills, but also making sure that you acquire those new skills that we need to fix the challenges of breaking new grounds of economic development and growth.” My Life In Tech: In Obi Ozor’s world, audacity is king Trained in a seminary for 5 years, Ozor has been CEO of Kobo360 for 5 years. Before that, he worked at JP Morgan and Uber Nigeria as its Director of Operations. Kobo360 was launched in 2017 in Nigeria by Obi Ozor and Ife Oyedele, who exited the startup last year. Through its digital logistics platform, cargo owners can request freight trucks using either their phones or the web and have their goods picked up and delivered to the required location. This appointment comes a week after President Tinubu appointed Bosun Tijani as a minister. Although it’s not the first time that startup founders are appointed to serve in a government capacity in Nigeria (Oswald Guobadia, a two-time founder’s role in Buhari’s administration, comes to mind), Ozor and Tijani’s appointments create a new level of validation for Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. No longer faced with barriers at the government level, the next steps for Nigeria’s tech ecosystem’s growth are already underway. What does Nigeria need from its digital economy minister?
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Venture studios are South Africa’s recipe for building startups in an uncertain economy
Venture studios are becoming a default matron—and surrogate in many cases— for early-stage companies in South Africa. South African startups appear to have weathered the double whammy of a funding crunch and declining economic landscapes better than their Big 4 peers. The country is also a leader in venture building. The two points appear unrelated at first glance, but is South Africa’s concentration of venture builders an underestimated edge? I think so. In the second quarter of 2023, South Africa recorded a 12% decline in funding compared to the amount of investment received in the same reporting period in 2022, according to a TC Insights report. But in the previous quarter of 2023, South Africa was the only country in the big four ecosystems (Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa) to record increased funding (by 22%) relative to its performance in Q1 of 2022. Source: State of Tech in Africa Q2 2023, TC Insights Two quarters is probably not a good indicator of investor sentiment in Southern Africa, and the prevailing wind does not suggest that the venture funding freeze will thaw soon. But still, it is a relative net gain. This is partly explained by the fact that South Africa is not heavily dependent on capital from foreign investment firms. “While there is a general slowdown, more funds in South Africa are closing compared to elsewhere on the continent,” David Saunders, director of growth and strategy at Briter, a research firm told TechCabal. Regardless of funding performance, South African startups have to deal with the wider economic headwinds that have slowed growth to a crawl. Individuals, big businesses and small businesses alike have all been affected by a cost-of-living crisis and rolling blackouts. “It’s hard to ignore the macro environment at the moment. South African consumers are financially distressed, large enterprises are cutting capital expenditure, and power outages continue, putting pressure on startups both commercially and operationally,” Nicole Dunn, co-founder and executive at Revio, a South African payments and invoicing startup told TechCabal. Despite this, she is upbeat about the prospects of South African startups, even though she concedes that a few might fail. During the funding boom, startups in East and West Africa saw more deal activity at the early stage and tended to raise significant sums as they reached the later growth stage. This helped fuel the rise of unicorns (young and fast-growing companies valued at more than $1 billion) and a U-shaped startup funding pattern, Saunders explained. South Africa on the other hand, follows an inverted U pattern. There was less deal activity at earlier stages. But significantly more deals were consummated for companies at their mid-stage. This was followed by a decline in funding for later-stage ventures. That South African startups exit early” might partly explain this U-shaped pattern. Keet van Zyl, co-founder and partner at venture capital firm Knife Capital, believes there is some legitimacy to the hypotheses. Because of the “significant follow-on financing gap for high-growth local startups with proven traction,” it makes more sense to sell to a bigger and older company, van Zyl told TechCabal’s Ephraim Modise earlier this year. His firm just closed a $50 million fund to back startups with “high exit potential.” Against this backdrop of an ecosystem with more exits on average compared to their peers. And participation from larger corporates. venture building is becoming the matron—and surrogate in some cases— for early-stage companies in South Africa. Venture builders find their mojo As economic headwinds become stronger and set against the context of a global decline in venture funding, venture builders have emerged as dominant players in South Africa’s startup scene. Especially at the early stage. Venture building is a more hands-on investing model where an in-house team of experts work to build ideas or young companies into full-fledged businesses. Startups get capital and talent who work full or part-time to design products build the startup from the earliest stages and the venture builder gets a significant portion of discounted ownership in the fledgling business. Some venture studios simply charge fees for their services. One such studio is Specno, an app development agency that combines building apps for clients with high-touch venture investing and consulting. It was founded in 2018 by Daniel Novitzkas and Jacques Jordaan as a side project during their post-graduate program at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. The now five-year-old company has grown from a team of two to a 40-person with clients in South Africa, the Netherlands, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It recently opened an office in the Netherlands. From its head office in Century City, an upscale suburb in Cape Town, Specno serves roughly 100 global clients and portfolio companies with a mix of corporate and technical consulting, a paid accelerator program and investment support. Specno does not have a fund it invests from, but it taps a network of 250 global angel investors and also invests capital from its business in favoured startups. Novitzkas says they plan to raise a fund for their investments. Right now, his firm focuses on helping startups “unlock their competitive advantage to growth.” “We reverse engineer the process of raising funding,” Novitzkas said, adding that its investor network allows it to help up to 6 startups find funding in a typical month. Experience, a steady hand, and appropriate doses of focus and tests are part of the critical appeal of venture builders. Venture studios usually have a broad network of corporate clients or are directly funded by corporates. This network can prove useful as early customers, potential investors or even acquirers in the long run. Depending on the type of venture, Louis Buys, Founder and CEO of The Delta, also headquartered in Cape Town says his firm provides anchor support and taps its corporate venture-backed network to build early revenue pipelines. “A revenue pipeline is the best security for [future fundraising],” he explained to TechCabal. So “Customer relationships for early traction is probably the most important thing,” he says South African startups should
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Kenya police seize Worldcoin equipment
Lire en français Read this email in French. Editor’s Note Week 32, 2023 Read time: 5 minutes Hello Time for your weekly dose of African tech-tastic updates . Your thoughts mean the world to us, so please sprinkle a little magic on our TC Weekender by sharing your insights in this 3-minute survey. Pamela Tetteh Editor, TechCabal. Editor’s Picks Kenya police seize Worldcoin equipment Kenyan law enforcers stormed into a Nairobi warehouse and carted away equipment belonging to Worldcoin – the crypto project scanning people’s eyes in exchange for about $50. Learn more. Senegal arrests Starlink sellers After hitting the off-switch on the internet, the Senegalese government is now rounding up Starlink sellers, accusing them of illegally hooking folks up with internet. Learn more. Sendy is in acquisition talks Word on the street is that Kenyan logistics startup Sendy is deep in talks with potential buyers. Learn more. Vodacom acquisition of Maziv halts South Africa’s competition referee just blew the whistle on Vodacom’s game plan to snatch up Maziv, the owner of Dark Fibre Africa, South Africa’s second-largest fibre network operator. Learn more. DStv exits Malawi Looks like the show’s over for DStv in Malawi. Multichoice is unplugging the service after a court order to cease any further subscription price hikes. . Learn more. TC Live: Reducing the cost of crossborder payments Join us next Friday at 11 AM (WAT) with experts in the payment and international trade industry as they share perspectives and potential solutions on navigating the challenges of cross-border payment in Africa. Register here Slow internet in SA The West African Cable System (WACS) and the South Atlantic 3 that connect South Africa to the global network broke. South Africans were left to juggle load shedding and internet speeds that move slower than a snail. Learn more. Payday on Twitter for Nigerians Several Nigerian influencers and X (formerly Twitter) Premium users were greeted with credit alerts, receiving payments of between $251 and $500 for being active on the platform. Learn more. Safaricom finalises $257 million deal Safaricom Ethiopia has bagged $257 million from the World Bank’s private investment arm for its greenfield telecommunications project. Learn more. The African startups in Ycombinator’s summer class Y Combinator has dropped the curtain on its star-studded lineup for the Summer 2023 class. There are three African startups on the list. Meet them. Who brought the money this week? Nigerian mobility company Moove raised $76 million in an undisclosed funding round led by Mubadala Investment Company with participation from Blackrock and other undisclosed investors. Talents Arena, an Egyptian human resource(HR) company, raised $750,000 in pre-seed funding from UI investment. Egypt-based Bugaurd, a cybersecurity company, secured $500,000 in seed funding. FinMeUp, a South-African fintech company, raised undisclosed funding from SAAD and Blu Sky Investments. What else to read this weekend? Africa should not play catchup with AI regulation Unresolved challenges threaten to limit Nigeria’s digital payments growth Content creation is booming in Botswana but monetisation remains a puzzle Inside ChowCentral: Y Combinator’s latest food delivery bet in Africa Written by: Ngozi Chukwu Edited by: Pamela Tetteh 18, Nnobi Street, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria Unsubscribe from TC Weekender [ad]
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From regulatory ripples to cyberattacks: A reflection on Africa’s tech ecosystem in Q2 2023
Image source: Telecom Review Africa In Q1 2023, Artificial Intelligence took centre stage globally and particularly in Africa, as the sector yielded Africa’s biggest acquisition of all time in a mega deal worth $682 million. However, the second quarter of 2023 took a different turn, according to research findings by TechCabal Insights. Venture funding grew a little higher than the previous quarter with energy startups dislodging fintechs. Several African governments also began to pay attention to regulatory activities that dominate the tech space, with Nigeria and Kenya at the forefront. In Q2 2023, venture funding increased from US$ 857 million in Q1 to US$916.4 million in Q2, nearly crossing US$1 billion and totalling a 6.9% increase from the last quarter. This was driven by two mega deals: M-Kopa securing $255 million in a debt-and-equity financing round and SunKing’s $130 million securitisation deal in May 2023. Although there was a decline in the number of funding deals compared to the last and corresponding quarter, we have seen a trend of quality investments and deals as well as growth from startups in East Africa as Kenya jumped to the top in terms of funding position to secure an impressive $462.4 million, with Nigeria following distantly at $149.3 million. “The downsizing of deals is important to building a more mature and structured ecosystem for Africa. Startups have become more margin-conscious and pay attention to the fact that investors now prioritise scalability, unit economics, and capacity,” said Leslie Ossete, co-founder and COO at Mstudio at the launch of The State of Tech Report Q2 2023 on Friday, August 4, 2023. One of the most noteworthy trends in Q2 2023 was the shift in the venture funding landscape, as fintech startups no longer receive the largest chunk of investment. Instead, energy-focused startups took the lead, securing an impressive $486.9 million to represent 53% of the total funding in the quarter. This implies that while innovation around payment or digital financial services remains attractive on the continent, Africa’s energy needs are beginning to gain investor attention, considering the gap in energy consumption across the continent. While there has been a general increase in the environmental and climate consciousness globally, we have also seen an increase in regulatory policies which has served as a major driver for investment and innovations in the cleantech and energy sector. For example, Nigeria signed an electricity bill in 2023 that provides a framework for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The bill also provides incentives for private investors to create a viable market that would drive investment, improve electricity access, and foster economic growth. Like Victoria Oloni, an associate at Templars said: “If a sector is going to experience a boom, it starts with regulatory policies that make it attractive for investment to come into the space.” The surge in digital financial services adoption across Africa has brought about an increase in cyber fraud risks. For instance, MTN’s mobile money service sued 18 Nigerian banks after a $53.7 million loss to mobile money fraud. Union54, a Zambian fintech, paused operations due to an attempted $1.2 billion chargeback. We also witnessed other cyber fraud activities with financial institutions like Flutterwave, Heritage Bank, Globus Bank, and even one of Africa’s biggest streaming platforms- Showmax. These incidents highlight the pressing need for enhanced cybersecurity to protect user information and financial assets amidst Africa’s expanding digital finance landscape. Emeka Ajene, founder at Afridigest advised: “It is important for startups to start thinking around optimising their products against cyber fraud early rather than later.” Although the year began with a lot of scepticism about funding in Africa’s startup ecosystem, the performance so far has sharply contrasted it. With each passing quarter, the African tech ecosystem evolves and adapts, continually pushing boundaries and redefining what is possible despite various challenges. By ensuring more stakeholder engagement and collaboration on the implementation of policies, we will begin to see unparalleled growth across Africa’s diverse tech ecosystem. To get valuable insights into the state of tech in Africa in Q2 2023, download the report here.
Read MoreInside ChowCentral: Y Combinator’s latest food delivery bet in Africa
TechCabal caught up with Tosin Onafuye, and Adeyemi Onafuye, Co-founders of ChowCentral Y Combinator’s Summer class of 2023. Here’s how the team is re-imagining the food restaurant business. When Tosin Onafuye started 500Chow—ChowCentral’s subsidiary—as a fun experiment in April 2020, his plan was to deliver quality meals at the most affordable rate. “We started 500 Chow to sell meals for N500 for people that didn’t have so much money during the covid lockdown,” he tells me on a video chat from ChowCentral’s kitchen in Lekki. Onafuye and his team experimented throughout the 2020 lockdown. Afterward, they pivoted into a new business model—a food marketplace to deliver meals. This attempt failed; “At the time, we had not gotten so much funding, and we had not gotten so much experience; we had just finished school in 2019, and we wanted to start a business in 2020, so we went to work,” he said. After the attempt failed, the 500Chow team went their separate ways. Christopher Obasi, the company’s CTO and Yemi Onafuye, the COO, moved to Moniepoint to build products, while Tosin Onafuye joined Vendease (W21), a B2B startup that services restaurants. With the benefit of hindsight, Onafuye says moving on to different things was a learning curve for the team. In August 2022, the team reunited to set up a central kitchen in Lagos, and ChowCentral was born. The idea for ChowCentral was borrowed from Yum, the American multinational fast food corporation which operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill. At present, ChowCentral, owns two brands: 500Chow, and Gregg’s Grill. ChowCentral allows customers to order meals on the app from only 500Chow, pay with their in-app wallet and track their orders in real-time—meal prices on the platform range from N1500-N4000. ChowCentral: The Facelift ChowCentral has no plans to include third-party restaurants on the app, raising valid questions about variety. On competitor platforms like Chowdeck, users choose from several restaurants that offer a wide variety. ChowCentral’s COO insists that their app always has something for everyone at all times of the day. “We are not like Chowdeck or Jumia Food; we are a restaurant. Even though we are virtual and do food delivery, our core business is restaurants.” By focusing on restaurants as its core offering, ChowCentral can control quality. ChowCentral got an undisclosed pre-seed investment in 2022 led by Ventures Platform, DFX Labs and other angel investors. The startup is one of only three African startups selected in this year’s Y Combinator’s Summer cohort. “The training and learnings from the impact of the cohort and advice from partners will help us align with the strategies we are trying to achieve,” Onafuye said. ChowCentral joins the list of Y Combinator food bets in Africa, having previously backed Chowdeck and FoodCourt in their 2022 cohort. Nigeria’s ChowCentral is one of three African startups in Y Combinator’s Summer 2023 batch Bowl of challenges Recent numbers from the National Bureau of Statistics show that food prices are the biggest driver of Nigeria’s inflation figures. Additionally, 90% of Nigeria’s working population spends more than half of their income on food and related expenses. For a startup promising quality meals at affordable prices to Nigeria’s GenZ and Millennials—who represent a bulk of Nigeria’s working population—ChowCentral has its work cut out. The company CEO, however, remains unfazed. “We source materials locally; we try to get the lowest possible price at the best possible quality. Unlike the average person, as a restaurant, you can buy larger quantities at a reduced price. It doesn’t mean that the price of things do not also rise, ” he said. “The customers bear more of the eventual cost. There is no way around it; it’s a macroeconomic condition that we have to adjust to. We are working around it. There are no easy answers to these macroeconomic problems” As with most food delivery startups, Logistics poses a big challenge. Onafuye and his team use select riders for orders from the ChowCentral app. “Also, we use bicycles for our deliveries to lessen the delivery fee,” Onafuye, told TechCabal. “Logistics have not proven too challenging for us; it’s just the people. Finding reliable people has proven to be the most difficult.” According to Onafuye, ChowCentral has $80,000 in monthly revenue and currently serves thousands of customers in Lagos Island and Surulere, Lagos mainland. Onafuye says there are plans to expand into other locations in the country. ChowCentral joins an increasingly competitive food delivery landscape with Jumia Food, Bolt Eats, Glovo, and AreaChops; Onafuye asserts that these are not competitors. “Chowdeck and the rest will be more focused on the delivery,” he said. “Ours is just to focus on quality and attracting customers to the brand. We are focusing more on the food as our core service” Chow Central’s description on Y Combinator’s page is building restaurant chains for Millennials and Gen Z living in African cities who want high-quality and healthy meals,” Onafuye affirms that they will stick to this goal till they put African dishes on the map.
Read MoreRelief for ride-hailing drivers caught in the middle of Cape Town’s taxi strike
The Western Cape branch of South Africa’s taxi union has called off a strike protesting a new by-law that allowed the City of Cape Town to impound vehicles instead of fining drivers for not displaying registration plates. The new law also states that cars can be impounded if they’re unlicensed, overloaded or don’t stop when they’re instructed to do so by a police officer. Taxi operators say the by-law targets them unfairly. The week-long ‘Taxi Stay Aways’ grounded public transportation to a halt even as Cape Town hosted the Netball World Cup. Under South Africa’s 1996 national road rules, licensed drivers who are not carrying their licences are issued a fine but are allowed to continue the trip. But under the new by-law, the City of Cape Town fines offending drivers and impounds the vehicle. The protests turned violent almost immediately. “Taxi owners and drivers, who were attending Santaco’s meeting in Makhaza, Cape Town, to decide on whether to strike, walked out of the venue and pelted a law enforcement vehicle with stones,” The Daily Maverick, a South African publication reported. The Western Cape branch of South Africa’s taxi union has called off a strike that put South African ride-hailing drivers in the line of fire as protests led by South Africa’s most powerful taxi union ground public transport in Cape Town to a halt. While South Africa hosted the final of the Netball World Cup in Cape Town, last week, the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) announced a week of ‘Taxi Stay Aways’ to protest a new by-law that allowed the City of Cape Town to impound vehicles instead of fining drivers for not displaying registration plates, being unlicensed, overloading not stopping when instructed to do so by a police officer. Taxi operators say the by-law targets them unfairly and vowed to continue the strike until the by-law is repealed. Under South Africa’s 1996 national road rules, licensed drivers who are not carrying their licences are simply issued a fine but are allowed to continue the trip. But the new by-law, the City of Cape Town fines offending drivers and impounds the vehicle. The strike turned violent almost immediately after the strike was announced. “Taxi owners and drivers, who were attending Santaco’s meeting in Makhaza, Cape Town, to decide on whether to strike, walked out of the venue and pelted a law enforcement vehicle with stones,” The Daily Maverick, a South African publication reported. The strike forced commuters to walk long distances to get back home from work and school. People turned to ride-hailing services despite a sudden surge in prices. Local media reported that dozens of passengers who could not get buses or ride-hailing services slept at bus stations or their workplaces. According to the Western Cape Department of Mobility, taxis (mostly made up of 13 to 16-seater Toyota minibuses) provide 75% of public transport in the province and transport about one million passengers daily. South Africa’s taxi industry generates up to 100 billion rand annually, according to a 2021 report by the country’s Competition Commission. In the Western Cape, with its capital in Cape Tow, taxis can make up to R1.5 million daily, Bonginkosi Madikizela, a former Western Cape for official Transport and Public Works said in September last year. “The taxi industry has strong national political clout with the African National Congress (ANC),” Abel (name changed), a Cape Town resident told TechCabal. It is also one of South Africa’s most violent industries, with a history of stiff competition for routes between competing unions. A September 2022 report on organised crime from the Global Initiative Transnational Organised Crime estimated that half of all organised murders in South Africa between 2015 and 2020 were related to the taxi industry. At least 110 taxi-related murders were reported by the Western Cape Government between April 2021 and March 2023. Other forms of public transport, including ride-hailing have been fiercely and even fatally resisted by the taxi industry. In 2017, two Uber drivers suffered burns when their vehicles were set ablaze—one driver died from injuries. It is a persistent theme across markets where ride-hailing workers have been attacked by taxi drivers for ‘stealing customers’. On Friday last week, the Western Cape E-hailing Association (WCEA) which represents drivers who work for Uber, Bolt and In-Driver announced that it was joining the strike action after its members declined to vote for the strike in the Santaco meeting that began the strike the previous day. Ride-hailing services were one of the few options for commuters who were stranded by the strike and subsequent attacks on Cape Town’s MyCiTi and Golden Arrow Bus vehicles. As violence increased, private vehicles belonging to Uber drivers or regular motorists were attacked and set on fire in Langa and other parts of the city. “I’ve been busy since morning as people do not have any alternative to get to work. They are using Uber,” Simba, a ride-hailing driver told The South African last week. “I have to ask the passenger for the destination of the trip because there are areas that are very dangerous… when you have a client, they will ask you to take the client out and they will take the car or burn the car.“ Uber said its drivers in Cape Town were completing trips normally despite “some joining the strike.” WCEA, the ride-hailing union said it was joining the strike to ask the city government to cancel rules that require cars used for ride-hailing to have taxi metres installed. ”This provision is clearly an attack on the already declining living conditions and poor income of drivers in the e-hailing sector.” Like the taxi union, it also wanted the city’s government to stop vehicle impoundments. But the videos of burning vehicles circulated on social media groups and posts warning ride-hailing drivers to not take advantage of the strike to earn from increased prices suggest there was more behind the decision to back the taxi unions.
Read MoreNigeria’s Central Bank publishes audited financial statements for the first time since 2018
Nigeria’s Central Bank has published its audited financial statement for the first time in years, weeks after President Tinubu appointed a special investigator to examine the bank. Nigeria’s Central Bank has published its consolidated financial statements for 2015 through 2022. The apex bank has made its audited financial statements publicly available for the first time in seven years. It indicates how Godwin Emefiele’s time as governor fostered a lack of transparency. Given the Central Bank’s prominent role in Buhari’s eight years of governance, its financial statements are essential. The refusal to disclose those financial reports was also unconstitutional. Per the CBN Act, “The Bank shall, within two months after the close of each financial year, transmit to the National Assembly and the President a copy of its annual accounts certified by the Auditor.” Yet, the CBN was able to sidestep this constitutional requirement with no real consequences. While Emefiele and Buhari chose opacity to avoid answering some pressing questions, President Tinubu and the acting CBN governor are towing a different path. Weeks after Emefiele was suspended, President Tinubu appointed a special investigator to examine CBN’s operations. Jim Obazee, a former CEO of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, was appointed to set up a team and lead the probe. FG borrowed N6.2 Trillion from the FG in 2022 One of the CBN’s most significant roles in the last eight years has been its funding of the Federal Government’s budget deficits. The Bank’s loans to the government, called Ways and Means advances, ballooned under Emefiele’s leadership, rising 2900% to N23.3 Trillion by 2022. Per the financial statement, the CBN loaned FG N6.2 Trillion in 2022 alone. This excessive money printing worsened inflation and broke laws on government financing, and a cash-strapped federal government ended up restructuring those loans in 2022. On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cited excess Naira in circulation as one of the reasons exchange rate stability has been elusive despite Nigeria removing its Naira peg. Bloomberg quoted Ari Aisen, IMF’s resident representative in Nigeria, saying, “There are too many naira running after insufficient foreign exchange. The supply of foreign exchange may take some time [to build up].”
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Fresh Mooves
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF Wondering what happened in African tech recently? Here’s a glimpse: Venture funding in Q2 reached an impressive $916 million, almost crossing the billion-dollar mark. Fintech is also no longer leading the pack, as energy-focused startups took the lead with $486.9 million in funding. Kenyan startups outperformed the Big 4, securing $462.4 million in funding. Get the full gist when you download our State of Tech In Africa report. In today’s edition Moove raises $76 million Safaricom shuts down sites in Ethiopia Airtel Africa moves to IPO in Uganda Funding tracker The World Wide Web3: Nigeria to verify NYSC certificates with blockchain Event: The Moonshot Conference Job openings Funding Moove raises $76 million Moove is not slowing down. The automobile financing startup has raised $76 million in a new round. This round includes equity and debt and comes from existing and new investors including BlackRock. It also comes soon after Moove raised about $183.3 million in 2022 across four separate funding rounds: $10 million in February, $105 million in March, $20 million in debt funding in June, $18.3 million in October, and$30 million in debt funding in December. Image source: YungNollywood Mooving to profitability: Moove says its new funding will be used to help the company achieve profitability over the next 12 months. According to Ladi Delano, a co-CEO, the startup is already profitable in the UAE, India, the UK, and South Africa. With this funding, Moove is valued at $550 million. Since its launch in 2020, Moove has rapidly expanded its operations within Nigeria and entered new African markets including Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. It has also expanded to other regions across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Zoom out: Moove’s rapid scaling is, however, coming at a huge cost. In February, Moove drivers protested in Nigeria over unfair working conditions. In May, Rest of World reported that Moove impounded vehicles for nonpayment of loans in Lagos, Nigeria, as drivers continued to complain. These “mooves” have evidently not dampened investor confidence Secure payments with Monnify Monnify has simplified how businesses accept payments to enable growth. We are trusted by Piggyvest, Buypower, Wakanow, Fairmoney, Cowrywise, and over 10,000 Nigerian businesses. Get your Monnify account today here. Telecom Safaricom Ethiopia shuts down sites in Amhara Image source: Reuters Millions of people can no longer use Safaricom’s services in Amhara, Ethiopia’s second-largest region. Why? Safaricom Ethiopia closed its sites in Amhara due to an ongoing crisis involving the military and the Fano militia, a part-time group without a formal command structure. The crisis led to the federal government declaring a six-month state of emergency in the region on August 4, 2023. How many sites were shut down? The telecommunications company operates 1,272 sites in Ethiopia, but it has not revealed the number of sites affected by the shutdown. Michael Joseph, chairman of Safaricom who recently stepped down as Safaricom’s board director, mentioned that this situation has interrupted the company’s progress in expanding across the country. Safaricom aims to establish 3,000 network sites in Ethiopia by the end of 2024. In the telco’s latest filings, Safaricom Ethiopia has built 875 network sites and partnered with other entities to establish an additional 397 network sites. These sites cover 22 cities within the country. Safaricom Ethiopia has 2.1 million active users who have used its services in the past 90 days. The goal for the year 2024 is to increase this customer count to 10 million. Despite facing challenges, the telco is still committed to launching its mobile money service in the country soon. Discover Trends with Smile Identity Download the Smile ID State of KYC in Africa Report on the latest trends in identity verification across Africa, highlighting the power of biometric verification and document verification in combating fraud. It is a must-read for any business looking to acquire users across Africa and keep up with fraud trends. Telecom Airtel Uganda to sell 20% of its shares to the public Image Source: The Independent Airtel Africa has announced plans to list shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE). According to a statement published on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), the company plans to sell 20% of its shares—equivalent to 8 billion shares— to the public via an initial public offering (IPO). It will do this through its subsidiary in Uganda, Airtel Uganda Limited. What do they hope to gain? Airtel Africa stated that the offer is expected to result in significant local ownership of Airtel Uganda Ltd., prioritising Ugandan investors. Additionally, this initiative is anticipated to play a role in advancing the development of the capital markets within Uganda. Pending approval from the Capital Markets Authority of Uganda, the shares will be made available to investors through conventional channels as well as the Airtel Money platform. This approach is intended to enhance retail participation in the investment process. The transaction process: Absa Bank Uganda Limited has been chosen to be the main advisor for the transaction. Crested Capital has been selected as the primary sponsoring broker to facilitate the process. Katende Ssempebwa and Company Advocates will provide legal advice and support, and EY (Ernst & Young) will handle financial reporting and related matters. Zoom out: Airtel Africa is following in the footsteps of MTN Uganda, which recently celebrated its first anniversary as a publicly listed company trading its shares on the (USE). TC Insights Funding tracker Image source: TC Insights This week, Nigerian mobility company Moove raised $76 million in an undisclosed funding round led by Mubadala Investment Company with participation from Blackrock and other undisclosed investors. Here are the other deals this week: Talents Arena, an Egyptian human resource(HR) company, raised $750,000 in pre-seed funding from UI investment. Egypt-based Bugaurd, a cybersecurity company, secured $500,000 in seed funding; the round was led by A15 with participation from angel investors. FinMeUp, a South-African fintech company, raised undisclosed funding from SAAD and Blu Sky Investments. That’s it for this
Read MoreMoove raises $76 million round led by Mubdala Investment Company
Moove, an African automobile financing startup, has raised $76 million in a new round. The startup says it will use the funding to help achieve profitability. Moove, an African automobile financing startup, has raised $76 million in new funding led by Mubadala Investment Company, an Abu Dhabi investment group, according to the Financial Times. This round includes equity and debt and comes from different sources, including BlackRock. In 2022, Moove raised $10 million in February, $105 million in March, $20 million in debt funding in June, $18.3 million in October, and $30 million in debt funding in December. This new funding will be used to help the company achieve profitability over the next 12 months. According to Ladi Delano, a co-CEO, the startup is already profitable in the UAE, India, UK, and South Africa. With this funding, Moove is valued at $550 million. Launched in 2020 by Ladi Delano and Jide Odunsi, Moove provides mobility entrepreneurs with access to revenue-based financing in markets where there’s low access to credit. Its customers, who are typically ride-hailing drivers, can purchase brand new vehicles using a percentage of their weekly revenue. The startup has annual recurring revenues of $90 million. Since its launch in 2020, Moove has rapidly expanded its operations within Nigeria and entered new African markets, including Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa, as well as the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. It’s also Uber’s exclusive car financing company in Africa. Moove has operated a plug-and-play model that allows it to scale rapidly into new markets and record minimal defaults by building on top of the technology of its mobility and logistics partners and integrating their APIs to generate creditworthiness scores for automobile financing. However, this rapid scaling has come at a cost. In February, Moove drivers protested in Lagos over unfair working conditions. In May, Rest of World reported how Moove impounded vehicles for nonpayment of loans in Lagos as drivers continued to complain. However, this has evidently not dampened investor confidence. Faris Sohail Al Mazrui, the head of ventures and growth at Mubdala, will join Moove’s advisory board. He said that Moove is addressing a hugely underbanked and underserved market with a long term potential by providing entrepreneurs with credit and financial services.
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