- November 14 2023
Nigeria’s AltSchool Africa to receive support from Rwanda’s $30m tech fund
AltSchool Africa, the Nigerian edtech startup that styles itself as the African version of the US coding bootcamp BloomTech, will receive strategic assistance from Intellecap, an Asia and Africa-focused advisory. The program, fully paid for by the Rwandan Innovation Fund, will help AltSchool plan for its next growth phase, TechCabal learned. In April 2023, AltSchool raised $3 million, and Angaza Capital, a VC firm that co-manages the Rwandan Innovation Fund, participated in that round, data from Pitchbook shows. This investment has previously not been reported. Adewale Yusuf, Altschol’s CEO, confirmed that his startup received funding from the innovation fund earlier but declined to share any figures. The Rwandan Innovation Fund was established in 2021 with a $30 million loan from the African Development Bank as part of the country’s push to position itself as a technology hub in Africa. “The Rwandan government has been super helpful to our success since we entered the market, and we’re grateful for their support,” said Yusuf in a LinkedIn post. AltSchool opened a Rwandan office at the Norrsken hub last year, one of the first in a line of African companies being wooed by Rwanda; it has four staff in the country and is currently hiring for more roles, Yusuf told TechCabal. Flutterwave set up an East African settlement hub earlier in the year, while Paystack also confirmed expansion plans in Rwanda. More companies will follow. Besides the original $30 million AfDB loan, the Rwandan Innovation Fund wants to attract a further $30 million in commitments from private investors, with the government chipping $8.6 million. The fund invests across Africa with a target to back 150 tech-enabled companies, ten incubators, and accelerators, as well as 20 early-stage growth opportunities. So far, the Fund has deployed $6.6 million in 11 startups across East Africa. AltSchool and its online offering AltSchool offers online-only learning. Unlike BloomTech, its extensive curriculum covers business, data, engineering, media, and the creative economy. It also charges $20-$50 monthly for the duration of those courses and also operates the income-sharing agreement (ISA) model common with online edtech startups like ALX. To make this work, the firm works to connect learners to internships. ultimately trying to ensure that they land jobs. So far, AltSchool has supported about 20,000 learners across eight African countries. The startup has been committed to providing young Africans with the knowledge and skills to build sustainable careers within and outside the tech ecosystem. Across Africa, youth unemployment has been a persistent problem, with only about 3 million out of 10 million youth who enter the labour force being able to secure employment or earn sufficient income for their livelihoods. With edtechs like AltSchool, young people can pick up skills that are in global demand. It was AltSchool’s second funding round after it announced $1 million in pre-seed funding from VCs and angel investors in 2022. Voltron Capital and Obda VC were some of the VCs in the round, while Paystack’s Sola Akinlade and Folarin “Falz” Falana, a Nigerian musician, also participated.
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- November 14 2023
TechCabal Daily – SA to get more charging stations in 2024
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning We are hiring! We’re on the hunt for experienced senior reporters in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya to help drive our tech coverage. If you’re passionate about the business of tech in Africa, love storytelling, and have significant newsroom experience, then join us. If this sounds like someone you know, please share this opportunity with them. In today’s edition Showmax now leads Africa’s streaming market Mercedes-Benz to launch 127 charging stations in SA Bolt Food exits SA Eyowo postpones resumption The World Wide Web3 Events Streaming Showmax now leads Africa’s streaming market Image source: YungNollywood It looks like fewer people are Netflixing and chilling in Africa. Showmax, MultiChoice’s streaming service, now accounts for 40% of the continent’s streaming market. Netflix, which led the African market in 2021 with 40% of the market has seen a slight decrease since then. Showmax now has 1.8 million subscribers while Netflix has 1.6 million. How did Showmax outplay Netflix? Showmax CEO, Marc Jury, says that the company’s 1.8 million subscribers are due to its decision to double down on local content production. The company channelled $1 billion into content production and acquisition on the continent in the financial year ending in 2023. What has Netflix been doing? Netflix has grown to 1.2 million subscribers in the past four years. South Africa remains its largest market, accounting for 73.3% of its subscriber base. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, remains a small market for the streaming service—at 10.5%—despite significant marketing activities and a major content acquisition. Why are things slow in Nigeria? According to research firm Omdia, one hindrance to Netflix’s subscriber growth is the low penetration of credit and debit cards in many regions, which has affected how Africans pay for the streaming platform. 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. Mobility Mercedes-Benz to roll out 127 charging stations in South Africa Image source: Mercedes South Africa’s mobility market is getting more electric…and it’s pretty ironic. Mercedes-Benz will be rolling out 127 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations worth $2.13 million in South Africa next year. The country already has over 400 public and private charging stations. Per MyBroadband, other electric vehicle manufacturers, distributors, and charging network managers have announced plans to install more next year and bring the number of charging stations to 700. The country’s surging demand for electric vehicles across the country is ironic considering that it is grappling with an energy crisis. What energy crisis? For 15 years, South Africa has been experiencing widespread national blackouts. The electricity supply is unable to meet the demand, and since 2007, the blackouts, termed “load shedding”, have only gotten more frequent. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently attributed the crippling power cuts to the country’s record-breaking weak performance this year. It is not just that: These cars are also heavily taxed! The value-added taxes (VAT) on electric vehicles like those imported by Mercedes-Benz make the cars more expensive in South Africa than in many other places in the world. For example, in May, the price of an imported pickup truck in South Africa was around 89% higher than the retail price in the US. It is not personal: It is not only individuals who are buying electric cars, bikes, or other vehicles in South Africa. The country has seen a lot of businesses including ride-hailing and delivery startups adopt electric vehicles. For example, Uber recently disclosed that in December, it will launch its first electric vehicle-based service, known as Uber Package, in Cape Town, South Africa. Get early access to Paystack Direct Debit Paystack has partnered with NIBSS to develop Paystack Direct Debit – a fully digital solution for processing direct debits from customers’ bank accounts in Nigeria. Get early access → Logistics Bolt Food exits South Africa Image source: Zikoko Memes Bolt Food announced, on Friday, that it would shut down operations in South Africa from December 8, just two days after the company announced its exit from Nigeria. Why? A spokesperson for the company shared that it was shutting down due to “business reasons”, which is similar to the reason cited for the exit from Nigeria. The company has struggled to scale and control more than 5% of the food delivery market in these two countries despite the advantage of a bigger company presence. Last week, TechCabal reported that Nigerian food delivery service, Chowdeck, grew 10x in ten months and crossed ₦1 billion ($1.2 million) in monthly transaction volume. In South Africa, the food delivery market is expected to generate over $2 billion in revenue in 2023 with about 22.7 billion users by 2027. Despite these ripe markets, Bolt Food has struggled to deliver due to poor malpositioning. An over-confident approach: In Nigeria, Bolt’s foray into the food delivery sector lacked the same tenacity exhibited with its ride-hailing service—or perhaps it depended on the popularity of its ride-hailing service. Over the past two years, the service has grappled with complaints from its Nigerian customers who cite extended delivery times, limited coverage, and a constrained vendor list. While the company’s communications manager said Bolt had “heavily invested in the Nigerian market” including providing incentives to encourage customers, there were simply better services in the same market. In South Africa, the company hoped to appeal to users by offering lower prices for deliveries in some cases, but even this failed to retain users who had favourable alternatives like OrderIn and MrD Foods provided better. Fintech Eyowo postpones resumption of banking services again Image source: Zikoko Memes Eyowo, one of Nigeria’s oldest digital banks has once again postponed its resumption. Backstory: In May, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revoked the fintech’s microfinance bank licence, and since then, Eyowo’s customers have been unable to withdraw their deposits from the platform. The fintech promised customers that it would resume
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- November 13 2023
Netflix loses market leader status to Showmax
As competition intensifies in Africa’s streaming market, Netflix, the previous market leader, which held more than 40% of the market, has lost its status as the market leader to Showmax. Netflix, the world’s largest paid video streaming service, is losing market share in Africa as competition from Amazon Prime and Showmax intensifies. While Netflix controlled around 40% of the African streaming market in 2021, the latest industry data shows its dominance is shrinking. The California-based company now accounts for 35% and is no longer the market leader, as Showmax now accounts for 40% of the continent’s streaming market, according to Omdia Research, a tech research-based firm. As more competitors enter the region and step up their playbook, they’re squeezing market share for other players, including Netflix. The streamer has lost its lead in the market to Showmax, which now has 1.8 million subscribers. Marc Jury, Showmax CEO, previously said that the streaming service experienced a 26% year-on-year growth in paid subscribers in the last four years as it doubled down on local content production. The company also dedicated $1 billion to content production and acquisition on the continent in the financial year ending in 2023. According to data from Digital TV Research, an industry analytics firm, Africa had 41 million pay-TV subscribers at the end of 2022, with video streaming accounts for less than 10% of the subscriber base. Streaming players like Netflix and MultiChoice’s Showmax have deployed several growth tactics over the last three years, including splurging on new content and cutting subscription prices to win new customers. But the market has continued on its slow pace. Last week, TechCabal reported that IrokoTV, Africa’s oldest streaming service, had only 46,000 active users in December 2022, a 76% decline from the beginning of the year. IrokoTV’s CEO Jason Njoku shared that the service had invested $30 million in Nigeria but had yet to profit from the country. Netflix and its African push Netflix entered Africa in 2016, racing quickly to a few hundred thousand subscribers, which put pressure on incumbent players, including market leader MultiChoice, to brace for more competition. Despite the expansion of Amazon Prime Video and, more recently, NBC Universal’s Peacock to the continent, the market has grown slowly as broadband costs, stable internet, and low income continue to plague households on the continent. Africa’s streaming video-on-demand industry is expected to grow by 10.4% annually while Netflix is expected to grow by half of that as other platforms are expected to take up more of Netflix’s slowing subscriber base. After racing to 400,000 within its first two years on the continent, Netflix has added 1.2 million subscribers in the past four years. South Africa remains Netflix’s largest market, accounting for 73.3% of its subscriber base. At 10.5%, Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, remains a small market for the streaming service despite significant marketing activities and a major content acquisition push in the West African country, according to Omdia Research. Netflix has worried about stagnation in subscriber numbers in mature markets like the US and Europe. It has been pursuing international expansion to offset any decline in its home market. The platform, which is experiencing declining growth in subscribers in more mature markets like the United States, is growing in Africa thanks to a move to reduce prices in some markets in the first quarter of the year. The growth in subscribers—6.8%— has directly increased the streaming platform’s revenue by 13.7%, exceeding $135 million in 2022. According to Omdia, one hindrance to Netflix’s subscriber growth is the low penetration of credit and debit cards in many regions, which has affected how Africans pay for the streaming platform. Netflix’s strategy in Africa combines licencing content such as Nigeria’s Black Book from local studios with producing original content such as The Origin: Madam Koi-Koi. This two-pronged approach has cost Netflix $175 million in six years, according to a report released by the streaming service in April. Although Nigeria had the most licensed content in Africa, it got $23 million, while South Africa got the lion’s share with $125 million. Netflix has more than recouped its investment, making more than $230 million in the last two years.
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- November 13 2023
This Swedish non-profit has big dreams for tech startups in Kigali
Sweden’s Norrsken Foundation hopes a $20 million investment in its first hub outside Stockholm will birth Rwanda’s first impact unicorn. On Wednesday 8 November 2023, Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame formally opened Norrsken House Kigali. The 4,400-square-metre campus is a $20 million bet by Sweden’s Norrsken Foundation that Kigali will become a nerve centre for African technology companies. “Rwanda is an excellent testbed and a proof-of-concept hub,” said Niklas Adalberth, the 42-year-old founder and chairman of the Norrsken Foundation in his keynote address. If the Kigali hub is successful, Norrsken will set up similar hubs in other countries. The foundation defines success as being the home for billion-dollar impact businesses and a thriving community of companies that could create profitable businesses that are a net positive for the planet. It’s a big win for Rwanda; with a gross domestic product of around $13 billion and growing public debt, the country needs private-sector investment. “The country can be small but the value we create can be very high,” president Kagame told guests at Norrsken Africa Week. Adalberth was only 24 when he co-founded Klarna, the Buy-Now-Pay-Later company that is Europe’s most valuable private company. Adalberth exited the company in 2016 and founded the Norrsken Foundation to support impact businesses. Since then he has progressively sold down his stake in Klarna to less than 1%. Half of the proceeds were committed as an initial investment into the Norrsken Foundation. Since its creation in 2016, Norrsken’s house in Stockholm has become the centre of the city’s impact entrepreneurship space in a country that is considered Europe’s impact hub. By bringing the right mix of investors, entrepreneurs, and talent, the foundation hopes to recreate the same success in Kigali. Built on the former site of École Belge de Kigali, a Belgian school founded in 1965, the Kigali campus is the second such hub the foundation has put up since it acquired one of the grand halls of an old tram station in downtown Stockholm for its first facility. Two weeks ago, the foundation opened its third house, a 3-storey, 10,000-square-metre building in Barcelona, Spain. The Kigali campus which has been operational since January 2022 hosts roughly 1200 members, East Africa director, Pascal Murasira said at Norrsken Africa Week. The event is Norrsken’s first impact entrepreneurship and investment meeting held outside Stockholm. Wooing capital to Kigali Two weeks ago, Norrsken22, an independently managed African growth-stage VC announced it had raised $205 million to invest in growth-stage tech companies in Africa. Last week, Norrsken22 partners were part of fund managers at Norrsken Africa Week. An event the Norrsken Foundation said was organised to bring capital allocators and tech founders together in person. The Norrsken Foundation is a founding partner of Norrsken22. This first Africa event was held in the Norrsken campus in Kigali on the 8th and 9th of November. More than 1,500 entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, and academia from Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and across Africa attended the 2-day networking-focused meeting. The event also brought together the different arms of the Norrsken Foundation, including Norrsken22, the $205 million Africa-focused growth stage fund, and Africa Seed Fund, an early-stage investment outfit. African startups that had been part of the Norrsken Accelerator, a global impact-focused accelerator based in Stockholm were also represented by their founders. Kigali’s big push for private capital Since 2009 Rwanda has aggressively sought to position itself as a diversified investment hub in East Africa. In recent years, the focus moved to tech investments. A $30 million Rwanda Innovation Fund backed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) was launched in 2021 to invest in funds and directly back tech companies in East Africa. Per Statista, Rwandan tech startups raised only $1.9 million in 2022, a year when African startups raised the most ever. It was a decline from 2021’s $6.8 million figure. 2023 has been better. Kasha, a Rwandan startup raised $21 million in Series B funding, and Eden Care, a Rwandan insuretech became the first from the country to be accepted into YCombinator, the famed San Francisco-based accelerator program. Making Kigali a leading finance hub is a key part of president Kagame’s economic reform program. Convincing investors to invest in the country remains challenging. But the country’s new financial centre wants even more. It wants investment funds to be incorporated in the country and has created a special fintech program that boasts Flutterwave, Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa), Chippercash, NALA, and recently, Paystack as members. Just before Norrsken Africa Week, it hosted a breakfast meeting for investors. One early-stage investor who had attended the meeting told TechCabal that her firm was still weighing their options. Another early-stage investor said her VC firm was in the process of setting up a new fund in Rwanda and scouting for office space. They favour Norrsken, which is home to at least 3 other VC firms (Katapault, Angaza Capital, and Renew Capital). Earlier this year, on the sidelines of the Inclusive Fintech Forum, the Africa Business Angels Network (ABAN) and Kigali International Financial Centre signed an MoU to pave the way for the network to set up its catalytic Africa fund in Kigali. Entrepreneurs also suffer from indecision. One e-logistics startup founder who spoke with TechCabal was impressed with Kigali, but still weighing options. A location that facilitated access to capital without being too far from the business operations was ideal. “It’s a chicken and egg problem,” the founder conceded.
Read More- November 13 2023
Eden Life is staking its future on an e-commerce marketplace in crucial rejig
Eden Life is launching an e-commerce marketplace for vendors to sell products in categories such as food, medicine, beauty, and cosmetics. Eden Life, the Nigerian home service platform that provides laundry, cleaning, and meal-delivery services, is launching a new marketplace product as part of its broader strategy to expand into the larger retail market. The marketplace will allow vendors and small businesses in categories like beauty and cosmetics, electronics, food, and medicine to sign up to sell on the platform. “Our vision is to 10x the quality of life. Marketplace will enable us to scale our vision to 10x the quality of life across Africa,” said Deji Adeleye, the head of marketing at Eden. In response to the dwindling purchasing power in Nigeria, Eden Life has been forced to rejig its model. The company launched in 2019 as a home management service to “improve people’s lives” by outsourcing their laundry, house cleaning, and meal delivery needs to vetted professionals. But its subscription model and cost have cut it from a larger market. In 2021, Eden Life had a customer base of around 600 people paying an average subscription of ₦42,000 monthly, 40% higher than Nigeria’s minimum wage. Its CEO, Nadayar Enegesi, envisioned the company as a concierge for busy Nigerian professionals. But this focus leaves Eden Life susceptible to subscriber loss as an increasing number of the country’s middle class relocate abroad in one of the worst brain drains since the 1980s. However, Eden Life has been testing new verticals in an expansion move to shore up its customer base. In July, the company launched Homemade by Eden, a quick-service restaurant. Now, it is adding more categories to its e-commerce model, as Nigeria’s e-commerce market is expected to hit $16 billion by 2028, according to a report by RationalStat, a market intelligence firm. Eden Life’s entry into e-commerce means it will compete against market leader Jumia and its rival Konga. “[We want] to be bigger than Jumia,” the company said. The company will charge a commission on the sales made on its marketplace, betting on a wide range of vendors and customers who get onboarded. But Eden Life’s e-commerce efforts will rely heavily on an efficient logistics model. In a flash promotion for its quick-service restaurant in late July, its online platform collapsed after it promised to deliver a variety of meals for just N1,000. On the backend, the company expected no more than 400 orders, which tracks closely with its subscriber numbers, but it received nearly 2,500 orders within 24 hours, which put pressure on fulfillment abilities. The company said it has learned from this experience and will work with more delivery partners to fulfill food and non-food orders on its new e-commerce platform, where order volume could soar to tens of thousands if the service gets off the ground. “We’ve partnered with specific fleets and businesses, and we’re growing our database of riders and delivery services in order to ensure that our customers get their orders by the time they need it,” Olumide Yomi-Omolayo, Eden Life’s Brand Manager, told TechCabal. Additionally, the product infrastructure will allow vendors access to a dashboard to generate discount vouchers for specific customers, get ranked in their various categories, see locations where customers are ordering from and best-selling products, handle requests, and get feedback. Vendors also have access to information on the kind of customers that are buying from them. Customers who want to buy from the marketplace can be assured of safe payments, be able to monitor their orders in real-time and enjoy other services from Eden.
Read More- November 13 2023
Eyowo stalls resumption of banking services again
Six months after the CBN revoked its license, Eyowo, one of Nigeria’s oldest digital banks, remains unsure of when it will resume its banking services. Eyowo, the Nigerian fintech startup that had its license suspended by the Central Bank, has stalled a resumption of banking operations, raising existential questions about one of the country’s earliest digital banking players. The CBN’s revocation of the fintech’s MFB license over possible non-compliance left many Eyowo customers unable to withdraw their deposits for six months. [ad] The startup is blaming the delays on “follow-on” processes it needs to conclude, such as changing its name and relisting on NIBSS, the country’s central switch. “These changes are heavily dependent on third-party collaborations and not completely under our time control,” a statement shared by the company on X read. Three weeks after the CBN revoked Eyowo’s MFB license, the company partnered with Providus Bank to enable its tier 2 and tier 3 customers to withdraw their deposits. TechCabal was unable to confirm how many users have been able to withdraw their deposits through this partnership, but the company’s posts on social media continue to receive complaints from customers who say they have been unable to withdraw their money. TechCabal also learned that some Eyowo users resorted to using their deposits to buy airtime on the platform and redeeming it for cash on other platforms like Palmpay. [ad] Eyowo has undergone more operational changes since it lost its license. While fending off shutdown speculations, it let go of 11% of its employees.
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- November 13 2023
Next Wave: Maybe Africa needs to pause its rush to adopt digital IDs
Cet article est aussi disponible en français <!– In partnership with –> <!–TopBanner Join us for TechCabal Battlefield, Moonshot’s startup competition where you can showcase your startup idea to a global audience and an esteemed panel of judges and stand a chance to win up to 2.5 million naira in funding for your business! Click to register for TC Battlefield First published 12 November 2023 African governments are pushing for digital IDs without informing people of their privacy implications. Many African countries plan to gradually phase out traditional IDs with digital alternatives. This transition has become commonplace in recent years as governments throughout the continent slowly call for digital identification. Key progress can be seen in Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Rwanda. For instance, Kenya is making a second attempt at implementing digital IDs. The KES 10 billion ($66 million according to the current exchange rate) exercise, known as Huduma Namba, was discontinued after the ID system failed to appeal to locals. The second attempt is scheduled to start in a few weeks. While the Kenyan government claims that the digital ID won’t be mandatory, past experiences, especially those related to Huduma Namba, suggest otherwise. However, considering the adoption’s privacy implications, it is important to look into the reasons behind the rush to adopt digital IDs in Africa. It is also unclear to citizens of these countries what digital IDs mean for the people and the government regarding know-your-customer (KYC), financial inclusion, and tax compliance. Digital IDs could be a privacy headache While the idea of digital IDs stored in smartphones may initially seem attractive, digital isn’t always superior, especially when systems rely primarily on digital technology. It comes with opportunities and potential problems, especially if the transition is not carefully designed. Digital IDs could worsen inequalities in Africa. Millions of Africans, especially those in rural communities, lack smartphones. Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to have 689 million smartphone subscriptions by 2028, but in 2022, there were only 415 million subscriptions for a population of 1.18 billion. If digital identification is built into daily activities and processes concerning business and government, people without smartphones would be left behind. Africans must have the right to choose not to use digital IDs, both legally and practically. Partner Content: #PayazaHackathon 2.0: Calling all innovators to the 2023 Payaza hackathon A poorly designed digital identity system could become a privacy issue. One key concern about a digital identity system is the potential for centralised tracking. When a government agent examines your traditional non-digital ID, there is no automatic generation, retention, or sharing of a record of that inspection with the associated agency. However, such tracking is possible with digital IDs. Any electronic identity system allowing this type of tracking should be rejected. Article continues after this ad Join us at the #BluechipDataandAISummit: Building an Effective Data and AI Solution. Shape the future of your business and industry with data-driven intelligence, innovative solutions and sustainable growth. Secure your seat today There is another privacy concern arising from digital IDs verifiers, such as banks and other organisations that use KYC. Even if data isn’t sent back to the issuer of the ID (the African country the holder hails from), each time someone uses their ID, verifiers have the potential to record and compile information about these interactions. For instance, a group of banks could maintain an electronic log of every instance you use your ID. While they may not observe when you present your digital ID to others, they could track each time you share it with them, their corporate affiliates, or anyone with whom they have a data-sharing arrangement. In the process, these entities can gather a lot of personal information about the ID holder. The digitisation of IDs could make this process more automatic than it is now. Computer security challenges are harder to fix in the current world. Experts have said that attacking digital systems is often easier than defending them, as seen with leading tech companies and government agencies falling victim to hackers. While this shouldn’t discourage digitisation, it’s key to consider the consequences of successful cyberattacks, including their severity and who bears the burden. Companies sometimes neglect to protect their digital assets, leading to catastrophic customer outcomes. It would be worse if such attacks targeted digital ID systems, especially when African governments have yet to develop robust and formidable digital infrastructure. Lastly, privacy concerns arise when digital IDs require users to install government-related software on their phones, even if private contractors create these apps. To instil confidence, the source code of these apps should be transparent for public scrutiny, which will ensure they function correctly and securely. However, many private companies (Kenya’s digital ID system may be built by Estonian tech companies) may want to keep their code proprietary, which could lead to users trusting secret government code on their phones, especially if digital IDs are mandatory, which is unacceptable. Robust systems must be implemented Granted, a digital ID could enhance privacy by allowing users to selectively share only the necessary information from their identification, such as confirming their age without disclosing their full date of birth or other details. However, knowing what kind of data will be stored in the IDs is a challenge. In a Kenyan context, digital ID items might include health insurance, pension, employment, passport, birth and marriage certificates, among other documents. If data categories expand, it’s unclear whether privacy measures will be implemented immediately and according to new data sets. Policymakers in African countries considering digital IDs should remember that the documents are important for KYC, fraud reduction and detection, and financial inclusion. Therefore, they should assess the impact of optional or mandatory adoption and consider the ID’s long-term evolution. It is up to them to ensure that strong privacy safeguards are in place since success depends on robust implementation to boost privacy and empower individuals. Article continues after this ad Every Sunday Africa’s technology industry leaders, investors, operators, and regulators turn to Next Wave for insightful
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- November 13 2023
TechCabal Daily – Fawry denies data breach
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning If you’re still getting TC Daily in your Promotions folder, make sure to move us to your Main/Primary folder so you don’t miss anything. If you’re on a desktop, simply drag and drop this email. If you’re on mobile, click on the button at the top-right corner, and select “Move” and then “Primary”. In today’s edition Fawry denies data breach MTN Nigeria blames network glitch for debt cancellation SA says prisoners can use computers in cells A Pin-teresting and Humane AI development The World Wide Web3 Events Cybersecurity Fawry denies data breach Egyptian fintech giant Fawry has denied rumours that its systems were breached. On Friday, the company released a statement noting that a comprehensive review of its systems has shown no security breaches. What rumours? Last Thursday, cybersecurity monitors HackManac and FalconFeeds reported that ransomware group Lockbit had added Fawry to its list of targets. Screenshots provided by both cybersecurity firms also showed that the cybercrime group had given Fawry a November 28 deadline to pay a ransom or risk having its data released to the dark web. Image source: HackManac Lockbit, a cybercrime group active since 2019, is considered the world’s most active ransomware group. From June 2022 to July 2023 alone, the group accounted for 28% of the total ransomware attacks—about 1,046 victims—including Pendragon LLC. More recently, the group attacked international space contractor Boeing. It’s estimated that Lockbit has extorted over $100 million from victims in the US alone. Fawry crashes: After the threats were made public, the myFawry app, later on Thursday, crashed. The company, in its statement, claims that the hack was due to a bank run as customers rushed to withdraw funds and close their accounts. Officials from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) also confirmed that the fintech had suffered no data breaches. Per Fawry’s founder and CEO Ashraf Sabry, “Our systems could have been attacked and we are investigating the matter … but what is certain after reviewing the systems is that no data were hacked or withdrawn.” Zoom out: Following the scare, Fawry’s shares dipped by 4.6% on Thursday. The fintech, yesterday, reinstated its payments app and smart wallets and promised to verify the threats published. 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. Telecom MTN Nigeria blames network glitch for debt cancellation Image source: Zikoko Memes If any of our Nigerian readers woke up on Saturday morning to find that their BNPL airtime debts on MTN had been cleared, we have news for you: all na scam. What’s up? After several MTN users received confirmation messages that their debts on the network had been cleared, the telecoms announced that the disappearing debts were due to a system glitch. In an official statement, the telecom said that the glitch affected balance enquiries for some subscribers. “As a result, some customers may receive error messages showing that their balances have been cleared. This is not the case and all balances will reflect accurate figures once the problem is resolved. Our engineers are currently working to ensure this. Please accept our apologies. We regret the inconvenience.” No debts have been forgiven and all customers will have to repay. God forgives, but companies don’t: Already, Nigerians had taken to social media to commend the telecoms for its ingenuity, with tweets like this one stating that loan apps and other telecoms should follow suit and forgive all debts. It’s unlikely that this will happen as financial institutions across the country often report huge losses in non-performing loans. In 2022, for example, Kuda Bank lost about ₦2.6 billion ($2.6 million) to non-performing loans. Given this, Nigerians who are looking for forgiveness of any kind may have only the sky to look up to. Join the Paystack private beta Paystack has launched a private beta to offer payment tools to businesses in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, and Rwanda. Learn more about Paystack’s entry into 3 new markets → Regulation South African prisoners can now use computers in cells Image source: YungNollywood South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that prisoners who are registered students have the right to have and use computers in their cells…as long as it’s for study. How did this happen? A prisoner, Mbalenhle Sydney Ntuli, who is serving a 20-year sentence for robbery complained that his right to education was being infringed. Per Ntuli’s reps, he was struggling to complete a data processing course because he could not have computers in his cell where he spends most of his time. The plaintiffs argued that this contravenes Section 29 of South Africa’s Bill of Rights which provides prisoners with the right to future education. The minister of justice and the commissioner of correctional services countered, stating that this could constitute a security threat. Per the agents, computers could be paired with modems and allow the prisoners access to the internet. SCA Judge Unterhalter, however, countered stating that the prisoners’ use of computers can not pose an additional threat. “Prisoners who have smuggled cell phones into prison already have unauthorised access to the outside world. Whatever security risk that poses is already in place,” he said. A unanimous vote: The SCA unanimously voted that preventing the use of computers in cells is unconstitutional. The judges, however, gave conditions for use. The prisoners must be registered students; the computers must be used without modems; the computers are also subject to inspections, and breach of these rules, will lead to withdrawal of the computer. The prisoners must also provide the computers themselves as the prisons are under no obligation to bear the costs of the computers. South Africa’s correctional services also have 12 months to revise all policies depriving prisoners of these rights. Wrap-up: The case brings to mind the age-long argument about the purpose of punishment: retribution or
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5th edition of Next Fintech Forum to be held in Abidjan
Now in its fifth year, Abidjan’s Next Fintech Forum (NFF), one of the largest fintech events in Francophone Africa, is organising its event around the theme “Fintech and Commerce: How Fintech will shape commerce in Francophone Africa”, on November 16th and 17th at the Radisson Blu, Abidjan. “We want to make francophone fintech an attractive market for innovators, big techs, and investors, and develop DFIs to improve financial inclusion. Develop an inclusive and multi-stakeholder crucible for reflection,” Alex Sea, founder and director of Next Fintech Forum, told TechCabal. As the startup economy becomes continent-wide, national ecosystems have turned to events to showcase their progress and attract talent and investors to establish themselves as serious participants in Africa’s tech ecosystem. In Morroco, GITEX, the world’s biggest tech show, held its first event in Africa, where the government selected 100 startups from its startup development programme to demonstrate the country’s startup ambitions, while this week Uganda’s government is hosting an investor summit to attract investors as the race for East Africa’s second-biggest tech ecosystem heats up. With the support of the Ivorian government, NFF is following the same playbook by bringing together commercial banks, investors, and startups to discuss industry issues and opportunities and network. This year, the forum is adding a fintech academia summit where African scholars from different countries and areas of expertise can deliberate on fintech solutions and develop curricula adapted to Africa’s job market. The summit will also allow these scholars to catalyse the digital transformation of the financial sector through research, education, and cooperation. According to Sea, “This year, the NFF will give opportunities to players to discover the potential of trade catalysed by financial technologies in francophone Africa through an exhibition of opportunities. The presence of stakeholders in the value chain opens the door to discovering and highlighting national projects and regional ones, by making it possible to meet decision-makers and innovators, which will help traders understand and appropriate the technologies. This will allow them to be more efficient and develop their income, meet fintech founders.” In addition, as Africa’s blockchain industry has been beset by startup closures and setbacks over the past year, the forum will hold its first-ever blockchain hackathon, bringing together enthusiasts of blockchain technology to take on the challenge of coming up with creative solutions that have the potential to be funded and implemented. The forum will also feature around twenty discussions, workshops, panels, and master classes. Abidjan’s growth as a tech hub in the region has grown with healthy competition from Dakar, and the NFF’s contribution to attracting funding for the ecosystem has seen a significant rise since its inception. “Activities on the NFF have enabled geographical growth opportunities for players; assistance agreements between players have been signed, and we have also seen fundraising and investment promises amounting to more than $100 million,” Sea told TechCabal.
Read More- November 11 2023
$500m Wigwe University ushers Access Bank CEO into the circle of university owners
Herbert Wigwe, co-founder of Access Bank—the country’s biggest bank by assets—is building a $500 million eponymous university in his hometown in Nigeria’s oil-rich Rivers State. Wigwe told Bloomberg this week that Wigwe University will offer undergraduate courses in management, science and engineering, information technology, and creative arts. Wigwe is borrowing from the playbook of wealthy Nigerians like Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, by venturing into tertiary education. The license for the university was approved by the Nigeria University Commission in June, bringing the total number of universities in Nigeria to 238, of which 79 are state-run and 147 are private. With 1,400 students expected to be enrolled next year, Wigwe is betting that by leveraging technology, the institution will offer the same quality of education as universities in the US and UK—where he plans to recruit 30% of teaching staff. Wigwe told BusinessDay that the university has built a power plant to supply electricity to the university and will use holograms and artificial intelligence to ensure a hybrid system for students. But like other private-run universities, it is expensive for one of the world’s poorest countries. It will cost a student about $12,500 and 3.5 million naira ($4,171) every year to attend Wigwe University. The demand for education in Africa’s most populous country far outweighs the supply, as there are only 238 universities to cater to 100 million young people. This has led to an education problem where 20% of out-of-school children globally are from Nigeria. uLesson—Nigeria’s biggest and most capitalised edtech startup founded by Sim Shagaya—recently matriculated students of its online university Miva Open University. The argument about the scalability of education in Nigeria, considering the country’s infrastructural challenges, is valid. Wigwe, who has decades of experience in the banking sector, also hopes to train the “next set of leaders in banking” and will recruit some of the country’s notable business tycoons, including Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, to teach at the varsity. Wigw University will be led by Professor Miles Davis, the former president of a private university in the United States, as the Vice-Chancellor, and Professor Nelson Uzoechi-Uzoma Alino, a former professor of accounting at Quinnipiac University, as the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Administration, and Professor Dal Didia, a former professor of economics at Jackson State University, as the deputy vice-chancellor of academics.
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