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  • Lagos, Nigeria
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  • November 20 2023

👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Za Za Zuum

In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning If your Google account has been inactive for two years, it will be deleted next Friday. Starting December 1, Google will start deleting accounts that have been inactive for two years or more—or since 2021. This includes the content of the account from emails to photos and calendar appointments. To save yourself, all you have to do is take your Google account as seriously as you do your New Year Resolution—sign in once a year and then pretend it doesn’t exist. In today’s edition Zazuu shuts down OpenAI’s board closes the door on its CEO Ghana’s apex bank bans eight fintechs Nigerian state to build 250 smart schools in 14 months The World Wide Web3 Jobs Shutdowns Zazuu shuts down Zazuu founders On Saturday, London-based startup Zazuu told TechCabal that it had shut down its services just one year after raising $2 million.  Why? The startup, which is a marketplace for African remittance companies, said the shutdown was due to its inability to raise more funding. Founded in 2018 by Kay Akinwunmi, Korede Fanilola, Tosin Ekolie, and Tola Alade, Zazuu has raised about $2.2 million since its founding—a $200,000 seed round in 2018, and a $2 million raise in 2022. The company attracted investors including VC firms like Founders Factory Africa and Launch Africa, as well as angel investors like irokoTV founder Jason Njoku and Kuda CEO Babs Ogundeyi. During its run, Zazuu reportedly helped over 100,000 users find the best rates for sending money to Africa. With people paying as high as 22% in remittance fees, Zazuu’s service would have been attractive with the 1.5% which it offered. Unfortunately, as CEO Akinwunmi told TechCabal, the company found it difficult to explain its business to customers and partners. The big picture: Well, the big picture here is that more African startups are falling victim to the funding drought on the continent. By Q3 2022, African startups had amassed a staggering $4 billion in funding, yet in Q3 2023, the figure has dwindled to a more modest $2.8 billion. This year, at least eight African startups have shut down and half of them—Lazerpay, WhereIsMyTransport, Hytch, Zumi—shut down due to a lack of funding. 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. Big Tech OpenAI’s board closes door on Sam Altman If you can’t beat them, just delete them. Or at least that’s what the board of directors at OpenAI is doing to CEO Sam Altman. On Friday, the parent company of ChatGPT announced the sudden departure of CEO Sam Altman after the board of directors decided he was not being “candid in his communications” and could not be trusted to move the company forward.  The board’s decision came a month after Altman announced a new feature that would allow users to build their own versions of ChatGPT—a service that is barely a year old, and achieved over 100 million active monthly users in its first quarter!  Everyone’s shocked: Taking a leaf from Nigeria’s ex-president, the public has expressed shock at the board’s seemingly irrational decision. Sources close to the story report that Altman only found out about the decision minutes before he was informed in a Google Meet call.  Image source: Zikoko Memes Following the announcement, co-founder and president of OpenAI Greg Brockman, who was also removed as chairman of the board, also quit in solidarity with Altman. Several senior researchers at the company also followed suit.  Chief technology officer Mira Murati has been appointed interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor. Investors were blindsided: It also appears that investors were as blindsided by the changes as Altman and Brockman. Microsoft reportedly learnt of the change one minute before the OpenAI announcement was made. Forbes also reports that other investors were shocked by the news. CEO of Khosla Ventures Vinod Khosla took to Twitter to say, “To be clear, Khosla Ventures wants @sama [Sam Altman] back at @OpenAI but will back him in whatever he does next.”  CTRL + Z: The board may be trying to undo its damage as Altman and Brockman are now in talks to return to their positions. The reversal is partly due to investor intervention—with Microsoft and Thrive Capital at the helm, and threats to the value of the startup. While nothing is set in stone yet, Altman is reportedly setting conditions for his return: he wants some members of the board gone, and stronger control. If he succeeds, the CEO will bring new meaning to what doesn’t kill a person makes them stronger…or had better start running. The big question that no one has answered yet is what brought on the board’s illogical and ill-timed decision. What does “candid in his communications” mean? And what does success look like to the board if what Altman is doing isn’t enough to “move the company forward”? Introducing: M-Pesa payments in Kenya Paystack enabled M-PESA payments for merchants in Kenya. See what Paystack has been up to in 2023 → Regulation Ghana’s apex bank bans eight fintechs The Central Bank of Ghana has barred eight money transfer organisations (MTOs) from operating in the country. The eight companies include Xoom, Wise, LemFi, Transfer Go, SendValu, Aza Finance, Boss Revolution and Supersonicz. What’s happening? Per the apex bank, these fintechs don’t have the regulatory approval to operate in Ghana. The bank has also warned all financial institutions in the country to stop dealing with these fintechs. “Approved MTOs are hereby reminded to terminate their foreign exchange flows through their partner institutions only and to adhere strictly to all guidelines in respect of their operations,” the notice from the apex bank read.  Ghana’s laws say companies can’t trade foreign currency without a licence. If caught doing so under Section 29.1, the companies could face a fine of up to seven hundred

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