For francophone startups playing catch-up, imitation is the cheat code
The African francophone startup ecosystem has a lot of catching up to do when compared to English-speaking countries. Can a copycat approach help close this distance? The year is 2016, and the Nigerian fintech ecosystem is much smaller than the over 300 fintechs we have now. Few startups exist, and even fewer are prominent. But Paystack’s acceptance into Y Combinator changed everything. Pitching themselves as the “Stripe of Africa”, the startup promised that it would do what Stripe did for payments, but in Africa. While their acceptance into YC helped create validation for the ecosystem, their eventual acquisition by Stripe (for $200 million in 2020) solidified it. It is this approach that francophone startups are trying to bring to their shores by copying the business models of successful startups in English-speaking African countries. There are many opportunities for businesses to thrive in francophone African countries. For starters, the region’s currency, the CFA, is used in 14 countries and accounts for 12% of Africa’s GDP. It is also pegged to the Euro and does not fluctuate, providing the kind of FX stability that’s not available elsewhere on the continent. A corollary effect of this is that barring internal conflict, most economies are stable. Last year, Miishe Addy, the CEO of Jetstream, a Ghanaian logistics startup, told TechCabal that her startup was expanding into francophone Africa to mitigate the effects of Ghana’s turbulent inflation. The region is home to some of the fastest-growing cities and economies in Africa. According to the IMF, six out of the seven fastest-growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa are francophone countries. The stretch of West African coastline, which begins in Abidjan and runs through Lome, Accra, and Cotonou before ending in Lagos, would be home to 51 million people in a decade. By the end of the century, it would be home to 500 million people. Another opportunity that francophone startups have is that, due to their similar currencies, language, and cultures, regional expansion is an easy path. Ivorian Mstudio wants to build a strong francophone ecosystem, one venture at a time Copying is a shortcut for francophone startups The opportunity is clear, so governments, startups, and venture firms are trying to advance the ecosystem by copying what has already proven successful in the Big 4 (Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Kenya). By copying what has already worked, there is an assurance that there is market validation for the product and that Africans are willing to pay. Leslie Ossete, the co-founder of Mstudio, an Ivorian venture studio, told me in Abdijan that her studio chose this copycat approach because it “gives us a higher chance of success”. “We look at countries that have similar markets, economies, industries, ways of doing things, and an informal market as well because that is our focus. We try to see which startups and trends do not exist in francophone Africa and can be replicated here,” she added. When asked if this copycat approach could work, Mathias Léopoldie, the co-founder of Juluya, an Ivorian fintech, told me that it is “a proven strategy because the markets are very similar in terms of demographics (low-income, young population) and economies (20-25% primary sector, 25% secondary sector, and 45%-50% tertiary sector).” However, a copycat approach does bring some problems. Jumia has always been paraded as the “Amazon of Africa”, but it has struggled to attain profitability. What works in one market might not translate into another. Anglophone countries have common law, while francophone countries have mostly civil law. Then there’s the language barrier (I could only communicate in Abidjan with the help of AI). Copying blindly will not work for francophone startups English-speaking startups that have expanded into francophone Africa have found it difficult to find success. When Wasoko raised $125 million last year, its CEO told TechCrunch that it was expanding into Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire because of their “solid year-on-year GDP growth.” The startup is now closing its offices. Sendy, a Kenyan logistics startup, has placed its Ivorian subsidiary in liquidation. But Wave, a Senegalese fintech, is currently making a killing in Cote d’Ivoire. There are “some deep cultural differences in terms of doing business,” according to Léopoldie. “Francophone Africa is not the same as Nigeria or Kenya; you’re going to have specificities; the persona might be different; they do not purchase the product in the same way, or they did not experience the problem in the same way,” Ossete added. “From my experience in mentoring, investing, and building startups in sub-Saharan Africa, it’s easier for francophone startups to expand east (to English-speaking countries) than the other way around. ” Axel Peyriere, the CEO of Auto24 and an angel investor, told TechCabal. If what works in Anglophone countries struggles to be replicated successfully by the same people that built it, how can a copycat approach work? By innovating and applying home-ground advantage to create tailor-made solutions. Some English-speaking startups have taken the route of acquisition instead of expansion. Autochek (Nigeria) and Chari (Morocco) are recent examples. Léopoldie told TechCabal that he believes a “francophonized” approach to bringing innovation from anglophone markets to francophone markets could work. “It is interesting that many anglophone late-stage startups are actually struggling to enter francophone markets,” he added. Innovation is not always about creating something new; it can also mean bringing something that did not exist before to the market. By copying what has proven successful in neighbouring countries and applying home-ground advantage, the francophone tech ecosystem has a cheat code and blueprint for success. As Ossete told me, “We do not lose a lot of time in execution because we already know at least how to structure the business model and the structure of the business itself.”
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Kenya’s Finance Act’s final act?
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning If you’ve been missing TC Daily in your inboxes, it’s because we’re landing your Promotions or Social folders. To make sure you never miss an edition, please move us to your Primary or Main folders. In today’s edition Kenya’s Finance Act has been halted SA nabs another cybercriminal for $8000,000 fraud Emojis can be used to sign contracts Propel raises $2.7 million The World Wide Web3 Event: Angel Investor Meetup, Lagos Opportunities Legislation High Court maintains suspension of Kenya’s Finance Act 2023 Kenya’s Finance Act is acting up. Yesterday, Justice Mugure Thande, extended an earlier order halting the implementation of the country’s recently-approved Finance Act 2023. Image source: YungNolly Why was the Act suspended? Busia senator Okiya Omtatah, Eliud Matindi, Michael Otieno, and four others filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of the Finance Act 2023. They argue that the Act was passed without the concurrence of both Speakers of the National Assembly and Senate, as required by the Constitution. They also argue that the tabling of the Finance Bill was done without following due procedure. Additionally, they argue that the housing levy, which compels employers and employees to pay 1.5% each, is unconstitutional because the Constitution limits the national government’s role in housing to developing a housing policy. However, Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u argued that the conservatory order could halt government operations by suspending budgetary steps. The ruling: Per Justice Mugure Thande, the cabinet secretary did not make a convincing case for the suspension of the order. She granted the petitioners’ request to have the case classified as a matter of significant constitutional importance and ordered that the case file be sent to Chief Justice Martha Koome for the appointment of a panel of judges to hear the case. Zoom out: The Finance Act 2023 introduces several new taxes, including a 1.5% tax on content creators and a 3% tax on crypto traders. These taxes are designed to generate revenue for the government to support its development agenda. You’ll be in good company Moniepoint has made it simple for your business to access payments while providing access to credit and other business tools. Click here to open a business account today. Cybersecurity South Africa nabs another cybercriminal Every day for the thief, one day for the law. Martins Egenamba, a South African who claimed to be a technology entrepreneur, has been sentenced to a 15-year jail time for defrauding victims in the United States and South Africa of millions of dollars. Martins Egenamba How did he do it? Per MyBroadband, Egenamba’s scheme was a case of business e-mail compromise fraud. This crafty individual managed to get away with about R16 million ($851,075) by swooping in on invoices, and tweaking the bank account details to divert the money to his own pockets instead of the rightful recipients. And that’s not all! For businesses in the US, he forwarded the funds straight to his South African company’s FNB account, Barlon d’Or Group. While he may be behind bars now, investigations are still underway regarding his involvement in another R6 million ($319,153) fraud scheme. Zoom out: SouthAfrica sees a lot of cybercrimes. One popular fraud scheme is the pyramid scheme and cryptocurrency scam, Mirror Trading International (MTI). MTI stole billions of rand from South Africans and victims in other countries including America. In fact, INERPOL’s Cybercrime Assessment report lists the country as the cybercrime hub of Africa. Consumer tech Judge rules that emojis can be used to sign contracts Image source: GIPHY A picture is worth a thousand words. How much is an emoji worth? Per MyBroadband, a Canada-based court is forcing a grain buyer to honour a sales contract because he responded to a message of the contract sent to him with a thumbs-up emoji. Yes, you heard that right. How did this happen? The grain farmer, Kent Mickelborough, signed a contract to sell 87 metric tons of flax and sent it for the grain buyer Chris Atcher to sign. Atcher claims he responded with a thumbs-up emoji to acknowledge receipt of the contract. Mickelborough, however, took the emoji as confirmation that he was entering the agreement as the buyer. But is it really valid? Justice TJ Keene, the judge who presided over the case says it is. He said that the thumbs-up emoji is an “action in an electronic form” that could be acknowledged as a “non-traditional means to sign a document.” This is also deemed acceptable because the buyer used his personal phone number to send it. GrowthCon 1.0: Learn how to unlock 10X Growth Connect with growth leaders, operators, and enablers to explore proven tactics for driving sustained business growth in Africa at GrowthCon 1.0. Experience curated masterclasses, case studies, a growth hackathon and more. Get your tickets now at 15% off. Use the discount code “TIX15”! Funding Nigerian startup, Propel, raises $2.74 million in seed funding Founders of Propel: Sunkanmi Ola, Seun Owolabi, and Abel Agoi Propel, a Nigerian HR tech startup, is setting sail with a $2.74 million seed funding to help scale its community-as-a-service platform. The company was founded in 2020 with the aim of helping multinational corporations reduce the risk of hiring remote workers from emerging markets. Lead investors: Amsterdam-based No Such Ventures led the funding round, joined by APX (an accelerator by Axel Springer Digital Ventures and Porsche Digital), Golden Egg Check, and Future of Learning Fund. Propel connects talented individuals in emerging tech communities with global companies that are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The company uses a “community-as-a-service” business model, which means that it provides a platform that allows companies to access vetted talent pools in emerging markets. Future plans: The company aims to broaden its community ecosystem, expand its community platform, and introduce additional client services. Moreover, it intends to leverage the funding to achieve €1 million ($1.1 million) in community-generated revenue by Q4 2024. Zoom out: Propel operates in multiple global
Read MoreNigerian stock market rally continues driven by sector-wide gains
A majority of Nigeria’s stocks across all sectors have pushed the NGX to positive results last week, yet again. Experts believe the recent economic policies of President Bola Tinubu could be responsible. Driven by stocks across all sectors of the economy, Nigeria’s NGX continued its bullish run last week, delivering a strong close for the exchange. The NGX All Share index was up 3.40% at close of the week. Despite overall growth, the banking sector remained the best performer, gaining 9.82% at the close of the week. Financial markets experts told TechCabal that investors are reacting positively to some of the economic policies of the Tinubu administration. Last week, President Tinubu signed an executive order deferring the implementation of two key taxes until September 2023. The Tinubu admin also formed a committee on fiscal policy and tax reforms headed by Taiwo Oyedele, signalling the possibility of critical tax reforms. Onome Ohwovoriole, an analyst with Money Africa, told TechCabal that last week’s market rally was a case of a rising tide lifting all boats. Oise Ajayi, the head of investment research at Achoria asset management, also said, “Investors are seeing a step in the right direction and that is what they have been reacting to. Prices are rising now and they are not moving in one direction. Banking and oil gas stocks have been very strong drivers of market performance. Oil and Gas stocks have been on the rise since they took out fuel subsidy from the sector. Added with banking, they are the top two sectors.” Foreign investors remain cautiously optimistic Several analysts say that foreign investors are still on the sidelines. According to the NGX, foreign-investor participation has increased to 12% of transactions from 4% before the devaluation. While it’s an increase, many are still waiting on deeper reforms. With H1 financial results on the way, there’s a sense that the NGX’s good run will continue if companies report strong numbers. “We are not expecting any significant downturn yet. For now, the sentiment feels positive and we believe it will remain that way in the next trading sessions. Also, we are going to be seeing H1 results and the ones that will declare dividends. Investors would make decisions based on the outcome of that,” Ajayi added.
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Next Wave: Can’t leapfrog trust
Cet article est aussi disponible en français <!– In partnership with –> <!— –> First published 9 July 2023. Credere (from Proto-Indo-European – ḱreddeh- i.e to trust) is the heart of lending. In far too many African markets credere is local, very local and we can’t technology our way out of this “tribal” variety credere. The entire financial system is constructed on the premise that if you have too much money than you could spend in the short term, you would look for somewhere to stash it. And if I knew how to spend money in the short term to generate even more money, you would stash it with me. You trust me with your money and I trust that between keeping watch over it and giving it back to you, I can make enough to justify the effort by making more money from it. To quote Matt Levin.The bank is a magic trick that allows risk-averse savers to fund risky projects. Let us call this system of brokerage between risk-averse depositors and risk-loaded entrepreneurs, Trust Transactions. Another point to note about this system is that was not legislated into being. It has had centuries to develop and be finetuned. Even so, it does not work the same everywhere. For Africa in particular, alongside versions of the Trust Transactions described earlier (mostly large for cross-border trade routes), local groups developed their unique Trust Transaction systems for depositing and managing wealth. Despite this happening in populations separated by thousands of miles, the results were often similar. Whether they are called tontines, chamas, esusu or stokvels, these small group credit systems essentially functioned as deposit money banks, and insurance systems for their communities across Africa. Partner Message GrowthCon 1.0: Learn how to unlock 10X Growth Connect with growth leaders, operators, and enablers to explore proven tactics for driving sustained business growth in Africa at GrowthCon 1.0. Experience curated masterclasses, case studies, a growth hackathon and more. . Get your tickets now These communities were more social than commercial A close parallel to how these systems operated are the credit union and Main Street bank ecosystem that blossomed as frontier towns grew in young America. These small-town banks served as engines for America’s explosive growth in the 19th and 20th centuries. Whether in 20th-century America or Africa, the key to the success of these banks was that they were more social than commercial in their daily operations. They had a friendly human face whom participants knew and trusted. And trust was often the only asset entrepreneurs who borrowed from the pooled fund could boast of. As the United States grew into a modern economy, these small family-friendly banks, credit unions and the entrepreneurs they backed also blossomed alongside the. Sam Walton of Walmart fame for example built his straggling small-town business into a national chain off the back of credit from small-town banks. As business grew, several small-town banks lost their small-town background, grew and became indistinguishable from the big banks. By contrast, Africa’s credit unions—the chamas, tontines and esusu groups—remained local. Contained in small towns, neighbourhoods or villages participation was limited to only a few people at a time. By this time, the modern financial system was pretty much established. Still, even though the newly created African banks received the bulk of their deposits from ordinary income earners, they preferred to operate models based on lending to the government or a handful of big businesses. Remember, successful banking depends on a trick. I convince you that your money is safe with me and I convince myself that someone else needs that money enough to promise to pay me for taking a risk that you would not have chosen to take. Usually, this desperate someone is a business person. From micro-finance to digital banking and lending While esusu-type groups grew with the increasing population, African banks mostly chased safe investments in government bonds. So if you had enough money, you kept some of it at the bank, but if you needed a loan or money to finance a big project you turned to your closest esusu group. Fast forward this by a few years and suddenly there are more options to pick from. High-interest loans from micro-finance banks + paperwork. And high-interest loans from a smartphone. Most people will pick the smartphone option. But there are three problems with this. The first is that the smartphone option is usually not a business loan. The second is that the lender and the borrower do not know each other. The last problem is that trust is highly localised. Once “out of bounds,” commercial trust breaks down. Partner Content: Will Africa’s B2B e-commerce industry survive another decade? The result is predictable. High default rates. Lenders try to fight with higher interest rates and naming-and-shaming schemes. Eventually, it devolves into a cat-and-mouse game between lenders and borrowers. If you were a digital lender what would you do in response? A lot of digital lending firms seem to think the answer is writing more algorithms to help them predict what a prospective borrower would do. It’s a good idea and it probably helps a lot. While I’m not a banker or an underwriting expert, I’ve given this some thought and the underlying problem with getting digital lending to work seems to be more of a social problem than a problem software can solve. To put it another way, trust relationships in many parts of Africa do not extend more than a few degrees of personal contact. We are stuck in the local esusu trust level of trusted transactions. It is a malaise that affects everyone. Banks and depositors alike. In many cases, there is good reason for that. Partner Content: Tracc Systems partners with Eonsfleet to revolutionise the supply chain and transportation management landscape in Africa The lack of and abuse of broad consequences for misusing trusted transactions encourages everyone to just stay away and stick to the devil that is known. One former neighbour started a
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How Zambia’s national debt restructuring can boost country’s tech ecosystem
Despite the much-heralded development over the last two years, Zambia’s tech ecosystem has lagged behind in attracting venture capital. With the country having reached a debt restructuring agreement with some of its major creditors, can this development benefit its ecosystem? After Zambia announced a debt restructuring deal with creditors, economists are hailing the move as a step in the right direction. Many also expect the restructuring deal to have an impact on the country’s technology ecosystem. Zambia’s tech ecosystem is fledgling and has had a tough time attracting venture capital, unlike rival continental hubs like Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. Many expect that the restructuring will help rally investors to the southern African nation’s ecosystem, spurring growth. In 2020, Zambia became the first African country to default on its debt payments offset. That default limited the government’s ability to invest in programs critical for economic growth. “[The restructuring] allows for increased fiscal space and increases the amount of funds available for the government to invest in priority projects and social expenditure, and other areas where there was a budgetary gap,” said Jito Kayumba, special assistant and advisor to President Hichilema on economic, investment and development affairs. Potential benefits of debt restructuring on Zambia’s economy (Image source: Linkedin/ Andrew Chibuye) Good news for Zambia’s fledgling tech ecosystem Over the last year, Zambia’s tech ecosystem has seen a significant boost as numerous pan-African companies have set up operations in the country. These include subscription video-on-demand platform Wi-flix, technology infrastructure company Liquid Intelligent Technologies, and crypto exchange, VALR. The fintech unicorn Chipper Cash also entered the Zambia market last year. The ecosystem also got a co-sign from Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, who hailed the “unique opportunities” present in the country. According to Andrew Chibuye, senior country partner of PwC in Zambia, “The restructuring should result in a more favourable investment environment that will benefit all sectors including technology. Technology is considered as key to enabling growth of the economy and so it is expected to be integral as the country goes forward.” This point is reiterated by Kayumba who also points out the importance of the country’s technology sector in also enabling the growth of other important sectors of the country’s economy like mining and agriculture. “The beauty of technology is that it can help create efficiencies in the supply chain and the value chain of most of our other core sectors. Growth in agriculture, mining, and energy can be accelerated by the smart integration of technology, leading to new jobs created, new homes being built, and new infrastructure across the board,” he said. For startups, who have thus far struggled with attracting venture capital funding, the restructuring is a welcome development that could boost their ability to raise capital from investors, both local and international. Since 2015, 23 startups have raised more than $75m in disclosed funding, according to Biter Bridges, far behind ecosystems like Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa. Snapshot of the state of venture capital funding in Zambia. (Image source: Briter Bridges) Ahmad Hamwi is the founder of Ignitos Space, a spacetech startup providing farmers with farming insights. According to him, the restructuring is the biggest opportunity to take the Zambian startup ecosystem to the next level in terms of providing liquidity for funding. “I believe that we will see a lot of shifts in the ecosystem which will lead to more investor attention. Zambia has over the last two or so years shown that it can become a very lucrative place to invest in and this debt restructuring will further prove the viability of the economy for investing which I believe will boost investments in our startups,” Hamwi told TechCabal on a call. Beyond investment into startups, Hamwi believes that subsequent digitalisation initiatives will move Zambia deeper into the digital transformation journey, boosting the scale-up of local startups, and making them attractive to investors. “The restructuring will allow a lot of projects to boom, including digitalisation ones, which would help a lot with bringing a lot of people into the digital economy. Also, an increase in trade resulting from the process could go a long way in boosting the growth of e-commerce and fintech solution providers in the country,” he added. Creating an enabling environment for ecosystem success Mwiya Musokotwane is the CEO of Zambia-based investment firm Thebe Investment Management. Together with Perseus Mlambo, CEO of Union54, they are the founding members of the Zambia Technology Sector Working Group, whose main mandate is to work with partners, including forty local and international companies, to develop business-friendly legislation to support African tech companies looking to incorporate or operate from the country. Speaking to TechCabal, he stated that the restructuring process, among other upsides, presents an opportunity to use technology to accelerate economic growth and job creation in Zambia. “From a technology perspective, I think the opportunity that exists is that technology investment benefits are felt from day one. For example, if a tech startup domiciles itself in Zambia because the government has created an incentive package, that means jobs are immediately brought to Zambia because that founder will probably come and live here. A significant part of the startups team will probably come and live here and by coming here, they boost adjacent economy sectors,” he said. “If just 6,000 software developers moved to Zambia, its GDP would grow by 1%. That is not immaterial. That is a material contribution to GDP growth rate because software developers have a higher earning potential so they’re bringing their salaries which they will spend on other sectors of the economy. If we look at the number of people who work in the technology sector across Africa, it’s well above 700,000 individuals and if you become the best place for these people to live and work, you can certainly do a significant much in growing the economy.” For Lulumbi Njeleka, principal partner at Monter Capital, a Lusaka-based investment firm, the restructuring has the ability to create an enabling environment for alternative investors, including
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – SA lawyers use ChatGPT…and fail
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning Threads has now reached 90 million users within five days of launch. Elon Musk isn’t having it though. The billionaire is threatening to sue Mark Zuckerberg and Meta for hiring Twitter employees—some of whom he fired without due process or severance, and mocked. According to Musk, the ex-Twitter engineers built Threads, but Zuckerberg has responded that no ex-Twitter employee was involved in building the new social media platform. In today’s edition South African lawyers use ChatGPT for case and fail Medsaf lays off full-time staff Airtel launches 5G in Kenya TC Insights: Unionising Africa’s digital labour The World Wide Web3 Event: The Moonshot Conference Opportunities AI SA lawyers uses ChatGPT for case, and fail History is repeating itself, and within a month too! South African lawyers arguing a case at the regional court in Johannesburg were called out for using fake precedents generated by ChatGPT. To sue or not to sue: According to Sunday Times, the unnamed lawyers were representing a woman who was suing the trustees of a company for defamation. While the company’s lawyers argued that trustees could not be sued for defamation, the plaintiff’s lawyers argued that South African courts had—in previous cases—judged that trustees could in fact be sued. The judge then postponed the hearing for two months to allow the lawyers time to find the precedents they needed to prove their case. Unfortunately, the lawyers could not track down the case manually and instead asked ChatGPT for citations. While the citations were for real cases, they had nothing to do with defamation. Image source: YungNolly Careless not misleading: In the judgement against the plaintiff, Judge Chaitram called out the lawyers stating that they were, “simultaneously simply overzealous and careless.” “The embarrassment associated with this incident is probably sufficient punishment for the plaintiff’s attorneys,” said Chaitram. Big picture: This is the second case where lawyers have used ChatGPT to source for cases, and failed. In May this year, a US law firm was fined $5,000 after one of its lawyers used ChatGPT to cite bogus cases. It’s also one of the many cases where ChatGPT and similar services have provided false information to users. You’ll be in good company Moniepoint has made it simple for your business to access payments while providing access to credit and other business tools. Click here to open a business account today. Layoffs Medsaf lays off all full-time staff In layoff news, Nigerian healthtech Medsaf has laid off all its full-time employees, about 30 employees. Last week, sources confirmed to TechCabal that the startup, in March, made the layoff announcement via its chief operating officer Rotimi Lawal. Lawal informed staff that the company was experiencing funding gaps and other dismal payment issues in the operation of its business. The company—which has raised $3.6 million total since its founding in 2017—has reportedly been facing financial difficulties since mid-2022, and this led to delays in staff and vendor payments. Unpaid salaries and benefits: Several laid-off employees also confirmed that they hadn’t been paid salaries since December 2022, despite promises from the company that salaries arrears would be paid by April 2023. In response, Medsaf’s CEO, Vivian Nwakah, blamed the situation on investors reneging on funding commitments. Nwakah also noted that staff had been asked “not to come to work in January…So many of the employees that you are speaking with hardly worked in January and are requesting salaries that are owed to them when they were not actively working for the company,” she said. Vivian Nwakah, CEO of Medsaf. Image source: Seedstars Sources also allege financial misappropriation by the company’s management citing a $100,000 project fee that never made it into the company‘s accounts. Medsaf denies the story: A day after the report, CEO Nwakah took to LinkedIn to tag the report as “full of lies, misinformation and slander”. In the post, Nwakah shares a cease and desist letter to TechCabal where Medsaf—through its lawyers—demanded a retraction of the story, and an apology. TechCabal, however, stands by its story. We have found no instances of material errors, misrepresentations, falsehoods, or malice in our article. Telecoms Airtel launches 5G in Kenya Image source: Airtel More Kenyans are getting 5G! Last week, Airtel became the second telecom to launch 5G in the East African country, following Safaricom’s October 2022 launch. Where is it launching? We don’t know yet, Airtel hasn’t specified. The telecom only mentioned that it has 370 5G sites spread across 16 counties. However, the service is expected to focus on customers in major areas and cities such as Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, and Kisumu. Ashish Malhotra, the managing director of Airtel Kenya, said, “Airtel 5G will revolutionise various sectors, such as smart cities, education, healthcare, agritech, transport systems, entertainment, and more, shaping the future of Kenya.” Can anyone use it? Only if your device is 5G-capable. Airtel argues that customers will be moving in and out of 5G areas and will be well-served by 4G bundles, which can access 5G without issues. The telecom also announced 5G Wi-Fi routers and plans which it is offering to businesses and residential areas. Find the pricing here. Zoom out: More telecoms are shooting to launch 5G in the country including the state-run telecom Telkom. The telecom, however, has been facing financial difficulties, leading to the telco’s failure to pay the American Tower Corporation (ATC) Ksh200 million for tower leasing. GrowthCon 1.0: Learn how to unlock 10X Growth Connect with growth leaders, operators, and enablers to explore proven tactics for driving sustained business growth in Africa at GrowthCon 1.0. Experience curated masterclasses, case studies, a growth hackathon and more. Get your tickets now at 15% off. Use the discount code “TIX15”! TC Insights Unionising Africa’s digital labour According to the International Labour Organization, there are almost 800 digital labour platforms across the world as of 2022 including ride-haling services and delivery platforms. Over the past decade, digital labour platforms have experienced
Read MoreMedsaf demands a retraction to our ‘defamatory’ coverage. Here’s our response
Through their lawyers, the Nigerian health tech startup, Medsaf, on Friday, July 7, 2023, sent TechCabal a “cease and desist” letter, requesting that our story on Medsaf, published earlier that same day, be taken down. Our story contains allegations that Medsaf employees were owed salaries for months and another allegation of financial misappropriation. We stand by our reporting and have found no instances of material errors, misrepresentations, falsehoods, or malice in our article. We have responded in detail below, clarifying some of the claims made by Medsaf lawyers via email and some claims made by the company’s CEO on LinkedIn. TechCabal’s story on Medsaf alleges that several of the company’s employees were owed salaries from December 2022 until they were laid off in March 2023. We established and corroborated the allegations by speaking to several former employees at Medsaf. TechCabal was also privy to internal correspondence where company officials clearly stated that outstanding salaries for the same period would eventually be paid. Several former employees said that they had still not been paid at the time of our report. TechCabal has seen emails between other employees and the company’s management where employees asked about their outstanding salaries. We’ve also seen correspondence that asked questions about Medsaf’s finances, leading us to publish the allegation by a senior executive of financial misappropriation. TechCabal contacted Medsaf via email to establish a right of response. A right of response is a time-honoured ethical guardrail that mandates that all sides are heard and their views considered before an article is published. While we initially asked that a response be shared in three hours, we quickly remedied that, affirming to Medsaf that we would not publish the story until they shared their perspective and giving them more time to respond. Medsaf emailed TechCabal, sending four emails addressing some of the issues and providing rebuttals. Those responses are contained in our story. Following our email exchange, TechCabal requested a phone call with the company to allow a fuller response to allegations that had not been addressed in the email exchange. On that call, Medsaf’s CEO did not address the substance of the allegations and was instead verbally abusive towards TechCabal’s reporter, swearing repeatedly, threatening legal action and explaining that she only does ‘this work’ for people like the reporter. As a result, we sent another email to Medsaf, outlining the allegations, asking for a proper response or rebuttal and affirming that we were willing to wait for a proper response before publishing. Medsaf declined and said any further responses would come from their lawyers. 24 hours after the beginning of our official engagement with Medsaf, our article was published. With all weighty stories, we will always give our subjects time to respond and insist on sharing their perspective. However, when subjects choose not to respond, we will publish the facts as we know them. It is important to note that Medsaf’s response is far too frequently the approach taken by business leaders when faced with possibly negative stories. Rather than engaging the substance of the allegations, they make the media the story. Medsaf had the opportunity to engage in good faith to respond to weighty allegations but chose invective, threats, spurious legal action and finally, an appeal to public sentiment that suggests that they are the victim here, not their unpaid employees or investors that might want clarity on claims of financial impropriety. We are frequently asked why we publish these stories of struggling companies, layoffs, scandals and financial improprieties, especially in a young ecosystem still primarily funded by foreign capital. Are we not shooting ourselves in the foot? In response, we note that TechCabal has been one of the leading publications telling the African tech story in all its glory for over a decade. Our coverage has showcased the best of African tech to the world, made heroes of founders and builders on the continent, become a critical reference point for investors globally and ensured that there is not any doubt that there is a serious and worthwhile startup and tech industry in Africa that is worth investing in. We’re optimistic about the impact of technology and technology companies in Africa and are cheerleaders for the growth of what we believe is a critical economic engine for the continent. That being said, we recognize the importance of accountability in building a strong ecosystem. That accountability extends to employees, investors, customers and the broad public. Investors want to know when their funds are misappropriated or a business model has gone awry; customers want to know when a company is cutting corners on safety or the security of their information, employees want to be protected from mistreatment, new founders want to know what errors those who came before them made and the general public wants to understand the impact of these businesses and technologies that change their lives so rapidly. Without the accountability the press provides, the worst impulses within the ecosystem will grow unchecked; bad news will stay hidden for longer, and all stakeholders will find the industry harder to trust. We don’t tell these stories because they are salacious. We tell them because they are important. We stand by our story, our methods and restate our commitment to fairness, balance and honesty in our journalism. We also restate that we will continue to honour the ethical demand of providing all subjects of our stories a right to respond and will always engage our subjects, however long it takes until all parties are satisfied that their views and perspectives have been heard.
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Medsaf lays off all its full-time staff
Lire en français Read this email in French. Editor’s Note Week 28, 2023 Read time: 5 minutes Hello Have you responded to our 3-minute survey yet? Please do so and return to delve into this week’s top tech stories. Pamela Tetteh Editor, TechCabal. Editor’s Picks Mesaf lays off all its full-time staff Nigerian healthtech startup, Medsaf has laid off all its full-time employees. Former employees allege that their salaries and benefits remain unpaid. Read more. SomBank & Mastercard launch cards in Somalia Mastercard and SomBank have joined forces to introduce cards as a means of facilitating payments in the country. They believe that cards offer a superior alternative to the recently launched standard QR code, SOMQR, by the government. Learn more. A super comeback In July 2022, Union54 halted its services after it experienced a $1.2 billion chargeback fraud. Now the Zambian startup is making a comeback and building its payments service into a chat platform. Learn more. Ethiopia offers a new telecoms licence Ethiopia has kicked off the bidding process for a new telecommunications licence. Safaricom bought the one the country sold last year and has gained 2.1 million customers in eight months. Learn more. Deadline for crypto license looms A new crypto regulation in South Africa will see crypto exchanges unable to operate in the country without licences by November 30. Learn more. Entering Tech Interested in getting tech career resources and insights?. Then sign up for Entering Tech to get started! SA’s Department of Justice breaks the rules South Africa’s Information Regulator has fined the Department of Justice R5 million ($266,331) for not renewing its licences for antivirus software. Learn more. Bolt gets a CFO Ride-hailing platform Bolt has picked Mikko Salovaara as its new chief finance officer (CFO). The announcement follows Bolt’s profit gains, having experienced notable growth for the first time since 2018. Learn more about him. How social media impacted Nigeria’s elections The EU Election Observation Mission published its report showing more social media activity during Nigeria’s 2023 elections. Learn more. Kenya has a unified payroll system The Kenyan president, William Ruto, has ordered the implementation of a Unified Payroll Number (UPN) system in all state agencies to reduce the government’s wage bill and streamline payroll management. Learn more. Starlink isn’t going to SA soon This week, communications minister Mondli Gungubele reiterated that it must meet the SouthAfrica’s internet service provider (ISP) ownership equity rules first. Learn more. Who brought the money this week? Nuru, a solar company in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), raised $40 million in equity funding. MYDAWA, a Kenyan online pharmacy, received $20 million in an undisclosed round from Alta Semper Capital, a private equity firm. Zuvy, a fintech company, secured $4.5 million in debt and equity funding from TLG Capital. Egyptian fintech company Masroofi raised $1.5 million in an undisclosed round from undisclosed investors. Kenya-based B2B company Revivo raised $ 635 K in pre-seed funding from Raba Partnership, Village Global, Musha Ventures, Satgana, and strategic business angels. What else to read this weekend? How to sell the “Invest in Africa” message Why Latin American fintechs are expanding to Africa Can Lagos’s new electric buses withstand the city’s notorious traffic? A Netflix and HBO’s partnership threatens Showmax Written by: Ngozi Chukwu Edited by: Pamela Tetteh 18, Nnobi Street, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria Unsubscribe from TC Weekender
Read MoreWhat to expect from Nigeria’s new ‘Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms’
By asking Oyedele to lead the group that will likely have the most direct influence on federal taxation policy, Tinubu is signalling a willingness to listen to tax policy experts. Having expert advice on the menu is always good, but it does not guarantee that the government will act on recommended policies. Per local media reports, president Tinubu has appointed Taiwo Oyedele, PwC’s Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader to oversee a newly established presidential tax reform group. This is the latest signal of Tinubu’s fiscal policy direction following a series of recently announced tax policies. Taiwo Oyedele, an associate professor at Babcock University, a private university in southwestern Nigeria also leads PricewaterhouseCoopers’ tax business in Africa. His appointment came on the back of new tax programs including a planned expansion of value-added tax to street traders and informal businesses. Nigeria’s government is seeking to increase the revenue it collects from taxes to contain a deficit budget, beef up declining oil earnings and manage staggering debt that is at historic highs. By December 31 2022, public debt levels stood at $103 billion, according to Nigeria’s debt management office. Despite its reputation as an oil-producing country and decades of oil receipts, the country struggles to finance its budget. Between 1981 and 2022, Nigeria only recorded budget surpluses in 1995 and 1996. During his campaign, Tinubu frequently pointed to the rapid increase of state revenue during his 8-year stint as governor (between 1999 and 2007) as evidence of his plans to boost government revenues. As a first step in that direction, Nigeria announced a new annual vehicle ownership verification program. Under the program, car owners would pay N1000 ($1.3) per vehicle yearly, to obtain confirmation that they owned their vehicles. This was quickly followed by an expanded VAT collection plan announced earlier this week. Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said it would work with the Market Traders Association of Nigeria to collect VAT from informal traders using “unified systems technology.” The tax plan generated muted uproar on social media networks and Nigerian media publications. The announcement came weeks after the government removed petrol subsidies and floated the naira. Oyedele roundly condemned the vehicle verification program, writing on LinkedIn and Twitter, “This tax is retrogressive. It is ill-conceived and poorly designed. Apart from the payment which seems to be solely for revenue generation, and perhaps more for non-state actors than for the government, it is illogical to have to prove annually that you own a vehicle for which you already have a certificate of proof of ownership issued by the government.” Oyedele however, expressed support for the VAT expansion program while cautioning that it needed “safeguards to prevent abuse.” The government followed that up with four executive orders that rescheduled the start date for new tax programs while suspending the collection of new taxes on telecom services, Single Use Plastics, tobacco, alcoholic beverages and some imports. On social media, Oyedele praised the executive orders By asking Oyedele to lead the group that will likely have the most direct influence on federal taxation policy, Tinubu is signalling a willingness to listen to tax policy experts. Having expert advice on the menu is always good, but it does not guarantee that the government will act on recommended policies. This is not Oyedele’s first public service rodeo. Since 2017, Oyedele served as a member of Nigeria’s National Tax Policy Implementation Committee under immediate past president Muhammadu Buhari. He continued in the same role under Tinubu until the recent announcement. Why is this all important? Nigeria like several African countries has been under scrutiny for debt distress following Sri Lank’s default and the dramatic political fallout. Around 96% of the Nigerian government’s revenues go to paying off the interest on its national debt. Against the background of Ghana’s debt default woes, Zambia’s drawn-out restructuring and Kenya’s fiscal stress, Nigeria’s economic policy decisions are keenly watched by investors and business people alike. Taxes affect consumption habits. Nigeria infamously has an even lower consumption capacity (measured by the number of people who spend $10 daily) compared to neighbouring Ghana. MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest mobile carrier by market share frequently reports lower average revenues per user compared to South Africa or Kenya, for example. By embracing a managed float of the naira, the government sent an early signal that it will embrace traditional economic management. But the unwillingness of the government to allow its bonds to reflect market price expectations has muted investor response even as bank stocks and inflation soared. If the events of the previous two days are any guide, Nigerians may expect mixed policy signals as Tinubu’s fiscal policy is fully revealed. Social media reactions show an expectation that Oyedele will provide a moderating influence on how federal tax policy is formed and implemented. But the new government’s reform zeal will be tested in the coming months as the impact of painful policies fully settles across the economy.
Read MoreYCombinator doubles down on fundamentals as it releases first ever ‘top companies by revenue’ list
As YCombinator shares its first ever list of top companies by revenue, is it a sign to the startup ecosystem about where VCs are headed in terms of priority metrics for their portfolio companies? For the first time ever, San Francisco-based accelerator YCombinator has released its top 50 alumni companies by revenue list. The esteemed accelerator is known for using valuations to rank companies. Of the listed companies, Africa has only one representative: Wave, the Senegalese mobile money app. Other startups which feature include Airbnb, Dropbox, Coinbase, and Reddit. Since the start of the VC downturn in early 2022, YCombinator has stressed to founders the need to move from a “growth at all costs” mentality to building business models which show a path to profitability. Is this new trend of spotlighting revenue as a core metric in judging alumni’s success the beginning of the accelerator’s shift towards bottomline growth heralding? Speaking to TechCabal on a call, Clive Butkow, CEO of Johannesburg-based VC firm Kalon Ventures believes that it is the beginning of not only YCombinator’s push for bottomline growth in its cohorts, but the VC industry in general. “In a downturn, every investor is going to be frugal with their funds because they are so hard to come by, so its not surprising to see YCombinator insisting on the importance of revenue as a growth metric. Of course revenue is still a topline metric so I think eventually, we will see them maybe sharing a Top 50 most profitable startups list,” he said. What does this development mean for African startups? According to Ato Bentsi-Enchill, head of special spurpose vehicles (SPVs) at Microtraction, a Nigerian early stage VC firm, the list should encourage African startups to prioritise metrics like revenue instead of growth at all costs. “Maybe this is a way to encourage startups who perhaps want to apply to YCombinator by showing them the revenue-making abilities of some of their alumni. At the same time, maybe its a subtle reminder to founders that ‘at the end of the day, you’re building a business and business is about making money, and for anyone to invest in your business,” he said to TechCabal. As VC dollars continue to be a unicorn, hard to find, Bentsi-Enchill advises startups that beyond focusing on revenue, it is important for them to think of addressing problems beyond just Africa. Global problem solving in a sustainable and business-sound way will be the next wave. “[At Microtraction], we are also thinking through refining our thesis to make sure that we’re investing in founders whose businesses have applications both on the continent, but can also be expandable across the world and address far-reaching problems,” he added. Regardless of YCombinator’s reasoning for putting out such a list for the first time ever, the fact that such a leading global investor is a sign of wind of change is blowing through the VC industry and whether African startups like it or not, they will have to adapt to the new modus operandi.
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