Smile Identity lays off eight employees as it increases its ‘focus on profitability’
Smile Identity, a KYC compliance and ID verification startup, has laid off eight employees in what it says is a move to achieve its profitability targets. Smile Identity helps startups like banks and fintechs perform identity checks for their customers and is one of the most recognisable names in the ID verification industry. The company confirmed to TechCabal that it laid off eight employees early in June. Part of the company’s email to TechCabal said, “To better navigate the changing macroeconomic landscape of the tech startup world, we decided to reduce our team size to focus on profitability and product development. We let go of 8 employees, representing less than 10% of our workforce.” The layoffs will come as a surprise to many, given that the company announced the completion of a $20 million Series B round funding in February 2023. Per TechCrunch, Smile Identity said the funding would be used to ramp up hiring efforts in East, Southern and Western Africa in line with its goal of expanding further along the continent. In April 2023, the startup acquired the Ghanaian identity verification software, Appruve, to expand its footprints across Africa and solidify its position as the continent’s leading identity verification and digital KYC provider. Smile Identity, founded by Mark Straub and William Bares, has been a major player in the African KYC space since 2017. Four years after its launch, Smile Identity is active in six African markets: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda and Uganda. It performs over a million identity checks monthly and has covered 250 million identities, serving clients like Paystack, Binance, Kuda, Paxful, and Chippercash, among others.
Read MoreMozilla is aiding Kenya’s upcoming tech startups with grants and acceleration
The Mozilla Africa Mradi Innovation Challenge in Nairobi is poised to help Kenyan tech entrepreneurs develop their products and be ready for market. This week, Mozilla Corporation hosted a two-day Mozilla Africa Mradi Innovation Challenge in collaboration with the Nairobi City County Government (NCCG) at the Arboretum Park in Nairobi. The challenge identified three tech startups—Getpayd, Deaf Elimu, and Hali Halisi—and three student innovators: Classify Me, Audred, and Mama Pesa. The innovators received grants of KES 13 million ($92,500). They will also receive technical assistance to develop their products further and position themselves in the market. During the ceremony, Nairobi County governor Sakaja A. Johnson said, “Nairobi City County Government is working with Mozilla Africa Mradi to ensure that tech startups and innovators get access to grants and are enabled to access venture capital investments locally and globally.” Why the Mozilla Africa Mradi Innovation Challenge is important Mozilla launched the programme to help African tech entrepreneurs and students develop their products and get them to market. The program seeks to provide technical support, grants, and market access to help these innovators bring their ideas to life. It is also designed to promote innovation led by the unique needs of users on the African continent. Mozilla says investing in African innovators can help create a more inclusive and equitable digital future for locals and others. Mozilla announced the Africa Mradi Innovation Challenge in Nairobi just last month. Over the years, and as part of its commitment to boosting innovation, the technology corporation has invested $20 million in fellowships and awards to support individual and collective actions that nurture innovations benefiting local communities in Africa. Mitchell Baker, CEO and chairwoman of Mozilla Corporation, said, “From 2015, Mozilla has distributed over $20 million through fellowships and awards to support individual and collective actions that nurture unique innovations that benefit communities.” Startups in Kenya by numbers According to the 2022 Kenya startup ecosystem report by Disrupt Africa, there are currently 308 active tech startups in Kenya, employing over 11,000 people. However, only 50% of these startups have undergone acceleration or incubation processes. The Africa Mradi Innovation Challenge aims to address this gap by providing resources and support to tech innovators in Kenya. Its goal is to help these innovators develop and grow their businesses, contributing to the overall advancement of the tech ecosystem in the country. The Digital Economy Blueprint reports that Kenya is a regional frontrunner in digital infrastructure access. Projections indicate that by 2030, around 55% of job roles in Kenya will require digital skills.
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How to share data on MTN and other networks 2023
In today’s interconnected world, the need to share data with friends, family, or colleagues has become increasingly important. And as we all know, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently unified USSD codes for various activities on all networks. Therefore, this article provides a comprehensive guide on how to share data on MTN alongside other networks. 1. Understand MTN Data Sharing Before diving into the process, it is essential to familiarise yourself with MTN’s data sharing features. MTN provides an option called “Data Gifting” that allows you to share your data with other MTN subscribers. With this feature, you can transfer data bundles ranging from small packages to larger volumes, depending on how much data you have. 2. Choose a data bundle On how to share MTN data, you need to have a working data bundle for you to be able to transfer to someone else. MTN offers a variety of data bundles, including daily, weekly, and monthly options. Determine the amount of data you wish to buy. Please note that you’re usually allowed to share if you have a substantial amount of data. You may not be able to share from plans like daily or night plans, etc. 3. How to share data on MTN For you to send data on MTN, you no longer need to activate the data sharing feature unlike before. Now you simply start by dialling *321# on your mobile phone and follow the on-screen prompts. 4. Initiate the data transfer You will be prompted to choose either to gift data or share from SME, please choose ‘Gift’. At some point, you’ll need to enter the recipient’s MTN phone number and the amount of data you wish to send. Follow the instructions provided and confirm the transfer. Ensure that you enter the recipient’s number accurately to avoid any errors. See images of likely prompts while trying to share MTN data – 5. Confirm the transfer After confirming the transfer, MTN will deduct the appropriate amount of data from your data balance and credit it to the recipient’s phone number. Both you and the recipient will receive an SMS notification confirming the successful data transfer. The recipient can start using the shared data immediately. How to share data on other networks apart from MTN All you need to do is follow practically the whole processes outlined on how to transfer data on MTN. The prompts may read differently depending on each network provider, but the USSD code remains the same. Final thoughts on how to share data on MTN Sharing data on MTN is a simple and convenient process. By following the steps outlined in this article, how to share data on MTN to your friends, family, or colleagues will never be a problem.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Nigerian banks grow with fintech adoption
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy pre-Friday If you’re taking a course on Google Digital Skills for Africa, you have until July 24 to complete the course. Yesterday, Google announced to users that it’s moving the course to a new learning platform called Skillshop. This means any progress you have will be lost unless you’ve completed the course. If you’re yet to start a course though, worry not, Google says all the courses—and more—will be available on Skillshop. In today’s edition Fintech adoption drives growth from Nigerian banks MTN to generate own power in SA inDrive is licensed in Kenya SA’s new Identification Bill poses security concerns The World Wide Web3 Event: The Moonshot Conference Opportunities Economy Fintech adoption fuels Nigerian bank’s revenue growth in Q1 2023 Nigerian banks report remarkable revenue growth in Q1 2023, with ₦96.483 billion ($122,694,806) generated from electronic businesses. The remarkable growth is attributed to the increasing adoption of fintech solutions, resulting in a significant 23.84% increase, compared to the ₦77.907 billion ($99,010,408) recorded in the previous quarter in 2022. Image source: Tenor Top performing banks: PerNairametrics, UBA and Access Holdings emerged as the leading earners in e-business income, with UBA reporting ₦20.929 billion ($26,651,725) and Access Holdings earning ₦20.664 billion ($26,302,782). Zenith Bank, FirstBank, and GTBank followed closely behind with ₦12.079 billion ($15,379,970), ₦17.876 billion ($22,761,747), and ₦11.425 billion ($14,548,745), respectively. UBA, Access Bank, and Zenith Bank—two of the top tier-1 banks—played a pivotal role in propelling e-business income, accounting for 86% of the total generated in Q1 2023. More good news: In addition to the growth in e-business income, Nigerian banks witnessed a robust pretax profit of ₦446.722 billion($568,370,982) in Q1 2023, marking a significant 41.16% surge compared to the corresponding period in 2022. Zoom out: As more people use fintech to access financial services, banks are witnessing a corresponding surge in revenue. The positive trend observed reflects Nigerian banks’ ability to adapt to evolving customer demands and their readiness to leverage the expanding digital economy. 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. Open an account today on moniepoint.com/ng. Telecoms MTN to produce independent power in South Africa Image source: MTN MTN wants to take power into its own hands. MTN South Africa is aiming to become an independent power producer. The telecom wants to rely less on the state-owned power distributor Eskom which has been experiencing terrible load-shedding all year. How? The company plans to use five different technologies for energy generation within a single facility. The total capacity will be 4.5 megawatts, ensuring uninterrupted power supply even during load-shedding situations. The energy generation systems will be the first of their kind in South Africa, and it will be situated at MTN’s head office in Johannesburg. The head office currently features a hybrid facility comprising three energy systems: a 2-megawatt gas trigeneration system, a 330-kilowatt Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Plant, and backup diesel generators. Additionally, MTN plans to expand the existing plant by adding a 4-megawatt Grid Tie Solar System (5-megawatt peak) and a 2-megawatt/6-megawatt-hour Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). Zoom out: During Phase 2 of the project, there will be additional expansion of solar and battery energy systems, creating the potential to supply excess energy back to the power grid. Mobility inDrive now licensed for ride-hailing in Kenya Image source: inDrive inDrive, an online ride-hailing application, has obtained the necessary licences to operate within Kenya. At a time when drivers from taxi companies like Uber and Bolt are advocating for increased fares and improved commissions, inDrive is entering the mobility market, giving riders and passengers a fare deal. What inDrive does differently: inDrive gives its customers power to bargain and accept the prices they can afford. It also allows drivers to accept, counter, or decline offers without facing penalties or charges. inDrive charges the drivers a maximum of 9.99% of the total cost, excluding any applicable value added tax (VAT). This fee is inDrive’s service charge for connecting the driver to the customer/rider. Zoom out: Based in Carlifonia, inDrive has gained global popularity, with over 150 million downloads, positioning itself as the second most downloaded mobility app worldwide. Legislation SA’s identification bill a recipe for disaster, says think tank South African think tank Free Market Foundation has warned that the proposed Identification Bill could result in privacy breaches and poses a threat to South Africans’ right to privacy. The South African parliament intends to repeal the Identification Act of 1997 and has published a draft National Identification Registration Bill to replace it. Image source: Giphy More on the new bill: Through the bill, the recording of identification information of everyone living in South Africa, whether temporarily or permanently, will be done on a “secure and efficient digital system”. The protection of data is assured, according to the bill, as is the privacy of personal information of individuals and the protection of national security interests, to ensure the official identification of individuals, prevent identity fraud and avert fraudulent transactions. The Free Market Foundation, however, has warned that the draft legislation poses a threat to South Africans’ right to privacy. Zoom out: If South Africa’s cybersecurity record is anything to go by, then there is reason to be concerned about possible breaches of data. Over the last year, several companies in the country, including Shoprite, Showmax, and even government departments, have been hit by data breaches. Refer TC Daily and win great prizes Refer TC Daily and win great prizes. Not only do you get rewarded for your referrals, but you also automatically earn an entry into the grand prize draw at the end of the month. And what’s the grand prize, you ask? A blissful massage session that will melt away all your stress and leave you feeling rejuvenated! Scroll to the end and start sharing your unique referral link today. Crypto Tracker The World Wide
Read MoreKenya has become one of the few countries in the world with a digital sex registry
Kenya’s chief justice Martha Koome has launched a digital sex offender registry, making it accessible to legal officers and the public. This move aims to address the lack of reliable data on sexual offences and enhance public safety. Kenya’s chief justice Martha Koome has unveiled a digital sex offender registry months after it was hinted at by people close to its development. Kenya is now among the few African countries to publish the document online. However, it is not the only state that has implemented a sex offender registry because they exist in other countries such as South Africa and Mauritius. Others, such as Ghana and Nigeria (which has a portal showcasing the number of sex offences in the country), are at different levels implementing the registries and their associated laws. It should be noted that the list is not new in Kenya, as it existed before. However, this is the first time it has been digitised for access by legal officers and the public. Globally there are tens of countries with laws that mandate sex offender registration, most of which are from the West. In 1994, the US became the first country to launch a registration system for sex offenders. However, the coverage, accessibility, and specific laws governing these registries can vary significantly. Why the digital registry is important Digital sex offender registries are an important public safety tool that can help to protect children and other vulnerable people from sexual abuse. These registries can increase public awareness of sex offenders in the community, help law enforcement to track and monitor sex offenders, and provide information to victims of sex crimes. Digital sex offender registries may raise privacy concerns, or present inaccurate, outdated or incomplete information. Balancing public safety and privacy is crucial but challenging in cases where sexual offences are concerned. Nonetheless, they are a valuable tool that can help to keep our communities safe. Who has access to Kenya’s sex offender register? The digital registry, which is yet to go live for the public, allows judicial officers unrestricted access, but ordinary citizens can also request access by completing a request form via the e-filing system and submitting it to the chief registrar of the judiciary. What the chief justice said Chief justice Koome highlighted the registry’s role as a tool for preventing and rehabilitating sexual offenders. The registry will also facilitate post-prison monitoring and supervision of convicted individuals. For the public, this translates to accessing information to protect their kids from known sex offenders. “We have taken this step in response to the reality that one of the key challenges in addressing sexual, gender-based violence and child abuse is the lack of reliable and accessible data on the prevalence, patterns and trends of these crimes and those who commit them. This hampers effective planning, monitoring and evaluation of interventions and policies. It also poses a risk of repeat offending and victimisation,” said the chief justice.
Read MoreStack Overflow bringing the fight to ChatGPT with own generative AI products
Stack Overflow plans to launch generative AI products, as well as data monetisation plans. The move could challenge ChatGPT, which has become the go-to developer-assistance tool since its launch in November 2022. The battle between Stack Overflow and ChatGPT to become the ultimate developer-assistance tool will be heating up in the next few months. The former will be launching its own range of generative AI products. In December 2022, less than a month after the launch of ChatGPT, Stack Overflow announced that it had placed a temporary ban on the use of ChatGPT-generated text for posts on the platform. According to a statement released by the company then, many users were trying out ChatGPT to create answers to coding questions, which they then posted to Stack Overflow “without the expertise or willingness to verify that the answer is correct prior to posting.” “…because the average rate of getting correct answers from ChatGPT is too low, the posting of answers created by ChatGPT is substantially harmful to the site and to users who are asking or looking for correct answers,” said Stack Overflow’s statement continued. Now, according to the financial results of Prosus, Stack Overflow’s parent company, the platform will be investing heavily in its own range of generative AI products. “For Stack Overflow specifically, we believe GenAI will be an important evolution in how developers will work and learn in the future, enabling them to be more efficient and better able to maintain their flow state. The developer community can play a crucial role in how AI accelerates, ultimately helping with the quality emerging from GenAI offerings,” the company said in its annual results released today. Although it did not get into the details of the generative AI products Stack Overflow is working on, there will be a significant amount of investment going into them. The company has devoted 10% of its workforce to work on the products and also incurred an impairment of $560 million and trading losses to finance the project. It plans to officially announce the generative AI products, as well as its data monetisation plans, “in the coming months”. The data monetisation issue With regards to data monetisation, Stack Overflow follows Reddit’s route in charging large-scale AI developers for access to large swathes of data which are used to train large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. The latter’s move to monetise the data has led to protests by its community, so it will be interesting to see how the Stack Overflow community will react. “LLMs are trained off Stack Overflow data, which our massive community has contributed to for nearly 15 years. We should be compensated for that data so we can continue to invest back in our community. This also boils down to proper attribution. Our data represents significant effort and hard work stored across our site and LLMs are taking those insights and not attributing them to the source of that knowledge. This is about protecting the interest in the content that our users have created as much as it is the fight for data quality and AI advancement,” said CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar in a blog post. According to analysis by web traffic monitoring platform SimilarWeb, traffic to Stack Overflow has been down by an average of 6% every month since January 2022 and was down 13.9% in March 2023. SimilarWeb attributes the dip to the rise in popularity of AI tools like ChatGPT and GitHub’s autopilot. Meanwhile, the company laid off 10% of its personnel in May, a move which Chandrasekar described as a result of the company’s renewed focus on profitability due to macroeconomic concerns. Stack Overflow, which claims to register over 680 million page views monthly, was acquired by Naspers-owned Prosus in June 2021 for $1.8 billion, a deal both companies described as mutually beneficial.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Kenya will tax crypto users + content creators
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Eid ul Adha Kenya is keeping tabs on sex offenders, literally and digitally. The country has launched a digital sex offenders registry where you can easily find out if someone is a sex offender with just a few clicks. Isn’t that good news? The registry is reportedly the first of its kind in Africa. Do you know which other offenders we are personally keeping tabs on? Those who are combining the name of their family members and distant relatives with “@gmail.com” to win prizes of our referral programme. We see you and will reward your scam as detailed here on our T&Cs page. In today’s edition Kenya’s Finance Bill becomes law Smile Identity fires 10% of staff Heritage Bank customers suffer fund delays Kenya launches cybersecurity hackathon The World Wide Web3 Event: DBN Techpreneur Summit 2.0 Opportunities Legislation Bill to tax digital creators becomes a law Internet money has finally become real money in the eyes of the Kenyan government. Kenyan president William Ruto has signed the Finance Bill 2023 into law. From July 1, digital content creators, crypto traders, and digital lenders will begin to pay taxes. Image source: GIF Generator Content creators? Yes, the government has gotten wind of how much content creators are making from their social media platforms and from brand sponsorships. Now they want a piece of that cake. And it’s not just influencers. Affiliate marketers, photographers, musicians, skitmakers, bloggers—anyone who creates any kind of content and posts them on any platform and makes money from it. How much will they pay? At first the bill proposed a 15% tax, but digital creators kicked against it and the Kenyan National Assembly reduced it to 1.5%. So, from July 1, anyone who wants to pay a content creator is required by law to withhold 1.5% of the payment and remit it to the government. Digital lenders are not left out. Digital loans in Kenya are about to get more expensive as the new law now includes any charges on loans and lending transactions. Crypto bros too: As if the unyielding bear market is not discouraging enough, this new law is mandating a 3% tax on any digital asset being transferred or exchanged. It is called a Digital Asset Tax (DAT). Ironically, this news is coming just three weeks after the outgoing Kenya Central Bank governor, Patrick Njoroge, reiterated the apex bank’s anti-crypto stance. Zoom out: This development is similar to Nigeria amending its 2022 Finance Act to include a 10% tax on profits on digital assets. 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. Open an account today on moniepoint.com/ng. Layoffs Smile Identity lays off 10% of staff The Smile Identity Team Smile Identity isn’t smiling with its employees. The KYC compliance and ID verification startup recently laid off 10% of its staff, in early June. In a brief statement shared with TechCabal, the startup said the firing was a bid to “better navigate the changing macroeconomic landscape of the tech startup world”. Surprising turn of events. It is shocking that the five-year-old startup is tightening its belt as it recently raised a $20 million Series B round in February. It is even more shocking when you consider that during the raise announcement, the startup said that it would use the funds to hire more people for its operations across Africa. Any cause for concern? We don’t know. This news of job cuts is the only non-native development that has made the news so far. In fact, in April, the startup acquired Ghanaian identity verification software, Appruve, as part of its plan to expand its footprints across Africa. Smile Identity is currently in six markets across Africa: Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Rwanda, and Uganda. It provides KYC for popular companies like Paystack, Binance, Kuda, Paxful, and Chippercash, among others. Cybersecurity Kenya launches cybersecurity hackathon and bootcamp Cybersecurity Bootcamp Winners of 2022 Kenya’s Communication Authority (CA) announced the launch of its 2023 bootcamp and hackathon series on Twitter. The initiative is organised in collaboration with Huawei and the Kenya Cybersecurity Forensics Association. The hackathon and bootcamp will serve as a lead-up to Cybersecurity Awareness Month (OCSAM) in October. About the initiative: The bootcamp offers an intensive and short-term training experience, featuring the Huawei certification e-learning course on cybersecurity, virtual lab exercises, and mentorship from industry experts. These sessions and courses are designed to equip participants with the necessary skills for a successful career in cybersecurity. A huge turnout:Over 6,000 students have enrolled in the online bootcamp and hackathon. The event was initiated in Nairobi and will expand to various towns across Kenya, such as Kisumu, Mombasa, Nyeri, and Eldoret. The top 100 students from each region will participate in the regional finals, in collaboration with university partners. Following the regional finals, the winning hackathon and bootcamp teams from each region will proceed to Mombasa for the national final. This prestigious event will be held during the October Cyber Security Awareness Month (OCSAM) and will include participation in the National OCSAM cyber security conference. Zoom out: Building upon the success of last year’s programme, which resulted in numerous students securing jobs across various sectors, this program aims to further empower participants for future opportunities. Banking Weeks after fraud allegations, Customers of Heritage Bank struggle to access funds Two weeks after Nigerian bank Heritage Bank dismissed rumours about an alleged ₦49 billion ($64 million) fraud, its customers are still struggling to access their funds, and are threatening a bank run. ICYMI: Earlier this month, there were viral reports that an IT employee of Heritage Bank stole ₦49 billion ($64 million) from the bank. Heritage Bank has denied the report, but its customers are not convinced as they have been experiencing persistent trouble withdrawing their money from ATMs or making digital transfers. Image source: TechCabal Growing distrust: The
Read MoreSafaricom Ethiopia picks MTN exec as its new CEO
Anwar Soussa, the CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, is leaving in July, and Wim Vanhelleputte from MTN Group will take over his role in September. A few days ago, Safaricom Ethiopia announced the departure of its first CEO, Anwar Soussa. Soussa’s stint at the helm of the new telco started in August 2021. According to Safaricom Ethiopia, he will leave the carrier at the end of July 2023. Safaricom Ethiopia’s parent company, Safaricom (Kenya), has revealed that Wim Vanhelleputte will take over from Soussa. Wim will take over the new role after working at MTN Group, where he served as operations executive—markets, since August 2022. READ MORE: Safaricom Ethiopia gets mobile money licence 7 months after Ethiopia entry A statement from Safaricom Kenya reads, “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Wim Vanhelleputte as the chief executive officer of Safaricom Ethiopia effective 1st September 2023. Wim brings extensive leadership experience and deep industry knowledge, having worked in the telecommunications industry across multiple markets in sub-Saharan Africa for over 25 years. He joins Safaricom Ethiopia from MTN Group, where he was the operations executive—markets since August 2022, and he was responsible for the performance and governance of four operating companies in West and Central Africa.” Before his role at MTN Group, Vanhelleputte was CEO of MTN Uganda since 2016. From 2009 to 2015, Vanhelleputte served as the CEO of MTN Côte d’Ivoire. He briefly joined Airtel Africa between 2015 and 2016, first as the regional director for francophone Africa, and later as the cluster CEO for Airtel DRC and Congo. Over his career, Vanhelleputte has worked extensively in the telco space, including as CEO at Sentel GSM in Senegal, managing director of TchadMobile in Chad, and general manager at Telcel Gabon, among other key roles. “As Wim joins us, we have planned for a seamless transition to ensure that we maintain our momentum so far in delivering our vision to transform lives through a digital future for all Ethiopians,” concludes Safaricom. Safaricom Ethiopia, which generated KES 562.4 million (over $4 million) in revenue in the last financial year, started commercial operations in October 2022 after months of tests and customer onboarding. It has since grown its user base to over 4 million customers.
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Heritage Bank’s appeals for patience infuriates impatient customers experiencing fund delays
Thirteen days after Heritage Bank dismissed rumours about an alleged ₦49 billion fraud, customers are still struggling to access their funds, and many may be ditching the bank’s services for alternatives. Nigeria’s Heritage Bank has asked its customers to be patient and calm regarding the current difficulties they are experiencing with withdrawing their funds from the bank. According to Ozena Utulu, the bank’s corporate communications manager, Heritage Bank is undergoing a series of upgrades, a situation that has already been communicated to customers in an email, which she shared with TechCabal. “Before now, we have told them about upgrades we are running. We are communicating to our customers via email, and even on our social media, on updates we are carrying out,” she said on a phone call. Email message forwarded to Heritage Bank customers. Credit: Heritage Bank Unsatisfied banking customers But the bank’s customers are not satisfied with these explanations. An Abuja-based broadcast journalist, Leah Katung-Babatunde, told TechCabal that all through last week, the bank refused to dispense cash, and even after she opted for a digital transfer of her funds, that took longer than expected. She has now decided to move her money to another bank in small amounts, even though she didn’t state where. Rumour has it that a member of Heritage Bank’s information technology team is behind the ₦49 billion fraud, but the bank has denied this. A customer, Esther Onwubuya, is inclined to think that there is some truth to the rumours. She spent three days last week trying to withdraw funds from her father’s pension from the bank. “One thing I am sure of is, their statement [posted online and their social media accounts] is a lie. Their head of IT stole the money and they have blocked all channels to remove funds from the bank to other banks,” she told TechCabal. Onwubuya further shared that the bank’s daily withdrawal limit keeps getting reduced. “It was ₦20,000 and then it became ₦10,000, so you can’t remove all your money. The only way to move your money is with a current cheque transfer to a beneficiary bank, and that’s only for current accounts,” she said. Onwubuya got her money after appealing to the bank officials to consider her sick father’s condition. “Due to my dad’s health issues, they pitied us and we had to do two over-the-counter withdrawals at two different branches,” she told TechCabal. Ifeoma, the daughter of a customer, who spoke to TechCabal, said that her mother was not so successful when she approached one of Heritage Bank’s branches in Sango-Ota, Ogun state, to withdraw money. “My mum went to the bank on Tuesday [last week] to withdraw because she doesn’t have an ATM card, and she was told there was no internet network to withdraw. They asked her to come back the following day. She went back and was told that there’s still no network,” Ifeoma complained. But that was not all. Further inquiry revealed that the money Ifeoma’s mother had in the bank did not tally with what she had saved. She asked for her bank statements, but the bank officials could not provide it. Growing distrust amongst customers A Twitter user by name, Okoro Chinyere, has threatened to sue the bank. “I’ll be taking legal action against @heritagebankplc. The damage is enormous,” he tweeted on the morning of June 23, 2023. Other customers may not be keen to take legal steps, but some have decided to move on from the bank. Katung-Babatunde said she has had to resort to causing a scene at the bank while issuing threats, just to get access to her funds. She and Onwubuya confirmed that many customers may have begun to move their funds from the bank. “We are starting the process of transferring the pension account to another bank,” she told TechCabal. “Every day we went there, people were agitated,” she added. Speaking in Heritage Bank’s defence, Utulu responded that service downtimes are a common phenomenon within the sector. “Customers are aware of the upgrades. We are just trying [our best].”
Read MoreKenya expands tax net by going after influencer and crypto earnings
Kenya’s Finance Bill 2023, recently passed and signed into law, impacts digital content creators, crypto traders, and digital lenders. Content creators will now face taxes on their earnings, while crypto traders will be subject to a digital asset tax. Kenya’s controversial Finance Bill 2023 is now law after the national assembly passed the proposal, which was signed by President William Ruto. The bill affects many people in the digital space, including content creators and crypto traders. Content creators, for instance, will now have to pay tax based on the earnings they get from their work. The government has possibly been eyeing the industry ever since it gained popularity among thousands of Kenyans who create content for their social media pages. Some creators are also paid handsomely by the brands they push on their platforms, and part of their earnings will now be subject to some tax. READ MORE: Kenya’s government proposes new bill to tax content creators Online influencers could lose big earnings The law defines “digital content monetisation” as offering entertainment, social, literary, artistic, educational, or other material electronically through any medium or channel for payment. This can be done through various methods, including website advertisements, social media platforms, brand sponsorships, affiliate marketing, subscription services, merchandise sales, exclusive content membership programs, licensing content (such as photographs or music), user-generated projects, and crowdfunding. The bill proposed to impose a 15% withholding tax (WHT) on income earned from digital content monetisation. However, the national assembly adjusted that value downwards to 1.5%. This means that from July 1, any time a content creator receives payment for their work, the payer will be required to withhold 1.5% of the payment and remit it to the government. The idea behind the proposal is to include digital content businesses within the scope of taxation, given their significant growth in recent times. One possible way that creators will attempt to retain their earnings is by adjusting their rate cards to their business partners, but will it be done? READ MORE: Taxing creativity: Kenyan content creators pushback against proposed taxes Crypto traders have not been spared The bill suggested implementing a digital asset tax (DAT) that must be paid on earnings obtained from the transfer or trade of digital assets. According to the bill’s definition, a digital asset is anything valuable without physical presence, such as crypto, NFTs, or other digital representations. These assets are generated through cryptographic methods or alternative means and serve as a digital representation of value that can be electronically transferred, stored, or exchanged. Based on the law, platform owners will deduct Digital Asset Tax (DAT) at 3% from the value of the digital asset being transferred or exchanged. In the case of non-resident platform owners, they will remit the tax within 24 hours after making the deduction. A few notes can be made from the law. First, making a deduction within 24 hours of trading is a short period that will not excite many crypto traders. Secondly, the law says it will tax turnover other than gains, effectively meaning that some crypto traders may eventually stop trading altogether as it will not be lucrative anymore. Expensive digital loans Kenya has only licensed 32 loan apps after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) directed to have them freshly registered. Kenyans tend to prefer digital loans because they are offered without collateral. However, lenders use other forms of guarantees, such as personal data, which they tend to abuse. For this reason, they were asked to stop their operations and register their businesses afresh after meeting some requirements. The new law has widened the definition of ‘fees’ to encompass any charges associated with lending activities conducted by digital lenders. This expansion entails all costs linked to such transactions within the scope of excisable duty. The outcome of the law is that the cost of borrowing from digital apps (such as Branch and Tala) will increase. All these changes will come into effect from July 1, 2023.
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