With as low as $500, you can invest in this edtech startup
AltSchool Africa, an edtech startup, has partnered with Fast Forward Venture studio, and HoaQ to allow members of its community and students to own a part of the startup with as low as $500 in investment. Adewale Yusuf, CEO of AltSchool Africa, made the announcement via a LinkedIn post on Thursday, April 27. Via the LinkedIn post, Yusuf listed procedures for participating in the round, intending investors can participate in the fund round through any of the two websites provided in the LinkedIn post. Per one of the websites for the deal, the target for the funding round is pegged at $3 million with a minimum contribution of about $500 from each participant. The investment round runs until May 15, 2023. A notable investor in this funding round is an unspecified “biggest bank” in Nigeria. The website also contains other deal terms, which include AltSchool’s pitch deck and a commitment form which is to be filled by intending investors. The second website for investing is straightforward and contains a form to be filled by intending investors. After intending investors fill out the form on the website, they will receive approval via email and be notified about the deal. “We’ll email you as soon as you’re approved to view the deal!” the website read. Equipping the next generation of African tech Giants Africa has a young population with a huge digital skills gap, which is diluting economic opportunities and development. According to a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) [pdf], some 230 million jobs across the continent will require some level of digital skills by 2030. AltSchool Africa is solving this problem by providing a platform where Africans can learn in-demand skill techs to access opportunities across the world. AltSchool Africa strongly believes that the key to unlocking Africa’s potential is to equip its growing population with the skill and tools they need to succeed in the digital age. With over 17,000 applications processed from over 76 countries in 2022, AltSchool Africa’s CEO says they are just getting started. He believes that with the current funding round opened to communities, AltSchool Africa can make a real difference in the lives of young Africans. “As a community-oriented company, we are opening up a part of our round to communities. We believe that with your investment, we can make a real difference in the life of young Africans and help them access the opportunities they deserve,” Yusuf concluded.
Read MoreWith as low as $500, you can invest in this edtech startup
AltSchool Africa, an edtech startup, has partnered with Fast Forward Venture studio, and HoaQ to allow members of its community and students to own a part of the startup with as low as $500 in investment. Adewale Yusuf, CEO of AltSchool Africa, made the announcement via a LinkedIn post on Thursday, April 27. Via the LinkedIn post, Yusuf listed procedures for participating in the round, intending investors can participate in the fund round through any of the two websites provided in the LinkedIn post. Per one of the websites for the deal, the target for the funding round is pegged at $3 million with a minimum contribution of about $500 from each participant. The investment round runs until May 15, 2023. A notable investor in this funding round is an unspecified “biggest bank” in Nigeria. The website also contains other deal terms, which include AltSchool’s pitch deck and a commitment form which is to be filled by intending investors. The second website for investing is straightforward and contains a form to be filled by intending investors. After intending investors fill out the form on the website, they will receive approval via email and be notified about the deal. “We’ll email you as soon as you’re approved to view the deal!” the website read. Equipping the next generation of African tech Giants Africa has a young population with a huge digital skills gap, which is diluting economic opportunities and development. According to a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) [pdf], some 230 million jobs across the continent will require some level of digital skills by 2030. AltSchool Africa is solving this problem by providing a platform where Africans can learn in-demand skill techs to access opportunities across the world. AltSchool Africa strongly believes that the key to unlocking Africa’s potential is to equip its growing population with the skill and tools they need to succeed in the digital age. With over 17,000 applications processed from over 76 countries in 2022, AltSchool Africa’s CEO says they are just getting started. He believes that with the current funding round opened to communities, AltSchool Africa can make a real difference in the lives of young Africans. “As a community-oriented company, we are opening up a part of our round to communities. We believe that with your investment, we can make a real difference in the life of young Africans and help them access the opportunities they deserve,” Yusuf concluded.
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GTCO’s 2022 financial report shows growing concern about fraud
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) says the bank and company as whole experienced more fraud attempts compared to 2021. According to its 2022 full year financial report, the number of recorded fraud incidents increased by 84.27%, reaching 27,725. Additionally, the amounts associated with these fraud cases increased from ₦1.2 billion to ₦6.4 billion. GTCO’s announcement follows a trend of increasing fraud incidents by deposit money banks in Nigeria. Between 2020 and 2021, fraudulent activity recorded by deposit banks in Nigeria rose to 211,713—a 44.8% jump, according to data from the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Scheme (NDIC). Per data from Smile Identity, a KYC provider, fraud attempts increased by 50% between the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2022. The first half of 2022 alone recorded a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Earlier this year, the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) announced that it was investigating Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank over alleged data breaches. According to the NDPB’s head of legal enforcement and regulations, Babatunde Bamigboye, the investigations were triggered by allegations of unlawful disclosure of banking records to a third party and unlawful access and processing of personal data. Zenith Bank did not disclose any information about its experience with fraud in 2022. But in 2022, the bank was the butt of jokes and customer complaints online alledging fraudulent transfers or payments from customer accounts. Besides Zenith Bank, several of Nigeria’s largest lenders have not published their annual reports for 2022, almost a month after the deadline set by the capital market regulator, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Speaking to the prevalence of fraud incidents in Nigerian banks, Bamigboye said: “There are reports by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) which indicated that within nine months of 2020, fraudsters attempted 46,126 attacks and they were successful with 41,979 occasions representing 91 per cent of the time.” Results from the investigation into Guaranty Trust Bank are not yet public, but some cybersecurity experts TechCabal spoke with explained that data breaches are often precursors to fraud incidents. Teaming up to fight fraud is not a new idea. What’s stopping Nigerian fintechs? Drop in profits and shareholders’ earnings GTCO’s profit continued its downward trajectory in 2022, with its profit-before-tax slumping 3.32% from ₦221.49 bn to ₦214.15bn. This represents a second fall in profits for the lender after a rise in 2021. It’s also a more than a 10% decline from the ₦238.09bn reported in 2020. Additionally, the earnings per share stumbled from ₦6.14 to ₦5.95 per share. However, the company’s gross earnings increased for the first time in recent years, shooting from ₦447.81bn to ₦539.23bn. GTCO’s total assets showed a significant 18.6% increase from ₦5.4 trillion to ₦6.4 trillion, on the back of increasing deposits from customers. The holding company reported an increase in customer deposits—from ₦4.01 trillion to ₦4.48 trillion. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) rose slightly from 23.83% to 24.08%. The banking group says declining profits were driven by a ₦35.6bn impairment it took on reorganised Ghanaian sovereign securities. Additionally, non-performing loans to individuals and non-individuals increased between 2021 and 2022. Rising deposits also fueled commercial loans, but in line with the trend in Nigeria’s banking sector, the bank’s loan book was dominated by loans to large corporations. The full-year statement brings focus to the question of how beneficial GTBank’s restructuring to a holding company has been for shareholders. With the earnings per share taking a beating, shareholders might have to play the long game and hope GTCO’s suite of subsidiaries finds roots in respective markets.
Read MoreGTCO’s 2022 financial report shows growing concern about fraud
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) says the bank and company as whole experienced more fraud attempts compared to 2021. According to its 2022 full year financial report, the number of recorded fraud incidents increased by 84.27%, reaching 27,725. Additionally, the amounts associated with these fraud cases increased from ₦1.2 billion to ₦6.4 billion. GTCO’s announcement follows a trend of increasing fraud incidents by deposit money banks in Nigeria. Between 2020 and 2021, fraudulent activity recorded by deposit banks in Nigeria rose to 211,713—a 44.8% jump, according to data from the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Scheme (NDIC). Per data from Smile Identity, a KYC provider, fraud attempts increased by 50% between the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2022. The first half of 2022 alone recorded a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Earlier this year, the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) announced that it was investigating Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank over alleged data breaches. According to the NDPB’s head of legal enforcement and regulations, Babatunde Bamigboye, the investigations were triggered by allegations of unlawful disclosure of banking records to a third party and unlawful access and processing of personal data. Zenith Bank did not disclose any information about its experience with fraud in 2022. But in 2022, the bank was the butt of jokes and customer complaints online alledging fraudulent transfers or payments from customer accounts. Besides Zenith Bank, several of Nigeria’s largest lenders have not published their annual reports for 2022, almost a month after the deadline set by the capital market regulator, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Speaking to the prevalence of fraud incidents in Nigerian banks, Bamigboye said: “There are reports by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) which indicated that within nine months of 2020, fraudsters attempted 46,126 attacks and they were successful with 41,979 occasions representing 91 per cent of the time.” Results from the investigation into Guaranty Trust Bank are not yet public, but some cybersecurity experts TechCabal spoke with explained that data breaches are often precursors to fraud incidents. Teaming up to fight fraud is not a new idea. What’s stopping Nigerian fintechs? Drop in profits and shareholders’ earnings GTCO’s profit continued its downward trajectory in 2022, with its profit-before-tax slumping 3.32% from ₦221.49 bn to ₦214.15bn. This represents a second fall in profits for the lender after a rise in 2021. It’s also a more than a 10% decline from the ₦238.09bn reported in 2020. Additionally, the earnings per share stumbled from ₦6.14 to ₦5.95 per share. However, the company’s gross earnings increased for the first time in recent years, shooting from ₦447.81bn to ₦539.23bn. GTCO’s total assets showed a significant 18.6% increase from ₦5.4 trillion to ₦6.4 trillion, on the back of increasing deposits from customers. The holding company reported an increase in customer deposits—from ₦4.01 trillion to ₦4.48 trillion. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) rose slightly from 23.83% to 24.08%. The banking group says declining profits were driven by a ₦35.6bn impairment it took on reorganised Ghanaian sovereign securities. Additionally, non-performing loans to individuals and non-individuals increased between 2021 and 2022. Rising deposits also fueled commercial loans, but in line with the trend in Nigeria’s banking sector, the bank’s loan book was dominated by loans to large corporations. The full-year statement brings focus to the question of how beneficial GTBank’s restructuring to a holding company has been for shareholders. With the earnings per share taking a beating, shareholders might have to play the long game and hope GTCO’s suite of subsidiaries finds roots in respective markets.
Read MoreGTCO’s 2022 financial report shows growing concern about fraud
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) says the bank and company as whole experienced more fraud attempts compared to 2021. According to its 2022 full year financial report, the number of recorded fraud incidents increased by 84.27%, reaching 27,725. Additionally, the amounts associated with these fraud cases increased from ₦1.2 billion to ₦6.4 billion. GTCO’s announcement follows a trend of increasing fraud incidents by deposit money banks in Nigeria. Between 2020 and 2021, fraudulent activity recorded by deposit banks in Nigeria rose to 211,713—a 44.8% jump, according to data from the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Scheme (NDIC). Per data from Smile Identity, a KYC provider, fraud attempts increased by 50% between the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2022. The first half of 2022 alone recorded a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Earlier this year, the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) announced that it was investigating Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank over alleged data breaches. According to the NDPB’s head of legal enforcement and regulations, Babatunde Bamigboye, the investigations were triggered by allegations of unlawful disclosure of banking records to a third party and unlawful access and processing of personal data. Zenith Bank did not disclose any information about its experience with fraud in 2022. But in 2022, the bank was the butt of jokes and customer complaints online alledging fraudulent transfers or payments from customer accounts. Besides Zenith Bank, several of Nigeria’s largest lenders have not published their annual reports for 2022, almost a month after the deadline set by the capital market regulator, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Speaking to the prevalence of fraud incidents in Nigerian banks, Bamigboye said: “There are reports by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) which indicated that within nine months of 2020, fraudsters attempted 46,126 attacks and they were successful with 41,979 occasions representing 91 per cent of the time.” Results from the investigation into Guaranty Trust Bank are not yet public, but some cybersecurity experts TechCabal spoke with explained that data breaches are often precursors to fraud incidents. Teaming up to fight fraud is not a new idea. What’s stopping Nigerian fintechs? Drop in profits and shareholders’ earnings GTCO’s profit continued its downward trajectory in 2022, with its profit-before-tax slumping 3.32% from ₦221.49 bn to ₦214.15bn. This represents a second fall in profits for the lender after a rise in 2021. It’s also a more than a 10% decline from the ₦238.09bn reported in 2020. Additionally, the earnings per share stumbled from ₦6.14 to ₦5.95 per share. However, the company’s gross earnings increased for the first time in recent years, shooting from ₦447.81bn to ₦539.23bn. GTCO’s total assets showed a significant 18.6% increase from ₦5.4 trillion to ₦6.4 trillion, on the back of increasing deposits from customers. The holding company reported an increase in customer deposits—from ₦4.01 trillion to ₦4.48 trillion. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) rose slightly from 23.83% to 24.08%. The banking group says declining profits were driven by a ₦35.6bn impairment it took on reorganised Ghanaian sovereign securities. Additionally, non-performing loans to individuals and non-individuals increased between 2021 and 2022. Rising deposits also fueled commercial loans, but in line with the trend in Nigeria’s banking sector, the bank’s loan book was dominated by loans to large corporations. The full-year statement brings focus to the question of how beneficial GTBank’s restructuring to a holding company has been for shareholders. With the earnings per share taking a beating, shareholders might have to play the long game and hope GTCO’s suite of subsidiaries finds roots in respective markets.
Read MoreGTCO’s 2022 financial report shows growing concern about fraud
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) says the bank and company as whole experienced more fraud attempts compared to 2021. According to its 2022 full year financial report, the number of recorded fraud incidents increased by 84.27%, reaching 27,725. Additionally, the amounts associated with these fraud cases increased from ₦1.2 billion to ₦6.4 billion. GTCO’s announcement follows a trend of increasing fraud incidents by deposit money banks in Nigeria. Between 2020 and 2021, fraudulent activity recorded by deposit banks in Nigeria rose to 211,713—a 44.8% jump, according to data from the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Scheme (NDIC). Per data from Smile Identity, a KYC provider, fraud attempts increased by 50% between the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2022. The first half of 2022 alone recorded a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Earlier this year, the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) announced that it was investigating Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank over alleged data breaches. According to the NDPB’s head of legal enforcement and regulations, Babatunde Bamigboye, the investigations were triggered by allegations of unlawful disclosure of banking records to a third party and unlawful access and processing of personal data. Zenith Bank did not disclose any information about its experience with fraud in 2022. But in 2022, the bank was the butt of jokes and customer complaints online alledging fraudulent transfers or payments from customer accounts. Besides Zenith Bank, several of Nigeria’s largest lenders have not published their annual reports for 2022, almost a month after the deadline set by the capital market regulator, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Speaking to the prevalence of fraud incidents in Nigerian banks, Bamigboye said: “There are reports by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) which indicated that within nine months of 2020, fraudsters attempted 46,126 attacks and they were successful with 41,979 occasions representing 91 per cent of the time.” Results from the investigation into Guaranty Trust Bank are not yet public, but some cybersecurity experts TechCabal spoke with explained that data breaches are often precursors to fraud incidents. Teaming up to fight fraud is not a new idea. What’s stopping Nigerian fintechs? Drop in profits and shareholders’ earnings GTCO’s profit continued its downward trajectory in 2022, with its profit-before-tax slumping 3.32% from ₦221.49 bn to ₦214.15bn. This represents a second fall in profits for the lender after a rise in 2021. It’s also a more than a 10% decline from the ₦238.09bn reported in 2020. Additionally, the earnings per share stumbled from ₦6.14 to ₦5.95 per share. However, the company’s gross earnings increased for the first time in recent years, shooting from ₦447.81bn to ₦539.23bn. GTCO’s total assets showed a significant 18.6% increase from ₦5.4 trillion to ₦6.4 trillion, on the back of increasing deposits from customers. The holding company reported an increase in customer deposits—from ₦4.01 trillion to ₦4.48 trillion. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) rose slightly from 23.83% to 24.08%. The banking group says declining profits were driven by a ₦35.6bn impairment it took on reorganised Ghanaian sovereign securities. Additionally, non-performing loans to individuals and non-individuals increased between 2021 and 2022. Rising deposits also fueled commercial loans, but in line with the trend in Nigeria’s banking sector, the bank’s loan book was dominated by loans to large corporations. The full-year statement brings focus to the question of how beneficial GTBank’s restructuring to a holding company has been for shareholders. With the earnings per share taking a beating, shareholders might have to play the long game and hope GTCO’s suite of subsidiaries finds roots in respective markets.
Read MoreGTCO’s 2022 financial report shows growing concern about fraud
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) says the bank and company as whole experienced more fraud attempts compared to 2021. According to its 2022 full year financial report, the number of recorded fraud incidents increased by 84.27%, reaching 27,725. Additionally, the amounts associated with these fraud cases increased from ₦1.2 billion to ₦6.4 billion. GTCO’s announcement follows a trend of increasing fraud incidents by deposit money banks in Nigeria. Between 2020 and 2021, fraudulent activity recorded by deposit banks in Nigeria rose to 211,713—a 44.8% jump, according to data from the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Scheme (NDIC). Per data from Smile Identity, a KYC provider, fraud attempts increased by 50% between the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2022. The first half of 2022 alone recorded a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Earlier this year, the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) announced that it was investigating Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank over alleged data breaches. According to the NDPB’s head of legal enforcement and regulations, Babatunde Bamigboye, the investigations were triggered by allegations of unlawful disclosure of banking records to a third party and unlawful access and processing of personal data. Zenith Bank did not disclose any information about its experience with fraud in 2022. But in 2022, the bank was the butt of jokes and customer complaints online alledging fraudulent transfers or payments from customer accounts. Besides Zenith Bank, several of Nigeria’s largest lenders have not published their annual reports for 2022, almost a month after the deadline set by the capital market regulator, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Speaking to the prevalence of fraud incidents in Nigerian banks, Bamigboye said: “There are reports by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) which indicated that within nine months of 2020, fraudsters attempted 46,126 attacks and they were successful with 41,979 occasions representing 91 per cent of the time.” Results from the investigation into Guaranty Trust Bank are not yet public, but some cybersecurity experts TechCabal spoke with explained that data breaches are often precursors to fraud incidents. Teaming up to fight fraud is not a new idea. What’s stopping Nigerian fintechs? Drop in profits and shareholders’ earnings GTCO’s profit continued its downward trajectory in 2022, with its profit-before-tax slumping 3.32% from ₦221.49 bn to ₦214.15bn. This represents a second fall in profits for the lender after a rise in 2021. It’s also a more than a 10% decline from the ₦238.09bn reported in 2020. Additionally, the earnings per share stumbled from ₦6.14 to ₦5.95 per share. However, the company’s gross earnings increased for the first time in recent years, shooting from ₦447.81bn to ₦539.23bn. GTCO’s total assets showed a significant 18.6% increase from ₦5.4 trillion to ₦6.4 trillion, on the back of increasing deposits from customers. The holding company reported an increase in customer deposits—from ₦4.01 trillion to ₦4.48 trillion. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) rose slightly from 23.83% to 24.08%. The banking group says declining profits were driven by a ₦35.6bn impairment it took on reorganised Ghanaian sovereign securities. Additionally, non-performing loans to individuals and non-individuals increased between 2021 and 2022. Rising deposits also fueled commercial loans, but in line with the trend in Nigeria’s banking sector, the bank’s loan book was dominated by loans to large corporations. The full-year statement brings focus to the question of how beneficial GTBank’s restructuring to a holding company has been for shareholders. With the earnings per share taking a beating, shareholders might have to play the long game and hope GTCO’s suite of subsidiaries finds roots in respective markets.
Read MoreGTCO’s 2022 financial report shows growing concern about fraud
Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) says the bank and company as whole experienced more fraud attempts compared to 2021. According to its 2022 full year financial report, the number of recorded fraud incidents increased by 84.27%, reaching 27,725. Additionally, the amounts associated with these fraud cases increased from ₦1.2 billion to ₦6.4 billion. GTCO’s announcement follows a trend of increasing fraud incidents by deposit money banks in Nigeria. Between 2020 and 2021, fraudulent activity recorded by deposit banks in Nigeria rose to 211,713—a 44.8% jump, according to data from the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Scheme (NDIC). Per data from Smile Identity, a KYC provider, fraud attempts increased by 50% between the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2022. The first half of 2022 alone recorded a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2021. Earlier this year, the Nigerian Data Protection Bureau (NDPB) announced that it was investigating Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank over alleged data breaches. According to the NDPB’s head of legal enforcement and regulations, Babatunde Bamigboye, the investigations were triggered by allegations of unlawful disclosure of banking records to a third party and unlawful access and processing of personal data. Zenith Bank did not disclose any information about its experience with fraud in 2022. But in 2022, the bank was the butt of jokes and customer complaints online alledging fraudulent transfers or payments from customer accounts. Besides Zenith Bank, several of Nigeria’s largest lenders have not published their annual reports for 2022, almost a month after the deadline set by the capital market regulator, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Speaking to the prevalence of fraud incidents in Nigerian banks, Bamigboye said: “There are reports by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) which indicated that within nine months of 2020, fraudsters attempted 46,126 attacks and they were successful with 41,979 occasions representing 91 per cent of the time.” Results from the investigation into Guaranty Trust Bank are not yet public, but some cybersecurity experts TechCabal spoke with explained that data breaches are often precursors to fraud incidents. Teaming up to fight fraud is not a new idea. What’s stopping Nigerian fintechs? Drop in profits and shareholders’ earnings GTCO’s profit continued its downward trajectory in 2022, with its profit-before-tax slumping 3.32% from ₦221.49 bn to ₦214.15bn. This represents a second fall in profits for the lender after a rise in 2021. It’s also a more than a 10% decline from the ₦238.09bn reported in 2020. Additionally, the earnings per share stumbled from ₦6.14 to ₦5.95 per share. However, the company’s gross earnings increased for the first time in recent years, shooting from ₦447.81bn to ₦539.23bn. GTCO’s total assets showed a significant 18.6% increase from ₦5.4 trillion to ₦6.4 trillion, on the back of increasing deposits from customers. The holding company reported an increase in customer deposits—from ₦4.01 trillion to ₦4.48 trillion. The capital adequacy ratio (CAR) rose slightly from 23.83% to 24.08%. The banking group says declining profits were driven by a ₦35.6bn impairment it took on reorganised Ghanaian sovereign securities. Additionally, non-performing loans to individuals and non-individuals increased between 2021 and 2022. Rising deposits also fueled commercial loans, but in line with the trend in Nigeria’s banking sector, the bank’s loan book was dominated by loans to large corporations. The full-year statement brings focus to the question of how beneficial GTBank’s restructuring to a holding company has been for shareholders. With the earnings per share taking a beating, shareholders might have to play the long game and hope GTCO’s suite of subsidiaries finds roots in respective markets.
Read MoreAfDB & Smart Africa Alliance team up for $1.5 million digital trade & ecommerce project
The African Development Fund and Smart Africa Alliance have jointly launched a $1.5 million project to streamline digital trade and e-commerce policies across 10 African countries. Called the Institutional Support for Digital Payments and e-Commerce Policies for Cross-Border Trade Project (IDECT), the project will evaluate policy gaps in the digital trade and e-commerce ecosystems of Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, Uganda, South Sudan, Zimbabwe, the Republic of Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The project will see the implementation of regional training and capacity-building programs focusing on cross-border e-payment and e-commerce for governments, private sectors, and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). These programs are expected to reach 600 participants, with 60% being women and youth. Additionally, a certified gender-sensitive e-learning training program addressing the unique challenges faced by women in digital trade and e-commerce will be developed and disseminated to 2,500 participants, of whom 60% will be women. African Development Bank Director General for Southern Africa Region, Leïla Mokaddem, described the IDECT as a pivotal step towards strengthening Africa’s digital trade and e-commerce landscape. “This initiative will bolster the development of harmonised e-payment policies, capacity building, and gender-sensitive frameworks, ultimately fostering a digital trade ecosystem that generates employment opportunities across the continent,” she said. Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, said: “The IDECT project demonstrates our commitment to fostering digital transformation and economic growth in Africa. By addressing policy gaps and promoting gender-sensitive training, we are laying the foundation for a thriving digital trade and e-commerce ecosystem.” The agreement was signed on Tuesday, 25 April, a day ahead of the 2023 Transform Africa Summit which takes place in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, from 26-28 April.
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Startup accelerators are failing in South Africa: What is the cause and solution?
In March this year, Naspers shut down its R1.4 billion venture capital fund slash accelerator, the Naspers Foundry. The reason given for its unexpected sunsetting was that the “global investment environment, as well as the local SA one, has changed and we have made clear the need for our business to adapt,” a spokesperson for the company said. Some of Naspers Foundry’s alumni. Before shutting down in March, the fund had deployed R740 million (~$40 million) in funding to 23 founders. (Image source: Preamble) Just a few months earlier, Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI) had also shut down its accelerator slash incubator AlphaCode, one of the most prominent in South Africa. A snapshot of some of RMI AlphaCode’s portfolio companies. (Image source: RMI) The closures come at an unfortunate time when the South African tech startup ecosystem could do with such structures. Over the last few years, South Africa has slid down the ranks of the most attractive venture capital destinations on the continent, being eclipsed by the likes of Nigeria, Egypt, and Kenya. “Incubators and accelerators for vital businesses that do not have a lot of resources. Through these structures, entrepreneurs gain access to tools and mentorship and support that can help move their businesses a bit further. They are an essential vehicle to truly help small businesses and startups move forward,” said Xoliswa Moraka, founder and managing director at Colab4Growth, an entrepreneurship development consultancy firm. The important role an accelerator plays in the lifecycle of a startup is reiterated by Will Green, managing director at Grindstone, a Cape Town-based accelerator which has accelerated over 75 startups. “Accelerators provide startups with knowledge, market access, networking and funding. These are vital in taking an entrepreneur’s idea from that phase where there’s nothing tangible to an actual product that can scale,” he stated. Why are accelerators not working in South Africa? According to Naadeya Moosaje, co-founder of WomHub, a Cape Town-based innovation coworking space running incubation and acceleration programs for women entrepreneurs, the lack of sustainability of accelerated startups is a major factor contributing towards the failure of such initiatives. “The challenge is that you have so many accelerators; because they incentivise through the black economic empowerment codes, rather than being entrepreneurs first. So for them, having entrepreneurs on a programme, regardless of the sustainability of that business, is part of the business model of the accelerator. This means they don’t really care about what the product outcome is going to be. They are just happy that they actually have an entrepreneurship programme,” Moosaje said. Morakwa, on the other hand, believes that the trend of copying global accelerator models without regard for applying them to a South African context is contributing factor to the trend of failure of accelerators in the country. “You have to understand who you are dealing with. If you are creating an accelerator model, you have to take cognizance of who you’re supporting, and the environment and the conditions of where these people are coming from. So you can’t really do a cut-and-paste model to say it will work because it has worked overseas,” she said. The other issue pointed out as a contributor to the low rate of success of accelerators in South Africa is a lack of alignment between the corporates who support accelerators and what it takes to facilitate the success of a startup. Morakwa noted, “In a corporate accelerator program, at the end of the day, the corporate itself is looking to extract some sort of value either through exiting the accelerated business or whichever way. But the problem is success for a tech startup is a risky and long-time bet. Sometimes in that case, there is a misalignment between what and when the corporate wants a return on its investment and how startups work.” Phiwa Nkambule, a startup mentor, venture builder and founder who has been through numerous accelerator programs, agrees that a lack of understanding by corporates on what defines success in a startup and what it takes to achieve that success is a contributing factor in the failure of startups. “Some accelerators in the country do a good job of providing training but a terrible job at providing resources. One of the most prominent corporate-backed accelerators in the country which shutdown gave access to training and networks but limited capital access to a few startups who won pitch competitions. This meant that the startups from the program could not scale which means the corporate could not get a return via an exit and hence could not reinvest in the program to keep it running,” he said. Other ecosystem players believe that the inability of the ecosystem to learn from the failure of past accelerator programs is the reason why the failure rate of accelerators remains present year after year. “There’s a number of failures that have come and gone but no reporting and accountability mechanisms are in place to learn from these failures. We don’t have experienced programme operators who know what it takes to make a success story out of an accelerator. There are entrepreneurs who get burned by these programmes but they just quietly disappear into the ether, never to be heard from again. This means all the lessons they learnt from those failures are not known and end up just being recycled in new programs,” said Vuyisa Qabaka, partner at HYBR group, an innovation consultancy firm. Fixing the system To fix the accelerator model in South Africa, Moosaje believes that it is best for corporates to collaborate with experts in startup development instead of trying to run their accelerator programs themselves. “If you look at the incubators and accelerators that are going bust, they are mostly corporate-backed. Wouldn’t it be best for these corporates to invest the money in an existing structure which has the personnel and experience to bring out the best results? In my opinion, going this route would be cheaper in the long term for the corporate looking to set up such a
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