Navigating the transition: African banks take over after international lenders exit
This article was contributed to TechCabal by Conrad Onyango via bird story agency. In early 2022, UK-headquartered Standard Chartered Bank announced it was exiting five African countries and partially exiting two others – breaking its ‘here for good’ brand promise after more than a century on the continent. A year earlier, another British-based bank but a fairly new entrant, Atlas Mara withdrew from seven markets, walking away from its bold statement, “Africa: too big to ignore”, after only seven years. Barclays sold its majority stake in Barclays Africa Group in 2017 and in August 2022 sold its remaining stake in the rebranded ABSA, exiting a region it had first entered 90 years before. Credit Suisse and France’s BNP Paribas also pulled out in 2022. The reasons for exit, they said, was generally a need to refocus on core markets to achieve growth and scale due to the challenging African retail banking environment. Many of the more than 1,000 financial industry players gathered in Lome, Togo in mid-November to debate how the industry can unlock a US$1.5 trillion potential market by expanding banking, insurance and capital markets penetration, had a very different view. Many of the sessions were made public via the internet. “There are still numerous opportunities out there including those presented by the exit of international financiers and we are poised to take advantage of that,” said United Bank for Africa (UBA), Chief Executive Officer, Marufatu Abiola. “Africa can only be developed by Africans. We need to increase our size, increase our capacities, We need to believe more and invest more in Africa,” Lagos-headquartered UBA, with a presence in 20 countries, said it is keen on expanding to all African countries either through organic growth or acquisitions. “Both can be considered. The exit of international players presents a unique opportunity. If there is an opportunity to acquire, to merge or grow organically, I don’t think any of those is off the table,” said Abiola. International Finance Corporation (IFC) Vice President Africa, Sergio Pimenta shared similar sentiments, painting a bigger picture of the rising demand for growth capital on the continent. “The opportunities are very significant and the demand is very strong. We are also seeing shifts in these demands and one of them is regionalisation of the market, as companies, banks and other financial institutions in Africa look at the regional markets. And that’s a very in-depth movement and trend that creates a lot of demand,” Pimenta said. He also singled out rapid urbanisation, climate change and digitalisation as drivers of key opportunities that financial firms should tap into for growth. In 2022, the IFC had a record year, with US$43 billion of capital deployed across the world. US$11.5 billion of that was deployed to Africa, the largest amount it has ever deployed on the continent. Yet despite the positive prospects clearly identified by a wide range of bankers, Africa continues to be profiled as a risky playground. African Guarantee Fund Group Chief Executive Officer, Jules Ngankam said one of the major challenges facing Africa is a huge gap between the real and perceived risk at the sovereign level and an even worse gap at the small and medium enterprise (SME) level. “Of all the financial crises we have had around the world, none of these came from Africa, but people still believe that it’s the riskiest continent,” posed Ngankam. In a risk analysis of Africa’s insurance industry, Namibia National Reinsurance Corporation, Managing Director, Patty Karuaihe-Martin said while the average loss ratio in Africa was 70%, Europe’s ranged over 90% and would also cross the 100% mark. “Only about 3% of the world’s largest losses occur in Africa. All this data shows Africa’s portfolio is not risky. I must admit we have some challenges, we will not say it’s easy to do business in Africa due to data inadequacy and low insurance penetration,” she said. The three giant international rating agencies consistently downgraded the credit risk profiles of major African economies in the first six months of 2023. Moody’s, Standard and Fitch have together actioned 13 negative ratings, out of which seven were downgrades and the remaining were negative changes in the outlook of 11 African countries. Among the countries that have suffered credit rating downgrades are Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Tunisia and Ghana, hurting their prospects of tapping into the global markets for cheap credit. “We need to offer investors an instrument that enables them to absorb that perceived risk,” said Ngankam. In its latest Africa Sovereign Credit Rating Review 2023, the African Union mulls examining the feasibility of establishing an African Credit Rating Agency (ACRA) as an independent entity of the Union to provide alternative credit ratings to the ‘big three’. “It is envisaged that the ACRA would provide balanced and comprehensive opinions on African credit instruments to support affordable access to capital and the development of domestic financial markets,” said AU in the review. To strengthen Africa’s financial industry, Abiola suggested harmonising and strengthening regulatory and governance structures and interconnecting regional central banks to remove artificial barriers.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – inDrive launches $100 million venture fund
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF Can we guess your password? NordVPN recently released a report on the most common passwords across 35 countries, and this year, South Africa is the only African country that made the list. The most common password globally is still “12345”, while the most common in South Africa is admin. The countrys top 20 passwords also included “Mandela1964”. BTW In 2021, Nigerians proved that prayer is truly the master key as the country ranked first for the country with the most religious passwords including words like “pastor”, “godisgood”, and “prayer”. In today’s edition inDrive launches $100 million venture fund Cellulant receives payment provider licence in Egypt Paystack reduces its workforce Funding tracker The World Wide Web3 Job Openings Mobility inDrive launches New Ventures arm to invest $100 million in startups inDrive is fueling the flames of innovation. The mobility platform has launched a new venture and merger and acquisition (M&A) arm, New Ventures Investments, with a dedicated fund of up to $100 million to invest in promising startups. New Ventures will be led by investment professional, Andries Smit, who will be joining the company as the vice president. The investment criteria: inDrive’s New Ventures unit will target post-seed/pre-Series A companies with proven product-market fit, rapid organic growth, healthy economics, and cash flow. The company will focus on rapid growth and reduce positive community impact with investments spread across companies tackling injustice and improving the lives of individuals and communities. In February this year, inDrive raised a $150 million debt funding round from General Catalyst to expand into new verticals and cities. The New Ventures division positions inDrive to further expand its impact in the global startup ecosystem. Access payments with Moniepoint Moniepoint has made it simple for your business to access payments while providing access to credit and other business tools. Open an account today here. Fintech Cellulant secures licence to enhance payment solutions in Egypt Celullant Egypt PSP licences Celullant is expanding its African footprint. The pan-African fintech has secured a licence as a Payment Service Provider and Payment Facilitator in Egypt. Cellulant will empower global and regional merchants in Egypt to effortlessly manage B2B and B2C payments locally and internationally. The company’s solutions support mobile money, wallets, cash, cards, and direct bank transfers across multiple payment methods and currencies. Empowering seamless transactions: Over the past three years, Cellulant has invested in its real-time payment solutions, including checkout, in-store, payouts, payment links, and a robust business dashboard, powered by its single API payment platform—Tingg. Today, Cellulant operates in 35 markets, holding licences and physical offices in 18 countries. In November 2022, the fintech was granted a Payment Operator licence by the Bank of Uganda. It also got its licence renewed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in February 2023. Paystack begins early access program in three new countries In August 2023, Paystack reduced payout time for ZAR payments in South Africa to just 2 working days. See what Paystack has been up to in 2023 → Layoffs Paystack lays off 33 workers Nigerian fintech startup Paystack is laying off 33 employees in Europe and UAE. The company’s CEO, Shola Akinlade said the company is doing this to reduce its operations outside Africa. Side bar: This is the company’s first layoffs since the layoff wave started last year. However, Stripe, an American fintech which acquired Paystack for$200 million in 2020, laid off 14% of its workforce in November last year. Why is this happening now? The African countries where Paystack primarily operates have seen devaluations. In Nigeria, the currency devalued by more than half since June this year. In Kenya, the fintech’s second market, the shilling has fallen by almost 20% from this time last year. The inflation in Ghana has been challenging too. What will happen to exiting employees? Paystack is offering all affected employees a sevrance package which includes four months of salaries, three months of health insurance, and accelerated equity vesting. The company is also helping them search for new roles by connecting the employees to its wide network. In other news: The company is launching new products. In October, Paystack announced that it is launching virtual terminals that will enable merchants to accept payments with bank transfers for multi-person businesses. It also announced a direct debit product that will allow Nigerian businesses to charge customers’ bank accounts directly. Attend the Tek Experts Webinar Tek Experts, a leading global provider of technical talent solutions through its cybersecurity brand, is set to hold a webinar themed “Ensuring Cybersecurity Resilience in Financial Services Companies in Nigeria”, to address cybersecurity challenges in the industry Date: Wednesday, 22nd November, 2023 at 12:30 WAT. To register for free, please click here. TC Insights Funding tracker Image source: TC insights This week, Pineapple, a South African insurtech startup, raised $21.3 million in Series B funding. Futuregrowth, Talent10, and MIC led the funding round. It also received additional investment support from existing investors, including Old Mutual ESD, Lireas Holdings, ASISA ESD Fund, and E4E Africa. Here are other deals for the week: Shekel Mobility, the Nigerian B2B trading platform for auto dealers in Africa, secured a $7 million seed in a round led by Ventures Platform and MaC VC. Akhdar, an Egyptian ed-tech startup, secured an undisclosed six-figure dollar funding round from Saudi Arabia-based venture studio, Value Maker Studio (VMS). That’s it for this week! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more funding announcements. You can also visit DealFlow, our real-time funding tracker. Crypto Tracker The World Wide Web3 Source: Coin Name Current Value Day Month Bitcoin $37,556 + 6.54% + 31.8% Ether $2,055 + 3.91% + 29.2% Kaspa $0.13 + 13.49% + 179.29% Solana $59.51 – 8.57% + 147.22% * Data as of 06:20 AM WAT, November 17, 2023. Sourcing for institutional size liquidity for African currencies to G25 currencies including USD, GBP and EUR is a pain. Oneliquidity is Africa’s leading Liquidity provider; we provide the
Read MorePaystack to lay off 33 employees in the UAE and Europe
Paystack, the Nigerian fintech acquired in 2020 for $200 million by Stripe, is laying off 33 workers in Europe and UAE. The company’s CEO, Shola Akinlade confirmed this in a tweet today, saying the layoff is happening because Paystack is reducing its operations outside Africa. “In the last 3 years, our hiring philosophy was to recruit great talent regardless of location, including opening an engineering hub in Dubai,” Akinlade revealed in the tweet. “We’re changing our operating model to prioritise locating team members within the markets we serve, to localise costs and get closer to customers.” According to Akinlade, the affected staff will be getting a severance package which includes four months’ salary, accelerating equity vesting, and an extension of health insurance by three months. Paystack’s primary market is Nigeria, where the local currency has been devalued by more than half since June this year. In Kenya, the fintech’s second market, the shilling has fallen by almost 20% from this time last year. The fintech also operates in South Africa and Ghana, countries where inflation continues to erode purchasing power and pose a challenge for businesses and governments. In November last year, Paystack’s parent company, Stripe laid off 14% of its workforce. The US payment giant further reduced headcount in June this year, according to reporting from The Information. Per LinkedIn data, Paystack has 27 employees in the United Arab Emirates, 25 employees live in the United Kingdom. And seven other staffers reside in the European Union countries of Germany, Portugal, and France, data from LinkedIn shows. The layoffs come at a time Paystack is expanding its offerings to take advantage of the surge in electronic payments in its primary market, Nigeria. In October, TechCabal exclusively reported that Paystack is launching virtual terminals, a new product that allows merchants to accept payments with bank transfers for multi-person businesses. More recently, the Stripe-owned fintech announced a direct debit product that will allow Nigerian businesses to charge customers’ bank accounts directly.
Read MoreFemale founders are imagining a world without investors
At the AWS Startups Women’s Demo Day Lagos organized by the cloud provider and VC firm Ajim Capital, female founders and investors talked about the less generous VC landscape. “It used to be all success stories last year,” Chioma Okotcha, chief operations officer at fintech startup PayHippo, said, comparing her fintech’s fundraising journey in the past to what’s happening this year as investor appetite has shrunk. Okotcha said this while speaking on a fireside chat at the AWS Startups Women’s Demo Day that was held in Lagos. Other speakers on the chat, which tackled how founders were navigating the challenging funding atmosphere, were Eunice Ajim, founder of VC firm Ajim Capital, who moderated the discussion; Damilola Olokesusi, founder of mobility startup Shuttlers; and Omoyeni Olulana, co-founder of spend management platform Flex Finance. All three founders speaking to Eunice Ajim had raised a combined amount of over $10 million in disclosed funding. Olokesusi, who first raised $1.6 million in 2021 and then $4 million this year, told Ajim, “I didn’t think it would be hard to raise money again, but our last raise this year was the toughest.” [ad] This year has been the slowest year for deals since the pandemic, both in volume and amount. Investor appetite has been impacted by the global economic downturn, and female founders, who already get less than 2% of African investment, seem to be in a more precarious situation. Olulana of Flex Finance disclosed that she and her team pitched to about 2,000 investors to close their most recent round. “I think you need to isolate the no’s because those can be very disempowering,” she advised, “especially when you say it’s only happening because you are a woman.” Olunana advised founders to spread their nets wide and send cold emails to as many investors as suit the needs of their startups. [ad] In a separate chat with Ajim, Oyin Solebo, managing director of the Techstars accelerator in Lagos, acknowledged that deals are taking much longer to close because founders are being asked harder and unexpected questions. “Are you building something that you have unmanageable demand for?” she said. “Is your revenue going up double-figure month-on-month? Have you got retention?” Solebo’s statement about investor behaviour lends credence to recent reports that show that investors are less keen on investing in growth-stage startups than they used to be. “Far too many founders raised at ridiculous valuations, and now the pressure is too much for them,” she said. [ad] Regarding the pressure on investors, Egunjobi said, “There is sometimes a myth that money comes easily to us. Investors, like founders, are also being extremely careful with money as they need to return profit back to investors. How else will they get follow-on funding?” Egunjobi, whose firm is currently raising its second fund, said things may be better if VC firms got more local investments. “Seventy-seven percent of capital came from foreign investors,” she said. “While that is not a bad thing, it also shows where the control sits.” Egunjobi thinks there needs to be more indigenous funds. He added: “We have a lot of angel networks across the continent—in Kenya, Tunisia, Morocco and more. But it is just not sufficient.” Preparing for the worst Some founders are already imagining a world where there will be no further VC investments, and asking themselves how they would keep the lights on in such circumstances. Olokesusi, who bootstrapped for years before fundraising, said she has chosen to be obsessed with her customers. “My customers are my best friends, not investors. They are the ones that will ensure you have payroll. We have customers that have been with us for 4–5 years.” Okotcha also advised that more founders have a tighter grip on their operating costs. “Whether you are in the growth or seed stage, pay attention to the cost of payroll, technology, rent, etc. This can help you stretch your resources for longer.” Okotcha disclosed, however, that PayHippo is planning to raise again in the near future. “We will raise again, but with a differentspective,” she said.
Read MoreCellulant obtains a business licence in Egypt
Kenya’s payments firm Cellulant, which operates across 19 African markets, has taken its business to the Egyptian market. “With its collections and disbursement payment solutions, Cellulant will enable global and regional merchants operating in Egypt to easily manage their B2B and B2C payments seamlessly in-country and internationally,” the company said. Egypt’s payments sector has been notable lately, following new regulations supporting instant payments and the rise of fintech companies. These changes have challenged traditional banking and changed how people make payments. According to the 2022 Mastercard New Payment Index, 88% of Egyptians have used emerging payment methods, and this trend is expected to grow. This shift in consumer behaviour pushes businesses to provide better payment options to meet customer demands. Per Akshay Grover, Cellulant’s group CEO, “Egypt is a strategic market for business growth in MENA. We’re excited to successfully secure these licences and solidify our operations in Egypt.”
Read MoreBotlhaleAI wins best startup at Africa Tech Festival awards
BotlhaleAI, a South African startup that creates conversational AI tools for African languages, has won the startup of year award at the Africa Tech Festival awards in Cape Town, South Africa. The award, the biggest of the night, recognises startups who contribute to technological advancement, exposing them to potential investors and partners attending the event. “We have seen positive growth across the business over the last year and we are glad to see our work recognised,” co founder Thapelo Nthite told TechCabal. “Our goal is to create AI solutions which will enable accessibility for African people.” Founded in 2019 by Thapelo Nthite, Sange Maxaku, and Xolisani Nkwentsha, the startup has numerous accolades including being part of the nVidia Inception Program, the Grindstone Accelerator program and winner of the DataHack4I Innovation award. Its products have been adopted by some of South Africa’s leading companies including MTN and Ubiquity. Nthite also added that BotlhaleAI will be embarking on fundraising early next year to scale its offering across the continent. According to data from Google Trends, South Africans’ interest in artificial intelligence is on the rise, presenting an opportunity for companies like Botlhale AI to achieve scale. South Africans’ interest in AI on the rise, according to Google Trends In July 2023, following increasing interest in AI in the country, the South African Artificial Intelligence Association (SAAIA) was launched in partnership with the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT). The body aims to promote responsible AI adoption for commercial and societal benefit in South Africa as well as attract foreign direct investment, facilitate international market access for African tech companies, and showcase South African AI innovation. Some of the founding members of the association include Google, the University of Johannesburg, the Western Cape Government, and the Gauteng Tourism Authority.
Read MoreNigeria flags off plan to train 3 million tech talents to curb youth unemployment
Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation, and digital economy, Bosun Tijani, formally launched a plan to train 3 million technical talents over the next four years on Wednesday. If successful, the initiative could help achieve President Bola Tinubu’s goal of creating a million tech jobs in the first two years of his administration. Nigeria’s unemployment rate is projected to cross 40% this year from 33% in 2020. “I believe, based on data that LinkedIn has projected, Nigeria can fill about 23% of the current global shortage in technology talents,” Tijani said. The minister hopes that Nigeria’s young people—about 60% of the population—can grow the country into a net exporter of technology talents to the rest of the world. The 3MTT program will be run based on a 1-10-100 model. According to the minister, the idea is to test a prototype with 1% of the target—30,000—for the first three months. Around 2 million applications were received in less than 30 days for the first cohort. The second cohort will focus on 30,000 people and begin in February 2023. Lessons from these batches “will help scale the program to achieve the 3 million target,” Tijani said. For the first batch, selected participants will be trained on twelve technical skills, namely software development, UI/UX design, data analysis & visualisation, quality assurance, product management, data science, animation, AI/machine learning, cybersecurity, game development, cloud computing, and Dev Ops. Fola Olatunji-David, a member of the 3MTT team, explained that the teaching method will be hybrid: participants will learn through selected online content providers and applied learning clusters in their communities. “We don’t want people to learn and sit down in their house alone. We want them to learn and be able to apply what they have learned,” he shared, adding that there will be job placements for participants.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – MultiChoice reports $50 million loss
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning Signups for ChatGPT Plus are on hold. Yesterday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took to Twitter to announce that y’all are doing too much with GPT-4. Per Altman, there’s been a surge in usage since the company released GPT Builder, a feature which allows people to build their own versions of ChatGPT. The company is struggling to keep up with demand. BTW, OpenAI reportedly spends $700,000 per day in computing costs for its AI service alone, so a feature that allows people to build other versions means increased costs. In today’s edition MultiChoice reports $50 million loss Google Maps will avoid South Africa’s crime hotspots Showmax 2.0 is coming MTN to acquire 9mobile’s spectrum The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Streaming Multichoice reports $50 million loss Image source: MultiChoice MultiChoice faced a setback in the first half of its fiscal year. The African entertainment company reported an after-tax loss of R911 million ($50 million) for April to September 2023, a significant downturn from the R55 million ($3 million) profit after-tax it recorded during the same period last year. What caused it? MultiChoice attributed the decline in profitability to power interruptions, pressures from the cost of living, and a sharp depreciation of local currencies against the US dollar. Revenue also declined by 1%, dropping from R28.7 billion ($1.58 million) to R28.3 billion ($1.56 million). A loss in South Africa: Notably, MultiChoice observed a 70,000 increase in DStv subscribers across the rest of Africa, but this growth was offset by a loss of 486,000 subscribers in South Africa, resulting in a net loss of 416,000 90-day active subscribers across the group. Subscriber losses in South Africa were also influenced by the company’s choice to remove 311,000 non-revenue-generating customers from the base, who were “linked to special load-shedding campaigns” the group ran. Zoom out: Although the company has experienced a loss, there are some positives, such as the increase in Showmax’s external revenue by 46% from R381 million ($21 million) to R555 million ($30 million), and the 5% growth in MultiChoice’s premium customer base. Access payments with Moniepoint Moniepoint has made it simple for your business to access payments while providing access to credit and other business tools. Open an account today here. Big Tech Google Maps will avoid South Africa’s crime hotspots In South Africa, Google Maps will now avoid directing motorists through crime hotspots. Fifty-nine of these hotspots have been confirmed by tourism minister Patricia de Lille who signed a memorandum of understanding with Google country director, Alistair Mokoena, on Monday. Google country director, Alistair Mokoena. Image source: MyBroadBand How dangerous are these places? Per MyBroadband, one recent incident saw a US tourist surviving being shot in the face after his phone directed him through Nyanga, on his way to Simon’s Town. His iPhone map warned him of heavy traffic on the freeway and suggested he cut through Nyanga instead. It is unclear whether he used Google Maps, Waze (which Google owns), Apple Maps, or another app. Sidebar: In the US, a North Carolina man’s family is also suing Google. The family alleges that Google Maps directed the man to drive off a collapsed bridge to his death. Safety over speed: Google reasons that it is not just about finding the fastest route to a destination. They think that the nature of the road and safety matter too. The tourism minister additionally advised tourists to do research about crime hotspots before coming into the country. Get faster ZAR payouts with Paystack In August 2023, Paystack reduced payout time for ZAR payments in South Africa to just 2 working days. See what Paystack has been up to in 2023 → Streaming Showmax gets a $27 million makeover GIF source: Tenor MultiChoice might have recorded some losses, but it’s shaking things up with a big win. The pan-African streamer is revamping Showmax, and the new version will hit screens in February 2024. This makeover comes after MultiChoice invested about $27 million (R500 million) into Showmax. Out with the old, in with the new: MultiChoice is ditching the standard and Pro subscriptions and welcoming three fresh faces: Showmax Entertainment, Showmax Entertainment Mobile, and Showmax Premier League. The Entertainment plan will feature entertainment content including movies and shows from the US-based Peacock. Per TechCabal, the Entertainment Mobile plan is the same but will only be accessible on mobile devices. But the two plans don’t provide access to all Premier League live matches and extra content from the competition. The Showmax Premier League plan will exclusively stream all the games from the Premiere league, and no other entertainment. Bigger and better: MultiChoice’s new plans and content partnership with Peacock spells intense competition for its streaming rivals. A recent report shows that Showmax has overthrown Netflix as the market leader in Africa with 1.8 million subscribers. The streamer’s new plans tells us that it does not plan to give up that title any time soon. Telecom MTN Nigeria in talks to acquire 9mobile spectrum Image source: Zikoko Memes MTN Nigeria, a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group, is negotiating to claim a role in 9mobile’s spectrum. The telecomis reportedly in advanced negotiations with Emerging Markets Telecommunications Service Limited (EMTS), known as 9mobile in Nigeria, to acquire a significant stake in its spectrum. The deal, if successful, would mark a significant step in the revival of 9mobile, which has struggled financially since the departure of its key technical partner and investor, Mubadala of the United Arab Emirates in 2017. At that time, MTN also bid to acquire the telecoms. The success of the present bid could also see 9mobile’s 12 million subscribers join MTN’s 77.6 million subscribers, giving the telecom 76% of Nigeria’s telecoms market. No confirmations yet: While neither 9mobile nor MTN have confirmed the plan, sources close to the companies have hinted that the negotiations are indeed underway and progressing seriously. The National Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria’s regulatory agency for telecoms, also
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🚀Entering Tech #48: How Olukunle Aboderin went from DJ-ing to data
Get insights from an assistant vice president at Flutterwave. 15 || November || 2023 View in Browser In partnership with #Issue 48 How Olukunle Aboderin went from DJ-ing to data Share this newsletter Greetings ET readers We are hiring! We’re on the hunt for experienced senior reporters in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya to help drive our tech coverage. If you’re passionate about the business of tech in Africa, love storytelling, and have significant newsroom experience, then join us. If this sounds like someone you know, please share this opportunity with them. by Timi Odueso Tech trivia questions Some trivia before we begin. Answers are at the bottom of this newsletter. How many emails are sent out daily? How long would it take to download all the data on the internet? Ten years of fintechs and banks What do you do with a physics degree and a love for math? If your answer is, like ours originally was, teaching, then you’re not as imaginative as you need to be. Olukunle Aboderin is though. The physicist and number cruncher describes himself as a data scientist who has spent the past 13 years working with the largest banks and fintechs across Africa. Olukunle Aboderin The physicist and number cruncher describes himself as a data scientist who has spent the past 13 years working with the largest banks and fintechs across Africa. Olukunle might have started with a Bachelor’s Degree in physics from the Osun State University, but the tech bro now has two Master’s degrees—which he mentions he got voluntarily —in risk management and data analytics, and 16 different licences. Now, he’s the assistant vice president (AVP), Financial Operations and Treasury at Flutterwave, one of Africa’s unicorns. Wondering how Olukunle built his love for math and physics into an illustrious tech career? Let’s find out. Simplify with Rowvar Simplify property investment with Rowvar. Start here. How Olukunle built it Akin to many tech enthusiasts, Olukunle’s foray into the tech realm didn’t just happen. Armed with a background in physics, his knack for problem-solving found its niche in the intricate world of tech. “Physics prepared me for the complexities of algebra in the business world,” he explained, underlining the importance of a solid analytical foundation. Transaction Monitoring, eTranzact International PLC 2010 – 2014 Card Operations Manager, First City Monument Bank 2014 – 2016 Lead Settlement & Reconcilliation, First City Monument Bank 2015 – 2018 Internal Control & Audits, First Bank Nigeria 2018 – 2019 Senior Risk, Portfolio Manager, Renmoney 2019 – 2020 AVP, Financial Operations & Treasury, Flutterwave Mar 2020 – Present But before he was even a tech bro, he was a disc jockey—a DJ—who hosted radio shows and was infamous during his undergraduate days at Osun State University. At the time, Olukunle worked with artists like M.I. and Blaqbonez but with great rhythmic power came great responsibilities that could only be settled by a stable means of income. And so, during his service corps year, he entered tech and finance with a role at eTranzact. Olukunle’s technical acumen was honed over the years, blending mathematical prowess with hands-on experience. For him, like any one who entered tech in the early 2010s, learning data wasn’t as streamlined as it today. There were no boot camps or courses, all they had was YouTube and stronghead. “It’s about having that groundwork to understand complex tech solutions,” he said. And because he already loved math, data science was easier to understand. “I have a big flair for problem solving, and because I had a background in math and physics, I would say it made it ten times easier to understand financial systems I was learning about.” Olukunle painted a vivid picture of how the tech scene in Africa has drastically changed over the past decade. He pointed out how nowadays there are way more ways to learn tech stuff, like online platforms and mentorship programmes, making it much easier for new folks to dive into the tech world. When it comes to getting into tech, Olukunle talked about the balance between getting certified and getting hands-on experience. He said certifications are cool and can boost your resume, but real skills come from actually doing the stuff, not just acing exams. “You have to know your stuff, And because Olukunle knows his stuff, the data scientist is helping other people know their own stuff too. He’s the co-founder of the Business Artificial Intelligence (BAI) Incubator. The BAI Incubator is a technology business accelerator and a global talent community that provides a platform for AI-related professionals to converge, get access to mentorship, network and grow. It’s like a supportive hub where budding entrepreneurs get guidance, support, and connections to transform their early-stage projects into viable businesses. Olukunle says there are no application forms for BAI just yet, but if you’re interested in learning from him and other experts, reach out to him on LinkedIn and tell him #EnteringTech sent you . How you can do it too We learnt a lot from Olukunle in our conversation—especially the fact that math can mean the difference between understanding data science and being stuck on SQL or Python. Here are the top five things he highlighted that we’d like to take away: Image source: Zikoko Memes The importance of soft skills: Olukunle emphasises the significance of soft skills like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. These are crucial alongside technical abilities to succeed in the tech industry. It’s like they say: hard skills might get you in the door, but soft skills get you promoted. Mentorship value: Mentorship plays a pivotal role in guiding and supporting aspiring individuals, providing them with exposure and opportunities they might not otherwise encounter. Focus on quality over quantity: Olukunle stresses the importance of prioritising accuracy and quality over speed or quantity in project delivery. Over-delivering quality work stands out in the long run. Individualised Success Metrics: Defining personal success metrics is crucial. Comparing yourself to others on social media platforms can create unnecessary pressure—especially when you realise many
Read MoreShowmax 2.0 to launch in 2024 but will inherit most of its current limitations
Showmax 2.0 will not do much about stream quality or the number of concurrent screens. Multichoice’s newly minted platform, Showmax 2.0, will not be launched this November but in February 2024. Showmax 2.0 promised new shows and films from global production companies such as NBC and Paramount and a robust streaming engine powered by Peacock. The revamp was announced following a partnership between the video-on-demand service and Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Sky. However, the delay comes with additional information about how the platform will reorganise its subscription tiers, addressing complaints from customers accustomed to Showmax Pro, which has since been discontinued. Other than a new logo, Showmax 2.0 will offer three plans: Showmax Entertainment, Showmax Entertainment Mobile, and Showmax Premier League. Showmax Entertainment will be accessible on multiple devices, including TVs, smartphone apps, and PCs. Thanks to the partnership with Comcast, subscribers will have access to shows, films, and content from international platforms such as Universal Pictures and NBC. Showmax Entertainment Mobile offers the same content as Showmax Entertainment but is exclusively available on mobile devices. Showmax Premier League will exclusively broadcast matches, but only on mobile devices. As the name suggests, it will focus solely on Premier League games, unlike the now-discontinued Showmax Pro, which aired games from major football leagues in Europe. A plan for premier league matches appears to appeal to ex-Showmax Pro customers who may want to migrate to DStv Stream as Showmax had suggested before ending support for Pro. DStv Stream, previously known as DStv Now, is currently accessible in ten African markets: South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Botswana, Namibia, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Existing Showmax limitations will be carried forward Based on new information from Showmax, the platform has not improved the quality of its streams. For example, Showmax Entertainment will be capped at HD quality, which is relatively low in a market where competitors like Netflix offer content in 4K and in high dynamic range (HDR). The mobile plans will be limited to standard quality, which is lower than HD in picture quality. That’s not all: Showmax 2.0 has not increased the number of screens on which people can view content. The existing platform limits concurrent streams to two screens, which remains unchanged for Showmax Entertainment. The other two mobile plans will be limited to one screen. Showmax has never explained this limitation, especially when its rival Netflix allows customers to stream on up to four devices simultaneously. Showmax’s numbers in Africa indicate it is quite popular, with 1.8 million subscribers as of 2022. Netflix launched in the continent in 2016 and is second with 1.2 million subscribers. The majority of customers, 73.3%, are based in South Africa, which is Showmax’s home market. Both platforms continue to invest heavily in Africa; while Netflix’s subscription numbers are plateauing in Western markets and want to recoup them in emerging markets, Showmax aims to strengthen its position in Africa with an investment of up to $1 billion dedicated to original shows and market expansion.
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