- September 17 2024
Regfyl, a Nigerian fraud detection company raises $1.1million to expand team and build new compliance product
Regfyl, a Nigerian company that provides digital identity verification and fraud detection tools to businesses, has raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding. The startup will use the funding to strengthen its sales, engineering and customer support team and build a supply chain compliance product. Rally Cap led the funding round. Techstars, DCG, Musha Ventures, Africa Fintech Collective and other strategic angels also invested. Launched in 2023 by Tunde Ibidapo-Obe and Tomiwa Erinosho, Regfyl helps businesses with customer and business onboarding, transaction monitoring, and fraud prevention. Regfyl also helps financial institutions with regulatory reporting/filing with financial regulators like Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Central Bank. The company currently serves about 20 businesses and counts Cowrywise. VFD Bank, Coronation, Piggyvest, and Budpay are among its clients. “Trust is the currency of the digital economy, and at Regfyl, we are committed to being the operating system that underpins this trust across the continent,” said Tunde Ibidapo-Obe, CEO of Regfyl. The startup charges a yearly subscription fee of ₦2 million ($1,220)for full access to its platform. It also charges a per-use fee for each individual or business customer screened and monitored. Regfyl is part of a growing list of Nigerian companies helping financial institutions to detect and fight fraud. In its recently released Fraud and Forgeries Report, the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) reported that Nigerian banks lost $25.7 million to fraud in Q2 2024. It competes with similar businesses like SmileID, Dojah, Youverify that offer KYC compliance services to businesses. While these competitors offer just one compliance service to financial institutions, Regfyl claims to offer a unified compliance solution that helps businesses handle every section of their compliance, from KYC onboarding to transaction monitoring and regulatory filing. “What we have done is to look at what the job of the compliance manager is and we have essentially brought all of it in one operating system,” said Erinosho. Moonshot by TechCabal is gathering Africa’s most audacious builders and thinkers in Lagos, Nigeria. You can get tickets here.
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- September 17 2024
Xero will acquire South African analytics platform Syft for $70 million
Xero, the global accounting software giant, will acquire South African cloud-based reporting and analytics platform Syft for $70 million. The deal is projected to close between October and December 2024 pending regulatory approval. Founded in 2016 by Matt Stephanou and Vangelis Kyriazis, Johannesburg-based Syft’s AI financial reporting platform provides small and medium businesses with access to reporting tools. In 2023, the company reported $4.4 million in revenue from 75,000 customers across 80 countries. Xero will pay $40 million upfront for the acquisition, including $10 million in shares. The rest—-earn-outs and employee-restricted shares—will be paid over three years. Syft’s 70 employees will also be integrated into Xero. “We’ve worked closely with Xero’s teams and customers over the past seven years,” said Syft CEO Kyriazis. ”Having met Xero’s senior leadership team over the past few months, we knew that joining Xero was a natural fit and would advance our shared goal of helping small businesses succeed.” The deal continues the trend of global giants acquiring South African software as a service (SaaS) startups. In March 2024, US-based payroll provider Deel acquired South African payroll startup PaySpace for an undisclosed amount. Syft will continue to operate as a standalone offering to small businesses. Xero will incorporate Syft’s functionality, which includes visualisations, analytics and reporting capabilities for new and existing customers. Syft will improve Xero’s insights, advanced reporting, and analytics capabilities in Australia, the UK, the US, and other global markets. African tech leaders and global players will be at Moonshot by TechCabal. You can get tickets here.
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- September 17 2024
TechCabal Daily – How CashAfrica is tapping into Nigeria’s payments game
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning Our friends at the Founder Institute are celebrating the graduation of their 10th cohort at the upcoming fireside chat, “Scaling with Resilience.” This event will feature insights from experts, founders of venture-backed startups, and experienced investors. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to connect with the Founder Institute Lagos ecosystem, including FI’s network of startups, alumni, partners, investors, and mentors. RSVP here. M-Kopa set to pay tax backlog in Kenya CashAfrica is betting on tap-to-pay in Nigeria Kopo Kopo names new leadership Nigeria’s inflation rate quells to 32.15% The World Wide Web3 Events Regulation M-Kopa to pay backlog of tax Jesse Moore, M-Kopa chief executive. Image | M-Kopa Between 2017 and 2019, M-Kopa, the asset financing company whose biggest market is Kenya, remitted zero taxes to the Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA). Drawing on the UK-Kenya Double Taxation Agreement, a treaty designed to prevent companies from being taxed twice, M-KOPA believed that it shouldn’t pay taxes in Kenya because its directors did not live there. The company also argued that its management decisions are made outside Kenya. Kenya’s tax authority disagreed and off they went to court. On Monday, a tax appeal tribunal found that the company had not provided evidence that its important operational decisions were taken outside of Kenya, confirming its tax residence in the country. The ruling meant the company is back on the hook for around KES885.87 million ($6.8 million) in back taxes. While my colleague agrees that the tax is a small change for a company that has raised $250 million, the ruling may likely set a precedent for other Kenyan startups operating under foreign tax residency. Read Moniepoint’s 2024 Informal Economy Report Did you know that 57.7% of the business owners in Nigeria’s informal economy are under 34 years old? Click here to find out more about the demographics of Nigeria’s informal economy. Startups CashAfrica is betting on tap-to-pay in Nigeria Image source: Faith Omoniyi/TechCabal CashAfrica’s pitch is pretty simple: why bother with cards when you can use your smartphone to pull cash from a Point-of-Sale terminal? In a country where almost everyone has a phone but far fewer have bank cards, the fintech is hoping this will be the future of payments in Nigeria. By eliminating card partnerships, CashAfrica significantly cuts costs and improves profit margins, a challenge often faced by Nigerian fintechs dealing with foreign card schemes. There are clear hurdles: for CashAfrica to thrive, a lot more Nigerians will need to have NFC-enabled phones—and, just as importantly, they’ll need to know how to use them. The tech is promising, but it’s not much good if your customers don’t have the hardware or aren’t sure how to make it work. Both challenges create a real problem for CashAfrica. User education is timely and costly, and only high-end Samsung and Apple models—which together make up 46% of Nigeria’s smartphone market—come with NFC capabilities. That leaves a significant chunk of the population out of the equation, shrinking CashAfrica’s potential customer base before they’ve even started. Yet, CashAfrica CEO Malik Asamu chooses to see the positives. His strategy, instead of rational optimism, in a market that is not ready yet is obvious through his comment: “We believe more NFC-enabled phones will be imported. You don’t want to ride on a wave of innovation when it is sinking. We believe tap to pay is new in Nigeria and we want to be among the first to the market.” It will also count banks and fintechs as customers as it tries to convince them to adopt its tap-to-pay service. Read more about CashAfrica. Fincra secures International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licence in Nigeria Since its inception, Fincra has provided businesses with local payment options. However, with the IMTO licence, Fincra can now manage funds transfers from abroad to Nigerian recipients more efficiently. Read more here. Startups Kopo Kopo names new leadership amid Moniepoint acquisition talks Far Right, CEO Dennis Ondeng. Image Source: Kopo Kopo Kenyan fintech Kopo Kopo has announced a leadership shake-up with Dennis Ondeng stepping in as the new CEO, while former CEO Chad Larson transitions to Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Joining the revamped team are Kibet Yegon as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and Rosemary Muyeshi as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), rounding out the company’s refreshed executive structure. These leadership changes come 13 months after Kenya’s competition authority approved the acquisition of Kopo Kopo by Nigerian neobank Moniepoint. However, the deal remains in progress, with both companies yet to finalise the transaction. Kopo Kopo, a provider of payment services and loans to small businesses in Kenya since 2011, could offer Moniepoint a strategic entry point into the Kenyan market. With its extensive customer base of small and medium-sized businesses, Kopo Kopo’s operations align well with Moniepoint’s suite of business-facing products. As Moniepoint continues its aggressive growth trajectory, an acquisition of Kopo Kopo would solidify its expansion plans in Kenya. “We have been vocal about our interest in Kenya as part of our mission to provide financial happiness for people across Africa,” the company told TechCabal in August 2023. If successful, the acquisition could strengthen the connection between Nigeria’s and Kenya’s tech ecosystems, fostering a more integrated African fintech landscape—especially in light of recent partnerships like that between Nigeria’s Rise and Kenya’s Hisa. Psst Here’s Paystack Developer Contributor of the month Microsoft Engineer Ekene Ashinze built the Angular Paystack Library, a module that helps developers accept payments in their Angular apps with Paystack. Discover his journey in creating the library and how it’s opened doors for him both locally and globally. Learn more → Inflation Nigeria’s headline inflation to 32.15% in August Image source: Cemile Bingol On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation fell to a six-month low of 32.15% interest rate in August. It was a second consecutive ease in inflation thanks to a drop in food prices driven by the harvest season. Food inflation also slowed to 37.52% from 39.53% in July 2024. Nigeria’s headline inflation reached a
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- September 16 2024
iPhone iOS 18 now available: How to update & supported devices
Subsequent the iPhone 16 series launch, Apple has now released iOS 18, its latest software update for iPhones. This update offers new features designed to enhance the iPhone experience. From personalisation options to better communication tools, iOS 18 brings a host of improvements. Here’s a breakdown of what’s new, how to install it, and which iPhone devices are compatible with the new iOS 18. What’s new in iPhone iOS 18? Customisation: iOS 18 allows users to arrange their iPhone Home Screen, Lock Screen, and Control Center in new ways. Photos App: Experience the biggest redesign of Photos, making it easier to relive special memories. Messages: New features in Messages enhance how you stay connected with friends and family. Maps: A new hiking experience in Maps enables you to explore the world in a more immersive way. Wallet: Updates to Wallet introduce new ways to manage your cards and tickets. Other Features: Improvements across Safari, Journal, Notes, and more bring added functionality to everyday tasks. Devices supported by iOS 18 Here is the complete list of iPhones that can install iOS 18 apart from the recent iPhone 16: iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Plus, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14 Pro Max iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro Max iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR iPhone SE 2, iPhone SE 3 If your iPhone is on this list, you can access all the new features in iOS 18. How to Update to iOS 18 Updating to iOS 18 is straightforward. Just follow these steps: Back up your data: Before updating, ensure that your data is backed up via iCloud or iTunes. Connect to Wi-Fi: Make sure your device is connected to a stable Wi-Fi network. Check for the update: Go to Settings. Select General. Tap on Software Update. Install iOS 18: If the update is available, you will see the option to install. Tap Install Now to begin the process. Automatic updates: You can also enable Automatic Updates to download and install future updates overnight. Ensure your iPhone has enough charge or is connected to a charger during the update process. Why you should upgrade Upgrading to iOS 18 will not only bring new features but also improve security and overall performance. Regular updates are essential for the safety and longevity of your device.
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- September 16 2024
Fintech Kopo Kopo names new leadership amid Moniepoint acquisition talks
Kopo Kopo, a Kenyan fintech startup that offers short-term business loans, has appointed Dennis Ondeng as its new CEO. Monday’s leadership change comes 13 months after Kenya’s competition authority approved its proposed acquisition by Nigerian neobank Moniepoint Inc. The company also named Chad Larson as chief financial officer (CFO), while Kibet Yegon will resume as chief technology officer (CTO). Rosemary Muyeshi was appointed chief risk officer (CRO). “We are confident that this dynamic leadership team will further Kopo Kopo’s mission and continue to deliver solutions for businesses in Kenya,” Kopo Kopo said in a statement. Despite the leadership changes, Moniepoint told TechCabal that the acquisition is still in progress. “The transaction is still ongoing but hasn’t been completed yet,” the company said. Kopo Kopo claims it has been profitable since its $2.1 million Series B raise in 2015. The company says its valuation is in the “low tens of millions,” declining to share specific numbers. If completed, the acquisition would see Moniepoint expand to Kenya. Kenya’s regulators scrutinise competition for transactions exceeding KES 1 billion ($7.7 million), suggesting that Moniepoint proposed acquisition of Kopo Kopo falls under its purview. The regulator approved the acquisition in August 2023. Kopo Kopo, with its network of thousands of small and medium-sized business customers, could make Moniepoint market presence in Kenya sound. African tech leaders and global players will be at Moonshot by TechCabal. You can get tickets here.
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- September 16 2024
How to check NECO 2024 results
The National Examinations Council (NECO) is responsible for conducting the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) in Nigeria. Candidates who took the exam can easily access their results online once they are out. In this guide, we will walk you through the steps to check your NECO results 2024. Steps to check NECO results 2024 Follow these simple steps to access your NECO results 2024 online: Visit the official NECO websiteGo to the official NECO website: www.neco.gov.ng. This is the primary platform for checking NECO results, making it convenient for candidates across the country. Purchase a tokenTo check your NECO results 2024, you will need to buy a NECO result-checking token. You can purchase this token online via the NECO portal. Ensure you have your debit card or internet banking details handy. Log in to the NECO result portalAfter purchasing your token, visit the result-checking section on the NECO website. You will be prompted to log in using your exam year, exam type, and the purchased token. Enter your examination detailsFill in your examination year (2024) and examination type (June/July SSCE). You will also be required to input your 10-digit NECO exam number. Check your resultClick on the “Check Result” button to access your NECO results 2024. Your result will be displayed immediately, showing your scores in all subjects. Notes Ensure stable internet access: To avoid disruptions during the process, ensure you have a stable internet connection. Keep your token safe: The token can be used multiple times, so store it safely in case you need to check your result again. Print a copy: Once you have viewed your NECO results, it’s advisable to print or save a copy for future reference. Final thoughts on how to check NECO 2024 results If you encounter issues while checking your NECO results, such as difficulty purchasing a token or accessing the website, here are a few tips: Try a different browser: If the website doesn’t load properly, switch to another browser or clear your cache. Contact NECO support: If the problem persists, reach out to NECO’s customer service for assistance via the support page on their website. By following these steps, you can easily check your NECO results without any hassle.
Read More- September 16 2024
Profitable FoodCourt laid off nearly 100 staff after process restructuring in May
FoodCourt, the Y Combinator-backed food delivery service, said a redesign of its cooking processes led to nearly 100 employees being made redundant in May 2024. The three-year-old startup, which prepares its meals in dark kitchens and offers a delivery-only model, said customer feedback led to operational changes. “We got bigger kitchen equipment and started preparing a lot of the base ingredients instead of waiting for a customer to order before getting started with it,” said Chef Tilewa Odedina, who manages FoodCourt’s kitchens. Henry Nneji, FoodCourt CEO, told TechCabal that a key goal was to reduce meal preparation time to 30 minutes for its 8,000 active monthly customers. Yet, the optimisation is still a work in progress, with customers complaining about late orders on social media. The startup raised $1.7 million earlier this year, a detail that has not been previously reported says it has an average order value of ₦15,000 and is already profitable. CEO Nneji declined to share actual numbers. The company claims cost efficiency is the key driver of profitability. “You can make a lot of sales and be bleeding just as much cash,” said Odedina. “The company was making a little profit when I joined in 2023, but one would be hard-pressed to figure out where the money was going. We were winging it.” She overhauled the kitchen management process which had allowed theft, wastage, and underpricing. FoodCourt earns money from food sales like a regular restaurant and a 20% commission on delivery fees. In an increasingly cutthroat sector, it competes with restaurant chains and other food delivery companies like Glovo and Chowdeck. In an interesting twist, FoodCourt is also available on Chowdeck following an exclusive agreement in July 2024. Similar to the deal Chowdeck recently signed with Chicken Republic, FoodCourt’s meals will be discounted for customers. One person familiar with the matter said Chowdeck pays for those discounts. “[FoodCourt] had initially considered Glovo but chose Chowdeck because it had a better reputation in terms of delivery time and service delivery,” that person said. Eden Life and YC-backed ChowCentral, quick-service restaurants with a delivery-only model, are also listed on Chowdeck. While competition continues to ratchet up in food delivery, it is doubtful that the winner will simply outspend everyone else. Success may very well lie in a mix of ruthless operational efficiency and finding a key and loyal customer base. There is a lot to appreciate in the startup’s shrewdness, especially in a funding environment where over-spending to blitzscale has not yielded positive returns for deep-pocketed but now-defunct food delivery companies like Jumia Food and Bolt Food. But while it is easy to see how far this can take a bootstrapping restaurant, FoodCourt is a VC-backed cloud kitchen. Like any startup, it needs to attain exponential growth, to live up to whatever valuations investors bought in at, and that may require taking risks a typical restaurant wouldn’t take.
Read More- September 16 2024
Breaking: Nigeria’s headline inflation slows to 32.15% in August
Nigeria’s headline inflation has slowed for the second consecutive month thanks to a drop in food prices driven by the harvest season. Data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) puts August’s headline inflation at 32.15%, down from 33.40% recorded in August. Food inflation also slowed to 37.52% from 39.53% in July 2024. Although the August inflation rate is far from the CBN’s 21% target, the reading could see the Central Bank hold interest rates at their monetary policy committee meeting on September 23. The MPC in June increased borrowing rates to about 26.25%. Analysts expect that recent increases in fuel prices will affect inflation for the coming months. Nigeria raised fuel prices by 40% after two months of fuel scarcity. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) admitted that it owed petrol suppliers. “Recent policy changes impacting petrol prices and the value of the naira could trigger an uptrend in the inflation rate in the coming months,” said Samuel Onyenkanmi, an analyst at Norreberger. The slowdown in Nigeria’s headline inflation will provide some ease to Nigerians who have endured high living costs. In August, hundreds of citizens protested demanding lower electricity tariffs and the reinstatement of fuel subsidies. “To alleviate currency and inflation pressures in Nigeria, closer policy coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities is essential,” Dumebi Oyewole, Senior Economist at Stears, told TechCabal.
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- September 16 2024
Tap, pay, go: CashAfrica wants to make payments easy, but first it must change customer behaviour
While digital payments have blown up in Nigeria in the last decade, contactless payments are still unpopular. CashAfrica, a Nigerian fintech startup that builds payment infrastructure for banks and fintechs, believes there’s a business opportunity in contactless payments. Launched in 2023, CashAfrica builds an API that allows banks and fintechs to offer customers a tap-to-pay option within their banking apps. While working to integrate with banks, the fintech offers a mobile app—Cash Mobile—that allows users to make transactions using the tap-to-pay feature. All you have to do is to open the CashMobile app, enter your password, and tap your phone on the payment terminal. The entire transaction process takes less than two seconds. Although contactless payments don’t require authorization before a transaction, Cash Mobile often requires users to enter a password for use. Asamu likened CashAfrica’s tap-to-pay infrastructure to the NIBSS real-time payment system introduced 14 years ago. “Every bank has one send button today because NIBSS works and there is no point replicating it. Our focus is on executing correctly and making sure our product works.” Since it launched, the fintech claims it has processed ₦1 billion from its B2C customers on the app and crossed 1,000 users. It charges 0.3%-1.5% per transaction based on size and volume. CashAfrica must contend with YC-backed Touch and Pay technologies, and potentially other Nigerian banks exploring their own contactless payment solutions. When asked about the possibility of incumbent fintechs implementing their tap-to-pay solutions, Asamu said CashAfrica’s proprietary payment infrastructure is an advantage. With fewer dependencies, Cash Africa claims to offer better margins to its partner banks and fintechs. The company claims it is in the final stages of integrating its solution on the Sterling Bank app. It is also in talks with Wema Bank, Fidelity, and Opay. “Infrastructure-level software like ours is a winner-take-all, if you build it and it works well, the banks will have no reason to integrate two people doing the same thing.” The startup faces an uphill climb in changing customer behavior to adopting contactless payment as a preferred payment medium. Although some of CashAfrica’s target audience already use NFC-enabled cards for commuting, Asamu admits that there is a need to orient people towards using contactless payment. “We do a lot of organic reach and word of mouth.” Adoption will also rely on the available of NFC-enabled smartphones in the market. 83% of Nigerians use Android phones, but not all of these devices have NFCs, reducing the use case for contactless payment options. “We believe more NFC-enabled phones will be imported. You don’t want to ride on a wave of innovation when it is sinking. We believe tap to pay is new in Nigeria and we want to be among the first to the market,“ Asamu said. CashAfrica’s success hinges on its ability to establish a wide distribution network and leverage network effects. The company needs to partner with banks and agent banking platforms like Opay and Moniepoint to integrate its contactless payment solution into their platforms. While CashAfrica is actively engaging with banks and fintechs, its first-mover advantage lies in onboarding users before other players in the market. Moonshot by TechCabal is gathering Africa’s most audacious builders and thinkers in Lagos, Nigeria. You can get tickets here.
Read More- September 16 2024
M-KOPA must pay taxes to Kenya after losing appeal
M-KOPA Holding, an asset financing startup, must now pay taxes in Kenya after losing an appeal at a tax tribunal. The startup appealed against a $6.8 million tax demand for 2017 to 2019, arguing that it’s incorporated in the UK. M-KOPA’s argument, based on the Kenya-United Kingdom Double Taxation Treaty (DTT), was that it is managed and controlled from the UK and therefore exempt from Kenyan taxes. However, the tribunal dismissed this claim. The tribunal ruled that the startup must pay part of the $6.8 million in back taxes, though it did not determine the exact amount the company owes the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). Despite M-KOPA’s claims of having a registered office in the UK and most of its directors residing outside Kenya, the tribunal concluded that the company’s tax residency is in Kenya. This means it is subject to Kenyan income and capital gains taxation. “The appellant’s failure to provide evidence to support its argument that the board had actually made core decisions affecting the operation of the company in the meetings held outside Kenya meant that it had failed to discharge the burden of proving that it was not a resident in Kenya as enunciated in Section 30 of the TAT Act,” the tribunal said. The tribunal’s ruling is a major win for the KRA and could have implications for other Kenyan startups with registered tax residency outside Kenya. The tribunal found that the company’s key management decisions are made in Kenya because its CEO, CFO, and CCO are Kenyan residents. Kenya is M-KOPA’s largest market, followed by Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa. The startup’s products include solar power systems, smartphones and electric bikes, which users pay for in small installments. In 2023, M-KOPA secured $250 million of debt and equity funding for its pan-African expansion.
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