Next Wave: Innovation theatre
Cet article est aussi disponible en français <!– In partnership with –> <!–TopBanner Join us for TechCabal Battlefield, Moonshot’s startup competition where you can showcase your startup idea to a global audience and an esteemed panel of judges and stand a chance to win up to 2.5 million naira in funding for your business! Click to register for TC Battlefield First published 28 January, 2024 We reached the max tolerance for innovation theatre. What comes next? Entrepreneurs, investors, an uncritical media, and government are guilty of what Steve Blank, the Stanford University professor of entrepreneurship, calls “innovation theatre”—a body of initiatives we do and promote to signal that innovation is happening, but which doesn’t translate to significant business value or economic impact. Innovation theatre is pretty easy to spot, but in good times, most people are content to live and let live. When things take a bad turn, though, theatrics tend to disappear in a huff. It’s why people are losing faith in things like acceleratorships, and why more venture capital investors are struggling with an identity crisis and narrative collapse. Innovation theatrics are not unique to Africa, and these days, it is common to call it out. What is replacing it, though, is a cynical defeatism that is no better, if not simply worse. The chart below is popular in Nigerian tech circles. It is from a 2020 article by Jake Kendall, one of our friends at DFSLab, and it became popular in 2022 after Stears used the chart in an article and more recently in 2023. It’s a brilliant read and a good addition to resources for framing your thinking and approach to African markets as an investor or a founder. But I have always been bewildered by the viral conversations that it sparked on social media. The key lesson for most seemed to be, “Africans are poor. Don’t waste your time”, and similar statements. For me, the key takeaway of the chart (and the entire piece) is simply that we’ve reached a maximum tolerance level for efficiency and sustaining innovations that rode the mobile/smartphone boom in Africa. Kendall’s article did a great job of sketching the broad contours for consumer business modelling. But if an entrepreneur building a consumer product looks at it and decides to go build something on a B2B model instead, it tells me two things: (1) Technology is only marginally relevant to what she was working on. (2) The type of innovation being proposed is simply an attempt to profit from naked arbitrage in supply chains by offering what the late Clay Christensen called, “efficiency innovation” or “sustaining” innovation. This is not to say that one cannot build a good business on top of that economic model—it is possible. However, I believe it’s a mistake to let just that outline the definitive shape of your vision for consumer markets if you are a founder or an investor. Why? Because you may just be confusing the naturally limited market of innovation that improves a product, for the more intensive creation process of innovation that creates new markets. And I’ll be frank. “Market creating innovation” is a hard thing. That is why the examples are few and far between. Innovation that creates markets What was the purchasing power of Africans when mobile telephony first took off on the continent? I’m still looking for the answer, but if I were a betting man, I’d wager it was significantly lower than the figures from the 2011–2015 PovCal data upon which (most of) the earlier mentioned chart is based. The arguments of today about low purchasing power are strangely similar to the arguments of then. In the 1990s Africa was a poor continent, and the time did not look right for mass-market telephony. The difference, though, was not just the new cellular technology operating over the GSM standard. There was also institutional reform in telecoms governance at the political level. And, most importantly, what made it all workable was the new type of distribution, pricing and services that met latent demand. Kendall and the DFSLab team are quite right when they say that the fortune is probably at the middle of the pyramid where people earn between $4 to $8. Taking 2022 quarterly results from MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecommunications company, average revenue per user (ARPU) across its 17 African markets has a mean value of $3.5 in pure dollar terms, i.e. not adjusted for purchasing power parity. MTN and its peers certainly did not start their business targeting a mean ARPU of $3.5 across Africa. It was certainly much lower when the company started. So, simply targeting the same ARPU to make your business economics work or investment thesis work in the long term appears to be flawed to me, regardless of whether it’s consumer or business-to-business. The major exception to this is if what you are creating and advocating for is an efficiency or a sustaining innovation. And if it is, we should be clear about it upfront. 2023 was a watershed year for African technology startups. It was the year Instadeep got acquired by BioNTech for $682 million in Africa’s largest-ever acquisition deal. It was the year tech startups in Africa shed more than 1,500 jobs in industry-wide layoffs as 15 startups which raised $214 million in funding shut down. It was the year African startups raised $2.748 billion across 500 deals. And more! It will be remembered as the year that reset the trajectory (hopefully) for the better. Download the full report from our research team at TC Insights to learn more. Every innovation that created or unlocked new markets has been epochal or at least a part of a mega-trend or supercycle. We seem to have forgotten this. Supercycles are, in the world of commodity trading, a decade(s)-long period of extraordinary prices where old price expectations are reset and new anchors weighed. For our purposes, a supercycle is the early buildup of long-term consumer trends and economic activity where the key metric
Read More👨🏿🚀 TechCabal Daily – B.TECH denies hack
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning 2023 was a watershed year for African tech. $2.748 billion was raised across 500 deals, and this includes Africa’s largest-ever acquisition deal: Instadeep’s acquisition by BioNTech for $682 million. In more sombre news, over 1,500 tech workers were laid off in Africa in 2023, while 15 startups which raised $214 million in funding shut down. Learn more about the major trends that shaped African tech in 2023 by downloading The State of Tech in Africa report here. In today’s edition Access completes third acquisition of the month B.TECH denies data breach Livestock Wealth insists its licence is valid Ten Nigerian startups awarded $11,000 Which sector got the least funding in 2023? The World Wide Web3 Opportunities M&As Access completes third acquisition of the month The African tech ecosystem continues to witness significant M&A activities—one of the trends we highlighted in our State of Tech in Africa report. In 2023, 30 acquisitions took place, including Bitmama’s acquisition of PayDay. Commercial banks are however way ahead of startups in this M&A game. Take Nigeria’s Access HoldCo, for example. Over the weekend, the bank completed its third acquisition of the month. It acquired Nigeria’s second-largest independent pension fund manager, ARM Pensions. Over the past two years, the company has made six significant acquisitions ranging from its 2021 acquisitions of the Mozambiquan and Botswana arms of BancABC to the 2022 acquisition of Finibanco Angola. These strategic acquisitions have helped the bank expand into new countries. More than traditional banking: ARM will be Access’ third acquisition this month—with Zambia’s Atlas Mara and Megatech Insurance as the first two—and the third overall that showcases the bank’s strong venture into other plays like insurance and pension. In 2022, Access HoldCo solidified its position in the $34.9 billion pension market with the acquisitions of Sigma Pensions and First Guarantee Pensions. Over the weekend, the company also revealed that it had received all regulatory approvals from the Nigerian Pension Commission and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission to acquire ARM Pensions. Now, ARM’s four million customers will move to join the one million customers registered under Access’s pension plan. 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. Cybersecurity B.TECH denies data breach Last Friday, a cybercriminal known as “Tanaka” leaked a database which allegedly contains the personal information of over 200,000 users of Egyptian consumer retailer B.TECH. The database, which is about 20MB in size and contains over 200,000 lines of data, includes emails, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, genders, and city of residence. According to cybersecurity tracker HackManac, the hack actually occurred over a year ago, in February 2023. It never happened? B.TECH says a data breach never happened. In a statement it shared with The Enterprise yesterday, the company said it “firmly denies all circulated allegations of a recent data breach”. Millions at risk: The allegations are concerning as B.TECH is one of Egypt’s leading consumer retailers with over 50 million customers across 130 cities. While the company has reassured its users, stating that their HackManac says they should apply caution moving forward. The big bucks in data: While South Africa still records some of the highest cyberattacks on the continent, Egypt has received its fair share of hackers with Lockbit, an infamous cybercriminal group, hacking Fawry last year. These hackers make money: by demanding a ransom from the company which costs an average of $1.82 million and by selling the data to other phishing groups which attack and defraud the users by pretending to be legitimate companies. Secure payment gateway for your business Fincra’s payment gateway enables you to easily collect Naira payments as a business; you can collect payments in minutes through bank transfers, cards, virtual accounts and mobile money. Create a free account and start collecting NGN payments with Fincra. Startups Livestock Wealth’s insists its licence is valid The News: Livestock Wealth, a South African agritech platform which allows investors to buy cattle and farmland, faces accusations of operating without a financial service provider (FSP) licence from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). Despite the allegations, the startup’s lead investor, Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC), claims it conducted thorough due diligence. The startup is also disputing the FSCA’s allegations, and claims to have the necessary credit provider licence. Background: Livestock Wealth gained traction through AlphaCode Incubate, a programme supporting black-owned financial and tech startups. They received initial funding in 2016 and an additional R2 million ($106,000) grant in 2019 after pivoting their model to become the cattle farm operator and supplier to a major retailer. AlphaCode, in a statement to TechCabal, also claims it investigated Livestock Wealth in 2019. Why it matters: The licensing issue raises concerns about investor protection and transparency in Africa’s fledgling tech ecosystem which has seen a fair bit of scrutiny in the past year. MIC’s stance of following due diligence could reassure potential investors, but the FSCA’s investigation casts a shadow on the company’s compliance. The accusations come at a critical juncture for Livestock Wealth’s expansion into farmland investing. The outcome of the FSCA investigation and potential penalties could significantly impact their trajectory. Accept fast in-person payments, at scale Spin up a sales force with dozens – even hundreds – of Virtual Terminal accounts in seconds, without the headache of managing physical hardware. Learn more → Funding Ten agritech startups awarded $11,000 from 4IRTA The year 2022 saw an estimated 17 million Nigerians grappling with critical food insecurity, and an estimated 25 million Nigerians were likely to be food insecure between June and August of 2023, according to October Cadre Harmonise, a government-led and UN-supported food and nutrition analysis. Nigeria’s recognises the critical threat of food insecurity and has prioritised cultivating 500,000 hectares of land across Nigeria. In line with this vision, the Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, last
Read MoreTakealot appoints new CEO as Amazon arrival looms
Takealot Group has announced the appointment of Frederik Zietsman as new CEO. Takealot, the South African e-commerce group that reported $808m in revenues for 2023, has announced Frederik Zietsman as its new CEO effective from February 1, 2024. Takealot group owns the online platforms takealot.com, Superbalist, and Mr D. Zietsman replaces Mamongae Mahlare who was CEO from October 2021. Mahlare is moving to the position of executive chair of Takealot group. Zietsman was CEO of Takealot.com from 2021. “The streamlining of the leadership between the group and Takealot.com will reinforce resources around its flagship online retail and marketplace platform and bring stronger alignment and focus in delivering on its key growth objectives,” Takealot said in a statement. In 2018, Africa’s biggest company by market capitalisation Naspers acquired Tiger Global Management’s stake in Takealot, effectively owning 96% of Takealot. Per Nasper’s latest financials, Takealot group’s gross merchandise value (GMV) and revenue grew by 15% and 9% over the last year, respectively. The company also reduced trading losses by as much as 85%. Takealot facing regulatory crackdown and Amazon arrival Amazon announced in October 2023 that it will launch its marketplace in South Africa in 2024, looking set to challenge Takealot’s dominance. Although the company did not cite the arrival as the reason for the executive shuffle, Takealot would be looking to get its best bets at the helm to fight off the global e-commerce giant. Former CEO Mahlare has constantly reiterated that Takealot actually looks forward to the imminent arrival of Amazon. Amazon enters a South African e-commerce market fraught with regulatory complications. In July, the country’s competition regulator released a report outlining the findings of an investigation into competitive practices of some leading online platforms. For Takealot, the regulator stated that the platform faced a conflict of interest on its site as its retail division competes with the marketplace sellers leading to behaviour that has disadvantaged sellers. As a remedial action, Takealot was ordered to segregate its retail division from its marketplace operations, preventing its retail services from accessing seller data and unilaterally stopping sellers from competing for certain brands.
Read MoreExclusive: Moniepoint processed more than 5 billion transactions in 2023
Moniepoint, one of Nigeria’s biggest payments startups, had a triumphant 2023 despite the multiple issues that plagued the country’s financial services industry. The fintech startup averaged 433 million monthly transactions across its web, mobile, card and in-person payment channels and closed the year with 5.2 billion transactions, according to an internal company presentation seen by TechCabal. The value of those transactions was over $150 billion. It represents a 205% increase from 2022, when the startup processed 1.7 billion transactions worth over $100 billion. Moniepoint’s numbers are impressive compared to the transactions NIBSS — operator of Nigeria’s real-time payment infrastructure — handled in 2023. According to data seen by TechCabal, NIBSS processed 9.6 billion transactions, which were worth ₦600 trillion. Moniepoint’s numbers (5.2 billion) represent almost half of the transactions NIBSS processed, emphasising how 2023 was Nigeria’s best year for digital payments since 2020. However, looking eastward, Moniepoint’s transaction volume is dwarfed by MPesa, Kenya’s largest payment processor. The Kenyan payment giant processed 12.93 billion transactions from April to September 2023, more than double Moniepoint’s 2023 numbers. This might explain why Moniepoint is expanding to Kenya. Access HoldCo in final stages of regulatory approval to acquire ARM Pensions Moniepoint: From a small startup to a payment behemoth Moniepoint has grown from a little-known banking software development company that developed products for Nigerian banks to a payment behemoth. The startup says it currently has more than 2 million business accounts on its platform, most of which are business accounts. In August 2023, Moniepoint ventured into the personal banking space. At the time, Ope Adeyemi, Moniepoint’s senior vice president for channels and sales tools, told TechCabal that the fintech had 800,000 POS terminals actively used daily nationwide. The startup currently runs its ubiquitous agency banking product, Moniepoint, an online payment gateway Monnify, and its personal banking product. Through these products, users can pay for bills and airtime, transfer money to bank accounts or POS devices, and pay with cards. Business owners can also manage their businesses with the startup’s features, like tax management, compliance, payroll and expense management, and receiving loans. Moniepoint’s business customers are in different sectors. Still, the majority of their business users come from the retail sector (38.29%), food and drinks (17.77%), oil and gas (9.11%), IT and electronics (6.12%), beauty and personal care (4.5%), and agriculture (4%). Moniepoint’s bird-eye view When you process these many transactions daily, you can get a birds-eye view of how Nigerians move money daily. Sundays are the peak time for food purchases in Nigeria, typically between 7-8 p.m., according to company data seen by TechCabal. Nigerians also bought ₦100 worth of airtime 63 million times, making it the most popular amount for airtime transactions. Nigerian election periods are usually mired with violence, and 2023 was no exception. The fear of this violence leads Nigerians to stock up on food and other provisions. According to Moniepoint, this also extends to bill payments. The day before Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, it processed the highest bill payments for cable and electricity subscriptions in an hour.
Read MoreExclusive: We did our due diligence, says Livestock Wealth investors
Livestock Wealth’s lead investor has stated that it did the requisite due diligence before investing R10 million (~$530,000) into the company. The agritech startup, which allows investors to make investments in livestock and farmland, is accused of operating without licensing by South Africa’s financial services regulator. Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC), which has a net asset value of over R7 billion, (~$373 million) has stated that it performed due diligence before investing in embroiled South African agritech startup Livestock Wealth. The startup is facing allegations of operating without licensing and using another entity’s license number by the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA). The startup has disputed those allegations. In October 2022, MIC, through its Khulisani Ventures investment arm, invested R10 million (~$500,000) into Livestock Wealth for a 5% equity stake as part of the startup’s seed round. “We followed our internal due diligence process for MIC Khulisani Ventures,” said Oren Fuchs, senior stakeholder manager at MIC. “The matters raised by the FSCA were not flagged in this initial process.” According to its website, MIC Khulisani Ventures is a R150 million (~$8 million) early-stage investment vehicle that invests inblack-owned innovative, high-growth businesses in South Africa. It invests up to R30 million (~$1.6 million) in such startups. MIC added that it has engaged the company’s management team to fully understand the matter and how they plan to resolve it. Another investor also says due diligence was done In 2019, as part of Rand Merchants International’s AlphaCode Incubate program, Livestock Wealth received a R2 million (~$106,000) additional grant as part of the program’s enterprise supplier development (ESD) initiative which sought to support early-stage, high-potential, black-owned financial services and/or technology firms. When the startup initially joined the incubator in 2016, it was a crowd-farming platform that connected cattle farmers to retail investors and received an unspecified amount of grant funding. According to Dominique Collet, founding partner of AlphaCode, after the initial grant funding, Livestock Wealth was considered for additional funding and extensive due diligence was conducted. Collet adds that Livestock Wealth had pivoted its business model with the company becoming the farmer that leases and operates the cattle farms, to ensure that the cows were managed in farms that they have complete control of. With these controls in place, they had become a supplier to a large retailer of beef. “At the time of conducting the legal and regulatory due diligence in 2019, it was not determined that Livestock Wealth required a [financial service provider] licence to conduct the activities it was conducting at that time. It did require a [credit provider] licence which they had,” Collet said in a statement to TechCabal. The due diligence, according to Collet, also concluded that Livestock Wealth held sufficient insurance to cover the services they were offering per regulatory requirements. Livestock Wealth allows users to invest in individual cattle or pregnant cows and claims to provide returns of between 10-15% per annum from the sale of meat. The startup earns a commission with each transaction. The accusations come at a time when the startup is expanding its model to farmlands.
Read MoreAccess HoldCo in final stages of regulatory approval to acquire ARM Pensions
Access HoldCo, the parent company of Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest lender by assets, is in the final stages of receiving regulatory approval from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) and the Nigerian Pension Commission to acquire ARM Pensions, Nigeria’s second-largest independent pension fund manager with over $2 billion of pension assets under management (AUM), a person with first-hand knowledge of the deal said. When fully approved, Access HoldCo plans to integrate ARM Pensions with its existing pension business, positioning itself as a dominant player in the $34.9 billion pension market, potentially challenging Stanbic IBTC for the top spot. Access HoldCo, originally a Pension custodian, bought Sigma Pension and First Guarantee Pension last year and merged them into Access Pension. Two regulatory bodies are scrutinizing the deal, looking out for financial stability and pensioner protection. While the NGX will assess the proposed acquisition through the lens of its listing rules and issuer guidelines, PenCom’s primary objective will be the interests of ARM Pensions’ contributors and beneficiaries, one pension fund manager who asked not to be named said. The planned acquisition has not been without its share of drama, with one publication reporting the deal as completed on Wednesday evening. Social media conversations also swirled around the acquisition, putting Access HoldCo, a publicly listed company, at risk of hefty fines from regulators, one bank executive claimed. It sent Access HoldCo into overdrive, with the company’s board holding two separate meetings on Thursday, one person in those meetings told TechCabal. ARM also held a company-wide meeting on Thursday to inform about the potential acquisition, one person in that meeting said while declining to share specifics. Founded in 2005, ARM Pensions offers a comprehensive range of pension products and services to both individuals and corporate clients. Its strong brand reputation and expertise in investment management have made it a trusted partner for millions of Nigerians saving for their retirement.
Read More👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Mafab to launch 5G later this year
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF What are you doing later today? We’re going to be launching our comprehensive roundup of funding, acquisitions, and significant developments in Africa’s tech ecosystem for Q4, 2023. Join Moses Kemibaro, Nadayar Enegesi, and Ory Okolloh as they discuss The State of Tech Report for Q4 2023 by 11 AM (WAT) today. Want to attend? Click this link to register. In today’s edition Mafab to launch 5G later this year Nigerian agencies to spend $9.6 million on software Sama’s head is in the clouds Netflix records $8.8 billion in revenue Funding tracker The World Wide Web3 Events Telecom Nigeria has a new telco on the horizon Nigeria’s 5G scene has seen its fair share of interest with big telecoms like Airtel or MTN snapping up licences two years ago. One interesting bit, though, is that both telecoms will soon find themselves competing with a newcomer: Mafab Communications. Nigeria’s telecom regulator has announced that Mafab plans to launch its services later this year, which would increase the total number of telecom players to five, with three telecoms—MTN, Mafab and Airtel—offering 5G services. In December 2021, Mafab secured a 5G licence with a $273.6 million bid. Now, the Lagos-based telecom is set to launch 5G services across Nigeria, with about 30 cities currently boasting such coverage in the country. Unlike counterparts like MTN known for infrastructure sharing with IHS Towers, Mafab chose to build its network from the ground up, which required navigating regulatory hurdles like securing a Universal Access Service License (UASL) licence—an operational licence for the 5G spectrum, which cost ₦374.6 million ($415,521). Having secured the UASL licence in July 2022, Mafab now faces the task of investing billions to build its network infrastructure. Failed market entry attempts: After missing the August 24, 2022 deadline set by Nigeria’s telecom regulator to roll out the network across the country, the telco was granted a five-month extension to begin its own roll-out. However, there have been inconsistencies. Despite targeting six cities—Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Kano, and Kaduna—for initial deployment, its 2023 launch in Abuja and Lagos, which was also an unveiling event of its new logo and brand name, Mcom, lacked concrete product demonstrations and a definitive launch date. The recent push to sell 5G routers before a confirmed network launch also raised questions about their readiness to hit the ground running. Zoom out: For MTN, who won the auction for the 3.5GHz 5G spectrum alongside Mafab, the telco became the first to roll out 5G in Nigeria and is now present in 13 cities and over 700 sites in Nigeria. 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. Public Sector Nigeria government agencies to spend $9.6 million on software Two key government agencies in Nigeria will spend a combined sum of ₦8.7 billion ($9.6 million) on software this year. The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC)—the body responsible for safeguarding your bank deposits—and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria’s tax office will spend ₦5.2 billion ($5.7 million) and ₦3.5 billion ($3.5 million) respectively on software it needs to run this year. The price isn’t right: While the price tag might have you howling, Nigeria has a long history of spending huge sums on software. Last year, it forked out ₦105.25 billion ($116 million) for BVAS Biometric tablets, the tech that allowed for voter verification during its last elections. One report revealed that the tablets were overpriced and surpassed market estimates by 30.4%. While the need for robust software for these agencies is undeniably evident, it still requires scrutiny as Nigerian agencies haven’t always gotten the tech right. The Nigerian government also approved ₦2.8 billion ($3.1 million) for digital census software for its 2023 census which it has postponed on multiple occasions. Several of the country’s agency websites are either inoperable or clunky. More spends: The National Pension Commission (NPC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), have also budgeted ₦384 million ($498,000) and ₦255 million ($287,000) respectively for software acquisition this year. That’s a total of ₦9.3 billion ($10.4 million) across four agencies. Secure payment gateway for your business Fincra payment gateway enables you to easily collect Naira payments as a business; you can collect payments in minutes through cards, bank transfers and PayAttitude. Create a free account and start collecting NGN payments with Fincra. Cloud computing Sama activates multi-cloud integration in Kenya In 2023, Sama started the year with its head stuck in a cloud of lawsuits between its former content moderators and Meta. The company, which had ended its content moderation partnership with Meta, had to fire over 230 employees with whom it’s now locked in a court battle. This year, though, Sama’s head is in a different type of cloud. The platform which preps datasets for AI training, ensuring models meet high accuracy standards, now connects to three cloud storage providers: AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Customers can now keep their data on their preferred cloud and Sama can still access it securely, train their models faster and more efficiently. What’s more, the new integration has rolled out in Kenya. With multi-cloud integrations, customer onboarding time reduces to one day, expediting the entire process by up to seven times. High cloud bills are a concern: Remember the Twiga Foods saga in Kenya? Where Twiga owed Incentro, a Google cloud reseller $261,000 in unpaid invoices. High data transfer charges and complex integrations can quickly burn through budgets. With Sama’s multi-cloud integration, your data stays on your chosen cloud platform (AWS, Google Cloud, or Microsoft Azure), potentially lowering data transfer and development expenses. Zoom out: In Kenya, the activation is supported by Safaricom Fiber Optic connectivity links, which enable the download and upload speeds required for Machine Learning models to operate well. 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Read MoreNigeria’s telecom industry to see new operator “sometime this year”
The Nigerian telecoms industry should expect to see a new telecom operator sometime this year, the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) said last week after Mafab Communications, a little-known telco company shared its launch plans with the commission. In December 2021, Mafab was one of two companies to win a 5G licence at an auction with a bid of $273.6 million, beating out Airtel Nigeria, one of the country’s top telecom operators. The company has now confirmed it will build its infrastructure from scratch rather than acquire or lease from existing players. But first, it will need to sort out some regulatory issues. “Mafab does not currently have a Universal Access Sẹrvice License (UASL), which is the operational license for the 5G spectrum, and will need to pay a ₦374.6 million fee,” said Rotimi Akapa, Partner and Head of Telecommunications, Media, and Technology, Advocaat Law Practice. “The UASL license will allow them to provide all telecommunications services such as 2G, 3G or any other technology,” added Akapa. Introduced in 2005, UASL covers services such as fixed telephony, wired or wireless; digital mobile (GSM) services; international gateway services; national long-distance services; and regional long-distance services. The NCC could not confirm if Mafab had applied for a UASL at the time of this report. Beyond this licence, building out its infrastructure will cost billions of dollars. “I am not sure such funding is presently available locally even if the banks were to be interested,” said Mr. Akapa. Mafab did not respond to TechCabal’s request for comments at the time of this report. Mafab stumbles on road to market Mafab has attempted to go to market a few times. In January 2023, it held a launch event in Abuja and Lagos and told those in attendance that it planned to deploy its service in “a few months.” There was no product demonstration at that event. In December 2023, it began pushing out messages on its social media channels encouraging potential subscribers to buy its 5G routers at ₦50,000. On its website, the ‘Get Mcom 5G’ and ‘View Coverage Area’ pages open to a form where users are asked to fill in their recharge request. Mafab’s entry into the market coincides with revenue pressures in the telecom industry caused by inflation and currency devaluation. Mafab’s entry would increase the number of players in the telecom market to five and those providing 5G services to three. The biggest winners will be consumers, who would have more network options to select from and possibly innovations from operators. Additionally, it would need significant resources to procure experienced and skilled manpower. There is also the matter of ensuring a sustainable power generation capacity to run Mafab’s operations. Like every industry in the country, electricity makes up a sizable chunk of telcos’ costs. While it is expected that Mafab will outsource its tower needs to one of the operators, it will still shoulder a growing expense driven mainly by energy costs. “The good thing is that there are several options open to them: they can opt to pay for the equipment and software required, enter into build operate and transfer arrangements, Turnkey arrangements or even revenue share arrangements,” Akapa said. Gbenga Adebayo, President of the Association of Licenced Telecommunication Organisation of Nigeria (ALTON), however, said the market is eagerly waiting for the launch of Mafab as more competition is needed to improve the quality of service, which will benefit the consumers. Two people who know say, Mafab is backed by wealthy local investors with deep political roots in the country.
Read More
👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Nigeria’s fraud-fighting faction
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy salary day It’s the day many people get paid only to find out that inflation has beaten the competition out of their salaries. Nigeria’s, for example, reached a 27-year high at 28.92% last month. And how will the country solve inflation? CBN governor Yemi Cardoso might have some ideas on how to score some good wins, but he’s keeping mum so far. At the NESG Event yesterday, Cardoso estimated that Nigeria’s headline inflation will moderate in 2024 to around 21%, adding fuel to reports that the bank will raise interest rates next month. While that is neither here nor there, what’s clear though, is today’s newsletter. Let’s go. In today’s edition Selar has built a $4 million business Nigerian financial institutions forge fraud-fighting faction OPay to block non-compliant accounts by March 1 Cova shuts down AltSchool launches in Kenya The World Wide Web3 Events Startups How Selar grew a $4 million creator platform with 21 employees In December, creator platform Selar ended the year by showing its creators some love. Designers, writers, and marketers across Nigeria received customised boxes with notes that advertised its newest product, Show Love. The simple campaign, according to chief marketing officer Milton Tutu, drove over 2,000 creators to use the platform within weeks. It’s a new year, and the platform has shared its 2023 numbers: over 150,000 creators made ₦4 billion ($4 million) in sales. How? From the get-go, Selar listened intently to creators’ needs. The platform, which was founded in 2016 by Douglas Kendyson, had a focus on addressing the needs of creators looking to sell digital products. Per Kendyson, it took four years of constant customer feedback and cold-calling creators to perfect the product. Success on a lean team: 2023 was a year where global creator platforms crumbled, with funding down by 58%. But Selar more than scaled through, doubling its 2022 numbers with a lean team. Kendyson shared some unusual cost-saving measures used at Selar, such as not providing custom email addresses for everyone, emphasising their commitment to efficiency. The startup’s revenue model—a 4%-6% commission on product sales, a subscription-based SaaS model, and earnings from a foreign exchange spread—is also proving to be sustainable. The platform’s growth, however, has a lot more interesting lessons. Read about it here. 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. Cybersecurity Nigerian banks and fintechs unite against fraud Last year, a number of Nigerian fintechs came together to collaborate in their fight against fraud. Codenamed “Operation Radar,” the idea was to create a united front and share information and data on bad actors. But save for its very cool name, Project Radar didn’t seem to do much and now financial institutions are back to the drawing board. They’re hoping another attempt at collaboration will work its magic. Everyone is running at a loss: This time, the banks are also looking for regulatory approval to launch their fraud-fighting mission. According to an insider, a presentation to the Central Bank is due by the end of Q1 2024. A recent report shows that deposit banks alone lost a staggering ₦9.75 billion ($10.8 million) in Q2 2023, a 276% increase compared to the same period in 2022, with Bureau de Change operators and banking agents emerging as key vulnerabilities, often serving as fraudsters’ cash-out channels. The Central Bank isn’t sitting idle: The CBN has been actively seeking solutions, mandating the establishment of fraud desks in financial institutions since 2015. Individual measures such as linking Tier-1 bank accounts to the Bank Verification Number (BVN) or National Identity Number (NIN) have been commended and also frowned upon, as industry experts argue that these measures haven’t stopped the bleeding. This time, things might be different. The new solution proposed by Nigerian banks and fintechs will see all financial institutions held accountable, including fintechs who are often blamed for lax security. Secure payment gateway for your business Fincra payment gateway enables you to easily collect Naira payments as a business; you can collect payments in minutes through cards, bank transfers and PayAttitude. Create a free account and start collecting NGN payments with Fincra. Regulation OPay to block non-compliant accounts by March 1 Starting March 1, 2024, OPay says it will block accounts that are non-compliant with Nigeria’s KYC regulations. Why? The Central Bank of Nigeria, last year, instructed that all tier 1 bank accounts—the lowest tier of a bank account—be linked with the NIN and BVN over concerns about increasing fraud cases. OPay has been under intense scrutiny over its porous KYC verification system. In October last year, Fidelity Bank, a Nigerian commercial bank blocked transfers to OPay and other neobanks over concerns that their lax KYC processes contributed to increased fraud cases. New reforms: The fintech has taken measured steps to restore the loopholes in its system. New customers will be required to link their BVN and NIN upon opening of accounts. The fintech also said it is working on perfecting its porous facial verification system which has long been explored by bad actors to impersonate people and commit fraud. The company faced scrutiny last year when users, who had registered for its vertical services such as ORide or OFood, reported unauthorised opening of bank accounts in their names. The twist: Although OPay seems to be addressing KYC methods and app security, some users assert that malicious actors are still attempting to infiltrate OPay’s system, evident in a viral video where a customer alleges impersonation and unauthorised opening of 10 business accounts in her name. Whether these incidents predate the fintech’s crackdown on such activities or are recent remains to be clarified. Introducing Transfers to bank accounts in Ghana Paystack merchants in Ghana can now send single and bulk transfers to Ghanaian bank accounts from the Paystack Dashboard and via API. Learn more → Shutdowns Wealthtech
Read MoreChange JAMB details like name, DOB, email, and more 2024
Ensuring that your personal information is accurate on your Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) profile is crucial for a smooth registration process. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the peculiarities involved to change or update your name, number, email, and date of birth (DOB) for JAMB in 2024. 1. Correcting JAMB name details If you need to make minor spelling corrections to your name, such as changing “Mari” to “Mary” or “Danel” to “Daniel,” you can do so without much hassle. This is a straightforward process during JAMB registration. Simply raise a ticket via the JAMB support centre online or visit an accredited JAMB registration CBT centre to get it done. Please note that you cannot change a name completely or significantly alter a name. For example, you can’t change from Daniel to Damola or Magdalene to Mary. Also, you cannot add or delete a name you have already registered your JAMB with. So you can’t go from Tunde Olubori John to Tunde Olubori. Similarly, you cannot go from John Okafor to John Nnamdi Okafor. 2. Change of name procedure for 2022 JAMB candidates and below For those who wrote JAMB from 2022 downwards and need to change their name, an indemnity form must be filled out, submitted to the institution, and sent back to JAMB. It’s a crucial step to ensure that the name change is reflected accurately in the JAMB records. 3. Important note on name changes Even if you obtain a court affidavit and change your name with NIMC after writing JAMB, it’s essential to understand that JAMB will not automatically update your name. Your change of name may be valid, but the records with JAMB will remain unchanged. 4. Changing date of birth Changing the date of birth is usually not allowed either. However, in error evident cases, it is allowed and a change of date of birth requires a payment of 15,000 Naira at an accredited JAMB CBT registration centre. It’s important to note that this correction must be done first on NIMC before the integration can be possible on JAMB. 5. Bio details and NIMC Before registering for JAMB 2024, it’s highly recommended to update any bio details with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC). Especially, you are enjoined to ensure your O’level or A’level names tally with your NIN details before you register for JAMB. This ensures that your information is consistent across platforms and reduces the likelihood of discrepancies during the registration process. 6. Updating emails and phone numbers Once used, emails and phone numbers for JAMB cannot be changed. However, if a mistake has been made, you can raise a ticket to have the profile with incorrect details stepped down. This allows you to start fresh with accurate information. Final thoughts on change of name and other details on JAMB Proactive management of your personal information is key to a seamless JAMB registration process. Follow the outlined steps to ensure that your name, date of birth, and contact details are up to date for JAMB 2024. Also, always ensure to provide accurate and complete details any time you are undertaking any registration. It saves you the hassle of integration elsewhere or issues that may arise due to discrepancies.
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