WiCrypt partners with Onega Ventures to bring Wi-Fi monetisation to China
Wicrypt, an innovative African startup that enables users to share and monetise their Wi-Fi connections, is breaking into the Chinese market through a strategic partnership with Singaporean tech investment Onega Ventures, the company said in a mid-November tweet on social media. The deal, announced on X, formerly Twitter, will see Onega Ventures become the exclusive distributor of Wicrypt devices in China, and provide customer support and management services. “We are excited to partner with Onega Ventures as an official Wicrypt agent and sole distributor of Wicrypt devices in China. This means that you can now purchase, repair and manage your Wicrypt devices at Onega Ventures in China,” it posted. This marks the first entry of Wicrypt into the Asian continent, where it hopes to tap into the huge demand for fast and affordable internet access. Wicrypt is hoping to provide last-mile internet to people worldwide while harnessing the power of blockchain technology. Wicrypt’s foray into China also underscores the coming of age of Africa’s startup ecosystem – now one of the world’s most vibrant in terms of VC interest. Founded in 2018, Wicrypt, a Web3 company, leverages blockchain technology to create a decentralised network of WiFi hotspots. Users can either download the WiCrypt app or buy the WiCrypto device, a customisable hotspot creator that can also display ads, surveys, and collect user data and which allows users to share their mobile data with others, safely, to create a network. The WiCrypt network is powered by NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), which are unique digital assets that represent each connected device on the blockchain. All the data transactions that occur through the WiCrypt devices are recorded on the blockchain via the corresponding NFTs, ensuring transparency and security. WiCrypt also rewards its users for providing WiFi services, both in cash and in its native token, $WNT. Users pay a small fee to access the Wi-Fi, while hosts earn income and incentives for keeping their devices online. The $WNT token can also be staked by hosts to join the WiCrypt Network, a community of WiFi providers that benefit from shared resources and governance. WiCrypt has grown rapidly since its inception, reaching nearly 1,100 hotspots in over 30 countries, serving more than 45,000 accounts and transmitting over 895 terabytes of data. In 2021, the startup raised US$1.5 million in funding, which it used to expand its operations and target new markets, including China. China is the world’s second-largest economy, with a population of 1.4 billion and over 800 million internet users. It also has a vibrant tech ecosystem, with many innovations in areas such as e-commerce, fintech, and social media. WiCrypt aims to capture a slice of this market by offering a novel and cost-effective way of accessing the internet, especially for the underserved and rural areas. WiCrypt CEO Ugochukwu Aronu expressed his excitement about the partnership with Onega Ventures, saying that it was a great opportunity to showcase the potential of African Web3 startups in the global arena. He also shared his vision of creating a passive income stream for millions of people who use the internet daily, by turning their devices into WiFi hotspots. Bruno Yu, COO of Onega Ventures, said that he was impressed by WiCrypt’s innovative and scalable model and that he was looking forward to working with the team to grow the WiCrypt network in China. Yu is an early investor in WiCrypt and has extensive experience in the Chinese tech sector. WiCrypt is not only a pioneer in the African Web3 space but also a beneficiary of the Nigerian Communications Commission, which invested US$5,500 in the startup during its early stages.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Cyberterrorists demand $60 million ransom from South Africa
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF Here’s a life-saving time-saving tool? If you’ve got a long YouTube video you don’t have time to watch, you’ll soon be able to ask Bard to do it for you. Google’s AI service can now watch YouTube videos and summarise them for you. But this feature isn’t available to just everyone yet, it’s only available on Google Labs for now. In today’s edition N4ughtySec demands $60 million ransom How Eagle Eye prevents car theft Mr Price reports R63 million profit Funding tracker The World Wide Web3 Events Cybersecurity N4ughtySec demand $60 million from TransUnion and Experian for latest hack Brazil-based N4ughtySecTU Group which claimed responsibility for the March 2022 cyberattack on TransUnion, has resurfaced with bold assertions. The cyber extortion group is now threatening to leak the data of the South African consumer credit reporting agencies—TransUnion and Experian— within the next 72 hours unless it’s paid $60 million. N4ughtySecTU claims it has had continuous access to these agencies since their initial attack in 2022. ICYMI: In March 2022, N4ughtySec claimed to have gained access to files via a user with the password “password”, and claimed to have taken 28 million credit records, and 54 million identity numbers. TransUnion, refusing a $15 million ransom, faced the exposure of at least 3 million South African customers’ details. However, the credit bureau denied the breach maintaining it originated from a prior breach of a South African government website in 2017. Meanwhile, Experian faced its own data breach in August 2020, involving the exposure of 24 million South Africans’ information. What’s happening now? Both agencies have confirmed N4ughtySec’s demand, but have disputed the claims, stating thorough investigations found no evidence of inappropriate data access or exfiltration. Furthermore, they claim N4ughtySec misspelt their own name in the email used to contact media and executives. Although TransUnion and Experian have a history of data breaches, there’s no confirmation of the hacker group’s access to the companies. 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. Startups This Joburg startup wants to tackle vehicle theft and teen joyrides using biometric tech Eagle-Eye Defence co-founders Iviwe Mosana and Naadir Vorajee. Eagle-Eye Defence, a Johannesburg-based startup, is giving car owners greater control over their vehicles. The security company is leveraging biometric authentication to combat vehicle theft and prevent teenage joyrides. How? Using biometric fingerprint or facial recognition, Eagle-Eye’s technology ensures that only authorised drivers can start a car. Owners can also control their cars remotely using a phone app. Furthermore, authentication requests are scheduled at specified intervals, triggering alerts for owners or managers if unsuccessful. This will enable real-time monitoring and immediate intervention in case of unexpected incidents. Tragedy as a motivation: Founded by Iviwe Mosana and Naadir Vorajee, Mosana’s motivation for developing Eagle-Eye stems from a personal tragedy. In 2016, his younger brother stole their parents’ car for a joyride, resulting in an accident that claimed the lives of two of his friends. Eagle-Eye’s solution focuses on the “preventative and protective aspects of vehicle ownership.” While Eagle-Eye has successfully tested its solution on five vehicles it owns, a commercial rollout has been temporarily limited by licencing requirements regulated by ICASA. Nonetheless, they have a certificate that permits installation only in their own vehicles. The company has submitted an application for the complete licence and anticipates selling its solution to third-party clients by the middle of next year. Introducing: IP Whitelisting on Paystack Tighten security for your business by declaring the specific IP addresses from which Paystack should process API requests. Here’s how to set it up. Telecom Mr Price’s telecoms division reports R63 million pre-finance profit Mr Price has announced impressive growth in its telecoms division for the first 26 weeks of its financial year. Financial results: The South African retailer’s telecom division has recorded a profit before finance costs of R63 million ($3.3 million), a 37% increase compared to R46 million ($2.4 million) during the same period last year. This growth is attributed to retail sales within Mr Price’s telecoms segment, which reached R533 million ($28.3 million), and a strong performance by Mr Price Mobile, the company’s mobile virtual network operator. Other telecoms income, including revenue from contracts with customers, reached R87 million ($4.6 million), contributing to a total telecoms revenue of R620 million ($32.9 million). Zoom out: Meanwhile, MTN South Africa records a revenue boost in Q3 of 2023, despite grappling with 273 days of load-shedding during the initial nine months of the year. The service revenue experienced a notable 4.1% year-on-year growth in Q3, surging from 2.5% in Q2 and 1.3% in Q1, reaching R31 billion ($1.6 billion). Register for the Bluechip Data and AI Summit Join us at the #BluechipDataandAISummit: Building an Effective Data and AI Solution. Shape the future of your business and industry with data-driven intelligence, innovative solutions and sustainable growth. Secure your seat today. TC Insights Funding tracker Image source: TC insights This week, Nigerian trade finance startup, FrontEdge, raised $10 million in debt and equity funding. The funding round was led by TLG Capital with additional investment dupport from Flexport. Here are other deals for the week: Aquarech, the Kenyan fish farming startup, secured $1.7 million in equity funding. The investment was led by the Dutch global aquaculture investment fund Aqua-Spark, with additional capital from Acumen, Katapult and Mercy Corps Ventures. Egyptian e-commerce platform, WayUp Sports, secured an undisclosed amount in funding in a seed round led by Beltone Venture Capital, Index Sports Fund, and other strategic angel investors. That’s it for this week! Follow us on Twitter, 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 $37,321 – 0.15% + 2.69% Ether $2,067 + 0.07% + 4.39% Pyth Network $0.50 + 14.19% – 23.35% Solana
Read MoreNigeria’s Central Bank Governor is ready to talk after weeks of silence
Yemi Cardoso, Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, will tomorrow share the bank’s policy direction and economic outlook for the first time since his Senate confirmation. After two postponements of critical rates meetings, Cardoso will speak at the Chartered Institute of Bankers annual dinner. The Central Bank of Nigeria is mandated by law to hold monetary policy committee (MPC) meetings every two months to set the lending rate for Africa’s biggest economy. Still, it has failed to do so since July. “Tomorrow’s meeting may boost market confidence as uncertainties about CBN’s actions would reduce,” Mayowa Badejo, a partner at 213 Capital, an investment and risk advisory firm, told TechCabal. He added that the dinner would help Cardoso interact with bankers and share his plan regarding monetary policy with them while seeking their cooperation. Cardoso’s silence and lack of urgency comes as Nigeria battles with rising inflation, which hit an 18-year high of 27% in October. KPMG, a financial and business advisory firm, predicts that Nigeria’s headline inflation will hit 30% by December 2023. Analysts anticipated a rise in interest rates this month to help slow down inflation and protect banks from losing capital as inflation continues to rise. However, the lack of communication, which might continue until 2024, has now created a vacuum. Aside from failing to curb inflation, the failure to host an MPC meeting in four months and the lack of communication from Cardoso since his appointment are also dampening foreign investor confidence. His two-month silence comes as the naira trades at some of its lowest levels amid a dollar shortage. Under the acting CBN governor, Folashodun Shonubi, the bank raised interest rates, but Cardoso has yet to make any decisions. TechCabal reported that CBN postponed this month’s MPC meeting scheduled for Monday and Tuesday without giving a reason. The Central Bank’s decision to unveil an economic outlook for 2024, shows that Cardoso is finally ready to talk and share his ideas on how inflation could possibly be curbed. NBS data showed food inflation hit 31.5% in October. The prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish, fruit, meat, vegetables, milk, cheese, and eggs soared as cash-strapped Nigerians struggled to buy major essentials.
Read MoreTelkom share price jumped by 8% as it announced infrastructure-provider strategy
Telkom’s share price surged by 8% as it announced a strategy to pivot to an infrastructure-focused model. The company aims to act as an enabler of South Africa’s digital future. Telkom’s share price surged by as much as 8% on Tuesday as the telco announced a strategy to double down on its mobile, fibre, data centre, marine cables and satellite infrastructure provision businesses. The company stated that it would invest capital into building and maintaining infrastructure assets including fibre networks, data centres, satellite, and marine cables. The strategy, which has been under execution for six months, is expected to be concluded by the end of 2025. “[An] InfraCo strategy realises our true competitive advantage – showing Telkom to be a strategic national asset – the backbone of the SA’s digital economy and the enabler of the country’s digital future,” the company stated. Vodacom, MTN double down as fibre race heats up Telkom further said that despite only having been underway for six months, the strategy is already reaping results. The company cited strong operational and financial performances, and the delivery of “strategic imperatives” as results of the pivot to the infraco model. In its financial results for the half-year period ended 30 September, the company reported a 95% increase in cash generated from operations, 52% increase in profit after tax, and an 11% increase in mobile broadband subscribers. Despite being the country’s third largest mobile network operator, Telkom has struggled to keep up and compete with the duopoly of MTN and Vodacom in the mobile telephony business. However, the company has made some strides in its infrastructure subsidiaries. Its Openserve fibre subsidiary currently leads the fibre-to-the-home market in kilometres and homes connected by fibre. In its other infrastructure plays, the telco has ten carrier-neutral data centres in its portfolio as well as over 400 5G sites. A market opportunity spotted According to the company, the high demand for infrastructure, a leading market position, significant barriers to entry in infrastructure, a strong balance sheet and a so-called experienced management team position it in a favourable position to pursue the infraco model. Telkom also states that the infraco model simplifies its business model through economies of scale and predictable returns which would be driven by demand for infrastructure from corporates, SMEs and consumers. The fibre frontier will determine who wins the battle for 5G dominance in SA However, despite its insistence that there is limited competition in the infrastructure sector in South Africa as most telcos are focused more on services, competition does exist. Over the last two years, MTN and Vodacom have also doubled down on their fibre businesses, challenging Openserve’s market dominance. In the data centre front, Africa Data Centres, Teraco, Vantage and MTN Business continue to outpace Telkom–owned subsidiary BCX while in marine cables, Paratus and Vodacom have made more landings than the company. With a current cash balance of R3.6 billion (~$191 million) and unutilised credit facilities totalling R4.6 billion (~$244 million), Telkom has enough resources to pursue this strategy. However, whether the execution will be successful by the self-imposed deadline of September 2025 remains to be seen.
Read MoreNigeria’s largest lender wants to expand to Asia
Access Bank, Nigeria’s largest lender by assets plans to expand into Asia early in 2024. Opening a subsidiary in Asia could enable the bank to serve customers in the region that is the largest non-African trading partner. Per Semafor, the bank hopes to receive approval from regulators by the end of 2023. With $26.5 billion in assets under management, Access Bank Group will join South Africa’s Standard Bank Group ($161.53 billion AUM) and TymeBank, the South African challenger fintech to open shop in Asia. Standard Bank has offices in Singapore and Dubai, while TymeBank recently expanded to the Philippines. While speaking at the just-concluded Africa Financial Industry Summit in Lome, the capital of Togo, Hebert Wigwe, chairman of Access Holdings, the parent company of Access Bank, warned that Africa could be cut off from the global financial system. “You cannot blame European or American banks who chose not to be here. We blame ourselves, if we’re not big enough to support our people.” “We told ourselves that we’ll keep pushing that wall until we make sure we are on the global stage. We will be in London, we will be in the US, we will be in Hong Kong, we will be in all of these markets to make sure that our people cannot be disintermediated,” the bank chief said. A 2021 report described the company’s goal as “to become an aggregator in Africa, building a global payment gateway and providing trade finance support and correspondent banking services.” In July, the bank announced it had agreed to buy Standard Chartered’s subsidiaries in Angola, Cameroon, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, as well as its consumer, private and business banking business in Tanzania. This came after a series of acquisitions and new subsidiaries that saw the bank open shop in Angola, South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. Access Holdings, the parent company of Access Bank currently has a UK subsidiary and operates representative offices in China, Lebanon, and India. Its UK subsidiary also operates a branch in Dubai, the UAE. Its current international operations serve corporations and other banks at the institutional level, as opposed to the retail banking services it offers in its African locations. The bank has not disclosed where it plans to set up shop or whether this new expansion means it will begin offering retail banking services in its Asian operation.
Read MoreWomen in tech: a five-year retrospective.
The African tech industry has seen a remarkable transformation over the past five years, and at the forefront of this change are a growing number of African women who are making significant contributions to the sector. While the representation of women in tech remains below par (less than 15% of Africa’s tech start-ups have at least one female co-founder, with fewer than 10% having a woman CEO), there has been a noticeable increase in their participation, driven by a combination of factors, including increased access to education and training, the rise of mobile technology and digital platforms, and a growing recognition of the importance of diversity and inclusion in the tech ecosystem. Numerous initiatives, such as coding boot camps, mentorship programmes, and scholarships have emerged to provide women with the necessary skills and knowledge to thrive in the tech sector. One such initiative is The Future is Female Mentorship Programme, which trains female founders in communications, public relations, and working with tech media. Claudine Moore, founder and convener of the programme told TechCabal that since its inception in 2020, the number of applications they receive has increased every year, with applications coming in from Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa and a few others. She emphasised that there’s more the growing representation of women in the industry enables more women to apply and participate. Another notable programme is the Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders, which provides equity-free support, mentorship, training, and networking opportunities for women in tech across the continent. Notable alumni of the accelerator include Clafiya (founded by Jennie Nwokoye), a health-tech startup that raised $610,000 in a pre-seed round earlier this year. She Code Africa, a non-profit organisation geared towards providing and upskilling for women and girls interested in STEM, has over 30 thousand members in their community. The organisation often collaborates with others to organise seminars, conferences and boot camps that teach young women relevant skills needed to thrive in the rapidly changing industry. Undoubtedly, for women, there’s a growing interest in STEM-related and tech roles, but the gap is still wide, and the journey is still long. Perhaps one of the greatest factors that point to this disparity is the difference between the sheer number of mentorship programmes for women, compared to those geared towards funding women’s startups. The pressing problem of many mentorships and not enough funding. According to a 2022 report by Partech Africa, only 3% of venture capital funding in Africa goes to startups with a female CEO. This means that male-led startups are 33 times more likely to secure funding than female-led startups. While investment in female-led startups has grown in the past five years, and there are a few VC funds and organisations providing investment opportunities for female-led startups, the disparity is still high. Brenda Wangari of Madica attests to this fact: “There has been limited access to investor networks coupled with little representation of women in the sector. Investors have also been investing following various patterns which have locked out women founders from funding opportunities,” she told TechCabal. According to the Diversity Dividend report by Disrupt Africa, which surveyed over 2,000 African startups, approximately 14% of them had at least one female co-founder, and 10% had a woman CEO. Despite the fact that female-led startups typically perform better than male-led ones, in 2022, male-led startups received 96% ($4.6bn) of the total volume, leaving female-led ventures with 4% ($188m). According to a report published by Disrupt Africa in 2022, in the dominant countries with startup founders (Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt), the percentage of funded startups with at least one female co-founder was less than 30% across the board. Even more concerning is the record low in funding that the first half of 2023 the ecosystem has recorded. According to a report by The Big Deal, “Single female founders and exclusively female founding teams raised just $22 million in equity funding in H1 2023, the lowest 6-month number since H1 2021.” However slow, there might be some promising progress. Maya Horgan-Famodu, founder and partner at Ingressive, told TechCabal, “I’m seeing more women represented across all the tech venture funds across Africa; almost all of them have at least one female partner or one female C-suite executive. There is significant representation on the investing side, female and women of colour and indigenous African women are well represented. I’m also seeing female-only investment firms, both investors at these firms and portfolios that are only dedicated to investing in women-owned businesses. For example, Moremi funds, it’s the gender lens investing fund of funds,” she added. Brenda Wangari shares this sentiment: “There have been promising recent developments. We are now witnessing more female-led African companies raising significant capital as well as managing funds that are actively writing checks. There has also been a rise in communities like Women Who Build Africa, which is solely focused on bringing together and supporting women in the African tech ecosystem.” In 2021, Eloho Omame and Odun Eweniyi founded First Check Africa, a female-focused angel investment fund. The mission was simple: to make it easy for African women to raise capital and invest in tech. Combined with the work of women like Yemi Keri and Ivana Osagie of Rising Tide Africa, Fatoumata Ba of Janngo Capital, Maya Horgan Famodu of Ingressive, Lisa Thomas of Samata Capital and many others, there’s hope that the ecosystem will grow to a point where female-led startups will secure equitable funding and have access to all the tools they need to grow. Claudine Moore believes that women supporting women is the fastest way for this growth to happen. “What’s important is women supporting women, which is why I created the Future is Female Mentorship program.” The participation of African women in tech has witnessed incredible growth over the past five years, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years. With increased access to education and training, the rise of mobile technology
Read MoreKenya picks Microsoft as cloud partner for e-govt services beating Google and Amazon
Kenya has selected Microsoft as its cloud partner as part of a broader initiative to migrate government services to the Azure cloud platform, beating out players like Amazon and Google. The government hopes that a partnership with Microsoft will give Kenya’s digital transformation plans a boost. “Microsoft will assist the government with the responsibility of adopting a cloud-first strategy, transforming public service delivery through the adoption of technology and improving efficiencies in provision of e-government services for citizens,” said a statement from the ICT Authority (ICTA), which witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Microsoft, alongside the ICT ministry. The Kenyan government started digitising most of its services such as immigration applications as soon as President Ruto began his tenure in August 2022. Over 14,000 services, such as those offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been onboarded to the e-Citizen platform. The e-Citizen portal allows Kenyans to access the services available through various agencies. With Microsoft’s help, taking the services to the cloud will improve efficiencies in providing the services to citizens. Microsoft is one of the oldest technology companies in Kenya. It set up an ADC office in Nairobi in 2019 and has been forming partnerships with other local organisations such as universities. The American tech corporation has also been instrumental in revising the computer science curriculum in Kenyan colleges. Other cloud providers, such as Huawei, have also been working with the government, but in different capacities. For instance, Huawei is one of the companies helping the country expand fibre coverage under the National Optic Fibre Network Backhaul Initiative (NOFBI). AWS launched a development centre in Nairobi, a second in Africa after opening one in Cape Town, South Africa. President Ruto said that the centre would be key to “bolstering its corporate citizenship credentials through its support for a robust framework to anchor optimal interactions between government, clients, start-ups, and other partners.”
Read MoreAfter issuing insurance to 2,000 drivers, Brolly is partnering with Bolt in Ghana
Brolly, the Ghanaian Techstars-backed insurance startup, has partnered with Bolt, the global ride-hailing company, to provide insurance coverage exclusively in Ghana to ride-hailing drivers with daily premium payments. Brolly, a Ghanaian insurtech startup underwritten by Allianz, is partnering with Bolt to insure drivers in Ghana. The startup had piloted its pay-as-you-go auto insurance solution, which allows drivers to pay premiums daily or weekly, with over 2,000 ride-sharing drivers before the partnership. However, the partnership now allows Bolt drivers to access insurance within the Bolt driver app, removing the need for them to have multiple platforms. “Since we began Brolly a year ago, we saw that ride-sharing drivers were naturally attracted to our way of making premium payments,” Bernard Braah, the CEO of Brolly, told TechCabal. Brolly’s underwriting partnership with Allianz allows it to take a cut out of every policy that is sold on its platform. Braah added that the startup chose Allianz because it aligned with Brolly’s goal of continent-wide expansion, as Allianz is present in more than a dozen African countries. Africa is the continent least protected by insurance; the sector only contributes 3% of the continent’s GDP, which is less than half the global average. The penetration rate for insurance in Africa is 2.8%, the lowest for any continent. For many Africans, the cost of annual insurance premiums makes it an unaffordable luxury. Brolly, which currently has 4,000 users, initially started by collecting monthly payments but introduced daily and weekly payments to align with the income patterns of ride-hailing drivers and small business owners. “With flexible payments, people can actually get the services they need because I have actually observed people struggle to pay their premiums,” Braah, the former general manager of Unique Insurance, a twenty-year-old insurance company, told TechCabal. Motor insurance is the second largest contributor to Africa’s insurance market after life insurance. However, some customers can submit damaged cars for insurance, as most insurance companies do not physically inspect cars before insuring them. To combat this, Brolly integrated artificial intelligence by using image and video recognition technology to eliminate fraudulent claims. The startup uses this technology to verify claims and ensure that claims match the pictures that customers send in at the underwriting stage.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Nigeria launches its Startup Engagement Portal
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy pre-Friday If you’re an avid gamer or just looking for a short sweet read today, check out this article on what gaming can teach us about mastery and efficiency. In the article, a League of Legends player tells us how people who want to learn new things should focus on efficiency first before they aim for mastery. Read Mastery v Efficiency: A gaming perspective. In today’s edition Nigeria launches startup engagement portal OpenAI reopens doors to CEO Kenya adopts Microsoft’s cloud-first strategy in public sector M-KOPA expands to South Africa FSCA warns against GS Partners The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Policies Nigeria launches Startup Engagement Portal Image source: Bosun Tijani (X) The Nigerian government has launched its Startup Engagement Portal thirteen months after its Startup Act was signed into law. On Wednesday morning, minister for communications, innovation and digital economy Bosun Tijani announced the launch of the Startup Support and Engagement Portal. What is the Startup Engagement Portal? It’s the doorway into the Startup Act…literally. Every benefit or opportunity given under the Nigerian Startup Act hinges on the startup portal. Established under S. 30 of the Act, the Portal is a one-stop shop for startups. It helps startups easily handle paperwork and registration with agencies like the Corporate Affairs Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Central Bank of Nigeria. Startups that also register on the portal will get access to fiscal and tax incentives like tax breaks. The Act hints that only startups registered on the Portal—otherwise called “labelled startups” will be allowed to operate in the country. As Tijani says in his tweet, the Portal will also help the Nigerian government select representatives for the Startup Consultative Forum, a forum that will select leaders for a National Council for Digital Innovation and Entrepreneurship (NCDIE)—the body in charge of implementing the Startup Act. The minister has urged all startups, VC firms, accelerators and angel investors in the country to register on the Portal. Zoom out: Nigeria’s implementation of its Startup Act might be a year behind schedule, but the delay could be understandable given the transition of power following its elections. So far, the country remains one of five—after Tunisia, Senegal, DRC, and Togo—to have a Startup Act. Several other African countries including Ghana, Rwanda and Kenya are reportedly developing similar laws. 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 OpenAI reopens doors to CEO as board shuffles out GIF Source: Giphy OpenAI has annulled its divorce to CEO Sam Altman and co-founder/president Greg Brockman. Yesterday, the ChatGPT parent company announced that Altman and Brockman will be reinstated to their previous positions. The company also announced that its board of directors have been reconstituted to include ex-Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor, former US secretary of treasury Larry Summers, and Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo who was on the old board of directors. JSYK: Altman was fired abruptly on Friday after the board accused him of being incapable of leading OpenAI forward. Shortly after his dismissal, Brockman, who was also removed as president, also quit along with senior researchers at OpenAI. Chief technology officer Mira Murati was then appointed interim CEO. By Sunday, blindsided OpenAI investors like Microsoft pushed the board to negotiate Altman’s return but things began to fall apart when my brother Jaja Altman demanded the board’s removal as a condition for his return. The board then, on Monday, hired another interim CEO, former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear, to replace Murati who had begun siding with Altman. On Tuesday, Murati, along with lead scientist Ilya Sutskever who many say spearheaded Altman’s removal over a disagreement the two had, joined 500 employees at OpenAI to demand the board’s removal and Altman’s reinstatement—or face mass resignations. At the same time, Microsoft had already hired Altman and Brockman to lead an AI division, and it was offering all OpenAI employees places on the new team. And now? Now, it appears pressure from investors, the media and the employees have panned out. Altman is set to go back to his position, and the new board is going to create a larger board of nine people to govern OpenAI. There’s also going to be an investigation into what prompted the Altman’s dismissal in the first place. Government Kenya adopts Microsoft’s cloud-first strategy in public sector The Kenyan government is looking to improve its flexibility and responsiveness in its public sector. The government announced its adoption of Microsoft’s cloud-first strategy to enhance public service delivery. What’s a Microsoft cloud-first strategy? It is an approach to IT that prioritises the use of Microsoft cloud services over on-premises solutions. Microsoft will collaborate with the national government, Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) through the ICT Authority to establish a joint working framework. The framework is expected to be finalised by February 2024. Zoom out: The agreement aims to accelerate Kenya’s digital transformation and align with the objectives of the Kenyan digital economy blueprint, with a focus on fostering technological adoption, improving the efficiency of e-government services, and enhancing cybersecurity awareness. Introducing: IP Whitelisting on Paystack Tighten security for your business by declaring the specific IP addresses from which Paystack should process API requests. Here’s how to set it up. Energy M-KOPA to bring affordable solar energy to South Africa amidst electricity crisis M-KOPA Solar. Image source: The Kenyan Wallstreet M-KOPA is bringing light to South Africa amidst the country’s electricity crisis. The digital financing firm is expanding its pay-as-you-go model for solar panels and smartphones to Soweto, five months after it secured $250 million in debt and equity to fund its expansion across Africa. Loadshedding in SA: Earlier reports in July show a 12-hour-long power outage in January, which eased up in May following South Africa’s efforts to enhance its generating capacity. However, Eskom warned in September that load shedding
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🚀Entering Tech #49: Mastery v Efficiency: A gaming perspective
Here’s what gaming can teach us about mastery and efficiency. 22 || November || 2023 View in Browser In partnership with #Issue 49 Efficiency v Mastery: A gaming perspective Share this newsletter Greetings ET readers Today’s edition is an answer to our most asked question, “How can I master xxx in x months?” It should take you approximately 7 minutes to read, and I promise you it’s definitely worth it. by Timi Odueso Lessons from League of Legends In an October 30 thread, I wrote about how much I love League of Legends—an online multiplayer battle arena game—and how it’s taken me two years to become an efficient player. League of Legends champs. L-R: Lux, Jinx, Yasuo and Blitzcrank Let me explain: League of Legends has over 180 million players and 166 champions, most with five abilities. For each of these champions, there are about 63 runes that enhance their abilities, and about 200 items they can buy in-game (all of which will have different effects on the champions). The main gameplay in League is called Summoner’s Rift where two teams battle to destroy each other’s base across three different lanes—it’s capture the flag. It’s a 5 v 5 game and everyone starts at Level 1 for every game. That means that you, a player who’s attained mastery of one champion, could be paired up with four other players you don’t know who want to try out new champions. The Summoner’s Rift Map The result of the above: there no assured wins because winning isn’t just about how good you are. Not because you’re bad players, but because even though it’s the same map and the same champions, it’s not the same item combinations, nor the same players, the same runes or even the same skins. In fact, the League wiki says that are over 2 million different item combos, and over 51 million different team compositions to play in the game. There are too many moving parts to learn all at once. When my UX designer friend Boluwatife Oyinloye introduced me to League in November 2021, I felt like absolute crap for the first two weeks because my avatars, the champions I tried to play, died every minute. But the moment I found one champ I could play, a long-range sniper named Caitlyn, I latched on and played her—and only her—for twelve months straight. I played many good games, yes, but this meant that when Cait was banned in certain games or if someone else on my team chose Cait before I could select her, I would suck. A year later, I discovered Senna, a long-range undead champion, who I think is the best thing since small chops, and again, I latched on. I had two champs, but I still wasn’t efficient enough. I was too nervous, too unsure—I sometimes still am. If you’re thinking, How dis one take consine me? Hold on, you’ll get it soon. Nine months ago, I started frequently playing another mode called ARAM—All Random, All Middle. In this mode, the game picks one of League’s 166 champs at random for you to play. Everyone is also put on a single lane, instead of the three lanes in the standard Summoner’s Rift mode—which is different because you can pick which champion or lane you want. In ARAM, however, the computer selects a champion for you at random, and the game is played on one lane. I was forced to play champions I would never try over and over again. I should mention that I didn’t play ARAM because I wanted to learn new champions, I did it because I sucked at Summoner’s Rift and wanted to win well at something. ARAM Map Now/Today, I have some form of mastery in 15 champions and I can play up to 50. The more important point is that I now know all 166 champions and their abilities. And this means that when I play against Tryndamere, a man who—like many African leaders—refuses to die, I know to keep my distance when his eyes glow red. When I play Chogath—a horned beast of insatiable hunger, like me at 2 AM—in ARAM, I know to buy Warmog’s Armour so I can regenerate my full health in 10 seconds. I also know—by hard lessons—never, ever, ever, to run after Singed even if he has just 1 hit point left; he leaves a noxious gas in his trail that slowly kills you. More recently, League introduced a new map and I find myself playing any champion on that map and doing fairly well. As I said in this tweet, I’m not a top player yet, but I’m comfortable enough in my champion’s skin because I know what I’m up against—I know who I am fighting. Simplify with Rowvar Simplify property investment with Rowvar. Start here. First, be efficient… Now, how does this winding story concern you and why should you give a flying rat’s rump? Well, because by far the most frequent question I’ve been asked on #EnteringTech’s Ask a Techie segment is: “Can I master xxx within a couple of weeks/months?” or some variation of it. Some even add “…and get a dollar-paying job too?” And each time, it takes every morsel of good judgment I have, and the threat of my manager Muyiwa beating me not to say, “No, the hell you can not! Na play?” Mastery, or even efficiency, takes a surmountable amount of time and hard work. It’s not enough that you read about something or are good at doing your everyday role, you have to know what’s out there too; what your competition looks like, how you fare against it, and how you can play on the same field. When I’m not doing the only thing I love 100%—sorry Muyiwa, work is not my passion, I lied on the application form—I work as a Senior Editor at TechCabal where I manage newsletters. I’ve been at TC for almost three years now, and I can confidently say
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