Remedial Health raises $12 million in Series A round
In Nigeria, four out of ten packs of medicine sold are counterfeits. While counterfeit drugs sabotage the local pharmaceutical industry and compromise the treatment of diseases, Remedial Health, a Nigerian health tech startup, is addressing this issue and regularising its supply chain. In Nigeria, four out of ten packs of medicine sold are counterfeits. About 267,000 people die every year as a result of fake and substandard medications. Counterfeit drugs deplete Nigerians’ trust in the country’s healthcare system, sabotage the local pharmaceutical industry, compromise the treatment of diseases, and kill people. While there have been efforts by the Federal Government to solve this problem, Remedial Health, a Nigerian health tech startup, is solving this problem. The health tech startup has raised $12 million in Series A funding—a mix of debt and equity—led by US-based venture capital firm QED Investors and Ventures Platform. The investment represents QED’s second investment in an African startup and Ventures Platform’s first Series A investment. Ycombinator, Tencent, and Gaingels also participated in the round. This new funding will enable Remedial Health to deepen the reach of its services across Nigeria—currently, the startup operates in 34 of Nigeria’s 36 states. Founded in 2021 by Samuel Okwuada and Victor Benjamin, Remedial Health offers digital procurement and patient medication records (PMR) platforms that make it easier for neighbourhood pharmacies, Patent and Proprietary Medicine Vendors (PPMVs), and hospitals to access affordable and authentic retail medicines. Samuel Okwuada, CEO and co-founder of Remedial Health, while speaking on the raise said, “We are delighted to have raised these funds, particularly with the wider context of the global funding downturn and the wide range of economic headwinds in Nigeria. Our continued growth has put us in a strong position to deliver our mission of creating a tech-enabled, pharmacy-centred healthcare network, and we are looking forward to leveraging these funds to achieve more success.” During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Okwuada discovered a market gap and a problem with the drug supply chain: hospitals that needed drugs could not access them due to the markets being shut down. “So I said look, we really need to standardize the supply chain for medicine in Africa,” Okwuada told TechCabal. Okwuada and his team began digitalizing the sale of drugs. Healthcare providers can buy vetted medications through the Remedial App and receive them within 24 hours via Remedial Health’s logistics network. Remedial also offers pharmacies and PPMVs credit to fund inventory purchases and provide employee loans and salary advances. Through its ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ solution, pharmacies on the Remedial can get stock delivered within 24 hours and pay for it later, while Remedia Health charges a little interest. This process strips pharmacies and local drug stores of the tedious paperwork, huge deposits and collateral involved in getting regular loans from the bank to do their business. Pharmacies that opt for the BNPL solution of Remedial Health have a repayment period of 14 days, while hospitals and government institutions have an extended period of 30 days and 60 days, respectively. Logistics pose a challenge Nigeria has three major pharmaceutical market hubs; Idumota in Lagos state, Kano, and Onitsha in Anambra state. Remedial Health reaches the entire nation by establishing regional hubs in different zones across the country to enable a seamless experience. However, moving shipments from one point to another remains a challenge. Okwuada asserts that bad road networks, unreliable third parties, law enforcement and various tax collectors pose a big challenge. “Getting items from point A to point B seems simple, but it’s very difficult to do in Nigeria. Especially when you are now on the interstates like you are moving between states.” According to a statement seen by TechCabal, Remedial Health, works with more than 300 manufacturers and serves more than 5,000 hospitals, pharmacies and PPMVs across 34 of Nigeria’s 36 states. According to Remedial’s CEO, 30 new stores have been opened due to Remedial’s financing offering. Okwuada claims the startup sold over 100,000,000 individual packs of medicine in 2022. “If you apply the 40% counterfeit rule, it means that as a company, we replaced 40 million counterfeit drugs in the Nigeria market,” said Okwuada. While Remedial Health is disrupting the drug supply chain in Nigeria and fighting the long battle against the spread of counterfeit drugs, Okwuada is keen on deepening Remedial Health’s market presence in the country. “The goal is to become the operating system for pharmacies in Nigeria at least within the next 18 to 24 months,” he said. “Right now, the goal is to deepen our presence in Nigeria. We have about 10% of the market share. So, we have a very long way to go before we start thinking of expanding to other countries, and we feel that once you have a significant market share in Nigeria, it’s going to be a lot easier to replicate in other countries.”
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – MSMEats
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy new month Vote for TechCabal! We’ve been nominated for the “Best Educative Content Creator” award at the Social Media Awards. We’d like to win so our EIC can give take us on a real deep dive at the beach. If you’d like to support our ministry of utmost enjoyment, please take a few minutes to vote for us here. In today’s edition Nigeria pledges $164 million to MSMEs and startups Senegal shuts down its internet again SA sends Google packing startups OPay’s CEO steps down The World Wide Web3: Nigeria confirms Binance’s illegality Event: TC Live Opportunities Economy Nigeria pledges $164 million to MSMEs and startups African telecoms are taking a beating, and Nigeria’s shaky forex market is all to blame. Could it be a good time to be a small business in Nigeria? Amidst economic hardships brought on by an abrupt removal of fuel subsidies and new forex policies, Nigeria’s new president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is moving to bolster the country’s informal sector. In a broadcast yesterday, the president announced that the country had earmarked ₦125 billion ($164 million) to “energise” the informal sector, especially micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). President Bola Ahmed Tinubu How will this work? By March 2024, the country plans to provide grants of ₦50,000 ($65) each to 1,300 MSMEs in all 774 local governments across the country. About 100,000 MSMEs and startups will also share a ₦75 billion fund ($98.6 million) from which they can apply for ₦500,000 ($657) to ₦1 million ($1,315) loans at a competitive interest rate of 9% per annum. Manufacturers also get a cut: Per the president, a ₦75 billion ($98.6 million) fund has also been allocated for manufacturers in the country. This fund will support 75 enterprises, each accessing “₦1 billion ($1.3 million) credit at 9% per annum with a maximum of 60 months repayment for long-term loans and 12 months for working capital”. At this time, nothing is known about the application process for these funds. This is a developing story. Secure payments with Monnify Monnify has simplified how businesses accept payments to enable growth. We are trusted by Piggyvest, Buypower, Wakanow, Fairmoney, Cowrywise, and over 10,000 Nigerian businesses. Get your Monnify account today here. Internet Senegal shuts down its internet again Image source: DMforCredit, Lol, but we’re serious. Once again, the Senegalese government has shut down access to the internet. If this feels like like déjà vu, it is probably because this happened twice in June, following the arrest of Ousmane Sonko who ran for president in Senegal’s 2019 election. Why is this happening again? In a tweet, the government announced it is shutting off access to the internet to maintain public order. Apparently, there have been some hateful messages circulating on social media and stirring up trouble. The citizens are protesting Ousmane Sonko’s arrest as they think that it is politically motivated to prevent him from contesting in the 2024 election. Senegal, where approximately 58% of the population are internet users, has a history of using social media restrictions to control protests. In 2021, the authorities reportedly limited access to social media and messaging apps, in addition to measures targeting traditional media. Zoom out: Internet shutdowns have become somewhat of a go-to move for governments seeking to assert control. Nigeria previously banned its residents from using Twitter from June 5, 2021, to January 13, 2022, because Twitter temporarily suspended the country’s President Muhammadu Buhari over an offensive tweet. Last year, seven African countries imposed shutdowns nine times. In the year before, 12 countries disrupted the internet 19 times. Is it really that hard to find a balance between openness and order, or will the internet continue to be a pawn in the political game? Discover Trends with Smile Identity Download the Smile ID State of KYC in Africa Report on the latest trends in identity verification across Africa, highlighting the power of biometric verification and document verification in combating fraud. It is a must-read for any business looking to acquire users across Africa and keep up with fraud trends. Policy South Africa’s Competition Commission imposes new restrictions on websites GIF Source: Tenor Small businesses in South Africa can breathe easy. Yesterday, the country’s Competition Commission released its final Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry report. The report represents the culmination of nearly two years of investigations into both local and international business-to-consumer (B2C) online platform markets. It identifies specific features that have a negative impact on competition within these markets. The results: The commission imposes new restrictions on Google, booking.com, Takealotand other websites to ensure that digital competition is fair and smaller businesses can compete online. Why the new restrictions? After an investigation, the Competition Commission found that Google’s business model and dominance negatively impact online platform competition. Additionally, the price parity requirement implemented by Booking.com prevents customers from listing services and products at lower prices on competing platforms. Launched in February 2021, the publication of the final report was delayed by several months after the Competition Commission published a provisional report with recommendations in July 2022. To address the distortion, the Competition Commission has implemented remedial measures on Google, aimed at enhancing visibility for smaller South African platforms in both paid and organic search results. Furthermore, it has directed Booking.com to discontinue its price parity requirement and notify all hotels and accommodation providers on its platform in South Africa about this alteration. Booking.com is also “required to put in place substantial programmes to provide funding of initiatives in the identification, onboarding, promotion and growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are black-owned and/or in black communities on the Booking.com platform.” All platforms will be given time to implement the remedial actions depending on the complexity of the remedy. Fintech President of Opay Nigeria resigns after two years Ex-President Olu Akanmu and MD Dauda Gotring Yesterday, Olu Akanmu, announced his resignation as president and co-CEO of Opay Nigeria. Moving forward:
Read MorePresident Tinubu announces ₦125 billion fund for micro and small businesses
In a nationwide broadcast on Monday evening, President Bola Tinubu announced a ₦75 billion to fund MSMEs. ₦125 billion has also been earmarked to support the informal sector. President Bola Tinubu has announced a plan to support small businesses and startups in Nigeria in response to the country’s current economic challenges. In a nationwide broadcast on Monday evening, Tinubu disclosed that his government intends to spend N75 billion between July 2023 and March 2024 to strengthen the manufacturing sector. According to the president, the fund will support 75 enterprises, each accessing “N1 billion credit at 9% per annum with a maximum of 60 months repayment for long-term loans and 12 months for working capital”. However, how this policy will be implemented wasn’t stated. N125 billion has also been earmarked to “energise” the informal sector, especially micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Nigeria reportedly has over 39 million SMEs. “Out of the sum, we will spend N50 billion on a Conditional Grant to 1 million nano businesses between now and March 2024. Our target is to give N50,000 each to 1,300 nano business owners in each of the 774 local governments across the country,” Tinubu said in his broadcast speech. Since taking office in May, President Tinubu introduced several reforms—notably the removal of fuel subsidies and liberalization of the exchange rate windows—with far-reaching effects on the Nigerian economy. Nigeria’s headline inflation, for instance, hit a seven-year high of 22.79% in June, driven by a rise in the prices of food. But experts and investors are optimistic about the eventual benefits of the aggressive but market-friendly approach of the new government. The Tinubu administration will also fund 100,000 MSMEs and start-ups with N75 billion. Each beneficiary will access between N500,000 to N1 million at 9% interest per annum and a repayment period of 36 months, the president disclosed.
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Kenyans are scanning their irises in exchange for Worldcoin tokens
Sam Altman’s creepy vision of an iris-scanning ‘Global Digital Currency’ is gaining popularity in Kenya. Kenyans are queuing in shopping malls to scan their iris in exchange for Worldcoin tokens worth 7700 Kenyan Shillings. And crypto firms in Kenya are riding on the coattails of Worldcoin’s popularity to help participants change their free tokens to cash. Last week, Worldcoin, a blockchain company founded in 2019 by Open AI chief, Sam Altman, Max Novendstern, and Alex Blania, launched their iris-scan-for-token orbs globally, after trial runs in Indonesia, Chile, Kenya and 24 other countries. On Wednesday, July 26, two days after the global public launch, Altman tweeted that one person was being “verified” every 8 seconds. World Coin is having a Kenya “take over” imaging the scenes when it crosses over to Uganda & Tanzania. https://t.co/IjgSoVLvwk — Matthew Amos Ikwap (@IkwapMatthew) July 31, 2023 Photo courtesy of Odhiambo Ogola (@PhilipOgola on Twitter) Kenyan crypto firms latch on After registering and scanning their irises, participants are given 25 Worldcoin tokens. But to convert that token to cash, they have to sell the tokens for USDT (a virtual US dollar) on a crypto exchange that lists Worldcoin’s virtual currency. They can then resell USDT for local currency. By the end of the first day of launch, each Worldcoin token was worth $2.1 or 299 Kenyan Shillions. Every person who scans their iris on Worldcoin’s shiny orbs gets 25 Worldcoin tokens (or WLD) which is worth an estimated KES7,700 or roughly $54. Data from Take Profit, a data analytics provider puts the average monthly pay of low-wage earners in Kenya at around KES15,000 monthly before tax. Enterprising crypto firms in Kenya have taken advantage of the crowds being attracted to Worldcoin’s orbs to recruit customers. On Sunday, KotaniPay, a local crypto company tweeted a video inviting people who had scanned their irises at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre to visit their booth to exchange WLD for Kenyan Shillings. How can you cash out your @worldcointokens without being scammed? We are at the @worldcoin registration in KICC. Visit us and learn more . pic.twitter.com/jlOk9zpNlx — Kotani Pay (@kotanipay) July 30, 2023 Charles Nichols, founder and CEO of Nuzo, a crypto payments company which also sells everyday food items like maize flour and smartphones and TVs invited people who had registered and scanned their irises at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre to swap WLD tokens for NuzoCoins and discounted maize flour. if you’re at KICC today for @worldcoin registration, you can swap some $WLD for $NUZO @ Ksh 375 and get unga ya 2KG for 200/= only so with 2 $WLD, you can buy 6kg of UNGA and be left with Ksh 150 #SaveWithNuzo pic.twitter.com/2cWlsXq91G — Charles (@CharlesDNichols) July 30, 2023 Nuzo is offering up to 375 Kenyan shillings per WLD token, or 9,375 Kenyan Shillings. Kenya’s data protection agency, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) released a statement on Friday warning Kenyans about scanning their irises in exchange for crypto tokens. “Individuals are advised to thoroughly inquire about how their data will be used,” the statement read in part. But digital policy analysts have criticised the statement and the agency for not being forceful enough. Before last week’s global launch, Worldcoin had been advertising in several malls in Nairobi throughout much of 2022 where it enlisted the help of young unemployed Kenyans and students to recruit participants for its beta launch. A source close to Kenya’s crypto industry says the firm may have obtained licences from the data protection agency before the launch. Despite the statement from the data protection office, Kenyans continue to throng Worldcoin orb locations in the hopes of free cash. Altman who also leads Open AI, the artificial intelligence company that launched in December 2022 says Worldcoin is necessary to distinguish between humans and artificial intelligence, distribute universal basic income and as KYC to access formal financial services. Neither he nor Worldcoin has explained what it plans to do after collecting iris scans. But the project has come under criticism and is being investigated in several countries, including the United Kingdom and France.
Read MoreSA’s competition commission cracks down on dominant online platforms
South Africa’s competition commission has released a report outlining the findings of an investigation into competitive practices of some leading online platforms and remedial actions to those practices it deemed as anti-competitive. South Africa’s competition commission has released its Online Intermediation Platforms Market Inquiry (OIPMI) final report [pdf]. The report is a culmination of almost two years of investigations into local and international business-to-consumer (B2C) online platform markets and identifies features that adversely affect competition in these markets. It includes a set of remedial actions that platforms, and some businesses, are required to implement to remedy the identified market features that adversely affect competition. The platforms required to implement remedial actions are leading platforms such as Google, Booking.com, Takealot, Apple, Uber Eats, Mr D Food, Property24, Private Property, AutoTrader, and Cars.co.za. Other businesses include national restaurant chains, Bolt Food, and Prop Data. Key findings Some of the findings include that Google Search is a critical gateway to consumers for all platforms and its business model of paid search alongside free results favours large established platforms. With regards to travel, Booking.com’s restrictions on hotel pricing on other online channels limits competition and creates a dependency that is used to extract higher commission fees. In e-commerce, Takealot faces a conflict of interest on its site as its retail division competes with the marketplace sellers leading to behaviour that has disadvantaged sellers. Google Play and Apple App stores are unconstrained in the commission fees they charge app developers, and their global business model limits the curation and visibility of SA-paid apps. Another finding is that competitors to Uber Eats and Mr D Food are disadvantaged by the lack of transparency on menu surcharges across platforms and restrictions placed on franchisees by national restaurant chains. According to the report, competitors to Property24 and Private Property are hindered by the lack of interoperability in providing property listings, and small estate agents and automotive dealers are disadvantaged by the discriminatory pricing of Property24, AutoTrader, and Cars.co.za which favours large national groups. Remedial actions To address these findings, the OIPMI has included remedial actions which include Google providing a South African badge and search filter to aid consumer support for SA platforms and introducing a new platform sites unit to display smaller SA platforms relevant to the search, along with training and R180m in advertising credits. Google is to implement in SA changes it makes in Europe to address self-preferencing. Booking.com is required to remove the restrictive pricing clauses from its contracts while Takealot is to segregate its retail division from its marketplace operations. This will prevent the latter’s retail services from accessing seller data and unilaterally stopping sellers from competing for certain brands. Additionally, Google Play and Apple App stores are to stop preventing apps from directing consumers to pay on the app’s website and to ensure continued free use by consumers of content purchased from that website, along with local app curation. Uber Eats and Mr D Food are required to inform consumers that they charge restaurants a commission fee. Additionally, they are expected to communicate that menu items may be priced differently to takeaway menus, and that restaurant chains may not unreasonably restrict the choice of food delivery service by franchisees. Property classifieds are required to put in place the ability of estate agencies to share their listings with other classifieds. Property24, AutoTrader, and Cars.co.za are also required to substantially reduce the price of listings to small and medium independent agencies and dealers. According to the commission, remedial actions should provide the following benefits to platforms, businesses, and consumers: greater visibility and opportunity for smaller South African platforms; enable more intense platform competition; level the playing field for small businesses selling through these platforms; and provide a more inclusive digital economy. All platforms will be given time to implement the remedial actions depending on the complexity of the remedy.
Read MoreBolt pulls ₦6,000 daily bonus for drivers ahead of impending strike action in Lagos
Bolt reportedly rescinded a ₦6,000 daily bonus introduced in June as drivers prepare for another strike over costs. At least two drivers from the Amalgamated Union of App-based Transport Workers of Nigeria (AUATWON) told TechCabal that Bolt has discontinued a ₦6,000 daily bonus introduced in June. The bonus was added in June after drivers went on strike to ask Bolt and Uber to increase base fares. The removal of fuel subsidies doubled fuel prices, reducing already thin margins for drivers. Ride-hailing companies eventually raised base fares by around 25% with concerns that anything more would reduce demand. Bolt’s concession was a ₦6,000 daily bonus for drivers meeting specific work goals. Yet, removing the bonus is only a minor talking point ahead of a planned strike by the drivers and Nigeria’s Labour Congress tomorrow. According to the drivers, “Some drivers parked their cars. Everyone is going through a hard time.” The National treasurer for the Union, Comrade Jolaiya Moses, told TechCabal that this was not the first time. “They did it to discourage drivers from joining the strike. The bonus is not part of our argument. It was a gimmick.” A source in the union said the bonus was a way to attract drivers to use Bolt’s platform. Bolt did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publishing this article. Supporting the NLC While the NLC did not join AUATWON’s June 7 strike because of a court injunction, Moses and Ayoade said AUATWON is affiliated to the trade unions. So as the Nigeria Labour Congress gains momentum ahead of their strike tomorrow, AUATWON has vowed to support them. NLC’s strike will try to get the government to reverse its stance on removing fuel subsidies. AUATWON’s leaders say that its members are the most affected by the high fuel prices. They also stressed that they are still seeking a 10% reduction of the commissions and possible conversion of their vehicles to CNG to counter the cost of fuel.
Read MoreSenegal’s government suspends internet again to “prevent disturbances”
The government has shut down Senegal’s internet again after an internet shutdown in June and the awarding of a 5G licence two weeks ago, following Friday’s arrest of opposition leader, Ousmane Sonko. Citing a need to prevent disturbances to public order, Senegal’s government has shut down the internet. In a statement signed by Moussa Bocar Thiam, the minister of Communications, telecommunications, and Digital Economy, and shared on Twitter, telephone operators were required to comply with the shutdown. “Due to the dissemination of hateful and subversive messages relayed on social media in a context of disturbance to public order, the internet’s mobile data is temporarily suspended during certain time slots from Monday, July 31, 2023,” the statement read. Ousmane Sonko, a popular opposition leader was arrested last Friday. In early June, the government shut down Senegal’s internet following the arrest of Sonko. According to data from Cloudflare Radar, a hub that showcases global internet traffic, internet usage in Senegal dropped by 37% from the previous day and had dropped to near zero for some telcos. This is the second time the government has shut down the internet in two months. According to some estimates, the country lost $300,000 per hour due to the June shutdown. Since the 2011 Arab Spring, internet shutdowns have become a frequent way governments have sought to establish control. Last year, seven African countries imposed shutdowns nine times, a significant decrease from 2021, when 12 countries disrupted the internet 19 times. This shutdown comes after the government awarded the country’s first 5G licence two weeks ago. Sonatel, a telco company, outbid its competitors with a XOF34.5 billion ($59.1 million) bid—12 times the second-highest bidder to win the licence. Although the licence was provisional, it hinted that the government was willing to move away from a restrictive position. But today’s shutdown has shown that not to be true.
Read MoreOlu Akanmu steps down as Opay Nigeria boss after two years
Olu Akanmu announced on Monday morning that he is stepping down as the president and co-CEO of Opay Nigeria after two years. It remains to be seen what his next steps will be. Olu Akanmu has stepped down from his role as the president and co-CEO of OPay Nigeria, according to a statement published on his Twitter page on Monday morning. Akanmu, a veteran industry professional and former executive director at FCMB, joined the Nigerian division of the Chinese-backed fintech in November 2021. Under his watch, Opay saw impressive growth during Nigeria’s cash crunch, thanks to its distribution strategies and infrastructure. The company claimed to have 30 million registered users as of April this year. “My gratitude to all my colleagues at Opay for the good work we did together in deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria, ensuring that less and less number of our people are left behind in partaking out of the opportunities of the digital financial system. Many thanks also to all our ecosystem partners and enablers who complimented us, without which we would not have been able to deliver on the lofty mission of OPay which is to ‘deepen financial inclusion through technology’,” Akanmu wrote in the statement. Despite Opay’s win, Akanmu said in his statement that more work needs to be done collectively by stakeholders to ensure that the modern digital financial system leaves no one behind. “Collaborations, public-private partnerships, and more deliberate coordination at the digital public infrastructure, ecosystem layers, would be critical to ensure we succeed in doing the next heavy lifting to extend the digital financial rail to the next 20 million,” he said. However, it remains to be seen what his next steps will be.
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Next Wave: Kenya has an opportunity to provide regional leadership
Cet article est aussi disponible en français <!– In partnership with –> First published 30 July 2023 How many cities on earth have natural forest reserves occupying almost a quarter of the city area and are still entirely within city bounds? Not too many. Only one city on the planet—and perhaps the universe—fits the bill. Nairobi. The vast 117km2 grassland sitting only a few miles away from Nairobi’s central business district is not only a tourist attraction, but it is also the inspiration for the popular moniker for Kenya’s technology ecosystem—Silicon Savannah. This is the second part of a series of ecosystem essays reviewing what often goes unspoken as a smorgasbord of private sector entrepreneurs, business angels and venture capitalists, and government attempt to cultivate unique identities around technology and innovation. If you missed last week’s email you can read the web version here and subscribe (if you’re not yet subscribed) so you don’t miss it. Small tip + why you should subscribe. For next week’s review, we’ll look at what makes Tunis, the capital of Tunisia unique as an ecosystem. For this week, step with me into Kenya, the poster child of African tech innovation for the last 15 years. Like last week, today’s review is structured on three pillars. Today’s review is structured on three pillars. What Nairobi’s ecosystem has going for it. What it does not have going for it that can be fixed. And suggestions for where to start. <!–Chart section 1 Naira-USD spreads have narrowed dramatically following FX policy reforms and the removal of Nigeria’s unorthodox central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele. | Chart: Ayomide Agbaje — TechCabal Insights. Chart end–> Partner Message Download the latest Smile ID State of KYC in Africa report on the most recent trends in identity verification across Africa, highlighting the power of biometric verification and document verification in combating fraud. It is a must-read for any business looking to acquire users across Africa and keep up with fraud trends. Download report here A Ngong Road story In 2012 when Kenya’s technology ecosystem began to etch itself into the global consciousness, a vibrant community of software developers, researchers and entrepreneurs had been working out of a cluster of coworking spaces on (or close to) Ngong Road, near the Kilimani neighbourhood of Nairobi. iHub, Nailab and Gearbox, and a placement campus for Andela, were all located in this part of Nairobi. Because these incubators, coworking spaces and startups were at the centre of what was seen as Kenya’s technology boom, the story of Kenya’s technology ecosystem tends to focus on them. But the Ngong road story begins in Mombasa before the internet became as common as it is today. The unofficial Ngong Road Map. Photo rights, Kwasi Gachie via Code for Africa. The country’s early technology pioneers were the entrepreneurs who fought Telkom for the right to create local internet exchange points (IXPs) to reduce the cost and latency of sending internet packets over VoIP locally. This was in the late 1990s to mid 2000s when Jambonet, Telkom Kenya’s backbone service was the only internet gateway in Kenya. The liberalisation of the internet data business plus new undersea cable landings in Mombasa, thanks to the efforts of Bitange Ndemo, then a permanent secretary at Kenya’s ministry of information and communication, helped enable early internet businesses and create the first crop of internet entrepreneurs like Ken Njoroge and Bolaji Akinboro of Cellulant. This cross-country linkage (internet–wise) between Nairobi at the centre of Kenya, and Mombasa on the coast, still drives part of Nairobi’s technology ecosystem appeal. At the very least, it’s what enables the growing data centre and internet service industry, and indirectly contributes to why multinational technology companies like Oracle, IBM, Cisco and others set up regional offices in Nairobi. A solid internet infrastructure base also means better consumer access to and use of technology. This is invaluable for consumer tech startups, digital service businesses and Kenya’s large base of freelance digital service providers. In the earlier stages, Kenya’s technology industry represented an outgrowth of the development and aid agencies concentrated in Nairobi. But it is slowly transitioning into a key player in the tech support service market globally. In addition to this, Kenya’s relatively long history of tech entrepreneurship in political and business environments that were not always friendly to upstarts. And a fairly large pool of potential customers (both business users and to a smaller extent, individual consumers), represent the key strength of Nairobi’s ecosystem. That’s interesting because the technology ecosystem in Kenya got its start on the back of technical support for development partners, aid agencies and a local growing financial services market. Many of the early entrepreneurs, whether the ones who started coworking spaces on Ngong road, Nairobi, the ones who can retell stories from the early telco and ISP wars, or the private equity funded businesspeople manning the data centre and internet service infrastructure industry owe their survival to this key market—at least in the early days. What is key to note is that this legacy industry has difused throughout the ecosystem at the enterprise level, but not enough at the early-stage startup level. Unlike say, a Nigeria where a quite a few battle-harded enterprise operators are the face of technology upstarts. This is not to say there are not cross-sector experienced operators playing significant roles in Kenya’s startup ecosystem. There are many. Just as a few of the early startuppers have crossed to enterprise companies. A good example is of course, Juliana Rotich, one of the co-founders of Ushahidi, who now leads Safaricom’s fintech division. Shaking off the M-Pesa halo “M-Pesa is part of the lure that brings the idea of Silicon Savannah to life,” Mark Kaigwa, a Partner at Affrinovator once told Tom Jackson, publisher of Disrupt Africa. That lure has grown old. The way I see it, Safaricom understands this. At least that is how I interpret the launch of a “super app” in 2021, followed by an ambitious Ethiopian entry which (according to
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Kenya’s Finance Act is free
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning Uganda has joined the big leagues. Last week, MTN launched the country’s first 5G network. For now, the service is not everywhere Ugandans go; it is only available around the Lugogo Mall in Kampala, the city’s capital, but MTN plans to roll it out to the rest of the capital city by the end of 2024. In today’s edition MTN Nigeria’s profit slumps by 29.1% in H1 Kenya’s Finance Act is free Safaricom to invest in Kenyan startups Funding African civic tech The World Wide Web3 Event: NITDA CO-Create West Africa Tech Week Opportunities Telecoms MTN Nigeria’s profits slump by 29.1% in H1 African telecoms are taking a beating, and Nigeria’s shaky forex market is all to blame. Last week, Airtel Africa reported a $151 million loss in Q1 2023, a pale comparison to the $178 million profit after tax it made during the same period in 2022. The telecom cited the currency devaluation in Nigeria as the culprit. Now, MTN Nigeria is reporting something similar. While this telecom reported ₦128 billion ($165 million) in profit for H1 2023, it is at least 29.14% shy of the ₦181 billion ($234 million) it recorded in H1 2022. What went wrong? Per MTN Nigeria’s CEO Karl Toriola, it’s all due to the policy changes Nigeria has experienced in the first half of the year. Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria CEO Since he came into power in May 2022, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has removed the country’s long-standing fuel subsidy and floated the naira to create a unified foreign exchange rate. Toriola notes that these actions have created “additional financial burdens” for MTN users in the short term. There’s still growth though: Despite its significant reduction in profits, the telecom still recorded growth in other areas. It reportedly gained 1.5 million new subscribers in H1, taking its total tally to over 77 million subscribers. Its services revenue grew by 21.6%, driven by voice revenue growth of 12.1% and data revenue growth of 34.9%. Active mobile money (MoMo PSB) wallets also grew by 1.1 million in H1 to 3.1 million. Zoom out: MTN is not everywhere we go out of the woods yet. The telecoms stressed that unrealised forex losses included in its net finance charges affected the telco, adding that there was no impact on EBITDA due to the quarterly nature of its tower contracts. However, it expects a full impact by the end of H2. Secure payments with Monnify Monnify has simplified how businesses accept payments to enable growth. We are trusted by Piggyvest, Buypower, Wakanow, Fairmoney, Cowrywise, and over 10,000 Nigerian businesses. Get your Monnify account today here. Legislation Kenya’s Finance Act is free But the country’s taxpayers won’t be. On Friday, the Kenyan Court of Appeal lifted an earlier court order barring the implementation of Kenya’s new Finance Act. Image source: Zikoko Memes ICYMI: In June, three senators filed a petition to a Kenyan high court, challenging the constitutionality of the Finance Act 2023. The Finance Act 2023, which is designed to generate revenue for the government, introduces several new taxes, including a 1.5% tax on content creators and a 3% tax on crypto traders. The senators argued that the Act was passed without due process and that the 1.5% housing levy which the Act mandates employers and employees to pay, is unconstitutional because the Constitution limits the national government’s role in housing to developing a housing policy. Implementation of the Act was suspended in June, and on July 10, another court extended the freeze order, barring the implementation of the Act. And now? Well, the order has been lifted and the Kenyan treasury can now enforce it. The Court of Appeal lifted the order after Treasury Cabinet Secretary Prof Njuguna Ndung’u argued that the country was losing Ksh500 million ($3.5 million) for every day the Act was not being enforced. Per the secretary, Kenya’s budget for the financial year of 2023/24—about Ksh2.9 trillion ($20.4 billion)—is heavily dependent on the taxes which the Act provides. Kenya was reportedly set to generate Ksh 211 billion ($1.4 billion) with the implementation of the Act. The judges of the appeal court therefore lifted the freeze order, in order to allow the country to move forward with its projects. The big picture: It’s not over yet though. The judges have stated that the courts may consider suspending specific provisions of the Act, as opposed to the entire Act, if the provisions had irreversible effects. For provisions without permanent effects, the courts urged members of the public to file for overpaid taxes and get refunded. Discover Trends with Smile Identity Download the Smile ID State of KYC in Africa Report on the latest trends in identity verification across Africa, highlighting the power of biometric verification and document verification in combating fraud. It is a must-read for any business looking to acquire users across Africa and keep up with fraud trends. Funding Safaricom establishes two new subsidiaries for funding From left, Chief Finance Officer, Dilip Pal, CEO, Safaricom PLC, Peter Ndegwa, Chairman, Safaricom PLC, Adil Arshed Khawaja (MBS) and Safaricom PLC, Company Secretary Kathryne Maundu during Safaricom’s AGM held at MJC. Safaricom is looking to push some of its funds into Kenya’s budding ecosystem. Last week, the telecom revealed its plans to enter into the venture capital space by setting up two new subsidiaries, plans that were subject to its shareholders’ approval. On Friday, after the company’s annual general meeting, the company confirmed that its shareholders had approved the plans. Growth and seed-stage startups get a boost: The telecom has now set up two new entities that will invest in startups: one in seed-stage startups, and another in growth-stage startups. The seed-stage subsidiary will complement Safaricom’s already existing million-dollar fund, Spark Fund, which launched in 2014 to invest in early-stage startups in Kenya. The second, the growth-stage subsidiary, will invest in well-established startups that will be key to accelerating Safaricom’s journey
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