How African fintech startups can become profitable
Noel K. Tshiani is the founder of Congo Business Network. The organisation has actively been involved in building and connecting the fintech ecosystem in the Democratic Republic of Congo since April 2019. It has organised delegations to participate in the Africa Fintech Summit in the United States, Ethiopia, Egypt, and South Africa with the objective to find investors and learn from leading entrepreneurs from advanced markets in Nigeria and Kenya. The African fintech sector is booming with startups raising record amounts of money and expanding into new countries. But how can these companies grow and become profitable? First, a number of factors that contribute to the success of African fintechs need to be considered. One is the continent’s large and growing population. Africa has over 1.4 billion people, and the majority of them are unbanked or underbanked. A huge potential market exists for fintechs that can provide affordable and convenient access to financial products and services. Second, another factor that contributes to the success of African fintechs is the continent’s rapid economic growth. Africa is one of the fastest-growing regions in the world, and this economic growth is creating a new middle class with disposable income. This middle class is increasingly looking for digital financial services that can help them manage their money and save for the future. Not all African fintechs are successful. To succeed, these companies need to address several challenges, including: 1. Lack of infrastructure Many African countries lack the basic infrastructure needed for fintech businesses to operate, such as reliable electricity and internet access. 2. Complex regulations The regulatory environment for fintech startups in some countries in Africa can be complex and challenging because central banks are in the beginning stages of defining regulations, especially in the area of cryptocurrency. 3. High competition The African fintech market is becoming increasingly competitive, as more and more companies enter the space seeking to challenge banks and mobile money operators. Despite these challenges, there are some things that African fintechs can do to get more clients, raise money from investors, and become profitable as described below: 1. Focus on underserved markets One of the best ways for fintechs to get more clients is to focus on underserved markets. The strategy should focus on targeting rural areas, the youth, and women. By focusing on these underserved markets, fintechs can tap into a large and growing pool of potential customers. 2. Prioritise customer acquisition and retention Customer acquisition and retention are critical factors in the success of any fintech startup. African startups should focus on developing effective marketing strategies to attract new customers, while also implementing initiatives to retain existing ones. Offering incentives for referrals, providing excellent customer service, and developing loyalty programs are some options to consider. 3. Develop innovative products and services Another way for fintechs to attract more customers is to develop innovative products and services. Developing new payment methods, providing mobile banking services, or offering microloans will position the startup to stand out from the competition. 4. Offer competitive prices To compete with traditional financial institutions, African fintechs need to offer competitive prices. Keeping costs low and passing those savings to customers is the strategy to follow, especially for fintech startups that want to succeed in the money transfer business from the diaspora to Africa. 5. Embrace partnerships and collaborations Fintechs can also benefit from building strong relationships with banks and other financial institutions. These relationships can help fintechs access capital, distribution channels, and customer data. By building strong relationships with banks and other financial institutions, fintechs can accelerate their growth which can lead to profitability. 6. Get the right regulatory support Fintechs also need to get the right regulatory support from central banks. It means working with regulators to understand the regulatory landscape and to develop products and services that comply with evolving regulations. By getting the right regulatory support, fintechs can avoid costly fines and penalties and can operate in a more stable and predictable environment. 7. Raise money from international investors Fintechs need to raise money from investors to grow and scale their businesses. Some ways to raise money from investors include venture capital, private equity, and crowdfunding. By raising money from investors, fintechs can get the capital they need to hire more staff, develop new products and services, and expand their operations in promising countries in Francophone Africa. 8. Build a strong brand and reputation Fintechs need to build a strong brand and reputation to attract customers and investors. Providing excellent customer service, offering competitive products and services, and being transparent about their business practices will help the startup in the long term. 9. Leverage data analytics Fintech startups can leverage data analytics to gain insights into customer behaviour, identify trends, and make informed decisions. Doing so will help to optimise business processes, drive growth, and improve profitability. 10. Become profitable through patience The ultimate goal of any business is to become profitable. Fintechs can become profitable by growing their customer base, increasing their revenue, and reducing their costs. By becoming profitable, fintechs can attract more investors, expand their operations, and create jobs for African workers. According to McKinsey & Company, there are four key challenges that fintech startups in Africa face today on the road to profitability: reaching scale and profitability, navigating an uncertain regulatory environment, managing scarcity, and building robust corporate governance foundations. To overcome these challenges, McKinsey suggests that fintech startups need to focus on developing innovative products and services, leveraging technology to drive down costs, building strategic partnerships with other stakeholders, and engaging actively with regulators to shape the regulatory environment in their favour. In conclusion, the African fintech sector is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to revolutionise how people access financial services on the continent. By addressing problems clients face with innovative solutions while focusing on the opportunities that exist, African fintech startups can continue to grow and succeed going forward in 2023 and beyond.
Read MoreIt’s time to drop the “female founder” title
Some female founders want to shake off the gender identifiers and be called just “founders,” like men are. Gendered labels, such as “female founder,” “women in tech,” “female entrepreneur,” “woman scientist,” or “lady boss,” are very often used to celebrate the accomplishments of women in male-dominated spaces, such as the tech ecosystem. But to some women, these labels perpetuate the idea that women are exceptions to the norm, rather than equal participants in their professional fields. Some of the founders who share this sentiment are shunning opportunities to be featured in stories that highlight only the achievements of women because they worry about being othered. Turning down my request to have her featured on a women-only list of founders, a female founder rhetorically asked me, “How often do you see men being called male founders? How many lists of male founders have you written?” She refused to be featured in the story even after I explained that the story seeks to emphasise that, despite the challenges women face, such as the gender-funding gap and gender-based discrimination in workplaces, women are making significant accomplishments. A number of women expressed fatigue from being approached by journalists to tell stories about their experiences as women in the male-dominated sector. But some women welcome it as it increases their visibility to investors and growth opportunities, especially those that are exclusive to women. Founder of Fashtracker, Wunmi Akinsola, told TechCabal that earlier on in her startup journey, she was apprehensive about the “female founder” label. “It took me failing to realise how skewed the system is against women and to embrace the valuable opportunities that are specially designed for women,” she said. Taking off the gender lens However, some feel shortchanged by these stories and say that they just want their work as operators in the space to be spotlighted without the gender lens. “These women-only stories make it seem like the accomplishments of women are anomalies rather than the norm, and thereby perpetuate the inequalities that they seek to undo,” a female founder told TechCabal in an email. Some women also feel that gender-lens investments are only made because they are women and not based on the merit of their work. A media professional who has worked extensively with African female founders told TechCabal that “some feel like they are only helping the investors meet their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) KPIs,” and that other commercial investors they meet down the line will assume the business is not commercially viable. “That is not how I want to be seen. I don’t want investors to see me as a woman, or invest in me because I am a woman. I want the quality of my work, the calibre of my skills, and the promise of my venture to be the benchmarks,” a founder told TechCabal in an interview. But will changing our language to a more inclusive and gender-neutral one level the playing field? Melanie Okuneye, founder of the health startup, Akoma Health, doesn’t think so. “Investors and customers can see that we are female anyway! Female founders are unique in many ways, whether from the expectations placed on them or the challenges faced. So, I don’t see a problem with the title. I wear it with pride.” she told TechCabal. Olabinjo Adeniran, a marketing professional who co-founded and led growth at Future Africa, an African venture capital company, told TechCabal that even though Future Africa makes sure to invest in a particular percentage of women, he doesn’t recall any women founders pitching them as “female founders.” Many male professionals have acknowledged the existence of gender-based problems in the tech ecosystem, such as the gender funding gap, gender-based discrimination in the workplace, and gender-based harassment, and agree that intentional efforts should be made to address these issues. However, they agree that constantly noting gender when talking about women, even when the situation doesn’t require a gender basis for discussion, is not helping matters. “It can be annoying and alienating if people only ever refer to you as a woman founder instead of measuring or telling your story as a leader of a fast-growing company,” Binjo said in a chat with TechCabal. While agreeing that the title can sometimes be reductive, Odun Eweniyi, founder of savings platform PiggyVest and women-focused VC firm FirstCheck Africa, says that the gender distinction is a reminder of the progress that needs to be made in the push for equal representation. “As there are still ‘first woman to’ achievements in tech, this distinction is necessary to serve as a call to action for others to take the leap and that it can be done,” she told Techabal. Some professionals agree but think that this will change naturally over time. Damola Ajayi, who has co-founded two startups, Loft and Warenext, told TechCabal, ”Before there were hardly women in the ecosystem, but now all that is changing, and alongside the negative stereotypes and language, I believe that with time, people won’t refer to them as just founders and not female founders.”
Read MoreZimbabwe to introduce gold-backed digital currency
Zimbabwe’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), is reportedly looking to introduce a gold-backed digital currency to be used as legal tender in the country. The introduction of the digital gold tokens is part of the government’s interventions to deal with the country’s fluctuating currency and represents the first steps towards using the country’s gold reserves to peg the national currency, the Zimbabwean dollar. When introduced, the tokens will be exchangeable for small amounts of Zimbabwean dollars. Holders can exchange their money for the tokens in order to store value and shield themselves from exchange rate volatility. According to Dr. John Mangudya, governor of the RBZ, the current currency volatility is caused by “the expectations of increased foreign currency supply in the market when the tobacco marketing season opened.” The new digital currency will complement the Mosi-oa-Tunya coins introduced in 2022 and will act as the digital representation of the gold coins. With it, the country hopes to have more citizens buy into its gold industry and fight the redundancy of its currency. “What we have noticed is that demand for foreign currency, apart from being driven by the need to import goods and services in Zimbabwe, is also viewed as a store of value and we are addressing this demand by increasing the number of gold coins in the market,” Mangudya concluded.
Read MoreNavigating crisis communications in the wake of the SVB crash: A guide for African tech startups
PR for African Startups is a monthly column contributed to TechCabal by Claudine Moore, an award-winning global PR leader specialising in Africa-focused PR and communications across multiple sectors, including tech. She is the managing partner, Africa, Allison+Partners, and founder and former CEO of C. Moore Media International Public Relations. She also founded the The Future is Female Mentorship Program, the first and only PR and communications initiative dedicated to African female tech founders. You can follow Claudine on Twitter @ClaudineMoore. A month ago Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) became the second-largest bank failure in American history and it sent shockwaves throughout the global tech ecosystem, with African tech startups facing significant repercussions. The collapse of SVB yet again highlights the importance of having an effective, up-to-date and easy-to-mobilise crisis communications strategy and plan in place. This month’s post will delve into the African tech startups implicated in the crash, analyse their public statements, and identify valuable best practices and lessons from other organisations. Over the past few years, the SVB has invested in more than 50 African companies, with Andela, Chipper Cash, and Paystack being among the most high-profile of them. The crash, triggered by a series of risky investments and regulatory issues, has left these companies grappling with the challenge of handling the crisis while preserving their brand reputation. In response, the affected African tech startups have issued public statements reflecting varying degrees of transparency and proactivity. For example, Chipper Cash, valued at more than $1 billion, put out a statement reassuring stakeholders that the SVB crash has no impact on its business. It is worth mentioning that SVB’s investment arm led a $100 million round in Chipper in 2021. Conversely, Andela’s silence on the matter may negatively impact its reputation in the long run, as stakeholders expect companies to communicate during challenging times. By examining how other organisations have managed similar situations, African tech startups can glean crucial PR and communication insights, such as: Transparency and proactivity: In a crisis, companies must acknowledge the situation and reassure stakeholders. Transparent and proactive communication fosters trust and credibility, helping to mitigate any damage to the company’s reputation. Failure to do so can, and often does, lead to both short- and long-term damage to the company’s image. Stakeholders are your top priority: Effective crisis communications entails addressing the concerns of all stakeholders—employees, customers, investors, and regulators—thereby maintaining their confidence and ensuring they remain informed and up to date about the steps being taken to tackle the crisis. Have a crisis communications plan ready: While every crisis has a unique set of circumstances and therefore requires a very specific strategic response, a thorough crisis communication plan enables startups to respond swiftly to unexpected events. This plan should go as far as delineating the roles and responsibilities of key personnel, communication channels, and critical messages to convey. Sustain PR efforts amid economic downturns: Crises like the SVB crash accentuate the importance of maintaining PR efforts even during difficult times. Companies that persevered with their PR initiatives during an economic downturn recover more swiftly and often experience greater growth than those that scaled back on PR. The SVB crash offers a compelling reminder for African tech startups to prioritise crisis communications and assimilate best practices from other organisations. By doing so, they can more effectively navigate future challenges and safeguard their reputation, which is vital for their long-term success. Regardless of the size of your organisation, in today’s 24-hour news cycle, in a climate where reputation and integrity in business is everything, transparency is a requirement and Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) continues to be of growing importance in business across sectors and regions, an effective, easy-to-mobile crisis plan is a must. If you are a growing organisation that has already secured significant investment and are on the eve of expansion, an even more detailed plan is critical, in addition to this plan being executed by a team with real tried and tested extensive experience.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Zimbabwe’s gold lining
Lire en français Read this email in French. 25 APRIL, 2023 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Happy salary day Elon Musk is conscripting every celebrity into his Twitter Blue marketing strategy—even deceased ones. Over the past couple of days, celebrities have taken to Twitter to denounce their blue ticks subscriptions to Twitter Blue. Now, several deceased celebrities like Michael Jackson, Chadwick Boseman, and even journalist Jamal Khashoggi whose account has been inactive since he was murdered in 2018, are now subscribed to Twitter Blue. In today’s edition Zimbabwe plans for gold-backed digital currency Sudan throttles its internet Nigeria’s population commission denies hacking Naivas suffers ransomware attack The World Wide Web3 Opportunities ZIMBABWE PLANS FOR GOLD-BACKED DIGITAL CURRENCY Zimbabwe is joining the digital currency revolution market. This week, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RSV)—the country’s apex bank—announced plans to introduce a gold-backed digital currency. According to the bank, the digital currency, which will be tied to the price of gold, will help Zimbabweans shore up against the country’s ever-increasing inflation rate. Calming hyperinflation: From the 1980s till 2009, Zimbabwe suffered from hyperinflation due to poor economic programmes by its government. In 2009, the government replaced the useless Zimbabwean dollar—with $1 USD worth Z$2,621,984,228,675,650,147,435,579,309,984,228—with the US dollar, and inflation was stalled. By 2018, though, the government reintroduced the Zimbabwean dollar which again lost relevance quickly as more citizens hoarded US dollars, believing that the government would print more cash to shore up its budget, and make the currency worthless. Inflation surged to a staggering 255% in 2019, doubled to 558% by 2020, by another 98% in 2021, and finally jumped to 285% in 2022. The silver gold lining: This isn’t Zimbabwe’s first gold-plated solution to its inflation problem, though. The gold-producing nation introduced literal gold coins—Mosi-oa-Tunya—last year which are worth the market price of gold. Its new digital currency will complement the Mosi-oa-Tunya by being the digital representation of the gold coins. With it, the country hopes to have more citizens buy into its gold industry and fight the redundancy of its currency. WORK WITH MONIEPOINT At Moniepoint, we’re creating the best workplace for global talent using the 4M framework- Meaning, Membership, Mastery and Money. This isn’t an ad designed to convince you to join us, but it has all the reasons why you should. Watch it here. This is partner content. SUDAN THROTTLES ITS INTERNET The crisis in Sudan is getting worse with reports of internet shutdown across the country. On Sunday, cybersecurity firm NetBlocks confirmed that internet connectivity in Sudan had dropped to 2%, down from its usual 40%. Since then, the internet has been slowly restored to some areas. What’s happening in Sudan: Over the past seven days, two army generals have unleashed military forces in a jostle for power. In 2019, Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the military, and Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), ousted Sudan’s dictator Omar al-Bashir. In 2021, the duo again toppled a civilian government of prime minister Abdallah Hamdok and prevented a transition to civilian rule. Since then, international organisations—via threats of sanctions—have pressured the duo to hand over power for civilian rule, and the pressure finally erupted into conflict as former lovers turned enemies. Both military leaders began to use their armies against each other, leaving thousands displaced and hundreds dead. A history of shutdowns: Internet shutdowns aren’t new in Sudan. Its first shutdown, during the 2019 coup, lasted 36 days. It subsequently had at least three other shutdowns since then including an 8-hour shutdown after last year’s coup. NIGERIA’S POPULATION COMMISSION DENIES HACKING Nigeria is set to count sheep its people in May, but its census agency might hiding some skeletons. Earlier this month, a staff member of the Nigeria Population Commission (NPC) claimed that the Commission’s servers had been hacked. Per the staff, the hack is one of the reasons why the Commission postponed training for the enumerators and supervisors who will be in charge of conducting Nigeria’s first census in almost two decades. NPC counts it a lie: In a response shared yesterday, the Commission denied all allegations of a hack, assuring Nigerians of the safety of their data. According to director of public affairs, Isiaka Yahaya, the Commission is “committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection and maintaining the trust placed in us by the Nigerian population”. This isn’t the first hacking news the NPC has been implicated in, though. Last year, it announced that it had foiled a hacking attempt during its recruitment exercise. An expensive hack exercise: Tensions rose after the hacking allegation, with some agencies calling for another postponement of the census. Nigeria is reportedly spending $385 million for its digital census exercise, which is set to commence by May 3. The country is getting some pretty expensive tech, with $184 million alone being spent on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) for the census. With so much money being spent on tech, it’s expected that the Nigerian government will take cybersecurity for this exercise seriously. Nigerians aren’t holding their breath, though; their government spent $663 million on faulty tech for a recently-concluded election. EXPLORE FINTECH WITH TEMPLARS Join African law firm TEMPLARS and international law firm Clifford Chance for their tech roundtable Perspectives on Fintech in Ghana. Explore the latest fintech trends with global investors, policymakers, and leaders. Register now for insightful discussions and networking. This is partner content. NAIVAS SUFFERS RANSOMWARE ATTACK Speaking of hacking, Kenya’s biggest online retailer Naivas announced yesterday that it had suffered a ransomware attack. Per chief commercial officer Willy Kimani, the hack may have exposed some of the company’s data. “Naivas regrets to announce that alongside many corporates and organisations in and outside Kenya, we have been the victims of a ransomware attack by an online criminal organisation. This unlawful intrusion may have compromised some of our data,” Kimani’s statement read. The company also stated that the perpetrators of the cybercrime are threatening to publish the stolen data. Naivas, however,
Read More👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Zimbabwe’s gold lining
Lire en français Read this email in French. 25 APRIL, 2023 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Happy salary day Elon Musk is conscripting every celebrity into his Twitter Blue marketing strategy—even deceased ones. Over the past couple of days, celebrities have taken to Twitter to denounce their blue ticks subscriptions to Twitter Blue. Now, several deceased celebrities like Michael Jackson, Chadwick Boseman, and even journalist Jamal Khashoggi whose account has been inactive since he was murdered in 2018, are now subscribed to Twitter Blue. In today’s edition Zimbabwe plans for gold-backed digital currency Sudan throttles its internet Nigeria’s population commission denies hacking Naivas suffers ransomware attack The World Wide Web3 Opportunities ZIMBABWE PLANS FOR GOLD-BACKED DIGITAL CURRENCY Zimbabwe is joining the digital currency revolution market. This week, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RSV)—the country’s apex bank—announced plans to introduce a gold-backed digital currency. According to the bank, the digital currency, which will be tied to the price of gold, will help Zimbabweans shore up against the country’s ever-increasing inflation rate. Calming hyperinflation: From the 1980s till 2009, Zimbabwe suffered from hyperinflation due to poor economic programmes by its government. In 2009, the government replaced the useless Zimbabwean dollar—with $1 USD worth Z$2,621,984,228,675,650,147,435,579,309,984,228—with the US dollar, and inflation was stalled. By 2018, though, the government reintroduced the Zimbabwean dollar which again lost relevance quickly as more citizens hoarded US dollars, believing that the government would print more cash to shore up its budget, and make the currency worthless. Inflation surged to a staggering 255% in 2019, doubled to 558% by 2020, by another 98% in 2021, and finally jumped to 285% in 2022. The silver gold lining: This isn’t Zimbabwe’s first gold-plated solution to its inflation problem, though. The gold-producing nation introduced literal gold coins—Mosi-oa-Tunya—last year which are worth the market price of gold. Its new digital currency will complement the Mosi-oa-Tunya by being the digital representation of the gold coins. With it, the country hopes to have more citizens buy into its gold industry and fight the redundancy of its currency. WORK WITH MONIEPOINT At Moniepoint, we’re creating the best workplace for global talent using the 4M framework- Meaning, Membership, Mastery and Money. This isn’t an ad designed to convince you to join us, but it has all the reasons why you should. Watch it here. This is partner content. SUDAN THROTTLES ITS INTERNET The crisis in Sudan is getting worse with reports of internet shutdown across the country. On Sunday, cybersecurity firm NetBlocks confirmed that internet connectivity in Sudan had dropped to 2%, down from its usual 40%. Since then, the internet has been slowly restored to some areas. What’s happening in Sudan: Over the past seven days, two army generals have unleashed military forces in a jostle for power. In 2019, Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the military, and Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), ousted Sudan’s dictator Omar al-Bashir. In 2021, the duo again toppled a civilian government of prime minister Abdallah Hamdok and prevented a transition to civilian rule. Since then, international organisations—via threats of sanctions—have pressured the duo to hand over power for civilian rule, and the pressure finally erupted into conflict as former lovers turned enemies. Both military leaders began to use their armies against each other, leaving thousands displaced and hundreds dead. A history of shutdowns: Internet shutdowns aren’t new in Sudan. Its first shutdown, during the 2019 coup, lasted 36 days. It subsequently had at least three other shutdowns since then including an 8-hour shutdown after last year’s coup. NIGERIA’S POPULATION COMMISSION DENIES HACKING Nigeria is set to count sheep its people in May, but its census agency might hiding some skeletons. Earlier this month, a staff member of the Nigeria Population Commission (NPC) claimed that the Commission’s servers had been hacked. Per the staff, the hack is one of the reasons why the Commission postponed training for the enumerators and supervisors who will be in charge of conducting Nigeria’s first census in almost two decades. NPC counts it a lie: In a response shared yesterday, the Commission denied all allegations of a hack, assuring Nigerians of the safety of their data. According to director of public affairs, Isiaka Yahaya, the Commission is “committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection and maintaining the trust placed in us by the Nigerian population”. This isn’t the first hacking news the NPC has been implicated in, though. Last year, it announced that it had foiled a hacking attempt during its recruitment exercise. An expensive hack exercise: Tensions rose after the hacking allegation, with some agencies calling for another postponement of the census. Nigeria is reportedly spending $385 million for its digital census exercise, which is set to commence by May 3. The country is getting some pretty expensive tech, with $184 million alone being spent on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) for the census. With so much money being spent on tech, it’s expected that the Nigerian government will take cybersecurity for this exercise seriously. Nigerians aren’t holding their breath, though; their government spent $663 million on faulty tech for a recently-concluded election. EXPLORE FINTECH WITH TEMPLARS Join African law firm TEMPLARS and international law firm Clifford Chance for their tech roundtable Perspectives on Fintech in Ghana. Explore the latest fintech trends with global investors, policymakers, and leaders. Register now for insightful discussions and networking. This is partner content. NAIVAS SUFFERS RANSOMWARE ATTACK Speaking of hacking, Kenya’s biggest online retailer Naivas announced yesterday that it had suffered a ransomware attack. Per chief commercial officer Willy Kimani, the hack may have exposed some of the company’s data. “Naivas regrets to announce that alongside many corporates and organisations in and outside Kenya, we have been the victims of a ransomware attack by an online criminal organisation. This unlawful intrusion may have compromised some of our data,” Kimani’s statement read. The company also stated that the perpetrators of the cybercrime are threatening to publish the stolen data. Naivas, however,
Read More👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Zimbabwe’s gold lining
Lire en français Read this email in French. 25 APRIL, 2023 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Happy salary day Elon Musk is conscripting every celebrity into his Twitter Blue marketing strategy—even deceased ones. Over the past couple of days, celebrities have taken to Twitter to denounce their blue ticks subscriptions to Twitter Blue. Now, several deceased celebrities like Michael Jackson, Chadwick Boseman, and even journalist Jamal Khashoggi whose account has been inactive since he was murdered in 2018, are now subscribed to Twitter Blue. In today’s edition Zimbabwe plans for gold-backed digital currency Sudan throttles its internet Nigeria’s population commission denies hacking Naivas suffers ransomware attack The World Wide Web3 Opportunities ZIMBABWE PLANS FOR GOLD-BACKED DIGITAL CURRENCY Zimbabwe is joining the digital currency revolution market. This week, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RSV)—the country’s apex bank—announced plans to introduce a gold-backed digital currency. According to the bank, the digital currency, which will be tied to the price of gold, will help Zimbabweans shore up against the country’s ever-increasing inflation rate. Calming hyperinflation: From the 1980s till 2009, Zimbabwe suffered from hyperinflation due to poor economic programmes by its government. In 2009, the government replaced the useless Zimbabwean dollar—with $1 USD worth Z$2,621,984,228,675,650,147,435,579,309,984,228—with the US dollar, and inflation was stalled. By 2018, though, the government reintroduced the Zimbabwean dollar which again lost relevance quickly as more citizens hoarded US dollars, believing that the government would print more cash to shore up its budget, and make the currency worthless. Inflation surged to a staggering 255% in 2019, doubled to 558% by 2020, by another 98% in 2021, and finally jumped to 285% in 2022. The silver gold lining: This isn’t Zimbabwe’s first gold-plated solution to its inflation problem, though. The gold-producing nation introduced literal gold coins—Mosi-oa-Tunya—last year which are worth the market price of gold. Its new digital currency will complement the Mosi-oa-Tunya by being the digital representation of the gold coins. With it, the country hopes to have more citizens buy into its gold industry and fight the redundancy of its currency. WORK WITH MONIEPOINT At Moniepoint, we’re creating the best workplace for global talent using the 4M framework- Meaning, Membership, Mastery and Money. This isn’t an ad designed to convince you to join us, but it has all the reasons why you should. Watch it here. This is partner content. SUDAN THROTTLES ITS INTERNET The crisis in Sudan is getting worse with reports of internet shutdown across the country. On Sunday, cybersecurity firm NetBlocks confirmed that internet connectivity in Sudan had dropped to 2%, down from its usual 40%. Since then, the internet has been slowly restored to some areas. What’s happening in Sudan: Over the past seven days, two army generals have unleashed military forces in a jostle for power. In 2019, Lt Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of the military, and Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), ousted Sudan’s dictator Omar al-Bashir. In 2021, the duo again toppled a civilian government of prime minister Abdallah Hamdok and prevented a transition to civilian rule. Since then, international organisations—via threats of sanctions—have pressured the duo to hand over power for civilian rule, and the pressure finally erupted into conflict as former lovers turned enemies. Both military leaders began to use their armies against each other, leaving thousands displaced and hundreds dead. A history of shutdowns: Internet shutdowns aren’t new in Sudan. Its first shutdown, during the 2019 coup, lasted 36 days. It subsequently had at least three other shutdowns since then including an 8-hour shutdown after last year’s coup. NIGERIA’S POPULATION COMMISSION DENIES HACKING Nigeria is set to count sheep its people in May, but its census agency might hiding some skeletons. Earlier this month, a staff member of the Nigeria Population Commission (NPC) claimed that the Commission’s servers had been hacked. Per the staff, the hack is one of the reasons why the Commission postponed training for the enumerators and supervisors who will be in charge of conducting Nigeria’s first census in almost two decades. NPC counts it a lie: In a response shared yesterday, the Commission denied all allegations of a hack, assuring Nigerians of the safety of their data. According to director of public affairs, Isiaka Yahaya, the Commission is “committed to upholding the highest standards of data protection and maintaining the trust placed in us by the Nigerian population”. This isn’t the first hacking news the NPC has been implicated in, though. Last year, it announced that it had foiled a hacking attempt during its recruitment exercise. An expensive hack exercise: Tensions rose after the hacking allegation, with some agencies calling for another postponement of the census. Nigeria is reportedly spending $385 million for its digital census exercise, which is set to commence by May 3. The country is getting some pretty expensive tech, with $184 million alone being spent on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) for the census. With so much money being spent on tech, it’s expected that the Nigerian government will take cybersecurity for this exercise seriously. Nigerians aren’t holding their breath, though; their government spent $663 million on faulty tech for a recently-concluded election. EXPLORE FINTECH WITH TEMPLARS Join African law firm TEMPLARS and international law firm Clifford Chance for their tech roundtable Perspectives on Fintech in Ghana. Explore the latest fintech trends with global investors, policymakers, and leaders. Register now for insightful discussions and networking. This is partner content. NAIVAS SUFFERS RANSOMWARE ATTACK Speaking of hacking, Kenya’s biggest online retailer Naivas announced yesterday that it had suffered a ransomware attack. Per chief commercial officer Willy Kimani, the hack may have exposed some of the company’s data. “Naivas regrets to announce that alongside many corporates and organisations in and outside Kenya, we have been the victims of a ransomware attack by an online criminal organisation. This unlawful intrusion may have compromised some of our data,” Kimani’s statement read. The company also stated that the perpetrators of the cybercrime are threatening to publish the stolen data. Naivas, however,
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This Botswana-based AI startup is looking to revolutionise marketing in Africa. Here is how they plan to do it
The rise in popularity of OpenAI’s conversational AI chatbot, ChatGPT, has seen the entrance into mainstream culture of consumer facing AI tools. DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are some other popular tools. In Africa, however, innovation around generative AI products has not become apparent. This does not mean that there is no activity in the AI space on the continent. Seipone.ai is a Botswana based AI startup which is building an enterprise software-as-a-service product which seeks to revolutionise the way brands understand their customers. Initially founded in 2018 as “Seriti Insights” which was a software consultancy firm, Seipone.ai made a full pivot to AI in April 2022, deciding to focus entirely on its enterprise AI SaaS product. This move is further explained by co-founder and CEO Nomsa Makgabenyana in an interview with TechCabal. “We started in 2018 building ad hoc and bespoke software solutions mainly in the insurance space for sales and operational teams to boost their productivity and to be able to get the maximum results from the data that they have,” she said. “Last year, we then decided to completely pivot from that business to build and solely focus on our AI too, Seipone.ai” A pivot worth making Although the timing for the pivot into AI seems well thought as it coincided with the bursting of generative AI into the mainstream, it was a difficult pivot to make for Makgabenyana and her team. “It was a difficult decision to make particularly because it meant we lost that consistent revenue from the consultancy business. But it was very important for us to take that strategic decision because we really believe in the potential of not only AI as a technology but of Seipone.ai as a business.” Speaking more on the product, Makgabenyana believes it will be the next big thing in helping companies and brands in Africa harness the power of social media and AI to really understand the sentiments and pain points of consumers. Using the power of artificial intelligence and applied machine learning, Seipone.ai carefully mines historical and real-time data to help brands and companies understand consumer sentiments for insightful decision-making, no matter their language and style in linguistics, which are ever so fleeting. It is designed to learn and understand natural language and is able to understand Setswana and other indigenous languages like Swahili as well as social media lingo and slang. It also gives emotions behind opinions and gives insights into what the public perception is of the user’s topic of interest, rendering it a bot with artificial intelligence capabilities. Target users include marketing agencies, advertising teams, brand builders, and managers by helping them to manage their brand reputation, identify online mentions, gain consumer intelligence, and more using a mix of algorithms that capture and comprehend 87% of data that is missed by traditional media tools that would otherwise be left out. Makgabenyane at the launch of Seipone.ai in April, 2022. (Image source: Provided) Expansion ambitions Although Seipone.ai currently serves clients only in Botswana, who include the country’s largest commercial bank and leading mobile network operator, the start has its sights set on entering the East Africa market, specifically Kenya. There are also future plans to penetrate the Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda, USA, and Netherlands markets as there has been a significant amount of interest there. The startup is currently in the process of raising a seed round to further build out their minimal viable product (MVP) and also supercharge its expansion ambitions, a process she expects to be concluded within the next 6 to 18 months. “We have raised money in the past through some grants and although it has helped extend our runway, we are talking to a couple of investors who are showing a lot of interest. The issues we are coming across are with regards to valuations and other tidbits, which are expected especially in an undesirable economic environment but all in all, everything is progressing well and we expect to succeed with fundraising,” said Makgabenyana. Additionally, Makgabenyana also believes that the funding will help in marketing the product offering because their experience has shown that there is still a significant knowledge gap in most African markets about the true power of utilising AI as a marketing technology tool. Image source (Provided) To address that gap at the moment, Seipone.ai has developed a platform called Seipone Learning which is basically three workshops designed in-house to offer education on the power of AI for brands and companies. “So there’s three workshops in Seipone Learning. One is taken by me and focuses on showing the value of AI for businesses. The second one focuses more on how customers can incorporate AI into their marketing process and is taught by my co-founder Kagiso Mpa. The third one speaks more on understanding the value of language in marketing and is taught by a consultant who is a specialist in Applied Linguistics,” added Makgabenyana. Marching forward A year after fully pivoting to the AI product, Seipone.ai has had its fair share of wins, losses,challenges, and the lessons that come with the process. According to Makgabenyana, all those will contribute greatly towards building a business that will revolutionise the way companies and brands think about marketing in Africa. “I think we entered the market at the right time because the success of ChatGPT has given much needed attention to not only generative AI products but also enterprise ones like ours. We have garnered a significant amount of traction like raising some funds and also being accepted into programs like CcHub Nigeria which has helped us to significantly improve our product,” she said. On what will be the main focus over the next year of operations, Makgabenyana alludes to the focus on building partnerships that will serve the expansion mandate of the startup. “Forming partnerships will be very, very important because they will allow us to add some wind to our sails in terms of traction. Partnerships will also give us more clout because as a
Read MoreThis Botswana-based AI startup is looking to revolutionise marketing in Africa. Here is how they plan to do it
The rise in popularity of OpenAI’s conversational AI chatbot, ChatGPT, has seen the entrance into mainstream culture of consumer facing AI tools. DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are some other popular tools. In Africa, however, innovation around generative AI products has not become apparent. This does not mean that there is no activity in the AI space on the continent. Seipone.ai is a Botswana based AI startup which is building an enterprise software-as-a-service product which seeks to revolutionise the way brands understand their customers. Initially founded in 2018 as “Seriti Insights” which was a software consultancy firm, Seipone.ai made a full pivot to AI in April 2022, deciding to focus entirely on its enterprise AI SaaS product. This move is further explained by co-founder and CEO Nomsa Makgabenyana in an interview with TechCabal. “We started in 2018 building ad hoc and bespoke software solutions mainly in the insurance space for sales and operational teams to boost their productivity and to be able to get the maximum results from the data that they have,” she said. “Last year, we then decided to completely pivot from that business to build and solely focus on our AI too, Seipone.ai” A pivot worth making Although the timing for the pivot into AI seems well thought as it coincided with the bursting of generative AI into the mainstream, it was a difficult pivot to make for Makgabenyana and her team. “It was a difficult decision to make particularly because it meant we lost that consistent revenue from the consultancy business. But it was very important for us to take that strategic decision because we really believe in the potential of not only AI as a technology but of Seipone.ai as a business.” Speaking more on the product, Makgabenyana believes it will be the next big thing in helping companies and brands in Africa harness the power of social media and AI to really understand the sentiments and pain points of consumers. Using the power of artificial intelligence and applied machine learning, Seipone.ai carefully mines historical and real-time data to help brands and companies understand consumer sentiments for insightful decision-making, no matter their language and style in linguistics, which are ever so fleeting. It is designed to learn and understand natural language and is able to understand Setswana and other indigenous languages like Swahili as well as social media lingo and slang. It also gives emotions behind opinions and gives insights into what the public perception is of the user’s topic of interest, rendering it a bot with artificial intelligence capabilities. Target users include marketing agencies, advertising teams, brand builders, and managers by helping them to manage their brand reputation, identify online mentions, gain consumer intelligence, and more using a mix of algorithms that capture and comprehend 87% of data that is missed by traditional media tools that would otherwise be left out. Makgabenyane at the launch of Seipone.ai in April, 2022. (Image source: Provided) Expansion ambitions Although Seipone.ai currently serves clients only in Botswana, who include the country’s largest commercial bank and leading mobile network operator, the start has its sights set on entering the East Africa market, specifically Kenya. There are also future plans to penetrate the Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda, USA, and Netherlands markets as there has been a significant amount of interest there. The startup is currently in the process of raising a seed round to further build out their minimal viable product (MVP) and also supercharge its expansion ambitions, a process she expects to be concluded within the next 6 to 18 months. “We have raised money in the past through some grants and although it has helped extend our runway, we are talking to a couple of investors who are showing a lot of interest. The issues we are coming across are with regards to valuations and other tidbits, which are expected especially in an undesirable economic environment but all in all, everything is progressing well and we expect to succeed with fundraising,” said Makgabenyana. Additionally, Makgabenyana also believes that the funding will help in marketing the product offering because their experience has shown that there is still a significant knowledge gap in most African markets about the true power of utilising AI as a marketing technology tool. Image source (Provided) To address that gap at the moment, Seipone.ai has developed a platform called Seipone Learning which is basically three workshops designed in-house to offer education on the power of AI for brands and companies. “So there’s three workshops in Seipone Learning. One is taken by me and focuses on showing the value of AI for businesses. The second one focuses more on how customers can incorporate AI into their marketing process and is taught by my co-founder Kagiso Mpa. The third one speaks more on understanding the value of language in marketing and is taught by a consultant who is a specialist in Applied Linguistics,” added Makgabenyana. Marching forward A year after fully pivoting to the AI product, Seipone.ai has had its fair share of wins, losses,challenges, and the lessons that come with the process. According to Makgabenyana, all those will contribute greatly towards building a business that will revolutionise the way companies and brands think about marketing in Africa. “I think we entered the market at the right time because the success of ChatGPT has given much needed attention to not only generative AI products but also enterprise ones like ours. We have garnered a significant amount of traction like raising some funds and also being accepted into programs like CcHub Nigeria which has helped us to significantly improve our product,” she said. On what will be the main focus over the next year of operations, Makgabenyana alludes to the focus on building partnerships that will serve the expansion mandate of the startup. “Forming partnerships will be very, very important because they will allow us to add some wind to our sails in terms of traction. Partnerships will also give us more clout because as a
Read MoreThis Botswana-based AI startup is looking to revolutionise marketing in Africa. Here is how they plan to do it
The rise in popularity of OpenAI’s conversational AI chatbot, ChatGPT, has seen the entrance into mainstream culture of consumer facing AI tools. DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion are some other popular tools. In Africa, however, innovation around generative AI products has not become apparent. This does not mean that there is no activity in the AI space on the continent. Seipone.ai is a Botswana based AI startup which is building an enterprise software-as-a-service product which seeks to revolutionise the way brands understand their customers. Initially founded in 2018 as “Seriti Insights” which was a software consultancy firm, Seipone.ai made a full pivot to AI in April 2022, deciding to focus entirely on its enterprise AI SaaS product. This move is further explained by co-founder and CEO Nomsa Makgabenyana in an interview with TechCabal. “We started in 2018 building ad hoc and bespoke software solutions mainly in the insurance space for sales and operational teams to boost their productivity and to be able to get the maximum results from the data that they have,” she said. “Last year, we then decided to completely pivot from that business to build and solely focus on our AI too, Seipone.ai” A pivot worth making Although the timing for the pivot into AI seems well thought as it coincided with the bursting of generative AI into the mainstream, it was a difficult pivot to make for Makgabenyana and her team. “It was a difficult decision to make particularly because it meant we lost that consistent revenue from the consultancy business. But it was very important for us to take that strategic decision because we really believe in the potential of not only AI as a technology but of Seipone.ai as a business.” Speaking more on the product, Makgabenyana believes it will be the next big thing in helping companies and brands in Africa harness the power of social media and AI to really understand the sentiments and pain points of consumers. Using the power of artificial intelligence and applied machine learning, Seipone.ai carefully mines historical and real-time data to help brands and companies understand consumer sentiments for insightful decision-making, no matter their language and style in linguistics, which are ever so fleeting. It is designed to learn and understand natural language and is able to understand Setswana and other indigenous languages like Swahili as well as social media lingo and slang. It also gives emotions behind opinions and gives insights into what the public perception is of the user’s topic of interest, rendering it a bot with artificial intelligence capabilities. Target users include marketing agencies, advertising teams, brand builders, and managers by helping them to manage their brand reputation, identify online mentions, gain consumer intelligence, and more using a mix of algorithms that capture and comprehend 87% of data that is missed by traditional media tools that would otherwise be left out. Makgabenyane at the launch of Seipone.ai in April, 2022. (Image source: Provided) Expansion ambitions Although Seipone.ai currently serves clients only in Botswana, who include the country’s largest commercial bank and leading mobile network operator, the start has its sights set on entering the East Africa market, specifically Kenya. There are also future plans to penetrate the Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Rwanda, USA, and Netherlands markets as there has been a significant amount of interest there. The startup is currently in the process of raising a seed round to further build out their minimal viable product (MVP) and also supercharge its expansion ambitions, a process she expects to be concluded within the next 6 to 18 months. “We have raised money in the past through some grants and although it has helped extend our runway, we are talking to a couple of investors who are showing a lot of interest. The issues we are coming across are with regards to valuations and other tidbits, which are expected especially in an undesirable economic environment but all in all, everything is progressing well and we expect to succeed with fundraising,” said Makgabenyana. Additionally, Makgabenyana also believes that the funding will help in marketing the product offering because their experience has shown that there is still a significant knowledge gap in most African markets about the true power of utilising AI as a marketing technology tool. Image source (Provided) To address that gap at the moment, Seipone.ai has developed a platform called Seipone Learning which is basically three workshops designed in-house to offer education on the power of AI for brands and companies. “So there’s three workshops in Seipone Learning. One is taken by me and focuses on showing the value of AI for businesses. The second one focuses more on how customers can incorporate AI into their marketing process and is taught by my co-founder Kagiso Mpa. The third one speaks more on understanding the value of language in marketing and is taught by a consultant who is a specialist in Applied Linguistics,” added Makgabenyana. Marching forward A year after fully pivoting to the AI product, Seipone.ai has had its fair share of wins, losses,challenges, and the lessons that come with the process. According to Makgabenyana, all those will contribute greatly towards building a business that will revolutionise the way companies and brands think about marketing in Africa. “I think we entered the market at the right time because the success of ChatGPT has given much needed attention to not only generative AI products but also enterprise ones like ours. We have garnered a significant amount of traction like raising some funds and also being accepted into programs like CcHub Nigeria which has helped us to significantly improve our product,” she said. On what will be the main focus over the next year of operations, Makgabenyana alludes to the focus on building partnerships that will serve the expansion mandate of the startup. “Forming partnerships will be very, very important because they will allow us to add some wind to our sails in terms of traction. Partnerships will also give us more clout because as a
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