- September 18 2024
NECO 2024 results release now set
The National Examinations Council (NECO) has confirmed the release of the 2024 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) internal results. On Thursday, 19th September 2024, the much-anticipated NECO 2024 results release will take place at 12:00 noon. The Registrar and Chief Executive of NECO, Professor Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, will officially announce the results during an event scheduled at the NECO headquarters. Staff members have been invited to the Conference Hall at 11:45 a.m. to witness the release firsthand. Key details of the Event The following are critical points about the upcoming NECO 2024 results release: Date: Thursday, 19th September 2024 Time: Results will be announced at 12:00 noon Venue: NECO headquarters Conference Hall Attendees: All staff are to assemble at 11:45 a.m. The host of the event will be the Acting Director of Information and Public Relations, Azeez Sani, alongside other top officials of the council. Common reasons students may face difficulty checking NECO 2024 results Candidates are to check NECO’s official website for updates immediately following the announcement. However, when the NECO 2024 results release occurs, some students may encounter obstacles in accessing their results. A few common reasons include: Website traffic overload: High demand may cause the NECO portal to slow down or crash temporarily. Incorrect login details: Inputting wrong registration numbers or exam tokens can block access. Network issues: Poor internet connectivity may hinder successful login attempts. Outstanding fees: Schools or individuals with unpaid fees may face restrictions. Portal maintenance: Unexpected technical updates or maintenance on the NECO website could delay access temporarily. Results withheld: This is a possibility if a school or candidate’s results are looking suspicious and are undergoing investigations for likelihood of malpractices. You may need to wait a while, and if you or your school pass blameless, your results will be available for access. Final thoughts NECO 2024 results As the NECO 2024 results release approaches, students should prepare by ensuring they have all necessary information ready. This includes purchasing the exam checking tokens required to access their results online. You can read how to obtain your tokens from authorised vendors or through the official NECO website.
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- September 18 2024
Check JAMB 2024 matriculation list and get your name on it
The JAMB matriculation list is important for all Nigerian students going into accredited Nigerian institutions. Only candidates whose names appear on the list are legitimate students. If your name is not on the matriculation list, one major fallback is that your application for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme will not go through. It is, therefore, essential to check the JAMB 2024 matriculation list and ensure your name isn’t missing. Follow the guide below to confirm your status and make sure your name appears on the list. Why check the JAMB matriculation list? Verifying your name on the JAMB matriculation list is necessary because: Only students on this list qualify as bonafide students. You will be ineligible for the NYSC scheme if your name is missing from the list. It ensures your admission is fully confirmed and recorded by JAMB. How to check JAMB matriculation list To check JAMB 2024 matriculation list, follow these steps: 1. Visit the JAMB portal: Go to the official JAMB website at the official Matriculation List page. 2. Fetch your matriculation details: Enter your JAMB registration number and choose 2024 as your admission year. This step ensures that the system checks the right data for you. 3. Confirm your status: The system will display whether your name is on the list. If it is, congratulations! If not, follow the steps below to get your name on the list. How to get your name on the JAMB matric list If your name is not on the list, you can rectify the issue by completing the following steps: Check CAPS: On JAMB CAPS, you must have been offered admission by a university and you must have accepted it. And it must reflect that your acceptance was successful. Print your admission letter: Log in to the JAMB e-Facility platform and print your admission letter. This document is essential for verifying your admission. Print your result slip: Also from the e-Facility platform, print your JAMB result slip. This document shows your exam performance and is required for verification. Verify with your institution’s admission officer: Present both your JAMB admission letter and result slip to your institution’s admission officer. They will verify and confirm your admission status. By following these steps, you can ensure that your name appears when you check JAMB 2024 matriculation list. This simple process is vital for your academic journey and future NYSC enrolment.
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- September 18 2024
Africa’s climate tech sector needs winners to justify recent funding jump
Funding from DFIs has grown Africa’s venture capital industry and now that funding seeks to create a market for climate tech in Africa but there needs to be clear winners soon. A venture capitalist has two jobs: funding companies with the potential for outsized returns and managing relationships with the limited partners (LPs) who provide the funds. In Africa, this relationship with LPs has increasingly leaned towards development finance institutions (DFIs), which are some of the largest sources of capital for VC firms. But this relationship gives DFIs significant sway over the direction of Africa’s VC landscape as firms receive impact metrics from DFIs. The institutions, backed by governments or international bodies, often deploy funds to align with their backers’ goals. As these governments focus on fostering a safer global climate, they have increasingly incentivised funding for climate technology in Africa. This reliance on DFIs is unique to Africa. African VC firms, unlike their global counterparts, have limited access to funding sources like pension and endowment funds, leading them to DFIs, which has fuelled a surge in funding for VC firms. These institutions, like the IFC, which invested in Africa’s largest and second-largest VC fund, control billions of dollars and see VC firms as key custodians of capital that can leverage their local presence to drive innovation, job creation, and economic growth on the continent. “Limited partners will have an opinion and certain recommendations and requirements, but we often have healthy discussions and debates. It is a very collaborative approach,” Kola Aina, the general partner of Ventures Platform, told TechCabal. These recommendations and requirements have helped drive up funding into Africa’s climate tech sector in the past two years, despite a decline in VC funding. In 2023, climate tech became the second most funded sector in Africa, raising $1.04 billion—a 9% increase compared to the previous year. “Part of [the recent growth in funding for climate tech] is driven by some of the priorities of the limited partners,” Aina said. His firm lists France’s Proparco, British International Investment, and the IFC as limited partners. This funding boom does not correlate with the commercial reality of most climate tech solutions on the continent. “It’s a policy driver. I would not look at it like a commercial industry,” the general partner of a $30 million fund who asked not to be named told TechCabal. “It hasn’t really come to the forefront of our commercial business case to do climate tech but there’s an incentive driven by VC funds, which is driven by the DFIs and the DFIs government, that trickles down entrepreneurs who do climate tech.” Despite the rise in funding for climate tech in Africa—from $340 million in 2019 to over $1 billion in 2023—the high upfront cost of most climate products has created a barrier to scale. In the years that funding has flown to the sector, there are still no clear estimates of its total value despite the sector’s broad scope, including sub-sectors like electric vehicles, solar tech, and recycling. While climate tech holds immense potential for Africa, a continent disproportionately affected by climate change, the current solutions have not yet effectively addressed the region’s unique challenges. In contrast, the fintech sector’s funding boom in the early 2020s saw the rise of clear winners like Paystack and Flutterwave, whose success helped shape a thriving ecosystem. Similar transformative breakthroughs besides electric two-wheelers have yet to occur in climate tech, highlighting the gap between the sector’s potential and its current impact. “We are not opposed to the rise in climate tech investment. I do agree that these investments have to be viewed very closely for viability,” Aina said. Funding from DFIs played a crucial role in launching Africa’s telecommunications sector, demonstrating the transformative power of patient capital. However, for this same impact to be mirrored in climate tech, the continent needs startups capable of delivering wide-reaching solutions soon. Without key players emerging to drive significant change, the potential of climate tech may remain untapped. Moonshot by TechCabal is gathering Africa’s most audacious builders and thinkers in Lagos, Nigeria. You can get tickets here.
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- September 18 2024
Ecobank Kenya lost “millions of dollars” after card flaws exposed it to fraud
Ecobank Kenya lost millions of dollars between 2020 and 2022 after weaknesses in its card operations team exposed the lender to potential fraud by merchants and staff, an internal report seen by TechCabal showed. The report, by a task force appointed in 2023, exposed critical lapses in Ecobank Kenya’s card operations, making it easy for employees and merchants to manipulate transactions and commit fraud. Those lapses went undetected for two years, raising questions about the bank’s oversight and technology. While the report did not disclose the full financial hit, it revealed that $43.4 million (KES5.6 billion) was erroneously posted in the bank’s system, and $162,346 was rejected by payment service providers like Mastercard. It also failed to recover $232,464 in chargebacks. “There was disregard for procedures in the merchant’s operation of acquiring product GLs (general ledger). Many manual entries posted therein were unprocedural and some erroneous,” the report said. “There were no properly documented operating procedures and accounting entries for different card products. This led to the lumping up of different entries for different card products into the merchant acquiring GL.” Control gaps and inadequate training for the teams processing transactions worsened errors that left the bank’s card operations vulnerable. Ecobank Kenya did not immediately respond to a request for comments. The investigation identified a $2.1 million balance without supporting documentation in the bank’s GL, raising concerns over the nature of the funds and whether they were related to fraud. “A residual balance of $2.1 million was left outstanding in GL155000068 unsubstantiated. This balance was a reduction from the initial amount which was approximately $15 million as of July 2022,” the report said. The maker-checker process, an internal control process that prevents unauthorised transactions, was weak. The bank’s chargeback monitoring process was also inadequate, allowing discrepancies and possible losses. The bank’s card operations team failed to upload transaction source documents on multiple occasions. Between July and December 2021, the daily merchant general ledger had a debit of up to $34.8 million (KES4.5 billion) that did not have corresponding credits. Eleven entries amounting to $16.2 million (KES2.1 billion) were duplicated. “Due to this omission, it was impossible to determine the amount payable to merchants, the amount receivable from schemes and the service commission receivable from the merchants on these days,” the task force found, adding that omissions and delays were not detected or flagged. Other transaction files were uploaded months after the funds had been moved, complicating the reconciliation process. For instance, transactions from March to May 2022 with a value of $11.6 million (KES1.5 billion) were uploaded on June 30 and July 1-4 2022. African tech leaders and global players will be at Moonshot by TechCabal. You can get tickets here.
Read More- September 18 2024
Adani Group claims it first learned of Kenya airport project through media reports
Adani Group has told a Kenyan court it became interested in redeveloping the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) following media reports of its deteriorating condition. On September 10, the High Court suspended the government’s plan to lease the country’s main airport for 30 years to Adani Airport Holdings, a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate. “From 2018 to 2023, the respondent noticed several reports and news articles detailing the deteriorating status of Kenya’s JKIA which, for a long time, had been one of the best airports in Africa,” said Alok Patni, Adani Group head of business development in court documents seen by TechCabal. “The respondent also noticed several news articles in 2019 and 2020 regarding constant protests and demonstrations by JKIA workers lamenting poor working conditions, infrastructure and remuneration.” Patni told the court that the proposal to build a new terminal and taxiways would elevate JKIA’s status in Africa and create job opportunities for Kenyans. Adani Group’s $1.85 billion JKIA expansion plan has faced intense local opposition, with Kenyans questioning its transparency. Groups opposed to the deal have argued that the $1.85 billion required for the project can be raised locally without a 30-year concession to a foreign firm. The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which filed the case against Adani Group, want the deal stopped. The company owned by Gautam Adani, India’s second richest man, maintains the project will be “of tremendous benefit to the Kenyan public” and that it has followed Kenyan laws. The LSK and KHRC said in their filings that the project is “irrational” and does not follow Kenyan laws including the Public-Private Partnerships Act, of 2021, which Adani has refuted. “The Adani proposal is unaffordable, threatens job losses, exposes the public disproportionately to fiscal risk and offers no value for money to the taxpayer,” LSK and KHRC told the court. On September 11, the proposed takeover caused an aviation workers’ strike, which led to major flight delays and cancellations that lasted six hours. The workers claimed that the takeover would lead to layoffs and employment of foreigners.
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- September 18 2024
Next Wave: What’s the future of Kenyan fintechs?
Cet article est aussi disponible en français <!– In partnership with –> <!–TopBanner Join us for TechCabal Battlefield, Moonshot’s startup competition where you can showcase your startup idea to a global audience and an esteemed panel of judges and stand a chance to win up to 2.5 million naira in funding for your business! Click to register for TC Battlefield First published 15 September, 2024 What’s the future of Kenyan fintechs? M-Pesa, Kenya’s dominant mobile payment platform owned by Safaricom, processed a staggering 20 billion transactions in 2023, accounting for about 60% of the country’s GDP. While M-Pesa has revolutionised digital banking and payment services, its dominance in the market has reduced the appetite for fintech startups. Compared to its peers, Kenyan fintechs have not set new digital payment standards, as in Nigeria, Egypt, and South Africa. Some might argue that the country’s regulatory environment has slowed innovations in the financial services sector, but it’s too hard to ignore M-Pesa’s winning streak. What is the future of fintech startups in Kenya? A report by Stears, a Nigerian market intelligence firm showed that Kenyan fintechs secured 8% of the total investments in the sector between 2019 and 2023, trailing Nigeria (39%), South Africa (20%) and Egypt (16%). Fintech deals in Kenya The growth of digital payments in Kenya As VCs shift focus to climate tech, which attracted 45% of total deals in H1 2024, building the next big digital bank to unseat traditional service providers might not sound like a good pitch. M-Pesa has helped unbanked access to financial services, while traditional banks have raised their game by introducing digital banking platforms– the two developments have solved the accessibility and convenience questions. Founders must present a compelling business model, with proof they can be profitable and acquire customers to receive investors’ backing. Smartphone-friendly technology alone is not enough to unseat Kenyan traditional banks and telcos, which have proven they can introduce some of the features that neobanks use to capture the market. Traditional financial institutions have also proved they can pour millions and poach staff from fintechs’ ranks, moving with their ideas. Next Wave continues after this ad. Join us at the Bluechip AI & Data Summit 2024 on 2nd Dec in Lagos! Explore AI & data-driven solutions for Africa’s future. Network with industry leaders, attend expert panels, and discover innovations transforming finance, healthcare, and more. Don’t miss out. JOIN US Despite this onslaught from M-Pesa and traditional banks, all is not lost for Kenyan fintechs. While telcos and banks have built digital financial services platforms, VC analysts believe there’s a clear opportunity to build with a real digital-first approach. For instance, most Kenyan banks require customers to visit physical branches to open accounts and resolve disputed transactions. It is the same case with opening M-Pesa accounts and addressing fraud-related issues. On the other hand, fintechs can build solutions designed from the ground up to be digital, offering a more user-friendly and convenient experience. Next Wave continues after this ad. Get a Discount to Attend Moonshot 2024 with Your Friends! We’re a few weeks away from Moonshot 2024! Seize the opportunity to enjoy a group ticket discount with your friends or colleagues. Experience two days of invaluable insights from industry leaders, networking with potential partners and investors, and witnessing groundbreaking innovations shaping the future of the African digital economy. Get ₦8,000 off on 2 tickets and ₦20,000 off on 4 tickets. Get tickets here. Mobile money and digital banking in Kenya have not brought down the banking fees as experts thought. In 2020, Kenyan regulators pushed for full interoperability with the hope that it would encourage competition in the ecosystem and potentially lower costs. While M-Pesa’s competitors, Airtel Money and Telkom Cash, offer lower rates, it still controls nearly 97% of the mobile payments market. Floating fintechs as a potential answer might appear to be a longshot, but there is sufficient evidence that they lower costs. Neobanks’ reliance on technology and reduced physical infrastructure means they can easily cut operating costs, which they can pass to customers with lower fees. Kenyan fintechs can also focus on specific market segments that traditional financial institutions may not prioritise. Most fintech solutions in Kenya have been around payments: P2P, P2B, B2B and cross-border or remittances. Yet, many opportunities in other financial services subsector are underserved. At 3%, Kenya has one of the lowest insurance penetration rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. Founders can explore products that serve this market, which banks like Equity Group and KCB Group have now shown interest in. Access to affordable credit is another area that is often ignored. In 2020, several micro-credit apps emerged, but most have been accused of saddling customers with debts. Kenyan fintech will need more than apps designed for mobile interfaces to attract and retain customers in the face of M-Pesa and traditional banks’ competition. In Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa, neobanks are challenging legacy institutions with mobile payment solutions, lending and PoS services. Kenyan players have been unable to replicate that level of success. Despite the hurdles, founders should seize the opportunities in other subsectors of financial services like insurance. Next Wave ends after this ad. Planning to attend Moonshot 2024 from outside Nigeria? Are you looking to explore the next frontier of tech innovation and gain insights from global leaders on Africa’s rapidly growing tech ecosystem? Moonshot 2024 offers the opportunity to network with visionary entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators shaping the future of Africa, and to uncover new business opportunities in one of the world’s most dynamic markets. You also get to enjoy the vibrant mix of Lagos’ innovation and culture, all while staying connected with prepaid eSIMs from Sochitel for seamless data and calls. Secure your spot now for two days of inspiration, networking, and innovation! Adonijah Ndege Senior Reporter, TechCabal Thank you for reading this far. Feel free to email adonijah[at]bigcabal.com, with your thoughts about this edition of NextWave. Or just click reply to share your thoughts and feedback. We’d love to
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- September 18 2024
TechCabal Daily – Xero’s big splash in South Africa
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning We’re three weeks away from Moonshot 2024. Here’s your reminder to join Africa’s most audacious thinkers at a global conference for change. The good news is that if you’re seeing this, you get 20% off tickets to Moonshot 2024. All you have to do is enter the coupon code “MSTCD” for local tickets, and “MSTCD1” for international tickets. Regfyl raises $1.1 million Xero’s big splash in South Africa CBN maintains government borrowing threshold at 5% Nigeria pushes for eNaira adoption with MDAs The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Funding Regfyl raises $1.1 million to strengthen its compliance-as-a-service product Image Source: Regfyl In finance, fraud is inevitable. It’s the most common crime in the UK, making up nearly half of all criminal activities in the region. Despite its prevalence, there appears to be no definitive solution to fraud, as bad actors continuously evolve their tactics and find new ways to exploit the system. In Nigeria, banks lost $25.7 million to fraud in Q2 2024, marking a staggering 1,784.94% increase from the previous quarter. Several startups are tackling fraud in Nigeria’s financial sector by developing digital identity verification and detection tools to curb fraudulent activities. The thinking is that by properly identifying customers, the incidence of fraud can be reduced through documentation of perpetrators and information sharing. Regfyl, one of the newer entrants, has raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding from Rally Cap, Techstars, DCG, Musha Ventures, Africa Fintech Collective, and others. Founded in 2023 by Tunde Ibidapo-Obe and Tomiwa Erinosho, the startup helps businesses streamline customer onboarding, monitor transactions, and prevent fraud and already serves 20 businesses, including Cowrywise, VFD Bank, and Piggyvest. In an ecosystem where fraud is a growing concern and fraud prevention is a saturated market, Regfyl offers a unified platform that integrates Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance, transaction monitoring, and regulatory reporting—features that competitors like SmileID, Dojah, and Youverify offer separately. The startup uses a subscription model, charging ₦2 million ($1,220) annually for full access and also charging per-use fees for individual screenings. Despite the rise of Regfyl and similar platforms, fraud continues to thrive. One reason may be that technology, while essential, isn’t a silver bullet. Gaps in enforcement, the sophistication of fraudsters, and inconsistent adoption of tools by businesses leave room for bad actors. Regfyl’s goal is to close these gaps by being a one-stop shop for compliance, but the challenge remains whether this tech-led approach can truly curb the rising tide of fraud in Nigeria. Read Moniepoint’s 2024 Informal Economy Report Did you know that 57.7% of the business owners in Nigeria’s informal economy are under 34 years old? Click here to find out more about the demographics of Nigeria’s informal economy. M&As Xero’s big splash in South Africa Image source: Xero $70 million. That’s the amount Xero, a global accounting software giant, will spend to snap up Syft, a South African cloud-based reporting and analytics platform. For those who have closely tracked deals and are following the capital markets this year, it’s hard to ignore that the transaction could be riding on Syft’s AI capabilities. AI is proving to be a magnet for investors in 2024, you’d agree. With this acquisition, Xero could grow its reporting and analytics, boosting its services in key markets like the UK, Australia and the US. At $70 million, the acquisition is one of the largest M&A deals in Africa this year. Xero will pay $40 million upfront for the acquisition, including $10 million in shares. The rest—earn-outs and employee-restricted shares—will be paid over three years. Syft will continue to operate as a standalone, but its features will be integrated into Xero’s platform. Founded in 2016 by Matt Stephanou and Vangelis Kyriazis, Syft’s AI financial reporting platform provides small and medium businesses with access to reporting tools. In 2023, the company reported $4.4 million in revenue from 75,000 customers across 80 countries. Read more about the acquisition here. Fincra secures International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licence in Nigeria Since its inception, Fincra has provided businesses with local payment options. However, with the IMTO licence, Fincra can now manage funds transfers from abroad to Nigerian recipients more efficiently. Read more here. Economy CBN maintains government borrowing threshold at 5% Image source: TechCabal All governments borrow money from their central banks to fund budget deficits. But government borrowing, if left unchecked, can cause problems. When the Central Bank lends the Nigerian government money through the way and means advances, it “prints more money”. But an increase in money supply without a corresponding increase in outputs can trigger inflation. These loans are capped at 5% of the government’s revenue from the previous year, according to Section 38 of the CBN Act. Yet that hasn’t been the case. Government borrowing exceeded the threshold under the Godwin Emefiele-led CBN. President Buhari’s administration borrowed a record ₦22.7 trillion ($13.8 million) in ways and means advance. Those loans were also left unsettled at the end of the financial year as prescribed by law. Since taking office in September 2023, CBN governor Olayemi Cardoso has taken a different approach. He has talked up a return to orthodox policies and said the CBN will not lend the government until the previous loans are repaid. In new policy guidelines released on Tuesday, the CBN maintained that the ways and means will remain capped at 5%, countering an earlier increase of the threshold to 10% by the National Assembly. It will also determine government borrowing from the sub-accounts of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to assess the government’s cash position. The critical question is how the CBN will manage the pressure from lawmakers and say no to a federal government that has historically relied on it to print more money to fund budget deficits. Psst Here’s Paystack Developer Contributor of the month Microsoft Engineer Ekene Ashinze built the Angular Paystack Library, a module that helps developers accept payments in their Angular apps with Paystack. Discover his journey in
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- September 17 2024
Regfyl, a Nigerian fraud detection company raises $1.1million to expand team and build new compliance product
Regfyl, a Nigerian company that provides digital identity verification and fraud detection tools to businesses, has raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding. The startup will use the funding to strengthen its sales, engineering and customer support team and build a supply chain compliance product. Rally Cap led the funding round. Techstars, DCG, Musha Ventures, Africa Fintech Collective and other strategic angels also invested. Launched in 2023 by Tunde Ibidapo-Obe and Tomiwa Erinosho, Regfyl helps businesses with customer and business onboarding, transaction monitoring, and fraud prevention. Regfyl also helps financial institutions with regulatory reporting/filing with financial regulators like Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Central Bank. The company currently serves about 20 businesses and counts Cowrywise. VFD Bank, Coronation, Piggyvest, and Budpay are among its clients. “Trust is the currency of the digital economy, and at Regfyl, we are committed to being the operating system that underpins this trust across the continent,” said Tunde Ibidapo-Obe, CEO of Regfyl. The startup charges a yearly subscription fee of ₦2 million ($1,220)for full access to its platform. It also charges a per-use fee for each individual or business customer screened and monitored. Regfyl is part of a growing list of Nigerian companies helping financial institutions to detect and fight fraud. In its recently released Fraud and Forgeries Report, the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) reported that Nigerian banks lost $25.7 million to fraud in Q2 2024. It competes with similar businesses like SmileID, Dojah, Youverify that offer KYC compliance services to businesses. While these competitors offer just one compliance service to financial institutions, Regfyl claims to offer a unified compliance solution that helps businesses handle every section of their compliance, from KYC onboarding to transaction monitoring and regulatory filing. “What we have done is to look at what the job of the compliance manager is and we have essentially brought all of it in one operating system,” said Erinosho. Moonshot by TechCabal is gathering Africa’s most audacious builders and thinkers in Lagos, Nigeria. You can get tickets here.
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- September 17 2024
Xero will acquire South African analytics platform Syft for $70 million
Xero, the global accounting software giant, will acquire South African cloud-based reporting and analytics platform Syft for $70 million. The deal is projected to close between October and December 2024 pending regulatory approval. Founded in 2016 by Matt Stephanou and Vangelis Kyriazis, Johannesburg-based Syft’s AI financial reporting platform provides small and medium businesses with access to reporting tools. In 2023, the company reported $4.4 million in revenue from 75,000 customers across 80 countries. Xero will pay $40 million upfront for the acquisition, including $10 million in shares. The rest—-earn-outs and employee-restricted shares—will be paid over three years. Syft’s 70 employees will also be integrated into Xero. “We’ve worked closely with Xero’s teams and customers over the past seven years,” said Syft CEO Kyriazis. ”Having met Xero’s senior leadership team over the past few months, we knew that joining Xero was a natural fit and would advance our shared goal of helping small businesses succeed.” The deal continues the trend of global giants acquiring South African software as a service (SaaS) startups. In March 2024, US-based payroll provider Deel acquired South African payroll startup PaySpace for an undisclosed amount. Syft will continue to operate as a standalone offering to small businesses. Xero will incorporate Syft’s functionality, which includes visualisations, analytics and reporting capabilities for new and existing customers. Syft will improve Xero’s insights, advanced reporting, and analytics capabilities in Australia, the UK, the US, and other global markets. African tech leaders and global players will be at Moonshot by TechCabal. You can get tickets here.
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- September 17 2024
TechCabal Daily – How CashAfrica is tapping into Nigeria’s payments game
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning Our friends at the Founder Institute are celebrating the graduation of their 10th cohort at the upcoming fireside chat, “Scaling with Resilience.” This event will feature insights from experts, founders of venture-backed startups, and experienced investors. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to connect with the Founder Institute Lagos ecosystem, including FI’s network of startups, alumni, partners, investors, and mentors. RSVP here. M-Kopa set to pay tax backlog in Kenya CashAfrica is betting on tap-to-pay in Nigeria Kopo Kopo names new leadership Nigeria’s inflation rate quells to 32.15% The World Wide Web3 Events Regulation M-Kopa to pay backlog of tax Jesse Moore, M-Kopa chief executive. Image | M-Kopa Between 2017 and 2019, M-Kopa, the asset financing company whose biggest market is Kenya, remitted zero taxes to the Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA). Drawing on the UK-Kenya Double Taxation Agreement, a treaty designed to prevent companies from being taxed twice, M-KOPA believed that it shouldn’t pay taxes in Kenya because its directors did not live there. The company also argued that its management decisions are made outside Kenya. Kenya’s tax authority disagreed and off they went to court. On Monday, a tax appeal tribunal found that the company had not provided evidence that its important operational decisions were taken outside of Kenya, confirming its tax residence in the country. The ruling meant the company is back on the hook for around KES885.87 million ($6.8 million) in back taxes. While my colleague agrees that the tax is a small change for a company that has raised $250 million, the ruling may likely set a precedent for other Kenyan startups operating under foreign tax residency. Read Moniepoint’s 2024 Informal Economy Report Did you know that 57.7% of the business owners in Nigeria’s informal economy are under 34 years old? Click here to find out more about the demographics of Nigeria’s informal economy. Startups CashAfrica is betting on tap-to-pay in Nigeria Image source: Faith Omoniyi/TechCabal CashAfrica’s pitch is pretty simple: why bother with cards when you can use your smartphone to pull cash from a Point-of-Sale terminal? In a country where almost everyone has a phone but far fewer have bank cards, the fintech is hoping this will be the future of payments in Nigeria. By eliminating card partnerships, CashAfrica significantly cuts costs and improves profit margins, a challenge often faced by Nigerian fintechs dealing with foreign card schemes. There are clear hurdles: for CashAfrica to thrive, a lot more Nigerians will need to have NFC-enabled phones—and, just as importantly, they’ll need to know how to use them. The tech is promising, but it’s not much good if your customers don’t have the hardware or aren’t sure how to make it work. Both challenges create a real problem for CashAfrica. User education is timely and costly, and only high-end Samsung and Apple models—which together make up 46% of Nigeria’s smartphone market—come with NFC capabilities. That leaves a significant chunk of the population out of the equation, shrinking CashAfrica’s potential customer base before they’ve even started. Yet, CashAfrica CEO Malik Asamu chooses to see the positives. His strategy, instead of rational optimism, in a market that is not ready yet is obvious through his comment: “We believe more NFC-enabled phones will be imported. You don’t want to ride on a wave of innovation when it is sinking. We believe tap to pay is new in Nigeria and we want to be among the first to the market.” It will also count banks and fintechs as customers as it tries to convince them to adopt its tap-to-pay service. Read more about CashAfrica. Fincra secures International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licence in Nigeria Since its inception, Fincra has provided businesses with local payment options. However, with the IMTO licence, Fincra can now manage funds transfers from abroad to Nigerian recipients more efficiently. Read more here. Startups Kopo Kopo names new leadership amid Moniepoint acquisition talks Far Right, CEO Dennis Ondeng. Image Source: Kopo Kopo Kenyan fintech Kopo Kopo has announced a leadership shake-up with Dennis Ondeng stepping in as the new CEO, while former CEO Chad Larson transitions to Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Joining the revamped team are Kibet Yegon as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), and Rosemary Muyeshi as Chief Risk Officer (CRO), rounding out the company’s refreshed executive structure. These leadership changes come 13 months after Kenya’s competition authority approved the acquisition of Kopo Kopo by Nigerian neobank Moniepoint. However, the deal remains in progress, with both companies yet to finalise the transaction. Kopo Kopo, a provider of payment services and loans to small businesses in Kenya since 2011, could offer Moniepoint a strategic entry point into the Kenyan market. With its extensive customer base of small and medium-sized businesses, Kopo Kopo’s operations align well with Moniepoint’s suite of business-facing products. As Moniepoint continues its aggressive growth trajectory, an acquisition of Kopo Kopo would solidify its expansion plans in Kenya. “We have been vocal about our interest in Kenya as part of our mission to provide financial happiness for people across Africa,” the company told TechCabal in August 2023. If successful, the acquisition could strengthen the connection between Nigeria’s and Kenya’s tech ecosystems, fostering a more integrated African fintech landscape—especially in light of recent partnerships like that between Nigeria’s Rise and Kenya’s Hisa. Psst Here’s Paystack Developer Contributor of the month Microsoft Engineer Ekene Ashinze built the Angular Paystack Library, a module that helps developers accept payments in their Angular apps with Paystack. Discover his journey in creating the library and how it’s opened doors for him both locally and globally. Learn more → Inflation Nigeria’s headline inflation to 32.15% in August Image source: Cemile Bingol On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation fell to a six-month low of 32.15% interest rate in August. It was a second consecutive ease in inflation thanks to a drop in food prices driven by the harvest season. Food inflation also slowed to 37.52% from 39.53% in July 2024. Nigeria’s headline inflation reached a
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