MTN exits two African countries in a bid to refocus on high-growth markets
MTN Group, Africa’s largest network operator by subscriber base, has accepted an undisclosed offer from Africa-focused telecommunication service, Telecel, for the sale of its equity interests in MTN Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry, as it looks to exit smaller markets in the West and Central Africa (WECA) region. MTN revealed this development in its 2023 financials. A spokesperson for the telco confirmed the sale of the business segments but declined to comment on how much the sale would cost. Further, in the aforementioned report, MTN shared that its Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry businesses have been classified as held for sale as of December 31, 2023. “Telecel, an established telecoms operator with a significant presence in Africa, is well positioned to drive the growth and further development of these operations and contribute to technological and economic progress in these markets,” a note in its financials said. This move will allow MTN to focus on Ghana, Cameroon, and Cote d’Ivoire, stronger markets in the West and Central Africa region which collectively contribute 18.6% to the group’s revenue, over other West and Central African (WECA) countries that contribute 7.3% to the firm. MTN Guinea-Bissau recorded some poor performances after it breached a loan covenant as result of its negative EBITDA performance. (EBITDA means Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation.) The process of converting MTN Guinea-Bissau’s financial results into its primary currency resulted in a loss of R1.69 billion ($89,392,809), per its annual report.
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Announcing the second edition of the Moonshot Conference
Moonshot by TechCabal returns in October! Moonshot is the conference that brings together Africa’s tech ecosystem in person to network, collaborate, share insights, and celebrate innovation on the continent. At TechCabal, we believe that there is value in bringing together the brightest problem solvers, businesspeople, and innovators on the continent to meet and create and change our world. And so, with Moonshot, we are building a global launchpad for that change to happen. Last October, we hosted over 2,000 of you in Lagos, Nigeria; you were with us for two days of light-bulb conversations on the wins and potential in African innovation. We had five content tracks: the future of commerce, big tech and enterprise, emerging tech, the startup festival, and the creative economy. We brought on stage an eclectic lineup of guests for these conversations, including Nigeria’s minister of communications, innovation and digital economy, Bosun Tijani; ex-director, Google West Africa, Juliet Ehimuan; Microsoft Engineering’s Nnamdi Orieke; and several guests from the world of tech, business, and the creator economy. If you didn’t attend last year’s Moonshot, go to our YouTube channel to catch everything you missed. We’ll look forward to seeing you and your friends at this year’s edition in October. In his welcome address at last year’s conference, Tomiwa Aladekomo, CEO of Big Cabal Media (parent company of TechCabal), stated that Moonshot is about building radical or innovative solutions to big problems—“an opportunity to talk to people who are passionate about solving problems”. That mandate hasn’t changed. If anything, it has gotten more robust as we prepare to once again host you for three days. It will be three days of smart conversations with business leaders and innovators, from October 9–11, 2024, at the Eko Convention Centre, Lagos, Nigeria. Tickets are on sale starting today! You can get 20% off on early bird tickets by clicking here. See you at Moonshot!
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Next Wave: Showmax is promising, but it needs to fix a few technical basics
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 24 March, 2024 2024 is shaping up to be a challenging year for streaming platforms in Africa after Showmax, the continent’s leading video-on-demand platform, revamped to become Showmax 2.0. However, the change runs deeper: following years of negotiations with potential business partners that saw NBCUniversal pump $177 million into the platform, Showmax secured additional collaborations, including HBO and Sky. Its streaming technology has received a boost and is now leveraging Peacock’s technology. The company has also set higher ambitions to reach 50 million subscribers within five years. However, has it set such a high target and neglected the basics? As of November 2023, Showmax recorded 2.1 million subscribers in Africa. Its main rival, Netflix, saw a decline in subscribers, dropping to 1.8 million from the 2.6 million it registered two years earlier. This means that Showmax now claims the title of Africa’s premier streaming service with a market share of 38.7%, while Netflix comes in second at 33.5%. Amazon Prime Video picks the third position with a 5.6% market share and 300,000 subscribers. Prime Video, however, seems to have shifted its focus away from the African and Middle Eastern markets, suspending the production of original shows in the region to concentrate on Western markets. Market share of streaming platforms in Africa Showmax’s upper hand With these numbers, it is clear that Showmax, partly owned by MultiChoice, is doing something right. Its biggest advantage lies in its grasp of local culture and preferences. This has enabled Showmax to understand Africa’s diverse cultures, languages, and tastes. Such understanding is essential for selecting content that appeals to local viewers, including culturally-significant shows, films, and original productions. For instance, Showmax tailors its campaigns and promotions in countries like Kenya using local languages such as Swahili and Sheng’. Some of its local productions are aired in Swahili. Next Wave continues after this ad. Technology in Africa has grown in leaps and bounds. While the continent has made strides in increasing overall connectivity, women are being left behind. Women account for roughly half of the population and despite the progress made in recent years, they account for a disproportionate—and increasing—share of the global offline population, with South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa having the world’s widest gender gap. But why is this the case? What barriers are preventing women from fully participating in the tech industry? Join us on Wednesday, March 26th at 11AM (WAT) along with key players in digital inclusion and technology to explore these questions and potential solutions. Register here. Besides uniquely tailoring its content catalogue to suit African viewers’ tastes and interests through local languages, regional talent, and relevant themes, the platform also produces original African content, such as locally-made films and series, including multiple editions of The Real Housewives reality shows in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, attracting a broader audience. These advantages, among many others that have not been mentioned, are why people pay for Showmax. Yet, Showmax can still do more. Next Wave continues after this ad. Talent PEO Africa launches in Kenya, offering comprehensive HR solutions for businesses. From EOR services to recruitment and HR consulting, we simplify operations for seamless growth. Partner with us to tap into Kenya’s talent, navigate regulations, and achieve success. Contact us at www.talentpeo.com or kenya@talentpeo.com. Just fix the basics After axing Showmax Pro, which allowed subscribers to watch live games on their devices, Showmax 2.0 should have found a better way to allow customers to at least watch the Premier League (it is only available on mobile) on big screens. Yet, this is not supported now. Showmax Premier League (mobile) is a stripped-down version of what Showmax Pro once offered. As the name suggests, it exclusively airs English Premier League matches, skipping live matches from other leading leagues such as La Liga and Serie A. This is what made Showmax Pro so attractive. Why? Besides using direct screen mirroring methods like Miracast or a type-C-to-HDMI adaptor for a cable connection, there’s currently no way to mirror your mobile screen to a TV while using Showmax. This technical issue is due to Showmax’s digital rights management (DRM) protocols. It is an inconvenience that contradicts the purpose of paying for a streaming service, as users expect seamless access to content. However, this restriction is a deliberate tactic to separate Showmax from DStv Stream, a digital version of the traditional DStv service with a robust games catalogue. Partner Content: Read: FirstBank launches fourth Digital Xperience Centre in Banana Island here. Showmax also needs to increase the number of concurrent screens from two to more; at KES 1,000 (about $8), customers should be able to view content on more screens simultaneously, considering that rivals offer support for up to four screens for nearly the same price. During the FIFA World Cup 2022, Showmax supported 4K streams , showing its capability to deliver high-quality content and streams. While Showmax 1.0 was limited to HD quality, the upgrade to 2.0 has boosted this to full HD. This is a welcome improvement, but in modern times, 1080p is inadequate and customers expect better because its underlying Peacock tech supports 4K streams in other markers. The transition to Showmax 2.0 has also been accompanied by multiple technical issues. Customers encountered issues accessing the new Showmax app on their TVs, while others experienced difficulties signing into their accounts. Those who managed to log in reported performance issues, including instances where the app froze for a long time. Customers in countries such as Kenya complained about the inability to pay for subscriptions via mobile money (Showmax assured them that this issue would be addressed soon). The migration process was not
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Court documents show that Nigeria has charged Binance with tax evasion as executive escapes detention
Nigerian authorities have formally charged Binance and its detained executives Nadeem Anjarwalla and Tigran Gambarya with tax evasion, TechCabal can report. The office of Nigeria’s National Security Adviser (NSA) also confirmed reports that Anjarwalla escaped from detention and fled the country. The government said Binance failed to register with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria’s tax collection agency, for tax purposes, an offence punishable under Section 8 of the Value Added Tax Act of 1993, according to court documents seen by TechCabal. The crypto exchange was also accused of non-payment of value-added tax and company tax, and failure to file tax returns, said a charge filed before a Federal High Court in Abuja. Binance was also accused of aiding customers to evade taxes through its platform. The FIRS confirmed the charges, per reporting from Bloomberg. Anjarwalla, a UK citizen, and Gambaryan, a former US Internal Revenue Service special agent, have been in detention since February 26. The duo came to Nigeria when the government threatened to block access to the company’s website as part of a crackdown on forex speculation. On Monday, Premium Times reported that Anjarwalla escaped from the Abuja guest house where he and Gambaryan were detained after he was led to a nearby mosque to pray. He is believed to have flown out of the country using a Middle East airliner, the report said. The office of the NSA said he fled Nigeria using a smuggled passport. “Security agencies are working with Interpol for an international arrest warrant for the suspect,” it said in a statement. Binance’s regulatory woes in Nigeria are in connection with a push by the government to halt speculation on forex trading, following volatility in the price of the naira. Last week, TechCabal reported that Nigeria’s central bank analysed peer-to-peer trading on Binance in February, confirming suspicions that some traders manipulated prices to benefit from the resulting arbitrage opportunity. A court ruling also mandates Binance to share user data with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Binance, which has disabled naira services on its platform, said it will comply with authorities. The company claimed that since 2020, it has responded to over 626 information requests that have assisted the government’s investigations into financial crimes such as scams, fraud, and money laundering.
Read MoreAccess Holdings, Coronation Group ink deal with M-Pesa to tackle regional remittance
Access Holdings, led by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, is pushing for the biggest share of the remittance market in East and West Africa. The Holdco is merging with Coronation Group to forge a partnership with Safaricom and M-Pesa Africa to provide a remittance corridor between East and West Africa. Access Holdings recently made its biggest play in East Africa with the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of National Bank of Kenya Limited. “This partnership encompasses more than a convergence of capabilities; it signifies the fusion of collective expertise, resources, and an unwavering commitment to drive financial inclusion, empowering millions throughout Africa,” Aig-Imoukhuede said. Nigeria and Kenya are the first and third largest recipients of diaspora remittances in sub-Saharan Africa, data from the World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief report shows. In 2023, remittances to Nigeria accounted for 38% of the total $58 billion remittance flows to the region, growing by 2%, while Ghana and Kenya, posted estimated gains of 5.6% and 3.8%, respectively. As the largest consumer bank in Africa with over 60 million customers in 21 countries, Access Bank will significantly boost its remittance business by tackling the challenges customers face in making remittances within and outside the continent. The collaboration, which is subject to approval from the Kenyan financial authorities, will see the players connect more than 60 million customers and 5 million businesses across 8 countries and process more than $1 billion a day in transaction value. Access Holdings which has a presence in 14 African countries and is the largest consumer banking institution, is expected to provide technology-infused financial services and Coronation Group will bring its technology expertise to the deal. M-Pesa, the mobile money platform of Safaricom, currently dominates the mobile money market in Kenya with a 96.5% share of the market. Another report has shown that 32% of remittances in Kenya are through mobile money operators. But M-Pesa is facing a future separate from Safaricom. In December 2023, Kamau Thugge, governor of the Central Bank of Kenya, said plans to split M-Pesa from Safaricom were ongoing to minimize shocks. “African countries trade more with nations outside the continent than within themselves. Initiatives such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) seek to address the lack of intra-continental trade. This partnership with Safaricom, Coronation Group and Access Holdings seeks to explore remittance corridors between East and West Africa, bringing alive the AfCFTA spirit,” said Sitoyo Lopokoyit, managing director, M-Pesa Africa. The first phase of the collaboration will concentrate on the biggest markets along the East and West African corridor, including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Tanzania.
Read MoreTechCabal Daily – A $40 million glitch
In today’s edition: Ethiopia’s largest commercial bank loses $40 million in glitch || Nigerian content creators can now make money on Instagram and Facebook || Meta and SA partner to fight electoral misinformation || ICASA to reduce call costs in SA
Read MoreFreelancers are struggling to balance their integrity and making money as AI threatens to devalue their work
Onyi, a freelance writer, charges $50–$80 per 5,000 words on Upwork, a freelance platform. The 23-year-old student of Michael Okpara University has been a freelancer on Upwork for three years, ghostwriting academic papers, blog posts and contemporary romance novels for clients in the United States and some parts of Asia. In Nigeria, freelancing is a thriving market, especially for creative, non-technical skills like writing. According to the World Bank, there are an estimated 17.5 million online freelancers in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, with most of them being from Nigeria. In its 2023 freelancer report, Payoneer, a payment service used by Upwork, also shared that the countries with the highest number of users outside the USA are Bangladesh, Nigeria, and India. Upwork and Fiverr, another freelance platform, provide freelancers the chance to trade in-demand services for some dollars, but the emergence of artificial intelligence threatens to disrupt this flow. Since its release in 2022, the chatbot ChatGPT has been widely used in writing. While some writers use ChatGPT to improve their processes, small business owners are increasingly using it to create content, cutting out the need to hire writers. On social media, for example, there are thousands of videos and threads teaching people how to leverage AI writing and designing tools to secure freelance jobs without any prior knowledge or experience. It is increasing competition in an already-saturated freelance market. Double the hustle for half the pay According to Onyi, payment rates for simple gigs on Upwork have dropped significantly in the past year as competition on the app is now steep. Clients went from offering about $100 for 10K words to half the amount as there are always freelancers desperate enough to accept meagre pay. This situation has led Onyi to secure twice as many clients as she would normally take on in order to meet her income target. This is more tedious, but she’s found tools that make her work faster. According to her, about 60% of the words in her drafts, especially the novels, are generated by AI tools. “I have to write quickly to attend to the next project,” she shared with TechCabal. “Sometimes I have to write something I don’t know about and so I need these tools. If I don’t take the low-paying jobs, others will, and there’s no guarantee that I’ll get the higher-paying ones either. In the time I’d wait for one $100 job, I could have completed four $20 jobs or two $50 jobs.” Onyi is not alone, as this situation, coupled with global inflation, is placing additional pressure on freelancers to take on more work. In this report which had 2,000 freelancers surveyed from over 120 countries, 55% of them admitted to taking on more work just to meet up with income demands. Beyond the most popular freelance marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork, smaller marketplaces also feel AI’s impact on the interaction between talent and clients. Femi Taiwo, CEO of Nigerian freelance marketplace, Terawork, shared that his company has seen a slight decline in the number of gigs available and the rates offered. “Apart from the freelancers, I know people who have let their contract staff go because they felt that they were too expensive for the services they were offering,” he said. “After all, why should they pay so much for an analyst when AI can create reports for you?” According to Taiwo, freelancers on his platform earn more than popular platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, on average, and produce better-quality results. Toyosi Godwin, a freelance content and copywriter, was forced to leave Fiverr as a result of the paltry pay. Godwin, who has offered writing services for the past five years, shared that, at some point, he was getting offered $5 to $10 per article on the platform. He knew he had to leave to find clients elsewhere. Now, he gets clients mainly from social media, which guarantees significantly more pay. Godwin is aware a lot of writers use AI tools to save time and take on more work. “When you get paid this small amount for your work, you will likely not want to invest a lot of your time and effort into it,” he said. The bulk of gigs on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are targeted towards freelancers from the Global South, and this is evident from the low compensation offered. A 1,000-word article can receive as low as $20 as payment. A sizable number of clients who cannot afford or are unwilling to pay for full-time staff outsource on these sites, specifically targeting talent who are desperate enough to accept these rates. In this global freelancers report by Payoneer, freelancers from Africa and Asia have lower hourly rates on average, compared to their counterparts in North America and Western Europe. Projects with higher price tags are more expensive, in terms of time, money and qualifications. According to Onyi, these gigs with higher pay typically state clearly that only writers from certain countries like the United States, are welcome to apply. “Getting good projects from Nigeria is difficult, and most clients immediately lose interest as soon as they realise that you’re Nigerian or black,” she shared. These gigs also cost a lot to secure for new freelancers. On Upwork, users need “connects”, which are essentially tokens used to bid on job opportunities. One hundred and fifty connects cost about $30, and the higher the job’s pay, the more connects you need. “If you can’t afford to pay for connects to secure better jobs, then you’re stuck with the low-paying ones,” Onyi said. Redefining the value of work for freelancers Jasmine-Jade, a freelance writer for over five years, typically has a lot of clients and doesn’t need to use freelance marketplaces. According to her, the bulk of her freelance opportunities come from referrals and inbound marketing, as opposed to what she calls “sitting on platforms and waiting”. “Because a lot of these clients come to meet me, I’m able to set my rates and charge
Read MoreCongolese fintechs partner with government to create industry standard
Several fintechs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are partnering with the government to create a framework, the Congolese Fintech Network (CFN), that aims to increase financial inclusion, ensure information-sharing within the industry and increase access to investment opportunities. “The government represents a centrepiece in the accomplishment of our various missions,” Joel Tshilumba, a board member of CFN, told TechCabal. “We are working on several processes to be implemented to promote effective and beneficial collaboration for both parties, in particular, establishing open and regular communication channels with representatives of the Congolese government.” The fintechs already have 15 companies like MaishaPay, Velex Advisory and Zando on board as they look to make the “fintech industry in the DRC very cooperative and efficient.” Besides fintechs, the CFN will also include major banks like Ecobank and international organisations like Deloitte and PWC. In Congo, the fintech sector has seen steady growth in recent years. Tuma’s $500,000 funding round in October—the largest ever in Congo’s fintech space—was an example of the industry’s progress. However, a lot still needs to be done to address the country’s financial inclusion rate, estimated at 38.5% in 2022. Especially if the Congolese government’s aim to increase this rate to 55% by 2028 is to be achieved. Tshilumba hopes the association can play “a crucial role in advocating for a regulatory and legislative environment favourable to innovation and the development of fintech.” The CFN follows a trend where startups in Africa, due to their increased importance, are partnering with governments to create industry standards. In Nigeria, the startup ecosystem worked with the government to introduce a startup law that governs all startup activities. A tech entrepreneur and investor now serves as minister of tech in Africa’s largest startup ecosystem. “By working with the government and other stakeholders, it could help shape policies that encourage investment, competition and access to financial services, but above all play a vital role in promoting financial inclusion by supporting the development of innovative technological solutions that expand access to financial services to underserved population segments,” Tshilumba said. The CFN will also host a physical conference called Congo Fintech Week, which will happen in May, where it will release studies to the public on the progress it has made and how it aims to increase Congo’s financial inclusion rate. The network would also have branches in four of the DRC’s largest cities, Kinshasa, Goma, Lubumbashi, and Matadi.
Read MoreMeta will open up monetisation to Nigerian creators as it steps up Africa play
Meta Platforms will allow content creators in Nigeria to make money through ads and other features, in a move it hopes will keep the country’s top content creators on its platforms. Those options and features are expected to be ready before June 2024, said Nick Clegg, the company’s President of Global Affairs. Content creators in America, Australia, Canada and South Korea were the first to be able to earn through “Ads on Reels,” in 2023, a performance-based program that pays according to how the number of plays their reels get. “With a performance-based model, creators can focus on the content that’s resonating with their audience and helping them grow,” Meta said in May 2023 after months of testing the program. On Friday, Clegg hosted some of Nigeria’s top creators in their Lagos office as part of a week-long visit to South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, some of its important African markets. “Nigerian creators have global reach,” Clegg said in a conversation with TechCabal on Friday afternoon, pointing out that creators will soon have “the ability to run ads in-stream and use other tools such as Instagram stars and gifts that are available to creators elsewhere in the world.” Clegg also spoke about Meta’s 45,000km subsea cables, which landed in Lagos and Uyo in February 2024. It was a timely conversation, one week after damages to subsea cables across Africa slowed down internet service and disrupted banking in at least two countries. “The way we built to Africa is that [the subsea cables] are sunk by 50% more under the seabed, so it will be less susceptible to that disruption, which I think will enhance connectivity,” Clegg shared. But connectivity and resilience are not the only issues. Funke Opeke, the CEO of MainOne, a fibre operator acquired by Equinix, said in 2018 that the broadband capacity of most fibre providers was underutilised. Clegg acknowledged the problem, adding that he had met Funke Opeke during the week and also spoken about underutilisation with the government. “I learned from my meetings with the President and the minister in Abuja yesterday that they are very focused on this and trying to fund different ways of leveraging external expertise and capital to increase internal connectivity. That will happen over time.”
Read MoreTelkom to unbundle and sell off tower and mast assets for $356m
Telkom, South Africa’s third largest mobile network operator by subscriber base, will sell off its tower and mast assets housed under its subsidiary Swiftnet for R6.75 billion (~$356 million) to TowerBidco, a newly created entity owned by Royal Bafokeng Holdings and Actis LLP infrastructure fund. Swiftnet operates over 4,000 towers in South Africa. In a statement to shareholders, Telkom said that the sale aligns with the company’s strategy to sell off non-core assets to focus on unlocking the intrinsic value of its more core operations. “Proceeds [will be] utilised to primarily pay down Telkom debt, thereby strengthening [its] balance sheet and enabling it to release free cash flow.” In November, Telkom announced a pivot into a more infrastructure-led business model. The model would be underpinned by investing capital into building and maintaining infrastructure assets including fibre networks, data centres, satellite, and marine cables. Swiftnet’s sale follows the company’s announcement in 2023 that it was considering selling a minority stake in its fibre infrastructure subsidiary, Openserve, which was unbundled in 2022. Telkom share price jumped by 8% as it announced infrastructure-provider strategy According to the company, the strategy will enable the company to be “an enabler of South Africa’s digital future.” The strategy, which has been in place for a year, is expected to be completed by 2025. According to the company, the high demand for infrastructure, a leading market position, significant barriers to entry in infrastructure, a strong balance sheet and a so-called experienced management team puts it in a favourable position to pursue the infraco model. “[An] InfraCo strategy realises our true competitive advantage – showing Telkom to be a strategic national asset – the backbone of the SA’s digital economy and the enabler of the country’s digital future,” the company stated.
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