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October 2 2024

🚀Entering Tech #75: The Reel Deal on Video Assessments

Will you take a video assessment for your dream job? 2 || October || 2024 View in Browser Brought to you by Issue #75 The Reel Dealon Video Assessments Share this newsletter Greetings ET people We’re back to sending new Entering Tech editions to your inbox every Wednesday. Let’s christen this new bad good behaviour! Do you remember when Marta Puerto, the product manager from Spain, made this video after she got laid off? That video broke the internet! People thought Marta’s approach to job hunting was a cool way to stand out and get employed. Well, did it work? Oh yes, it did! Marta got flooded with loads of offers. In March, HR professional Emmanuel Faith also did his own version. Shortly after, he announced a new role. While Marta and Emmanuel are examples of going above and beyond to get a job, employers are now increasingly requesting video assessments as a requirement for getting a job. The conversation steered a debate on Twitter weeks ago. Classist, elitist, exclusionary, biased, superficial, and unnecessary some people call it. We took a poll on Twitter, and spoke to 3 HR professionals and folks who had completed video assessment to share their views. Faith Omoniyi Video assessments are not for all roles When we spoke to JMB popularly known as “Oga HR”, he was surprised that this was an argument in the first place. According to him, video assessments are required only for customer-facing roles (or should be)—like sales reps, customer reps, front desk officers, etc. Video assessments for these roles are non-negotiable and allow recruiters to assess a candidate’s ability to articulate their thoughts clearly, concisely, and professionally which is crucial for customer interactions. For these types of roles, video assessments can present candidates with hypothetical customer scenarios, allowing recruiters to gauge their ability to handle difficult situations, respond appropriately to customer concerns, and maintain a positive demeanour. According to JMB, video assessment helps recruiters also screen out applications, just like the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) does for CV documents. He uses video assessments to trim down the number of applicants he works with. Due to the video requirement, some applicants get discouraged from continuing the application process, cutting down the number that eventually sends these videos. The truth is, if it is a job you really want, you might just need to find a workaround. Positive Reinforcement for You courtesy YungNollywood DEI-focused companies also require video CVs to reduce bias, promote diversity, enhance cultural understanding, improve candidate experience, and align with company values, according to Felix Bissong, a Senior People Associate at CCHub. By focusing on a candidate’s communication skills, personality, and cultural fit, video CVs level the playing field and help identify candidates from underrepresented groups. So if you’re applying to a DEI-focused company and you come across a video-CV requirement do not be surprised. Now that we are clear on the roles that require video assessments, does it mean there are no downsides to video assessments? Of course, there are. *Newsletter continues after break Get 30% off Moonshot tickets! We are officially 14 days to the most crucial event in Africa’s digital landscape. Moonshot by TechCabal invites you to join this extraordinary gathering, uniting the brightest minds in Africa’s tech ecosystem for two unforgettable days of valuable insights, strategic networking, and remarkable experiences as we delve into the theme, “Building for the World.”Join industry leaders and like-minded individuals at Moonshot 2024 as we look into the future of African tech.Get tickets 30% off here. Why are video assessments unliked? We were curious to learn what you guys had to say, so we took to X (formerly Twitter) to ask a small group of people for feedback. While 63% of our 130 respondents say they have applied for a role that required video assessments, most people said they don’t like video assessments. Image source: Faith Omoniyi/TechCabal “It’s actually very annoying. After asking for a cover letter, you have to deal with the anxiety of applying for a new role. Seeing a request for a video application just makes it worse and I don’t think they actually go through all the videos,” said Adeyinka, a customer success manager. For most people, anxiety in front of the camera is the major reason for this disdain. Emmanuel Faith, a well-known People and Talent Leader believes this reason justifies why employers ask for video assessments. “The reason video assessments are done is to confirm that you’re a confident person. If you’re not comfortable talking in front of the camera, how will you be comfortable talking to people,” said Emmanuel Faith. Lack of video editing skills and good devices were other reasons why people didn’t prefer video assessments. However, most said they’d be willing to do video assessments if it were required for their dream jobs. Image source: Faith Omoniyi/TechCabal Our poll respondents did not believe video assessment provided a fair evaluation of job candidates. We found that thread worrying and asked HR specialist Emmanuel Faith for answers. “Video assessment can help you sell yourself better if you leverage it. But this is not a close-ended conversation; there is no right or wrong.” *Newsletter continues after ad break Get 30% off Moonshot tickets! We are officially 14 days to the most crucial event in Africa’s digital landscape. Moonshot by TechCabal invites you to join this extraordinary gathering, uniting the brightest minds in Africa’s tech ecosystem for two unforgettable days of valuable insights, strategic networking, and remarkable experiences as we delve into the theme, “Building for the World.”Join industry leaders and like-minded individuals at Moonshot 2024 as we look into the future of African tech.Get tickets 30% off here. A thing for bias Although people have argued on X That people with low-end devices may not have a good shot at getting gigs, JMB argues that sometimes, it’s not about the quality of the video, it’s about the eloquence of the speaker. Image source: Faith Omoniyi/TechCabal For Emmanuel Faith, this argument is different. “If

October 2 2024

Breaking: Lesaka completes acquisition of Adumo for $96 million

Nasdaq-listed fintech Lesaka Technologies has completed the acquisition of fintech company Adumo for $96 million. In the cash and stock deal, Lesaka paid $13 million in cash. The final acquisition amount is $10 million more than the figure previously reported in May thanks to a 27% increase in Lesaka’s share price. “We are thrilled to be joining the Lesaka group, creating a Southern African fintech of significant scale, with leading positions in several verticals and sectors,” said Adumo CEO Paul Kent. Lesaka shareholders and South Africa’s Competition Commission approved the deal in September 2024. Adumo’s acquisition will help Lesaka reach 1.7 million active consumers and 120,000 merchants. The company will also hire 3,300 employees in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Kenya. It will increase Lesaka’s market share in the southern African region. Competitors like YOCO are only based in South Africa. Founded in 2019, Cape Town-based Adumo provides card-acquiring POS devices, integrated payments and reconciliations services to merchants and consumers. The company claims to process over R24 billion ($1.3 billion) annually and has 23,000 merchants and 240,000 consumers using its services respectively. Lesaka, with a market capitalisation of $310 million, also owns payment provider EasyPay, and Kazang, a card-acquiring POS device company. In February 2024, the company acquired point-of-sale provider Touchsides for an undisclosed amount. Lesaka is looking to make more acquisitions and already has “several potential targets” to drive its growth. In its latest financial results released in August, Lesaka recorded an 11% jump in revenue to R10.6 billion and a net loss of R326 million for the financial ended June 2024.

October 2 2024

Nigerian agritech startup Winich Farms raises $3 million pre-series A funding

Winich Farms, a Nigerian agritech company that supplies farm grain produce to retailers, has raised $3 million in pre-series A funding to expand its order fulfillment centres and improve its technology. This is the company’s second funding in two years. The round was led by Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF), which contributed $2.5 million, with Climate Resilient Africa Fund, Marula Square, Plug and Play Tech Centre, and Tekedia Capital participating in the round. Sahel Capital provided $590,000 in debt. Founded in 2020 by brothers Riches and Winner Attai and Chichebem Jibunoh, Winich Farms helps farmers in rural areas sell their produce to off-takers—retailers and informal processors. The company operates collection points run by agents who process orders from off-takers. If a retailer orders 50 kilogrammes (kg) of rice on their mobile app, the order gets passed on to agents for bidding. These agents rally the local farmers within a vicinity to bring the produce to the collection points and send them to truck drivers for delivery within 24 to 72 hours. A Winich Farms collection point run by a community agent. The company claims it negotiates with farmers at fair prices and sells their produce to offtakers at slightly marked-up margins. It currently charges the off-taker ₦720 ($0.43) per kg of paddy rice, excluding the delivery fee. Winich Farms splits revenue in three: one portion goes to farmers, another to agents, and the company keeps the third. It claims it processes monthly orders up to ₦3.7 billion ($2.2 million) and has grown its gross merchandise value (GMV) by 300% since 2022 to $30 million. “Our growth has come from growing the number of agents on our platform. In 2022, we had about 1,000 agents. But at the start of [2024], we reached over 4,000 agents, quadrupling our growth. With more agents, we meet demand faster,” said co-founder and CEO Riches Attai. But the current model is limiting because the company’s farmer partners are based in the northern regions, making deliveries to farther states like Lagos slower. The agritech claims it serves over 150,000 users, including farmers, agents, and truck drivers. “If a retailer in Lagos orders produce like rice, instead of sourcing from farmers in Kebbi or Kaduna which increases the delivery time due to the distance, the order is instead processed from Ondo state that is closer.” Winich Farms’ workaround is to set up fulfillment centres. The company will use the debt funding to lease buildings that will serve as regional distribution hubs across the six geo-political areas of Nigeria. With the fulfillment centres, the company will reduce delivery time to off-takers. The agritech also provides access to credit by connecting farmers who complete a minimum of three supply cycles to financial institution partners to provide financing. The company issues Verve cards to rural, underbanked farmers in partnership with Sterling Bank, allowing payments directly into their accounts. It plans to issue 195,000 cards in the coming months. Winich Farms will use the equity funding to improve its technology and scale its card operations to compete in Africa’s growing agritech market with other players like ThriveAgric, AgroMall, and Zowasel. “Investing in Winich Farms aligns with our goal at ARAF of growing local businesses that support smallholder farmers towards increased productivity, sustainable agricultural development, better livelihoods, and increased food security,” said Tamer El-Raghy, managing director of ARAF. African tech leaders and global players will be at Moonshot by TechCabal. You can get tickets here.

October 2 2024

9Mobile blames network problems on fibre cuts as it bleeds customers

After nine months without mobile internet, Adams Ojo, who is sentimental about his 9Mobile number, figured it was worth a last shot before switching network providers. He learned he was not alone when he visited a 9Mobile office at Ikota Shopping Complex, VGC area of Lagos. Hundreds of other 9Mobile customers who had similar issues wanted answers. “Fibre cuts are responsible for network blackouts at Addo Road and Badore, and down to Sangotedo areas,” said one employee at the 9Mobile office. “There is network service from Ikota down to Ikate, Lekki.” One customer who lives in Lekki Phase One claimed 9Mobile’s network is often erratic. The service problems extend to other cities. Bolu Faramade, who lives in Ogun state, has since switched network providers. “Customer care agents were always not responding. They’ll keep you on the line till you get tired and move on. Or they keep opening tickets every time you call,” she told TechCabal. 9mobile did not respond to a request for comments. Mercy Etim, who lives in Ogbor Hill, Aba, Abia State, and used 9Mobile as her primary network for years, has also moved on. While LightHouse Telecommunications acquired 9mobile in July 2024, the company’s deep-seated issues and reputation as the sickman of the telecoms industry remain. With a decline in infrastructure investment, the quality of 9Mobile’s network has suffered forcing customers to migrate to competitors. From March 2024 to March 2022, over 1.1 million subscribers ditched 9mobile. MTN Nigeria gained 6.6 million in the same period. Nigeria’s fourth largest mobile network operator did not add a foot of fibre optic cable to its 4,650km of fibre from 2018 to 2022. Market leader MTN Nigeria has 35,000km of fibre cables deployed. “Telecoms is a capital-intensive business. Even networks with significant investments still struggle with quality of service issues as a result of congestion in certain areas,” said one senior telecom executive who asked not to be named.

October 2 2024

Four suspects in Equity Group card fraud scheme wired $2.4 million to Abu Dhabi

A Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) letter seen by TechCabal showed that four suspects involved in a $2.4 million Equity Group card fraud transferred the funds to an account in Abu Dhabi within hours. DCI alleged that three suspects—whose names TechCabal will withhold for legal reasons—altered an integration in Equity’s CyberSource system, a payment gateway, allowing them to process multiple fraudulent card transactions. The funds were then transferred to a fourth suspect, who wired them to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Investigators are working with a theory that the merchants colluded with bank insiders, reflecting mounting concerns over internal involvement in fraud within Kenya’s banking sector–a problem that costs the industry millions of dollars annually. “One suspect, in a scheme to widen the scope of laundering of the funds, further transferred the stolen funds from Mobile VOIP Networks Limited account to Geonosis Capital Limited account held at I&M Bank by [name withheld] who in turn transferred the funds to [name withheld] domiciled in Abu Dhabi,” DCI said in a letter to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP). “As a result of the fraud, Equity Bank lost a sum of KES322,154,851 ($2.4 million) through online fraud committed by the four suspects.” Equity Group declined to comment. One person with direct knowledge of the matter told TechCabal that the four suspects, who are now facing money laundering and cyber fraud charges, are part of merchant networks that exploit loopholes in banks’ card management systems to steal billions. Equity Group has been the hardest hit in recent years, that person said. While the amount of money Kenyan banks have lost in fraud this year is unspecified, the investigator said fraud cases have risen by more than 50%. Most banking fraud cases go unreported, as lenders resolve them quietly, albeit with the knowledge of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), and other financial sector regulators. In 2023, Kenya’s Financial Reporting Centre (FRC), an agency that tracks the flow of money in financial institutions flagged more than $600 million linked to card fraud, corruption and terrorism. The lenders also lose about $130 million through identity theft and loan stacking.

October 2 2024

👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Free money

In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning! Tech events on your calendar are closer than they appear. Moonshot, the most important tech gathering in Africa, is now only a week away. We are still offering 30% off all tickets with a few spots remaining. Join the conversation on Africa’s digital landscape and treat yourself to two amazing days of gaining valuable insights from industry experts, networking with potential partners and investors, and being a part of the groundbreaking innovations shaping the African digital economy. Don’t miss out—this exclusive offer ends in 2 days! Get tickets here. Four Kenyans want a share of Netflix’s ‘Free Money’ earnings Communication solves deep tech’s trust issues Exxon’s sale to Seplat could help Nigeria meet its OPEC quota The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Streaming Four Kenyans want a share of Netflix’s ‘Free Money’ earnings Netflix’s Free Money documentary When people in vulnerable communities are the subject of documentary filmmaking, are they being exploited? There are no easy answers. Seeking consent on what to portray and the experiences that subjects feel comfortable sharing is a big ethical quandary. Four Kenyans told a court their images and videos were used without consent in a 2023 ‘Free Money’ documentary on Netflix and want to be compensated for the documentary’s earnings. Their photos and videos were taken while receiving $22 cash donations from GiveDirectly, a US-based non-profit, as part of a 12-year financial support programme that began in 2018. The petitioners, John Omondi, Jael Songa, Immaculate Adhiambo and Milka Okech, claim they were not given the details of the production and content of the two-hour documentary filmed over five years. They’re suing GiveDirectly, Insignia Films Inc. and Goodhue Pictures Inc. which produced the documentary. The petitioners claim GiveDirectly only informed them the documentary was due to premiere in Canada and other cinemas weeks before the launch. The lawsuit could set a precedent for how filmmakers in Kenya seek consent and portray individuals. Read the full story here. Read Moniepoint’s Case Study on Funding Women After losing their mother, Azeezat and her siblings struggled to keep Olaiya Foods afloat. Now, with Moniepoint, they’re transforming Nigeria’s local buka scene. Click here for a deep dive into how Moniepoint is helping her and other women entrepreneurs overcome their funding challenges. Emerging Tech Communication solves deep tech’s trust issues Image Source: Science, Technology and Innovation Secretariat of the Republic of Uganda On the second day of Uganda’s deep tech conference, I had time for one-on-one conversations with some interesting people from MIT and AfricInvest. But first, a quick rundown of what we got up to on day two. The format of the conference—a few panels and group conversations to point out the challenges and solutions for Uganda—remained the same, but the focus shifted to stakeholders like academia and investors. Deep tech relies a lot on research making researchers at top universities key stakeholders. Why aren’t some of Uganda’s brightest and best turning their research ideas into commercial opportunities? To hear Khaled Ben Jilani, a Senior Partner at AfricInvest, tell it, researchers must overcome considerable bottlenecks to turn these ideas into commercial opportunities. First, there’s the question of who owns the intellectual property (IP) of the ideas they come up with. Then, there’s the more practical concern that many academics aren’t entrepreneurs and may not be natural risk takers. For Jilani, the government has to lower some of these barriers, considering that even with the right funding and support, innovations in deep tech can be a long game. These conversations are critical because all parties—government, investors, founders, and academics—are present. They can come away from all this having agreed on a central source of truth. For Kristy Morse, an MIT representative, this engagement can solve the trust problem for all stakeholders. “One relevant solution is partnerships and collaboration.” Founders, who are often distrustful of regulators and regulators who sometimes view innovation with skepticism can use this to find common ground. Next up: presenting a clear plan to the government on Wednesday. See you then! Issue USD and Euro accounts with Fincra Whether you run an online marketplace, a remittance fintech, a payroll, a freelance platform or a cross-border payment app, Fincra’s multicurrency account API allows you to instantly create accounts in USD and EUR for customers without the stress of setting up a local account. Get started today. Economy Exxon’s sale to Seplat could help Nigeria meet its OPEC quota Image Source: Zikoko Memes Seplat, the Nigerian energy supplier, will complete its purchase of Exxon’s oil and gas assets in Nigeria in “a matter of days.” The approval, which comes two years after its initial announcement, will alleviate Nigeria’s fuel scarcity and bolster its economy by increasing the availability of crude oil for domestic refineries and the demand for imported fuel. Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, has consistently fallen short of its OPEC production targets due to years of underinvestment in the oil industry—a critical driver of economic growth and government revenue. The country produced 1.48 million barrels of crude per day, slightly below its OPEC quota of 1.5 million barrels. That deficit could be filled by Seplat, as the oil company has previously stated that the deal would almost quadruple its oil output to more than 130,000 barrels per day. The sale could also help mitigate Nigeria’s age-long fuel scarcity issues as Dangote’s refinery becomes a possible source of fuel for the country. Exxon’s sale could lead to a more stable and abundant supply of petroleum products domestically, reducing dependence on imports and easing fuel shortages. This, in turn, could stabilise fuel prices and mitigate the cost-of-living crisis affecting many Nigerians. The Tinubu administration, which is hungry for quick wins, will count the sale as a win especially since the President’s economic reforms have contributed to a cost-of-living crisis. While the President can claim that since taking office in May 2023, those economic reforms have attracted more than $30 billion in foreign direct investment, the average Nigerian

October 1 2024

Kenyans claim consent breach in Netflix’s Free Money documentary

Four Kenyans told a court their images and videos were used without consent in a 2023 ‘Free Money’ documentary on Netflix and want to be compensated from the documentary’s earnings. Their photos and videos were taken while receiving $22 cash donations from GiveDirectly, a US-based non-profit, as part of a 12-year financial support programme that began in 2018. The petitioners, John Omondi, Jael Songa, Immaculate Adhiambo and Milka Okech, claim they were not given the details of the production and content of the two-hour documentary filmed over five years. They’re suing GiveDirectly, Insignia Films Inc and Goodhue Pictures Inc. The petitioners claim GiveDirectly only informed them the documentary was due to premiere in Canada and other cinemas weeks before the launch. “The petitioner and the Kogutu clan members learnt about the production of a documentary about their lives after it was released on Netflix. All the time their pictures, videos and voices were being recorded they were never informed that it was for the purpose and intention of coming up with a documentary for commercialisation,” they said. GiveDirectly donates cash to poor households as part of universal basic income (UBI) testing. The Free Money documentary tracked the group’s activities in Kenya, where it made monthly cash payments to adult residents. While the petitioners agreed to continue receiving the financial support, other clan members opted out of the programme, citing privacy concerns over their images. Court filings show that some families walked out of the arrangement in a meeting held in February 2018. “Most of those who remained in the meeting and their photos and videos taken were recruited in the programme of monthly income of $22 for 12 years by Give Directly,” they said. “Give Directly informed members in the meeting that taking of photos and videos formed part of the conditions of money donation and that should the clan members refuse the blessing and favour of the money will not dawn on them,” they said in court filings. The lawsuit could set a precedent for how filmmakers in Kenya seek consent and portray individuals, continuing an ongoing debate on exploitation in documentary filmmaking especially in vulnerable communities.

October 1 2024

👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Is Africa ready for deep tech?

In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy Independence Day! Only 8 days left! Moonshot is offering 30% off all tickets with a few spots remaining. Join the conversation on Africa’s digital landscape and treat yourself to two amazing days of gaining valuable insights from industry experts, networking with potential partners and investors, and being a part of the groundbreaking innovations shaping the African digital economy. Don’t miss out—this exclusive offer ends in 3 days! Get tickets here. Uganda looks to deep tech Switching a bank’s core banking platform is complex Kenyan ISP Mawingu turns focus to fibre Kenya’s health committee clears Safaricom-led digital health project Starlink doubles subscription prices in Nigeria The World Wide Web3 Opportunities Emerging Tech Uganda looks to deep tech Participants pose for a photo at the Uganda Deep Tech Summit 2024/Image Source: Nile Post Almost a year ago today, I visited Uganda for the first time when the country invited investors and founders to discuss what it needed to do to spur investment into its super early tech ecosystem. Here’s what I said then: “It’s a good start but still far from what the Ugandan Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovations has in the works. ‘We may not start perfect, but we’re aiming for what will work best,’ the minister told everyone in the crowd.” Spoiler: we’re back in Uganda this week, this time for a summit on deep technology, an arm of technology focused on substantial scientific or engineering challenges. Think artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and even climate change. It’s a different kind of conference, organised in partnership with BRAIN (Bridging Research And Innovation), an initiative of Open Startup. Let’s back up a little. One persistent critique of conferences is that they may not always produce actionable results on a continent short on execution. BRAIN works around this problem by holding workshops during this week’s event with stakeholders from academia, government, foreign investors, and Ugandan founders who understand the lay of the land. Over two days, participants will hear from a few panels and work in groups of six to figure out Uganda’s most significant challenges and their solutions. The problems and solutions are grouped along six themes: policy, infrastructure, funding, interconnectedness, talent, and education. At the end of the exercise, the answers from these workshops—each group presented their answers on day one—will be shared with the government. With most of the 100 or so participants who attended the event still in their seats as Khaled Ben Jilani, a senior partner at AfricInvest, gave the closing remarks, this was remarkably strong engagement. It was also pragmatic about the challenges. “In Africa, the demand for deep tech is very low,” said Jilani, pointing out the need for models that integrate global demand. Jilani should know a thing or two about this stuff, given that his company successfully exited InstaDeep, the Tunisian AI startup that sold for $683 million in January 2023. Read Moniepoint’s Case Study on Funding Women After losing their mother, Azeezat and her siblings struggled to keep Olaiya Foods afloat. Now, with Moniepoint, they’re transforming Nigeria’s local buka scene. Click here for a deep dive into how Moniepoint is helping her and other women entrepreneurs overcome their funding challenges. Banking Switching a bank’s core banking platform is complex Image Source: Wunmi Eunice/TechCabal If you’re a banking customer, you probably don’t know what core banking platform your bank uses. After all, you don’t think about how the power grid works until it collapses. Over the weekend, Zenith Bank customers found that their bank’s core banking platform matters. The bank told its customers that they would be unable to access the bank’s online banking services, app and USSD channel till Wednes day due to an ongoing banking platform switch to Oracle’s Flexcube from Phoenix, which only Zenith previously used. It highlights the challenges of switching banking platforms. In September, we exclusively reported that over 3 million Sterling Bank customers could not use any of its banking channels because the bank was switching its banking platform to a custom-built platform. We also reported on GTBank’s switch to Finacle, a software built by Infosys in September. A core banking platform manages all banking transactions and stores critical customer data, including unique identification and daily transactions across multiple channels such as branches, ATMs, and online and mobile banking. Switching bank platforms is a time-consuming and error-prone process, which directly contradicts the ethos of banking—speed and stability. Most of the issues that a bank staff will experience when switching to a new platform will occur during the data migration phase due to the large amount of data banks have on their customers. Every banking platform is also different from the other, requiring the banks’ engineers to integrate with different interfaces during the migration process. After data migration, the bank staff will still need to validate each record, like customer balances and the unique identification number banks use for customers, through a maker-checker process to ensure accuracy. After all this, the engineers would have to test the new banking platform for functionality, making sure that everything works before going live. And even after a successful migration, engineers would have to constantly monitor the new banking platform. Issue USD and Euro accounts with Fincra Whether you run an online marketplace, a remittance fintech, a payroll, a freelance platform or a cross-border payment app, Fincra’s multicurrency account API allows you to instantly create accounts in USD and EUR for customers without the stress of setting up a local account. Get started today. Internet Kenyan ISP Mawingu turns focus to fibre, fixed wireless to unlock economies of scale Image Source: Google Kenyan internet service providers (ISPs) have long been criticised for a lack of responsiveness to customer needs. Mawingu, an ISP conceived by the government and Microsoft in 2016, stands out owing to its start in the internet business. Conceived to take advantage of freed TV frequencies (also known as white spaces) to provide internet services to government institutions, schools

October 1 2024

Breaking: Starlink doubles subscription price in Nigeria to ₦75,000

Customers roaming with Starlink have received the largest price increase. The price for the Starlink kits, however, has not been changed. Starlink, the satellite internet company owned by SpaceX, has doubled its base subscription prices in Nigeria, citing soaring inflation in the African country. “Due to excessive levels of inflation, the Starlink monthly service price will increase,” Starlink told customers in an email seen by TechCabal. The standard residential plan with a 1 TB fair usage policy will now cost ₦75,000 ($48), up from ₦38,000 ($24). Customers who use Starlink to roam will face the most significant price hikes; local roaming, which allows customers to use Starlink kits beyond their homes or workplaces within Nigeria, will now cost ₦167,000 per month, up from ₦49,000. International roaming will cost a ₦717,000 per month. Existing customers will begin paying these new rates starting October 31st, while new subscribers will be immediately subject to the revised pricing. Starlink introduces $30 residential plan after Safaricom’s speed increase Incentives missing in Starlink Nigeria The Starlink kit in Nigeria remains priced at ₦440,000, and unlike Kenya, there’s no rental option for those unable to pay the full amount. Nigerian customers also don’t have access to a cheaper 50GB plan like the KES 1,300 option available in Kenya. In Kenya, customers can also buy a more affordable Starlink Mini kit for KES 27,000. While it offers lower speeds of up to 100 Mbps (compared to the standard kit’s 200 Mbps), the monthly subscription is also cheaper at KES 4,000. The standard subscription in Kenya costs KES 6,500. These incentives are likely a response to increased competition from leading internet service providers such as Safaricom and Jamii Telecommunications. For instance, Safaricom recently increased its speeds to retain customers complaining about slow speeds and high prices. African tech leaders and global players will be at Moonshot by TechCabal. You can get tickets here.

September 30 2024

How to buy Airtel airtime via MPesa and other avenues in 2024

Purchasing Airtel airtime on MPESA 2024 has become an incredibly simple and efficient process. But you do not have to use only M-Pesa, there’s Airtel Money, and debit card options too. The following steps will guide you through the options available. Buying Airtel airtime using M-Pesa In 2024, buying Airtel airtime on MPESA is a quick and convenient option for many users. Follow these easy steps to top up: Open your M-Pesa Menu on your mobile phone. Select the Pay Bill option. Enter the Business Number: 220220. For the Account Number, enter AIRTXXXXXX, where XXXXXX is your Airtel mobile number. Enter the amount you wish to top up as airtime. Input your M-Pesa PIN and send. Within seconds, you’ll receive a confirmation message showing your successful purchase of Airtel airtime on MPESA 2024. Benefits of buying Airtel airtime on M-Pesa Buying Airtel airtime on M-PESA in 2024 has several clear benefits: Convenience: You can buy airtime anytime, anywhere. Speed: Transactions are processed instantly. Security: Your M-Pesa PIN protects your transaction details. Purchasing Airtel Airtime with Airtel Money You can also use Airtel Money to buy airtime easily in 2024. Here’s how: Go to the Airtel Money Menu. Select Make Payments and then Pay Bill. Enter pesapal as the business name. Enter the amount of airtime you wish to purchase. Input your Airtel Money PIN for confirmation. For reference, use AIRTXXXXXX, where XXXXXX is your Airtel mobile number. Using Debit or Credit Cards for Airtel Airtime For those who prefer using Visa or MasterCard, you can buy Airtel airtime online: Visit airtelairtime.com. Select the option to pay using a debit or credit card. Enter the necessary details and choose your airtime amount. Complete the transaction and enjoy your top-up. Final thoughts on how to buy Airtel airtime via MPesa and other avenues in 2024 In 2024, there are multiple easy methods to buy Airtel airtime on MPESA 2024. Whether you choose M-Pesa, Airtel Money, or a credit card, the process is quick, secure, and available at any time. Also, should you need your M-Pesa transaction history, you can easily get your M-Pesa stamped statements online too.