👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Fawry denies data breach
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Good morning If you’re still getting TC Daily in your Promotions folder, make sure to move us to your Main/Primary folder so you don’t miss anything. If you’re on a desktop, simply drag and drop this email. If you’re on mobile, click on the button at the top-right corner, and select “Move” and then “Primary”. In today’s edition Fawry denies data breach MTN Nigeria blames network glitch for debt cancellation SA says prisoners can use computers in cells A Pin-teresting and Humane AI development The World Wide Web3 Events Cybersecurity Fawry denies data breach Egyptian fintech giant Fawry has denied rumours that its systems were breached. On Friday, the company released a statement noting that a comprehensive review of its systems has shown no security breaches. What rumours? Last Thursday, cybersecurity monitors HackManac and FalconFeeds reported that ransomware group Lockbit had added Fawry to its list of targets. Screenshots provided by both cybersecurity firms also showed that the cybercrime group had given Fawry a November 28 deadline to pay a ransom or risk having its data released to the dark web. Image source: HackManac Lockbit, a cybercrime group active since 2019, is considered the world’s most active ransomware group. From June 2022 to July 2023 alone, the group accounted for 28% of the total ransomware attacks—about 1,046 victims—including Pendragon LLC. More recently, the group attacked international space contractor Boeing. It’s estimated that Lockbit has extorted over $100 million from victims in the US alone. Fawry crashes: After the threats were made public, the myFawry app, later on Thursday, crashed. The company, in its statement, claims that the hack was due to a bank run as customers rushed to withdraw funds and close their accounts. Officials from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) also confirmed that the fintech had suffered no data breaches. Per Fawry’s founder and CEO Ashraf Sabry, “Our systems could have been attacked and we are investigating the matter … but what is certain after reviewing the systems is that no data were hacked or withdrawn.” Zoom out: Following the scare, Fawry’s shares dipped by 4.6% on Thursday. The fintech, yesterday, reinstated its payments app and smart wallets and promised to verify the threats published. Access payments with Moniepoint Moniepoint has made it simple for your business to access payments while providing access to credit and other business tools. Open an account today here. Telecom MTN Nigeria blames network glitch for debt cancellation Image source: Zikoko Memes If any of our Nigerian readers woke up on Saturday morning to find that their BNPL airtime debts on MTN had been cleared, we have news for you: all na scam. What’s up? After several MTN users received confirmation messages that their debts on the network had been cleared, the telecoms announced that the disappearing debts were due to a system glitch. In an official statement, the telecom said that the glitch affected balance enquiries for some subscribers. “As a result, some customers may receive error messages showing that their balances have been cleared. This is not the case and all balances will reflect accurate figures once the problem is resolved. Our engineers are currently working to ensure this. Please accept our apologies. We regret the inconvenience.” No debts have been forgiven and all customers will have to repay. God forgives, but companies don’t: Already, Nigerians had taken to social media to commend the telecoms for its ingenuity, with tweets like this one stating that loan apps and other telecoms should follow suit and forgive all debts. It’s unlikely that this will happen as financial institutions across the country often report huge losses in non-performing loans. In 2022, for example, Kuda Bank lost about ₦2.6 billion ($2.6 million) to non-performing loans. Given this, Nigerians who are looking for forgiveness of any kind may have only the sky to look up to. Join the Paystack private beta Paystack has launched a private beta to offer payment tools to businesses in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, and Rwanda. Learn more about Paystack’s entry into 3 new markets → Regulation South African prisoners can now use computers in cells Image source: YungNollywood South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that prisoners who are registered students have the right to have and use computers in their cells…as long as it’s for study. How did this happen? A prisoner, Mbalenhle Sydney Ntuli, who is serving a 20-year sentence for robbery complained that his right to education was being infringed. Per Ntuli’s reps, he was struggling to complete a data processing course because he could not have computers in his cell where he spends most of his time. The plaintiffs argued that this contravenes Section 29 of South Africa’s Bill of Rights which provides prisoners with the right to future education. The minister of justice and the commissioner of correctional services countered, stating that this could constitute a security threat. Per the agents, computers could be paired with modems and allow the prisoners access to the internet. SCA Judge Unterhalter, however, countered stating that the prisoners’ use of computers can not pose an additional threat. “Prisoners who have smuggled cell phones into prison already have unauthorised access to the outside world. Whatever security risk that poses is already in place,” he said. A unanimous vote: The SCA unanimously voted that preventing the use of computers in cells is unconstitutional. The judges, however, gave conditions for use. The prisoners must be registered students; the computers must be used without modems; the computers are also subject to inspections, and breach of these rules, will lead to withdrawal of the computer. The prisoners must also provide the computers themselves as the prisons are under no obligation to bear the costs of the computers. South Africa’s correctional services also have 12 months to revise all policies depriving prisoners of these rights. Wrap-up: The case brings to mind the age-long argument about the purpose of punishment: retribution or
Read More5th edition of Next Fintech Forum to be held in Abidjan
Now in its fifth year, Abidjan’s Next Fintech Forum (NFF), one of the largest fintech events in Francophone Africa, is organising its event around the theme “Fintech and Commerce: How Fintech will shape commerce in Francophone Africa”, on November 16th and 17th at the Radisson Blu, Abidjan. “We want to make francophone fintech an attractive market for innovators, big techs, and investors, and develop DFIs to improve financial inclusion. Develop an inclusive and multi-stakeholder crucible for reflection,” Alex Sea, founder and director of Next Fintech Forum, told TechCabal. As the startup economy becomes continent-wide, national ecosystems have turned to events to showcase their progress and attract talent and investors to establish themselves as serious participants in Africa’s tech ecosystem. In Morroco, GITEX, the world’s biggest tech show, held its first event in Africa, where the government selected 100 startups from its startup development programme to demonstrate the country’s startup ambitions, while this week Uganda’s government is hosting an investor summit to attract investors as the race for East Africa’s second-biggest tech ecosystem heats up. With the support of the Ivorian government, NFF is following the same playbook by bringing together commercial banks, investors, and startups to discuss industry issues and opportunities and network. This year, the forum is adding a fintech academia summit where African scholars from different countries and areas of expertise can deliberate on fintech solutions and develop curricula adapted to Africa’s job market. The summit will also allow these scholars to catalyse the digital transformation of the financial sector through research, education, and cooperation. According to Sea, “This year, the NFF will give opportunities to players to discover the potential of trade catalysed by financial technologies in francophone Africa through an exhibition of opportunities. The presence of stakeholders in the value chain opens the door to discovering and highlighting national projects and regional ones, by making it possible to meet decision-makers and innovators, which will help traders understand and appropriate the technologies. This will allow them to be more efficient and develop their income, meet fintech founders.” In addition, as Africa’s blockchain industry has been beset by startup closures and setbacks over the past year, the forum will hold its first-ever blockchain hackathon, bringing together enthusiasts of blockchain technology to take on the challenge of coming up with creative solutions that have the potential to be funded and implemented. The forum will also feature around twenty discussions, workshops, panels, and master classes. Abidjan’s growth as a tech hub in the region has grown with healthy competition from Dakar, and the NFF’s contribution to attracting funding for the ecosystem has seen a significant rise since its inception. “Activities on the NFF have enabled geographical growth opportunities for players; assistance agreements between players have been signed, and we have also seen fundraising and investment promises amounting to more than $100 million,” Sea told TechCabal.
Read More$500m Wigwe University ushers Access Bank CEO into the circle of university owners
Herbert Wigwe, co-founder of Access Bank—the country’s biggest bank by assets—is building a $500 million eponymous university in his hometown in Nigeria’s oil-rich Rivers State. Wigwe told Bloomberg this week that Wigwe University will offer undergraduate courses in management, science and engineering, information technology, and creative arts. Wigwe is borrowing from the playbook of wealthy Nigerians like Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president, by venturing into tertiary education. The license for the university was approved by the Nigeria University Commission in June, bringing the total number of universities in Nigeria to 238, of which 79 are state-run and 147 are private. With 1,400 students expected to be enrolled next year, Wigwe is betting that by leveraging technology, the institution will offer the same quality of education as universities in the US and UK—where he plans to recruit 30% of teaching staff. Wigwe told BusinessDay that the university has built a power plant to supply electricity to the university and will use holograms and artificial intelligence to ensure a hybrid system for students. But like other private-run universities, it is expensive for one of the world’s poorest countries. It will cost a student about $12,500 and 3.5 million naira ($4,171) every year to attend Wigwe University. The demand for education in Africa’s most populous country far outweighs the supply, as there are only 238 universities to cater to 100 million young people. This has led to an education problem where 20% of out-of-school children globally are from Nigeria. uLesson—Nigeria’s biggest and most capitalised edtech startup founded by Sim Shagaya—recently matriculated students of its online university Miva Open University. The argument about the scalability of education in Nigeria, considering the country’s infrastructural challenges, is valid. Wigwe, who has decades of experience in the banking sector, also hopes to train the “next set of leaders in banking” and will recruit some of the country’s notable business tycoons, including Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, to teach at the varsity. Wigw University will be led by Professor Miles Davis, the former president of a private university in the United States, as the Vice-Chancellor, and Professor Nelson Uzoechi-Uzoma Alino, a former professor of accounting at Quinnipiac University, as the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Administration, and Professor Dal Didia, a former professor of economics at Jackson State University, as the deputy vice-chancellor of academics.
Read MoreMultiChoice invests a further $27 million into Showmax relaunch
MultiChoice, the pan-African broadcaster that reported $131m in revenue in 2022, has invested R500 million (~$27 million) in Showmax, its streaming service, ahead of a late-2024 relaunch. This is according to a statement the company released on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on November 9. Showmax 2.0 will launch on a specialised technology platform on the US streaming service, Peacock, according to the company’s filings. “It also incorporates the higher investment in Showmax, primarily related to dual platform costs that will normalise once customers have been migrated from the current platform to the new Peacock platform,” MultiChoice said. The company will pay R247 million (~$13 million) to license the use of that technology for seven years after Showmax 2.0 launch. Peacock, which will host ‘Showmax 2.0’, increases prices for the first time Increased investments into Showmax will reduce trading profit by as much as R1.3 billion (~$70 million) as the company releases half-year results next week, MultiChoice told its shareholders. Other expenses including a 16% increase in local content investment, also contributed to the trading losses. The company’s share price, which is down 43% year-on-year, fell by as much as 5% after the announcement. The company’s half-year results for the period ended September 30, 2023, will be released on November 15. MultiChoice share price has plunged by almost 50% in the last six months Key Takeaways MultiChoice invested a further R500 million (~$27 million) into Showmax revamp. The investment contributed to a projected R1.3 billion (~$70 million) loss in trading profit in the first half of FY2023. Showmax 2.0 is scheduled for launch in the second half of FY2024. In April, Multichoice announced a partnership with US media giant COMCAST, owners of NBCUniversal, and its UK counterpart SKY to create “Showmax 2.0”. Showmax 2.0 would be a new platform powered by Peacock—70% owned by MultiChoice and 30% (stake sold for $30 million) owned by the aforementioned UK and US partners. The first iteration of Showmax was launched in April 2015 and as the platform struggles to keep up with global players like Netflix, it hopes a revamped Showmax might accelerate that process. According to data from research firm Digital TV Research, Netflix is projected to clock seven million subscribers on the continent by 2028 while Showmax will reach just over 2 million. Multichoice relaunching Showmax through a partnership with NBCUniversal and Sky MultiChoice has big ambitions for Showmax 2.0. It states it wants to make Showmax the biggest streaming platform on the continent, forecasting $1 billion in revenue in five years, trading profit breakeven by 2027, as well as a 25% EBITDA margin, and 20% free cash flow margins, both at scale. Additionally, Multichoice has also bumped up its growth expectations of the platform by a multiple of three by 2032 and content production by a multiple of 10 by 2033. This is not the first time that MultiChoice has officially announced the impact of the Showmax 2.0 investment in its operations and shareholders. In its annual results released on 31 March, the company announced that it would withhold dividends to shareholders to make further investments into Showmax.
Read MoreUganda joins East Africa’s push to attract tech investors
Uganda, the landlocked Pearl of Africa, held an investor summit today as it joins the race to be East Africa’s tech destination of choice. The summit was led by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Monica Musenero; the presence of President Yoweri Museveni, who announced a $150 million fund for science and technology and 10-year tax exemptions for innovative companies, signaled that a tech push is now government’s priority. “We are here to learn from you. Why aren’t you investing in Uganda?” asked David Gonahasa, founder of Tripesa and a champion of Uganda’s push for investment visibility. He posed his question to an impressive lineup of investors: Uwem Uwemakpan of Launch Africa, Tobi Oke of V8 Capital, Nela Duke Ekpenyong of Ingressive, Ryosuke Yamawaki, a Partner at Verod Kepple Capital Africa, and Eric Osiakwan of Chanzo Capital. Yewande Odumosu, fund manager at Hoaq Capital, Ruby Nimkar and Kunmi Demuren of Greentree Capital were also in the audience of some 200-odd people. With over 400 portfolio companies, these investors have only two Ugandan investments between them. While Tobi Oke said Uganda’s lack of visibility is linked to how little investors know about the country, Eric Osiakwan pointed out the need for Uganda’s homegrown investors to show leadership. Dr Musenero, the minister of science and technology, took notes on her tab as the investors spoke. “We want to make Uganda the best investment destination in the region,” the minister said after the investor panel. “My vision is to listen and capture.” Some of that listening and capturing began before this week’s conference. David Gonahasa shared that the idea for an investor summit was born when a Ugandan delegation attended the Marrakech edition of the GITEX conference in May 2023. “Do we have something like GITEX in Uganda? Make it happen,” Gonahasa remembers the minister saying at the time. 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. The Ugandan team’s self-awareness is important because debuts like this week’s investor summit are never perfect, an investor who spoke to me on the sidelines said. That investor was making a quick stop from neighboring Rwanda, Uganda’s East African rival and host of Norrsken Africa Week, a gathering of the continent’s ecosystem players. While Uganda will eventually hope to upstage its landlocked neighbor, it can simply copy its blueprint by promising government support and tourist and investor-friendly policy to show that it is serious about a push into technology. If Uganda’s vision ever falters, it only needs to look at Rwanda’s results: Paystack announced its private beta there this week, months after Flutterwave set up its East Africa settlement hub in Kigali. The blueprint for how startups can think about relatively small markets like Rwanda and Uganda is talk for another day. Ultimately, one thing is clear: Uganda’s decision to throw its hat into the ring is the kind of healthy competition the region needs. It’s tempting to say the region needs another Kenya, but what each country brings to the table is unique. Uganda’s standalone offering will continue to be more explicit in the coming months and years.
Read MoreEmata’s collateral-free loans is helping smallholder farmers thrive in Uganda
Emata, the agro-financing startup in Uganda, is leveraging farmer cooperatives and whatsapp chatbot in Uganda to disburse collateral free loans to small holder farmers in the country. Emata, a two-year-old agro-financing startup for small-holder farmers in Uganda, launched with one goal in mind: to offer collateral-free loans to small-holder farmers. While the majority of Uganda’s seven million farmers live in rural areas, their outputcontributes 35% of the country’s export earnings. But agencies like the World Bank say that these farmers could be more productive and command better profits. One of the ways to ensure improved outcomes is access to loans. Emata’s founders, Lillian Nassanga, Dave Agaba, and Bram van den Bosch launched a study throughout rural Uganda to understand how farmers work, and realised that there was a huge financial gap for farmers in the region. Africa’s agricultural financing gap is about $240 billion, with Uganda’s estimated between $1.5 billion and $2 billion annually. “We realised that if farmers in Uganda and Africa are given the correct support and financing, they will be able to feed the world. This is not happening because banks are not offering loans to farmers, and that’s when Emata began,” Nassanga said. Emata started by issuingloans to dairy farmers before expanding into coffee and oil seed farmers. The startup relies on data obtained from cooperatives and farmer-based organisations to make loan decisions. “The first thing we do is to ask whether they [the cooperatives] have digital records of the farmers. The records allow us to understand how the farmer has performed over a period of time, how much the farmer has been yielding for the month,” Nassanga told TechCabal. “We combine this data with the farmers’ living expenses and weather data so we can understand what the farmer’s potential will be for the seasons coming.” Once Emata concludes this task, they apportion credit limits to each farmer. The credit limits determine how much loan a farmer can obtain. “No one farmer has the same limit. We reward loyalty over one-hit wonders because we want this smallholder farmer to grow,” she said. How Emata disburses loans Cooperatives are a way of life for smallholder farmers in Uganda. These farmers often lack the resources to access financial services, agricultural inputs, and marketing support on their own. Pooling their resources in these cooperatives—such as Kiruhura Dairy Cooperative, Rushere Dairy Farmers’ Cooperative Society, Kigezi Highland Tea Cooperative, and Nyabyeya Coffee Cooperative—allows the farmers to access better prices for agricultural inputs and higher prices for their crops. Emata leverages this farmer-cooperative relationship to disburse loans easily to the farmers. The farmers apply for loans through a cooperative agent. These agents then apply for loans on behalf of the farmers through Emata’s WhatsApp chatbot. The farmers receive the loans in their mobile money wallets—MoMo wallets are the most popular for these unbanked farmers. According to Nassanga, loan processes take up to 5–10 minutes. “We have a person trained to use our WhatsApp chatbot to request loans on behalf of the farmers. Once they put in information about the farmers, we look through the farmers’ data points and approve or deny the loans. Once the loan is approved, the agents get notified on WhatsApp, and the loans will be disbursed to the farmer.” Emata’s app & WhatsApp lending platform Due to low digital literacy in some rural parts of Uganda, working with cooperatives has been a difficult task for Emata. “Sometimes, there is no digital record of these farmers, so we have to train the staff to input the data into the computer,” she said. Emata does not have a loan cap, but its minimum loan size is about $25. “Our loans are getting bigger by the day even as the farmers grow,” said Maren Hald Bjørgum, chief communications officer. Bjørgum did not disclose Emata’s interest rate but says the agro-financing firm’s interest rates are competitive. According to her, interest rates differ from partner to partner and from value chain to value chain according to the risk.” Loan tenure ranges from two weeks to nine months, and farmers repay at the end of the harvest. Farmers can also get increased loan prizes depending on their previous performance. “We match our loan periods for the start and end of each season; as long the model shows you can repay it, you will get a loan,” Bjørgum disclosed. According to Musoke, Emata has disbursed loans worth $1 million to farmers and hopes to double that in the coming year. The startup recently raised a $2.4 million seed round, a mix of $1.6 million debt and $800,000 equity funding, The startup plans to use the funding to deepen its offerings in Uganda—where it currently has no competitor—and expand into Tanzania. Emata has onboarded 56 partners, 40,000 farmers, per Musoke. “The structures we have developed here are easily transferrable to other markets,” she told TechCabal. Emata is hoping to strike partnerships with farmer based organizations for its next growth phase, according to Musoke. The agro-financing startup is in talks with dairy potato partners in Tanzania and Ethiopia and will enter the countries in the coming days, Musoke shared with TechCabal.
Read More👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Flutterwave flies free in Kenya
In partnership with Share this newsletter: Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF If you struggled to use ChatGPT this week, it’s because the platform is under attack. Yesterday, OpenAI revealed that its viral chatbot is the target of a DDoS attack. So far, the company said no user information has been compromised, and it is working to mitigate the attack. The attacks are suspiciously coming in the same week that the company announced a GPT Builder that will let anyone build their version of ChatGPT. In today’s edition Flutterwave is exonerated in Kenya Bolt Food exits Nigeria Safaricom reaches 1.2 million M-Pesa users in Ethiopia Flutterwave receives licence in Malawi Funding tracker The World Wide Web3 Events Regulations Kenya withdraws case against Flutterwave Image source: YungNollywood Flutterwave has weathered the storm. A Kenyan high court has approved the withdrawal of the second and last case against the fintech. What happened? In August last year, the country’s Asset Recovery Agency (ARA)—an agency that investigates and recovers proceeds of crime—froze $3 million belonging to Flutterwave, Hupesi Solutions, and Adguru Technology Limited on suspicion of money laundering and fraud. The ARA filed a suit requesting the withdrawal of the case but was denied in July when the high court judge asked for the reasons behind the ARA’s request to withdraw the case. However, the ARA withdrew the case after further investigations showed Flutterwave was not involved in money laundering and fraud allegations. ICYMI: This is Flutterwave’s second rodeo at fraud suspicion in the country. In July 2022, the ARA froze $52.5 million belonging to Flutterwave and six other companies on the account of money laundering. However, in March this year, the ARA formally withdrew the case. Zoom out: The development comes as the fintech pushes a move into the East African country, seeking to acquire a payments service provider and remittances licence from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). Access payments with Moniepoint Moniepoint has made it simple for your business to access payments while providing access to credit and other business tools. Open an account today here. Exits Bolt Food bolts from Nigeria Image source: YungNollywood Bolt is shutting down its food delivery service in Nigeria. From December 7, 2023, Nigerians will no longer have access to the service. Why? The company announced its decision as a move to streamline its resources and maximise its overall efficiency. Bolt, which currently offers food delivery services in 16 countries and 33 cities across the world, launched Bolt Food in Nigeria in October 2021 after increased demand for food delivery services during the pandemic. Since its launch in the country, Bolt Food claims it has partnered with over 10,000 restaurants, delivered over 1 million meals, and onboarded 23,000 agents and 12,000 merchants. Zoom out: Food delivery businesses in Nigeria are facing stringent macroeconomic challenges which have affected their operations. Rising fuel prices, for example, have led logistics startups like Bolt to up delivery fees by 20-50%. The country experienced a 215% hike in fuel prices after its subsidy was removed in May 2023. Join the Paystack private beta Paystack has launched a private beta to offer payment tools to businesses in Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, and Rwanda. Learn more about Paystack’s entry into 3 new markets → Mobile Money Safaricom records 1.2 million M-Pesa users in Ethiopia Image source: Reuters Safaricom is adding M-PESA customers faster than you can say “mobile money”. The telecom announced in its 2023/2024 half-year results that it has registered 1.2 million M-Pesa customers in Ethiopia since its launch in the country. More numbers: Safaricom also noted that it had onboarded 23,000 M-Pesa agents and 12,000 merchants on its platform. The telecom revealed that its recorded transaction volume has grown to KES43.7 billion ($287.97 million) since its launch. Although Safaricom officially opened shop in Ethiopia in 2022, it didn’t launch its M-Pesa service until August this year. In May 2023, Safaricom Ethiopia reported revenues of KES1.8 billion ($16.2 million), with service, voice, data, and messaging accounting for KES600 million ($5.4 million), KES100 million ($900,000), KES400 million ($3.6 million), and KES3.9 million ($36,000), respectively. Zoom out: Safaricom, which provides services to more than 51 million customers across seven countries in Africa, says that it will deepen financial inclusion and promote a cash-lite economy in Ethiopia. Fintech Flutterwave scores international transfers license in Malawi Image source: Zikoko Memes In more news about Flutterwave, the African payments company has secured a licence to process payments in Malawi, including remittances. Malawi’s remittance market has grown exponentially since 2016, presenting a growth opportunity for the $3 billion-valued African fintech. The International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) license from the Reserve Bank of Malawi allows the company to process international payments from the Malawian diaspora into the country. Opportune time: Over 200,000 Malawians work and reside outside the country, presenting an opportunity for Flutterwave to enter the international remittances market which has grown by 300% since 2016 and now represents 2% of the country’s $13.2 billion GDP, according to the World Bank. The remittance service will be offered through the company’s Send App, the international payments app that was relaunched in August. Send App allows users to transfer funds from over 34 countries worldwide, including the US and Canada. Egypt and Sénégal were also recently added to the network. Zoom out: Flutterwave has achieved a slew of licences over the past year including a switching and processing one in Nigeria, a payments service provider one in Egypt, and an electronic money issuer one in Rwanda. Do more with Bitnob Grow your product offerings and revenue with Bitnob APIs, offering seamless access to payouts, virtual cards, and crypto wallets. Sign up here today. TC Insights Funding tracker This week, Ivorian-based startup, StarNews Mobile, secured $3 million in funding led by Janngo Capital. The round also included investment from three French professional footballers. Here are the other deals for this week: Egyptian e-commerce startup Awfar secured an undisclosed amount in funding from Saudi Arabia-based venture studio, Value Maker
Read MoreBolt Food pulls the plug on Nigeria operations
The food delivery service which launched in 2021, has cited strategic reasons for shutting down in the country. Nigerians will no longer be able to place food orders on the Bolt Food app as Bolt is shutting down its food delivery service in the country from December 7, 2023. The company announced its decision as a move to streamline its resources and maximise its overall efficiency. Bolt, which currently offers food delivery services in 16 countries and 33 cities across the world, launched Bolt Food in Nigeria in October 2021 after increased demand for food delivery services during the pandemic. Since its launch in the country, Bolt Food claims it has partnered with over 10,000 restaurants, delivered over 1 million meals, and onboarded 23,000 agents and 12,000 merchants. When Bolt Food launched, its significant competitors were Jumia Food and Gokada before new competitors like Glovo, Chowdeck, and Buyfood appeared in the $834.7 million Nigerian food delivery market. While Bolt Food’s decision to exit was blamed on a need to streamline resources, its competitor, ChowDeck, a Y Combinator-backed Nigerian food delivery startup, recently crossed ₦1 billion ($1.2 million) in monthly order value. ChowDeck’s CEO, Femi Aluko claims that Chowdeck’s growth in October was organic. Food delivery businesses in the country are facing stringent macroeconomic challenges which has affected their operations. Rising fuel prices have led Logistics startups like Bolt to up delivery fees by 20-50%. A rising inflation rate also means that these logistics companies will have increased operation costs. Aside from these macroeconomic conditions, poor road networks make it difficult and time-consuming for delivery riders to get around which ultimately leads to delayed deliveries and customer dissatisfaction. Also, the food delivery market in Nigeria is becoming increasingly competitive, with new players entering the market all the time. Sometimes inaccurate map locations affect food deliveries and notorious traffic congestion in places like Lagos adds to the list of hurdles faced by this food delivery service.
Read MoreFlutterwave obtains international transfers license in Malawi
Flutterwave has been granted a license to facilitate remittances into Malawi. The country’s remittances market makes up 2% of its GDP according to the World Bank. Flutterwave, the African payments company, has secured a licence to process payments into Malawi, including remittances. Malawi’s remittance market has grown exponentially since 2016, presenting a growth opportunity for the $3 billion-valued African fintech startup. The International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) license from the Reserve Bank of Malawi allows the company to process international payments from the Malawian diaspora into the country. Over 200,000 Malawians work and reside outside the country, presenting an opportunity for Flutterwave to enter the international remittances market which has grown by 300% since 2016 and now represents 2% of the country’s $13.2 billion GDP, according to the World Bank. According to data by the World Bank, remittances into Malawi have grown by 300% compared to 2016. (Image source: World Bank) “We are grateful to the Reserve Bank of Malawi for placing their trust in us and we look forward to this amazing journey, delivering the best possible financial services to the people of Malawi,” Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola said Thursday. The remittance service will be offered through the company’s Send App, the international payments app that was relaunched in August. Send App allows users to transfer funds from over 34 countries worldwide, including the US and Canada. Egypt and Sénégal were also recently added to the network. With the country’s national currency in freefall, these figures are expected to increase as a wave of migration sweeps through Malawi and other African countries. Around 28% of the country’s adult population is thinking “a lot” about relocating abroad, according to Afrobarometer. This week alone, the country’s central bank devalued the currency by 30%, stating that “supply-demand imbalances in the currency market and arbitrage opportunities had resurfaced.” Malawi’s payments market is expected to widen in the coming months as the country issues new licenses to fintechs and other companies looking to roll out services in the country. On November 2, the central bank issued a list of over 20 companies that had been granted numerous licenses under the act. Although the communication did not specify which of those had been granted specifically the international money transfer license, it seems Flutterwave can expect some competition as it enters the Malawi market.
Read MoreWeWork SA eyes expansion amid bankruptcy filing by franchiser
WeWork South Africa is accelerating its expansion plans as the rise in popularity of hybrid work sees a boost in demand for flexible office spaces. WeWork Inc. filed for bankruptcy this week, however, WeWork South Africa has told TechCabal that it is planning an expansion both within the country and across the continent. The company, which is 100% owned by real estate investment company Sisebenza, holds the exclusive WeWork franchise license for South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Mauritius. WeWork Inc. launched operations in South Africa in 2019, opening three locations across the country. According to Andrew Robinson, co-founder of Sisebenza, the company offloaded the South Africa operations to Sisebenza on March 1, 2023. The terms of the franchise agreement included Sisebenza opening more locations within South Africa and the aforementioned countries. “Our operations have been going well over the last eight months. We are reaching record occupancies in our three locations in South Africa,” Robinson told TechCabal. “This month, we are opening a 250-desk operation in Cape Town.“ WeWork SA’s expansion drive Robinson further added that WeWork South Africa’s expansion drive was motivated by the wave of returning to the office following the remote work epoch driven by COVID-19 lockdowns. Another factor was the emergence of hybrid work which has boosted the demand for flexible office spaces. “To service this demand, we are currently doing due diligence on several pieces of real estate throughout South Africa. We have also started to develop our roadmap into Africa and we are very excited about that,” added Robinson. Additionally, the pan-African expansion will be spearheaded by South African companies looking to enter the markets in which WeWork South Africa has franchise rights in. “Our growth in South Africa and into the continent is going to be fueled by our current members in South Africa who are looking to open up their operations in places like Lagos and Nairobi. And for us, that’s incredibly exciting,” concluded Robinson. Data real estate analytics firm KnightFrank in their 2022/23 Africa Report [pdf] shows that vacancy rates for office spaces in South Africa reached a 17.9% all-time high in Q1 2022. Flexible work hours as well as the delayed impact of new post-COVID occupational strategies were cited as the main reasons for the plunging vacancy rates. Despite this, KnightFrank expects this trend to stabilise and gradually slow down “in the short to medium term as business confidence returns and more companies return to offices on a full-time basis.” For WeWork South Africa, the focus is on the flexible office space sector which Robinson estimates makes up only 1% of current commercial real estate in the country and predicts to grow to 2% and 6% in the short and medium terms respectively. The shift towards a hybrid work model is driving the demand for ‘space-as-as-service’, according to some experts, which in turn drives demand for flexible offices. Ironically, according to the Financial Times, a shift from in-office work to hybrid work, which impacted occupancy rates on the company’s leased properties, was one of the main reasons for WeWork’s fall from grace and eventual bankruptcy. Whether WeWork South Africa, which views a shift to hybrid work as more of an advantage, will escape the same fate remains to be seen.
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