The briefing: Bamboo gets a digital sub-broker licence from SEC & a $4 million SIM card fraud up to Sh500 million
The briefing: Bamboo gets a digital sub-broker licence from SEC & a $4 million SIM card fraud up to Sh500 million
The suspects in Kiamunyi, had, through the alleged fraud, bought two brand new Subarus, a Toyota Mark X, a Toyota Probox and two motorbikes.
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At some point in startup history, we thought that we now have too many fintech startups In Africa. They’re all solving the same thing. It doesn’t matter what their go-to-market feature is, very soon they’ll start selling recharge cards. Recharge cards are airtime for your phone (thought to chip that in). Well, the good news is that financial services are still broken in Africa a.k.a not crowded as it seems. On the other hand, we can ask the question: “are we really solving for financial inclusion yet?”
Remittance. We’ve seen the rise of startups such as ChipperCash, Grey, Eversend, Zazuu, Nana and many others attempting to make the movement of money back home to Africa easy and more convenient, especially with lower fees paid for transactions. They’ve made it super easy to open a US or UK bank account while in Africa and move money from the US to Africa at no extra charge. Last year, remittances to Africa reached $64 billion, an increase of 4.3% from the previous year. Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa grew an estimated 5.2% to $53 billion in 2022, compared with 16.4% last year (due mainly to strong flows to Nigeria and Kenya. )But, Sending $200 to Sub-Saharan Africa is still at a high cost of 7.8% on average compared to the 3% target by the World Bank.
Logistics. Last-Mile Delivery. Taking a look at logistics in Africa, from the big players like Kobo360 and Lori to the last-mile startups’ - GoKada, Truq, Topship, Shibubble and others, valued at USD$1.4 billion in 2021 and expected to generate USD$2.3 billion by 2030 at a CAGR of 8.45%. We’ve witnessed an amazing improvement. Despite all the improvement and its contribution to the fulfilment of eCommerce, it’s still a terrain investor tread carefully. The logistics sector had a positive year in 2022, with stable growth. The total funding raised by logistics ventures in 2022 came to US$95,123,000. Last week, Hytch - a third-party logistics startup shut down. The CEO told TechCabal; “We couldn’t raise and couldn’t sustain the business with just the money we were making,”.
Welcome to The Briefing. - Samson.
Quick Stats.
The total funding raised by logistics ventures in 2022 came to US$95,123,000 (2.9%). This is up 9.6 per cent from US$86,751,000 (4%) in 2021.
South Africa’s poorest are staying up all night for cheaper internet rates
“Surfing the web at cheaper midnight ‘happy hours’ alerts gun-wielding robbers on the prowl that there’s a router, a laptop, and some valuables in this house,” Pela Xolile, founder of the Tembisa Better Streets Initiative, which advocates for free internet. Rest of World
Jumia wants to be the “Amazon of Africa.” But it can’t find the customers
Its stock has fallen 70% since its IPO as growth stalls and operating losses mount. For a subset of Nigerians, shopping on Jumia offers convenience more than anything else. In the third quarter of 2022, Jumia clocked 9.4 million orders worth $66.6 million. But during the same period, the company posted an operational loss of $43.2 million. Its total active users grew by 3.5% year on year in that quarter, while the number of orders increased by nearly 11%. Rest of World
Revolutionizing Africa's Remittance Industry: How Digital Platforms and New Technologies are Changing the Game in 2023
Remittances to Africa have been steadily growing in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue in 2023. According to the World Bank, in 2022, remittances to Africa reached $64 billion, an increase of 4.3% from the previous year. Sending $200 to the region cost 7.8% on average in the second quarter of 2022, down from 8.7% a year ago. Africa Tech Memo
Prioritizing mental health and well-being for all
To mark World Mental Health Day 2022, the World Health Organization has urged making “mental health and well-being for all a global priority.” Mental health exists along a continuum, and most employees are likely to experience some symptoms of poor mental health and well-being at some point during their working years. McKinsey
Microsoft To Support African Startups With $500 Million Investment Funding
Microsoft is announcing plans to support African startups with $500 million in potential funding in partnership with venture capital investors to enable them to scale using investment funding rapidly. This is part of new initiatives under its Africa Transformation Office to accelerate the growth of 10,000 African startups over the next five years. Including the launch of Microsoft Startups Founders Hub in Africa and new partnerships with accelerators and incubators to provide startups with access to markets, technical skills, and funding. Get Funded Africa
Tizeti begins mass recruitment to fill up new roles across Nigeria
Nigerian Internet Service Provider (ISP) startup, Tizeti, has commenced mass recruitment to fill up new roles across Nigeria. The recruitment is coming ahead of the company’s expansion to 10 more states to deepen broadband penetration in the country. According to a post on the company’s website, young Nigerian graduates are invited to apply to fill roles in different departments including field Sales Engineering, Network Operations Center, Human Resources, Administration, Sales and Marketing, Finance, and Customer Service. Nairametrics
Bamboo gets a digital sub-broker licence from SEC
Nigerian invest-tech startup Bamboo has been granted a digital sub-broker license from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), allowing the company to operate in the Nigerian capital market and include Nigerian securities on its platform. SEC’s issuance of the license to Bamboo ensures oversight of the relationship with its sponsoring broker, Lambeth Capital while empowering it to enter into partnerships with multiple brokers to serve its clients. The license will also enable Bamboo to deepen its relationships with financial service providers to offer its API services. Disrupt-Africa
Umba, the digital bank for Africa, launches into the Kenyan market
After acquiring a majority shareholding in Daraja Microfinance Bank, Umba can now offer complete banking services in Kenya, including current accounts insured by the Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC), interest-bearing savings accounts, fixed deposit accounts, lending, and payments. The Kenyan banking sector is one that has been resistant to change, despite being a world leader in digital payments, being the home of M-Pesa, which launched in 2007, it still has a small footprint in digital banking compared to other markets. Apps Africa
Ethiopia aims to raise $675m in Ethio Telecom share sale
The government of Ethiopia has increased the stake it plans to sell in Ethio Telecom by five percentage points from 40% to 45%.
The Ministry of Finance announced in a request for proposals that it will sell “up to 45% of the equity share capital of the company” in partial privatisation. The ministry said: “Over the last decade, Ethiopia has become one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Its young population, high gross domestic product growth rate, and increased private sector investment offers valuable growth opportunities.” But the government has set a deadline of 23 February – Thursday next week – to receive proposals from interested parties. Capacity Media
Agbakoba’s firm unveils legal support for startups
The firm of Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL) has launched the Startup Growth Capsule (Cohort II). The legal and business accelerator programme is an initiative of the firm’s Sports, Entertainment and Technology (SET) practice group. The programme was created in 2021 to bridge the gap in the startup ecosystem for quality startup-friendly legal services. A statement by the firm said: “Nigeria currently has the fastest growth for startups and is a leading hub for entrepreneurs in Africa with over $ 4 billion raised by founders to date. However, many of these startups do not have access to funding nor access to societies that foster the growth of startups.” The Nation
A $4 million SIM card fraud: 8 suspects arrested for allegedly swindling Fuliza Sh500 million
The suspects, aged between 24 and 30 years old, were found in possession of thousands of Safaricom and Airtel SIM cards. Detectives said the suspects were using fraudulently generated identity card numbers to register the SIM cards before borrowing money through the application. Safaricom, through Fuliza's overdraft service, enables customers to complete their MPESA transactions even when they do not have enough funds in their M-PESA account. In January 2022, over 123,000 new mobile phone numbers opted into Fuliza and took up loans. The suspects in Kiamunyi, had, through the alleged fraud, bought two brand new Subarus, a Toyota Mark X, a Toyota Probox and two motorbikes. Detectives recovered 14 mobicom phones used in registering M Pesa user SIM cards, six laptops, over 40 mobile phones, seven routers and assorted Safaricom lines. The Star
Nigeria’s logistic market claims another startup as Hytch shuts down
On February 2, Hytch, a Nigerian logistics startup, announced that it had shut down all its operations. “It’s been a tough one but we are shutting down operations finally. We would no longer be providing our services to businesses or individuals. We appreciate all our customers and well wishers!” the company said in an announcement it circulated across its social media channels. Laolu Onifade, the co-founder and CEO of Hytch, during a call with TechCabal, cited harsh macroeconomic conditions as the major reason for shutting down the business. “We couldn’t raise and couldn’t sustain the business with just the money we were making,” Onifade told TechCabal. TechCabal
Kenya is making giant strides to be Africa’s EV hub
Globally, countries are on track to phase out the use of fossil fuel, and Electric Vehicles are the vital technology to decarbonise road transport, a sector that accounts for 16% of global emissions. South Africa is the current leading market for EVs in Africa. Yet in 2020, there were just a little over 6,000 EVs on South African roads and all EVs, including hybrid models, accounted for less than 0.2% of new car sales out of a total fleet of 12 million automobiles. In Kenya, the number of EVs was estimated at 350, while some 2.2 million registered vehicles were likely in use in the country. Ventures Africa
What we are reading.
Egypt enters the world’s top ten emerging domestic logistics markets
Flat6Labs launches $20 million Startup Seed Fund in Saudi Arabia
(Hello Africa) Tanzanian girls, women embrace science, tech to drive digital economy
A well-known tech blogger and venture capitalist says it might be time for Google to find a new CEO
Rwanda Space Agency Issues License To Starlink For Operation In Rwanda
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About The Briefing.
The Briefing is a quick bite briefing of African tech and business activities trending. The writers’ opinion on one huge trending topic that matters, followed by “In Other News” and “What We Are Reading”
This Briefing by Sam.
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