The Briefing: N65 million lost as NPA shuts Lagos port over Buhari’s visit
Does Africa truly have a spending problem?
Greetings!
The world is experiencing some turbulence at this time - a global meltdown, initiated by COVID-19 in 2020 that has flowed into 2023, and some expert economists said 2023 would be worse, and we all should braze up for it. There’s no denying that, even though we are at the start of the year - January, so much has happened. From the massive layoffs in big tech (Google, Microsoft) to the up-and-comers (Kuda, Sweep South); fuel prices are at their highest, and power bill in the UK is on the increase that the newcomers are surprised by how much of the earnings goes into paying for these bills.
In every household, there are necessities that needed to be in place to be productive, and somehow, the absence of these (power, fuel, jobs etc.) things brings about productiveness, especially with the use of your time to produce. For instance, I couldn’t find the focus to produce and send out a new article for The Edition last week Saturday. Why? Because I spent over seven hours at the fuel station to get fuel to generate my own power and move around, that would only last me for 5 days. The energy drain took two days to be restored. lol!
In an article by Business Insider, more layoffs have happened in January 2023 compared to the combined first half of 2022. In Africa, SweepSouth - Uber for cleaning services, reduced their headcounts in some markets but with disgruntled employees, who said; “They told our team about the closure on a Friday, and less than two hours after the email we were removed from all systems”. Amidst all the layoffs, even in Africa tech, there’s been some great news. Fincra - the cross-border payment company; and Kuda- a digital bank, received different licenses to enable them to operate and serve their customers better.
Whatever it is, whatever is happening; It will come and go, and the market will be opened up for more aggressive funding, hiring and growth. But for now, take the day with a smile.
This is the briefing by Samson.
Quick Stats.
174 tech companies w/ layoffs ∙ 56570 employees laid off in 2023.
In other news.
Inside SweepSouth’s decision to close its Nigerian and Kenyan businesses
When SweepSouth announced that it secured $11 million in funding in September, many thought the startup would double down on its expansion. Instead, what followed, according to former employees who spoke off the record, was less enthusiasm from the company’s leaders. SweepSouth’s top management routinely missed all-hands meetings for their new operations. There were also changes in business projections that were not communicated. Tech Cabal
The month of January 2023 has already seen more tech layoffs than the entire first half of 2022 combined
In the first half of 2022, from January to June, there were 44,257 reported layoffs in the tech sector. Things have already taken a bigger turn for the strange in 2023: the number of reported layoffs has hit 55,225 in just this month alone, representing 154 tech companies. To put it another way, it means that January 2023 is already the biggest single month for tech layoffs since the beginning of 2022. The lion's share of those layoffs is among Big Tech names like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, which had the biggest employee bases from which to cut jobs. Business Insider Africa
Nigeria’s Kuda gets approval to offer digital banking services in Pakistan
Nigeria’s digital banking startup, Kuda, has received a digital banking licence from the State Bank of Pakistan to offer its digital banking services in the country. The company with its partners registered as KT Bank is among the five companies to receive the digital banking licence in the country. Kuda’s Chief Expansion Officer, Mr Ryan Laubscher commented, “The company’s partnership with Fatima Group and The City School Group leverages each partner’s unique reach and capabilities to create a powerful proposition with enormous potential to increase financial access and affordability in Pakistan, and most notably, with a focus on the agriculture and education sectors.” Tech Moran
Fincra receives a commercial licence from CBN to operate as a Payment Service Solution Provider (PSSP)
Fincra has announced that it received its commercial Payment Service Solution Provider (PSSP) licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). In their commitment to maintaining the highest compliance standard, they have been working with Apex Bank and following the rigorous process of acquiring this licence. “We are thrilled to have received this licence from the Central Bank. This licence is a huge step forward for us, and it opens up many new opportunities for growth and expansion for our customers and us,” said Ayowole Ayodele, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Fincra. IBS Intelligence
N65 million lost as NPA shuts Lagos port over Buhari’s visit
An estimated N65 million was, yesterday, lost as cargoes got trapped at the Lagos port following the Nigerian Ports Authority’s (NPA) total closure of the facility and restriction of access to port users over President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit. Speaking with The Guardian on the situation, the National Public Relations Officer of Association of Registered Freight Forwarders of Nigeria (AREFFN), Taiwo Fatomilola, lamented that huge losses are being incurred on the trapped cargoes at the port.
“They have paralysed the finance of the port for the past two days. The vehicles and trucks that have been loaded, that were supposed to leave the port since Saturday cannot leave. The Guardian
What we are reading.
Musk's deep space rocket Starship completes flight-like dress rehearsal
Google commits to ads safety in Africa
Google deletes over 1.7 billion ads in Nigeria, other African countries
Nigeria To Host West Africa Digital Economy Conference
Meta urged to boost Africa content moderation as contractor quits
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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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