The Briefing: This is the share on internet users in West Africa - 4% while Bitcoin is poised to blow up Africa’s $86 billion banking system
Bitcoin’s Lightning Network helps alleviate both of those problems by slashing the cost of transactions to virtually zero and enabling nearly instantaneous cash payments around the planet – making bit
Quick Stats.
Between 2022 and 2030 average global potential GDP growth is expected to decline by roughly a third from the rate that prevailed in the first decade of this century—to 2.2% a year.
Why Africa needs knowledge transfer more than grants
Speaking over the weekend at the African Diaspora Investment Summit (ADIS), organised by the African Diaspora Network (ADN) in Silicon Valley, California, United States, CEO and General Partner of Fund for Africa’s Future (Future Africa), Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, said over-reliance on remittances from diaspora without adequate scale-up in human capital would limit Africa’s progress into development. The Guardian
Tinubu’s plans for Nigeria’s tech ecosystem
In October 2022, the former two-time governor of Lagos State released an 80-page manifesto. Part of that section says, “A Tinubu administration will strive to create one million new jobs in the ICT sector within its first 24 months [by deploying] new technologies that can fast-track business growth and diversification.” While this might sound impressive, the question is, how? TechCabal
Bitcoin is poised to blow up Africa’s $86 billion banking system
As cryptocurrency continues to rise in prominence and becomes a growing flashpoint for regulators, Dorsey and his deputies are providing an essential counternarrative: Bitcoin brings financial power to people who would otherwise have none. “It doesn’t matter to me if the price goes down or up, because I can still use bitcoin as a vehicle to move money around the world instantaneously,” said Mike Brock, the CEO of TBD at Block, a unit which focuses on cryptocurrency and decentralized finance. CNBC
UpEnergy Issues World’s First Carbon Credits Linked to Electric Clean Cooking Devices Deployed in Sub-Saharan Africa
UpEnergy, a leading social enterprise based in Kampala, Uganda, announced it has issued the world’s first-ever carbon credits linked to emissions savings from the use of electric clean cooking devices. The emissions reductions were created in a new UpEnergy-led project aimed at replacing traditional, biomass-burning stoves with an innovative electric stove created by climate tech startup PowerUP. NextBillion
First Citizens BancShares Acquires Silicon Valley Bank’s Deposits and Loans in FDIC-Assisted Deal
On Monday, First Citizens BancShares Inc announced that it had acquired the deposits and loans of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) following its failure earlier this month. As part of the deal, First Citizens BancShares will assume SVB’s assets including $110 billion in assets, $56 billion in deposits, and $72 billion in loans. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which took control of SVB, will receive equity appreciation rights in First Citizens BancShares stock with a potential value of up to $500 million. Investors King
Twitter code leak raises red flags for African tech founders
Twitter is actively seeking the person responsible for the recent leak of parts of its source code, which was posted on Microsoft-owned GitHub. According to The New York Times, the code had been available online for months before Twitter took action to have it removed on Friday. Executives investigating the matter say the leak may have been done by an employee who left the San-Fransico-based company last year. TechCabal
Liberia gets $3.9M to modernise its payment infrastructure
The African Development Fund’s Board of Directors has approved $3.9 million grant to finance upgrade of Liberia's payments infrastructure and systems project. The project’s primary objective is to strengthen the payments ecosystem in Liberia for increased efficiency and to foster growth and innovation. The project will also involve the upgrade of the Central Bank of Liberia’s main data centre and disaster recovery sites and is expected to impact the institution and government ministries involved in payments. AFDB
CB Insights' Retail Tech 100: The most promising African startups of 2023
Among the top performers in this year's list are three African startups, each with unique offerings that help retailers navigate the complexities of the market. First on the list is Bump. BI
How an NGO helped Hello Tractor attract its biggest investor
The world’s largest agriculture equipment maker is now the largest investor in Hello Tractor, an agricultural technology company based in Nairobi, Kenya, with a farm equipment sharing application that connects tractor owners with smallholder farmers who need tractors. And an NGO - Heifer International, played a key role in making the deal happen. Devex
What we are reading
US Lawmakers to Proceed with Legislation to Ban TikTok
Cyber criminals exploiting ChatGPT popularity to spread malwares via FB accounts
Why does Microsoft want to “cut off” rival AI search tools from access to its Bing search index?
Global Economy’s “Speed Limit” Set to Fall to Three-Decade Low
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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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