This Week in Tech: Nigerian tech-enabled logistics startups are having a tough ride to profit
This Week in Tech: Nigerian tech-enabled logistics startups are having a tough ride to profit
It cost $4000 to move the same container from the seaport in Apapa to Lagos mainland, a 20km trip.
Hi,
Logistics, fraud and funding. This week Jumia board appoints Francis Dufay as CEO even though, the African unicorn, recorded narrowed losses in Q4 2022 after enforcing a cost-saving strategy. Talking about Fraud, a report by Smile Identity - who announced its $20 million series B fundraising, suggests African tech is struggling with a surge in digital fraud. In different news, Dash CEO has been placed on “indefinite administrative leave as the Insight-backed startup carries out financial audit”. Fluidcoins - a Nigerian crypto payment gateway, got acquired by Blockfinex for an undisclosed sum.
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Jumia’s board appoints Francis Dufay as CEO
The supervisory board of the ecommerce company, Jumia, has now appointed Francis Dufay as the company’s CEO. Dufay was announced as the acting CEO after the exit of Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poginonnec as Co-CEOs. The exit of both CEOs came after a decade where Jumia was pressed to move towards profitability and was unable to. In the statement confirming his appointment, Jumia said, “The executive search that was being conducted has now been concluded. The appointment reflects the strong confidence of the Board in the leadership of Francis and his ability to successfully scale the business to profitability.” TechCabal
Nigeria’s Curacel raises funding to power insurance offerings and expand into North Africa
Curacel, a Nigeria-based platform that aims to drive insurance penetration in emerging markets via APIs enabling insurers to connect with digital distribution channels and administer their claims, has raised $3 million in seed funding. Founded by Henry Mascot and John Dada in 2019, Curacel is building the “rails to make insurance work for the next billion Africans and empowering businesses everywhere with the technology to embed insurance for their users.” Africa Tech Memo
Dash CEO placed on ‘indefinite administrative leave’ as the Insight-backed startup carries out financial audit
Prince Boakye Boampong, the founder and CEO of Dash, has allegedly been temporarily suspended pending an investigation into financial impropriety, according to people with direct knowledge of the situation. Indeed, sources told TechCrunch that Boampong was allegedly suspended as chief executive for engaging in financial misreporting. However, Dash’s board, in a joint statement, communicated a different angle regarding the former chief’s current status to TechCrunch. TechCrunch
Blockfinex acquires Nigerian crypto payment gateway, Fluidcoins
Fluidcoins, a Nigerian crypto payment gateway, has been acquired by Blockfinex for an undisclosed sum. TechCabal reports that the deal was confirmed by Danny Oyekan, Blockfinex’s CEO, and facilitated by Blockfinex’s parent company, Dan Holdings Limited. As part of the acquisition, the Fluidcoins team will stay on as part of Blockfinex. Oyekan also stated that the acquisition would help Blockfinex launch new products beginning with a wallets-as-a-service offering, BlockPay. “This acquisition was driven by a decision to venture into Wallet as a service business and crypto payment processing and scale it across the world. The acquisition includes all Fluidcoins entities, including Flip and Fluidshops,” Oyekan shared. TechPoint
Africa’s unicorn, Jumia, records narrowed losses in Q4 2022 after enforcing cost-saving strategy
On Thursday, the E-commerce platform, Jumia, said that its cost savings strategy has helped it reduce fourth-quarter losses by 30% from a year earlier, with a further sharp drop expected this year. Despite making revenues of $66 million for Q4, the company recorded a full-year loss of $207 million and a Q4 loss of $49.2 million in the earnings report released for Q4 2022 and the full year 2022. It projects that it will reduce losses even further in 2023 to $100 -$120 million. TechNext
New report shows explosive growth of gaming in Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is emerging as one of the world's fastest-growing mobile gaming regions, with new data revealing that the total number of gamers in the region has more than doubled in the last five years. The report, commissioned by Carry1st and Newzoo, highlights that 186 million people across the region will play games in 2021, a figure which represents 16% of the population. Business Insider
African tech is struggling with a surge in digital fraud
Because Africa’s technology sector is advancing, more people now rely on digital tools to manage their finances, communicate with others, and take care of their daily needs. But with this increased dependence on digital services comes a growing threat: digital fraud. Digital fraud is rising in Africa, and the numbers are staggering. According to a report by Smile Identity, a Pan-African digital ID verification firm, digital fraud in Africa reached a new high in 2022, with rates up 28%. The data, based on 50 million KYC checks across African countries and businesses, proves the rise of fraud. Ventures Africa
Smile Identity raises $20m to tackle increasing online fraud in Africa
Smile Identity, an African-based focused solution that provides identity verification and KYC compliance for African faces and Identities, raised $20 million in Series B funding to accelerate the development and adoption of its AI-powered identity verification tech and expand to new African markets. ID verification and KYC compliance have become necessary for Africa as fintech adoption grows. Smile Identity noted in a report that fraud rates on the continent reached an all-time high of 28% in 2022, with stolen and forged identities playing a major role. TechNext
[Survey] Businesses in Africa Plan to Increase Cybersecurity Budgets by 11% in the next 3 years
In the Middle East, Turkiye, and Africa (META) region, median cybersecurity budgets for enterprises in 2022 were US $7,500,000 with over $18,000,000 allocated for IT in general, while for SMBs the figures stood at $150,000 for IT security and $375,000 for IT in general. According to business representatives, the TOP-5 factors driving IT security budget increases in organisations in the META region are business expansion, geopolitical and economic risks, increasing complexity of IT infrastructure, recent cybersecurity incidents and the need to boost the level of expertise of IT security specialists. Tech Economy
South African insurtech Naked closes $17M Series B to expand AI-based platform
In a series B funding round, Naked, a South African insurtech startup that offers fully digital, AI-powered insurance for homes, cars, and valuables, has raised $17 million. Naked's AI-driven system offers customers an unprecedented level of convenience, allowing them to manage their entire insurance experience via an award-winning app without speaking to a contact centre agent. The company's co-founder, Alex Thomson, said that the funds raised will be used to accelerate growth plans, expand into new markets, invest in technology, and grow the team. Techloy
Why African EV startups are struggling
In 2021, Nigerian mobility startup MAX became Africa’s most-funded startup in the EV space when it raised $31 million in a series B round to expand into Ghana and Egypt. The company set a goal to provide vehicle-financing loans to more than 100,000 drivers over two years and build EV infrastructure in its new markets.
Two years on, however, industry advocates believe the company’s goals are too ambitious given the high EV prices, unfriendly government policies, lack of charging infrastructure, high customs duties, and bad roads in African countries. “There is a future for EVs in Africa. However, the market conditions and business models must be appropriate,” Uche Okoro, an energy analyst, told Rest of World. “Building large-scale EV infrastructure [will] require huge investments and innovative solutions to the unique challenges of operating in Africa.” Rest of World
Nigerian tech-enabled logistics startups are having a tough ride to profit
The last few months have been tough for Nigeria’s logistics sector. No, it’s not simply because of fuel scarcity. There is a broader problem that suggests that Nigerian logistics might be broken.
Notably, Nigeria might not be alone. In the United States, 6 per cent of a product’s prices are due to logistics costs. But in Africa, they account for 70 per cent. Howbeit, Nigeria’s case is quite peculiar. For instance, it costs $4,000 to move a 40-foot container from Shanghai to Lagos, Nigeria. Yet, somehow, it costs the same $4000 to move the same container from the seaport in Apapa to Lagos mainland, a 20km trip. Ventures Africa
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