Friday, 22 July 2022

Partner(s)

Good morning!

Dennis here!

Who knows? Perhaps in the nearest future, we will think back to this time in our history and development as an ecosystem in gratitude or in regrets. After years of lobbying, the Nigerian startup Bill has finally been passed in the senate.

Cheers to all those that will benefit from its many goodies. Read all my takes here.

Below are the tech stories and news you need to know to start your day, carefully curated by Technext.

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Summary of the news

Nigeria’s Senate has passed the Nigeria Startup Bill
Tesla's profit fell in Q2 because of supply chain problems
Amazon’s first U.S. union is now facing a significant battle with the e-commerce giant
Crypto startup Blockchain.com has laid off 25% of its staff

Startup Bill passed in the Senate

The Nigerian Senate yesterday passed the Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB).

This news comes almost 4 months after the bill reached the National Assembly in March this year where it was accompanied by a letter from the presidency. The letter explained that the Startup Bill seeks to position the country’s startup ecosystem as the leading digital technology centre in Africa.

TechCabal reports that with the bill one step closer to a presidential assent, it means Nigeria’s tech ecosystem may see an improved enabling environment in the near future. While tech startups in Nigeria suffer from a lack of basic amenities like constant power supply and limited funding, there are also a number of regulatory hurdles they face.

Crypto startups, for example, have had to innovate since the Central Bank of Nigeria reinforced a ban on crypto trading in 2021. In 2020, state regulations also banned bike-hailing startups in Lagos, Nigeria’s most populous city, and sent mobility startups like ORide, Max.ng, and Gokada running from the city.

One of the 3 objectives of the Nigeria Startup Bill is to bridge the engagement gap between startups and regulators and ensure that harmful regulations like these are shut down.

Tesla profit tanks in Q2

Tesla's second-quarter profit fell 32% from record levels in the first quarter as supply chain issues and pandemic lockdowns in China slowed production of its electric vehicles.

The Connecticut Post reports that however, company still surprised analysts Wednesday with a better-than-expected $2.26 billion net profit for the quarter. Tesla stuck with a prediction of 50% annual vehicle sales growth over the next few years, but said that depends on the supply chain, equipment capacity and other issues.

The company made a record $3.32 billion in this year's first quarter.

Tesla's sales from April through June fell to 254,000 vehicles, their lowest quarterly level since last fall. But the company predicted record-breaking production in the second half and said that in June it had the highest production month in its history.

Industry analysts had been expecting lower earnings after the lower sales figures and tweets by CEO Elon Musk about laying off 10% of the company's workforce due to fears of a recession. In an interview, Musk described new factories in Austin and Berlin as “money furnaces” that were losing billions of dollars because supply chain breakdowns were limiting the number of cars they can produce.

Amazon comes out gun blazing against its first union

When more than 2,600 workers at a Staten Island, New York, warehouse called JFK8 voted to join Amazon’s first U.S. union in April, it was a historic moment.

But CNBC reports that it was only the first step in a long uphill climb toward a contract. A week after the union won the election at JFK8, Amazon filed 25 objections with the National Labor Relations Board, including charges that union leaders bribed workers with marijuana and harassed those who didn’t support the union.

“We had to make organizing the best environment for us mentally as well. So we’d play music, hand out food, books, weed, whatever it took to change the culture of the building,” said Chris Smalls, co-founder and interim president of the Amazon Labor Union.

Amazon fired Smalls from JFK8 in March 2020 after he led a walkout to pressure the company to improve its Covid safety protocols. Amazon says he received multiple warnings for violating social distancing guidelines. A few days later, an internal memo was leaked in which Amazon’s general counsel called Smalls “not smart or articulate.”

“That moment right there motivated me to continue, you know, especially after just being fired,” Smalls said.

Blockchain.com lays off 25% of staff

Crypto startup Blockchain.com says it is laying off 25% of its staff, citing harsh market conditions. The cuts translate to about 150 roles at the firm.

CNBC reports that the company is also shutting down its Argentinian office and scrapping plans to expand in multiple countries. Most of the layoffs — about 44% — affect employees in Argentina while 26% are based in the U.S. and 16% in the U.K. The company informed staff about the plans yesterday

Blockchain.com is one of many companies that got caught up in the fallout of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital’s collapse.

The privately-held company was valued at $14 billion in a funding round announced earlier this year.