|
|
Friday, 16 September 2022
|
|
Partner(s)
|
|
|
Good morning!
|
It is always a good sight for me when I see African startups supporting each other, trading with each other, and just trying to lift each other up. It gives me a sense of hope, amidst all that is happening in the ecosystem. It goes without saying that I am talking about when the deal is fair and well negotiated.
|
Like this new deal between Ghanaian startup, mPharma and Nigeria's HealthPlus. I am rooting for them to succeed and make even smarter decisions.
|
|
Below are the tech stories and news you need to know to start your day, carefully curated by Technext.
|
|
|
|
|
Summary of the news
|
- Ghanaian startup, mPharma acquires majority stake in Nigerian pharmacy brand, HealthPlus
- Amazon is facing a new antitrust lawsuit
- Adobe is set to acquire Figma for $20bn
- Google has failed to overturn the €4bn fine over Android bundling
|
|
|
mPharma in bed with HealthPlus
|
|
Ghanaian health tech startup, mPharma has signed an agreement with Nigeria’s leading pharmacy brand, HealthPlus to acquire a majority stake in the latter, Technext reports.
|
Speaking on the development in a statement, the CEO and Co-founder, Gregory Rockson said the move is in line with the company’s mission to build an Africa that is in good health by delivering life-changing healthcare services and drugs to improve health outcomes for patients.
|
The CEO and Co-founder, Gregory Rockson said:
|
|
|
mPharma is deepening its long-standing commitment to Africa by reimagining primary healthcare in some of the most vulnerable communities on the continent.
We continue to transform community pharmacies into primary care centers to provide affordable and accessible healthcare to all patients so they can live not just longer but healthier lives. We are optimistic about the future of healthcare for Nigerians through the acquisition of HealthPlus.
|
|
Co-founder and CEO of Alta Semper Capital Afsane Jetha said:
|
|
|
|
We believe mPharma’s vision is consistent with that of HealthPlus’s shareholders and employees, and we are enthusiastic to support the business through a relationship with mPharma going forward.
|
|
|
|
|
A word from our sponsor!
|
|
Fincra offers several different flexible payment solutions for global businesses. Businesses across multiple sectors can easily accept online payments via cards, bank transfers and Pay with PayAttitude giving customers the convenience and flexibility they want.
|
|
Fincra also has POS Terminal, which provides various payment collection options like Pay with Transfer and Pay with Card for in-person transactions.
|
|
|
|
More antitrust lawsuits for Amazon
|
|
California’s attorney general filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon this week, claiming the retailer stifles competition and increases the prices that consumers pay across the internet, the New York Time reports.
|
The suit is limited to California, where officials said Amazon had around 25 million customers, but if it succeeds it could have a broad impact across the country.
|
“If you think about Californians paying even just a little bit more for every product they purchased online over the course of a year, let alone a decade, which is what is at issue here, the collective magnitude of harm here is very far-reaching,” said Rob Bonta, California’s attorney general, during a news conference announcing the case.
|
“The ‘everything store’ has effectively set a price floor, costing Californians more for just about everything,” he said.
|
“Without basic price competition, without different online sites trying to outdo each other with lower prices, prices artificially stabilize at levels higher than would be the case in a competitive market,” the complaint said.
|
|
“Similar to the D.C. attorney general — whose complaint was dismissed by the courts — the California attorney general has it exactly backwards,” Alex Haurek, an Amazon spokesman, said in a statement. “Sellers set their own prices for the products they offer in our store.”
|
|
|
|
Adobe set to acquire Figma for $20bn
|
|
Software giant, Adobe Inc has announced the acquisition of Figma leading web-first collaborative design platform for $20 billion. The deal is expected to close in 2023 and is valued at $20 billion in cash and stock, Technext reports.
|
This is Adobe’s largest acquisition in its 40-year history. According to the company, the acquisition of Figma is in line with Adobe’s mission of changing the world through digital experiences.
|
In the announcement post made by the Official Adobe blog, the acquisition of Figma is intended to usher in a new era of collaborative creativity and expand tools for creative professionals as both companies are passionate about empowering people to be more creative and productive.
|
Shantanu Narayen, Chairman and CEO, Adobe said:
|
|
|
|
Adobe’s greatness has been rooted in our ability to create new categories and deliver cutting-edge technologies through organic innovation and inorganic acquisitions. The combination of Adobe and Figma is transformational and will accelerate our vision for collaborative creativity.
|
|
|
|
|
Google fails to overturn €4bn fine
|
|
Google has failed to overturn a fine of more than €4bn (£3.5bn), imposed by the EU, for using its Android mobile operating system to thwart rivals, the Guardian UK reports.
|
Europe’s second-highest court largely upheld the ruling this week, but reduced the fine from €4.34bn to €4.125bn. The EU’s competition commission has now imposed a total of €8.25bn in antitrust fines on the search engine, in three investigations stretching back more than a decade.
|
The EU general court broadly backed the commission’s ruling that Google had behaved anti-competitively byrequiring that mobile phone manufacturers pre-install Google’s search and chrome apps on handsets as a condition for carrying Google’s Play app store. Google also imposed restrictions on mobile network operators.
|
Google, which can appeal on matters of law to the European court of justice, the highest in the EU, voiced its disappointment.
|
|
“We are disappointed that the court did not annul the decision in full. Android has created more choice for everyone, not less, and supports thousands of successful businesses in Europe and around the world,” a spokesperson said.
|
|
|
|
Latest in funding
|
|
|
|
|
Other stories we are following
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
    
|
|
|
|