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Wednesday, 01 February 2023
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Supported By
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Good morning!
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Today is a gloomy day for all those who had been eyeing the Tech Nation program, which gives opportunities for people with tech skills to come into the UK. Yesterday, the organisation said it has lost its funding and would cease operation at the end of March.
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"With this foundation removed, Tech Nation’s remaining activities are not viable on a standalone basis and the unique Tech Nation model that we have built upon this foundation can no longer be supported," the announcement post from tech nation reads
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"We cannot continue to deliver for scaleups impactfully and impartially without core public funding underpinning everything we do, and with commercial funding alone," it adds.
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If you've got your eye on the program, click here to see how you can get it before March ends.
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If this newsletter was forwarded to you, click here to subscribe now.
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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
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- Tech Nation UK said it will cease operation in March
- The Central Bank of Kenya has approved 12 new digital lenders
- Starlink's hardware and subscription prices have been slashed
- A new investigation shows that Apple violated labour laws
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UK's Tech Nation program discontinued
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After 13 years of transforming the UK tech ecosystem, Tech Nation, an accelerator organization for ambitious tech entrepreneurs, has announced it will cease all operations from 31st March 2023 and transfer all its assets following the termination of its core government grant funding, Tecdhnext reports.
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This decision comes after the network’s core grant funding from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport of the United Kingdom (DCMS) was awarded to Barclays Bank. The networking organization seeks interested parties to acquire its portfolio of assets following its closure.
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Without the funding, Tech Nation is not certain its activities can be carried out on a standalone basis, hence the decision to cease operations after its DCMS contract ends in March. This also includes all of its services, including its accelerator programs, growth platform, and visa processing program for the Head Office.
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See an excerpt from the announcement post below:
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We have exhaustively explored whether Tech Nation could continue without core government grant funding, but have concluded after extensive consultation that this is not an option.
With this foundation removed, Tech Nation’s remaining activities are not viable on a standalone basis and the unique Tech Nation model that we have built upon this foundation can no longer be supported.
Furthermore, continuing without core funding would compromise our status as a Public Interest company. We are a non-profit, with an obligation to act in the best interest of the public and the scaleup community we serve.
We cannot continue to deliver for scaleups impactfully and impartially without core public funding underpinning everything we do, and with commercial funding alone.
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CBK approves 12 new digital lenders
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The Central Bank of Kenya has granted approval to 12 digital credit providers to operate in the country. There are now 22 digital credit providers approved by the CBK following the 10 that received approval in September 2022, Techpoint Africa reports.
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Some of the approved digital lenders include Getcash Capital Limited, Giando Africa Limited, Kweli Smart Solutions Limited, Jumo Kenya Limited, MFS Technologies Limited, and M-Kopa Loan Kenya Limited. An updated list of all approved lenders are in this document provided by the CBK.
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According to the bank, it has received 381 applications since March 2022, with only 22 companies receiving approvals since then. The regulator also hinted that more approvals will be granted pending the submission of certain documentation.
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"Other applicants are at different stages in the process, largely awaiting the submission of requisite documentation. We urge these applicants to submit the pending documentation expeditiously to enable completion of the review of their applications."
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Polygon is a decentralised Ethereum scaling platform that enables developers to build scalable user-friendly dApps with low transaction fees without ever sacrificing security.
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Starlink prices slashed
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After initial plans to charge Nigerians a whopping $600 (N440,000) to acquire its hardware, Elon Musk’s Starlink has slashed hardware and subscription plan costs to N274,098 and N19,260 per month, respectively, Technext reports.
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Recall that Technext had earlier reported that the company had fixed $600 and $43 as the cost of its hardware and monthly subscription, amounting to about N438,000 and N31,000 at the parallel market rate.
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Also, initially, pre-orders from Nigerians were paid in dollars. However, the company has made known that its prices are now quoted in Naira, which means that Nigerians can make payments using their Naira debit card.
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Nigeria was also the first African country to reach the agreement and deploy broadband technology with the SpaceX-owned network. With the latest announcement, Nigeria officially becomes the first African country to witness the launch of Starlink.
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Apple violated labour laws
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Apple has been found to have broken labour laws on multiple occasions following a year-and-a-half investigation stemming from former employees’ complaints, the Financial Times reports.
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The National Labor Relations Board said there was sufficient evidence to support charges against the technology company after two employees accused it of workplace harassment and suppression of labour organising.
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The US watchdog is recommending the iPhone maker settle with the former employees. It will only take action to prosecute, in front of an NLRB administrative judge, if the parties do not settle. More than 90 per cent of companies settle. Bloomberg first reported the findings.
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The NLRB regional offices found merit to four charges that various work rules at Apple violated sections of the labour relations act because they interfered with “employees in the exercise of their right to protected concerted activity”, said spokesperson Kayla Blado.
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“Additionally, a regional office found merit to a charge alleging statements and conduct by Apple — including high-level executives — also violated the National Labor Relations Act.”
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Latest in funding
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Other stories we are following
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