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Good morning!
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It is finally election weekend. When next you hear from me we would have elected a new president. But even as we prepare to take the polls tomorrow, cash scarcity continues to dominate the news cycle. Black market FX trading is the next industry to be hit by the scarcity of cash. Traders said they have now had to cease trading.
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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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- Moove Africa drivers are protesting price hikes
- Black market FX traders have ceased trading due to cash scarcity
- MTN said it will experience a network freeze in the coming days
- The European Commission has banned its employees from using TikTok on their smartphones
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Ecosystem
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Moove Africa drivers have gone on strike in protest of the sudden hike of the payment for their hire-purchase vehicles from N8 million to a whopping N12 million, Technext reports.
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According to the protesters, even when a driver is issued a repossessed vehicle (which could be considered a used/tokunbo vehicle) they are still expected to pay the full 12 million capital. This is despite the fact that its previous user likely has paid a part of the cost or possibly left some damages.
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“We are required to be online for 12 hours. In that 12 hours, you could make N18,000. Out of that N18,000 you will have to pay 9,400 to Moove and N5,000 to Uber. If you fuel your car for N4000 and buy a calling card, how much is left? Some of us even have to borrow money from loan apps just to settle our remittances. It is slavery,” a protester said.
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Policy
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- Black market FX traders said they have ceased trading FX since last week due to the lack of cash and the efficiencies in other forms of transactions. Unfortunately, this development has crippled liquidity in the and significantly impacted businesses, Nairametrics reports.
- The CBN has debunked the claim that transactions will be paused from Thursday, February 28, TechCabal reports.
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Payments in Africa is complicated, Kora makes it easy. Build your custom payment experience with Kora. Accept payments in NGN, KHS, GHS and USD, make payouts and get access to same-day settlement anywhere in the world. Africa is waiting.
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Social Tech
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- MTN has announced that it would experience a series of network freezes in the coming days. The first network freeze would commence on the 24th of February and end on March 3rd, while the second freeze would begin on the 10th of March and end on the 15th, Technext reports.
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Global News
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- Google is asking cloud employees and partners to share their desks and alternate days with their deskmates starting next quarter, citing “real estate efficiency,” CNBC reports. The new desk-sharing model will apply to Google Cloud’s five largest U.S. locations — Kirkland, Washington; New York City; San Francisco; Seattle; and Sunnyvale, California.
- The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, has banned its employees from using TikTok on their smartphones amid concerns from Western governments about the risks the platform may pose to national security, CNBC reports. The commission said staff would no longer be able to have the Chinese-owned app installed on corporate and personal devices, citing concerns over how it handles user data.
- YouTube podcasting head Kai Chuk announced Thursday that podcasts will be added to YouTube Music soon, TechCrunch reports. “We will soon start to bring both audio and video-first podcasts to YouTube Music for users in the US, making podcasts more discoverable and accessible, with more regions to come,” a YouTube spokesperson said.
- Sam Bankman-Fried is now facing new criminal charges for unlawful political contributions, TechCrunch reports. The former FTX co-founder and CEO is now facing four additional counts of fraud, bringing his total to twelve charges, according to a new filing.
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Latest in funding
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Other stories we are following
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