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Good morning!
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The Nigerian government is short on dollars. A new report reveals that members of the Bola Tinubu administration are exploring new ways to bring dollars into the country even after it said it would float the naira.
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Then Elon Musk finally changed the Twitter logo on the Bird app to X, solidifying a new day for the social media company. He hasn't yet said what to expect from this new era. However, he reinstated Ye's account after it was suspended last year.
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MTN Nigeria's profits fell 29.1 per cent in the first half of this year to ₦128 billion, compared to last year when it make ₦181 billion during the same period. However, its revenue grew by 21.96% to ₦1.15 trillion from ₦950 billion in the same period in 2022. It lost N131.4 billion in exchange rate.
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So far, Guinness Nigeria, Nestle and Airtel have reported huge losses from the futile exchange rate.
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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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We are thrilled to share that MyCover.ai has successfully raised pre-seed funding of $1.25M! This round was led by Ventures Platform and Founders Factory Africa, with participation from TechStars Toronto.
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With this funding, we can strengthen our operations in Nigeria and strategically fuel our expansion into other African markets. Join us on this exciting journey as we tackle the issue of inadequate insurance access, coverage and affordability in Africa and beyond!
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Summary of the news
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- MTN Nigeria's profits fell 29.1 per cent in H1
- Elon Musk has finally changed the Twitter logo in the app to X
- BasiGo has shared plans to enter the Rwandan market
- The Nigerian government is looking for new dollar supplies
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Ecosystem
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New losses for MTN: MTN Nigeria's profits fell 29.1 per cent in the first half of this year to ₦128 billion, compared to last year when it make ₦181 billion during the same period. However, its revenue grew by 21.96% to ₦1.15 trillion from ₦950 billion in the same period in 2022. It lost N131.4 billion in exchange rate.
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MTN CEO, Karl Toriola blamed President Bola Tinubu's policies for the decline. "These policy reforms are expected to be positive for the economy in the medium to long term. However, in the short term, they have created additional financial burdens on consumers and businesses, and these will be fully reflected," he said.
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It saw a 39.4% decline in its fintech customers, bringing its users down to 7 million at the end of June. Out of the 7 million fintech customers, 3.1 million are MoMo wallet users, representing 44% of its total fintech customers. Despite the decline in customers, MTN said it recorded a 7.8% growth in fintech revenue at N43.6 billion.
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“Our margins were impacted by higher energy prices and rising costs, but the impact was moderated by provisions in our tower contracts and the timing of the forex harmonisation. Notwithstanding, we will continue to execute our commercial strategy with a focus on unlocking efficiencies and driving operating leverage to support growth in earnings, cash flow, and returns over the medium term,” the report says.
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MTN joined a growing list of companies including Guinness Nigeria, Nestle and Airtel that have blamed the Tinubu administration for huge losses stemming from expensive exchange rates, but have not publicly rebuked the policies. See the full financial statement here.
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- Meanwhile, MTN has unveiled its 5G network in Uganda, a country where with over 15 million subscribers, it dominates the telecom market. “We are incredibly proud to be the first to be live with a 5G network in Uganda, and we firmly believe that this cutting-edge network service will play a pivotal role in driving ICT solutions for economic growth and fostering unparalleled digital experiences for all Ugandans.” Sylvia Mulinge, CEO of MTN Uganda said. (Technext)
- BasiGo, a Kenyan early-stage electric mobility startup, has shared plans to enter the Rwandan market in an expansion bid. This follows the launch of BasiGo Rwanda Ltd, a new company tasked with helping the public transport system go electric. (Technext)
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Policy
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The fight to save Zimbabwe: Zimbabwean President Emerson Mnangagwa is whittling down the powers of the central bank governor and handing over notable monetary controls to the finance minister.
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Mnangagwa, who is keeping an eye on Zimbabwe’s $12 billion in total external debt, has now put in place legal limitations on the powers of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe from borrowing in foreign currency. The changes were announced in a legal gazette earlier this month.
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This is in an attempt to get to grips with the country’s ballooning debt and excess money supply ahead of a presidential election on Aug. 23 but at a long term risk to the economy and the bank’s ability to carry out its mandate independent of political and executive interference, said economists.
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Under the watch of Governor John Mangudya, the Zimbabwean central bank has run up a debt of $4.2 billion — most of it owed to suppliers of commodities such as fuel, grain and electricity — in a bid to prop up the struggling economy. (Semafor)
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- The Nigerian government is vigorously pursuing strategies to secure dollar supplies, given the ongoing exchange rate volatility following the unification of the naira. In an effort to attract foreign currency through foreign portfolio investments or other forms of capital importation, government officials have been engaging in a series of meetings with foreign investors. (Nairametrics)
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Social Tech
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No danger with algorithms: A series of new research found that algorithms powering Facebook and Instagram affected users' beliefs in very minimal ways.
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Algorithms have been in the crosshairs of lawmakers, activists and regulators for years. Many have called for the algorithms to be abolished to stem the spread of viral misinformation and to prevent the inflammation of political divisions.
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One research examined the data of 208 million Americans who used Facebook in the 2020 presidential election
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The consumption of political news on Facebook and Instagram was highly segregated by ideology, according to another study. More than 97 per cent of the links to news stories rated as false by fact checkers on the apps during the 2020 election drew more conservative readers than liberal readers, the research found. (New York Times)
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- Duplo has revealed that Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana all trail South Africa in the usage of electronic bank transfers and speed of processing invoices. Additionally, Kenya dominates in payment automation and mobile money services. Duplo noted that the sector remains untapped in Africa despite having a market share of $1.5 trillion. (Technext)
- Elon Musk has finally changed the Twitter logo in the app to X, days after the announcement that the famous bird app will be known as just X. But he still hasn't rolled out the new features of the new X app.
- Meanwhile, X has reinstated the account of Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, after it was suspended nearly eight months ago because the rapper had violated the platform’s rules prohibiting incitement to violence. Ye’s account now shows his last post from December 1. (Al Jazeera)
- Bloomberg reports that the iPhone 15 pro models will get a new design, replacing the shiny and fingerprint-prone stainless-steel edges with something stronger, lighter and more premium: titanium. The Pro models will retain the frosted glass back of the prior few phones, but the edges connecting the side and front are now less sharp than before and come wigth USB-C. (Bloomberg)
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Global News
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Latest on SBF: Federal prosecutors asked a judge to revoke FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried’s bail in a Manhattan court filing Friday, claiming that the billionaire had violated the terms of the release and repeatedly tampered with witnesses.
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“What the defendant may not do, and what he has now done repeatedly, is seek to corruptly influence witnesses and interfere with a fair trial through attempted public harassment and shaming,” prosecutors wrote.
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If granted, the order from U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan would return Bankman-Fried to jail, months after his extradition from the Bahamas and ahead of his expected October trial. Bankman-Fried, whose crypto company sank into bankruptcy last year, faces multiple fraud and money laundering charges over his role in the implosion of the multibillion-dollar exchange. (CNBC)
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- A computer-generated NFT created by Vera Molnar, a 99-year-old Hungarian artist, was sold for around $1.2 million. (Technext)
- Meta is overhauling its Horizon Worlds virtual reality app to include more video games as the social platform struggles to find a big audience. (CNBC)
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