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Supported By
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Good morning!
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The very second instalment of our State of the Ecosystem series is a chat with Seun Dania, the CEO and founder of the crypto company TradeFada. Dania spoke to us about why investing in Patricia, even at a time of turmoil at the crypto company, is the right decision.
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The coup in Niger is facing backlash from the international community. World leaders are already issuing sanctions and there are debates about whether or not ECOWAS should invade the country. In Nigeria, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed cutting off electricity supply to the country.
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In Kenya, Alex Blania, the co-founder of Worldcoin, said that he is willing to collaborate with Kenyan authorities to address concerns about his company’s practices after authorities in the country suspected registration for the coin.
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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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- AFP is taking legal action against Twitter related to payment for sharing news
- Starlink has classified South Africa as a low-priority area
- Emtech has announced a $4 million seed investment
- TCN has confirmed it's cutting electricity supply to Niger Republic
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Ecosystem
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Emtech new funding: Emtech, an African provider of central banking infrastructure, has announced a $4 million seed investment led by Matrix Partners India. It plans to further the development of its new CBDC stack product and that of its regtech solution.
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This round brings the four-year-old’s total investment to $10 million (including a $4 million pre-seed last year and a recent $2 million extension).
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The startup had hoped to work with at least 10 central banks by now. However, it is currently working with six. It has presently developed regtech and CBDC stack solutions for the Central Banks of Ghana, Nigeria and the Bahamas.
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That’s in addition to collaborating with fintechs in other countries to provide crucial regulatory and innovation insights.
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"We’re the only company globally working with that many central banks at a time... Like other companies, fundraising wasn’t easy because of the downturn and the FTX and Terra Luna saga. We had to manage our cash flow and resources and grow our footprint across the region while delivering for the central banks, especially now that we’re on a journey of digitizing cash infrastructure for them," CEO, Carmelle Cardet said. (TechCrunch)
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State of the Ecosystem
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My colleague on the crypto beat, Temitope Akintade had a chat with Seun Dania, the CEO of TradeFada. Their conversation spanned the future of the ecosystem, his latest investment in Patricia amidst their time of turmoil and how the deal came to be.
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On the investing trick he swears by
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For me, timing is important for investment, and Patricia is at a unique junction because they’re currently having issues. But I met Hanu [Fejiro, founder Patricia] a long time ago, and they [at Patricia] showcase a lot of resilience and passion. We had a meeting a couple of weeks ago here in London and we discussed a lot about what’s going on. It’s inspiring to see how concerned he is to see the business succeed.
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On why he invested in Patricia
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In times like these you see a lot of vultures trying to rip things apart, but I thought it was important as Nigerians and Africans to trust each other. I’m certain that with the lessons learned and passion, I believe that the business will be back up and running to instil a lot of faith in Nigerian startups and crypto industry in general.
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On what Patricia should do differently
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The changes I’m expecting are a full revamp, modification of IT infrastructure to make sure it’s up to standard. There’s also going to be a little change in corporate governance structure. The security and IT check is important because we cannot afford to record that kind of loss again or any security breach whatsoever.
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On what he expects from Patricia
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I expect to see them (the investments) grow. Get returns in five to ten years and then retire with those investments you’ve made earlier. We do this also to ensure that all our African businesses do not go into foreign hands. To encourage local investors to participate.
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Policy
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Bad quarter for DisCos: Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) collected only ₦247.09 billion in revenue out of the ₦359.38 billion billed to customers in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Electricity report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
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The DisCos cumulative collection efficiency reduced by 4.58 percentage points (pp) from 73.33% in 2022/Q4 to 68.75% in Q1/2023.
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While the total collections increased by 1.41% (compared to ₦243.65 billion in 2022/Q4), the total energy billed increased by 8.15% (compared to ₦332.28 billion in 2022/Q4). The 2022/Q4 to 2023/Q1 decline in collection efficiency was largely driven by Ibadan, Yola, Kaduna, and Abuja whose collection efficiencies decreased by 15.50 pp, 10.20 pp, 8.49 pp and 5.29 pp respectively.
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Conversely, only Jos DisCo recorded improved collection efficiency of 4.48 pp. (Nairametrics)
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- Alex Blania, the co-founder of Worldcoin, has affirmed his readiness to collaborate with Kenyan authorities to address concerns about his company’s practices after authorities in the country suspected registration for the coin. “TFH has paused World ID verifications in Kenya as we continue to work with local regulators to address their questions. We apologize to everyone in Kenya for the delay,” Blania said. (Technext)
- The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has confirmed cutting off electricity supply to Niger Republic as a direct consequence of its recent coup plot which saw the ousting of the country’s president by the Military. (Nairametrics)
- The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has said it is working towards ensuring a complete move to alternative energy sources by all players in the telecom industry, in a bid to reduce carbon footprint. (Nairametrics)
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Social Tech
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The hacktivist group Anonymous Sudan said it had kickstarted a series of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on Nigeria's digital infrastructure.
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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has confirmed this. NITDA said it detected the activities of a hacktivist group targeting the nation’s digital assets.
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“The hacktivist group, known for its politically and religiously motivated cyber campaigns poses a significant risk to our country’s critical information infrastructure. The agency further offered Nigerians insights into the group’s method of operations. Their tactics include targeted attacks on government digital services, using various attack types, particularly DDoS attacks, and they have a track record of successful attacks in other countries,” NITDA explained. (Technext)
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- Google has rolled out a new policy that allows people to request that their personal, sexually explicit photos be removed from its search results. (CNBC)
- Elon Musk's Starlink has classified South Africa as a low-priority area for a potential launch, due to regulation challenges. The primary challenge it faces in South Africa is a particular Electronic Communications Act (ECA) criterion. The criterion states that historically disadvantaged groups like blacks and women must own at least 30% of any telco seeking an operational license. (Technext)
- A new Ripple report has projected that blockchain has the potential to save financial institutions around $10 billion in cross-border transaction costs by the year 2030. (Technext)
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Global News
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AFP sues Twitter: French media outlet, AFP is taking legal action against Twitter related to payment for sharing news. AFP said that it has taken legal action after X’s “clear refusal” to discuss payment for distributing news content.
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The news agency is hoping a Paris court will order an injunction forcing X to hand over “all the necessary elements required for assessing the remuneration.”
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The dispute relates to a French copyright law called “neighbouring rights” which was enacted in 2019. It says news publishers are entitled to payment from digital platforms which reproduce their work.
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“As a leading advocate for the adoption of neighbouring rights for the press, AFP remains unwavering in its commitment to the cause, even four years after the law’s adoption,” AFP said. (Technext)
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- Apple is reportedly planning on launching iPhone 15 on September 13th. Multiple sources familiar with the matter said that mobile carriers have been asking employees not to take days off on September 13 due to a major smartphone announcement. (9to5mac)
- Bharti Airtel, the parent company of the telecom giant Airtel, quarterly earnings for Q1 fell short of market estimates, with a net profit of $195 million. The company said the unexpected foreign-exchange hit on its Nigerian operations is in part responsible. (Technext)
- Amazon said second-quarter revenue climbed 11%, with $134.4 billion vs. $131.5 billion expected. The stock rose more than 5% in extended trading. (CNBC)
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Latest in funding
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Other stories we are following
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