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Good morning!
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We begin today with the latest on Binance in Nigeria. The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, ABCON, has asked the Government to ban all Binance activities in Nigeria, arguing that the crypto exchange is one of the many factors affecting the exchange rates in the naira.
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Meanwhile, telcos are finally making some headways in their dispute with banks over a N120 billion debt related to the USSD service. The CBN said it will step in to begin facilitating some conversations with both parties.
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In South Africa, the growth-stage investor Knife Capital has reached the final close of its $50 million fund. The third fund addresses a critical funding gap in growth stages where local investors have historically fallen short.
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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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- Bolt has introduced Scheduled Rides
- Nigerian telcos and banks are working to solve the N120 billion USSD debt
- MultiChoice has discontinued its DSTV services in Malawi
- Sendy is shutting down its operations
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Ecosystem
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N120 billion USSD debt: Nigerian telecommunication companies are deliberating over a repayment proposal put forth by Deposit Money Banks to resolve the lingering N120 billion debt related to the USSD service.
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The banks have refused to pay, and telcos have threatened to halt the service which is still very popular in Nigeria.
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The CBN said it will mediate the dispute and has organised a forthcoming meeting involving both parties.
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“Work is going on and we will soon have a meeting with the telcos. We are going to talk about what the banks have told us. Modalities for payments, the banks are ready to pay,” the representative for telcos said. (Technext)
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- Bolt has introduced Scheduled Rides, a feature that will enable customers to book rides 72 hours in advance. (Technext)
- Sendy, a Kenyan logistics startup is shutting down its operations and exploring a sale of its assets. “We are in the middle of an acquisition process. So yes, Sendy is being acquired. We will issue a formal joint statement in two weeks or so time. In the meantime, we are unable to comment on further details at this time,” co-founder Meshack Alloys said. (TechCrunch)
- eTranzact reported an unaudited ₦1.01 billion profit, a 149% increase over the exact period in 2022 which saw the company earn ₦408 million in unaudited profit. (Technext)
- South African growth-stage investor Knife Capital has reached the final close of its $50 million fund. The third fund addresses a critical funding gap in growth stages where local investors have historically fallen short. (TechCrunch)
- Airtel Africa and Mastercard have unveiled a service that will allow Airtel’s mobile phone customers across 14 African countries to transfer and receive funds internationally. (Technext)
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Policy
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Bureaux De Change comes for Binance: The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria, ABCON, has asked the Government to ban all Binance activities in Nigeria, arguing that the crypto exchange is one of the many factors affecting the exchange rates in the naira.
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ABCON said that Binance’s trading is becoming the anchorage of both the investor’s and exporter’s window and the parallel market, which is unfortunate.
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“It’s a competition. We need to ban Binance and the only way to do so is if you have liquidity,” ABCON president Aminu Gwadabe said. (Technext)
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- Ghana’s inflation rate unexpectedly rose to a four-month high in July to 43.1% from 42.5%, adding pressure on the central bank to continue rate hikes next month. That was the highest level since March. (Bloomberg)
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Social Tech
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DSTV exits Malawi: MultiChoice has discontinued its DSTV services in Malawi, shortly after it said it will hike subscription rates. The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) had barred the tariff adjustment following an interim injunction from the nation’s High Court at the end of July.
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Customers who have already paid their new subscription for the DStv service will have their contract honoured until the current 30 day viewing cycle ends on or before September 10th.
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In a statement, Multichoice Africa said: “MACRA does not provide the DStv service to the general public and therefore lacks the authority to set or modify tariffs for this service, a point that has been repeatedly communicated to MACRA.”
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MultiChoice Malawi added that “It's incapable of being implemented by them, but carries with it grave consequences for the directors and management of Multichoice Malawi, including imprisonment.” (Advance Television)
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- Nigerians spent less on cinema ticket sales as box office revenue dropped by 14.98% in July, with N482 million from N567 million in June. (Nairametrics)
- TikTok creators can now upload entire podcast episodes to TikTok via an RSS feed and link them to their short-form clips. (Twitter)
- A new integration between Spotify and Patreon will now allow users Patreon users to be able to distribute their premium content on Spotify. (TheVerge)
- Disney is raising prices on almost all of its streaming offerings as it looks to accelerate profitability for the business. Commercial-free Disney+ will cost $13.99 per month, a 27% increase, beginning Oct. 12. Disney+ with ads will remain $7.99 per month. Disney will also expand its ad-tier offering to select markets in Europe and Canada beginning Nov. 1. (CNBC)
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Global News
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More troubles at FTX: Ryan Salame, the former co-chief executive of FTX, is in negotiations with federal prosecutors to plead guilty to criminal charges following the implosion of the cryptocurrency exchange.
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Salame may enter a plea as soon as next month to offences including campaign finance law violations, according to the people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the discussions aren’t public.
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It is unclear whether he will enter into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors and testify against FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried. (Bloomberg)
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- Elon Musk’s brain-implant company, Neuralink has raised $280 million in new funding from investors to develop its technology, the startup announced on X. The deal was led by Founders Fund, a venture capital firm backed by billionaire Peter Thiel. (Bloomberg)
- American prosecutors team obtained a search warrant in January for records related to former President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, and a judge levied a $350,000 fine on the company for missing the deadline to comply, according to court documents released Wednesday. (Fortune)
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