Bosun Tijani's "core areas of tech" for partnership

Tuesday, 19 September 2023

Supported By

Good morning!

We are following the news in New York where President Bola Tinubu is speaking about policy with foreign leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani announced the "core areas of tech" that the government will be seeking partnerships at UNGA in a LinkedIn post.

An earlier version of this newsletter said it was at an event at UNGA. It wasn't.

They include “Positioning Nigeria as a Hub for AI Training, Expanding the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and Accelerating Economic Diversification through Technology."

In Lagos today, Wally Adeyemo, the United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury will be meeting with members of the Nigerian tech ecosystem to discuss a bilateral relationship with Nigeria.

Then, huge resignations happened at Microsoft and Nasper in South Africa. Panos Panay, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer has resigned. Bob van Dijk, CEO of Prosus NV and Naspers, has also resigned.

Finally, telcos have captured the gaze of local investors. The NCC said that telecom investment in Nigeria rose from $38 billion to $77 billion by the second quarter of 2023.

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, click here to subscribe now.

Below are the tech stories and news you need to know to start your day, carefully curated by Technext.

A word from MyCover.ai

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.

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!

Summary of the news

Lyft has agreed to pay a $10 million fine over a U.S. SEC
Panos Panay, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer has resigned
Bosun Tijani has rolled out the "core areas of tech" that the government is seeking partnerships
Bob van Dijk, CEO of Prosus NV and Naspers, has resigned

Ecosystem

Telco rise again: The NCC said that telecom investment in Nigeria rose from $38 billion to $77 billion by the second quarter of 2023.

The commission added that the telecom sector contributed 16 per cent to the country’s Gross Domestic Product during this period. These figures, as per NCC, were derived from calculations made by the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics.

“From about eight per cent contribution to GDP in 2015, when I came on board as the EVC of NCC, quarterly GDP has increased significantly to reach its current threshold of 16 per cent and this has continued to positively impact all aspects of the economy,” chairman Umar Danbatta said. (Technext)

Other ecosystem news:

Bob van Dijk, CEO of Prosus NV and Naspers, has resigned as Chairman of the Board and as Head of the eCommerce investor effective yesterday. He was the Chief Executive of Naspers since 2014 and of Prosus since its IPO in 2019. The board thanked him for his work. (Techpoint Africa)
Kenya-based EV startup Roam has unveiled a new shuttle bus model dubbed Move, coming as the East African country continues to push for the adoption of electric vehicles. (TechCrunch)

Policy

Tijani plans for tech: Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani has rolled out the "core areas of tech" that the government is seeking partnerships at the United Nations General Assembly on LinkedIn.

See an excerpt from his post below:

“Ahead of the start of what will be a busy week with global leaders and partners, I would like to elucidate on the top priorities that anchor my participation.

“Expanding the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF): As we work towards bridging the digital divide, we seek partnerships that can boost the USPF. Our goal is to connect a vast number of unserved and underserved communities in Nigeria, fostering inclusivity and ensuring that every Nigerian benefits from the digital revolution.

“Positioning Nigeria as a Hub for AI Training: We aspire to put Nigeria on the global map as a premier destination for AI model training. Not only does this promise significant job creation, but it also emphasises our commitment to enhancing the inclusivity and robustness of AI datasets.

“Accelerating Economic Diversification through Technology: Our mission at the Federal Ministry is clear – catalyse the productivity of critical sectors using technology." (LinkedIn)

Social Tech

The video gaming industry in Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria is on track to achieve a combined value of $2 billion by the close of 2023. Egypt is leading the park with an estimated $983.80 million, closely trailed by South Africa and Nigeria, projecting revenues of about $558.40 million and $483.40 million, respectively.

This analysis includes a wide range of products in the video game market, including console games, PC games, mobile games, and online games, as well as related hardware and accessories like gaming consoles, controllers, and virtual reality headsets. (Techext)

Other social tech news:

A group of scammers on TikTok have been impersonating Elon Musk to lure unsuspecting victims. (Technext)
iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, Apple’s next major updates for the iPhone and iPad, are now available to download. (TheVerge)
Meta said it's shutting down Dead and Buried, Bogo from the Rift or Quest headsets. (TheVerge)

Global News

Musk plans for X: Elon Musk said that X is “moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system” in order to combat “vast armies of bots in a live-streamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Musk did not say how much a new plan would cost users of the social network, or what other features would or would not be included with payment at the lowest tier.

During the livestream, Musk also divulged some new metrics from X, claiming it now has 550 million “monthly users,” who generate 100 million to 200 million posts per day there.

Musk did not disclose how many of the company’s monthly users are authentic, versus bots. He also did not make an apples-to-apples comparison to metrics previously used by Twitter. In May 2022, before Musk’s takeover, Twitter reported that it had “average monetizable daily active usage” of 229 million. (CNBC)

Other global news:

Lyft has agreed to pay a $10 million fine over a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charge that the ride-hailing company failed to disclose a board director’s role in the sale of $424 million worth of private shares before its initial public offering. (TechCrunch)
Panos Panay, Microsoft's Chief Product Officer has resigned from the company after almost 20 years. Panay joined the company in 2004. It wasn't immediately clear what his next professional move was, but Microsoft in a statement thanked him for his work. (Technext)