Tijani Bosun's plans to stimulate startups listing on NGX

Monday, 25 September 2023

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Good morning!

We've finally fully entered that time of the year again. Get ready for tech events all through this week.

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Then there is always room for more expansion, is the message from Alipay, already the world’s largest digital payment platform. Last week it rolled out its products in Macau, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand.

Looking to earn in dollars? Bola Tinubu's got you. The Federal Government has launched the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), an initiative that it said is "targeted at creating a pool of talent that will make the country a force in the global talent-sourcing industry valued at $620 billion." It has the support of Microsoft.

Then Tinubu's pick for CBN governor is already seating the throne even before meeting with the Senate. Yemi Cardoso has been appointed acting CBN Governor pending his nomination hearing before the senate. His long-term relationship with the president however has been called into question.

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

A word from MyCover.ai

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Summary of the news

X announced that it will be disabling its Circles feature
Netflix has officially shut down its DVD distribution plant
Yemi Cardoso has been appointed acting CBN Governor
Bosun Tijani has announced plans to stimulate startups listing on the NGX

Ecosystem

Access profits: Access Holdings Plc raked in ₦135 billion in profits in the first half of 2023, a 52% increase year on year, according to its half-year financial statements.

Compared to other tier-1 banks like First Bank, GTCO, and Zenith who doubled their profits in the same period, and tier-2 banks like Fidelity and Stanbic, Access Holdings results are not exactly impressive. GTCO recorded ₦280 billion in H1 2023 as profits from ₦77 billion in June 2022.

First Bank recorded ₦187 billion from ₦56 billion in June 2022. Zenith Bank recorded ₦291 billion in H1 2023 as profits from ₦111 billion in June 2022. Fidelity recorded ₦61 billion from ₦23 billion in June 2022 while Stanbic recorded ₦67 billion from ₦30 billion in June 2022. (TechCabal)

Other ecosystem news:

Microsoft-backed FAST Accelerator for AI startups has selected 12 African companies for the second cohort of the FAST Accelerator startup program. nine are Nigerian, and one each from Kenya, Tanzania, and Ghana. They are Zeeh Africa, Cotrust Equity, Wallx, Moosbu, Aibanc, Greenbii, Zendawa Africa, Sumundi, 10mg Pharma, Trucki, KCG Aquatec Fish Farming and Orange VFX. (Benjamin Dada)

Policy

CBN's independence: Yemi Cardoso, who was nominated by President Bola Tinubu as CBN governor has been appointed acting CBN Governor pending his nomination hearing before the senate.

CBN said that suspended governor, Godwin Emefiele has officially resigned from the office. Former Deputy Governors — Folashodun Shonubi, Aishah Ahmad, Edward Lametek Adamu, and Kingsley Obiora — have also resigned.

But Cardoso's – for more than a decade a savvy bank operator – rise to this top position is raising fresh concerns about possible quid pro quo with the president whom he has had a long personal relationship with.

Techpoint writes that "Tinubu's consideration of Cardoso as vice president in 2015 hints at an association that could also be termed partisan. The current president revealed in 2022 that he submitted three names — Yemi Cardoso, Wale Edun, and Yemi Osinbajo — as potential running mates when asked to do so by former President Muhammadu Buhari." (Techpoint Africa)

Other policy news:

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, said the administration intends to collaborate with Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) to stimulate startup listings with the newly created NGX Technology Board. (Nairametrics)
The Federal Government has launched the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), an initiative "targeted at creating a pool of talent that will make the country a force in the global talent-sourcing industry valued at $620 billion." The initiative is backed by Microsoft. (Nairametrics)
The UK government is set to significantly increase work and student visa application fees. Global talent visas will rise from £167 ($204) to £192 ($235), a 15% increase. Innovator founder visa application fee will increase from £1,292 ($1,581) to £1,486 ($1,819). (Benjamin Dada)

Social Tech

NFT dumpty had a fall: 95% of NFT colletibles have fallen to a market cap of zero ether, from when they peaked in 2021/22 a new report found.

The report further argues that this is in part because a "significant portion of the NFT market is characterized by speculative and hopeful pricing strategies that are far removed from the actual trading history of these assets."

The researchers considered some 73,257 NFT collections and discovered that

69,795 of them had become next to worthless. Regardless almost 23 million people still hold these assets. (Technext)

Other social tech news:

X announced that it will be disabling its Circles feature on the platform formerly known as Twitter by the end of October, leaving users with a significant change in how they share content on the platform. Users will no longer have the option to restrict their posts to a personally curated circle of “friends.” (Technext)
Google is bringing to its Pixel 8 new camera features including Pro controls (exclusive to Pixel 8 Pro), Real Tone, Night Sight, Astrophotography, Super Res Zoom, and the ability to swap faces in an image likely through Magic Editor. (91mobiles)

Global News

Layoffs hit Foodpanda: Singapore-headquartered food delivery service Foodpanda on Friday confirmed to CNBC that it is conducting its latest round of layoffs as the need to be “more agile remains critical.”

“Our company priority right now is to become leaner, more efficient and even more agile. To do this, we need to streamline our operations so we can take on a more structured approach for the coming days,” Jakob Sebastian Angele, APAC CEO of Foodpanda, said on Thursday in a letter shared with employees.

He did not mention the number of employees impacted nor departments affected. (CNBC)