South African Airways (SAA) is continuing to get back on its feet to once again become a functioning airline. As part of this saga, currently within a drawn-out business rescue process, SAA will be getting new leadership in the form of an interim CEO named Thomas Kgokolo. This will make him the airline’s fifth CEO in five years.
Thomas Kgokolo, new CEO, South African Airways
The April 13th appointment of Thomas Kgokolo as SAA’s interim CEO makes him the carrier’s fifth CEO within five years. Kgokolo is a certified chartered accountant, having built up a career for himself in the public sector. Education-wise, Kgokolo holds a master’s of business administration degree from the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). Kgokolo has also been a lecturer in corporate finance at GIBS.
South Africa’s Eye Witness News notes that Kgokolo holds 15 years of public sector experience and more than 10 years of experience at a non-executive director level.
Kgokolo fills a vacant position, made empty when Philip Saunders left the airline in December 2020. Saunders had taken over from Zukisa Ramasia, who resigned in March 2020. Ramasia had held the interim CEO position since 2019, after the resignation of Vuyani Jarana.
Since SAA entered into its current business rescue process almost 16 months ago, the embattled airline has had three CEOs. At this point, there is no firm timeline for when the airline will be operating once again.
In his new role, Mr. Kgokolo’s main task will be to ‘hold down the fort’ and oversee a smooth transition out of the airline’s business rescue proceedings. Kgokolo will have to prepare the airline for re-entry into the market, which will include making peace with SAA pilots, who have been threatening to strike due to a four-month-long lockout and unpaid wages.
Eye Witness News adds that Kgokolo will reportedly bring some fresh and insightful perspectives on how to deliver value for the airline. Providing leadership and strategic direction to employees and stakeholders is also reportedly a strong point for the new CEO.
SAA’s fleet has diminished over the past few years, with lease aircraft going back to lessors. This includes Airbus A350s and A330s. There has yet to be a firm date on SAA’s restart. Its website notes that domestic and regional flights will remain canceled up to, and including, June 30th, 2021, as per a statement issued on March 29th. For now, bookings for July 1st and onwards will “remain in place for now,” with the airline adding that “the cancellations pertain to the ongoing business rescue process and travel restrictions with respect to COVID19.”
Meanwhile, a mid-February posting states that international flights will remain canceled up to, and including, October 30th, 2021.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Drivers of two of the leading ride-hailing platforms in Lagos Uber and Bolt, have commenced a strike action to demand for better remunerations and working conditions. The drivers, under the umbrella of the Professional E-hailing Drivers and Partners Association (PEDPA), downed tools today to force the two biggest players in Nigeria’s ride-hailing industry that have competed since their entrance into the Nigerian market in 2014 and 2016 respectively to redress the working conditions.
Uber
One of the ways they have competed is with pricing, with each operator giving promos and lowering fares to try to win over new customers. Yet, over the years, there have been claims that the pricing wars came at the expense of drivers.
Now Uber and Bolt drivers in Nigeria want the pricing to be reviewed because the prices are no longer reflective of the costs they put in. They also want both companies to reduce the commission charged on rides from 25% to 10%. PEDPA says that it has written letters to Uber and Bolt about their concerns but has received no response. To press home their demands, the drivers will begin a one-week warning strike today with hopes that both companies will come to the table.
According to Idris Shonuga, the National President of PEDPA, an association that was formed in 2019 and affiliated with the Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, “what they (Uber and Bolt) do is deploy an app which facilitates links with riders and they charge a commission. We bear the running costs of fuelling the car and take all the associated risk of managing and running our vehicles.”
“Unfortunately, they fail to give us a say, they keep fixing the price ridiculously low and we’re selling below the cost price.”
Shonuga argues that it has become almost impossible for e-hailing drivers to make a living driving for Bolt or Uber because while inflation is driving prices upward, the cost of the service has remained static.
“You’re seeing several accidents on Lagos roads because drivers are overworking themselves to make very little money; this is systemic slavery of Nigerian youth, many of who are driving because of unemployment.”
According to Shonuga’s analogy, for Uber and Bolt drivers to make ₦15,000 ($36) in revenue daily, they have to spend a minimum of 10 hours on Lagos roads. Shonuga also estimates that ₦4,950 ($12) will be used to fuel their cars and then Uber or Bolt will charge ₦3,750 ($9.10) in fees. After 10-15 hours of work, drivers may be left with around ₦6,300 ($15.29), which at the lowest end is ₦630 ($1.53) for every hour they work.
But it gets worse when you consider that many of the drivers on these platforms get the cars they use through hire-purchase agreements that require them to pay ₦20,000 – ₦30,000 ($48.55 – $72.82) per week.
The drivers say these conditions are unfavourable and want ride-hailing companies to give them a seat at the table in making decisions on pricing. They also want these companies to reduce the commission on rides to 10%.
Responding to the claims, the Country Manager for Bolt, Femi Akin-Laguda said that Bolt is constantly evaluating our operations to ensure we continue to provide the best earnings for drivers on the platform even as we still remain the most preferred platform for passengers.
Therefore, our commitment remains to treat drivers on the platform with respect, keeping an open-door policy for feedback to be provided. Also, we have various communication and support channels that are always available for drivers on the platform to reach us at any time, any day, and for any issue that may affect their operations.”
Uber on the other hand noted that they are “aware of a protest taking place today by a small group of e-hailing drivers, resulting in slightly longer waiting times for riders. We respect driver-partners as valuable partners with a voice and a choice and we want them to know that we are always open to their feedback.”
“It’s however important to note that diver-partners are diverse in how they use the Uber app and it would be difficult for an individual or group to holistically represent every driver on the app.”
Away from fees, another important demand PEDPA has is for drivers who have been blocked by both platforms to be unblocked.
“You’re expected to provide 5-star service on every trip and even if you have over 1000 trips with 5-star ratings, if you get reported for anything at all, you get blocked from the platform.”
Shonuga believes that this approach is unfair and that while bad actors should be punished, the companies should take a nuanced approach in dealing with these issues.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Recently, there has been a spike in the number of complaints by many people on how products they discussed offline or off-phones with friends start appearing on their timelines. Or how products they searched on Google search engine starts flooding advertorials of the product or similar products through their phones or other devices. This is the new level in mega spying by secret apps installed in devices by manufacturers of software and those of the devices.
Spying
Security experts have warned users to be careful what they discuss around their smartphones because the virtual assistant is likely listening. According to a study by NordVPN, there was a five percent increase in the number of monitoring apps installed on user’s devices last year. However, some users still suspect that their smartphones are spying on them even if they don’t have any monitoring apps installed on their devices.
This is actually true as virtual assistants such as Siri, Google Assistant and Alexa listen to smartphone users all the time. This is because they need to constantly listen in order to be able to hear voice commands and assist users.
However, some of the things people say around their smartphones are being recorded for a company’s own benefit such as improving the quality of their services or for marketing purposes.
Digital privacy expert at NordVPN, Daniel Markuson explained how virtual assistants function in a similar way to search engines in a press release, saying:
“When you ask Google Assistant or Siri to find something, this information is used for online advertising. It’s no different from typing something into Google Search. If you’re looking for car dealerships in your city, related ads will start chasing you across the internet. In a way, a virtual assistant is just another search engine.”
How to test if your smartphone is spying on you
According to NordVPN, the best way to test to see if your smartphone is helping marketers target you online is by setting a trap.
To do so, you’ll need to select a topic that can’t be associated with your personality and involves something you would never normally discuss. From here you’ll need to keep this topic in your head and avoid using your phone or other devices to search for information on it. Next you’ll have to come up with a list of keywords that could trigger search engines and talk out loud about the topic by yourself or with friends.
Now that the trap has been set, you will soon be able to see if any new ads have started targeting you on social media or on the sites you frequently visit online.
To avoid unwanted tracking by your smartphone and virtual assistants, users need to review their app permissions and turn off their device’s audio recording and video recording features and that of installed apps. As a final step, you can install a VPN on your smartphone to further protect your online privacy.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
We saw the astronomical comeback of bitcoin last year, with a lot of people rushing to buy bitcoin. Throughout the first six months of 2020, bitcoin sold under $5,009, however, its price went over $20,000 by the end of the year. It is thought that the growth in institutional funds invested in Bitcoin was the major reason for the increase in the price of bitcoin and the bullish run it experienced.
cryptocurrency
This is because digital assets are fast becoming a class asset. Due to the increased gains of bitcoin and its capacity to hedge against inflation, there is a growth in the number of institutional funds being invested in bitcoin. Also, bitcoin is simple to buy and sell via p2p platforms and easy to make micro remittances.
Notable investments in Bitcoin last year include; Skybridge, Grayscale, Square, MicroStrategy, Coin Shares etc.
Grayscale:
This firm is one of the institutions that invested so much in Bitcoin last year. It is not shocking that it has a very high interest in Bitcoin, seeing that it is an asset management firm, providing digital asset exposure to a lot of firms. With over $7.4 billion institutional funds invested in bitcoin being managed by Grayscale BTC Trust, the company owns more than 2% of the complete supply of BTC.
This business analytics firm made an investment of about $1.12 billion in BTC last year. This firm initially showed interest in BTC around August 2020. Interestingly, by the end of 2020, the firm had gotten more than 70,470 BTC, valued at over $2.2 billion. This is because the business analytics firm thinks that having BTC is a better long term investment with lots of advantages than saving cash and they decided to buy bitcoin.
Square:
Square Inc. a publicly registered monetary and merchant services firm is one of the notable firms with immense investments in bitcoin.
In October last year, the firm bought about 4709 Bitcoin valued at $50 million. Presently, this number of bitcoin is valued at about $160 million, indicating approximately one per cent of its total circulation.
SkyBridge Capital:
This firm made an investment of about $182 million in BTC. Consequently, it prefers to buy bitcoin since it is seamless to move. Another reason why Skybridge Capital prefers Bitcoin is the fact that it is cheaper to store when compared to gold. Overall, it believes that traders and investors who wish to deviate from traditional assets such as shares and bonds should rather invest in cryptocurrency and buy bitcoin.
Coin Shares is an asset management firm that provides major exposure to digital assets via its portfolio. It possesses two trading products, BTC Tracker Euro and BTC Tracker One, which monitors how bitcoin is performing. Traders can get either of these two products at NASDAQ.
Based on Rooke Kevin’s analysis, as of September last year, CoinShares held 65,800 Bitcoin. Hence, the firm holds approximately 0.4% of the present available supply of BTC.
What To Expect in 2021
Many people now want to buy bitcoin due to the massive growth it has experienced in the last one year. The value of BTC has increased by 300% in the last one year due to public adoption and institutional interest.
Many South African firms are now interested in Bitcoin and ready to invest massively in Bitcoin. Presently, the value of BTC is around $60,000 and it will be fascinating to see the reactions of investors and the value trend of Bitcoin this year.
The bullish run being experienced by bitcoin might be maintained, particularly in the 2nd quarter of 2021. One of the major reasons for value gain will be general acceptance.
We could experience more general adoption in the months to come. For example, PayPal has permitted its customers to buy bitcoin and sell utilizing their PayPal accounts. Also, several companies are already investing a lot in Bitcoin including South African companies. The current general acceptance could increase the value of bitcoin considerably.
Another thing to expect in 2021 about Bitcoin is increased interests from several institutions. As stated earlier, PayPal announced late last year that it will allow its customers to buy BTC and also sell digital assets. Additionally, South African firms have also expressed interest in Bitcoin and other digital assets.
Due to the increased institutional interest, a bullish run is being predicted for the Bitcoin market, with cryptocurrency analysts calling Bitcoin the 21st-century gold. Analysts are forecasting that the price of Bitcoin might reach over $300,000 by the last quarter of this year.
Regulatory agencies over the years have been trying to regulate cryptocurrencies. Some people are using digital assets for illegitimate activities like money laundering and drug pushing. With the increasing price of digital assets, authorities all over the globe will be scrutinizing the cryptocurrency trade this year.
Regulators might serve as an obstacle as they will try to curb illegal activities relating to Bitcoin, however, this shouldn’t affect BTC’s bullish trade majorly.
Another thing to expect this year is the competition from Central banks and major technology firms. Whilst bitcoin is experiencing an increase in general acceptance, the digital asset could experience competition from other major technology firms. For instance, Facebook cryptocurrency, Libra, could take away some interest from BTC this year even though the digital currency by Facebook isn’t similar to bitcoin.
Also, this year could see BTC facing competition from Central Banks, with many central banks already planning to launch their Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). China for instance is working on launching its digital currency. Although in several ways, these digitized currencies being developed by central banks will be significantly unlike BTC. You can join the bandwagon of bitcoin adopters by buying bitcoin from Remitano P2P today.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry
Again, angel investors continue to descend upon Egyptian startups, no matter their sector. Joining the continuing league of startups to be funded by angels in recent time is Appetito, a Cairo-based grocery startup which has secured a $450K Seed funding round from a group of Saudi Arabian angel investors.
Appetite
“We’re proud of what we have achieved in just a few months from our launch. We’re privileged to have such prominent investors backing us. With their support and the team we’re building, I’m confident we will be in a leading position in the global race of grocery delivery,” said Appetito Founder and CEO Shehab Mokhtar.
Here Is What You Need To Know
A group of angel investors in this round was led by Ahmed Al Alola, an early-stage investor who was one of the early backers of Nana and Sary, alongside Afropreneurs Fund, an African early-stage technology fund that has previously backed top startups such as Andela, Flutterwave and Trella.
Jedar Capital, an emerging VC focused on early-stage startups in the Middle East, Africa, and Emerging Asia, also participated in the round.
Why The Investors Invested
“Observing the radical change in consumer’s behaviour post-COVID-19, the grocery delivery market is expanding rapidly in the region. I believe Appetito — with its stellar team — is well positioned to lead that segment and capture the market by delivering superior experience compared to what is currently available in most of the African space,” Ahmed Al Alola said.
“ Our investment into Appetito’s seed round follows on our proven thesis of investing in strong founders with unique local insights and a bias towards execution. We are excited by what Shehab and his team have achieved so far, and we are very bullish on the Egyptian early-stage ecosystem,” Idris Bello, Managing Partner, Afropreneurs Fund said.
“We are excited to be part of Appetito’s journey in Egypt and MENA region. We have been watching Appetito’s execution and the team’s growth focused approach with very limited resources early on, this was a clear message to us on how resilient and focused they are. Appetito is best suited for growth with the digital transformation happening in Egypt where online commerce growth is skyrocketing and saw a huge leap with covid, more and more customers now are adopting online grocery shopping as their standard now. We believe that Appetito’s model focusing on dark stores rather than aggregating from grocery retail stores will add value and differentiation in the market and play a pivotal role in terms of operational efficiency and gross margin contribution. We look forward to supporting them with their expansion and growth plans in Egypt and beyond,” Sherif Nessim, Founder and Managing Director of Jedar Capital said.
A Look At What The Startup Does
Appetito, which launched in March 2020, uses a dark store model, in which goods are purchased from suppliers, processed in mini fulfillment centers, and then shipped to consumers. The company began with a wide variety of private label goods, delivering to all areas of Cairo, Giza, and Alexandria the next day and on time.
The company recently extended its product range to include over 1000 SKUs from well-known market brands and joined the hyper convenience race by offering customers delivery in under 60 minutes in select areas.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions. He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance. He is also an award-winning writer
Tunisian ed-tech startup, GoMyCode, which recently opened its doors in Paris (France), Algiers (Algeria), Casablanca (Morocco), Cairo (Egypt), Manama (Bahrain), Lagos (Nigeria) and Abidjan (Ivory Coast) has officially settled in Dakar, Senegal, its eight international market.
Yahya Boulel, CEO of GoMyCode
“After many trips and more than 3 years spent in Tunisia, I had the opportunity to move to Senegal,” says Vincent Leconte, country manager of the startup in Senegal.
“Consequently, I joined GoMyCode in its expansion phase to build the new digital training hub in Dakar. This tremendous opportunity allows me to leave the aeronautics industry where I had my first degree, to return with an over-motivated team and a solid structure for the training of the professions of tomorrow. Thanks to a new unique training model, much more adapted and efficient than the passive learning of the 20th century, GoMyCode can offer an opening and an accessibility to the international world of tech to a youth eager for success in one of the most promising countries in West Africa.”
Here Is What You Need To Know
Last October, GoMyCode announced the raising of $ 850,000 to continue its expansion.
In addition to Tunis, Sousse and Sfax, its new Hackerspaces have opened in Algiers (Algeria), Casablanca (Morocco), Manama (Bahrain), Lagos (Nigeria), Cairo (Egypt), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) and now Dakar.
It’s new Hackerspaces have also opened in Tunisia (ElMenzah V, Nabeul, Gafsa, Gabès, Béja and Tunis center-ville).
GoMyCode also aims to develop its presence in the African and Middle Eastern market, where 42% of professions are strongly impacted by digitization and where 65% of the workforce does not have the necessary digital skills.
By 2030, the report on financing for businesses and startups in Africa (African Venture & Startup Funding Report 2018) estimates that the number of young people in Africa will increase by 42%.
This will represent a real breeding ground for young talents, most of whom are not yet familiar with digital developments.
This market concerns 1.2 billion people, 700 million of whom are under 25 years old.
In the near future, the startup will be present in around fifteen countries in Africa and the Middle East.
“We continue to deliver on our vision of high-level digital education with a unique learning experience that leaves lasting traces and has a positive impact on people’s lives. We will invest heavily in our technology, our team and strengthen our operations,” says Yahya Boulel, CEO of GoMyCode.
Why Senegal?
Located in the westernmost part of Africa, Senegal is one of the most stable today. Having recorded one of the strongest economic growth in Africa, still exceeding 6% between 2014 and 2018, the country is now positioned as one of the largest technological and financial hubs in West Africa.
“42% of current professions will be impacted by this massive digitization,” says Leconte. “This economic positioning attracts young people and offers significant potential in the training and education sector.
In addition, when we know that there are more than 400,000 open positions in Africa in digital professions, that nearly 42% of current professions will be impacted by this massive digitization, and that 61% of the Senegalese population is less than 25 years old, there is therefore no better challenge than launching GoMyCode to make the African youth shine in the digital world of tomorrow.”
A Look At What The Startup Does
Launched in 2017 by Yahya and Amine Bouhlel, GoMyCode wants to be the school of the 21st century providing training in web development, web development, video game development, Artificial Intelligence, Data science, UX Design, or even Business Intelligence intended for everyone despite thier age.
The startup now has more than 80 talents with varied profiles among its employees and a network of more than 100 trainers through the Hackerspaces of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Bahrain, Egypt, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and now Senegal.
GoMyCode aims to become the largest technology and digital community in Africa and the Middle East.
Over the past 3 years, more than 10,000 students have been trained by GoMyCode.
With over 100 employment partners in Europe, Africa and the Arab world, over 85% of the startup’s students have been able to find employment.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions. He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance. He is also an award-winning writer
