The NBA today announced the 10 boys and 10 girls who will represent the African continent in the second Jr. NBA Global Championship, a youth basketball tournament for the top 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls teams from around the world that will be held Aug. 6-11 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida.
The 20 youth players representing eight African countries were selected from Jr. NBA programs and clinics held across the continent. Bahati Mgunda (Tanzania) and Samba Fall (Senegal) were selected to coach the girls and boys teams, respectively.
*Africa Girls Team
Shaza Ayman (Egypt)
Badmus Mistura Bisola (Nigeria)
Fatou Cisse (Senegal)
Jana Ehab (Egypt)
Merit Atebe Innocent (Nigeria)
Sandrine Kamgain (Cameroon)
Ndeye Ndiaye (Senegal)
Aisha Nhantumbo (Mozambique)
Leslie Catherine Njukoua (Cameroon)
Kadidia Traore (Mali)
*Africa Boys Team
Hassan Amer (Egypt)
Badara Aliou Diakite (Mali)
Khadim Rassoul Diongue (Senegal)
Seydina Limamoulaye Faye (Senegal)
Mohamed Fofana (Guinea)
Dieu Merci Bolisomi Ilonga (DRC)
Ngeleka Kabeya (DRC)
Said Nkene F. Michel (Cameroon)
Marouf Moumine (Cameroon)
Emmanuel Owonibi (Nigeria)
In the inaugural event last year, the Africa & Middle East boys team won the international division to advance to the global championship game where they lost to the U.S. Central boys team and finished as the tournament runner-up. Marouf Moumine (Cameroon), who will be returning with the Africa boys team, was recognized with the Determination Award at last year’s event and is now a member of The NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal.
He joins Said Nkene F. Michel (Cameroon) as the only other male player returning from last year’s team. Sandrine Kagmain (Cameroon) and Kadidia Traore (Mali) will make their second appearance in the Jr. NBA Global Championship after participating in the Africa & Middle East girls team in the inaugural event.
The Jr. NBA Global Championship will feature boys and girls divisions, separated into the U.S. and international brackets that begin with round-robin play and continue with the single-elimination competition. The winners of the U.S. and international brackets will play in the global championship games on Aug. 11. During the weeklong event, all 32 teams will participate in activities designed to reinforce the Jr. NBA’s core values and provide the players with development opportunities and memorable experiences off the court, including life skills sessions, Disney park visits, and a community service project.
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.
Merck Foundation the philanthropic arm of Merck KGaA Germany organized their first “Merck Foundation Health Media Training” in Lilongwe, Malawi in partnership with H.E. PROF. GERTRUDE MUTHARIKA, The First Lady of Malawi and Ambassador of Merck More Than a Mother together with Ministry of Health and Ministry of Information to break the stigma around infertility in Malawi and rest of Africa.
Merck Foundation also announced the Call for Application of “Merck More Than a Mother” Fashion Awards from Malawi and rest of Africa.
“All Fashion Designers are invited to create a design with the aim to deliver strong and influential messages to empower infertile women and say “No to Infertility Stigma”. Designs ideas can also deliver messages to encourage men to speak openly about their infertility because 50% of infertility causes are due to male factor”, explained Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck More Than a Mother.
Talking about the Health Media Training program Dr. Rasha Kelejexplained, “This program is a part of ‘Merck More than a Mother’ community awareness Program and was organized for the first time in Malawi for local media representatives and media students”.
According to the First Lady of Malawi, H.E. PROF. GERTRUDE MUTHARIKAemphasized, “We are happy to host this training program together with Merck Foundation. Media plays an important role in sensitizing our society. It can help in breaking the stigma around infertility.”
“It is important to initiate this important training program as I strongly believe that media has the capacity and ability to break the stigma around infertility in our communities in a regular and effective basis.” Dr. Rasha Kelejadded.
The training was addressed by The First Lady of Malawi, H.E. PROF. GERTRUDE MUTHARIKA, who is also the Ambassador of Merck More Than a Mother and Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation and President of Merck More Than a Mother and Hon. Mark Botomani, Minister of Information, Malawi. It was also addressed by the Ministry of Health Officials and stalwarts of Media.
Moreover, it provided a great opportunity for the journalists to meet the experts and also to network with each other and work as a unit to eradicate the stigma around infertility and its resulted domestic violence in Malawi and rest of Africa.
The program was attended by journalists working for Print, TV, Radio and Online media and journalism students.
“The Merck Health Media Training program focused on international standards and media ethics for reporting sensitive issues like infertility and other health issues in Africa. It was designed to benefit the journalists in understanding the infertility issues in African communities and to learn the best media practices to cover such issues” added Dr. Rasha Kelej.
Merck Foundation also announced the call for Application for “Merck More than a Mother” ‘Media Recognition Awards’ for Malawi and rest of Africa. The “Merck More than a Mother” ‘Media Recognition Awards’ were launched in 2017 with the aim to emphasize the role of media in enhancing the public engagement and understanding of infertility stigma and the need to change its social perception in African communities.
The applications are invited by media professionals to showcase their work to raise awareness about infertility prevention and breaking infertility stigma in Malawi.
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.
FORBES WOMAN AFRICA is excited to announce the inaugural FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Regional Forum in association with Mastercard, a Leading Women Summit initiative, to be held in Kigali, Rwanda, on 9 August 2019.
Coinciding with National Women’s Day in South Africa, the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Regional Forum in association with Mastercard will bring together 250 powerful women from across East Africa and will follow in the footsteps of the bigger annual FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit, bringing a slice of this sought-after gathering to East Africa.
“The FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Regional Forum will echo the same fervor and sentiment as the flagship Leading Women Summit but in hosting it for the first time in East Africa, what I am very keen on is coming face-to-face with the women who are at the top of their game in this region – the guests and speakers on the day will be luminaries you don’t want to miss meeting,” says Renuka Methil, Managing Editor of FORBES AFRICA and FORBES WOMAN AFRICA.
As an initiative by the FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit, the full-day, not-to-be-missed event, which will debut in the East African nation, is to be hosted at the Kigali Serena Hotel and will feature some of the exciting content FORBES WOMAN AFRICA has consistently won awards for.
Beatrice Cornacchia, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Mastercard Middle East and Africa said: “African women are a force for economic growth and social change, and are playing a critical role in addressing the development challenges faced across the continent.
As cultural and social dynamics shift, we are beginning to see an environment where women can flourish, and demonstrate the value they offer to every industry and sector in the economy. We are proud to partner with Forbes Africa and believe that this initiative will help to create opportunities for women to reach their greatest potential.”
The 2019 FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Leading Women Summit on March 8 saw Supermodel, Philanthropist, Activist and Cultural Innovator Naomi Campbell headline the Durban event, alongside some of the most notable names in business, sports, politics, and the arts.
Further details and speaker profiles will soon be revealed in the buildup to the event.
The FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Regional Forum in association with Mastercard will be a by-invitation-only gathering and further information can be obtained by following @LWSummit on Twitter.
The FORBES WOMAN AFRICA Regional Forum in association with Mastercard will be managed and produced by ABN Event Productions.
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.
During the past decade, much of the discussion about start-up ecosystems has been centered on the question of which city or region will become “the next Silicon Valley”. Although there are several places with promising growth trajectories, we frankly think this view is short-sided. It implies there needs to be a new champion overshadowing the old one.
In fact, there will be no “next Silicon Valley”. Instead, new research from Start-up Genome’s 2019 Global Start-up Ecosystem Report (GSER) points to there being 30 “next” hubs that will reach critical mass and reshape the state of the global economy. While none of them will be as big as Silicon Valley in the foreseeable future, each will thrive due to either regional dominance or start-up sub-sector leadership.
Now, it’s not obvious which ecosystems will end up as the global change agents we predict, but we have some big clues. The first place we should look to determine the next hotspots is at present start-up ecosystem rankings. We rank 150 leading start-up ecosystems each year, incorporating data on more than a million companies globally. The newest list shows Silicon Valley is at the top, but following it are New York City, London, Beijing, Boston, Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, Shanghai, Paris, and Berlin.
These 10 globally leading hubs have built a strong reputation for having plentiful start-ups and small businesses.
New York City, for example, owns the number two slot for start-up ecosystems in part because it has more than 9,000 start-ups, numerous unicorns and high global connectedness (a measure of how much founders are connected with other top global ecosystems). Alternately, Beijing has been steadily moving up the ecosystem ranks in part to being home to more than 1,000 AI companies, which is one of the four fastest-growing startup sub-sectors globally.
While the 10 ecosystems outlined above are some of the more obvious leaders in the global start-up revolution, it’s worth looking at the fastest growing hubs beyond them. Start-up Genome dubs these “Challenger Ecosystems” and 12 such ecosystems are identified, in alphabetical order:
Among this list, we can easily point to Lagos as a top contestant for regional leadership in the African continent. Given the wider economic context and the current momentum, several indicators point to the fact that even a spot in the global top 10 is not out of reach. Indicators include that it is the largest city in Africa and one of the fastest growing cities in the world, it has the largest tech hub in Africa, global titans like Google and Facebook have invested there, and young entrepreneurs there are on the cutting edge when it comes to running mobile-first businesses.
When it comes to specific start-up sub-sector leadership, we see Montreal emerge as one of the global hotspots for artificial intelligence (AI) start-ups. Since 2016, more than $1 billion has been invested in AI companies located there (including notable startup Element AI), and it has the largest concentration of AI academic researchers in the world. Montreal also hosts the NeurIPS conference, the largest AI event held annually in the world.
Other “Challenger” ecosystems on our list have not created such a strong brand, or ecosystem identity, for themselves yet. But that is changing rapidly, partly due to aggressive government investment. In Asia-Pacific, for example, the Seoul Metropolitan Government stands out with a recent pledge of $1.6 billion in funding for start-ups by 2022. South Korea is also notable for its R&D spending-to-GDP ratio, which is the highest in the world at 4.55%.
The global start-up community is now the top engine of job creation and economic growth in the world, not only in Silicon Valley. The next hubs, partly predicted above, will be where the bulk of that growth is occurring and they are where the global economy will be remade, especially in the areas of advanced manufacturing, agricultural tech, AI and blockchain.
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
For African startups looking for funding, this is a huge opportunity that does not come often. Hseven, Africa’s largest accelerator is launching Hseven Disrupt Africa, an ambitious startup acceleration program designed for entrepreneurs of the Moroccan and African diaspora.
The 6-month program will provide a seed investment of €150,000 plus an eventual investment of €500,000 to €1.5 million.
A Look At The Funding
Hseven Disrupt Africa is designed to support exceptional entrepreneurs building high-impact startups and targets seed and early-stage startups with 2 to 5 founders that are eager to impact Africa through innovative services, products, and business models.
The program will start with a global call for applications, followed by an international selection roadshow in New York, Montréal, San Francisco, Shanghai, Dubaï, Londres, Amsterdam, Paris, Casablanca.
Let’s build your startup together! Join the largest accelerator in Africa for a 3+3 months program and access to a 150.000€ investment, +350 world-class mentors, 50 VCs and a solid network of renowned partners!
The selected startups will benefit from a seed investment of €150,000 at the beginning of the program for 5 to 7% equity, then an eventual investment of €500,000 to €1.5 million at the end of the program.
These investments will be granted through a partnership with the venture capital firm Azur Partners. The program will also benefit from the funding of the Dutch Good Growth Fund (DGGF) and the Innov-Invest program of the Caisse Centrale de Garantie (CCG) with the support of the World Bank.
The startups will be given strategic advice and expertise, access to key networks and capital through our partners Azur Partners, Fabernovel, Strategy&, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), l’École Centrale, Amazon Web Services and the top 50 Venture Capital firms interested by Africa. They will also benefit from tailored mentoring with +350 Moroccan and international mentors.
The selected startups will be located at HSEVEN’s 12,000 ft² campus in the heart of the Marina of Casablanca.
The call for applications is now open and 10 startups will be selected to take part in the program.
“We will bring the best Moroccan, African, and African-at-heart entrepreneurs from all over the world to build impactful world-class African startups,” said Amine Al-Hazzaz, Founder & CEO of HSEVEN.
Click here for more details and application closes on 31st August 2019.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
Good news for startups and small businesses across South Africa. A new R130 million (over $9.3m) fund is at stake, targeting only 10 startups, each of which must have a black founder. The new fund is from Cape Town-based venture capital firm, 4Di Capital and the SA SME Fund.
A Look At The Fund
Cape Town-based venture capital (VC) fund with the launch of the R130-million fund aims to invest in at least 10 tech startups. Half of the R130-million will be targeted at startups with at least one black founder.
The over R1.4-billion SA SME Fund is capitalized presently by 54 JSE-listed firms and R500-million from the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). The fund was launched under the CEO Initiative. 4Di Capital is one of eight funds that the SA SME Fund has invested in (see this story).
4Di Capital partner Justin Stanford noted that R125-million of 4Di Capital Fund III’s first close of R130-million was from SA SME Fund, the rest has been committed by the VC.
“We will be looking at options in terms of raising additional capital for the fund but for now there are no fixed plans yet — in principle though the fund is still open to new investment,” said Stanford.
4Di Capital’s new R130m fund is backed by R125m from the SA SME Fund
Who Can Access The Funds?
Stanford said the fund will follow the VC’s usual modus operandi, which is to target tech startups in the early and growth stages.
The fund is vertical agnostic but the VC will look at deals for example in:
Insurtech
Fintech
Edtech
Agritech, adding that the VC will look at a spread of both early and growth stage.
“It is designed to work together with our Exponential Fund as well, so will also co-invest in certain deals that match the mandates on both sides,” he added.
He added that the fund will invest in at least 10 companies and pointed out that the first few deals are already under consideration.
A portion of the SA SME Fund capital has been earmarked for companies that have founder teams which include black founders.
When asked how much exactly would go to startups with black founders, Stanford said while it is “difficult to predict” the exact amount that will be invested in the end, the VC fund will aim to invest “roughly half” of the R130-million in such firms.
4Di Capital is an independent and specialist seed, early and growth-stage technology venture capital fund manager based in Cape Town, South Africa with an office in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., focusing principally on scalable South African and African technology opportunities.
Among others, the fund has already invested in the enterprise web platform, cloud scaling infrastructure, bio-mathematical health technology, and financial technology ventures.
The SA SME Fund, on the other hand, was established by members of the CEO Initiative — a collaboration between government, labour, and business to address some of the most pressing challenges to the country’s economic growth — as an avenue of support for the SME sector.
It allocates investment capital to accredited fund managers — venture capital or growth-oriented equity funds — that invest directly in scalable small and medium enterprises with the best potential for growth and sustainable employment creation in the South African economy.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
In order to strengthen cooperation amongst African companies, encourage the development of strong African content and promote joint-venture opportunities, Malabo will be hosting the Oil & Gas Meeting Day on October 1-2, 2019. The summit is part of Equatorial Guinea’s Year of Energy and will focus on exploring opportunities and deals amongst services companies, which are central to the development of strong African capabilities across the oil & gas value chain.
The African Energy Chamber (EnergyChamber.org) strongly supports the National Alliance of Hydrocarbons Service Companies (NAHSCO) in the organization of this upcoming Oil & Gas Meeting Day. We invite all our partners, especially national oil companies and public and private services companies, to come to Malabo in October. This will be a key platform for dialogue and deals with international, technology and services companies.
“The development of a strong African oil services industry is crucial if we want to get value out of our natural resources and create jobs. The way to build African capacities is to work together and create jobs, and we are happy Malabo is bringing everyone together.”
The Oil & Gas Meeting Day will offer opportunities for African services companies to make deals with regional and international partners and drive global transformations within the oil services industry.
More importantly, it will provide a platform to share experiences on local content and advocate for regionalization of local content development within African oil markets. “With this meeting, African services companies and national oil companies have the chance to not only be part of the game but change it to their benefits,” added Nj Ayuk.
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.
With most part of the world trying to move away from oil to adopt alternative and renewable energy, Nigeria’s future in the post-oil world looks rather bleak, according to SBM Intelligence. The Nigerian economy is heavily dependent on its oil exports.
According to the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, crude oil exports contributed N3.376tn or 74.45 percent to Nigeria’s total exports in the first quarter of 2019. The Nigerian government has spoken of its plan to diversify its economy, in order to be less dependent on oil but there have been very little results.
SBM Intelligence, an organization devoted to the collection and analysis of information, in a report titled Energy Revolution and Economic Disruption, notes that the inability of Nigeria to innovate as the world heads towards the post-oil economy could spell doom.
“The federal government of Nigeria remains hopelessly addicted to crude oil revenues, and rather than innovate or truly revolutionize its economic base, the political elite only seems capable of focusing on areas in which some small amounts are already demonstrably available and then increasing taxes in those areas,” SBM said in a special report released last week.
Nigeria is struggling to grow its own food and it is feeling the crunch of collapsing oil price with the success of unconventional oils – US Shale oil and Canada’s Oil sands – in the market. After exiting a recession, the country has been seen its debt profile rise sharply with the country needing to borrow to fund its budget.
According to SBM intelligence, the Shale Revolution has both an economic and a geopolitical impact. “The United States of America has displaced Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer, and now accounts for 19% of global output.”
The US currently produces 15 million bpd, just 7 million shies of the combined output of Saudi Arabia and Russia, both second and third respectively in oil production while Nigeria produces 2.32 million bpd, according to the NNPC.
The demand for Nigerian crude oil has diminished with the US (formerly Nigeria’s largest buyer) cutting most of its oil imports. Oil exports from Nigeria to the United States fell from 36.4 million barrels in July 2010 to just 5.6 million barrels in January 2019, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“The Middle East and Nigeria used to be critical to America’s energy security. They no longer are. 15 years ago, the US used to be the top destination for Nigeria’s crude oil exports, today they barely buy anything from Nigeria, and India has replaced the US as Nigeria’s top energy importer,” the SBM report said.
However, India’s status as Nigeria’s top energy importer could change with the competition in the energy market. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman’s visit to India in February 2019 is of critical importance, with the world’s second-largest producer of oil looking to capture the Indian market.
The energy revolution is also heavily impacted by the push for clean renewable energy with climate change concerns. Most economies across Europe and America are now investing heavily in the development of mass-produced electric cars. Going forward, strategic partnerships with Europe and America would be less about exports and more about migration and security.
BloombergNEF projects that the number of electric vehicles in the world will increase from 1.1 million in 2017 to 11 million units in 2025. That number is expected to increase to 30 million units “in 2030 as they become cheaper to make than internal combustion engine cars.”
“Some nations will survive the post-oil economy in much better shape than others, and as things currently stand, Nigeria cannot count itself in the former category.”
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.
Despite the Zambian economy growing by 3.7 percent in 2018 from 3.5 percent in 2017, a stronger recovery was undermined by lower crop harvest and fiscal slippages that led to the accumulation of new public expenditure arrears and high government borrowing that impacted private sector activity.
Under the current policies, growth is forecast to weaken to 2.5 percent in 2019 and remain below 3 percent over the medium-term. While inflation remained within the authorities’ target range of 6-8 percent in 2018, averaging 7.5 percent for the year, pressures are now mounting, leading the central bank to tighten its monetary policy stance in May 2019 for the first time in over two years.
“Zambia needs to undertake bold fiscal and structural policy reforms to preserve macroeconomic stability, boost business and market confidence, and improve its growth prospects for 2019 and beyond in line with the Zambia Plus,” said Samson Kwalingana, World Bank Senior Economist for Zambia.
The brief suggests some policy options including (i) front-loading fiscal consolidation to return to medium risk of debt distress and create fiscal space for inclusive growth; (ii) strengthening debt management to reduce the debt service burden and minimize debt-related vulnerabilities; (iii) rebuilding foreign exchange reserves to buttress external stability, and (iv) implementing plans to improve the financial and operational sustainability of ZESCO and enhance the transparency of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).
The report highlights multiple opportunities that Zambia’s abundant renewable natural resources present to support sustainable economic growth. “Zambia’s economy has thus far been dominated by discoveries, expansion, and fluctuations in the minerals sector, but going forward, the country needs to harness its renewable natural resource endowment to promote sustainable growth.
While the contribution of renewable resources like agricultural land, forestry and fishing to GDP has declined in recent years, the sector’s linkages with the rest of the economy remain significant,” said Ina Ruthenberg, World Bank Country Manager for Zambia.
The Brief notes that the Bank’s recent Systematic Country Diagnostic revealed risks in the current use of Zambia’s natural resources, particularly the increased levels of deforestation from increased agriculture expansion and charcoal production.
Investments in non-timber products and tourism related to natural areas could generate high economic returns for the country without contributing to deforestation. Similarly, licensing for forestry products (i.e. timber, honey, wax, and charcoal) can contribute to higher government revenue collection, exports, and foreign exchange reserves.
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.
This could be a major victory of 2019 for Nigerian startups. For the second time in two years, Interswitch is signaling it is now ready to open its share portfolio up for public subscription. The unicorn startup is riding on the wings of the recent relatively successful listing by MTN Nigeria and Airtel Africa. This is seventeen years down the line for the digital payment solution.
Here Is What You Need To Know And How To Get Ready For Interswitch’s Shares
This could be a reality this time. Interswitch has already hired JPMorgan, Citigroup, Standard Bank for the share sale.
This listing could value Helios’s Interswitch at up to $1.5 billion
The listing would happen on the Nigerian Stock Exchange at the same time it is happening on the London Stock Exchange.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and Standard Bank Group Ltd. are among the firms working on an initial public offering, which may value the financial technology company at $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion, according to reliable sources.
Interswitch had earlier shelved its plans to list in 2016 after the price of crude oil fell dramatically, causing a contraction in Nigeria’s economy.
This Listing Is Drawing An Unclear Path For Africa’s Digital Startups
Just recall Fawry, the Egyptian startup poking at IPO. The startup was acquired by Helios Investment Partners halfway into its journey. Interswitch, originally founded by Mitchell Elegbe also sealed the same fate in 2011 when Helios Investment Partners, a private equity firm dedicated to making growth investments across Africa bit two-third hard into the startup and subsequently acquired a majority stake in the payment startup. Since then, Helios Investment has become Interswitch’s largest shareholder.
This would, of course, leave a big question on the longevity of African-led startups, and whether the popular exit strategy most startups in Africa are resorting is not acquisition. Helios is among several private funds that specialize in investing in African assets as the economic recovery taking place across the continent bolsters investor sentiment and infrastructure plans.
A Look At Interswitch
Interswitch facilitates the exchange of value between service providers by providing a secure shared payment infrastructure and integrated message broker solutions for financial transactions, eCommerce, telecommunications value-added services, eBilling, payment collections, and disbursements. The company developed and administers Verve, the leading card scheme in Nigeria.
The displayed data on popular payment methods in stores, restaurants and other points of sale shows results of the Statista Global Consumer Survey conducted in Nigeria in 2017.
The Verve card, which is currently issued by banks in Nigeria, is the first and only chip and PIN card accepted across multiple payment channels including ATMs, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, online, mobile and at banks, and enjoys the largest range of value-added services.
The company has been at the forefront of the development and growth of the e-payment sector in Nigeria, which is evidenced by its unique position of being the only switching and processing company connected to all banks in the country as well as to over 10,000 ATMs and 11,000 PoS terminals.
Aside from this, the company is the leading processor for MasterCard and the market leader in merchant acquiring/PoS, a segment that is still emerging and has the potential for tremendous growth in Nigeria.
The completion of the switchover from magnetic strip cards to chip and PIN cards in 2010, is expected to further accelerate growth and usage of e-payments across the country. Nigeria is the first country in Africa to have completed this migration and is one of the few countries in the world to have completed the migration under a year.
Interswitch’s dual listing in the U.K. and Nigeria is merely repeating what Airtel Africa Plc, the wireless carrier and a subsidiary of Indian parent Bharti Airtel Ltd did recently by simultaneously listing on the London and Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Recall that Jumia Technologies AG, dubbed the Amazon of Africa, listed in New York earlier this year, while Dubai-based payments firm Network International Holdings Plc went public in London. All of these recent events may not be unconnected with the recent invitation by the London Stock Exchange to investors around the world, particularly in Africa to come to invest in the Exchange.
Officials from the London Stock Exchange recently completed a roadshow in a bid to boost the LSE’s 115 African listings. The exchange is banking on partnerships with African exchanges, including those in Nigeria and Kenya, for dual listings, according to Director of Emerging Markets and International Markets Ibukun Adebayo.
“If a company has an international strategic growth plan, then the LSE is a perfect vehicle for the company to come and list,” Adebayo said Tuesday in an interview in Nairobi. “If the company is purely domestic and it needs to raise money in the domestic market and increase the number of investors available to it, then the LSE can help work with local partners.”
Firms already included in the LSE’s listing of Companies to Inspire Africa, which the exchange describes as the continent’s “most inspirational and dynamic private, high-growth companies are:
South Africa: Ad Dynamo International, Coega Dairy, Compuscan
Nigeria: Afriland Properties, Alpha Mead Group, ARM Life
Ivory Coast: Azalai Hotel Abidjan, Cipharm SA, Clinique Procréa, Agriex Côte d’Ivoire
Angola: Aldeia Nova, Angola Energy Greentech, Kora Angola, WEZA
Egypt: Cairo Three A, Carbon Holdings, Eagle Chemical Group, Sambo Metals
Morocco: 10 Rajeb, Bricoma, Damandis Maroc, Ama Detergent, Medafrica Systems
There are 360 companies from 32 different countries across the continent, boasting an impressive average compound annual growth rate of 46 percent, up from 16 percent last year, according to Global Finance.
It says on average, each firm employs over 350 people, with an average compound annual employee growth rate of 25 percent.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.
