News - Afrikan Heroes

Sam Bankman-Fried Lied to the World as he Built FTX

October 9, 2023

Sam Bankman-Fried lied to the world as he built his cryptocurrency empire at FTX, telling only his friends and girlfriend the truth about what was happening, prosecutors said on the first day of a historic fraud trial.

Nathan Rehn, an assistant US attorney, painted a picture of the 31-year-old as a calculated criminal who used investor deposits at FTX as a personal bank account before the company collapsed into bankruptcy a year ago. He said that only Bankman-Fried’s small inner circle knew that he was taking customer money to fund his lifestyle.

“He had wealth, he had power, he had influence, but all of that was built on lies,” Rehn told jurors in a federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday. “He was committing a massive fraud, and taking billions of dollars from thousands of victims.”

He was committing a massive fraud, and taking billions of dollars from thousands of victims.

Prosecutors included several references to former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison in their opening statements, as one of the individuals that knew what was going on behind the scenes. Ellison is the government’s star witness after reaching a plea deal last year. Gary Wang, former FTX chief technology officer and Nishad Singh, FTX’s former engineering director, are also expected to take the stand as cooperating witnesses.

The case, which the government has labelled one of the biggest financial crimes in the country’s history, will explore how an awkward 20-something from California came to run and allegedly ruin one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world. The MIT graduate faces a maximum prison term of 20 years for each of the five most serious charges against him.

Bankman-Fried was expressionless as Rehn spoke, but briefly looked at the jury as the government lawyer emphasised “billions of fraud”, before turning back to stare at his laptop. The former crypto executive’s parents, a pair of Stanford University law professors, sat in the gallery behind their son.

‘Unprecedented’

John Reed Stark, a former SEC enforcement attorney and crypto critic, said on X that the prosecution’s “stockpile of cooperating prosecution witnesses is arguably unprecedented for a financial fraud trial”.

“For the past year or so, these three informants, together with a legion of other informants, turncoats and whistleblowers (who are also similarly desperate to save their own skin), have been providing the prosecution with a road map of SBF’s alleged criminal activities.,” said Stark, who now runs his own consulting company.

The company’s terms of service as well as old Bankman-Fried tweets assuring customers that their money was safeguarded were among the examples Rehn touched upon to indicate to the jury that FTX engaged in fraud.

Rehn said that FTX misleadingly told customers that the money belonged to them, not the company. “FTX’s advertising slogan was about how customers could trust it,” he said.

He made reference to a Bankman-Fried’s tweet that “FTX has a long history of safeguarding assets and that remains true today”. Statements about FTX keeping customer money safe “were lies”, Rehn said.

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

Rapidly Expanding Ride-Hailing Service Yango Now Present in Addis Ababa

Yango , the global tech company, has unveiled its entrance into the burgeoning Ethiopian ride-hailing market, specifically launching its services in Addis Ababa. This strategic move comes as part of Yango’s expansion plans across Africa, and it has established a partnership with ShuuFare, a subsidiary of Ethiopian tech firm G2G IT Group, to spearhead its operations in the capital.

In an official statement, Adeniyi Adebayo, the Head of Yango’s Africa Office, expressed excitement about the collaboration with G2G IT Group, affirming that this venture would combine Yango’s cutting-edge technologies, extensive expertise, and international quality standards with ShuuFare’s profound understanding of the Ethiopian market. The goal is to provide an exceptional ride-hailing service tailored to the Ethiopian population.

Under this partnership, G2G IT Group will assume the role of a franchise holder responsible for managing Yango’s service operations within Ethiopia. Tedros Mehari, Chief Technology Officer at G2G IT Group, emphasized their shared vision and expertise in delivering a cutting-edge, reliable, and efficient ride-hailing service that promises to transform the industry.

Ethiopia will become the thirteenth African country to welcome the Yango ride-hailing service once ShuuFare commences operations. Tedros reiterated their commitment to leveraging technology for the betterment of customers and the growth of the Ethiopian economy, expressing enthusiasm for introducing this excellent service to local communities.

For the time being, Yango, in collaboration with ShuuFare, will operate as a cash-only service. However, they have plans to integrate the platform with local payment solutions, including Telebirr. Moreover, their mobile app, available for free download on both iOS and Android platforms, offers services in Amharic and several other languages.

Beyond Africa, Yango’s ride-hailing app is operational in numerous countries spanning Europe, Central Asia, South America, and the Middle East.

In a recent development, Yango has obtained a license to operate in Cameroon, indicating a shift in its expansion strategy after facing regulatory challenges in Morocco.

Yango Addis Ababa Yango Addis Ababa

Morocco’s Ride-Hailing Graveyard Welcomes Its Newest Newcomer: Yango

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard

African Development Bank and Ecowas Bank for Investment and Development Signs Agreement to Enhance Regional Food Security

October 8, 2023

The African Development Bank Group and the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) have signed an agreement for a dual currency line of credit comprising $50 million and €50 million to support local agricultural businesses in West Africa.

Dr. George Agyekum Donkor, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of EBID, and Solomon Quaynor, African Development Bank Vice President for Private Sector, Infrastructure, and industrialisation, formalised the agreement during a signing ceremony at the African Development Bank’s Abidjan headquarters.

Dr. Donkor said, “This credit facility illustrates EBID’s continued efforts to mobilise adequate resources to honour its commitment to the region’s transformation agenda through supporting and investing in key sectors, in this case, the agribusiness industry.”

The African Development Bank’s board of directors approved the dual currency line of credit for EBID early in 2023. The Africa Growing Together Fund, managed by the African Development Bank, will provide an additional $30 million in co-financing. AGTF is sponsored by the People’s Bank of China.

The three-and-a-half-year facility will enable EBID to offer direct financing to commercial banks and local businesses operating in the agriculture and soft commodity sector within its member states.

This aligns with EBID’s strategic aim to support local businesses, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), local business cooperatives, and farmers in West Africa. The credit lines are expected to strengthen food security, economic growth, and employment generation.

Vice President Quaynor said, “This agreement underscores our strong commitment to harness the continent’s limited resources to deliver, with speed and at scale, quality investments to help address the ever increasing trade finance gap in Africa while working with strategic regional partners like EBID and – through you – local commercial banks.”

The partnership between EBID and the African Development Bank demonstrates the increasing cooperation among African Development Finance Institutions to bridge trade finance gaps and direct much-needed funds to economically challenged countries and sectors.

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

Terragon Partners Microsoft to Take African Businesses to New Heights

Microsoft, through its Africa Transformation Office, is partnering with Terragon to support its cloud capabilities; Terragon plans to leverage Microsoft’s cloud technologies to provide brands with powerful consumer insights.

Business owners in Africa will have access to a wide range of powerful customer insights thanks to a partnership between Terragon and Microsoft. The three-year agreement will further Terragon’s work in the marketing technology (MarTech) space, while also driving Microsoft’s ambition to enable digital transformation using the cloud.

Terragon is a leading data and marketing company with a mission to build Africa’s largest and most unique data-powered marketing cloud ecosystem to help businesses on the continent better understand their customers. The marketing company leverages data and technology to help brands reach, engage and deliver more meaningful mobile experiences to consumers. Using cloud-based solutions, Terragon is able to provide its customers with in-depth analytics and insights into customer engagement that better tells the story of the African consumer.

Terragon’s customers include both enterprises and SMBs that cover a range of industries such as fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), financial services and consulting services. The company supports brands in the management of first-party data, and improved targeting and segmentation to deliver personalised engagements online and offline.

The partnership with Microsoft will support Terragon’s vision of using innovation to make mobile meaningful while also helping businesses on the continent to harness the power of cloud technology.

“We evolved into an enterprise solution company in 2018, and since then we’ve worked with a wide spectrum of over 30 multi-national enterprises and 8,000 SMBs, helping them achieve better ROI on their marketing spend and improving customer experience through the power of data-driven marketing,” says Chimezie Okonkwo, Senior Vice President of Data, Infrastructure, and Platforms at Terragon. “This Microsoft partnership is exciting because it validates our mission which has been to build the largest data-powered marketing cloud ecosystem in Africa. Deploying Microsoft tools and solutions will help us accelerate our goal of adding value to businesses by increasing marketing cost efficiencies, becoming more intelligent in our insights and delivering more meaningful and personalised engagements to customers on mobile.”

Gerald Maithya, General Manager, Africa Transformation Office at Microsoft, emphasised that the collaboration underscores Microsoft’s dedication to fostering sustainable digital growth in Africa.

“Working with businesses like Terragon that prioritise cloud-based solutions in their own operations and with their own customers better supports the acceleration of digital transformation on the continent,” says Maithya. “Through our work with Terragon, businesses of all sizes will have access to the latest cloud technologies to achieve their business goals and contribute to Africa’s economic growth and development. This partnership supports our efforts to be the preferred and trusted partner for cloud innovation on the continent.”

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

VALR Processed $10-Billion in Crypto Trades in 5 Years

October 6, 2023

VALR, the cryptocurrency exchange co-founded by former Rand Merchant Bank executive Farzam Ehsani, has disclosed that it has processed more than US$10-billion in trading volume since its launch in 2018. The figure, which at the current exchange rate equates to R190-billion, underscores the scale of crypto trading taking place in South Africa.

VALR, which claims it is Africa’s largest bitcoin exchange by trading volume, made the disclosure in a statement this week in which it said it had won initial approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, or Vara, as part of a global expansion plan by the company. The application was done through a subsidiary of VALR’s called VALR FZE.

We see Asia, the Middle East and the United Arab Emirates as attractive markets with significant crypto flows

The company, which has raised $55-million in funding since its launch, said it now serves more than half a million retail customers and some 900 corporate and institutional clients.

It hopes to replicate this track record by building a global crypto business from its new Dubai offices.

“The initial approval granted to VALR FZE does not allow it to undertake any virtual asset services yet but is a critical step as it seeks to establish a virtual asset exchange in Dubai and affirms VALR’s position as a reputable player in the virtual asset industry, committed to upholding the highest standards of operational integrity, compliance and security,” the company said in the statement.

“Obtaining initial approval from Vara is a significant milestone that marks a major step forward in VALR’s global expansion plans,” said Ehsani. “This initial approval from Vara is a significant milestone for VALR to bring our products and services to a more global audience under the auspices of a world-leading regulator.”

“We see Asia, the Middle East and the United Arab Emirates as attractive markets with significant crypto flows,” added VALR’s head of growth, Blake Player. “Dubai is quickly gaining recognition as a forward-thinking and pragmatic jurisdiction for crypto businesses.”

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

Huawei Sets up Global Commodities Hedging Team

Li Jie, Chairman of Huawei’s Supervisory Board

Huawei Technologies is building a commodities team to hedge and trade metals and energy products, according to the Chinese technology company’s job posts on LinkedIn. The company was looking for a commodity trader and a commodity market analyst in Singapore a month ago, the posts on LinkedIn showed. Both positions are no longer accepting applications.

Huawei was also hiring a metals hedging specialist and a metals research specialist in the city-state four months ago, according to separate LinkedIn posts.

The team’s goal is to hedge Huawei’s raw materials exposure in base metals, ferrous metals, energy and lithium

Huawei did not respond to a request for comment on the commodities team hirings it has made or its hiring plans.

The positions will work closely with Huawei’s teams in China and Hong Kong to grow its metals hedging and research capabilities as well as risk control, focusing on ferrous, nonferrous and battery metals, the posts said.

Huawei started building the team this year, which currently has five members, and will likely hire up to four more staff in the commodities and financial trading hubs of Singapore and Hong Kong, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The team’s goal is to hedge Huawei’s raw materials exposure in base metals, ferrous metals, energy and lithium products, said the source, who did not wish to be identified as the matter is not meant to be discussed publicly.

The team is drafting the hedging proposals and trading plans, said the source.

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

China’s Road & Belt Initiative: The Beauty of Shared Arts Premieres on CCTV-1

Amidst the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), China Media Group (CMG) and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China jointly produced The Beauty of Shared Arts, a grand TV program focusing on international cultural exchanges, to showcase the charm of diverse cultures and promote their exchanges. Themed around the Cultural Silk Road, this program welcomes guests from BRI members and offers a panoramic view of cultural interplay, open collaboration, and interaction among diverse cultures through the BRI. Featuring artists in China and beyond, The Beauty of Shared Arts presents viewers with refreshing contents, including singing, dancing, theatrical performances, and acrobatics to showcase the profound fusion of different cultures, as the BRI builds a modern Silk Road for the shared benefit of countries around the world. The program premiered on October 5 at about 8:00 PM on CCTV-1 (https://www.CCTV.com/) and was simultaneously broadcast on online media platforms such as Yangshipin.cn and CCTV.com.

With concerted efforts from member countries, the BRI has yielded fruitful results over the past decade, as it has promoted public well-being and fostered cultural dialogues among BRI members. Following the initiative’s footsteps, The Beauty of Shared Arts shot VCRs and held interviews around the world to fully capture the BRI’s vision: We advocate respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, and robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.

In one episode, the program introduced viewers to the touching mentorship between Chinese train conductor Dai Rui and her Laotian counterpart Tong Kangmi on the China-Laos railway. During the episode, the two conductors sang One Belt One Road, together with Laotian singer Atisal Ratana and Hong Kong actor/singer WONG Cho-lam. The BRI has not only connected economies but also created closer ties between people from different nations. Upcoming episodes of the program will also feature guests from African BRI members. Through the program, viewers feel the emotional side of the BRI, as they witness the similarities, mutual understanding, and friendship between different cultures.

From the story of joint BRI contribution to the artistic performances on stage, The Beauty of Shared Arts transcends national boundaries to present direct dialogues between different cultures and arts. For instance, through their shared love for the blue and white porcelain, Director of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Institute WANG Yanjun and famous Turkish artist Adil Can Güven struck an immediate connection on the program. Through innovative stage collaboration between the Turkish Fire of Anatolia Dance Troupe and Chinese dancers for the New Blue and White Porcelain, the program vividly illustrated the artistic charm of the distinct yet harmonious cultures of China and Türkiye, generating fresh cultural dynamics through mutual exchange.

The program offers many other highlights: Serbian singer Slobodan Trkulja and Chinese singer SHA Baoliang creatively adapted the classic song Bella Ciao/Goodbye My Friends; celebrated pianist LANG Lang engaged in a musical dialogue with Kazakh singer Dimash Kudaibergen on the same stage. Through the program, touching stories are seamlessly incorporated into various art forms, including music, dance, and visual aesthetics, to create a series of impressive artistic feasts.

The Beauty of Shared Arts, broadcast on CCTV-1, invites all viewers to witness the evolution of the BRI, an epic story of our times.

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

South Africa’s Rand Under Severe Pressure Weakens against Dollar

The rand weakened in early trade on Thursday, giving up some earlier gains after US treasury yields slipped from 16-year highs. At 9.28am, the rand traded at R19.42/US$, about 0.4% weaker than its previous close. The dollar last traded around 0.04% stronger against a basket of global currencies.

On Thursday, a plunge in oil prices and softer US labour data helped pull treasury yields off 16-year peaks, weakening the dollar and giving some reprieve to emerging market currencies such as the rand in earlier trade.

The rand has already lost about 2.2% against the greenback this month. It’s still not at its worst-ever level against the dollar, although it is close — the record low was set in May, when it sagged to R19.85 to the greenback.

Like other risk-sensitive currencies, the rand often takes cues from international factors like changes in US yields, in the absence of major local data points.

Meanwhile, Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Thursday that the rand was caught up in a realignment of global currencies that was outside of the bank’s control.

Kganyago told a webinar that his main worry was inflation and the bank was concerned about the exchange rate to the extent that it feeds through into price pressures.

South Africa’s consumer inflation edged up to 4.8% year on year in August from 4.7% in July, but it still remains comfortably within the central bank’s target range of between 3-6%.

Kganyago reiterated on Thursday that risks to the inflation outlook included food prices, oil prices and exchange-rate moves.

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

BCX Launches Alibaba Cloud in South Africa

October 5, 2023

Telkom-owned IT services firm BCX – previously Business Connexion – has launched Alibaba Cloud public cloud services in South Africa, providing an alternative to US cloud services from Amazon, Microsoft and Google. BCX partnered with the Chinese-owned and Singapore-based cloud services provider Alibaba Cloud as it aims to expand its share of the burgeoning African cloud services market.

The new offering, called Africa Local Public (ALP) Cloud, was launched at an event at BXC’s headquarters in Pretoria on Thursday.

Telkom Consumer and Business CEO Lunga Siyo

BCX aims to combine its physical presence in five African countries with Alibaba Cloud’s software catalogue. “Seventy-five percent of African organisations are going to build digital transformation models based on cloud technology and run their operations in the cloud by 2026,” said BCX CEO Jonas Bogoshi. At the same time, African economies are growing faster than the world average with end-user spending expected to grow to US$597-billion in that time. “This represents a huge opportunity.”

BCX aims to combine its physical presence in five African countries – South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia – with Alibaba Cloud’s software catalogue, which boasts “more than 200 offerings” of XaaS (anything -as-a-service) solutions, some with a sector specific focus.

“We are focusing on enabling businesses that are at the vortex of digital transformation: health care, retail, financial services and media – with government just outside of that,” said Bogoshi.

According the terms the two parties have agreed to, BCX is the exclusive provider of Alibaba Cloud solutions in regions where the Telkom subsidiary has a presence.

“We understand the needs of our customers in South Africa and on the continent, so we determine and guide Alibaba on what products to bring to the cloud based on customer demand,” said BCX chief digital platforms solutions officer Jan Bouwer. “We have an agreement to bring their products into the environment on the timelines that we determine.”

Bogoshi explained that ALP Cloud will protect its clients against exchange rate volatility by charging in local currency while using BCX’s local presence to ensure data sovereignty for high-security clients such as the public and financial sectors.

ALP Cloud has been deployed in two data centres locally, both of which are in Gauteng. BCX aims to build a third data centre in Cape Town as well as another one outside of the country to serve as a disaster recovery centre “in one of South Africa’s neighbouring countries”.

“The launch of ALP Cloud serves multiple purposes, one of which accentuates our dedication to maintaining a local presence. As a result, when our customers opt for BCX local cloud services, they will be directly connecting with and supported by a South African company,” BCX said.

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

Rising Crime is Hurting e-Commerce in South Africa

Rising crime rates are dampening the growth of e-commerce in South Africa, leading industry players have warned. As the number of criminal incidents rises, e-commerce businesses have been forced to spend more on staffing and technology to secure their operations.

For some businesses – food delivery platforms in particular – revenue is also being lost as they are forced to serve some areas during daylight hours only or pull out of unsafe areas completely.

“We can confirm that the number of criminal incidents is rising, as is the cost to protect our drivers and our clients’ cargo, which of course makes up the day-to-day products South Africans buy from stores around the country,” said Candice Liebenberg, GM at logistics firm DSV.

DSV offers freight-forwarding services at different points in the value chain, which includes getting goods from producers to retailers (stores or warehouses) and from retailers to consumers. Liebenberg said the criminal “appetite” has changed with the evolution of the logistics industry and the type of packages in transit.

“Where once secure logistics was the preserve of financial services and then high-value electronics, it is now in demand for fashion, food and beverages, medical supplies and pharmaceuticals, and other product lines.”

There is a direct correlation between macroeconomic pressures, such as the high-interest-rate environment, and an increase in criminal activity. The type of criminals that DSV comes across, said Liebenberg, are a mixed bag.

“We can see that historically South Africa has long suffered cargo truck hijackings and the situation has worsened in the last 24 months with both well organised gangs and opportunistic thieves responding to the tough economic conditions and rising unemployment.”

Nothing quite captures “touch economic conditions” as poignantly as the rise in food delivery vehicle robberies. Major food delivery service providers such as Mr D Food and UberEats have had to limit, and in some instances suspend, their services to certain areas due to high levels of criminality.

“We have multiple security protocols and measures in place. These include removing the availability of delivery and reducing operating hours in certain areas. These protective measures are strictly enforced to ensure overall staff safety,” said MR D Food CEO Alex Wörz.

Uber Eats drivers get new safety featuresLike many other e-commerce businesses, both Mr D Food and UberEats have had to pay more attention to driver safety. Initiatives around driver vigilance training and trauma counselling for those who become victims of crime are now part of the food delivery businesses’ operations.

“We have various safety features tailored to our drivers. These include emergency contacts and an in-app emergency button that dispatches private security to the delivery person in the event of an incident. We also have injury protection provided by AIG Insurance to help support delivery people with the costs associated with injury while on the trip,” said an Uber Eats spokeswoman.

By striving to provide services despite high crime levels, e-commerce businesses have seen their costs rising. Investments in staffing and technology for the sole purpose of combating crime could otherwise have been used to grow the business.

“The increased costs we and the industry commit to for a wide range of security protocols and interventions ultimately find their way into the price consumers pay. The situation is a lose-lose for the courier industry and the country’s economy,” said DSV’s Liebenberg.

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