More startups that are either Africa-based or Africa-focused are really having a good time raising funds to scale their businesses. Indeed, this funding goes to show that even startups with very remote niches can raise funds. VertoFX, the startup that focuses on currency trading and payment for African and emerging markets has just raised a $2.1 million seed round, led by Accelerated Digital Ventures.
Here Are The Funding Details And What This Means For Similar Startups With Remote Niches
The $2.1 million seed round of funding was led by Accelerated Digital Ventures.
The startup is simply a bureau de change for African and emerging market businesses.
The startup will use the round for platform development, expanding the currencies and gaining licenses in new countries. It will also use the round for hiring, primarily in compliance and regulator type roles. VertoFX already has a developer team in India and is looking at local developer talent for its Africa offices.
Although London-based company, with a subsidiary in Lagos, Nigeria, the startup’s platform allows businesses and banks to exchange and make payments in exotic foreign currencies that don’t often convert or trade conveniently across businesses or banks.
For example, South Africa’s Rand is Africa’s most convertible and traded currency — with lower spreads and transaction costs — while currencies of countries such as Ethiopia or Egypt may be difficult or expensive to trade or transact B2B payments.
All around the world, there are around 40 currencies that are considered exotic or illiquid, most of them in frontier markets in Asia, Africa, and the Middle-East, says Oyetayo, VertoFX founder.
“That’s the reason we are utilizing technology to create a marketplace model and price discovery to create liquidity for these currencies,” VertoFX founder Ola Oyetayo said in an interview.
And there’s a revenue opportunity to creating a convenient online marketplace for trading and payments in these currencies.
“Our research says there’s about $400 billion being done by small and medium-scale businesses in Africa alone in transactional volume on an annual basis. If we take 1% of that as a commission or transaction fee, that’s a $4 billion addressable market, just in the continent,” said Oyetayo.
A Look At VertoFX
VertoFX was founded in 2017 by Oyetayo and Anthony Oduwole — both ex-global bankers born in Nigeria. The company was part of Y Combinator’s 2019 winter cohort and processed around $7 million in transaction volume last month, according to Oyetayo.
VertoFX is registered as a payment services provider with the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. Current clients include several undisclosed banks and San Francisco-based payment venture Flutterwave.
VertoFX doesn’t release revenue figures but confirmed it earns a commission, or spread, on each transaction processed on its platform. There are currently 19 currencies on the platform and the ability to settle in 120 countries, including China and the U.S.
VertoFX is also moving into offering market research — toward potential subscription services — on the currencies it trades, according to Oyetayo.
On the possibility of becoming acquired by a big bank, VertoFX isn’t so interested, according to Oyetayo.
“We both come from big banks and if we’d wanted to go down that route we’d have developed this more like a software as a service platform,” he said.
“We’re playing the long game here, and I don’t think the acquisition is the end game,” he said.
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.
Egypt’s Swvl is coasting home big time. The startup is never looking back. Its next bus stop is Lahore, Pakistan ’s capital. Watch out for how the two-year startup is invading Uber, Careem and Airlift’s territories and raising huge funds to scale its operations. Mustafa Kandil is indeed never looking back. Swvl’s wind is gradually sweeping strong. The two-year-old startup is now in Egypt, Kenya, Pakistan, and counting.
An In-depth Look At The Momentum
This move by Swvl, the Cairo-headquartered app-based bus booking startup to Pakistan makes Pakistan Swvl’s third market after Egypt and Kenya.
Swvl had announced plans to expand to Pakistan earlier this month.
The Egyptian startup seems to have developed a habit of being secretive about their expansion plans (which makes sense).
In early 2018, when Swvl raised tens of millions of dollars in its Series B-1, the startup had said that it will use the money to expand to Southeast Asia, starting with Manila in 2019 Q1 but they actually expanded to Kenya which was never revealed previously.
Last month, Swvl said that it is planning to expand to Nigeria (by mid-July) but now we’re learning about their Pakistan expansion.
Founded in 2017, Swvl dubs itself as a private premium alternative to public transportation enabling riders to book seats on its network of “high-quality” buses (owned and operated by third-parties). The startup operates bus lines on fixed routes with customers boarding the buses from specific pick-up spots to be dropped at pre-defined (virtual) stations.
The Startup Is Fully On Ground In Lahore and Ride Sharers Are Invited To Place Bookings
Although Swvl has not shared the details about the number of lines and buses its operating in Lahore, Lahore city is, however, Pakistan’s second-largest home to over 10 million people and is similar to Swvl’s home market Cairo in many ways.
Both the cities have a poor public transportation system (things in Lahore have improved lately with the government-run bus rapid transit service but it only covers a specific part of the city), long commute times, and traffic congestion is some of the similarities the two cities share.
And that is why both the cities offer a great opportunity to startups like Swvl to solve some of these issues.
Expect A Stiff Competition But An Easy Triumph
Swvl is not the first player in this category in Pakistan. Airlift, a local startup that was launched earlier this year and is in the process of closing their first investment round has already gained decent traction in Lahore (and is apparently available in Pakistan’s largest city Karachi as well).
But Swvl obviously has the resources to take all these players on. Backed by some of top regional VCs including BECO Capital, Raed Ventures, Oman Technology Fund, and global names like Endeavor Catalyst, Swvl has raised over $80 million in VC money to date which makes it one of the best-funded startups in MENA and the best-funded startup in this category.
Pakistan might be a new market for Swvl but having worked there earlier, their team has enough know-how about the dynamics of local transportation ecosystem. Mostafa Kandil, in his previous role as Market Launcher for Careem, has launched different cities in Pakistan. Swvl’s Head of Global Expansion Shahzeb Memon, a Pakistani national, was previously with Careem (Pakistan) serving them as Supply Manager before joining Swvl in 2018.
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.
Take it or leave, innovative startups are never retiring to sleep soon. The game of disruption is hitting hard. Sooner or later, everything would soon be stretched to its limits. Pundi X has taken the first bold step.
Now in Rwanda, it has launched the first-ever Blockchain-powered smartphone on the African continent. The Singapore based technology company says the new phone blockchain mobile phone will allow everyone to make a phone call on the blockchain.
Here Is How The Whole Thing Works
The blockchain-powered smartphone is to be known as XPhone, and very much unlike many phones powered by android, IOS and Windows systems, the XPhone is powered by Function X (FX) operating system — a blockchain system.
According to Pundi X, a blockchain phone uses blockchain technology which powers many things like bitcoin, digital land titles, and medical records.
With XPhone, users are connected to the blockchain — everything they do from texting and calling to taking photos and browsing is transmitted via the blockchain.
In this sense, users are in control of their data.
In a case of Rwanda, for instance, if you had an XPhone, MTN or Airtel would not be able to access your information.
Blockchain as an emerging technology is increasingly becoming popular with many applications being invented every day.
The technology is mostly known for financial services. This is the technology that powers bitcoin and ethereum (the world’s top digital currencies).
The technology enables people to own digital money and transact between themselves without the presence of intermediary or central authority like financial institutions.
In some parts of the world, people are already using bitcoin (a form of electronic money) to make transactions without the need of banks, purchase goods and services and buy music online.
But blockchain technology is generally considered to have other real-life applications like helping in designing smart contracts, enable digital voting, create digital Ids, and enhance supply chain management, just to mention but a few.
The startup unveiled the phone, XPhone, at the GSMA Mobile 360 Africa and it said it was the first blockchain mobile phone launched in Africa.
“The XPhone allows everyone to make a phone call on the blockchain,” Zac Cheah, the company’s chief executive officer said while unveiling the phone.
Xphone Is Out To Confront Data Mining By Mobile Network Providers
Here is why Xphone is the deal:
XPhone will have no centralized service provider, making it secure as consumers are in charge of their own data. Very much like no MTN, or Vodafone or Orange.
The XPhone has an open-source which means that anyone that is interested to build applications and services can do it easily.
The blockchain smartphone will enable you to make a smooth transition between blockchain and traditional Android mode.
The company says it plans to produce only 5,000 XPhones in late 2019, but that it was looking to partner with telecommunication companies to produce more blockchain phones.
This is a huge moment for all the stakeholders in the mobile telephone industry. Blockchain phones would definitely serve some purposes: eliminate data mining by spy groups; store information permanently into the blockchain; (making it easier to retrieve information on occasions of lost phones)as well as have access to normal phone services.
Now, here is one problem Zac Cheah and his startup would have to face: Zac Cheah and his startup are likely to face quite some questions regarding whether the new phone could be easily commercially and widely accepted as people take a while to adopt some of these complex technologies. To put the question succinctly, how many people know what blockchain technology is?
Another thing: government regulations and approvals! This could be another puzzle for the entrepreneurs since most governments across the world have been less responsive to large scale adoption of blockchain technology.
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.
With the latest investment coming from Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI), South Africa’s ‘crowd farming’ startup, Livestock Wealth is now worth more than $7 million dollars ( R100 million), far surpassing the goal it set for itself at its launch far back in 2015.
Agri-tech entrepreneur and CEO of Livestock Wealth Ntuthuko Shezi is confident that this is just the beginning. His may have a point here. His startup has just further landed a business deal with retail giant Woolworths which it is supplying free-range beef.
A Look At The Funding
Although the terms of the funding were not disclosed, Ntuthuko Shezi hinted RMI’s investment is a big boost both in terms of capital to grow the business and from a profile perspective.
“Livestock Wealth now has more than 2 000 cattle on several farms in different parts of the country and about 1 000 investors currently. Now that we’re gaining traction, our target is to have about 10 000 investors by the end of our financial year in February.
“Late last year, we secured a lucrative agreement to supply Woolworths with free-range beef and we sent through our first supplies in April. In the last three months we have supplied Woolworths with around 64 tons of beef. Woolworths is a great brand to be working with and it naturally has strict supplier protocols, which we must adhere to.”
Here Is Why Shezi’s Livestock Wealth Is Not Just Your Regular AgricTech Startup
Livestock Wealth was only started in 2015 when Shezi realized there was an untapped commercial opportunity around livestock farming in South Africa that could leverage the African community’s close links to cattle.
The KwaZulu-Natal-born electro-mechanical engineer Ntuthuko Shezi’s Livestock Wealth offers people with no access to land, time or skills the opportunity to own livestock within a professionally managed farming operation.
The Web and mobile application allow investors to invest their money in cows rather than in unit trusts, shares or exchange-traded funds.
Through connecting its network of small-scale partner farmers to investors, the business model allows farmers who cannot afford to scale their business to access capital, while offering the investor an opportunity to invest in assets which are not influenced by financial market trends.
Potential investors can buy online, from the partner farmer, while Livestock Wealth facilitates and manages the assets like an investment portfolio.
In fact, Shezi did his research well: Cattle farming in South Africa is estimated to be worth around R142 billion, behind poultry, with the local beef industry generating an estimated $144 million in exports in 2017, according to data from Trade Map. This is the opportunity he pounced on.
The growth in the livestock business was so overwhelming that the investment startup says it has now expanded its offerings to include an array of agricultural assets that can be owned by potential investors, including sugar cane plants, macadamia trees, and maize plants, and a separate option of investing in a connected garden system which grows all types of organic vegetables.
The new offerings give investors who lack the time and farming expertise the opportunity to own tangible, high-value, growing assets.
“For instance, macadamia trees, the most lucrative crop in SA, can cost around R20 000 per hectare for the investor, but after a few years of growth, one tree can reap rewards on a minimum investment of around R80 000.”
The South African macadamia industry is the largest producer of macadamia nuts worldwide. According to the 2018 World Nut and Dried Fruit Conference, an estimated yield of 53 500 tonnes of macadamia trees reaped a sales value of well over R3.2 billion in 2018.
The connected garden system, a pool-table-sized garden which grows any vegetable crop, including spinach, lettuce, cauliflower, and Brussel sprouts, is managed around the clock by an experienced partner farmer.
Investors can own several smart garden systems, which are connected to an Internet of things monitoring system, allowing the farmer to track the environmental condition of the plants, while the investor can view and track the plants at almost any time via the app.
Livestock Wealth has previously partnered with financial institution Fedgroup, through its Impact Farming mobile app, which allows investors to endow in blueberry bushes, beehives, and other plants, which are farmed and managed on their behalf from as little as R300.
It has also partnered with MTN Connected Livestock, which helps monitor the livestock online through a tracking device, providing investors with data about the condition of their animals, through the app.
The crowd farming company has also partnered with Woolworths and wholesaler Cavalier Foods, to provide them with free-range beef, which is free of antibiotics and growth hormones.
Shezi says the startup is also engaging potential partners such as restaurant chains, public hospitals, prisons and retailers to connect them to its farmer partners who will then supply them with fresh produce on a regular basis.
“Typically, we are looking at supplying institutions such as Johannesburg General Hospital with onions or lettuce on a daily basis and also supply some retailers and restaurants with a few kilograms of veggies on a daily or weekly basis. The farming systems are not limited to vegetables, but also include growing plants that will be used to make food spices, such as seeds, buds, fruits, flowers, bark and roots of plants.”
A Profitable Business?
Shezi says around half of South Africa’s 14 million cattle are still owned by black South Africans — largely in rural areas — who do communal farming without access to markets.
“Livestock Wealth bridges that gap. It gives communal farmers access to markets, while offering investors a chance to invest in cattle. They [investors] can chose to invest in cattle that will be grown on the farms we work with to supply either meat or cows that produce offspring,” he says.
Things have however progressed significantly since then; Shezi says the business is now an R100 million enterprise with its eye on further investments into SA’s agriculture sector.
This is good news for a business that started out with only 26 cows in 2015 and currently manages a herd of around 2 000 cattle at four farms across the country.
These have a total value of over R20 million and are managed on behalf of 800 investors who are not only South Africans but include Germans, Americans, Canadian, Irish, English, and Chinese.
The company says since inception, it has paid out almost R5 million in dividends. Its business model works like a bank fixed deposit, where the client would invest in a cow for a six- or 12-month period with an option to re-invest.
The 12-month option means investing in a pregnant cow (R18 730) and the six-month option is investing in a calf (R11 529), which will eventually be sold for free-range beef with an average return on investment of about 12%.
Another alternative is the shared-investment option (R576) where the investor buys a portion of a cow together with other investors.
For An Electromechanical Engineering Graduate, This Is A Major Achievement
Shezi graduated as an electromechanical engineer from the University of Cape Town and is no stranger to tech start-up innovation. After leaving professional services heavyweight Accenture in 2006, he launched Scratch Mobile. He was born in rural Ndwedwe on KwaZulu-Natal’s North Coast, which he says has influenced his rural-urban agri-tech innovation.
“Government can’t give us all a farm divided into small amounts. We need to move away from the old farm model of one person owning land, having all the skills and farming their own product,” says Shezi.
“With crowd farming, one entity owns the land, and the farmer who loves farming and has the skills continues to farm, and then others invest in the production. Whether it is cattle or blueberries or veggies, other people can be involved in production without the investors getting their hands dirty.”
“We are hoping that our business model will be a game-changer in lowering the barrier to entry for millions of aspirant farmers. The main definer is that the two parties each have what the other wants, and we are committed to managing the relationship between the investor and the farmer, by giving the farmer the option and the ability to unlock the hidden value in their crops and livestock,’’ he says.
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.
On the 11th of July 2019, more than 20 African countries brought into effect what is going to be the largest Free Trade Area in the world. A free trade area means an agreement between several countries to allow the free movement of goods and services across their respective borders.
Trade between African countries is at 15%, compared with 20% in Latin America and 58% in Asia, according to the African Export-Import Bank. This could increase by 52% by 2022.
Once passed by all countries it is going to cover a combined market of 1.2 billion people with a GDP of $2.5 trillion. Attention! all entrepreneurs this is surely not an opportunity to miss. The opportunities that are going to be unleashed are enormous for SMEs and startups alike.
Some of the key benefits include:
Newmarket access: access to markets of over 20 countries is no joke, the potential is huge for an SME
New supplier access: just as there will be access to markets there will also be access to new suppliers possibly cheaper and more effective especially if one plans to scale their business!
Opportunity to relocate your business: this is bound to happen when one gets to explore new markets within the Free Trade Area.
Opportunity to diversify/expand product range: as business owners get to study and analyze new markets there may be also potential to offer other services and products apart from the traditional offering.
Opportunity to leverage on technology: business will need to leverage on technology to advertise and draw in new customers for example due to the explosion in cellphone ownership in particular smartphones, smart low-cost marketing like using Whatsapp groups may be done.
Times are changing all the time!
By leveraging on technology for product development, marketing and even for better business systems, SMEs have a chance to grow their businesses exponentially!
Some of the technologies one can leverage to expand market share include:
E-commerce: which is more or less the sale of goods and services online represents a golden opportunity. As more Africans become comfortable buying and selling goods online, this has been seen by the success of online stores like Jumia, and more that are coming up all over the continent.
social media marketing:
informatics:
Going digital to grow your business!
With the internet having become the trigger to accessing new technologies to grow our business and also becoming very much a part of our lives; one just can’t simply ignore its potential for business growth. Having the right partner is therefore critical to harnessing the true potential of the Internet and the new doors (countries) that have been opened.
An effective digital strategy that combines a use of ICT technologies such as setting up an eCommerce store or using ICT as a natural extension of your business to rapidly expand and exploit new markets requires a partner who not only appreciates the role of ICT, can offer funding opportunities but can also drive your business to potentially become a 21st Century leader.
As a startup trying to scale or as an SME trying to grow your business with a digital slant into the Free Trade Area or internationally generally, FasterCapital has a lot to offer!
FasterCapital can be the ideal partner in the following ways:
An incubation program that lasts 5 years
Funding for startups starting from a minimum of USD$10, 000.00 up to $2 million if admitted into our virtual incubation program.
Mentoring opportunities from world-class experienced mentors
Opportunity to partner with other startups in the program
Opportunity to access new markets beyond just Africa
Opportunity for FasterCapital to help in the development of your eCommerce or digital platform whilst you as the entrepreneur get to focus on marketing and pushing sales.
As a budding entrepreneur walking the road alone and trying to seize the new opportunities on the horizon be it the new free trade area or other international markets does not have to be an arduous journey; when the right digital partner is there to help the journey become easier and faster.
FasterCapital’s new application round for entrepreneurs and startups and other SMEs planning to scale their business with a digital focus opened on the 15th July 2019.
To apply you can get in touch with Tawanda Mutukwa — FasterCapital representative through his email: tmutukwa@gmail.com.
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.
Startups and entrepreneurs in Ethiopia can now have access to a new fund. The Abu Dhabi-based Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development (KFED) has signed a partnership agreement with the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance aimed at providing over $100 million to help promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in the African country.
A Look At The New Funding
The new agreement, which was signed by Hussain Jasim Al Nowais, chairman, KFED and Admasu Nebebe, Ethiopian Minister of Finance, will help pave the way in enhancing innovation and supporting entrepreneurs in Ethiopia, a statement said.
The funding will be used to implement a series of projects aimed at consolidating the Ethiopian government’s efforts to create a stable and balanced economy while also driving in other benefits like the creation of employment opportunities for the youth, women empowerment and enhanced capacity building for entrepreneurs and local institutions.
The allotted $100 million will be supervised and maintained by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, in cooperation with KFED.
The proposed fund is expected to play a significant role in reinforcing the Ethiopian government’s move to create economic entities that will be capable of supporting and enhancing the stability of the economy, including the creation of jobs and reducing unemployment and poverty in different cities and regions in Ethiopia.
“Under this agreement, the KFED looks towards providing the vital elements needed in helping Ethiopians realize and establish their own projects which can play a key role in the move to reinforce their national economy,” Admasu Nebebe, Ethiopian Minister of Finance noted.
The latest agreement highlights the growing strategic relationship between the UAE and Ethiopia which also saw the visit of Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmad to the UAE back in March, where he met with the Crown Prince discussing a range of mutual bilateral issues.
Ethiopia Unemployment Rate
The prime minister also just last week announced plans of sending 50,000 workers to the UAE over the next year to help reduce unemployment among skilled Ethiopian nationals.
The Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, which was established 12 years ago in Abu Dhabi, supports small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the UAE and has funded more than 1,600 projects within the UAE and across 20 countries in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
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.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) will no longer require a separate license to operate a mobile wallet or mobile banking.
This was disclosed in Lagos by the director, Banking and Payment System, CBN, Sam Okojire, who was represented by the deputy director, Banking and Payment System, Mr. Musa Itopa Jimoh, at the First Bank cross border seminar for Banking and Telecom Regulators from sub-Saharan Africa.
Jimoh said: “You do not need authorization from the CBN to go into Wallet services or mobile money schemes. All you need is to notify the CBN your current license suffix.”
Speaking of the apex bank’s position on the adoption of digital currencies, he said: “We have not made up our mind on what steps to take but I am not sure or believe that the CBN will ever go crypto.
“We know what they are doing in Sweden and China. We are not running on the same parameter and so based on financial inclusion, adopting digital currency will mean a number of our population will be excluded.”
In his opening remarks, the Managing Director/CEO of First Bank of Nigeria Limited Adesola Adedutan, said as the global market continues to grapple with digital technology, the bank will be at the forefront.
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.
The Kenyan Central Bank is taking the bull by the horns now. Cybercrimes by banks involving a breach of customer information and eventual stealing of funds will no longer only be thrown open to the court to decide who is liable or not, bank directors will have to pay for any breach of customer information going forward.
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has issued new rules to payment service providers including commercial banks and technology companies warning the boards of directors that they face “ultimate” liability in case of criminal breaches.
A Look At The Guidelines
In the guidelines aimed at stemming cybercrime, the CBK says boards will take responsibility for breaches of customer information.
“Payment Service Providers (PSPs) should carry out regular independent assessment and audit functions that shall be undertaken by the internal and external audit and risk functions … The board of directors is ultimately responsible for the cybersecurity of the PSP,” said CBK.
PSPs including firms like Mastercard, Visa, Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom have 90 days to comply with the requirements published this month.
Firms working with PSPs are also expected to treat customer information confidentially.
“Outsourcing agreements should be governed by a clearly written contract, the nature and detail of which should be appropriate to the materiality of the outsourced activity in relation to the ongoing business of the PSP,”
“Some of the key provisions of the contract include controls to ensure customer data confidentiality and service providers’ liability in case of breach …”
Some financial institutions are required to collect detailed customer information for anti-money laundering, tax, and accounting reasons.
Privacy experts around the world have recently expressed concerns about how personal data is collected and used by companies.
In April, the government approved a tough policy on data protection, paving the way for it to be tabled in Parliament.
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.
The total money owed by Nigerian governments, whether federal or regional now stands at more than $69 billion (N24.97trn) in the first quarter of 2019. This is more than the value of all money (GDP) made by Ghana last year.
A Break Down Of The Figures
Figures from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics say Nigerian States and Federal Debt Stock data as at 31st March 2019 showed that the country’s total public debt portfolio stood at N24.95trn.
Further disaggregation of Nigeria’s total public debt showed that N7.86trn or 31.51% of the debt was external while N17.08trn or 68.49% of the debt was domestic.
Similarly, total domestic debt was N3.97 trillion with Lagos state accounting for 13.64% of the total domestic debt stock while Yobe State has the least debt stock in this category with a contribution of 0.68% to the total domestic debt stock.
Remember that Congo recently got a major bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help it service its debt obligations with its creditors.
Government debt as a percent of GDP for African countries, 2017. Source: IMF, 2018. Regional Economic Outlook
This bailout potentially set a precedent for other nations struggling under the weight of large debts to China.
It appears that what IMF has succeeded in doing is to alert other countries borrowing from China that China would never cut off any percent from any borrowed sum, but may instead, prolong the period of repayment.
Many observers see Congo as a test case for the IMF. A number of African countries facing unsustainable debt resulting from commercial borrowing, a boom in Eurobond issues and years of Chinese lending on the continent are expected to turn to the IMF for help in the coming years.
This is even bound to grow more because sovereign debt financing is inevitable given that African countries budgetary resources are insufficient to finance their vast development agenda.
“The IMF is tacitly accepting that China will not take a haircut on debts to African governments,” said one banker, who has followed the negotiations.
The IMF is also advising Congo’s government to restructure high-interest debt it contracted with oil traders including Glencore (GLEN.L) and Trafigura despite a previous pledge to the Fund that it would not engage in oil-backed borrowing.
“I think they’ve learned their lesson as to the costs of these kinds of practices,” Alex Segura, IMF mission chief for Congo, told Reuters.
IMF Is Also Pitching Its Stakes And Leaving African Countries At Their Own Mercy
All that bailout would not just happen without a reciprocal deal. For instance, the IMF said in November that Congo’s government must take a series of steps before the lender agrees to a bailout, including reforms to improve governance and transparency, adjustments to the state budget. It’s also requested “explicit financing assurances,” including debt relief, from creditors before it considers a bailout.
With all these, African countries with heavy debt burdens may all be sitting on a time bomb.
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.
African entrepreneurs are never leaving any stone unturned. Zimbabwe’s William Sachiti and his team at the Academy of Robotics have launched Europe’s first roadworthy self-driving delivery vehicle, “Kar-go” which aims to reduce the cost of last-mile delivery by as much as 90 percent.
In the first week of its launch, Kar-go has been hosted by the Duke of Richmond and praised by both the Duke and Zimbabwean dignitaries including Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs Minister Sibusiso Moyo and Zimbabwe ambassador to the UK Christian Katsande.
A Look At Kar-go
Kar-go is a self-driving vehicle that works with the help of an app
Recipients of parcels can simply track their delivery and meet the vehicle at their preferred destination just like meeting a pre-booked taxi.
Recipients will then use the app to open the hatch of the vehicle to release their specific parcel.
Inside the vehicle, a patented package management system will sort and re-shuffle packages on the move.
Powered by Tesla batteries, Kar-go can drive at 60mph and cover around 120 miles before it needs re-charging — around the same distance as an average delivery driver covers daily.
Traveling at up to 60mph, the vehicle has been developed in collaboration with the UK’s vehicle licensing authority, the DVLA, to travel on the roads.
As part of the vehicle’s development, Sachiti “trained” the Kar-go technology to operate on roads in Zimbabwe.
Academy of Robotics founder and CEO, William Sachiti explains how the vehicle works:
“There are some great delivery robots out there, but most of them are designed to run on neat pavements or sidewalks of grid-like cities. We want Kar-go to be universally applicable, so we have trained our technology in a number of different environments and of course, for me, Zimbabwe was a natural choice.”
Kar-go has already attracted significant interest in investment from China, the UK, Australia, Germany and Switzerland and the Academy of Robotics is in discussions with a number of retailers and logistics companies with commercial trials for Kar-go on the roads in the UK planned in the next few months.
Sachiti, adds:
“We have had a number of very promising conversations with potential partners and investors and we are confident that Kar-go will be on the streets in a few months with a series of trials with high street retailers and logistics brands to follow. We are very grateful for the support we have received both in the UK and from the Zimbabwean community.”
An Emblem of the Future.
This electric, self-driving vehicle, Kar-go has since been selected by the team curating FOS Future Lab for the Goodwood Festival of Speed (FOS) as an emblem of the future.
The Festival of Speed is an annual event dubbed motorsport’s ultimate garden party, as it takes place on lawns and paddocks of the Duke of Richmond’s Goodwood estate.
The Duke hosts motoring enthusiasts from around the world who flock to see the latest concept cars to classics.
Festival Of Speed Future Lab is the Duke of Richmond’s latest addition to the Festival of Speed and has become a centerpiece of the event.
The Man Behind This Unique Concept Vehicle is Zimbabwean-Brit, William Sachiti, From Harare.
Having exited his first start-up (123-registration) at 19, team leader William Sachiti (34) has since founded and exited 3 businesses including Clever Bins, a business he pitched aged 24 on the BBC Dragon’s Den show.
Before he turned his attention to AI and robotics his last business, MyCityVenue was acquired by Secret Escapes in 2015.
During his visit to the UK, Minister Moyo together with ambassador Katsande made time to meet Sachiti.
The dignitaries inspected the Kar-go vehicle at an exclusive reception and hosted by the Westbury Mayfair hotel in the prestigious Mayfair district where William was speaking at an event on the future of transport alongside leaders from the automotive industry.
At the reception, organized by Conrad Mwanza and the Zimbabwe Achiever Awards (ZAA) team, the party discussed the Kar-go technology and William and the team’s work to make the technology internationally applicable.
The reception was supported by British-Zimbabwean businessman Byron Fundira, an early investor in the Kar-go project, who was introduced to fellow ZAA winner by Conrad Mwanza.
Sachiti who moved to the UK aged 17 remains close to his family back in Zimbabwe and frequently returns.
The Academy of Robotics
The Academy of Robotics is a UK-headquartered self-drive car manufacturing company, founded by William Sachiti with a technical team of engineers, scientists, and researchers. The Academy specializes in creating technology to perform or simplify complex tasks.
Combining the best techniques from machine learning and mechatronics the Academy builds powerful self-adapting machines and task-specific artificially intelligent software.
Starting out of a university campus in Wales, the Academy of Robotics now has offices in London, Brighton, and Wales and has successfully filed several patents for its autonomous technology.
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.
