Uncategorized - Afrikan Heroes

How Organisations Can Stay Ahead of Hackers

November 17, 2021

With the rise in losses from payment fraud which has tripled from $9.84 billion in 2011 to $32.39 billion in 2020, according to Deutsche Bank’s 2021 report on the future of payments. And financial professionals are saying COVID-19 hasn’t helped matters, with 65% believing that the global pandemic is to blame for some of the accelerated rate in fraud activity, revealed by a 2021 survey by the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP).

While these cybercriminals can target many areas of an organisation, the dangers are ultimately measured in financial terms. This means that Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) can no longer ignore cyber security simply because it is a complex issue outside their area of expertise.

As custodians of the company’s monetary assets and financial data, CFOs are responsible for safeguarding the enterprise from threats to its financial health, especially those that can result from processes within the finance domain, such as accounts payable.

Ryan Mer, MD, eftsure Africa, a Know Your Payee (KYP) platform provider, says that CFOs need to play a key role in their company’s cyber security. The CFO is responsible for some of the most sensitive and valuable data the organisation possesses. “It is potentially disastrous for the finance team to be ignorant of cyber risk,” he says.

According to him, there are key areas organizations should take care of if they want to effectively combat the risk of payment fraud:

Know your vulnerabilities and understand risks

The first line of defence is to identify which information requires the most protection and research the many ways your organisation could be attacked. Hackers often target the finance department and team members directly in attempts to defraud. CFOs need to ensure that these vulnerabilities are both understood and addressed. This means testing current processes and systems to find weak spots, perhaps with the help of external experts.

Many organisations’ weak areas lie in their manual processes, which use human inputting methods and decision-making, often resulting in errors and gaps in security. Independent third-party platforms, such as eftsure, can help manage supplier data and automate payment checking and supplier verification, saving time on manual processes and reducing human error and manipulations.

Improve your basic security

Review your company practices in relation to password and security controls. Look at whether you can strengthen your company’s passwords and ensure that they are changed on a regular basis, if possible, adding an extra layer of security with two-factor authentication.

Move data to the cloud

Stay ahead of ever-changing security demands by moving sensitive data to the cloud, where it is kept in centralised storage that can only be accessed through sophisticated authentication methods. Cloud providers update their systems frequently based on the latest security best practices, providing new encryption techniques, improved login protocols and real-time identification of unauthorised users and suspicious activity.

Tighten the security of your payment

Look at your payment processes and identify potential weaknesses, possibly re-evaluating your financial procedures for approving payment releases. Ways to address weaknesses include ensuring there is a clear separation of duties between staff and adding more verification steps.

While checking with senior executives, verifying by phone or relying on staff to perform other account verification procedures are options, they are manual, time-consuming and hold their own risks. A Software as a Service (SaaS) provider like eftsure can help limit the risks by providing an integrated payments system that cross-references the payments an organisation is about to release with a database of verified bank account details. The platform alerts you to any suspicious payments, at the point of payment, allowing you to deal with the problem before the flow of funds have occurred.

Educate your staff

Employee email accounts are gateways to sensitive information and attacks, especially those in finance and accounts payable, making them targets of cybercrime. Equip staff with the skills and tools to spot threats and respond appropriately by introducing cyber safety awareness programmes, workshops and simulations.

Enforce policies that restrict what information can be kept in email inboxes prior to secure archiving. eftsure’s secure, digitised payee onboarding platform can assist with the collection and management of payee information, thereby avoiding trying to manage this through email workflows and inboxes.

Keep your cyber security updated

As cyber risk grows and cybercriminals get better at what they do, it pays to be proactive about the controls, oversight and data management processes you have in place. Avoid waiting for a fraud incident or assuming your organisation is fully protected from fraud.

Constantly remind staff at all levels about the risks of cybercrime to help build a strong security-conscious culture and continuously update controls to adapt to new fraud patterns. Collaborate with the chief information security officer (CISO), if your organisation has one, or enlist the help of an outsourced CISO-as-a-Service to address these risks and for assistance in deploying new defences.

In South Africa, there is precedent for firms being held liable for payments that did not reach the intended recipient, a situation that demands every CFO’s attention. “It’s a war out there – and cybercriminals are bringing the battle to you. Don’t wait for them to succeed – be proactive and get on the front foot now so you stop them before they succeed,” advises Mer.

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

Vodacom Seeks to Unseat Rival MTN’s Market Position With Two Major Acquisitions

November 16, 2021

One of South Africa’s leading telecoms powerhouse Vodacom has embarked on what observers describe as table topping acquisitions that may change the landscape of the industry in the country. This has to do with the two major acquisitions by the telco– the buying of a 55% controlling stake in Vodafone Egypt, the North African country’s largest telecom, and a major move in South Africa’s local fibre market through a new deal with Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa (DFA) that will see a co-controlling interest in the hands of Vodacom.

Currently the third-largest telecom company in Africa, these two acquisitions have evidently positioned Vodacom to unseat long-time rival MTN as Africa’s top telecom.

Vodacom Group South Africa is reportedly entering the North Africa market for the first time ever after announcing that it will seek to acquire Vodafone Egypt from Vodafone Group for $2.7-billion.

Vodafone Group, a UK-based mega-corp, is the parent company of both Vodacom and Vodafone Egypt, agreed to sell a 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt to Vodacom, who is poised to acquire the controlling stake in the Egyptian telecom subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals. Vodacom will fund the transaction by issuing 242 million new ordinary shares at $9.01 per share and $544.2-million in cash, giving the acquisition its $2.7-billion valuation. The remaining 45% of Vodafone Egypt will remain in the hands of Telecom Egypt, the state-owned fixed-line operator.

With the acquisition, Vodafone Egypt will open the region to Vodacom’s business, with Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub saying in a statement that Vodafone Egypt will increase Vodacom’s population coverage to more than 500-million people, and will firmly plant Vodacom in countries that make up more than 40% of Africa’s entire GDP.

“Vodafone Egypt is ideally positioned to capture growth in a burgeoning ICT market, which means the proposed acquisition provides our shareholders with an exciting revenue and profitability diversification opportunity and the potential to accelerate the group’s medium-term operating profit growth potential into double digits. We intend to provide an update on our medium-term targets at our full-year results, which will be reported in May 2022,” says Joosub.

Vodafone Egypt enjoys a 43% revenue market share in Egypt, making it the largest single telco in the country. It offers a wide range of integrated telecommunications services including voice, data and mobile money services to 43 million consumer and enterprise customers, Vodacom says.

Apart from increasing its market size, Vodacom sees a big opportunity to sell its financial services (fintech and mobile money services) in Egypt, as 80% of its 100-million people are currently unbanked.

Joosub also adds that “In addition to financial services, Vodacom Group sees attractive synergy potential from combining Vodafone Egypt’s software factory with Vodacom Group’s existing big data capabilities, closer cooperation in scaling pan-African enterprise and IoT solutions, enabling the proliferation of digital services through a platform approach, and also talent sharing.”

The same day, Vodacom announced that it had entered a new agreement to acquire a co-controlling interest in the assets of Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH), the owners of Vumatel and DFA – two ubiquitous providers of fibre to the home and fibre to the business services in South Africa.

Currently, the deal is pending certain conditions, but when completed Vodacom will own a 30% equity interest in a new entity called InfraCo, which will include Vodacom’s fibre assets, according to Media24.

“CIVH will hold a 70% co-controlling interest in InfraCo and existing CIVH investors including Remgro Limited and New GX Investments (Pty) Ltd will remain invested in CIVH,” the announcement from Vodacom read.

Vumatel’s fibre network services 1.2 million homes in SA, and it has over 31,000KM of fibre infrastructure across the country. DFA owns and operates a long-distance fibre network itself of over 13,000KM with 37,000 connected circuits.

According to the firm, “the total purchase price paid by Vodacom, including the value of the transfer assets, equates to [$876-million].” This investment will also “accelerate South Africa’s fibre reach, network quality and resilience, fostering economic development and help bridge South Africa’s digital divide in some of the most vulnerable parts of our society,” says Vodacom.

“Through Vodacom’s investment, InfraCo would accelerate and expand its lower and middle-income product offering to deliver affordable high-speed broadband access to a broader population segment, including small and medium-sized enterprises,” it said.

MTN is currently the top telecom company on the continent, having the largest user base (277.3 million) and presence. Right on MTN’s heels is Orange Africa and Middle East, with more revenues reported but less market reach than the Big Yellow Brand.

Vodacom and Orange often trade the spot behind MTN, having similar user bases and total revenues, but Vodacom’s new entry into North Africa via Egypt is definitely a major coup for the company in the continent. It is expecting a much larger user base, as well major gains in its mobile money business by bringing its fintech to a population that sorely needs it.

Within the next several years, unless it faces restrictions or obstructions to its business in Egypt, it would be a safe expectation to see Vodacom rise to the top of the telecom rankings in Africa. This isn’t even counting the boost it will receive to its local presence in South Africa after the CIVH fibre deal. Vodacom is poised to sell fibre to more South Africans for less, increasing the size of the fibre market and subscription revenues.

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

Angola Launches Special Economic Zone, With Investor Support Office

November 15, 2021

The Luanda-Bengo Special Economic Zone (ZEE) has launched an investor support office (GAI) as part of Angola’s special economic zone. The Guiché de Apoio ao Investidor (GAI) being the investor support office will act as useful new tool for investors and will in addition, support the presidential directive to facilitate access for national and foreign investors, will eliminate bureaucratic obstacles that can hinder the actions of those who want to access Angola’s privatized assets or those businesses already established within the ZEE.

The GAI, which was officially launched on November 10, 2021, provides investors with a set of public and private services that will help harmoniously integrate them into the ZEE’s business environment.

The GAI will:

– reduce the time needed to access and resolve matters relating to the Angolan public administration.

– contribute to a significant increase in the number of companies based in the ZEE.

– expand domestic production and the export of goods generated by the Angolan economy.

– increase foreign direct investment in the Republic of Angola.

The economic reforms introduced by the Executive of the Republic of Angola, within the new legal framework, will facilitate improvements to the business environment, reinforce the attractiveness of the ZEE and, the new Investor Support Office will offer unique benefits to domestic and foreign investors.

The GAI Investor Support Office will be physically accessible with facilities at the ZEE. Applications can also be made through the official pages, various digital platforms and social network sites.

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

VIPNET Gets Capacity Expansion From MainOne Network

November 11, 2021

West Africa’s leading connectivity and data centre solutions provider MainOne has upgraded the capacity of Ivory Coast’s leading internet service provider VIPNET from 155Mbps to 1Gbps. VIPNET is a telecommunications operator that provides connectivity services and technology integration solutions through the national broadband coverage. Over the years, VIPNET has positioned itself as one of the major internet providers in Côte d’Ivoire and they are known as the Third Internet Access Provider and First Alternative Operators in Côte d’Ivoire.

VIPNET became MainOne’s 1st local ISP partner in Côte d’Ivoire. Following a successful year, a request was made to upgrade its capacity provisioning as a result of MainOne’s world-class connectivity services and VIPNET business growth/expansion.

Speaking on the decision to upgrade, Ahmed Cherif, CEO, VIPNET said “Operational excellence is imperative for the growth of all companies. MainOne has ensured we achieve and maintain our commitment to providing the best connectivity and technology services to the Ivorian market which has enabled us to maintain our position as a major internet service provider in Côte d’Ivoire. We value the relationship with MainOne and trust that the upgrade will only lead to more successes and an enabled ICT ecosystem in the country”.

Expressing similar sentiments, Etienne Kouadio Doh, Country Manager, MainOne explained “MainOne is happy to support VIPNET in its efforts to meet its business objectives in Cote d’Ivoire. We remain strongly committed to providing innovative ICT infrastructure, solutions and services that drive the growth of businesses and we continue to push for the growth and development of the digital economy in the francophone region.”

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

Mastercard Appoints New Country Manager for South Africa

October 25, 2021

Gabriel Swanepoel, Country Manager for Mastercard in South Africa

Mastercard has appointed Gabriel Swanepoel as the new Country Manager for Mastercard in South Africa. This serves as a promotion from his current role as the VP of Business Integration for Mastercard, Southern Africa. As country manager, Swanepoel is responsible for further driving the company’s strategic vision, innovation and growth agenda, and building on its successful purpose-driven culture in South Africa, according to a statement from Mastercard.

The company says that Swanepoel’s ‘digital-first business acumen and two-decades-long career in the South Africa payments industry will further support Mastercard accelerate the uptake of digital payments and strengthen its multi-rail capabilities in cards, real-time payments, and support for digital currencies.

Since joining Mastercard in 2015, Swanepoel has been responsible for all aspects of innovation and product development from project inception to commercialisation.

He has been instrumental in positioning and executing Mastercard’s digital strategy within Southern Africa, leading the team that has introduced and made QR payments ubiquitous, as well as bringing more than 50 fintechs together to digitise person-to-merchant payments across multiple use cases in South Africa, amongst other achievements.

“Gabriel has been an invaluable member of our leadership team in South Africa for years. His local knowledge and deep experience are substantial assets for our local business. Leading a dynamic team, Gabriel will support Mastercard in doubling down on efforts to build an inclusive and digitalized economy in South Africa, while enabling our customers and partners to better prepare for economic recovery and growth,” said Mark Elliott, Division President at Mastercard, Southern Africa.

Prior to joining Mastercard in 2015, Swanepoel was the New Business and Innovation Manager for Verifone Africa, where he oversaw all new product and business development initiatives in South Africa.

He has also consulted at MTN Mobile Money Holdings, where he was responsible for innovation-related initiatives. His entrepreneurial approach has also brought him success as one of the founders of XLink Communications, a machine-to-machine communications business, which today is one of the leading providers of card terminal and ATM communications services in South Africa.

He takes over from Suzanne Morel, who returns to Mastercard’s New York office after two years of leading the local business in South Africa.

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

Divergent Trends in Property Values across Africa

Roger Long is the Director of Valuation & Advisory Services, Broll Property Group

By Roger Long

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic not only affected people and communities, but also impacted commercial property values across the world. This report looks at the effect of the pandemic on property values in Africa, with a special focus on select countries. The outlook for each country’s market is largely tied to the expectations on the performance of the wider economy in that country. It is expected that these trends will persist in the short to medium term.

Which sector has been the hardest hit?

It was initially anticipated that the retail sector would be the most affected due to the lockdowns and the subsequent inability to trade. There were casualties, but many malls and most of the smaller centres have, in fact, fared relatively well during the last 14 months or so. This may be attributed to landlords acting swiftly with rent reductions, deferments, etc. and, as a result, many retailers have managed to stay afloat, thereby preserving the rental income of the asset.

Roger Long Director of Valuation & Advisory Services, Broll Property Group — **Roger Long, Director of Valuation & Advisory Services, Broll Property Group**

It is instead the office sector that has been the hardest-hit asset class in South Africa, and the pressures are not expected to ease in the coming months. The fallout in the office market has seen property and rental values recede sharply. In the early stages of the pandemic, a number of occupiers held firm and retained space during the lockdowns. Landlords were therefore still receiving the majority of their income even from empty buildings, but vacancies are now rising as occupiers decide they no longer need as much space.

SAPOA reported that third-quarter vacancies reached an all-time high of 15.4%, while the pre COVID-19 level was 11.6%. Additional supply is also coming to market as a result of projects that were planned and started well before the pandemic. At the start of 2020, around 263 000 m² was in the pipeline, which slowed to around 47 000 m² by Q3 2021. We note that offices in smaller outlying towns are not as badly affected due to a more limited offering.

Prime logistics facilities are doing well, not only in South Africa, but across the continent. Furthermore, the growth in online retail has seen a corresponding rise in interest in data centres as companies move to exploit opportunities in the online sector. A number of data centre companies are expanding in strategic locations across West, East and South Africa.

Current and emerging needs of occupiers and landlords

In general, occupiers are seeking maximum flexibility, considering that their demand for space in the short- and medium-term is still relatively unknown or unconfirmed. Occupants want the flexibility to either work from home or to do so on a rotational basis. This would most likely be a long-term trend post the vaccination rollout.

Occupiers are increasingly focused on understanding what the future workplace will look like and how that affects their existing real-estate structure. More and more corporates in this market are looking to not only optimise operational functions in terms of cost, but also in terms of the size of their requirements.

Landlords, on the other hand, are seeking strategies to drive occupancy of their buildings. These range from more flexible lease terms and notable rental discounts (on a case-by-case basis) to looking at less traditional uses for their buildings. For example, the co-working model is a conversation that is making the rounds in some buildings in the market. Furthermore, landlords are looking at repurposing surplus space and or vacant space.

Are multinationals still driving the sector across the continent?

A number of local players and parastatals are shifting towards better-quality spaces, therefore competing head-on with multinationals. This trend that will continue as the benefits of modern space are being discovered by tenants who have not traditionally occupied such space.

In the A-grade market segment and, to a certain degree, B-grade, it is predominantly the multinational corporates driving market activity. The fundamentals of this market, dollar rentals to be exact, tend to be financially unfeasible for local and some international corporates that earn revenues in local currency.

It is a situation of “Who bears the brunt of the currency risk?” due to the consistent decline in the exchange rate. So far, there have been notable increases in requests by existing tenants to hand back some or all of their space for cheaper options. There has also been some discounting on rent or escalation freezes for lease renewals (again on a case-by-case basis). Landlords are actively seeking ways to encourage tenants in a manner that does not completely erode their existing cash flows.

Kenya

In Kenya, the office sector recorded a year-on-year (YoY) marginal improvement of 0.7% in occupancy levels and corresponding 1.6% YoY decline in rental rates as landlords offer increasing incentives and discounts to fill space. The retail sector achieved an improvement in occupancy levels of 2.7% YoY, while rental rates declined by 3.1% YoY as landlords continue to also offer concessions in this sector.

The logistics sector has been the least affected, with marginal changes and an expected positive outlook. Most properties are now being leased and/or sold at rates lower than what such assets were achieving before the pandemic.

The hospitality sector is heavily dependent on tourism, both for leisure and business purposes. International tourism has declined significantly since March 2020 due to travel restrictions. Local tourism activity, on the other hand, has been subdued as it is affected by the decline in disposable income for most households due to the depressed economy.

The asset class that has remained somewhat buoyant is the logistics sector. There has been increased interest for short-term storage, especially for medical facilities and goods. Manufacturers of medical and PPE related items have been thriving. However, with the closure of international trade, cargo movement slowed down. The sector still receives enquiries from various users who are planning to take up occupancy in the near future.

Nigeria

The impact of COVID-19 on the office market has manifested in a number of space and cost consolidation strategies as a result of the health, economic and business impact on company revenues and general operations. Transactions are at a record low, with the lowest take-up in five years recorded in the first half of 2021 at under 200 m². Vacancy levels remain high, with an average of 46% as opposed to the pre-pandemic level of 39%.

Asking rents in the office market have remained largely unchanged. However, achievable rates are much lower due to lease regears and concessions for existing tenants, as well as financial incentives granted to prospective tenants by landlords to maintain or drive occupancy at their building, especially with the existing and rising supply glut – the stock pipeline is currently over 90 000 m² in the A-grade market. Rents are currently as low as US$600/m²/annum for newer A-grade commercial office developments, as opposed to achievable rents of US1000/m²/annum in 2014/2015.

The residential sector, on the other hand, has witnessed some noteworthy transactional activity in the last six to 18 months. Driven by the necessity to store and create value in a challenging business environment, especially with less than desirable yields in safe haven assets in the country, a number of investors have flocked to the residential market. There has been a great degree of investment in the luxury and middle-income segments, while affordable housing, which has the highest supply gaps, is yet to see this quantum of investment.

Ghana

In Ghana, although the evidence is not yet fully reflected in the market, there are sentiments that a number of commercial property tenants could downsize their space requirements due to new remote working practices.

Leases coming up for renewal and rent reviews are likely to be agreed to the advantage of tenants. This is due to the increasing vacancy rates resulting from the banking sector reform of 2018 and large corporates opting for owner-occupied developments. In 2018, the vacancy rate of office developments in the country was 21%. This increased to 28% in 2019 and 33% in 2020. There is also likely to be a reduction in the rates of passing rents for prime office space from US$27 to US$30 m2/month in 2020 to US$25 to US$28 m2/month by end 2021.

Mauritius

At the beginning of 2020, valuers in Mauritius had a cautionary outlook for the property market, predicting that the industry would see similar trends to that which were witnessed in 2019. Rising average vacancy rates and downward pressure on rental growth, affected by the already-low consumer confidence level and major disruptions to the economy, impacted property values further. However, no one could have foreseen the impact that the pandemic would have on this already strained market, with international border closures in particular stifling the key tourism sector for many months.

Buildings with a public use component, such as high-rise offices, shopping centres and hotels, have been identified as potential COVID-19 spreading locations, and have at times either closed or have had use restrictions imposed.

Static to declining rentals, increasing expenses and rising capitalisation rates have resulted in downward pressure on the market values of investment-grade property. Modern grade industrial properties have been the least affected during the pandemic.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it appears that property and rental values in the rest of Africa have not been as badly affected by the pandemic as in the case of South Africa, especially the office sector. It is expected that a rebound to pre COVID-19 levels could take until 2022 or beyond. One exception to the trend is industrial real estate, most specifically warehouses and logistics centres, which have gained value as investors snapped up buildings essential to the delivery economy.

COVID-19 has upset real-estate fundamentals by changing how we lead our lives. Companies are already deciding they will need less office space than before, either because of staff cutbacks or because more of their employees will permanently or partially work from home. And the rise of e-commerce—along with small business closures—will create a glut of retail space in a country that already had too much of it.

As countries go through waves of infections, and people come to terms with the fact that the pandemic is here to stay for the foreseeable future, some solutions are starting to emerge. These allow us a glimpse into the future, in terms of what could become the ‘new normal’ trend globally and in Africa.

Roger Long is the Director of Valuation & Advisory Services, Broll Property Group (www.broll.co.ke).

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

Ooredoo Algérie Wins Best Mobile Network Benchmark in Algeria

October 21, 2021

Ooredoo Algérie has been awarded the Best in Test 2021/09 mobile certificate for scoring an impressive 572 dots out of 1000 in mobile network benchmarking survey to measure the mobile network in Algeria by umlaut a subsidiary of Accenture.

The award follows a very stringent process of extensive crowdsourced data analysis whereby 257.9 thousand users contributed 315.5 million samples in 6 months (W14 2021 to W37 2021). In the nationwide assessment, 96.1% of the urban ‘build-up area’ and 98.4% of the ‘Population area’ were tested, which constituted a total area size of 128.677 km2. Ooredoo Algérie excelled in 3 categories, including best in test, best-rated user download speed, and best-rated latency.

Speaking on the development, Hakan Ekmen, CEO Telecommunications at umlaut congratulated Ooredoo Algérie for being awarded ‘Best in Test’. He also extended the congratulations to Bassam Al-Ibrahim, CEO Ooredoo Algérie, and Timos Tsokanis, CTO Ooredoo Algérie and their teams for adding something on top in Algeria. Our top priority is to fairly and transparently assess the global digital infrastructure, to push its quality and performance with its benchmarks, and audit reports and certificates.

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

Nigerian Retail-Tech Startup Alerzo Acquires Payments Platform to Boost Growth

October 20, 2021

Alerzo, the Nigerian retail-tech startup has acquired Shago Payments a fintech company as part of efforts aimed at building on its impressive growth that saw its annualised September transaction volume exceed US$155 million. The Ibadan-based Alerzo was founded two years ago as an all-in-one technology and services platform that transforms how Nigeria’s informal retail stores operate. Retailers can order stock, have it delivered quickly, receive and make cashless payments, and track store profitability better. Alerzo currently works with more than 150,000 informal retail stores.

In August, Alerzo announced a US$10.5 million Series A round, led by London-based Nosara Capital, and since then has more than doubled its revenues and built a payments business. The latter was facilitated by the recent acquisition of Shago Payments, a fintech startup founded by payments industry veteran Sabastine Enechi.

With Shago’s integration into AlerzoPay, the company’s payments arm, Alerzo now provides informal retail stores with a portfolio of new digital services such as mobile airtime top-up, bill payments and peer-to-peer transfers.

Alerzo has also expanded its operations to the Middle Belt and Northern regions of Nigeria, and now operates in Abuja and Kano. The company plans to serve most of Nigeria before the end of next year.

“I started Alerzo to help my mom, a single mother who ran two informal retail stores to support me and my three siblings. Before Alerzo, she had to close her shop and travel for hours to buy inventory to stay in business,” said Alerzo founder Adewale Opaleye.

“Women are often victims of theft because street boys know retail store operators often carry cash. I wanted to apply what I learned in China to make life better for working mothers in Nigeria.”

Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, the co-founder of Flutterwave and Andela and a member of Alerzo’s advisory board, said most businesses “talk a good game” about financial and economic inclusion but then proceed to focus their businesses on commercially savvy mega cities like Lagos or Nairobi.

“Alerzo’s focus on excluded but commercially viable commerce communities in smaller cities like Ibadan is exemplary and visionary. I’m inspired by their focus on communities that are truly excluded,” he 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

Why A South African Investor Has Come Back To Fully Acquire Car Marketplace WeBuyCars, 4 Months After Investing

September 24, 2021

The South African investor Transaction Capital has revealed its aim to acquire all of the shares of the car marketplace WeBuyCars by 2026, after previously investing in the startup last May.

Transaction Capital, a shareholder in WeBuyCars who owns 74.9 percent of the company’s stock, has further inked a sale and purchase agreement to buy the remaining 25.1 percent. The used car platform’s shareholders and creators, Faan and Dirk van der Walt, have a put option that expires in 2024, with a final provision that allows them to sell all of their shares in 2026.

Last May, Transaction Capital increased its stake in WeBuyCars from 49.9% to 74.9%.

The South African investment group claims that the transaction has been approved by the country’s competition authorities. Despite the country’s business environment, Transaction Capital’s subsidiary WeBuyCars continued to perform better than projected, according to its interim results for the year ending September 30.

WeBuyCars, according to the South African investor, is the market leader in its market area in South Africa. Despite the epidemic, this company’s used vehicle trade-ins have surged dramatically due to rising new vehicle prices.

A Look At What WeBuyCars Does

Founded in 2001, WeBuyCars offers online valuations and purchase of used cars in South Africa. WeBuyCars began as a passion for brothers Faan and Dirk van der Walt in Bronkhorstspruit, an hour’s drive east of Pretoria, South Africa’s capital. Faan used to acquire, patch up, and sell used automobiles as a youngster, having learnt auto maintenance from his father, along with his brother Dirk.

WeBuyCars had been self-funded for 16 years until Fledge Capital’s investment in 2018. The company had no operating debt and recorded year-over-year sales increase of about 60%.

WeBuyCars Car marketplace

Which Investors Invest In African Ride-hailing Startups And What Are Their Investment Patterns?

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer

Egyptian Marketplace Shiphaly Secures Six-figure Funding From Angel Investors

September 22, 2021

Shiphaly, a Cairo-based marketplace that connects shoppers and travelers, has received an undisclosed six-figure sum from Saudi Arabian and Egyptian angel investors. With the participation of well-known Saudi angel investors, the round is led by Faisal Abdulsalam, the creator of Purity and an active investor in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Kahled Elabd, CEO of Shiphaly — Team Shiphaly

“We are very proud of the traction that Shiphaly has had over the past months. We are also very happy and privileged to have a group of top-notch angel investors backing us in our journey to transform the way people shop from abroad in Egypt and other future markets,” said Kahled Elabd, CEO of Shiphaly.

The new investment will be used to expand the online marketplace’s storefronts to Africa and other Middle Eastern nations, as well as to introduce new product features.

Shiphaly marketplace — The team at Shiphaly. Source: Shiphaly

Why The Investors Invested

Despite the fact that Shiphaly’s business has experienced certain obstacles in the first half of 2020 as a result of various Covid travel prohibitions around the world. It grew even more in the second half of 2020 and the early part of 2021, owing to significant demand from shoppers who are unable to go internationally. Shiphaly has seen a 25% month-over-month increase in delivered orders, as well as over 15,000 posted orders worth over $2 million, since the beginning of 2021.

“We are very excited about Shiphaly and we believe that Shiphaly offers a unique idea to solve an issue in many countries in the Middle East. Shipahly’s unique team offers the technical and commercial depth and experience to ensure the success of the company. We strongly believe that Shiphaly has the potential to grow exponentially in many markets with the advantage of having a low cost of entry to different markets being an e-marketplace,” Faisal Abdulsalam, the lead of this round said.

A Look At What Shiphaly Does

Shiphaly, a marketplace connecting shoppers who want to buy products from abroad with travelers who can buy and deliver the products in exchange for a cash reward, was founded in 2019 by Khaled Elabd, Hisham Elshaer, Ibrahim Sabek, and Nader Nabil. It offers shoppers a 100% money-back guarantee in the event of any problems with their order.

Flat6Labs in Cairo accelerated Shiphaly and provided startup funding in 2019.

Shiphaly’s unique selling feature is around the platform’s safety and security for both travelers and shoppers, and it provides shoppers a 100 percent money-back guarantee if their product is defective.

“We believe there is huge potential in the Egyptian market as well as other markets in Africa and the Middle East. We are very excited about the next phase of growth for Shiphaly and are gearing up to launch new features very soon to solve more and more of our customers’ problems,” Hisham Elshaer, CCO of Shiphaly said.

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Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
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