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Kenyan High Court to rule on shift to new currency

September 23, 2019

On June 1, Central bank announced that it was withdrawing Ksh1,000 ($10) notes from circulation effective October 1 to deal with counterfeits and money laundering.

Last week, the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), the industry’s lobby, said no banks should now be dispensing the old Ksh1,000 notes because now it’s about receiving them and forwarding them to CBK,”

Did Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) violate the Constitution in including the statue of founding president Jomo Kenyatta on the new generation bank notes?

The answer to this question, and its effect, is at the heart of a case filed by activist Okiya Omtatah and whose verdict is expected from the High Court on September 27.

The ruling will come only days to the expiry of the CBK deadline of September 30th for return of the old Ksh1,000 bank notes that are set to be withdrawn from circulation.

Justice David Maraga of the high court of Kenya

Chief Justice David Maraga appointed judges George Kanyi Kimondo, Anthony Charo Murima and Lady Justice Asenath Nyaboke Ongeri to handle the case.

Mr Omtatah accused the Central Bank of Kenya and its governor Patrick Njoroge of violating Article 231 (4) of the Constitution that prohibits the use of individual portraits in currency notes and coins.

He also argued that the designs of the new generation currency note and coins were not subjected to public participation in line with the requirements of the Kenyan Constitution.

“Notes and coins issued by the Central Bank of Kenya may bear images that depict or symbolise Kenya or an aspect of Kenya but shall not bear the portrait of any individual,” states the Constitution.

According to Mr Omtatah, the Legal Notices used by CBK to legalise the issuance of new generation bank notes — No. 235 of December 7, 2018, No. 72 of May 31, 2019, and the Kenya Gazette Notice No. 4849 of May 31, 2019—are invalid, null and void because they were issued in violation of the Constitution and statutes without being tabled in parliament for scrutiny and approval.

On June 1, Central bank announced that it was withdrawing Ksh1,000 ($10) notes from circulation effective October 1 to deal with counterfeits and money laundering.

Last week, the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), the industry’s lobby, said no banks should now be dispensing the old Ksh1,000 notes because now it’s about receiving them and forwarding them to CBK,”

However, The EastAfrican has learnt that some lenders are still dispensing old Ksh1,000 notes through their automated teller machines (ATMs)

JAMES ANYANZWA works for The East African

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

Kenya ’s Largest Bank Enters Asian Market In A Deal With Japan’s SMBC

September 14, 2019

In this latest move, Kenya’s largest bank KCB will be looking to build one of the most significant banking bridges between Asia and Africa as well as position Kenya as a strong financial center in East Africa. KCB has just sealed a deal with the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), a multinational banking and financial services company in Tokyo, Japan aimed at driving cross-border trade between both countries. Kenya-based giant lender KCB hopes to be getting access to service clients in Japan through the agreement.

“We believe that new business opportunities will arise from the rapid economic development in Kenya and therefore seek to areas of mutual partnership to support such development, utilizing the product capabilities and global and local network of both banks,” KCB’s Group Director for Regional Businesses, Paul Russo said in a statement yesterday.

Here Is All You Need To Know

Under the deal, KCB will provide banking services such as banking accounts and cash management, trade finance, export credit agency finance, and treasury-related products to clients introduced to it by SMBC.
On the other hand, the deal will further strengthen SMBC’s coverage in Africa. According to the Managing Executive Officer & Head of EMEA Division at SMBC, Tetsuro Imaeda, cooperating with local financial institutions in Africa is “indispensable” for the giant Asian lender to expand its Africa business and responding to customer needs.

“By signing the agreement between one of our most important partners in Africa, KCB, SMBC will be able to support our client’s business to East Africa through (a) wide range of coverage of KCB in the areas and expects to further strengthen (the) existing strong relationship,” Imaeda added.

The pact between the two banks, reportedly the largest in their respective regions, was signed on the sidelines of the 7th annual SMBC Africa Summit held in Yokohama last week. It will see both lenders expand their financial offerings provided to clients in both East Africa and Japan, thereby enabling more cross border trade flows.

The Key Take-Away From This Agreement

For KCB, gaining such access to serve the Japanese market is a major step in its expansion drive. News of the partnership with SMBC comes just a week after the Central Bank of Kenya approved the takeover of state-owned National Bank of Kenya (NBK) by KCB Group.

Russo added KCB expects to “open up the East African market to the Asian market especially in the trade and motor vehicle industry.”

In a statement, the apex bank had said the acquisition will “strengthen both institutions leveraging on their respective well-established domestic and regional corporate, public sector and retail franchises.”

Partnering with SMBC now positions the bank for a major expansion of portfolio and an increase its global business operations, Russo added.

About KCB Group

KCB Group is a Kenyan non-operating holding company that owns banking subsidiaries in the East African region. In addition, the Group owns non-banking subsidiaries including KCB Insurance Agency, KCB Capital, and KCB Foundation. KCB Group oversees operations of KCB Bank Kenya Limited and all other subsidiaries

The bank works with several multinational companies in different industries and hopes to use the collaboration with SMBC to expand its play in facilitating business in Africa. Apart from Kenya, the lender currently has operations in Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, with a representative office in Ethiopia.

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.

These Four African Countries Control 60 per cent of Africa ’s Digital Economy, says new report.

September 12, 2019

Africa has 54 countries but only four countries dominate the digital revolution going on in the world. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are leveraging data and various platforms to collectively control the lion’s share of the continent’s digital entrepreneurship activities.

Here Is All You Need To Know

Apart from the Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, six second-tier countries — Ghana, Morocco, Senegal, Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania — make up another 20 per cent, while the remaining 44 countries in Africa account for the remaining 20 per cent.
The UN agency, however, warns that the growing digital wave on the continent could be curtailed, particularly in Kenya where the Government is looking for ways to start taxing mobile applications and internet usage.

‘‘While this kind of taxation may be attractive to governments, it can be counterproductive if it results in a decline in economic activity by reducing the number of active internet users,” says the report.

UCTAD said efforts to grow tax revenues could also hurt the growth of the growing online businesses as well as suppress start-ups.

According to the report entitled Value Creation and Capture: Implications for Developing Countries, numerous developed countries are discussing or implementing interim and permanent measures to tax the digital economy.

Read Also: Tax War On Online Businesses: Nigerian and Kenyan Ecommerce Businesses To Pay VAT

These include Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia. In Kenya, the National Treasury has proposed imposing an income tax and value-added tax on items bought on different e-commerce platforms. The proposals, contained in the Finance Bill 2019, are currently being debated in Parliament. This is also the case with Nigeria which has proposed to tax all ecommerce companies.

Commenting on the findings, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said digital advances have generated enormous wealth in record time, but that wealth has been concentrated around a small number of individuals, companies and countries.

There Is Wide Disparity In Digital Revolution Across The World

The report also noted that the world’s top digital firms are highly concentrated geographically . Among the world’s 70 highest valued digital platforms, most are based in the United States, followed by Asia (especially China). Latin American and African digital platforms are only marginal. In terms of market capitalization value, digital platform companies from the United States increased their share in the global total from 65 per cent to 70 per cent. An analysis of web traffic data confirms the dominance of the large United States digital platform companies. The report also noted that the United States hosts more than half of the top 100 websites used in 9 of the world’s 13 subregions shown in the table. Even in Western Europe, the most-used websites are based in the United States.

Challenges Confronting Emerging Economies

The report noted that the some of the problems confronting developing economies and other entrepreneurship ecosystems include the small size and scope of their markets.

It is rare for them to be able to reach international markets. In the diverse sample used in one study on Africa, 117 out of 135 enterprises (87 per cent) targeted their domestic markets. Enterprises typically focused on using digital technologies to cater to a nearby niche market, the report notes.

Indeed, few African digital enterprises reach customers beyond the boundaries of their home city. This is because they have to engage with customers directly, and also because only customers in cities have the minimum necessary infrastructural access or technological readiness to engage with a variety of digital products, the report further notes.

The report further notes that Africa still has fewer capital and other entrepreneurial resources than any other regions in the world to boost its digital economy.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

Government-owned National Bank of Kenya Finally Acquired, 51 Years After

September 7, 2019

End of the road for Kenyan government-owned National Bank of Kenya which has been in existence for the past 51 years. Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority, an independent government financial regulatory agency responsible for supervising, licensing and monitoring the activities of market intermediaries, including the stock exchange has approved the papers for Kenya Commercial Bank to acquire 100 percent of the assets and liabilities of NBK.

Here Is The Deal

After Kenya’s Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) first approved the acquisition, the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya has gone ahead to put the final seal on the acquisition, making Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) the largest lender in the whole of the East African region in terms of numbers as well as assets.
KCB confirmed that it had received consent to acquire National Bank from shareholders holding 297,130,033 issued ordinary shares out of 338,781,200 issued ordinary shares, representing 87.7 percent by the offer closure date on August 30, 2019.

“We will take several integration decisions including rationalization of our branch network in order to enhance service delivery to our customers. Additionally, we will examine the overall human resource needs to enable efficient business organization” said Oigara, KCB Group CEO who says the next move will be to fully integrate NBK into KCB within the next 24 months.

KCB is now proceeding to complete the transaction as all conditions of the offer have been satisfied (or waived, where legally capable of waiver).
The condition for the conversion of the non-cumulative preference shares in the share capital of NBK has been met and the conversion and swap of the said shares will occur.
On completion of these processes, KCB will hold 1,432,130,033 ordinary shares comprising 97.17 percent of the total issued share capital of NBK.
KCB will further apply the provisions of the Capital Markets (Take-overs and Mergers) Regulations, 2002 and Part XXIV, Division 4 of the Companies Act to compulsorily acquire the remaining 41,651,167 issued ordinary shares of NBK. Requisite notices in this regard will be sent to all concerned shareholders.
KCB first pursued NBK earlier this year after the later registered a 98 percent drop in profits from Sh400 million to Sh7 million for the year ended December 2018 as the lender struggled with bad loans.

The Implication of This Acquisition

This acquisition does one thing in the Kenyan banking sector: it has brought the last vestiges of government ownership stakes in banks to an end. It is now therefore safe to say that Kenya’s government ownership stakes in banks in Kenya may have been completely eliminated. National Bank of Kenya was was established in 1968 as a 100 percent government-owned financial institution. In 1994, the Kenyan Government reduced its shareholding to 68 percent by selling 32 percent shareholding to the public. The government further divested from NBK over the years, until its present shareholding of 22.5 percent, as of April 2019. Following 12 years of poor financial performance, the bank became profitable again in 2010, paying out an annual dividend ever since.
Apart from its banking business, National Bank is bringing to the table National Insurance Agency, Natbank Trustees and Investment Service Limited. These are all what Kenya Commercial Bank has now acquired.
Obviously, this will comfortably make KCB that largest commercial lender in the whole of East Africa.
The implication of this acquisition would also extend to the shareholders of both banks. Since both banks are all listed on Kenya’s stock exchange, with effect from next week, the NBK shareholders who swapped their shares for those of KCB will be able to freely trade the new stocks at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).
KCB owns banking subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

“We are thankful and excited for the goodwill and support we have received from the shareholders, our regulators and all the other stakeholders. This is a good start as we get into full transition,” said Oigara.

What Will Change

Expect a bit of readjustment in the workforce, even if it means retrenchment of workers. This first wave of that has already come earlier this week when KCB announced the appointment of Paul Russo as the designate Managing Director of National Bank of Kenya for the transactional 2-year period of integration into KCB. Russo, who was serving as the Group’s Director of Regional Businesses, has been tasked with leading the transition team that will directly report to the KCB Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Joshua Oigara.

According to a statement from KCB, KCB will also particularly work towards streamlining human resources, systems, processes and procedures to fully realize the value of the envisioned combined efficiencies and productivity synergies post the acquisition.

It is also expected that the NBK Board will, of course, be reorganized.

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.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

GE Healthcare and the Association of Medical Engineering of Kenya host more than 100 biomedical engineers for Biomedical Excellence Day

August 9, 2019

More than 100 biomedical engineers from the public and private sectors across the country participated with best practices on maintenance emphasized during the training; the training aligns with Kenya’s Vision 2030 and the Big Four agenda pillar on capacity building for Universal Health Coverage

GE Healthcare today hosted the first “Biomedical Excellence Day” in Kenya during which more than 100 biomedical engineers were trained by local and international experts. The engineers were drawn from both government and private health centers from across Kenya’s 47 counties. The training was organized in partnership with the Association of Medical Engineering of Kenya (AMEK) and held in Nairobi.

AMEK is a professional association registered under CAP 108 of the laws of Kenya and boasts of approximately 2000 members currently.

The objective of the Biomedical Excellence Day was to provide biomedical engineers with the latest information and knowledge on the use of advanced medical equipment. The full-day event also provided a platform for knowledge sharing to foster best practices in the maintenance of healthcare systems.

Topics covered included Medical Equipment Lifecycle management and upgrades, Navigation through CT Technology, Code of Conduct for Medical Engineers, among other topics.

“As a leader in the healthcare sector, we believe that in order to provide sustainability of healthcare solutions, training programs for healthcare professionals need up-dating to remain relevant to their practice and to reflect advances in healthcare innovations,” said Andrew Waititu, Managing Director of GE Healthcare East Africa. “The Biomedical Excellence Day reinforces our commitment to support continuous training for healthcare professionals and support the Universal Health Coverage agenda.”

In June 2016, GE Healthcare launched a US $13 million Healthcare Skills and Training Institute in Kenya in collaboration with the government to promote the training of biomedical engineers and other healthcare workers as part of the Managed Equipment Services (MES) project.

This is driving capacity and capability building as a priority for sustainable development of the healthcare sector in Kenya. To date, over 1600 professionals have been trained.

“Training in the latest medical technologies is critical for Biomedical Engineering professionals to efficiently provide quality Healthcare technology management to Kenyans through treatment, consultation, diagnosis, monitoring, administration, equipment preventive maintenance, surgery among other services.

We appreciate GE Healthcare for organizing the Biomedical Excellence Day which aligns with our motto of “Strengthening healthcare technology through appropriate technology” as it bridges the skills gaps within our fraternity.” Eng. Millicent Alooh, Secretary-General, AMEK

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.

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Kenyan Startup Ilara Health Raises $735k Seed Funding Round To Grow Business

August 8, 2019

2019 has proven a good year for health and ride-sharing startups in Africa. More funding is coming than ever before. Kenyan startup Ilara Health, which is bringing affordable diagnostics services to doctors, has just joined the wagon. The startup has raised a US$735,000 seed funding round to grow its offering in the East African country and ultimately beyond.

Here Is The Deal

The US$735,000 seed funding for the startup came from investment firms ShakaVC, Chandaria Capital, and Villgro Kenya, with the round also including angel investors such as Esther Dyson, Nijhad Jamal, Aadil Mamujee, Selma Ribica, and Shakir Merali. Several of the new investors will become strategic advisors to the business.

“Seventy per cent of patients need some form of medical test to inform their treatment, but many doctors across Africa have limited ability to perform diagnostics in their clinics. When a patient needs a test, doctors often refer them to a lab. Given the infrastructure challenges across the region — the time, the money it takes to get anywhere — patients frequently fail to attend and care breaks down,” said Emilian Popa, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) at Ilara Health.

This round of investment will be used primarily to grow Ilara Health ’s peri-urban medical clinic customers in Kenya, and ultimately beyond. It will also allow the company to build a flexible technology platform to manage and protect valuable patient health and clinic financial data.

A Glance At The Startup

Founded in 2018, Kenyan health startup Ilara Health sources tech-powered diagnostics equipment and makes it accessible to Africans who struggle to afford it, bundling the equipment and integrating the devices via a proprietary technology platform. Doctors pay a deposit to use the equipment and then pay off the remaining cost in installments determined by usage.

What Drew Investors In

Esther Dyson, angel investor and executive founder at Wellville, said she had invested in Ilara because she had watched CEO Popa explore the market to find the perfect, sustainable product-market fit.

“Moreover, the need is great, and the benefits of simple, cost-effective diagnostic tools will extend well beyond the patients and doctors, affecting first Kenya and ultimately the continent at large,” she 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.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Kenya Has Just Sealed Its First Oil Export Deal Worth Sh1.2 Billion

August 3, 2019

Time for early investors and startups in Kenya to leech onto the country’s blossoming petroleum industry! It is now safe to say that Kenya is now an oil-producing nation in the world, the only nation in the whole of East Africa, after South Sudan to actually export oil.

The country has just sealed its first oil export deal worth Sh1.2 Billion ($11.6m). With 60,000 to 100,000 barrels per day, Kenya is set to displace either Ghana, Brunei or Chad in the ranking of oil-producing and exporting countries by production capacity.

“We are now an oil exporter. Our first deal was concluded this afternoon with 200,000 barrels at a price of 12 million US dollars. So, I think we have started the journey and it is up to us to ensure that those resources are put to the best use to make our country both prosperous and to ensure we eliminate poverty,” Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said

Here Is The Deal

This deal which is the first-ever in the whole of Kenya’s history saw Kenya selling off 200,000 barrels of oil at a price of Sh1.2 billion ($12m).
Kenya discovered commercial oil reserves in its Lokichar basin in 2012 and Tullow Oil estimates the basin to contain an estimated 560 million barrels in so-called 2C proven and probable oil reserves.
Tullow has said this would translate to 60,000 to 100,000 barrels per day of gross production.
Tullow Oil is a multinational oil and gas exploration company founded in Tullow, Ireland with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. It has interests in over 150 licenses across 25 countries with 67 producing fields and in 2012 produced on average 79,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

**Source: Statista 2019; Oil Production in Africa from 2001 to 2018 (in 1,000 barrels per day)**

The government and Tullow Oil had expected to start exporting crude under the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS) by June this year but that appeared unlikely with the company only having trucked about half of the amount that will be needed for the first shipment.
In May, Kenya’s Ministry of Petroleum said about 88,000 barrels of oil had so far been trucked to Mombasa and was targeting to accumulate 200,000 barrels that would form the first export cargo.
The oil that has been ferried to Mombasa was produced in 2015 during an extended well testing exercise. By end of March, Tullow had shipped all the oil stored in Lokichar and has been setting up an Early Production Facility, which will produce 2,000 barrels a day.

Currently, major oil producers in Africa include Nigeria (0.0449), Libya (0.0101), Egypt (0.0418) and Algeria (0.0913), producing a total of 0.1881 trillion cubic feet of gas cumulatively which is 5.4 percent of the world’s total production.

In 2018, Africa’s total oil production amounted to around 8.19 million barrels of oil per day.

Africa’s production rate is, however, decreasing at a rate of 1.1 percent per annum. Africa’s consumption rate is at 138.2 billion cubic meters at a growth rate of 1.4 percent. It would take Africa 68 years to completely deplete its reserves.

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.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Here Is Why Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa Hold The Highest Potential for Fintech Investors

August 1, 2019

Expect investors who invest in Africa’s fintech sector to cash out big. Investment deals in Africa’s fintech sector shot to a record $357 million in 2018. This is partly because more people are using mobile money services in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) than in any other sub-regions in the world. In fact, over the last 12 to 18 months, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has now emerged as one of the fastest-growing financial technology (Fintech) hubs in the world in terms of investments, albeit from a low base.

Here Is All You Need To Know

In 2018 alone, investment in African fintechs nearly quadrupled to $357 million, with startups in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa accounting for the largest share. This trend continued into 2019, with a number of high-profile deals.
For example, three Nigerian fintech start-ups — Kudi, OneFi and TeamApt, each raised around $5 million in funding during the first half of the year.
These statistics are from the Global System for Mobile Telecommunications Association (GSMA).
GSMA said huge opportunities await Fintech’s investors, with emerging markets including Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa holding huge potential for fintech innovations.

The Numbers

GSMA further added that 395.7 million registered mobile money accounts now exist in the region and that nearly nine in 10 registered mobile money accounts are in East and West Africa.
According to the body, which is in charge of over 800 telecoms companies globally, over the past year, several underserved markets in the region have taken steps to accelerate mobile money adoption and, by extension, financial inclusion among citizens.
The body noted that in Nigeria, regulatory reforms introduced in October 2018 allow mobile operators to obtain licenses to operate payment service banks (PSBs), while in Ethiopia, an ambitious financial inclusion strategy has been attracting investment into mobile money services.
Indeed, reforms in Nigeria have seen MTN getting Super Agent license on Tuesday from the Central Bank of Nigeria, with other telecoms to follow suit.

Integration of Mobile Money Platforms With Broader Financial Ecosystem Will Change The Game

GSMA noted that Angola’s national bank plans to submit new laws governing payment systems, including mobile payments, to parliament for approval in 2019.

The telecoms body said these developments notwithstanding, future growth of mobile money services in the region will be largely driven by the interoperability of mobile money services.

Account-to-account (A2A) interoperability gives users the ability to transfer between customer accounts held with different mobile money providers and other financial system players.

It also disclosed that Tanzania led the way in 2014, but several countries across the region, including Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Ghana, have now launched interoperability projects and use cases.

According to GSMA, mobile money providers’ integration with banks is one particular use case that has significantly increased volumes moving between mobile money and banking systems.

The body, while charging Nigeria and other countries, informed that a next step in the interoperability journey will be the implementation of innovative solutions to integrate mobile money platforms with the broader financial ecosystem.

“A number of options exist around central switching infrastructure for the industry to enable nascent use cases to scale, including merchant payments and efficient connections to domestic and international financial system players. This is already happening at sub-regional levels.

“For example, the eight countries 11 of the West African Economic Monetary Union (WAEMU) are building an interoperable system that will connect 110 million people to more than 125 banks, dozens of e-money issuers, and more than 600 microfinance institutions.

“However, much of the existing bank-focused infrastructure is not optimal for mobile money. In an effort to solve this, MTN and Orange, with the support of the GSMA, launched a joint venture to enable interoperable payments across Africa.

“Known as Mowali (‘mobile wallet interoperability’), the service is open to any mobile money provider in Africa, as well as banks, money transfer operators and other financial services providers.

“With its pan- African footprint allowing for economies of scale and a cost-recovery commercial model, Mowali has the potential to drive down the price of services offered to lower-income customers.

“Additionally, Mowali could shape the future of the mobile money ecosystem in the region by creating a common mobile money acceptance brand with the potential to connect fintechs, banks, merchants and other ecosystem players to nearly 400 million mobile money accounts across Africa,” GSMA stated.

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.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Free WiFi and Online Entertainment On Public Buses? That’s What SWVL Just Launched in Kenya

July 31, 2019

The disruption game is on. Swvl has raised more money and it is currently staging a major feat in Kenya. Swvl riders in Kenya will now save their MBs while onboard Swvl buses, as well as have access to online entertainment, similar to the experience you have onboard a plane with mini TVs sticking into your faces.

Here Is All You Need To Know

This innovation is by way of a partnership with BRCK, a Nairobi-based startup.
The partnership will see BRCK installing free WiFi and online entertainment on its buses in Kenya.
The Kenyan BRCK startup has developed a rugged, self-powered mobile WiFi device for internet connectivity in areas with poor infrastructure.
These WiFi routers are being installed by BRCK in Swvl buses to have riders access the internet using Moja, a free WiFi network BRCK that also comes with entertainment content including Music, TV shows, cartoons, and books.
The users can access free content by downloading Moja’s Android app.
BRCK has already installed its routers on 15 Swvl buses and is expected to take this number to 700 by 2020.
Swvl is paying a monthly fee to BRCK for installation and maintenance of the routers.

Extension To Other Markets Outside Kenya

Swvl and BRCK have not confirmed if they plan to extend their partnership to other markets where Swvl operates.
BRCK’s network is already available on a large number of minibuses (Matau) in Kenya and Rwanda with over 445,000 unique monthly active users, TechCrunch reported citing company data.
Swvl, since launch in 2017 in Cairo, has expanded to Alexandria, Nairobi, and Lahore, with tens of thousands of daily bookings in these markets. The startup had recently raised $42 million in one of the largest tech investment rounds of MENA. Careem had also announced last month that it will be providing free WiFi to all the riders in UAE.

This is a classic way startups can effectively leech on to the existing value chain.

Swvl’s Business Model

SWVL’s goal is to make it easier for Egypt’s residents to book bus rides at a fixed rate on existing routes.
Users schedule trips, pay online or in cash and are given virtual boarding passes.
Even with fierce competition from the likes of Buseet and Uber vying into premium public transport service, SWVL’s application has been downloaded for well over 360,000 times on Google play store and Apple iStore.
The platform completes 100,000 rides monthly.
It was the first company to introduce the service in Egypt in 2017 before Careem and Uber joined the sector late last year.
Swvl is however different from its competitors because of its series of partnership deals. The startup’s credit facility agreements with Nasser Social Bank and EFG Hermes Bank, and after-sales support and maintenance services with Ford-trained technicians are some of these moves.
What Egyptian SWVL users think about the startup is its priority on affordability, comfort, and safety.

Not Afraid Of Competition

Although Swvl is the first riding app to offer bus services in Egypt, giant transportation startups Careem and Uber have recently offered their own bus services.

Mostafa Kandil, Egyptian CEO and founder of Swvl, has however noted that the joining of Uber and Careem to the industry has not influenced Swvl’s growth asserting that they have witnessed remarkable development since the two competitive players have launched.
In 2018, the startup was valued at nearly US$100 million, becoming the second Egyptian company after Fawryto reaches these figures.

The startup has recently signed an agreement with Ford motor company to deploy more cars on the road. Ford Transit, which the startup intends to use is already the third best selling van of all times. SWVL is already in possession of about 100 Ford Transits. Hazem Taher, SWVL’s Head Marketing Manager, said the vans were ready to go and they’re excited to push them on SWVL’s route.

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.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/Afrikanheroes/

Kenyan Agritech Startup Taimba Raises $100k To Scale Operations

July 26, 2019

Kenyan agritech startup Taimba has joined the league of African startup fundraisers. US impact investor Gray Matters Capital is committing $100 000 in the Nairobi-based B2B agritech startup to help it scale its operations.

Here Is The Deal

The investment from Gray Matters Capital was made through its gender lens early-stage fund GMC coLabs.
The startup explained that the markets it wants to take on in Nairobi are Umoja, Kayole, Pipeline/Imara Daima, Kawagware/Waiyaki way, Kahawa west/Githurai, and Southlands/Langata.
Last year, Taimba was one of 15 startups selected to join the Make-IT accelerator.
The startup also emerged the winner of the inaugural Disrupt Africa Live Pitch Competition which was held in Nairobi last year.
Taimba also won $10 000 at the 2018 Food+City Challenge Prize at SXSW.
The deal also marks GMC coLabs fourth investment in Africam with investment ticket sizes of up to $250 000. The impact investor’s other investees include Rwanda’s African Renewal Energy Distributor (ARED), Ghana’s Redbird Health Tech and Nigeria’s Sonocare.
In addition, the investor has also supported two other start-ups from the continent — Kenya’s parent advisory turned e-commerce start-up MumsVillageand Sierra Leone based Mosabi as part of its global digital accelerator program — GMC Calibrator earlier this year.

A Look At Taimba

Taimba is a mobile-based platform that connects rural small scale farmers to urban retailers, restaurants, hospitals, and schools in Nairobi.
The startup was founded in 2017 by Dominique Kavuisya and Joan Kavuisya
Taimba aims to remove middlemen, shrink the agricultural value chain, cut wastage and make products more affordable.
Gray Matters Capital said the startup currently works with 2000 farmers as well as 15 farmer savings and credit co-operatives that sell products that include potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, and carrots.
Informal greengrocers make up the bulk of Taimba’s 310 customers at 85%, this while restaurants and cafes make up 10% of its customer list, with schools and hospitals located outside of Nairobi making up 5% of its clientele.

“The funding is a shot in the arm for us to strengthen our warehouse infrastructure by setting up cold storage facilities and also our delivery logistics so that we can cater to six new markets within Nairobi,” noted Taimba’s CEO Kavuisya.

Outside of Nairobi, Taimba is planning to launch a pilot in Mombasa and Kisumu City by next year. In addition, the startup is also looking to produce new products that include fruits, nuts, and eggs as part of its farm product catalogue.
The startup also has plans to replicate its model in Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Rwanda over the next five years.
GMC coLabs portfolio manager Jennifer Soltis said Taimba has built a solution that can be replicated in other markets in East Africa “with minimal tweaks”.
The startup’s first deal which was signed last month marks Taimba’s first investment. The company currently employs a team of seven permanent staff and five part-time workers.

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.