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How 5G Connectivity Will Boost The Output Volume of African Startups

July 22, 2019

5G is finally here. With the 5G infrastructure, it will become almost possible to download an HD movie in seven seconds — 40 times faster than 4G. This will be a big boost for countries like Equatorial Guinea where it will take over 22 hours to download a 5-gigabyte movie.

5G has now reached an advanced stage where it can be implemented on a wider scale after years of research. Countries like the US, the UK, South Korea, Japan, and the Scandinavian region are already positioning themselves for wide-scale adoption, first rolling out 5G services on a trial basis in select areas. For many, it would be fully operational by the end of 2019 or 2020. According to Ericsson, the new 5G technology has the business potential of $619 billion in revenue opportunity for telecom operators globally by 2026. Below, we consider how 5G technology will improve output volume of African startups.

Reduction in Cost

Among the potential advantages are high data rates, reduced latency, energy savings, cost reductions, and higher system capacity. Of course, you would expect an increase in cost by internet service providers for 5G services in order to cover the initial cost of installing 5G infrastructure, but all these would become inconsequential in the future as consumers can get more value for their services. The cost will include saving time and energy usage. A person with a 5G smartphone could download a 3-D movie in about 6 seconds. On 4G, it would take 6 minutes.

But note this: 5G is never really putting an end to the increasing cost of internet use. It is better to understand the implication of 5G technology from these contrasting sides of a coin. In 2013, you would require on average $76 a month for internet subscription according to the United States’ Bureau of Labor statistics. That figure is up 50% from the $51 a month consumers were paying in 2007, the year that the iPhone was launched. By 2019, Cisco (CSCO) forecasts that mobile data traffic to and from cell towers (not offloaded to Wi-Fi) will grow by 57%. With this forecast and should data plans stay the same four years down the road, the average user’s smartphone bill could grow by $43 a month to $119.

However, one key respite 5G is bringing to the table is in the quality of services.

In this regard, Emil Björnson of the Department of Electrical Engineering (ISY) Linköping University, Sweden notes that:

‘‘Initially, 5G subscriptions might cost more than 4G, so that the telecom operators can differentiate the different services. My guess is that with time the operators will push the monthly cost for a 5G subscription to the same range as today’s subscriptions, since most people don’t want to pay more than they are already doing. Hence you will get a much better service for your money. Huge investments will definitely be needed for 5G. Spectrum will be expensive, irrespective of what kind of bands that will be used. Deployment of new base stations and backhaul infrastructure will also be expensive.’’

So with faster internet infrastructure, expect more volumes of output.

The World Bank identified broadband Internet connectivity as a key catalyst for economic growth with every 10 percent increase in connectivity enabling a 1.38 percent growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

“For instance, the average Internet speed in Nigeria might be 3.9Mbps but, if you are in Lagos, you could choose to buy a 4G connection and experience 10 to 20Mbps. If faster speeds are available, you do not need to worry about the average speed, hence it should not be a cause for slowing down economic activity. However, if you live or work in an area without fast access, then, for certain types of business, this would be an impediment to growth. Note also that if you do not have a fast access available your average speed is likely to be considerably worse than the nation’s average, because that’s the way averages work. This is the ‘Digital Divide’,” noted the Chief Executive Officer, Spectranet, David Venn.

5G Will Unleash More New Disruptive Ideas and Innovations

No gainsaying the fact that 5G technology will lead to the explosion of new disruptive ideas.

‘‘Many of the benefits probably aren’t yet apparent to us. Wireless network operators initially resisted proposals to give their customers mobile access to the internet, questioning why they would want it. At the dawn of 4G’s adoption no one could have predicted the new business models that grew on the back of mobile broadband, like Uber, Spotify and Facebook,’’ the World Economic Forum noted in its World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.

New patent study confirms growth in Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies

Unarguably, 5G would be a great enabler for the explosion of more disruptive innovations. One such innovation which has already achieved momentum is the Internet of Things. Embedded with electronics, Internet connectivity, and other forms of hardware, these devices can communicate and interact with others over the Internet, and they can be remotely monitored and controlled. One commentator describes how bizarre the world of the internet could get:

‘‘When someone wants Rebecca dead, he can just instruct her car to drive off a cliff. Mad stuff.’’

This is what ideas such as the Internet of Things are bringing to the table. One clear example of this is already seen in self-driving cars by Google. 5G will make such things become as ubiquitous as ever.

Consider alone the potential impact of the Internet of Things alone. McKinsey & Company says the Internet of Things (IoT) has a potential economic impact of $2.7 to $6.2T until 2025.

A host of disruptive applications will be built around 5G’s ultra-fast networks and real-time responsiveness once the infrastructure is fully deployed. Particularly, immediate disruptions are expected in these areas:

massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) such as solar-powered streetlights or other innovations to help citywide infrastructure
Device-to-device public safety communications that don’t need active cellular coverage
Real-time operations employing robotics to link surgeons with remote sites

Machina Research forecasts “IoT will account for one-quarter of the global 41 million 5G connections in 2024.” Approximately ¾ of these will be in the auto industry via embedded vehicle connections.

Although the report sees 5G deployment “highly concentrated” in Japan, Korea, Europe, China and North America (with Japan and Korea leading the charge), it will also help operators extend their opportunities in new markets.

‘‘5G use case is in web apps. While it’s true that it’s just as easy to download apps as it is to download any program, and 5G makes the whole experience seem instant, you can free up storage space and avoid installation steps by using a web-based app that’s already set up and ready for you to stream from a web browser.

In other words, 5G will bring a world where you need very little storage on your phone because everything, including your apps, are instantly available from the cloud,’’ noted Tim Fisher, a technology expert

So get ready. 5G is bound to create more disruptions, just like Facebook, fin-techs and other digitally-focused platforms. For African startups, they would definitely be in the value chain.

Upsurge In Internet Users. More Consumers Available Online

With 5G, expect a huge upsurge in the number of consumers available online. 5G will, therefore, provide network support for massive increases in data traffic. According to Cisco, by 2022, mobile will represent nearly 20 percent of all global IP traffic, fueled in part by the Internet of Things.

‘‘Mobile traffic will be on the verge of reaching an annual run rate of a zettabyte by the end of 2022. In that timeframe, mobile traffic will represent nearly 20 percent of global IP traffic and will reach 930 exabytes annually — nearly 113 times more than all mobile traffic generated globally in 2012. (An exabyte is 1,000,000,000 gigabytes and a zettabyte is 1,000 exabytes.),’’ noted Cisco in its annual Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update (2017–2022)

5G will fuel more connectivity and internet penetration for consumers. Just take this fact for instance: although launched in 2014, in 2017, 4G already carried 72 percent of the total mobile traffic and represented the largest share of mobile data traffic by network type.

Cisco predicts that 4G will continue to grow faster than other networks, however, the percentage share will go down slightly to 71 percent of all mobile data traffic by 2022.

“The full value and transformational capabilities of 5G cannot simply be measured by performance improvements over 4G (higher bandwidth, broader coverage, and lower latency),” wrote Thomas Barnett, director of Cisco’s service-provider thought leadership in a blog about the report. “5G will also deliver enhanced power efficiency, cost optimization, massive IoT connection density and dynamic allocation of resources based on awareness of content, user, and location.”

Cisco’s study also noted that 5G growth will be driven by IoT applications — sensors and meters on the low end to autonomous cars on the high end. Awareness of content, user and location will determine how 5G resources are allocated. “This technology is expected to solve frequency licensing and spectrum management issues. Large scale commercial deployments are not expected until the latter years of the current forecast.

Interestingly, Cisco’s forecast also sees an opportunity for internet-based businesses, as more and more consumers will find online presence almost inescapable.

The study notes that:

By 2022, 5G connections will represent over three percent of total mobile connections and will account for nearly 12 percent of global mobile data traffic.
By 2022, the average 5G connection (22 GB/month) will generate nearly three times more traffic than the average 4G connection (8 GB/month).
By 2022, 4G connections will be 54.3 percent of total mobile connections, compared to 34.7 percent in 2017. The global mobile 4G connections will grow from 3 billion in 2017 to 6.7 billion by 2022 at a CAGR of 18 percent. 5G connections will appear on the scene in 2019 and will grow several thousand percents from under half a million in 2019 to over 400 million by 2022.

Indeed, 5G will create a whole new world of customer experience.
5G will also change Peer-to-Peer connections because instead of just servers having access to quick upload speeds, your phone and computer can do the same.

‘‘Every 5G cell has a minimum upload speed of 10 Gbps (1.25 gigabytes per second), meaning that in ideal conditions, users can transfer 1.25 GB of data every single second between devices. This is much faster than what’s currently widely available. Having such a fast upload speed on your end, and other people having access to 5G’s ultrafast download speeds, means that others can download data from you as fast as you can upload it,’’ Fisher noted.

‘‘P2P can be used in many forms, like when making phone calls, transferring files, relaying information between vehicles in a smart city, automating factory equipment, and interconnecting smart sensors in homes, cities, farms, etc.’’

Bottom Line

5G will definitely see a boom in the African startup ecosystem. It will not only make the mobile experience efficient but memorable. World Bank report estimates show that a 10% higher 3G penetration in 2012 resulted in an increase of 0.15 percentage points in the annual growth rate of GDP per capita. The study also estimated the impact of mobile data usage across 14 countries found that a doubling of mobile data consumption raised GDP by 0.5 percentage points. The study also noted that for every 10 percentage point increase in broadband penetration in China there was a 2.14% increase in GDP.

In contrast to other findings that broadband has the biggest economic impact of all ICTs, simple 2G mobile penetration was found to have a bigger and more significant impact than fixed broadband on the Senegalese economy. Each 10 percentage point increase in mobile penetration was found to raise GDP growth by 0.44% (at a 10% significance level).

So African startups should expect more from 5G! Such sectors that would see the immediate impact are Virtual and augmented reality, video, and music streaming services, among others.

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/

Fenix reaches 500,000 customers in 6 markets and announces new leadership team

Fenix International, a company of ENGIE, offering Solar Home Systems across Africa has appointed co-founder and current COO Brian Warshawsky to the role of CEO.

Fenix International, a company of ENGIE, offering Solar Home Systems across Africa has appointed co-founder and current COO Brian Warshawsky to the role of CEO to drive the next phase of the company’s ambitious growth plans.

Warshawsky is succeeding Lyndsay Handler who has been with the company for 7 years and served as CEO since 2016. Warshawsky is well-placed to lead the company, having previously spent 5 years at Apple as part of the iPod Operations team before co-founding Fenix International in 2009. Having worked as COO with Fenix from inception, Brian has a deep understanding of the business from product design to manufacturing, country operations, distribution, and last-mile customer experience.

Ivan Topalov, who previously served as Corporate Finance Director has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer following the departure of the previous CFO, Josh Romisher, in June. The company has also appointed a new Head of Customer Credit, Alison Boess, reporting to the CEO.

Yoven Moorooven, CEO of ENGIE Africa, said, “Brian is a highly regarded leader with the right mix of skills and experience to lead this new chapter for Fenix as we continue to establish ourselves as the market leader across Africa. With commercial operations in Uganda, Zambia, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Benin and Mozambique, Fenix is growing from strength to strength. Under Brian’s leadership, I’m incredibly excited about the future of our decentralized energy offering in Africa.”

He continued, “I join everyone at ENGIE and the Fenix team in thanking Lyndsay, Jit, and Chris for their many years of dedicated service and commitment to the Fenix Mission. Under their leadership, Fenix transformed millions of lives across the continent and built an inspiring team that is driven to succeed.”

Brian Warshawsky, newly appointed CEO commented, “While it is difficult to say goodbye to such incredible colleagues and collaborators through so many years, I’m proud to be able to continue their legacy. On behalf of the Fenix team, I would like to thank Jit for his technology leadership and the work he did to build Fenix Power, our next-generation solar home system platform.

I would like to thank Chris for his commercial and marketing leadership as Fenix grew from a few customers in Uganda to 500,000 customers across 6 countries in Africa. And I would like to especially thank Lyndsay for leading Fenix through so many milestones, most recently the ENGIE acquisition and establishing Fenix as the strongest off-grid solar home system company in the industry.”

He added, “Backed by a world-class product, a world-class team and with the full support of ENGIE, I am excited for what we will do to take our life-changing product to customers across the continent. We are now set for an exciting future as we continue our expansion across Africa and achieving universal energy access for all.”

Lyndsay Handler added, “Building Fenix from 2011 to 2017 and accelerating our growth following the acquisition by ENGIE in 2018 has truly been an honour. Together, we have delivered clean, affordable energy to over 500,000 households or 2.5 million people in six countries across Africa.

I am especially proud of the way we built a passionate Fenix team based in Africa who are deeply committed to our mission, values, and customers. Looking ahead, I am happy to pass the torch to our co-founder Brian and I am confident that the entire team will put the customer first in all that we do in Fenix’s next chapter. I hope that Fenix will continue to create new products and drive forward innovation so that clean energy is affordable to all at the last mile.”

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.

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

Egyptian Startup Fawry Goes On Egypt’s Largest IPO

This is a major breakthrough for digital platforms across Africa. Less than 9 months after another technologically focused finance solution startup, Sarwa Capital, opened its shares for public subscription, Fawry, the Egyptian digital payment solution has announced it is ready to open itself to the public too by going on its First Public Offering (IPO )

Here Is What The IPO Is Going To Look Like

Although the IPO would come late August 2019 or early 2020, Fawry is only ready to list 36% or more of its stake in the company on the Egyptian Stock Exchange.
The company is eyeing proceeds between EGP 2 and 2.5 bn, which would make the offering the largest Egypt has seen since Emaar Misr raised EGP 2.28 bn in 2015.
It would also value Fawry at EGP 4.5–5.5 bn. The offering will consist of a substantial international component, with the roadshow is set to cover the GCC, European, US, and South African markets.
The offering will include a private placement for institutional investors and an initial public offering (IPO) for retail investors in Egypt at the same price, said investment bank EFG Hermes, which is managing the sale.
The offer price is not yet known as the bank did not give any indication on the expected offer price.
Fawry’s managing director this month told Reuters the company had begun preparing for the IPO on the Egyptian Exchange and that the process would be carried out in 2019 or early 2020.
Financial advisor FinCorp, which Fawry hired to conduct a fair value study, is due to submit its report to the Financial Regulatory Authority within two weeks, after which the book-building process will begin, the sources hinted.
Fawry’s expansion plans include increasing its points of sale, buying new payment machines, and developing Fawry Pay. Fawry also signed an agreement with Dubai Islamic Bank last month to launch a trial run of its services in the UAE this summer.

Here Is Why This IPO is Significant For African Technology Focused Startups

Fawry is owned by local and foreign investment banks and was founded in 2009. About 8% of its shares are in the hands of management and employees.

Fawry’s network processed 600.1 million transactions last year with a total value of 34.2 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.1 billion), EFG Hermes said in its statement.

Fawry made core profit of 152 million pounds in 2018, up 41.2% on the previous year, indicating the increasing viability of FinTech business model across Africa.

The last IPO by a private company on the Egyptian Exchange was financing solutions business Sarwa Capital last October.

Indeed, this IPO shows that Fintech in Africa has increasingly become more profitable as banks. The ability to pay dividends from profits is a major factor every business owner should have in mind before deciding to embark on IPO, and with Fawry which basically runs online with little or no physical presence doing so, this is a major announcement that digitally-focused businesses have finally come to stay.

This notwithstanding, so much credit has to go to the acquisition that happened as far back as 2015. In 2015, a consortium of international financial investors acquired a majority stake in Fawry, a deal that valued the company at EGP773 million (US$100 million) and saw the company adopting an expansion strategy outside of Egypt. The investors are the Egyptian-American Enterprise Fund (EAEF), pan-African private investment firm Helios Investment Partners, and the International Finance Corporation.

* $1 = 16.5600 Egyptian pounds

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/

Startup VertoFX Raises $2M For African and Emerging Market Currency Trading Platform

July 20, 2019

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.

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

Egypt’s Swvl Is Playing A Game of Strategy. Expands To Pakistan Over Nigeria

July 19, 2019

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).

Careem had also announced its intention to expand to Pakistan when it launched a similar bus booking service last year in Cairo.

*Most popular ride-sharing apps, Pakistan*

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.

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

Rwanda Gets Africa’s First Smartphone Powered By Blockchain

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.

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

Olatowun Candide-Johnson has been appointed Chairwoman of Kwik

The French start-up kwik announced today that Olatowun CANDIDE-JOHNSON, a Nigerian lawyer and businesswoman, has officially been appointed Chairwoman of its supervisory board. kwik, which aims to become the number 1 provider in the Nigerian last-mile delivery market, was founded by a French National, Romain Poirot-Lellig.

A Nigerian lawyer and businesswoman specializing in Oil and Gas Law and Governance for multinational companies, Olatowun CANDIDE-JOHNSON have several years of experience in senior management roles within the Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria as well as in the Total Group. Her last role as at the end of 2016 was General Counsel; Chief Compliance Officer & Executive General Manager, Management Services.

Ms. CANDIDE-JOHNSON earned an MBA from the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program in 2016. TRIUM Global Executive MBA is a joint award from the LSE, NYU Stern, and HEC Paris.

She is the Founder and CEO of GAIA Women Club, a members-only business & social Club in Victoria Island, Lagos, whose goal is to encourage women in business to connect more deeply, gain each other’s trust and do more business together.

She is also a Founding parent and director of the Lagos Preparatory School, located in Ikoyi, Lagos (economic capital of Nigeria), one of the leading preparatory schools offering the British curriculum in Africa.
Olatowun CANDIDE-JOHNSON also sits on the Board of Directors of the Nigerian Norwegian Chamber of Commerce (NNCC).

In joining Africa Delivery Technologies, Olatowun brings her experience, know-how and deep knowledge of the Nigerian economy and society to kwik, guiding the company in its ambition to become the # 1 in last-mile delivery in Africa’s largest market.

kwik was developed by Africa Delivery Technologies, a young French start-up with a simple vision: large African cities are facing major challenges (demographic, infrastructure, socio-economic …) all of which can be, if not definitively solved, at least partially addressed through the use of new mobility technologies.

Under the brand name kwik, Africa Delivery Technologies has been developing, since the summer of 2018, an urban mobility platform which will initially focus on delivery services in Lagos, Nigeria’s economic capital with approximately 22 million inhabitants. It is targeting the B2B market with a series of new features and an adapted commercial approach.

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.

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

South Africa’s Startup Livestock Wealth Is Now Worth More Than $7 Million

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.

World Macadamia production projections, as presented at the 7th International Macadamia Symposium in 2015

Its Strategy Is In Partnership

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.

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

News Startup Space in Africa Raises Fund To Expand To Five African Countries

July 16, 2019

Even in the face of stiff economic situations, startups in Africa are busy sealing rounds of investment. Everything from FinTech to agrictech, to cleantech to newstech. Space in Africa, a news and research startup that covers the rapidly growing African space economy which has already seen eight nations launch 35 satellites in the last two decades — and 15 satellites in just the last 4 years, has successfully completed its seed funding round.

Although the terms were not disclosed, the startup plans to use the funds to hire additional reporters and analysts to expand coverage for its subscription news service and specialized industry reports.

Investor funding into online media upstarts like Buzzfeed, Vox and Business Insider, jumped to over $800M in 2014.

A Look At The Funding

The funding round was led by AC Ventures, the venture capital firm led by Adam B. Cohen, who has previously built and sold other research and news companies.

“I am proud to partner with Temidayo in evangelising the benefits of space applications to solve practical problems and create exciting business opportunities for Africans. As the cost of launch falls and satellites shrink, the most valuable resources now in the NewSpace arena are imagination and passion. Space is for everyone,” said Cohen of why AC Ventures invested in Space in Africa.

AC Ventures is an investment firm led by Adam B. Cohen. The firm invests in early-stage companies involved in the space industry and its enabling technologies. AC Ventures is the trade name of AC Ventures of Florida, LLC.
Cohen previously founded Covenant Review and Fulcrum Financial Data, which were acquired by Fitch Group, a unit of Hearst, in July 2018. Cohen is a serial entrepreneur and has also previously practiced as a lawyer, investment banker, and space and defense consultant. For additional information on AC

The overall surge in funding lifted the first half of 2010 to $11.4 billion in venture funding going into 1,646 deals — a 49 percent increase in dollars and a 23 percent increase in deals from the first half of last year when $7.7 billion was invested in 1,340 deals.

“Many people outside Africa are surprised to hear how significant the African space industry has become, and how the development of the industry has become a real priority for many nations and the African Union,” says Space in Africafounder, Temidayo Oniosun.

The GDP of the African continent has doubled in the last 10 years to over USD 2.2 trillion. Amidst this economic expansion, Temidayo, explains that:

“the African space market is now worth over USD 7 billion in terms of annually generated revenue, and we project that it is likely to grow by over 40% in the next five years to exceed USD 10 billion by 2024. There are thousands of people employed across the African space industry, and our local technology skills set is growing alongside international partners and home-grown NewSpace startups. African engineers are increasingly collaborating on satellite construction, while local innovators are providing new application solutions across communications, natural resources, and public services.”

“We now have reporters in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda, and Tanzania who travel around the continent to cover all aspects of the market. We typically publish six to eight stories daily, and we just launched our Opportunities platform that lets you in on a wide range of new projects, open jobs, fellowships, and other prospects for gaining business and expertise. We want to be your first and best source for all information pertaining to the African space industry,” he added.

A Look At Space In Africa

Space in Africa is a media startup that focuses on news, data, and market analysis for the African space industry.
The startup is based in Lagos, Nigeria.
Space in Africa provides daily news and data analysis relating to the African space industry, and also offers proprietary research and consulting services.
The startup was founded by Temidayo Oniosun, who has been recognized as one of the World 24 Under 24 Leaders and Innovators in SPACE and STEAM by The Mars Generation and is one of the recipients of the 35 Under 35 Space Industry Recognition Award by the International Institute of Space Commerce.
The Space in Africa offers Space stories in English, French, Swahili, and Arabic.

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/

How Trust Can Make Drones Better In Kenya And Around The World

July 12, 2019

The drone industry is sitting and waiting for regulations and guidance that make sense across the globe. Take Kenya for example. Currently, drone operations are illegal within Kenya for the average person and extremely limited otherwise, leaving both businesses and individuals in great need of practical and adequate drone regulations.

While drone use is allowed in many countries, even in these places where they are legal and regulations are in place, current drone laws are often woefully inadequate.

Businesses are waiting for adequate drone regulations in Kenya and around the world.

What many entrepreneurs are seeing is that when it comes to successful drone operations, it’s not the technology itself that matters most, it’s everything else.

But with current regulations, we’re stuck relying on regulations that for far too long have focused exclusively on the size of the drone!

Whether you’re investing your time and energy in developing a robust drone delivery operation to deliver blood and save lives, or you’re just looking to fly your off the shelf drone to capture data, the difference between success and failure is in how you approach the operation, not what type of drone you’re flying. Unfortunately, drone regulations in many countries fail to recognize this, costing entrepreneurs and the public greatly.

With the need for enhanced drone regulations so apparent, what is holding us back from implementing them?

A large part of this answer is lack of trust.

Trust and Mistrust in Drones

The biggest limiting factor for drones all over the world is a lack of trust. Government safety authorities don’t trust you to fly safely nor in a way that doesn’t compromise security. Business leaders don’t trust the role you’ll play in their work. All this mistrust expresses itself in regulation, where “unknowns” become “proposal declined.”

Take another look at Kenya, though the Kenyan Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) proposed drone regulations last year these efforts were shut down by parliament. This left entrepreneurs eager to integrate drones into their businesses still waiting.

What is it that an entrepreneur can do to overcome these barriers? Well, that question is precisely what the drone industry is trying to answer to drive adoption and change minds. Building trust is an outcome of spreading knowledge and successful community engagement, and building it is a core challenge in the fourth industrial revolution.

Despite the disappointment that previous regulations weren’t accepted, there has been recent progress on drones in the East African country. Kenya’s latest drone regulations are now out for comment, and they look promising. New regulation proposals from the KCAA consider more than just drone size but focus on operations and technology to get more drones in the sky; to save lives and create businesses without preventing any type of operation outright.

These are Performance-Based Regulations (PBR) and are much more robust than many other drone regulations currently in use today. First put into practice in Rwanda, Switzerland and then the EU more broadly, robust PBR implementation has found that your approach to the operation, not simply the technology, can open the sky to you.

Building Trust Through Performance-Based Regulations

Drone entrepreneurs and authorities all over the world are beginning to realize that technology maturation is not the silver bullet to regulatory blockage. Rather than focus on specific technology requirements certified through strict processes, governments are beginning to adopt and advance performance-based regulations (PBR).

Embraced first in Rwanda, recently announced as the foundational approach by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for EU wide implementation, and the core of a recent draft of the Kenyan Civil Aviation regulations now out for comment, PBR is redefining the way the world accesses airspace. As a sign that PBR is affecting even the most complex airspace, United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Acting Administrator Dan Elwell, recently declared at Uber Elevates Summit on the future of aviation, that “performance-based rulemaking is the future of the sky… that we evolve or we get left behind.”

This new approach to regulation turns the traditional aviation equation on its head; no longer is the certified technology the crucial element for approval, but rather it is one important component of the overall proposal to fly. How you approach a flight, the procedures you put in place, the training a pilot has, the environment for flight, and how you protect the privacy of the community involved are far greater variables that define overall success.

In other words, if all your thinking about is the drone, then you’re very likely to fail. Though PBR, as an operation centric framework, does recognize that if you create the right processes to protect safety and security you can find great success, it’s not a silver bullet. What’s often missing is the education, training, and business model that focuses on the operations, not the drone.

Drones provide a bird’s eye view with a low barrier of financial and technical entry. Business and government stakeholders must speak a similar language of access and ethics, where operational considerations balance technological ones.

Today, Kenya is set to reform its own regulatory approach to drone regulations in a way that is practical, yet visionary. The rules being considered will continue a harmonization effort across Africa that aligns with the performance-based approach that Rwanda pioneered, and now Europe and the US are beginning to implement.

At the World Economic Forum, we believe that countries with vision and agility can pursue and adopt new approaches to governance which will both protect its citizens from the darker outcomes of drone technology while enabling domestic market growth and the expertise necessary to lead.

Performance-based regulations, piloted in Rwanda and now scaling globally, supported by leaders from both established and emerging economies, promises to enable industries held back by overly restrictive procedures while mitigating risks to society more effectively.

POST WRITTEN BY

Harrison Wolf Lead, Drones and Tomorrow’s Airspace, World Economic Forum

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.