IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Good morning ☀️ ️
It’s Friday and I’m looking forward to a weekend full of sleeping, eating and tweeting – via VPN of course.
In today’s edition:
- Quick Fire 🔥
- Bolt’s electric tuk tuks in Kenya
- Yes there’s a ban, but is it legal?
- Netflix and chill… and shop
- TC Insights: Funding Tracker
Quick Fire 🔥 with Peace Itimi
Explain your job to a five-year-old
I work in marketing, growth marketing specifically. So my job is to make sure that whatever product I am working on, is known by the people it’s being built for, that is the users or the target audience. My job is to make sure these people know about the product and its benefits; my job is to also make people like and love the product so that they then become interested in using these products and paying for it.
What’s something you wish you knew earlier in your career/life?
I think something that I wish I knew earlier in my career is that there is no one way to succeed. You don’t have to work at the biggest companies to be successful or to be rich. You don’t have to do certain kinds of jobs to be happy at it. Different people have different career paths and journeys and it’s okay. Some people will stay 10 years at a specific job, while others will move every year. There’s just no one way to success or no one way to having the ideal career path. Just make the best of your journey.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received in your career?
Fail as fast as you can, learn from it and keep moving
What (singular) achievement are you most proud of?
I’m really proud of so many things. I’m proud of the products that I’m working on and the massive growth that I keep seeing every day, every week. I’m talking about the numbers and the volumes. It’s amazing to see that something can go from ground zero to high volumes and millions of dollars in revenues, in a month or a few weeks.
I’m also really proud about being able to interview Seth Godin, he is an icon in the marketing/tech industry and just having a conversation with him was a validation that I’m doing something right.
Tell us about something you love doing that you’re terrible at. And tell us about something you really do not like doing that you’re great at.
Something I am terrible at is singing and dancing. I have absolutely no creative talent but I will still sing off-key and dance offbeat lol.
I think I like everything I am great at – from sleeping to teaching to growth marketing stuff.
What new ways of doing things will you keep from this past year?
Remote work DEFINITELY. Also virtual events and meetings over physical ones. I want to stay in my house lol.
Peace Itimi is a growth marketer at Hover.
Increase your online sales with a Paystack Storefront – a free, beautiful seller page that helps you bring creative ideas to life.
🏾 Learn more at paystack.com/storefrontCan you smell what TechCabal is cooking?
Well, you probably can’t smell it right now but trust us, it’s amazing – and it’ll be here soon.
Can you guess what we’ll be unveiling? Reply this email with your guesses, I’d love to read them!
Keep the guessing coming 😉
Bolt introduces electric bikes and tuk tuks in Kenya
What has a super app and is trying to battle fuel price hikes in Kenya?
Bolt
The ride-hailing company introduced electric bikes, tuk tuks, and scooters on its Kenyan platform.
This is good news. But also, why?
Well on one hand there’s the issue of trying to reduce their carbon footprint.
A study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found that ride-hailing companies were responsible for nearly 70% more carbon pollution than the modes of transport they displace, like mass transit, biking, and walking.
And on the other hand, there’s been an increase in the cost of fuel in Kenya. This even led to Bolt increasing fare prices in cities across Kenya.
Bolt is trying to battle both of these issues with electric vehicles that are safe for the environment and do not run on fuel.
Read more: Electric vehicles: Bolt’s answer to carbon emissions, fuel price headaches in Kenya
Future Africa has invested $3 million in 13 African startups in 2021, doubling its fund deployments for 2020. It’s invested in companies like Termii, Ongair, Lami and Stitch and is on the way to invest $10 million this year.
Read its announcement here.
Is the Nigerian Twitter ban even legal?
Well, the short answer is no, but there are a few things to consider.
The NCC technically has the right to give directives
After the announcement of the Twitter ban by Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian Communications Commission issued a directive to telcos and ISPs asking them to prevent access to Twitter.
But it gets weirder…
The country’s attorney general, Abubakar Malami, also issued a directive after the ban. He said that people found to be using Twitter were to be prosecuted. But this directive is not based on any passed law.
Oh when will the madness end?
Normally it would end in a court but the courts in Nigeria have been on strike for a couple of weeks now. On the bright side, the strike has been suspended and courts should open up on Monday.
I try to make sense of the legality of this ban and what it all means: #TwitterBanNigeria: Is it even legal?
Our June and July Events
For June and July, TechCabal has got an interesting line up of events.
From our chat at 11 am (WAT) today with Nigerian YouTuber, Fisayo Fosudo about the business of content creation to our deep-dive with Faith Keza, CEO at Rwanda’s Irembo about government and digital transformation. We’ve got something for everyone – founders, investors, business professionals, students and tech enthusiasts.
See flyer above for more details about our upcoming events. Indicate interest to attend any of the events using this link.
Netflix just opened an online shop – developed with Shopify
If you’re into tv show-themed merch and you think Netflix is done taking your money, think again.
What’s happening?
Netflix has launched its own retail outlet to sell products directly to customers. The name? Netflix.shop.
The new online store will sell exclusive, limited editions of “carefully selected, high-quality apparel and lifestyle products tied to our shows and brand on a regular basis.”
Some shows that have merch already include animes like Yasuke and Eden and even the show Lupin (I hear it’s really good and I’ll be adding to my weekend plans).
Netflix developed and launched their new store with Shopify – which just makes sense.
TC Insights: Funding Tracker
South African mobility startup WhereIsMyTransport secured the largest logistics/mobility deal of the year so far. They raised $14.5million from Cathay Innovation, Naspers Foundry and SBI Investment.
The other deals for the week include:
- Egyptian edtech learning platform iSchool closed a $160,000 pre-seed funding round from Edventures.
- Pawame, a Kenyan solar energy startup, raised $2.4million in grant and equity from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, the Energy and Environment Partnership, SNV, Launch Africa Fund and others.
- MoneyHash, an Egyptian fintech payments startup raised a six-figure pre-seed round from COTU Ventures, Ventures Platform, Kepple Africa Ventures, and angel investors.
- Egyptian fashion e-commerce platform DressCode secured $250,000 from Egypt Ventures.
- Sendmarc, a South African cybersecurity email protection and compliance startup, raised an undisclosed amount from Endeavor South Africa.
That’s all we’ve got this week!
Follow TC Insights on Twitter and LinkedIn for more updates on funding deals.
Ask us anything
We love the responses we’ve been getting and want more.
What’s a lingering question about an aspect of tech or the stories we share that you’ve been wanting to ask? Ask us here, we’ll be happy to answer your question and possibly share with the wider TC Daily audience. There are no stupid questions!
HELP SHARE THIS!
