26 - 04 - 2019

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Strive Masiyiwa is set to take Botswana mobile network operator, Mascom, public. Masiyiwa had previously stated that he will take the company public after buying back MTN's stake in it. The condition was met last month when he reached a deal to buy back MTN's stake, originally sold for $70m, for $300m. Mascom's public listing will follow the trend of telcos going public in other African countries, the latest being MTN Nigeria. Although telcos do so mainly due to pressure from governments, Mascom doesn't appear to be under such pressure. Mascom holds 50% of the market share in Botswana.

In response to criticism of its $60 million National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS), the Kenyan government has approved a progressive draft Data Protection Policy and Bill. The data protection bill seeks to address how the biometrics data and DNA information the government will collect from every citizen in the NIIMS project will be handled but critics consider it to be inadequate. The government hopes it will allay fears of data breaches and privacy issues regarding the NIIMS project. NIIMS was announced in February to serve as a single population register which the government described as a single “source of truth” on personal identity in Kenya.

According to TechMoran, Zipline raised $3m from the UPS Foundation for its recent launch and expansion in Ghana (and possibly other markets). Its contract to complete 600 deliveries a day for four years will cost the Ghanian government $12.5 million during the period. That's about $14 per delivery on the average. Should the money have been spent on something else? The jury is out on it.

Nairobi-based e-commerce startup, AfricaSokoni has raised $445,000 from an angel investor as part of its seed round. The latest raise brings its funding to date to $995,000. The startup will use the funds to expand its current product offerings. While Africa's e-commerce space scored a win with Jumia's IPO, there are few if any success stories primarily due to the size of the market and a lack of necessary infrastructure though others argue it might be due to inappropriate business models. Nigeria-based Konga raised well over $80m in funding but struggled for survival before it was acquired by Zinox Technologies. DealDey, another e-commerce company by Konga's founder, Sim Shagaya, has also closed shop.

African tech startups can apply to pitch at the Africa Tech Summit London holding on June 11. Apply here before April 30. The annual Summit connects industry leaders, innovators and investors providing insights for ecosystem players.

Join Odunayo Eweniyi (COO PiggyVest) on May 8 by 12 pm at Workstation, Maryland Mall, Lagos for a digital entrepreneurship workshop. The workshop is powered by Everything Digital in partnership with Eden Venture Group and Wilson Juice.

Podcasting company Acast has acquired Pippa, a podcast hosting platform co-founded by South African, Simon Marcus. While the details of the deal are undisclosed, the acquisition will grow Acast's shows to over 7,000 with podcasters from the some of the world's most popular publishers such as BBC, Financial Times, Economist, and Vogue.

We recently launched an in-depth report about The State of Health Tech in Nigeria. Here's an interesting fact: the health tech sector in Nigeria is 15 years old. That's half the age of the web. In this time, US$7.88 million has been sunk into the sector in funding to date, with the earliest funding received in 2014. 30% of the 90 startups we profiled are women. Get the full report here to learn more. We understand that there may have been unsuccessful attempts by interested parties to buy the report and will like to know what the challenges are. Send a reply to this email and we will attend to it. Kindly note that we are also accepting bank transfers for purchase of the reports. If you'd like to purchase the report through a bank transfer, also send a reply to this mail and we will attend to your request.

A survey by MyBroadband has revealed that 46% of IT professionals in South Africa are planning to leave permanently, or work abroad, in the near future. The 3,055 respondents identified political and economic concerns as the major reasons (35%) for their intention to leave. South Africa's economy took a hit when it fell into a recession last year and the country also experienced political crisis before Jacob Zuma stepped down as President. Talent migration isn't just a South African issue it's a continent-wide challenge and indeed a global phenomenon.

Tek Experts has released a White Paper titled Achieving Gender Balance: Views from across the IT Industry. Check it out here.

The country where the internet has been shutdown for one year by Aanu Adeoye, CNN

There’s a growing chorus across Africa to regulate and tax Airbnb by Abdi Latif Dahir & Lynsey Chutel, Quartz Africa

From TechCabal

+ Egypt’s Growing eSports Industry + What African Nations Can Learn from Rwanda’s Growth as an Innovation Hub

That's All!

We'll be back next week. - Olanrewaju

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