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Passion Incubator’s Future of Work in Nigeria report is a comprehensive and insightful study on the effect and implications of global trends on the disruption of work places in Nigeria. It is an examination of challenges and opportunities that these disruptions represent for Nigerian workers and the private sector. The Future of Work in Nigeria report is completely free of charge and can be downloaded via this link: http://futureofwork.africa/nigeria/

Malawi has joined the growing list of African countries who have either banned cryptocurrencies or warned against its usage. The Reserve Bank of Malawi in a response to public inquiries said that they were not a legal tender in the country and warned residents against the risks associated with using them. It identified risks including hacking and loss as a result of technical failure. Last year Zambia also issued a similar warning to its residents highlighting the same risks. South Africa and Swaziland are among the very few countries on the continent who have welcome cryptocurrencies.

Nigeria-based motorcycle-hailing app, Gokada has appointed Kayode Adegbola as Director, Regulatory and Government Affairs. Adegbola is a lawyer and a member of one of the major political parties in the country. He was an Executive Assistant at the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund. The appointment is not only interesting but instructive given the opacity of government regulation. In March, the Lagos State Government seized bikes belonging to Gokada and MAX.ng, accusing them of traffic offences. Adegbola it appears will be addressing such issues and perhaps anticipating government regulation. There’s been an increase in the number of motorcycle-hailing startups in Lagos over the past few months. SafeBoda and Oride by Opera are the newest entrants.

Payment startup, Flutterwave is officially launching in South Africa this June. The company will be holding launch events in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town for its flagship product, Rave. About a year ago, Flutterwave launched in Uganda its fourth African market. Shortly after, it announced its Series A funding round and a major leadership change that saw Gbenga Agboola become CEO. The startup is most likely to launch in Cameroon next per a TechCrunch report.

If you’re quite familiar with the challenges that fintech startups deal with, you’ll find this solution exciting. Fintech entrepreneurs always point out how difficult it is to partner with traditional institutions and they also have a problem growing their customer base. Banks typically have the large customer base that these startups need access to. For Banks, there is the fear of disruption. OnePipe will be successful to the extent to which it can efficiently address the problems that the two groups have and I suspect that it might eventually require more than an API gateway.

TechMoney Africa Summit, a conference that will bring together technology, innovation and finance leaders from across the continent will hold on June 10 and 11 at the University of Lagos, Nigeria. The event seeks to support tech talent and startups to secure investment. It will also educate tech leaders in major public and private organisations about the latest innovation for citizen/customer service delivery. Speakers for the conference include Olumide Soyombo (Partner, Blue Chip Technology), Bola Asiru (Principal, Mastercard), Dr Akintoye Akindele (Synergy Capital) and our CEO, Tomiwa Aladekomo. Register to attend here.

In more Uber news, the newly launched rider deactivation feature which we reported last week will now be rolled out in South Africa. The service will deactivate riders, after issuing them warnings, based on reports of bad behavior from drivers.

Huawei has announced a new deal with the African Union to improve the technical expertise of the organisation. As part of the agreement, Huawei will work with the AU to improve sectors including broadband, rolling out 5G networks, and artificial intelligence. The telco will also train young people in tech skills and offer the AU support in dealing with cybersecurity. This comes in the middle of the telco’s ban in the United States. Up to 70% of Africa’s IT infrastructure was reportedly built by Huawei and some experts have argued that African nations should not takes sides with the US on the ban.

Chantier, a Tunisian digital marketplace for building and construction professionals is currently raising $200,000. The startups will invest the funds in product marketing and will team expansion. The startup which was launched in 2016 has so far helped 90 professionals complete about 750 projects worth US$4.2 million. Chantier is looking to launch in Morocco and Ivory Coast in the future.

The WISH Africa Expo, a two-day showcase of pan African Culture, commerce and development, holds this weekend in London on the 8th and 9th of June. It will feature a panel discussion with Alex Schoch, Senior Director Energy at Tesla about “Powering Africa” moderated by Neanda Salvaterra, Energy Reporter at the World Street Journal. There will also be a keynote session about “Mobile & The African Tech Market” with global remittance company, World Remit. Learn more about the event here.

Applications are open for the Innov8Agric challenge. Early-stage agritech startups can apply here before June 30.

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