| #StartupSouth is the biggest startup/entrepreneurship conference in Nigeria’s South-South/South-East region. This year’s edition, #StartupSouth5 is themed: “Unlocking the Next 60 Million” and will explore the accessibility and affordability of broadband in Nigeria. The key focus will be on deepening broadband penetration and access for the over 60 million residents of the region to boost its economy, which is estimated at over $70 billion. Over 60 Companies including LifeBank and TechCabal will be holding sessions at the conference. Attending the conference is free but registration is required. Register to attend here. There’s an opportunity for exhibitors here. |
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| Safaricom-backed bus hailing service, Little Shuttle has accused Kenya’s National Transport And Safety Authority (NTSA) of bias, according to TechWeez. Earlier this month, the NTSA suspended both platforms saying that they didn’t have the correct licenses to operate. While Little has stopped operating, Egypt’s SWVL has allegedly continued without consequences causing the former to accuse the regulator of bias. SWVL revealed earlier that it was negotiating with the NTSA. |
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| In June, Nigerian mobility company, MAX first announced that it will introduce electric bikes into the market. This was when news about its $7 million funding round broke. During TechCabal’s mobility townhall Co-founder, Chinedu Azodoh mentioned that they had made a key hire to lead the manufacture and deployment of the bikes. The company is one step closer to its goal with the EV bikes, the MAX E Series 1. Kay shares a glimpse of what the bikes look like in this article. |
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| Correction: In yesterday’s newsletter, we wrote in a blurb that Paystack was planning to launch in South Africa, Cote d’ Ivoire and Kenya by the end of 2019. This was an error. The planned expansion is in 2020, according to Africa Tech Summit. We apologize for the error. |
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| After having a very difficult time getting into Liberia, the #JollofRoad team have found Liberian Jollof. Apparently, it’s similar to Nigerian Jollof. In his latest journal entry, Fu’ad shared a timeline of their experience getting into Liberia. The roads are bad and the team had to pay their way through the trip into the country. You can read all about it here. Don’t miss all the stories they will share about the Liberian people, culture, food and how they do business. Visit jollofroad.com every day to catch up on all the stories from the road! |
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| CoCreation Hub recently opened an Edtech Centre of Excellence at the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED). The centre seeks to make significant contributions to research in e-learning and technology application in schools and classrooms. Alex Onukwue explains in this TechCabal article why the centre is pivotal to education in Nigeria. |
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| Members of Cameroon’s tech community have launched the KMER TECH Association. The aim of the association is to build a stronger tech ecosystem in the country. The launch event was attended by the French ambassador, Christophe Guilhou and the Minister of small and medium-sized enterprises, Achille Bassilekin III. Cameroon has an active tech ecosystem that has remained resilient in spite of two major internet shutdown and government high-handedness. |
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| Uber has launched an even cheaper service called UberGo in East London, South Africa. The service was made available in India in 2014 and is open to four-door hatchbacks in good condition. Cars model year 2012 or newer qualify to join the platform. Before now UberX was the ride-hailing company’s cheapest service in South Africa. |
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| From January 2020, ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa States) citizens will no longer pay roaming charges when travelling within the region. Ghana’s Minister of Communications Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said that the current regime records minimal volumes of traffic thereby bringing in minimum tax revenue to the government. Under the new ECOWAS Roaming Initiative, citizens will pay local rates. The initiative seeks to promote cross border investments and also to encourage competition among operators. Member countries are working to put in place the necessary legal and administrative framework by December 31, 2019. |
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| TechTribe Accelerator, a Pretoria-based accelerator has begun a roadshow across the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The accelerator is scouting for100 startups to join its free investment readiness programme. The next roadshow event will be held at BongoHive in Zambia on Tuesday, 22 October, followed by another at BuniHub in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania next Thursday, 24 October. |
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| The French government’s startup ecosystem initiative, La French Tech has gone live in Johannesburg. This follows a successful pilot in Cape Town. The hub will provide combined support from the French corporate and investor community. It will also encourage more investment from French tech companies in the South African digital economy. Within three years, the Cape Town programme has seeded six technology startups, with a combined turnover of more than US$6.7 million and over 300 jobs. |
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| Join key regulators at the Nigeria Fintech Week (29th and 30th October 2019) including the DG, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs Aishah Ahmad; DG, Securities & Exchange Commission, Ms Mary Uduk; Immediate Past Governor, Central Bank of Sierre Leone, Dr Patrick Conteh, CEO, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation NDIC, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, among others. Learn more here. Secure your seat by registering on the website or send your inquiries to enquiries@nigeriafintechweek.org. |
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Have a great weekend,
We’ll see you next week
– Olanrewaju
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