TC Daily

TechCabal Daily – Kenyan startup, PayGo Energy is taking its Smart Meter to Asia

Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega 17th June 2020

Hello,

Welcome to TC Daily! In today’s digest, the Kenyan startup, PayGo Energy is taking its patented smart cylinder solution to Asia, thanks to new partners.

Also, the global messaging giant, Whatsapp has launched a digital payments service in Brazil, a country where over 120 million people use Facebook and Whatsapp.

Finally, we bring you a trove of very insightful content about building during and after a crisis from our Bullish on Africa conference and TC Live session with Odunayo Eweniyi, COO
PiggyVest.

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If you’ve ever run out of cooking gas while cooking dinner on a Sunday night, you understand true frustration.

Without a transparent cylinder, trying to figure out your gas usage and tracking when it is likely to finish so that you can refill it is a bit of a guessing game. But PayGo Energy, a Kenyan startup has a product that’s taking the guesswork out of the process.

Their product is the Cylinder Smart Meter, a patented portable device to help households monitor and manage consumption, and for gas retailers to extend reach and track distribution
metrics.

It connects your cylinder to a cloud service and your mobile phone. This way, it can inform your distributor when you’re about to run out. It is the difference between having well done rice on Sunday and a soggy mash.

In this article, Alexander Onukwue says PayGo Energy’s product has caught the interest of Asian partners and it is now poised to expand operations beyond Africa.

The South Africa-based Fintech startup, Planet 42 has raised $2.4 million in funding. The startup, which was launched in 2017 offers personal cars to a largely unbanked clientele through a variety of options.

One option is for the company to buy a car from a dealer and rent it to customers. The customer will then be able to buy the car outright at any point during the rental.

According to Disrupt Africa: “The startup uses an automated scoring algorithm to process client applications based on credit bureau, affordability, and
alternative data. If the application is approved, Planet42 analyses the customer’s validation documents before purchasing the car from the dealership and renting it to the customer.”

Here’s what the company is hoping to achieve with its new funding.

In South Africa, Futuregrowth Asset Management has invested in fintech LifeCheq. In 2018, Futuregrowth invested in Yoco, one of the best-funded fintechs in the region. It made the investment
in LifeCheq through its Futuregrowth Development Equity Fund (DEF).

LifeCheq is a personal finance startup that provides individuals and entrepreneurs not currently served by the formal wealth management sector with expert advice. It was founded in 2015 and it has a corporate service for employers who want to offer their employees a financial wellness programme.

Kenya is now putting the final touches to plans to collect taxes on digital platforms like Google and Netflix.

The proposed income tax law will see Kenya collect a 1.5% tax on the monies generated by these companies in the country. But how will they enforce the collection of tax revenues?

Techpoint reports that “the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) plans to do this by working with the Communications
Authority of Kenya (CA) to obtain data on every resident and non-resident digital transaction that takes place in the country.”

Kenya’s African neighbor, Nigeria will be watching the process keenly. Like Kenya, Nigeria’s 2019 Finance bill will allow the country to draw more businesses into the tax net.

Facebook’s instant messaging platform, Whatsapp, has launched a digital payments service in Brazil. The payment service on the app will allow users send money to other users or businesses without needing to leave the app.

The payments on WhatsApp are enabled by Facebook Pay and will enable both cash transfers between individual users and can be used as a payment option for the purchase of products on
businesses available via WhatsApp for business app.

There’s no better place for Whatsapp to have launched its payments system than Brazil. Many locals think of Whatsapp and Facebook as the internet.

Of the 210 million people in Brazil, more than 120 million use Facebook and Whatsapp and spend an average of nine hours connected each day.

Last month, we held our Bullish on Africa digital conference featuring different speakers from across the world and very electrifying sessions.

From Kola Aina’s exciting keynote address on funding Africa’s future to his very insightful fireside conversation with Amandla Ooko-Ombaka, Associate Partner at McKinsey; a riveting discussion with Ben Harburg, Managing Partner, MSA Capital and other conversations about edtech,
health tech and investing during a crisis. We’ve got a rich trove of very enlightening content about building during and after a crisis.

You can watch all the videos from the conference here.

Also, check out our TC Live session with Odunayo Eweniyi, COO, PiggyVest
about building in tough times and managing digital savings during a crisis.