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France has hit Google with a 500 million euro fine for refusing to comply with earlier orders to negotiate with news publishers on copyright issues. It seems like Google will eventually be doing what they were running away from in the first instance, paying news publishers.
In today’s edition:
- Ghana Chronicles
- Flutterwave lands Visa and MTN Veteran
- CBN releases guidelines for mobile money services
- Egypt’s Yodawy raises $7.5 million
Ghana Chronicles
It’s my last week in Ghana and I’m wrapping up my visits.
Yesterday, after a conversation with a friend from Nigeria about the eCommerce space, I compared the Jumia website for Ghana to that in Nigeria
As always there’s a difference. I noticed they displayed the fact that people can return goods purchased on the homepage. In Ghana, the timeline for this is 15 days while in Nigeria it’s seven days. I wonder why?
Impact Hub
I visited Glovo’s Ghana office which occupies a section of the Impact Hub. The Spain-headquartered on-demand delivery platform which is present in 200 cities across the world launched four months ago in Ghana. Currently, there’s a lot of marketing to create more awareness. Glovo is currently hiring in Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco, Uganda, and Tunisia, a hint of its expansion plans.
Since 2011, when the Wikimedian of the year award — an annual award that honors Wikipedia editors and other contributors to Wikimedia projects — was created, 3 Africans have won it. First “Demmy” from Nigeria in 2012, then Felix Nartey and Sandister Tei from Ghana in 2017 and 2020 respectively.
I met Sandister Tei today at the Hub.
Painting
Ben Enwonwu, Ibraham Mahama and Pablo Picasso are all shaking right now. I should auction this painting. I took a stab at painting with a friend and it turned out better than I expected!
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FLUTTERWAVE HIRES EX-VISA AND MTN VETERAN TO LEAD ITS GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS
Nigeria’s fintech giant Flutterwave has appointed a new Chief Regulatory and Government Relations Officer – Oluwabankole Falade.
A veteran in government affairs
Falade joins Flutterwave from a similar role at IHS Towers, the Nigerian company that owns 29,700 telecom towers across nine countries in Latin America, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Before IHS, he spent 10 years at MTN in various government and regulatory advisory roles, and four years representing VISA in conversations with West African regulators.
Improved engagement with regulators
In appointing a regulatory lead with broad industry experience, Flutterwave expresses enthusiasm for deeper engagement with African governments. Like other private organizations, tech companies have to answer to the constituted authorities wherever they operate.
According to Flutterwave, Falade’s role will be to provide “strategic oversight and government relation strategies while ensuring that the interest and needs of the business are aligned with that of the regulators.”
Read more here: Flutterwave lands Visa and MTN veteran to lead government and regulatory affairs
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MOBILE MONEY OPERATORS CAN ISSUE CARDS BUT NOT LOANS OR INSURANCE, CBN SAYS
Nigeria’s apex bank has moved to improve the public’s access to mobile money services in Nigeria.
A new framework
Released on the 9th of July, the Central Bank of Nigeria uploaded its Framework and Guidelines for Mobile Money Services to its website. The 40-page regulatory framework aims to help Nigerians access financial services and products through mobile money.
Sanctions
The new framework pushes forward consumer protection measures as well, compelling operators, in Section 18. (f), to resolve all customer complaints within forty-eight hours.
While the framework provides a list of sanctions against operators that fail to put these measures in place, it neglects to provide details on how consumers will be compensated when a sanction is evoked.
Who is concerned?
The framework regulates the activities of everyone involved in the mobile money ecosystem, from the mobile money operators to banks, telecommunications companies, agents, and consumers.
It also lists permissible and non-permissible activities under its business rules, allowing mobile money operators to create wallets and even issue cards while prohibiting them from issuing insurance or accepting foreign deposits.
Read more: Mobile money operators can issue cards but not loans or insurance, CBN says
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WE’RE NOW ON GOOGLE NEWS
We’ve officially been recognized as a news source on Google News.
As the largest news aggregator, Google News brings you stories based on your likes and interests.
So basically, if you like what TechCabal does and you’re interested in all the techy things we shine a light on, you’ll be seeing a lot more from us on your page.
Be the first to know when a post comes up:
All our posts will now come up on Google News when you search for news about us, certain keywords, or even our writers, but you can kick it up a notch and let your homepage do the work for you.
Follow our publication and get notified when a new post pops up.
Here’s how.
Google us, no really, search for TechCabal on the Google News app, select the publication with our logo, and click on the star-shaped button on the upper right corner.
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EGYPT’S YODAWY RAISES $7.5 MILLION SERIES B
Egyptian eHealth startup Yodawy has raised a US$7.5 million Series B funding round to help it expand its product offering and enter new markets.
Serving the healthcare ecosystem
Founded in 2018, Yodawy has introduced a benefits management platform for pharmacies that enables the entire healthcare ecosystem to serve a wider customer base, faster.
The platform allows patients to have their medicine and products delivered, insurance companies automate approvals, and pharmacies boost their sales through e-commerce offerings.
What next?
Already with over two million users on its platform, Yodawy plans to use the funding to introduce additional offerings for its growing network of benefactors, and expand into new markets.
Read more: Egyptian eHealth startup Yodawy raises $7.5m Series B funding round
WE’RE HIRING!
We’re hiring!
Curiosity, Imagination, and Ambition. These are three of the most important things we’re looking for in TechCabal’s Senior Editor and Senior Writer.
We’re looking for individuals who have a good understanding of tech and business in Africa to lead these roles. Everyone is invited, and applicants from a range of backgrounds, including consulting and literary backgrounds, are welcome.
Interested? Find out more here.
What else we’re reading
- Central bank digital currencies differ from crypto. Here’s how they work
- Nigeria leads mobile app market growth in Africa as use of gaming apps surge 44% from Q1 2020
- Move over TikTok, YouTube Shorts is in Nigeria
- Nigeria’s GetEquity launches startup funding platform with GreenHouse Capital investment
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Written by – Michael Ajifowoke & Daniel Adeyemi
Edited by – Daniel Adeyemi
