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TC Weekender – Risevest CEO steps down

By Ngozi Chukwu Sep 03, 2022

Eke Urum cofounded Risevest in 2019 alongside Tony Odiba and Bosun Olanrewaju

Image source: Techcabal

Editor’s Note

Week 36, 2022
Read time: 5 minutes

More lay-offs. More regulatory run-ins. I really enjoyed Daniel’s deep dive on Jumia’s evolution beyond ecommerce, and I look forward to you settling into the weekend with this important story.

Kelechi Njoku, Senior Editor, TechCabal.

Editor’s Picks

	Risevest CEO steps down Founder and CEO of Risevest, Eke Urum, is facing allegations of bullying, sexual harassment, and intimidation in the workplace. He has been asked to step down from his role pending the result of investigations. Here’s what he told TechCabal.
	Flutterwave secures high-profile licence Despite regulatory hurdles and allegations, Flutterwave secured a Switching and Processing Licence in Nigeria. With this high-profile license, it can work without middlemen and offer more services. Find out which services.
	UberEats stops Soweto deliveries UberEats has braked its wheels in 11 parts of Soweto, South Africa. Customers can still order in-app but have to go pick up their deliveries themselves. UberEats ceased delivery services in the affected areas because of safety concerns. Find out more.
	SAPS summoned for doxxing rape victims The police also need policing. The South African Police Service (SAPS) allegedly leaked the names, ages, home addresses of 8 women who were gang-raped. The SAPS hasn’t been complying with investigations, so they’ve been summoned to court. Get more details.
	Flutterwave responds to new allegations Flutterwave has denied allegations about fresh money laundering accusations. It said the Kenyan government hasn’t come knocking on its door with new accusations and that it’s complying with current investigations. Read what it told TechCabal.

	Technology surpasses oil in GDP contribution Technology has outrun oil. Now, Nigeria’s tech ecosystem contributes more to its gross domestic product (GDP) than oil. In the second quarter of 2022, the information and communications technology (ICT) sector contributed 18.44% while the oil sector contributed 6.33%. Learn more.

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	Viamo lays off many employees As the frenzy around the pandemic is disappearing, so are people’s jobs. Ghana-based Viamo, which helped NGOs communicate with hard-to-reach communities during the pandemic, laid off many of its workers. It appears that combating misinformation is no longer in demand. Learn more.
	Zapper and Stitch team up Zapper’s customers will no longer have to log into their bank accounts to pay merchants at Points of Sale. South African fintech Zapper has partnered with payments and data API platform Stitch to enable customers to make instant electronic fund transfers just by scanning their Zapper barcode. Read about it.
	Jumia at 10 In a continent where only half of new businesses remain standing after 5 years, Jumia has gone on to fly high as a unicorn. Ten years after it was founded, it has evolved to become more than an ecommerce company. Read about Jumia’s evolution.
	Trevor Noah recreates a US insurrection Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, uploaded a satirical recount of the insurrection by Trump supporters to VoiceMap. VoiceMap is an app that tells you stories about your location. Anyone visiting the US Capitol can relive the event through him. Learn more about VoiceMaps.

Who brought the money this week?

Kenya’s Pezesha raised$11 million in a pre-Series A round from Women’s World Banking Capital.
Duplo, a Nigeria-based company, raised an initial funding round worth $4.3 million from a coalition of investors including Liquid2 Ventures, Soma Capital, Tribe Capital, Commerce Ventures, Basecamp Fund and Y Combinator.
Nigeria-based fintech Grey raised $2 million in seed funding led by Y Combinator.
Nigerian fintech company, Anchor, raised $1 million in pre-seed funding.
Octiv, a South African fitness software company, raised an undisclosed series A funding round from Knife Capital.