Editor’s Note
- Week 42, 2022
- Read time: 5 minutes
From passed bills to acquisitions to a WhatsApp mod that could potentially steal your money, a lot has happened this week in the tech space. In this edition of TC Weekender, we take a look at MTN’s decision to pull out of acquisition talks with Telkom, Wasoko’s rumours of closure and a number of other interesting stories.
Happy reading!
Pamela Tetteh Editor, TechCabal.
Editor’s Picks
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The NSB is now a law in NigeriaIn an unusually speedy fashion, the Nigerian Startup Bill (NSB) has been made a law in Nigeria. This is good news, but there are still more regulatory battles to be won against rules like the new NITDA Act which contradicts the NSB. Read more. |
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Kloud Commerce founder to be investigated for fraudInvestors at Kloud Commerce are petitioning Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate founder and CEO Olumide Olusanya for fraud and misappropriation of funds. Despite raising $765,000 last year, the startup had no live product in any of the 800 locations that the founder had claimed. Learn more. |
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MTN ceases acquisition talks with TelkomFrom Y’ello to bye! Telecom giant MTN has walked away from acquisition talks with Telkom as the highly sought-after network operator could not assure MTN of exclusivity. This is happened after data-only mobile network Rain formally submitted a merger proposal to Telkom. More details here. |
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SCIL acquires Polaris Bank
Strategic Capital Investment Limited (SCIL) has acquired Nigerian commercial bank Polaris Bank for ₦50 billion ($115 million). The company will also repay the ₦1.305 trillion ($3 billion) Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Asset Management Company of Nigeria injected into Polaris Bank in 2018. Read about it. |
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MTN to sell phones on credit in NigeriaMTN is partnering with Intelligra, a pioneering smartphone-financing company to enable MTN users to buy internet-enabled phones with embedded voice and data plans and pay in instalments within a period of 6–12 months. Read more. |
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Malicious WhatsApp mod hits African usersSomething worse than GBWhatsapp in town—a new modification of WhatsApp called YoWhatsApp. It has features that Whatsapp doesn’t, including Trojan Horse malware which steals victims’ WhatsApp accounts and money by signing them up for paid subscriptions that they are unaware of. More details. |
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Kenyan telcos to re-register all SIM cardsThe Communications Authority (CA) has ordered all Kenyan mobile providers to ensure that 100% of their subscribers re-register their SIMs within 60 days, or pay a fine of up to 0.5% of their yearly gross revenue. Learn more. |
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Wasoko denies rumours of closureImagine waking up to the news that you are dead. On Monday, Business Daily listed B2B e-commerce startup Wasoko as one of six Kenyan startups that have failed this year. In a statement detailing its recent investments and local and international expansion activities, Wasoko denied the claim. Read more. |
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Airtel Zambia pays $29 million more for 5G rolloutTo hasten the development of 5G in Zambia, Airtel paid the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority $29 million for 60MHz of additional spectrum. This will be spread between the 2600MHz and 800MHz frequencies of the network. Read more. |
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SA legitimises cryptoDespite having the highest number of cryptocurrency scams worldwide, South Africa has legalized crypto assets as financial products. The Financial Sector Conduct Authority of the nation has mandated that crypto platforms there obtain licenses in order to continue operations. Read more. |
Who brought the money this week?
- MaxAB, an Egyptian B2B ecommerce company, received $40 million in pre-series B funding from Silver Lake, British International Investment, DisruptAD, Venture Platform, and some existing investors; Beco Capital, 4DX Ventures, Flourish Ventures, and African Platform Capital.
- Nigerian mobility startup Moove raised $16 million in debt financing from Emso Asset Management.
- Nigerian fintech, Maplerad raised $6 million in a seed round led by VC firm Valar Ventures.
- Nigerian social ecommerce company, Bumpa raised $4 million in a seed round led by Base10 partners.
- Egypt’s ecommerce company Kenzz received $3.5 million in seed funding. Outliers Venture Capital, HOF Capital, Foundations Ventures, Samurai Incubate, and some angel investors led the round.
TC Crossword: Mergers and Acquisition
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What else to read this weekend?
- The Next Wave: How Africa’s digital infrastructure gap manifests.
- Lagos state plans to launch a VC fund.
- South African tech company, Snapt shuts down.
- Ghanaian SMEs are protesting a 37% inflation rate.
- Meta’s recent event in Lagos highlights African creators building in the Metaverse.
- Primedia purchases virtual land in Africarare’s Ubuntuland metaverse.
- FoondaMate expands to Nigeria to help students study on WhatsApp.
- Inside Google’s accelerator programme for African startups.
- NALA enables Apple Pay payments from the UK and US into Africa.
Written by: Ngozi Chukwu
Edited by: Pamela Tetteh
18, Nnobi Street, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria
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