Newsletters

South Africa’s Eskom to pay citizens for saving electricity

By Ngozi Chukwu May 20, 2023

South Africa has been experiencing rolling blackouts, also known as "load shedding", since 2007 as national power provider Eskom struggles to keep up with demand of energy. (Image source: MyBroadband)

Lire en français

Read this email in French.

Editor’s Note

Week 20, 2023
Read time: 5 minutes

Settle into your favorite reading spot to read today’s edition, as it entails the biggest tech stories from across Africa.

Enjoy!

Pamela Tetteh Editor, TechCabal.

Editor’s Picks

	Kenya to locally assemble smartphones Kenya is edging closer to local smartphone assembly. According to the ICT Cabinet Secretary, the smartphones will cost the proposed amount of $40, and will be released in July. Learn more.
	Nigerian telecoms may disconnect USSD Nigerian telecoms are set to stop facilitating banks’ USSD services due to the banks’ failure to pay over ₦120 billion ($260 million) in USSD debts. Learn more.
	SA to pay citizens for saving electricity Eskom plans to reward South Africans with as much as R3 million ($154,000) for every megawatt of power they save. This is to reduce the increasing hours of blackouts in the country. Learn more.
	Zimbabwe sells $39 million of gold-backed token Zimbabwe took a leap of faith and landed right on its feet! The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s first gold-backed digital currency sale sold 14 billion Zimbabwean dollars’ worth of gold-backed digital tokens—worth around $39 million. Learn more.
	MTN’s $320 million project MTN has kicked off a new project, Project East2West, which will invest R6 billion ($320 million) to connect 10 African countries between 2023 and 2025 with a fibre cable network. Learn more.
	Egypt sells stake in Telecom Egypt The Egyptian government has sold 9.5% of its stake in Telecom Egypt to pay its debt. The government wants to raise $2 billion by selling its stake in 32 companies by June. Learn more.

The Next Wave

Want to stay ahead of curve and get futuristic analysis of the business of tech in Africa? Then sign up for the Next Wave Newsletter to get started. It goes out every week at 7 AM (WAT).

	Ghana secures $3 billion IMF bailout Ghana’s request for a $3 billion bailout from the IMF has been approved. Investors had been betting on this news over the past six months, making Ghana’s cedi the world’s top-performing currency against the US dollar. Learn more.
	Africa to get another data centre Africa Data Centres has revealed its plans to commence construction on recently acquired land in Accra, Ghana’s central business district. The upcoming facility will be the largest in West Africa, excluding Nigeria, to date. Learn more.
	‘Golf Mafia’ cleared of any wrongdoing Remember those alleged Zimbabwean gold mafia members who were accused of looting the country’s precious gold reserves? They have just been cleared of all wrongdoings as the investigations revealed no evidence of gold smuggling on their part. Learn more.
	Miva secures online university license Miva has been granted an online university license by the NUC. The university will commence offering degrees in eight courses before expanding to other fields. Read more.

Who brought the money this week?

This week, Kenya-based fintech company M-KOPA raised $250 million in debt and equity funding.
Jia, a Kenyan fintech startup, received $4.3 million in seed funding. The round was led by TCG Crypto. Other participating investors include BlockTower, Hashed Emergent, Saison Capital, Global Coin Research, Packy McCormick, Anand Iye, Jared Hecht, and Rory Eakin.
Figorr Nigerian cold chain technology company raised $1.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by Atlantica Ventures. Other participating investors include Vested World, Jaza Rift, and Katapult.
Egypt’s auto-tech company Helpoo raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Saudi firm Morni.
Chari, a Moroccan B2B e-commerce company, raised undisclosed follow-on funding from Plug and Play.
South-African cybersecurity company Port443 raised an undisclosed amount in funding from Iziko2.0, a technology investment firm, and RMB Ventures.