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Legislation
High Court maintains suspension of Kenya’s Finance Act 2023
Kenya’s Finance Act is acting up.
Yesterday, Justice Mugure Thande, extended an earlier order halting the implementation of the country’s recently-approved Finance Act 2023.
Why was the Act suspended? Busia senator Okiya Omtatah, Eliud Matindi, Michael Otieno, and four others filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of the Finance Act 2023. They argue that the Act was passed without the concurrence of both Speakers of the National Assembly and Senate, as required by the Constitution. They also argue that the tabling of the Finance Bill was done without following due procedure. Additionally, they argue that the housing levy, which compels employers and employees to pay 1.5% each, is unconstitutional because the Constitution limits the national government’s role in housing to developing a housing policy.
However, Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u argued that the conservatory order could halt government operations by suspending budgetary steps.
The ruling: Per Justice Mugure Thande, the cabinet secretary did not make a convincing case for the suspension of the order. She granted the petitioners’ request to have the case classified as a matter of significant constitutional importance and ordered that the case file be sent to Chief Justice Martha Koome for the appointment of a panel of judges to hear the case.
Zoom out: The Finance Act 2023 introduces several new taxes, including a 1.5% tax on content creators and a 3% tax on crypto traders. These taxes are designed to generate revenue for the government to support its development agenda.
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Cybersecurity
South Africa nabs another cybercriminal
Every day for the thief, one day for the law.
Martins Egenamba, a South African who claimed to be a technology entrepreneur, has been sentenced to a 15-year jail time for defrauding victims in the United States and South Africa of millions of dollars.
How did he do it? Per MyBroadband, Egenamba’s scheme was a case of business e-mail compromise fraud. This crafty individual managed to get away with about R16 million ($851,075) by swooping in on invoices, and tweaking the bank account details to divert the money to his own pockets instead of the rightful recipients.
And that’s not all!
For businesses in the US, he forwarded the funds straight to his South African company’s FNB account, Barlon d’Or Group. While he may be behind bars now, investigations are still underway regarding his involvement in another R6 million ($319,153) fraud scheme.
Zoom out: SouthAfrica sees a lot of cybercrimes. One popular fraud scheme is the pyramid scheme and cryptocurrency scam, Mirror Trading International (MTI). MTI stole billions of rand from South Africans and victims in other countries including America. In fact, INERPOL’s Cybercrime Assessment report lists the country as the cybercrime hub of Africa.
Consumer tech
Judge rules that emojis can be used to sign contracts
A picture is worth a thousand words. How much is an emoji worth?
Per MyBroadband, a Canada-based court is forcing a grain buyer to honour a sales contract because he responded to a message of the contract sent to him with a thumbs-up emoji.
Yes, you heard that right.
How did this happen? The grain farmer, Kent Mickelborough, signed a contract to sell 87 metric tons of flax and sent it for the grain buyer Chris Atcher to sign. Atcher claims he responded with a thumbs-up emoji to acknowledge receipt of the contract. Mickelborough, however, took the emoji as confirmation that he was entering the agreement as the buyer.
But is it really valid? Justice TJ Keene, the judge who presided over the case says it is. He said that the thumbs-up emoji is an “action in an electronic form” that could be acknowledged as a “non-traditional means to sign a document.” This is also deemed acceptable because the buyer used his personal phone number to send it.
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Funding
Nigerian startup, Propel, raises $2.74 million in seed funding
Propel, a Nigerian HR tech startup, is setting sail with a $2.74 million seed funding to help scale its community-as-a-service platform.
The company was founded in 2020 with the aim of helping multinational corporations reduce the risk of hiring remote workers from emerging markets.
Lead investors: Amsterdam-based No Such Ventures led the funding round, joined by APX (an accelerator by Axel Springer Digital Ventures and Porsche Digital), Golden Egg Check, and Future of Learning Fund.
Propel connects talented individuals in emerging tech communities with global companies that are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The company uses a “community-as-a-service” business model, which means that it provides a platform that allows companies to access vetted talent pools in emerging markets.
Future plans: The company aims to broaden its community ecosystem, expand its community platform, and introduce additional client services. Moreover, it intends to leverage the funding to achieve €1 million ($1.1 million) in community-generated revenue by Q4 2024.
Zoom out: Propel operates in multiple global offices including Berlin, Lagos, Amsterdam, Johannesburg, London, and Nairobi With over 550 employees. They have partnered with renowned companies like Orange Telecoms and Stepstone, along with numerous startups and scaleups across Europe. Their collaborations involve diverse activities such as talent acquisition, community hackathons, and DEI initiatives.
Crypto Tracker
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$30,487 |
+ 1.09% |
+ 18.49% |
| Ether |
$1,880 |
+ 0.99% |
+ 7.35% |
 BNB |
$246 |
+ 5.61% |
+ 4.30% |
| Cardano |
$0.29 |
+ 1.98% |
+ 9.84% |
* Data as of 05:05 AM WAT, July 11, 2023.
Angel Investor Meetup, Lagos
The African Angel Academy together with UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, Lagos Angel Network, Rising Tide Africa, and TLP Advisory are hosting this upcoming in-person angel investor meetup in Lagos, Nigeria.
The purpose of this meetup is to provide an opportunity for our investors from across our communities to meet, and network. It will also serve as a platform for interactive discussions, fostering meaningful connections, and addressing any questions on connecting with your local community of investors supporting startups in Nigeria.
Opportunities
- The AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards 2023 ($5,000 prize) is now open to applications from reporters doing work for independent news organisations around the world, with articles readily accessible to the public by subscription, newsstand sales or online access, with the submitted work available in English are eligible to Apply by August 1.
- If you are a young (no older than 24 years of age) and emerging photographer looking to embark on a career in the world of photojournalism, the Ian Parry Photojournalism Grant 2023 (up to £10,000) is open for Applications. Apply by August 31.
- Applications are open for the L’Oreal-UNESCO Young Talents for Women in Science Program – Maghreb 2023. Awarded doctoral and post-doctoral candidates will each receive an endowment of €10,000. Apply by July 30.
- Are you a startup founder looking to build your company? The ARM Labs Lagos Techstars Accelerator program is open for applications. Each company receives up to $120,000 in funding, and access to the worldwide network of investors, hands-on mentorship, and over $4M of perks. Join the 7,000+ founders who built their businesses with Techstars. Apply by August 9.
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