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Happy salary day ☀️
Everyone is competing with Twitter—or X.
Yesterday, two weeks after Meta launched Threads, TikTok introduced text posts. Users can now create text-based posts, add sounds, stickers and even duet text posts the same way they duet videos.
And they’ll get 1,000 characters to do it too.
Fintech
Flutterwave accounts remain frozen in Kenya
Kenya is saying no.
This week, Judge Nixon Sifuna of the Kenyan High Court refused a request from Kenya’s Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) to drop their case against Flutterwave. Initially accused of holding criminal proceeds, Flutterwave’s frozen accounts will remain so despite the ARA’s change of heart.
Why? Per TechCrunch, the judge said that flinging cases in and out of the courtroom on the whim of the ARA erodes the trust in the agency.
The ARA previously presented the court with volumes of documents to prove that it had evidence that the millions of dollars in the Flutterwave accounts were gotten illegally. The high court will approve the withdrawal of the case after the ARA’s CEO or a high-ranking officer swears an affidavit that there’s genuinely no evidence. The sworn affidavit will be confirmed on July 27, 2023, and until then the Flutterwave accounts remain frozen.
This is not the first time: ARA has frozen and unfrozen Flutterwave’s accounts before. In July 2022, ARA accused the fintech of fraud and money laundering. It froze $52 million in accounts linked to Flutterwave and six other companies, which had reportedly received transfers from the Flutterwave accounts. In December ARA filed for the case to be withdrawn and on February 27, the court unfroze the accounts containing the $52 million on February 27, 2023
More accounts remain frozen: Asides from this account that the high court has recently refused to unfreeze, Flutterwave still has two frozen account cases in Kenya. One of them happened in August when a Kenyan high court froze another $3.3 million that Flutterwave had deposited in two United Bank for Africa (UBA) accounts, one Access Bank account, and 19 mobile money accounts. More recently, in June 2023, a court in Nairobi Kenya, froze another 45 bank accounts belonging to Fluttewave because 2,468 investors believed Flutterwave colluded with 86 Football Technology Ltd (86FB, 86W, and 86Z), a Ponzi scheme that crashed in April 2022 to defraud them of $12 million.
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Fintech
eTranzact records $1.5 million in 2022
eTranzact, a Nigerian payment service provider, has announced a profit of ₦1.17 billion ($1.5 million) after taxes in 2022.
The new record—-a 157.81% increase compared to the year 2021—was disclosed in the company’s 19th annual general meeting last Thursday.
Financial statements: According to the company’s managing director, Olaniyi Toluwalope,eTranzact processed over ₦50 trillion ($63 billion) worth of total transactions in 2022. This represents a significant increase from the ₦39 trillion ($49 billion) processed in 2021. The company also reported gross revenue of ₦22.54 billion ($28 million ), gross profit of ₦5.7 billion ($7.1 million), and profit after tax of ₦1.17 billion ($1.5 million).
eTranzact’s improved financial performance and profitability were driven by the increased volume of transactions processed by its switching services, primarily through SwitchIT.
A few changes were made: The company elected six new non-executive directors and one new executive director to join its board. The appointment is subject to the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Additionally, two directors were re-elected.
Zoom out: Per the managing director, “The volume of electronic transactions peaked at the highest in five years in 2022, with a total value of ₦387 trillion ($488 billion). The huge growth is premised on the shift of more consumers towards the use of electronic banking channels for financial transactions.”
Policy
Freelancers on Upwork now required to pay taxes in Kenya
The Kenyan government has put an end to tax-free earnings on Upwork.
The Kenyan Revenue Authority (KRA) now mandates Upwork to collect and remit Value-Added Tax (VAT) on goods and services, including freelancer services.
What is Upwork? Upwork is a global freelancing platform that connects businesses with independent professionals. It is a popular option for businesses that need to outsource work.
Tax rate amount: According to Upwork, Kenyan businesses and individuals who use Upwork to pay for freelancer services will be charged a VAT of 16%. This means that if you pay $100 in freelancer service fees, you will be charged $16 in VAT, for a total of $116. The estimated amount of tax will be shown to you when you check out, and it will also be included in your invoices and transaction history
Upwork is also required to collect VAT from temporary residents in Kenya who use the platform. Should that person relocate to another country, they can update their account information. Afterwards, Upwork will automatically modify its VAT to align with the prevailing rates in the new country of residence or stop collecting if there is no VAT in the new country.
Zoom out: There are tens of other freelancing platforms used for freelance work in Kenya and Upwork is the only platform that has reported the Kenya tax update. It remains unclear whether the KRA will target them in the coming days for tax compliance.
Crypto Tracker
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$29,089 |
– 2.33% |
– 5.92% |
| Ether |
$1,842 |
– 1.14% |
– 3.13% |
 Worldcoin |
$1.94 |
+ 17.87% |
+ 17.86% |
| XRP |
$0.69 |
– 5.92% |
+ 41.19% |
* Data as of 06:05 AM WAT, July 25, 2023.
Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency token initiative co-founded by Sam Altman, one of the founders of OpenAI, has officially launched. Per CoinTelegraph the primary focus of this project, which has raised nearly $250 million, is the implementation of World ID, an AI-resistant protocol enabling online identity verification through iris scans.
Iris scans, as in eye scans? Yes. Worldcoin is branding its service as a “digital passport” to differentiate genuine humans from AI bots. It will do this through Orb—an imaging device. Worldcoin is aiming to bring Orb sign-ups and their token to over 35 cities in 20 countries, including Kenya where they’ve been conducting trials.
Why is this important? While Worldcoin wants to be a proof of personhood, it also aims to level the playing field for everyone so that no matter their origin, location, or income they can have uninhibited access to the booming digital and global economy.
The Moonshot Conference
This is Moonshot by TechCabal.
Moonshot is a conference that will bring together Africa’s tech ecosystem to network, collaborate, share insights and celebrate innovation on the continent.
Click here to join the waiting list to get more news and updates about this conference.
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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