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Happy pre-Friday
The climate finance scene is sizzling hot.
The African Development Bank recently launched a fresh $1 billion fund to fast-track climate financing for youth-led businesses across Africa. Don’t keep this news to yourself; share it with your friends.Mobility
Bolt to deploy $685,000 in Kenya for electric mobility
Bolt is expanding it fleet of electric vehicles in Kenya.
The taxi-hailing company currently has 40 electricity-powered bicycles (e-bikes) being used for deliveries in Nairobi. It plans to deploy at least KES100 million ($685,000) to include electric cars within the next 12 months.
Electric partnerships: Per Nation, the company will work with electric car manufacturers and banks to enable the financing of electric vehicles. This coincides with Kenya’s renewed efforts to embrace e-mobility; the country has set up a task force to develop a roadmap and potential economic incentives like tax breaks to boost the adoption of electric mobility.
Zoom out: As the worldwide automotive industry plans to transition toward electric vehicles, the Kenyan government has unveiled plans to roll out electric motorbikes across the country. Last week, Uber also launched an electric motorcycle in Kenya—One Electric— but is only available in Nairobi for now.
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Funding
Itana secures $2 million to build a digital free zone
Itana, formerly Talent City, has raised $2 million in a pre-seed round to build a digital city. The round was led by LocalGlobe, Amplo, Pronomos Capital, and Future Africa.
Founded by ex-Andela and Flutterwave co-founder Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Luqman Edu, and Coco Liu, Itana said the funding will be used to build a digital free zone in Africa.
Sidebar: A digital free zone typically refers to a specific geographical area or region where various digital businesses are exempt from certain taxes, regulations, or restrictions. Itana says its other incentives include business visas, banking, capital repatriation, supportive legislation for businesses, and insulation from all effects of socio-economic instability in Nigeria.
ICYMI: Last year, Itana launched a digital residency program for people to try out the e-governance system, global connectivity, and the promise of a strengthened digital economy in Africa. It also partnered with Binance and the Charter Cities Institute to build a 72,000-square-meter charter city to house 1,000 residents and 2,500 remote workers. The digital free zone will serve businesses that are mostly online without requiring them to have an extensive physical presence in the physical free zones in Lagos, Nigeria.
Zoom out: Another initiative, Silicon Zanzibar, is also making its move to lure both local and international African innovators back to the continent. It does not have a snazzy digital persona like Itana or Afropolitan—another digital society—but it shows innovators are still trying to create a hub for innovation in Africa.
Policy
Betting firms in Kenya face additional taxes
Kenya’s betting regulator, Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB), has proposed a new gambling tax in the country. Betting firms will now pay 15% of their gross gaming revenue and 1% monthly levy. This is in addition to existing requirement to withhold 20% of the winnings paid out to bet makers.
Why? Betting is a lucrative industry in Kenya, and it looks like the more the government taxes the firms, the more money the betting firms make. Last year, the Kenya Revenue Authority gained about KES6.64 billion ($44 million) in excise taxes from the the KES88.5 billion ($605 million) bets Kenyans placed in 2022, up from KES5.1 ($34 million) billion gained in the previous year.
Zoom out: The government is set to launch its own betting firm, National Lottery. It is expected to generate KES34.52 billion ($238 million) in taxes. The country will channel the bulk of the new gambling taxes to be channelled to the Sports Fund.
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Bayobab Group lands long-distance operator license
Bayobab, previously known as MTN GlobalConnect, has received regulatory approval in Nigeria for its National Long-Distance relationship (NLD) Operator License.
What is an NLD licence? It is a licence that allows operators to provide long-distance voice and data services within Nigeria more accessible even in villages where there are little to no telecommunications infrastructure.
Sidebar: In 2018, MTN Nigeria and Huawei commercially deployed a similar low-cost long-distance voice and mobile broadband services for remote local rural areas.
Zoom out: The NLD license is a significant opportunity for the company to grow its business and contribute to the development of Nigeria’s digital economy.
Crypto Tracker
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$25,719 |
+ 0.00% |
– 11.76% |
| Ether |
$1,629 |
+ 0.43% |
– 11.09% |
 BNB |
$215 |
+ 0.33% |
– 11.33% |
| Cardano |
$0.25 |
+ 0.23% |
– 11.71% |
* Data as of 12:22 AM WAT, September 7, 2023.
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The Moonshot Conference
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If you’re an international fan eager to be part of this incredible event, the time has come for you to secure your seat and get an exclusive discount.
Be part of the gathering of the most audacious players in Africa’s tech ecosystem and get your early birds ticket now.
Opportuinities
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