News

Numerous bank accounts frozen for illegal transfers from Flutterwave

By Ngozi Chukwu Mar 11, 2023

Flutterwave's license allows the company to tap into Malawi's remittances market which has grown by 300% since 2016. (Image source: Patrick Meinhardt/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

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Editor’s Note

Week 10, 2023
Read time: 5 minutes

Another week, another lineup of interesting, insightful, and sometimes controversial tech stories from around the continent. Welcome to another edition of TC Weekender.

Enjoy!

Pamela Tetteh Editor, TechCabal.

Editor’s Picks

	Numerous accounts frozen for Flutterwave On Sunday, payments fintech Flutterwave denied a Techpoint report that hackers had stolen ₦2.9 billion of their customers’ funds, insisting that no funds were lost. But several sources told TechCabal a different story. Learn more.
	Fintechs rise up against fraud Amidst hack allegations, Flutterwave and a flock of Nigeria’s largest fintech startups are creating a joint strategy to tackle fraudulent transactions within their networks. Learn more.
	Safaricom sued for $2.4 billion Three plaintiffs have indicted Safaricom and Vodafone in a lawsuit which claims that Safaricom is operating its M-Pesa arm and Fuliza, its overdraft service, illegally. Learn more.
	Nigeria kicks off open banking The Central Bank of Nigeria has released open banking guidelines, making Nigeria the first country in Africa to adopt open banking regulations. Learn more.
	Uniform shortcodes for Nigerians For easy memorisation by users and a more cohesive regulatory environment, Nigeria’s telecoms industry has begun implementing uniform shortcodes. Learn more.
	Kenya wants to spy on mobile money Kenya cannot afford high taxes. They stifle growth, cut investment, and deter business. But it also cannot afford its mounting debt. So the government plans to throw a bigger tax net—one wide enough to tax mobile money payments. Learn more.

Event: TechCabal At 10

Here’s a list of all the Twitter Spaces we’ll be holding to celebrate our 10th-year anniversary.

March 14—Beyond Funding: Meet the team leading TechCabal’s newsroom. Why is TechCabal telling the kinds of stories we are telling now, and how this thinking has influenced our expansion drive? How is TechCabal’s editorial leadership driving this?

March 16—Building newsletters readers want. How has TechCabal grown to build seven newsletter products, and what drove this growth? How does TechCabal measure success when it comes to its newsletter products, and what are its plans?

March 21—Meet the team telling African tech stories that matter. TechCabal captures the players, human impact and business of tech in Africa. We provide the content, reporting, data, and context to help the world understand how tech is changing Africa. Who are the journalists doing all of this important work?

March 23—What is the future of tech in Africa? In the last 10 years, the African tech ecosystem has evolved quickly. We know this firsthand at TechCabal. What does the future look like? Join us for an insightful conversation with Ola Brown, Stephen Deng, Hope Ditlhakanyane, and Ngozi Dozie where we answer these questions.

March 30—The role of the media in covering African tech. How can the media help Africa’s developing tech ecosystem? What responsibility does the media owe the ecosystem, and what can the media expect in return? Should the media only cover good stories?

	Alerzo lays off 400 people In more layoff news, tech platform Alerzo has laid off 400 of its employees. September 2022 saw the startup’s first layoff round, where it reportedly laid off over 100 workers in what the company described as a cost-saving measure. Learn more.
	Twiga Foods farms with the Kenyan government B2B food commerce startup, Twiga Foods, has commenced maize farming as part of a public-private partnership with Kenya’s government to scale up food production. Learn more.
	Osun speeds up digitisation plans Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State has cancelled Right of Way fees! He has announced that telecom companies and internet providers can now lay their fibre optic cables in the state for free. Learn more.
	MFS Africa and Western Union partner in Madagascar MFS Africa recently announced a partnership with the global money transfer behemoth Western Union, revealing plans to pilot in Madagascar. This decision has left tech enthusiasts around the continent quizzical. Find out.
	The 27 women impacting the ICT sector We worked with MTN Nigeria to curate a list of 27 women who have two decades worth of contributions in various capacities in the ICT industry. This list featured Adia Sowho, Funke Opeke and many others who have impacted the ICT sector. Read more.