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Happy pre-Friday ☀️
AI is taking a serious byte off the workload of developers!
GitHub has revealed that a whopping 92% of programmers are already using artificial intelligence at work.
And it’s not just the tech bros. Google has some AI tricks up its sleeve for advertisers too. The company is set to unveil not one but two shiny new AI-powered features that will help advertisers find the perfect ad spots.
Telecoms
MTN’s assets caught in Cameroonian dispute
South African mobile operator MTN says it is caught in someone else’s tangled web.
It says that its Cameroon operations were threatened by the seizure of its bank accounts containing 14 billion CFA francs ($22 million) in the country as part of a dispute. But here’s the twist: MTN says it has nothing to do with the dispute
What dispute? Per Reuters, it all started in 2022 when a Cameroonian big shot, Ahmadou Baba Danpullo, and South Africa’s First National Bank (FNB) locked horns over a real estate loan.
The bank decided to get its hands on Danpullo’s properties in South Africa, leading the business tycoon to strike back witha sneaky move. He persuaded a Cameroonian court to freeze the accounts of South African companies like MTN and Chococam, owned by Tiger Brands. Now the funds have been transferred into an escrow account managed by the court registrar.
Sounds tough. Yes. MTN said the matter has caused difficulties in paying thousands of service providers and its 800 Cameroonian employees. So far, no resolution has been made but the South African foreign ministry is urging MTN’s executives to pursue all legal avenues available.
Moniepoint ranked 2nd fastest-growing African company
Moniepoint is Africa’s second-fastest growing company, as shown in FTs latest report. We also processed 1 billion transactions worth $43 billion in Q1 alone.
Fintech
Kenyan court freezes 45 accounts belonging to Flutterwave
Nigerian fintech company, Flutterwave, has been sued by 2,468 Nigerian nationals in a Kenyan court, for allegedly being the medium through which they were defrauded of Ksh1.6 billion ($12.04 million).
The lawsuit: Last week, after hearing the case, Judge Alfred Mabeya gave the order to freeze45 Flutterwave bank accounts and 10 mobile money wallets for 14 days. Additionally, six other financial institutions that hold the company’s funds have been named as interested parties.
Among the interested parties named, five of them are banks including Access Bank, Ecobank, and Safaricom PLC. Safaricom PLC’s involvement is due to Flutterwave operating 10 PayBill Numbers on their Mpesa Platform.
ICYMI: Flutterwave’s image took a beating in July 2022, when Kenya charged Flutterwave to court on suspicions of card fraud and money laundering. It was later reported that Kenya dropped the financial impropriety case against Flutterwave.
The fintech company has a history of dealing with court processes and facing unfavourable rulings.
Economy
Nigeria floats the naira
Nigeria’s Central Bank (CBN) has floated the naira in a bid to loosen its control of the exchange rate, and eventually unify it.
Floating? The country has been tightly controlling the official exchange rate even while its forex reserves drowned. Now that the CBN has made this move, banks are now free to source for their own forex and exchange USD at the same rate that the parallel market—Bureau De Change—has been doing for years. Trusted sources told TechCabal that banks are now exchanging for ₦699 (buy rate) and ₦700 (sell rate).
Why haven’t things always been this way? It depends on who you ask really. However, it has been an obvious option for a long time. Even the World Bank recommended it.
However, the CBN maintained an artificial rate of $1/₦462, even when the demand for USD was too high for banks to handle. Instead of floating the naira, it tried several other means to curb the rising demand for dollars. This included limiting goods that could be bought with USD, limiting FX access for students travelling abroad, and other measures. However, the demand only increased, creating an arbitrage opportunity at the parallel market where prices rose to as much as $1/₦755 this year.
Why the change? The CBN has unified the rates to improve the exchange rates. While it is a step in the right direction, the immediate result might not be a relief. However, because banks will be responsible for sourcing their own FX supply moving forward, the unification of the rates is sure to happen.
Consumer Tech
YouTube simplifies earnings for creators
If you’ve got a small YouTube channel, you could become the next thousand-naire!
On Tuesday, YouTube announced new eligibility requirements for creators with small followings to be part of the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP) and monetise their content. This means that small creators can now earn money from YouTube, as long as they meet certain requirements.
What are the requirements? Creators must have up to 500 subscribers, which is half the previous requirement; three public uploads within a 90-day period; and achieve 3,000 watch hours in the past year or garner 3 million Shorts views within the last 90 days.
Once creators meet the updated requirements, they can apply for the YPP and gain access to various tipping and subscription tools and also have the ability to promote their merchandise using YouTube Shopping. In addition, US creators already part of the YPP with over 20,000 subscribers will also be eligible to tag products in their videos and Shorts earning commissions in the process.
Not so fast though: It’s not available in Africa yet. The revised eligibility criteria will first be implemented in the US, the UK, Taiwan, Canada, and South Korea. Subsequently, it will extend the criteria to other countries where the YPP is accessible.
Crypto Tracker
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$24,964 |
– 3.65% |
– 7.90% |
| Ether |
$1,641 |
– 5.54% |
– 9.28% |
 BNB |
$234 |
– 5.89% |
– 25.31% |
| Solana |
$14.74 |
– 2.19% |
– 29.45% |
* Data as of 06:45 AM WAT, June 15, 2023.
Blockchain Polygon reveals its new roadmap. Defiant reports that Polygon, a top ethereum scaling team, has announced plans to redesign its ecosystem into a symbiotic network of many chains. The new design will reportedly support its PoS Chain, introduce a new utility for the MATIC token, and pave the way for greater community governance over the Polygon protocol and treasury.
US judge refuses to freeze Binance. Coinbase reports that the federal judge overseeing the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s case against Binance and Binance declined to order a temporary restraining order freezing the US trading platform’s assets.
Events
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.
Opportunites
- The SaaS Accelerator Programme: Africa 2023 has opened applications for its accelerator programme to enable early startups in Africa to receive funding. Selected startups will receive up to $70,000 in funding. Apply by September 7.
- Wise Guys SaaS Accelerator Program is looking to help SaaS startups level up through tailored guidance and support from world-class mentors and experts. Apply before September 7.
- 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.
- Applications are open for the US $100,000 Africa Food Prize. Applicants must contribute to reducing poverty and hunger, or improving food and nutrition security in measurable terms. They must also make a contribution to providing a vital source of income or employment in measurable terms. Apply by June 17.
What else is happening in tech?
- Nigeria’s new president has approved a new law which provides a legal framework for data protection.
- Eyowo has restored interbank transfers for its users through a partnership with Providus bank.
- Visa announced the launch of the new Africa Fintech Accelerator programme for African startups.
- I&M Bank Tanzania has partnered with Mastercard to launch a suite of debit and multi-currency prepaid cards.
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