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TGIF ☀️
Google is making it easier for you to go incognito.
Starting September, you’ll get alerts when any of your private information—including email addresses and phone numbers—appears online. You’ll then be able to submit requests for removal. As usual, the feature—like Google’s AI features or alien abductions—is only available in the US. For now at least. 🙂
Economy
GlaxoSmithKline to exit Nigeria after 51 years
More global conglomerates are leaving the giant of Africa.
Yesterday, global pharma and biotech company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced its exit from Nigeria after 51 years of operations in the company.
A tight space: The company, which markets brands like Maclean and Sensodyne toothpastes and painkiller Panadol, has reportedly faced stiff competition in the market in recent times. In H1 2023, it experienced a 47.6% decline as its sales dropped to ₦7.75 billion ($9.9 million) from the ₦14.8 billion ($19 million) it recorded in H1 2022.
The Haleon Group, a pharmaceutical company GSK owns 13% in, is also reportedly planning to terminate the distribution agreement it had with GSK and appoint a third-party distributor for its healthcare products like Sensodyne in Nigeria.
In June, the company also noted that Nigeria’s shaky foreign exchange market was negatively impacting its business.
“For the above reasons, and having, together with GSK UK, evaluated various other options, the Board of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc has concluded that there is no alternative but to cease operations,” GSK Nigeria said in a statement.
Wrapping things up: The company hasn’t announced an exit date yet, but it did mention that it’s in the process of engaging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to see how cash can be returned to shareholders in the company.
To Financial Times, the company noted that about 160 employees would be affected by the change in direction.
Zoom out: GSK’s exit comes four months after another global conglomerate, Unilever, announced that its Nigerian subsidiary would dial back on manufacturing home and skin care products. Unilever, at the time, cited the need for sustained profitability as the reason for its change in focus. Several other global companies including ShopRite, Game and Etisalat have either exited the country or are in the process of doing so.
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Cybersecurity
Hactivist Group Anonymous Sudan attacks Nigerian companies
Anonymous Sudan, a pro-Sudan hacktivist group, is showing companies shege.
A week after attacking Kenyan companies, the group is claiming responsibility for cyberattacks on MTN Nigeria and Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). This is in response to Nigeria’s proposed military intervention in Niger.
What military intervention? On July 26, a military group led a coup and removed Niger President Mohamed Bazoum from power. In response, West Africa’s regional bloc, ECOWAS, led by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, asked the coup plotters to reinstate Bazoum within the week—a deadline that expires on Sunday. On Wednesday, Nigeria cut power supply to Niger, making it the first sanction against the country, and ECOWAS says it is considering military action to restore constitutional order.
After Nigeria’s moves, the hacktivist company issued warnings to Nigerian companies to brace for repercussions by August 2.
While MTN’s confirmation of the cyberattack is pending, NITDA confirmed in a press release that Anonymous Sudan targeted its digital infrastructure and advised Nigerian financial service providers, government bodies, and telcos to prepare for a series of attacks.
ICYMI: Anonymous Sudan attacked digital services in Kenya because the country questioned the sovereignty of the Sudanese government in an internal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). In a series of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, Kenya’s biggest telco, Safaricom, and Kenya Power—the national utility company, were hit, including Kenyan media, hospitals, universities, and businesses.
Furthermore, the group demanded an official apology from the Kenyan government and a ransom payment of $200,000 worth of bitcoin to cease their attacks.
Zoom out: The cyberattacks carried out by the group in Kenya have prompted Nigeria’s Computer Emergency Response Team to issue recommendations for averting a similar impact within Nigeria. Some of the guidelines include deploying firewalls and DDoS protection services, using CAPTCHA tests on websites, and limiting network broadcasting.
Discover Trends with Smile Identity
Download the Smile ID State of KYC in Africa Report on the latest trends in identity verification across Africa, highlighting the power of biometric verification and document verification in combating fraud. It is a must-read for any business looking to acquire users across Africa and keep up with fraud trends.
Crypto
Worldcoin responds to Kenya
WorldCoin has responded to Kenyan authorities by halting its iris-scan-for-token activities in the country.
The blockchain company said it will use this “pause” to develop better onboarding processes and crowd control measures while working with relevant authorities to resume its operations in Kenya.
Why Kenya suspended Worldcoin: This “pause” comes one day after Kenya’s interior ministry suspended Worldcoin over data privacy concerns. Additionally, a joint statement by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) and The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC), cited concerns about offering money in exchange for data, having so much data in the hands of a private company and the lack of clarity on how the biometric data was stored.
Despite the overwhelming demand for WorldCoin in Kenya, with over 350,000 people lining up to have their iris’s scanned in exchange for 25 WorldCoin tokens, worth Ksh7,000 ($50) and to obtain a World ID, the country has become the first in Africa to suspend its operations.
Zoom out: The CEO of WorldCoin, Sam Altman, says Worldcoin is necessary to distinguish between humans and artificial intelligence, distribute universal basic income and as KYC to access formal financial services. However, the initiative faces scrutiny and is under investigation in multiple nations, including the UK and France.
TC Insights
Remedial Health raises $12 million in Series A funding round
This week, Nigerian health tech company Remedial Health raised $12 million in Series A funding in a round co-led by QED Investors and Ventures Platform.
Here are the other deals this week:
- Traction, a Nigerian-based fintech company, raised $6 million in a seed round; the round was led by Pan-African investor Ventures Platform and Multiply Partners; other participating investors included P1 Ventures and other investors.
- Emtech a Pan-African fintech company, raised $4 million in seed round. Matrix Partners India led the round. BTN, Vested, Equity Alliance, LoftyInc Capital, Noemis Ventures, Octerra Capital, and 500 Global participated in the round
That’s it for this week!
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more funding announcements. You can also visit DealFlow, our real-time funding tracker.
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Crypto Tracker
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$29,198 |
– 0.02% |
– 6.04% |
| Ether |
$1,833 |
– 0.60% |
– 6.28% |
 Worldcoin |
$2.33 |
– 1.19% |
+ 39.91% |
| XRP |
$0.66 |
– 2.78% |
+ 35.92% |
* Data as of 23:20 PM WAT, August 3, 2023.
TC Live: The State of Tech in Africa, Q2 2023
Join us on Friday, August 4, 2023, for a special edition of TC Live, as TechCabal Insights will be launching The State of Tech report, the Q2 2023 edition. This is our flagship report offering a bird’s eye view of African tech trends and analyzing quarterly data on funding, acquisitions, expansions, regulations, policies, and emerging developments in the continent’s digital economy.
The latest edition will explore happenings during the previous quarter in retrospect with actionable insights and expert perspectives on notable patterns and trends to look out for. At the launch event, we would also bring together various ecosystem stakeholders to discuss our exciting findings and highlight from the report with you towards shaping conversations about the general outlook of African tech.
DTC on the Nigeria Startup Act
GIZ/DTC Nigeria hosted a successful Digital Policy Dialogue on the Nigeria Start-up Act, fostering innovation and collaboration in the digital ecosystem. For more insights and details. Read more here
Job openings
- Helium Health – Software Engineer (Frontend) – Lagos, Nigeria (Unspecified)
- Code for Africa – Senior Product Manager – Nigeria (Remote)
- Kaelo – Digital Marketing Manager– South Africa(On-site)
- Anvil Shield Holdings – Software Developer (Java) – Nairobi, Kenya (Unspecified)
- Kuda – Product Manager – Nigeria (Remote)
- Axiz (Pty) Ltd – Junior Product Manager – South Africa ( Unspecified)
- Wikimedia Foundation – Senior Software Engineer – Nigeria (Remote)
- Incubeta – Paid Media Manager – South Arica (On-site)
There are more jobs on TechCabal’s job board. If you have job opportunities to share, please submit them at bit.ly/tcxjobs.
What else is happening in tech?
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