👨🏿‍🚀 TechCabal Daily – It’s going down in Egypt

Starting today—Friday, January 10, 2025—Nigerians will pay more money for voice, SMS, data, and other telecom services. In December 2024, the country’s communications regulator gave telecoms the green light to increase tariffs for the first time in 11 years.

For consumers, the effect is clear and simple: they will have to increase their budgets yet again in a country that has seen headline inflation rise from 29.9% to 34.6% between January and November 2024.

And for the telcos, the news offers respite. While businesses in different sectors have increased their prices to adjust for crippling inflation, telcos have kept their prices unchanged in 11 years, despite soaring diesel costs for powering cell towers, rising staff overhead, and forex volatility.

Airtel and MTN Nigeria jointly lost $484 million in H1 2024 after Nigeria devalued the naira. Compared to 2023, both telcos lost $296 million. It meant that all dollar-denominated loans effectively doubled overnight, straining their finances further.

A company losing this much money will prioritise survival over improving its services or expanding infrastructure. The telecom sector, which employs over 15,500 people and contributes 13.5% to Nigeria’s GDP, cannot sustain three consecutive years of losses without risking collapse. Without consistent investment, service quality will deteriorate, affecting millions of Nigerians who rely on their services daily. 

The tariff hike is a hard pill to swallow for many. It’s a tough, but necessary call.

According to Scott Kupor’s Secrets of Sand Hill Road, venture capital firms typically invest in early-stage startups for one of three reasons: an exceptional founding team, a product poised for significant market impact, or a solution to a massive market need.

We wanted to find out which startups meet these criteria for Africa-focused VCs. We took our questions to these same experts—general partners at eight Africa-focused VC firms—who work closely with founders and entrepreneurs who pitch them regularly. 

Carbin Africa is one of the startups that these VCs say fits that mould. Its AI-powered platform helps car dealers and agents find cars faster, with real-time access to over 1,800 listings. With an 8x revenue boost in 2024 and backing from 54Collective, Carbin shows strong market demand and experienced leadership. In March 2024, Carbin’s gross merchandise value (GMV) crossed $1 billion after selling over 80 cars on its platform.

Valify is another. The Egyptian RegTech provides digital identity solutions to financial institutions, telecoms, e-commerce platforms, and fintechs. With co-founders Omar Abdelwahed and Ibrahim Eid’s expertise in product development and finance, Valify is positioned to lead in the growing digital identity space.

One agritech that shines on the list is Pullus Africa. The Nigerian agritech marketplace links smallholder farmers with commercial off-takers. It supports farmers with agricultural extension services while ensuring quality poultry supply for off-takers. Having raised over $150,00 in funding, Pullus is addressing key challenges in the agricultural supply chain.

While we’re eager to keep these profiles going, we’d love for you to check out these startups and read these VCs’ rationale on why they are great prospects.

Read about the 25 startups to watch in 2025.

Yesterday, Egypt’s inflation decelerated for the second consecutive month. 

The country’s headline inflation for December 2024 slowed to about 24.1%, down from 25.1% in November. December’s figure was the lowest since 2022. 

The latest inflation rate has raised hopes of the first interest rate cut since 2022. The Central Bank of Egypt has held its interest rates since March 2024.

Over the past two years, the country has struggled with its economy. A severe shortage of dollars restricted imports, leading to port congestion and disrupting local industries. As a result, prices for many essential foods surged well beyond the overall inflation rate, which hit a record 38% in September 2024. The Central Bank of Egypt sought to rein in inflation by raising interest rates by 8% in 2024.

The Egyptian government also agreed to cost-cutting measures, including the gradual removal of fuel subsidies and divestment from state-owned enterprises. The government recently sold 30% of its stake in state-owned United Bank.

These measures were not only crucial for controlling inflation but also essential prerequisites set by the International Monetary Fund to support the struggling economy. The IMF signed an $8 billion loan deal with the government in 2024, with the country on track for the disbursement of a $1.2 billion tranche of the loan.