👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Africa welcomes 30th stock exchange

Meta is replacing professional fact-checking and human content moderation on its social media platforms with Community Notes—the same system introduced by X in 2023.

In Africa, this move could have three damaging effects: it will put content moderators and outsourcing firms out of jobs, fuel misinformation during critical election periods, and undermine fact-checking organisations like PesaCheck, which rely on Meta’s financial support.

Some critics like Prospect Magazine and The Guardian argue that the move is politically motivated. They claim Zuckerberg is aligning Meta with Trump-era policies to curry favour with Republicans ahead of Trump’s return. His recent removal of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives has further fueled backlash. Others believe the move is a cost-cutting strategy to save money on human moderation.

Whatever the case, Community Notes is not the way to go. Many users may lack a nuanced understanding of Africa’s diverse languages, cultures, and political landscapes, creating fertile ground for the spread of harmful content. 

There are nine upcoming major 2025 elections across the continent, where unchecked misinformation could confuse voters and undermine democratic processes. Also, effective Community Notes rely on widespread digital literacy and access, which are not uniformly distributed across Africa.

Zuckerberg has yet to clarify how Meta’s version of Community Notes will work but stated it would be similar to X’s—raising concerns, as X remains a leading source of misinformation despite adopting the system after mass layoffs in 2023.

The jury is still out on whether Community Notes are effective or not. The European Commission, which has been investigating the system since 2023, has yet to reach a final decision. An independent study by the University of Luxembourg found that Community Notes can reduce the spread of misinformation by 61.4%. The report, however, warned that the system is often too slow to catch damaging posts in the early hours after they are published.

Meta’s shift could redefine content moderation—for better or worse—but whether it will protect African democracies or leave them vulnerable remains to be seen.

Ethiopia officially launched its bourse last Friday, as Africa’s 30th stock exchange. This historic moment comes after four years of discussions, but tough challenges lie ahead.

The Ethiopian Stock Exchange (ESX) listed only Wegagen Bank, a tier-2 bank with 65.7 million birr ($521,000) in assets, despite initial speculation that suggested more participation. The country’s largest telco, Ethio Telecom, which reportedly planned to sell 100 million shares for 30 billion birr ($238 million) was not mentioned.

This raises fresh questions about African stock markets’ ability to attract big backers and companies. In 2024, South Africa’s resurgent Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), saw only four IPOs. Egypt’s stock market saw one IPO with United Bank after three years. Nigeria’s bourse, although instrumental in helping banks raise money for recapitalisation, saw no IPO. And Kenya’s Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has been starved of an IPO for six years.

Low investor participation, low trading volumes, and limited listings have slowed the growth of African bourses. This has not inspired the confidence of companies operating in the continent, with some of them choosing to cross-list on foreign exchanges instead.

We’ve seen this with Africa-focused e-commerce company, Jumia listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Others have chosen to stay local but opted to hedge their bases. Nation Media Group, a Kenyan media conglomerate, has cross-listed on Rwandan, Tanzanian, and Ugandan bourses. Yet, cross-listing brings with it regulatory complexities, requiring companies to comply with multiple sets of rules.

If anything, there is an opportunity for Ethiopia to attract big foreign players that want to cross-list on its bourse. One of these examples is Safaricom. Ethiopia needs better liquidity and it can do this by building investor confidence.

But the country’s macroeconomic challenges remain a key blocker. If the exchangeprovides a pro-business environment and a clear but compelling regulatory stance for big foreign players to come in, it can help create a ripe market for long-term investors.

As a by-product, it will also attract more local participation from an already educated private sector.

Egyptians are having a great start to the year. 

The Egyptian government is preparing to raise the minimum wage for civil servants and workers at state-owned enterprises. 

Civil servants will be paid a minimum wage of about EGP7,000($138.60), up from the previous EGP6,000, when the salary increase is approved. People familiar with the conversation expect the new minimum wage to be implemented in March 2025. 

This is the second minimum wage increase in two years. In February 2024, Egypt raised its minimum wage to 6,000 EGP ($194). Private sector companies followed suit, raising their minimum wage from 3,500 EGP ($69) to 6,000 EGP ($194). 

The pay raise is Egypt’s latest attempt to address the effects of a taxing two-year economic crisis that has driven up consumer prices and left officials requesting about $10 billion from a rescue package led by the International Monetary Fund. 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. 

Egypt’s Finance Ministry is considering increasing the personal income tax exemption level to EGP 65,000 ($1,287) from the previous EGP 60,000 ($1,188). Thirteen million pensioners will also receive a 15% raise as part of the package.