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ITWeb Cloud & Data Centre Summit 2022

Mena Adediran
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ITWeb Cloud & Data Centre Summit 2022

The ITWeb Cloud & Data Centre Sumit 2022 will hold from February 23, 2022 till February 24, 2022 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The event will begin on February 23 with a roundtable segment and continue on the following day with two focused themes — Cloud and Data Centre. The summit is set to deepen attendees’ knowledge of the relationship between cloud and data centre.

The modernisation of cloud and data centre infrastructure is a necessary move organisations have to make to remain relevant in a global community that is rapidly facing digital transformation.

The ITWeb Cloud & Data Centre Summit 2022 will focus on critical topics, ranging from complexity of cloud, multi-cloud, private and hybrid cloud, data centre modernisation, Data ownership, amongst others.

The first track of Day 2, Cloud, will look into how organisations can operate, be secure as well as “highly” innovative in the multi-cloud. There will be industry experts such as top cloud solutions providers and end users; they will “examine how business agility has birthed the need for organisations to adopt numerous service providers to tap into technology and cost saving options”, amongst other subjects.

The second track of Day 2, Data Centre, will explore data centres in South Africa with a view to assessing the digital disruption since the outbreak of Covid-19 and its influence in remote working, virtual learning and the increase of e-commerce. There will be an assessment of the data centre models and services available to South African businesses and their roles in promoting innovation in South Africa’s digital economy.

To register for the event, click here.

SeamlessHR Secures $10 Million to Expand HR And Payroll Solutions Across Africa

Hassan Barakat
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SeamlessHR Secures $10 Million to Expand HR And Payroll Solutions Across Africa

SeamlessHR secures $10 million in Series A funding for its next phase of growth and regional expansion.

The Nigeria-based startup that uses cloud-based human resources (HR) and payroll software wants to assist African businesses “exploit the continent’s greatest asset: plentiful human capital”.

The financing was led by TLcom Capital, a pan-African venture capital firm.

Capria Ventures, a new investor, joined current backers Lateral Frontier Ventures, Enza Capital, and Ingressive Capital.

The company’s brand solution is a cloud-based, end-to-end HR software that assists firms in managing and streamlining their whole human resource procedures and workflow.

Its product range includes HR management systems, performance and competence management, HR analytics, leave management, payroll administration, and recruitment management.

CEO Emmanuel Okeleji and CTO Deji Lana didn’t build SeamlessHR from the beginning.

It was four years after various prototypes of Insidify, an aggregation site for job searchers and a review site for companies that they established SeamlessHR in 2017.

To establish its name, the business initially signed a couple of smaller enterprises.

However, as time went on, it began to focus on larger clients, and its first major business customer was a bank.

The company claims that its enterprise-grade solution is suitable for a wide range of businesses.

They range in size from small organizations with fewer than 100 people to huge corporations with more than 10,000 employees, including multinationals and banks like PwC, AXA, and Sterling Bank, as well as startups and investment firms like Flutterwave and TGIGroup.

After 4 years of managing wages for hundreds of firms, SeamlessHR has amassed a wealth of human resources and payroll data.

Because sitting on top of such data allows SeamlessHR to build even more vertical goods, the company will provide embedded finance products for employees.

This is how it will work: For example, if a company uses SeamlessHR for its 5,000 employees, any of them can use the platform’s earned wage access to obtain their salaries up to the point they’ve worked.

It’s a common wage structure in places like the United States, but it’s uncommon in Nigeria.

“We leverage finance, technology, and HR to assist people to convert their employment into collateral to obtain safe credit,” said the CEO, who believes the company’s cash advances will appeal to employees more than “predatory” loans given by other lending companies.

Newer businesses, such as YC-backed Workpay and Bento have entered Africa’s payroll and HR management sector.

They assist firms with wage distribution, taxes, and pensions, carving out a niche in what looks to be a sector dominated by SeamlessHR.

In Africa, putting together an HR solution takes longer than in developed countries, where most small businesses can afford to pay for software.

Large corporations, not SMEs, have the most opportunity in Africa.

They are the majority of SeamlessHR’s customers because they have more purchasing power and a greater need for HR solutions.

SeamlessHR has also eaten into the market share of legacy and “on-premise” systems like SAP and Oracle, which are commonly used by large businesses in their local markets.

Companies now realize they may focus on setting up and onboarding cloud-based software solutions capable of servicing their demands, although at a lower cost, rather than hiring staff who need qualifications to administer software.

SeamlessHR’s replacement of these old systems in Nigeria is also aided by software localization.

The fresh capital will bolster the company’s position as “Africa’s top cloud HR and payroll platform,” according to the company.

On the call, Okeleji, who formerly worked as an investment banker and as a doctor, stated that SeamlessHR would expand its operations to eastern and southern Africa, with Kenya and South Africa serving as operating centers, resulting in the hiring of additional workers.

Nigeria and Ghana are the company’s current locations.

SeamlessHR intends to expand its embedded financial capabilities and introduce new features, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence, data analytics, and machine learning.

According to Okeleji, SeamlessHR will eventually expand beyond human resources and payroll into other areas that keep businesses running.

He also alluded to the likelihood of SeamlessHR expanding outside Africa into other global markets, using India’s Freshworks as an example.

“Right now, we’re developing software to optimize HR, but in the future, we’ll expand beyond HR.”

We’re also in a good position to establish a worldwide SaaS business since SaaS solutions cross the world faster than, say, fintech.”

“We’re beating multinational competitors in our local market, and we know we can play this game globally.”

2021: The Year For Nigerian Startups

Ruth Torty
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2021: The Year For Nigerian Startups

During the first quarter of 2021, a combined sum of $219 million was invested in startups. Over the next 9 months, we witnessed a four-fold increase. It is safe to conclude that 2021 was the year for Nigerian startups.

Every week, at least one African startup made headlines for successfully raising investment funds. In addition, the number of unicorns in Africa also increased to seven, with Opay and Flutterwave making the list.

By the end of the year, Nigerian startups raised the highest investment funds on the continent.

This article reviews the story behind Nigerian startups, the rain of investments they enjoyed in 2021, and the reasons behind their sudden boom.

Let’s dive in.

The Strength of Startups: Resilience

It was not the first idea Hanu Agbodje had noted down when Patricia kicked off. It was down at number 37, born from a desire to prevent gift cards scam. After 13 businesses, including selling popcorn as an undergraduate at the University of Port Harcourt, Hanu founded Patricia.

According to the company, Patricia has grown from having 2 employees to a staff strength of more than 350. In addition to this, they make 30,000 daily transactions. Hanu’s entrepreneurial skills and doggedness contributed to the success of the company. This is a common trend amongst Nigerian startups—they were mostly built on sheer determination and focus. 

Furthermore, the resilient spirit reflected in these startups was born from the desire to survive the unstable economic atmosphere in the country. Fintechs took a significant hit in the first quarter of 2021 when the Federal government of Nigeria banned all cryptocurrency trades in the country—freezing the bank accounts of several dealers and companies.

Although cryptocurrency trades are still thriving, the damage was done, forcing fintech startups to diversify their products and services. It is not only policies that pose a challenge but also the living conditions in the country. Poor power supply, bad roads, and sadly insecurity are a few factors that force these startups to spend a lot of money on expenditure. Simply put, startups in Nigeria surmount many obstacles to succeed. 

Young Nigerians Want To Solve Problems And Make Money From It

Several startups aim to solve a problem or bridge a gap in a particular sector. It is not surprising that young Nigerians want to create more accessible, affordable, and healthier processes. In fact, for some startups, as in the case of 54gene, their ideas are novel and significant.

When Dr. Abasi Ene-Obong founded 54gene in 2019, he wanted to use the genetic information of Nigerians to improve their healthcare. No one seemed to be doing it at that time. 

In reality, Nigeria is besieged by several problems with corruption at the core. The country’s weak public health system, security problems, and a struggling economy have put it at the mercy of Western countries. This is the primary reason several young Nigerians leave the country searching for greener pastures.

Ironically, while everyone was trying to “Japa” (leave the country for good), Amadi Omezulam and Chuks Ogbonna left their jobs in Cyprus and moved to Nigeria. In 2020, they co-founded Urban Akwu, a biotechnology company in Rivers State, Southern Nigeria. They knew poultry feed was expensive in the country and pursued rearing black soldier flies as an alternative source of protein for poultry. To solve the environmental waste problem, they feed the insects with spoiled food—something they find in abundance and cheap.

Startups are not targeted towards health and agriculture alone; they are spread across several sectors. E-learning platforms like uLessons are making education easier and more accessible. These startups create job opportunities, reducing unemployment significantly.

Startups also allow people to make profits from their solution-based ideas. Furthermore, the existence of startups has allowed young Nigerians with brilliant ideas to see why they should express their thoughts in the form of startups to solve real-life problems. 

Investment Funds

Africa: Big Deal revealed that startups in Nigeria have raised almost 1.4 billion dollars for funding in 2021—the highest on the continent. This data consists of startups that received $100,000 and more for investment funds. The top leaders include Opay, which secured $400 million, Andela $200 million, Flutterwave $170 million, Kuda Bank $80 million, and Decagon $26.5 million.

Although several startups raise their funds through different methods, including direct pitches, grants, and competitions, it still requires a lot of hard work. Releaf, an agricultural-based startup co-founded by Uzoma Bailey Ayogu and Ikenna Nzewi, secured $1.5 million in grants from The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) and USAID.

Several startups also received investment funds ranging from pre-seed funds, angel funds, and institutional funds. In August, Nigerian shared mobility startup Plentywaka raised a $1.2 million seed round. ReelFruit, a dried fruit company, announced a Series A investment of $3 million, while Klasha (a payments provider founded by Jessica Anuna, one of Nigeria’s few female founders) also secured a sum of $2.4 million in September and October 2021, respectively.

Why The Sudden Boom?

Five years ago, startups were not the next big thing. In fact, they were not considered much of “a thing.” Several businesses struggled to stay afloat, and technology had not ultimately settled in the global market.

According to Africa: The big deal, startups secured twice as much investment funds in 2021 than in 2020.

A probable reason for the high level of investment could be a shift in the attention of foreign investors. According to Rebecca Enonchong, chairperson of Afrilabs, investors have been eyeing Africa for a while but were making safe bets. One of the major investors, SoftBank, led the $400 million seed fund for Opay and the $200 million investment fund for Andela. Other foreign investors include Target Global, Avenir Growth Capital, and Valar Ventures. The activity of these investors is hardly surprising. Nigeria, by large, Africa is a promising frontier for tech startups, and it is just fertile for expansion.

Furthermore, another reason for the sudden boom is the presence of more local investors and investment companies. A notable name in this sphere is Future Africa. Through the Future Africa fund, more than 15 startups have received investment on the continent. They also joined Techstars and other investors to invest in Maas, a Nigeria-based diagnostic healthcare startup. In addition, startups are investing in one another—increasing investments and ensuring healthy circulation of funds.

The Future: 2022 and Beyond

Despite the wave of investments and attention that Nigerian startups received in 2021, there is a need for equity in the startup ecosystem. A report on 2021 startup founding in Africa shows that 82% of start-ups that received investment funds have at least one male founder or an all male founding team. Moreso, fintechs dominated the 2021 investment rounds—amassing the highest amount of investments. This has created a demand for diversity in sectors and inclusion for female-founded startups.

Furthermore, the attention on Nigerian startups might pressure these businesses to produce results faster than expected. It may also pressure young Nigerians to create startups whether or not it is needed.

Fortunately, 2022 could be an even better year for startups. The approval of the Nigerian Start-up Act might ease some of the difficulties in operating a business in the country. Startups will solve a significant part of Nigeria’s problems only if the environment is ideal for them to strive.

Binance Sponsors Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2021

Mena Adediran
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0
Binance Sponsors Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2021

Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, has announced its partnership with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to officially sponsor the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2021. The AFCON is regarded as Africa’s biggest international men’s football competition.

The Africa Cup of Nations tournament is holding from January 9, 2022 till February 6, 2022, and will take place in Cameroon. The tournament was originally scheduled to hold between June and July 2021 but got postponed. There are 24 teams kicking off the tournament, and 52 games to be played in six venues across five Cameroonian cities.

Binance is also partnering with CAF to reward the Assist of the Day, Binance Assist of the Week and Binance Assist of the Tournament. The AFCON officially commenced on Sunday, January 9, 2022 at 5PM WAT; with a match between host Cameroon and Burkina Faso in the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde. The tournament will be broadcast live to over 300 million people across 160 countries.

Speaking on the partnership, Veron Mosengo-Omba, CAF General Secretary expeessed, “I am delighted to welcome Binance as an official sponsor of the AFCON tournament this year. Through this partnership with CAF, Binance will connect further with its users and the African community through football. CAF is ready to embrace blockchain-based technology and its impact on the future of African football development. I am certain that together with Binance, we can take African football to a new level.”

Furthermore, Emmanuel Babalola, Binance Director for Africa, added; “Football is the most popular sport in Africa, one that unites the entire continent and as the leading blockchain ecosystem, we are proud to be an official sponsor of the AFCON tournament. This corroborates our mission to take crypto mainstream across the continent.”

Ajim Capital Launches $10M Fund For African Companies In The Tech Space

Boluwatife Aponmade
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Ajim Capital Launches $10M Fund For African Companies In The Tech Space

Ajim Capital has launched a $10 million fund for African tech companies. The African tech market is growing considerably, but investors are still finding it hard to fund tech startups, hence, Ajim Capital has decided to launch a $10 million fund to invest in African startups in tech. This will allow entrepreneurs to focus on building their businesses instead of worrying over funds.

The fund will give checks of $25,000 to $150,000 to pre-seed, to seed tech-enabled companies across the continent. Ajim Capital is looking for startups that fit into the description of their established criteria – rapid growth potential and fast adoption. They are interested in companies that can provide amazing returns to investors and that will fill significant economic and infrastructural gaps for consumers and enterprises across sub-Saharan Africa.

The Capital is also keen on considering investors or founders with entrepreneurial experiences or experiences that are in line with their technology.
Eunice Ajim, the Founding Partner of Ajim Capital said, “We invest primarily in founders with former entrepreneurial or directly relevant industry experience, initial indications of product-market fir (e.g revenue or users), highly scalable software solution, and a potential 10x CoC returns for investors”.

Founding Partner of Ajim Capital, Eunice Ajim was born in Cameroon, she moved to the US in 2011. She is a 2x tech founder and an executive with experience ranging from management and start-up funding to leading more than a $10M tech start-up. She has the proficiency to lead a company to profits in a competitive situation or environment.

Being a committed woman, Eunice Ajim has met with more than 100 African tech companies and has angel invested in 10 of them in the past year. Some of her angel investments include Mono, Payhippo, TalentQL, Bamboo, Payday, Mecho Autotech and, Lemonade Finance. The passionate entrepreneur and angel investor want to focus on developing the continent’s technology space. She believes that the best time to do so is now.

Ajim Capital invites potential investors to reach out to them and help in building the future of Africa’s tech space.

Bolt Raises $709M At An $8.4B Valuation to Expand Its Operations

Hassan Barakat
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Bolt Raises $709M At An $8.4B Valuation to Expand Its Operations

Bolt has raised $709M, valuing the company at $8.4B. The same-named startup and app provides on-demand ride-hailing, shared vehicles and scooters, as well as restaurant and grocery delivery.

It will use the funds to continue expanding to new geographies and bringing more consumers and partners to its “super app”; and newer business lines, such as its 15-minute grocery delivery service Bolt Market.

It will build out “dark stores” in more cities to expand the service beyond the 10 where it is currently active.

“All of our business units are increasing,” said Markus Villig, the company’s founder and CEO, in an interview this week.

“A new trend from last year is that private vehicles are a negative thing, and people are increasingly wanting to use other modes of transportation.”

Bolt is also working with more city governments to expand its services as part of their updated transportation goals, according to him.

Whale Rock, Owl Rock (a division of Blue Owl), D1, G Squared, Tekne, Ghisallo, and other unknown backers also participated in the round, which was co-led by Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management, and Research Company LLC.

The funding news caps off an eventful few months for the company, which had raised €600 million at a valuation of over €4 billion only four months earlier in a Series E also led by Sequoia.

Bolt’s services are presently used by over 100 million people in 45 countries and 400+ cities. The company has 75 million customers in August, when it announced the last round, as a metric of its expansion.

Bolt was founded eight years ago in Tallinn, Estonia (originally as Taxify) with a mission to bring ride-hailing to emerging markets and countries where others like Uber had yet to establish a strong foothold, a strategy that it used to modestly expand across regions like Central and Eastern Europe and Africa, attracting investors like China’s Didi, which had built a massive business in its own emerging market. (Didi secretly sold its Bolt investment last year).

The focus has stayed on Europe and Africa over time, but Bolt discovered that many of the lessons learned from those early launches could be applied just as successfully in more industrialized countries, with more profitable payoffs.

Meanwhile, Bolt’s diversification strategy, which includes scooters, couriers, and now food delivery services in addition to automobiles, is part of its scaling strategy.

Putting all of the alternatives and cross-promotions under a single app not only helps Bolt draw in new consumers and cross-sell to them, but it also does so with basically zero marketing costs, according to Villig.

“Synergies and shared expenses between these verticals are two things that set us apart and are working in our favor,” he said.

“Most of our competitors are focused on one item in each app, and we aren’t,” Villig continued, “so it’s quicker and less expensive for Bolt to build more services off the back of each other.”

“We’re now passing those savings on to our customers.”

In a statement to TechCrunch, Andrew Reed, a partner at Sequoia, stated, “We’re delighted to strengthen our engagement with Markus and Bolt to continue their aim to make urban transit inexpensive, sustainable, and safe.”

“At Sequoia, we believe in the global potential for technology and entrepreneurship, and Bolt’s expansion from Tallinn, Estonia to over 400 cities and 100 million users across Europe and Africa has inspired us.”

We’re excited to work with them to extend their footprint, broaden their product offering, and improve the long-term quality of life in cities.”

Leveraging Opportunities in Blockchain in Africa

Sopuruchukwu Elizabeth Mba
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Leveraging Opportunities in Blockchain in Africa

Think of a large company with a data center operating about 20,000 computers that stores and maintains the database of the company. Assume the computers are kept in a large, secure compartment, and the company has complete control over the data and information saved on each computer, which they can access and use for business purposes.

Great, right? But here lies the problem with this style of data storage and control. What happens if the power supply in that location shuts down? What if the building is burnt down? What if an intruder tampers with any of the computers? What happens if there is a fire outbreak? In any of these circumstances, the data is lost or corrupted. What if there is a way out – an alternative that ensures that not all is lost after all?

Blockchain presents a solution that offers a new way of data handling. What it does is that it spreads out the data contained in a database across an extensive network of computers at various locations. The data lost or altered in one node (computer) at a particular location can easily be retrieved and detected since the other nodes will cross-reference and quickly pinpoint the exact node with the problem. This way, maximum security and fidelity of data are maintained.

Blockchain in a Nutshell

Blockchain is a kind of distributed ledger technology dispersed across multiple nodes at different locations to ensure the security and decentralization of data. This innovation fosters trust in data transactions without a trusted third party.

A blockchain structures its data into a framework of block codes. Here, information is collected together in groups called blocks. These blocks have a storage capacity with a storage space that can get filled up. Once a block is filled, it is connected to a previously filled block to create an incorruptible and encrypted chain of data known as the blockchain.

Benefits of the Blockchain Technology

Blockchain and its core characteristic of decentralization and as a tool for crowding out third parties and intermediaries offer the following benefits:

  1. Transparency

Unlike banks and government agencies with centralized nature of control, the transactions in the blockchain do not sit on a single server. Entries and transactions are distributed across a network of computers.

It implies that original versions are shared and stored in multiple locations simultaneously. Participating entities can easily access the information and transactions stored in blockchain, thus preserving transparency.

2. Immutability

Due to the structure of blockchain, information written, distributed, and confirmed by participating entities is essentially immutable. New information is saved in cross-referencing blocks that can only be added in the add-only chain. It is impossible to manipulate previously stored data as the other nodes will pin any attempt to alter it. Blockchain maintains high data integrity, availability, and accessibility unless all the nodes are affected.

3. Security

Blockchain security is attained, and trust is generated due to its decentralized framework. To succeed in altering blockchain, a hacker must ensure their new data aligns with over 50 % of the nodes.

4. Automation

Because data availability is not dependent on a single server, blockchain will continue to function even if individual nodes or participants withdraw from the network.

5. Incentivization

Participating entities can be rewarded economically for processing and validating transactions. The incentive is part of blockchain’s consensus mechanism to foster trust and encourage positive behavior among participants.

Blockchain in Africa

Despite the emergence of the blockchain ecosystem in the African continent and various countries oscillating between adoption and skepticism, blockchain has made significant progress in providing financial solutions across countries.

The blockchain utility has proven to be extremely useful in the African financial sector for the following reasons:

  • Africa has the fastest-growing population.
  • Africa has the highest percentage of unbanked and
  • Underbanked people.
  • Africa has the highest proportion of microbusinesses.

The reasons above contributed to why Africa became early adopters of mobile money, with over half of the global mobile money service operators located in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Africans are now actively exploring and implementing blockchain-based financial services to predict and invest with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Others are using it in reducing the cost of remittance payments, profit from community currencies, or community-related lending solutions.

According to reports, more than one-third of the Africa-based projects documented in the PositiveBlockchain.io database were invested in this sector. 

Leveraging Opportunities in Blockchain

Blockchain is rapidly gaining popularity in different sectors in Africa, including the financial, logistics, legal, real estate, and healthcare sectors.

  1. Banking and Finance

By integrating blockchain technology into financial institutions, bank transactions and payments can process quicker with reduced charges regardless of the time of the day or week.

The established decentralized ledger technology will provide the opportunity of exchanging funds and sharing information between financial institutions in a manner that is easy, secure, and quick.

  1. Healthcare

Healthcare providers’ data sharing and collaboration can be significantly hindered by compromised patients’ information, data error, lost record, and other types of fraud.

Blockchain technology ensures healthcare providers share access to their networks without compromising data integrity and security, thus, allowing maximum fidelity in data documentation and transfer among health fields. These documentations can be used for further research, ensure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and cost-effective care.

  1. Education sector

Since verification of academic credentials in universities, secondary and primary education is mainly done through the manual process, falsifying educational credentials is unavoidable.

Utilizing Blockchain technology could make the verification process easy and universally recognized, thereby reducing forgery or fraudulent claims of unmerited education credentials.

  1. Food industry

Blockchain technology can eliminate the hassle of product mislabeling, food recalls, authenticity, and confusion on the source of food-associated problems.

Blockchain provides a way to monitor the food supply chain from farm to the user. It promotes food safety by verifying the source of food material and tracing the origin of food contamination.

  1. Cryptocurrency

Blockchain technology in cryptocurrency offers people with unstable currency and financial infrastructures a far more stable currency.

With more functionalities and a more extensive network of individuals and institutions, they can run local and international businesses. In place of a central authority, blockchain leverages its decentralized data approach to reduce risk and minimize transaction duration and charges.

Conclusion

Blockchain is a dynamic field that follows the traditional method of accounting, be it digital or physical, where traders record diverse transactions on lists – also known as ledgers. While the ledgers are controlled by a central entity in a traditional setting, blockchain decentralizes control, ensuring that control is simultaneously given to multiple entities who share copies of the same ledger.

The blockchain pattern of control enables transparency, immutability among other benefits. Blockchain implements a sense of community and accountability, and when applied in Africa is capable of unleashing its potential. The technology will not only bring about cross-country harmonization but also will support economic and social development.

This is consistent with the continent’s vision of building a unified, progressive, and peaceful Africa. Blockchain technology has wide applicability in Africa, including healthcare, banking and finance, education, food, and cryptocurrencies.  However, blockchain has some drawbacks, including a lack of scalability and insufficient privacy.

Blockchain technology also depends on functioning and reliable infrastructure like internet connectivity. For blockchain to thrive in Africa, internet development must be a core priority, as access to the internet and connectivity ensure the efficient running of the technology. An efficient regulatory framework will aid the adoption of blockchain in Africa.

By collaborating with stakeholders to better understand blockchain, policymakers will be able to govern the technology in a way that promotes innovation and exponential growth.

Standard Chartered to Close 50% of Its Branches in Nigeria

Hassan Barakat
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Standard Chartered to Close 50% of Its Branches in Nigeria

Standard Chartered, a British banking, and financial services business, is said to have finalised plans to close at least 50% of its Nigerian branches, in a major move as it transitions to digital banking.

This comes at a time when Nigeria’s banking industry is under intense competition from payment service providers, particularly mobile telecommunications companies, which the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) recently issued an operating license to.

Since establishing a foothold in Nigeria in 1999, Standard Chartered has focused on corporate banking.

However, it has recently moved to expand its retail base, setting a goal for 2019 of growing its customer base from 100,000 to 500,000 in around two years by utilising digital technologies to onboard consumers faster.

According to the persons, the lender also aims to launch digital lending to process small loans faster and expand the volume of retail credit.

Nigeria has seen an expansion in demand for payment solutions and financing outside of traditional banking, with a population of over 200 million people, more than a third of whom do not have access to financial services.

According to Bloomberg, Standard Chartered Bank closed some of its locations in December and will eventually reduce its branch count in the country to only 13 from roughly 25.

According to the report, the Nigerian subsidiary of the  London-listed bank would strengthen its mobile banking services and engage agents to reach new customers and manage cash deposits and withdrawals around the country.

This is as part of its plan in the new dispensation, according to some sources who requested anonymity.

Standard Chartered Bank’s new focus reflects attempts by Nigerian banks to embrace digital banking amid a fintech boom that has put most of Africa at the forefront of the mobile money revolution.

Instead of creating additional physical branches, Nigerian banks are lowering expenses by forming networks of approved agents, or persons who sell their products and services within communities.

Why Investing in Technology Startups Is the New Normal

Boluwatife Aponmade
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2
Why Investing in Technology Startups Is the New Normal

It’s the 21st century, and things are changing fast. The world is evolving, and we, as humans, need to evolve along with it. In the last few decades, the world has undergone a tremendous change, thus, changing the way we do business and carry out our work. That’s why investing in Technology startups is important.

Lately, new technology startups are springing up everywhere, in Africa and Nigeria, especially. A major contributing factor to this sudden surge in technological startups is the covid-19 pandemic. Many people have realized that what they used to do every day before the pandemic can now be done even faster and better in the comfort of their homes. There’s also the enlightenment many people have gotten about technology and how it will take over the world very soon if it has not already taken over.

Most of these new startups raise pre-seed funding and pitch for funds from angel investors and startup capitalists or partner with other tech firms to expand their businesses, reach their market target, and make huge profits to keep the brand growing.

Some of the new technology startups in Nigeria are Gokada, Cowrywise, Kuda bank, Flutterwave, Piggyvest, Opay, Paystack, Farmcrowdy, Eden life, Helium Health, to name a few.

Many of these startups are in the Fintech space. They ease modes of transactions of Nigerians, make saving more effortless and less complicated, and ensure the implementation of a cashless policy.

For example, Helium Health is a brand in the health technology sector, the first of the two health sectors in the technological ecosystem. It uses the data and insights into the status of healthcare in Africa. Founded in 2016 by three young men and featured in Forbes under 30 list in 2019, the startup has been adopted by more than 5,000 health professionals to manage more than 165,000 patients monthly.

Flutterwave is another example of a successful technology startup whose mission is to transform payments in Africa and the whole world. Flutterwave is one of the most influential companies, according to the TIME 100 list. It is a company that has the quality of delivering its promise of secure payment solutions for businesses.

What is a Technology Startup?

A technology startup is when a company focuses on the sole purpose of bringing technological services and products to the market when the only aim of such a company or venture is to bring the products and services technology can offer to the people.

More examples of startups in the technology space, especially in Africa, are Safeboda, Patricia, Life Bank, Fundall, Zindi, Payourse, Gozem, Crypto Pharaohs, De Novo Dairy, SweepSouth, mPharma, and so much more.

Investing in Startup Technology is The New Normal

Technology is the next big thing, safe to say it is the new big thing, and many people are pitching in it, and the earlier you pitch, the bigger your rewards. One of the advantages of investing in technology startups early enough is that you gain a more significant percentage of the market share. Also, you can make as many sales as you can before others get to know of the opportunities.

When you invest in technology startups, you have a series of options to pick from. You can invest in agricultural technology, medical technology, financial technology, or information technology. You can also invest in technology startups that fit your goals and budgeted capital.

It’s important to know that you do not put all your eggs in one basket when doing business. Investing in a technology startup will give you the advantage of having different portfolios. You can share your investments into varying categories of assets.

A technology startup is majorly an asset, and there is nothing better than investing in assets where your profits are assured, and your assets are confirmed to grow.

Another good thing about investing in startup technology is that you unconsciously impact society. Many startups bring about job creation and employability, positively contributing to the labor market. Furthermore, when you invest in technology startups, you promote innovations and provide for the consumers’ needs by bringing them closer to products or services that solve their problems.

More importantly, you get to attract investors to support your startup. You provide the business initiatives or ideas and get funded while the investors get a return on their investments. That’s a win-win situation for both parties.

Aside from angel investors, big companies also look out for startups whose ideas are a potential threat to their companies when they grow. Thus, they buy them off. They also buy new startups that they can leverage. Think of how Facebook acquired Instagram, Whatsapp, and Oculus.

If your startup is of a good initiative in the right sector and it sells at a high price to large companies, you can get very high returns on your investment startup.

What are the Benefits of Investing in Technology Startups?

Investing in technology startups gives room for growth. Also, technology startups make you more efficient, productive, and accountable. They also increase your profits margin compared to when you were involved in other businesses that were not part of the technology ecosystem.

Investing in technology startups also helps you maximize time. These times are judiciously used to improve communications skills with clients and investors, close deals, get funds for the company’s growth, and make profits for your business.

Additionally, it improves the quality of your business. Technology provides you with good insights that can help you make solid decisions, enabling you to provide the best products and services to consumers of technology, directly or indirectly. It also adds to the advantage of the quality of your business and helps you maintain a top position in the market.

Conclusion

Technology startups are the new hub of activities globally and have a lot of interests and advantages. Many people worldwide use technology every day, in one way or the other, no matter how minute. Back in the day, people painstakingly wrote their manuscripts with a pen, spending days, months, or even years before writing a book.

Then, in the 1900s, people started using typewriters to make their work easier and or faster. Using a typewriter was of little help as even that has its disadvantages and difficulties. In the late 1900s and early 2000s, computers came, which further eased human tasks and made writing a book more effortless and less stressful. It also made book publications faster and neater.

Investing in technology startups should be a thing everyone should start already, looking at all the advantages and benefits that we have highlighted above.

Bitcoin Slides Below $40,000, First Time In 3.5 Months

Boluwatife Aponmade
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Bitcoin Slides Below $40,000, First Time In 3.5 Months

Bitcoin has dropped below $40,000 for the first time in 3.5 months. Bitcoin has fallen to its lowest level since the end of September as the leading cryptocurrency in the world showed no end to its unpredictability.

The world’s leading cryptocurrency dropped to $39,663.18, from a record high of more than $66,000 in October. After a tumble Monday, it recovered a bit, rising to $41,198. Meanwhile, its recent decline continues to drag other cryptocurrencies down.

Chief Market Analyst at Avatrade, Naeem Aslam said, “The main culprit behind the slump in crypto prices is the Fed’s decision to withdraw massive liquidity, which has been pumped into markets since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic”.

The dip in bitcoin brings about a looming ‘Death Cross’ in price charts. Death Cross is an indicator that appears when the 50-day moving average (MA) goes down below 200-day MA.

Bitcoin peaked up to nearly $69,000 on the 10th of November, 2021, and has since declined by 40%. The leading crypto dipped over 12% in the last seven days to January 9, registering its biggest weekly dip since early December.

Impending death cross, plus the souring macro outlook may bolster sentiments. The technical indicator’s record as a predictor of the bear market is mixed.

Many of bitcoin’s previous death crosses, including those witnessed in 2014 and 2018 coincided with “either a sell-off in the days that followed or a continued macro downtrend that confirmed a bear market”.

Although, death crosses that were seen last June and late March 2020, and October 2019 were false signals or bear traps that marked major price bottoms. Given that they are based on backward-looking data, it is unreliable moving average crossovers as standalone indicators. They even tend to lag prices.

The market is usually overloaded and due for an increase by the time the crossover gets confirmed, as was the case in June, last year, and late March 2020.

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