Techpoint Africa Podcast

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast, our hosts are joined by tech lawyer, Rosemond Phil-Othihiwa to discuss: Meta vs Nigeria's FCCPC Mercury Bank closing African startup accounts Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:17 - Meta vs Nigeria's FCCPC 19:04 - Mercury Bank closes African startup accounts   Useful links Meta to appeal $220 million fine imposed by Nigerian regulator  Mercury Bank sets August deadline for account closure, lists Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mali among prohibited countries  This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast, our hosts discuss: Kenyan e-hailing drivers strike Nigeria's app for farmers Chowdeck's ad product Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and Intelpoint's newsletter/    Link to Insight of the Week: Agriculture’s contribution to Nigeria’s GDP has been on a downward trend since 2020   Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:04 - Kenya e-hailing drivers strike 15:32 - Chowdeck's ad product 30:46 - Nigeria's app for farmers   Useful links Kenyan e-hailing drivers embark on a 5-day strike to demand better pay  Nigeria to develop an app for farmers as part of an e-extension programme  Want your rice with a side of ads? Chowdeck is working on an ad product  This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast, our hosts discuss: The OPay glitch Kuda, NALA, and Africa's remittance market UNDP's new fintech hubs Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:42 - OPay glitch 06:18 - Kuda, NALA, and Africa's remittance market 17:28 - UNDP's new fintech hubs   Useful links ₦714 million glitch: fintech giant OPay gets court order to restrict customer accounts Kuda Is Expanding Global Push As Scramble For African Diaspora Heats Up  Tanzanian fintech NALA secures $40 million Series A to grow B2B payment platform  UNDP to raise $1 billion to plant startup hubs across Africa  This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast, our hosts are joined by Olaleye Oladimeji, Partner, Legalpreneur Attorneys & Consulting and Founder, Registat.io to discuss: Kucoin to charge VAT in NIgeria Mano's move to food delivery Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Link to Insight of the Week: Nigeria's quarterly VAT collections have reached new highs in seven consecutive quarters since Q4 2021   Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:36 - Kucoin to charge VAT in NIgeria27:23 - Mano's move to food delivery   Useful links KuCoin to charge 7.5% VAT on crypto trades in Nigeria Mano wants a slice of the food delivery market in Nigeria  This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast, our hosts are joined by Samuel Ngwu, Privacy Lawyer to discuss: Another data breach in Nigeria New e-hailing prices in South Africa Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:09 - Another data breach in Nigeria 28:54 - New e-hailing prices in South Africa   Useful links Digital rights company accuses AnyVerify of selling sensitive Nigerian data online for ₦100  South African government to take over price-setting powers from e-hailing companies  This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

Today on the podcast, our hosts discuss: Celebrity meme coins Ampersand and BYD's EV partnership Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/   Link to Insight of the Week: https://bit.ly/3XwP41f   Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:44 - Celebrity meme coins 23:18 - Insight of the Week with Intelpoint 24:40 - Ampersand and BYD's EV partnership   Useful links Is Davido's crypto token a scam? Here's everything we know about it  SEC warns that individuals who patronise $DAVIDO do so at their peril  Rwanda’s EV startup Ampersand partners BYD for expansion  This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast, our hosts discuss: Rwanda's Central Bank Digital Currency The latest on the Wasoko and MaxAB merger Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:09 - Why CBDCs don't do much 11:28 - The Wasoko-MaxAB merger   Useful links Wasoko and MaxAB merger deal stalls due to ongoing restructuring, macroeconomic challenges Rwandan Central Bank set to launch digital currency in 2026- Deputy Governor This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica  

Today on the Techpoint Africa Podcast, our host, Chimgozirim Nwokoma is joined by Francis Ogbuka, VP Sales, Zone and Abraham Augustine, Comms & Programs Lead, Norrsken to discuss: Zone's decentralised PoS payment gateway Gro Intelligence's shutdown The Copia Global story Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Link to Insight of the Week: Jumia Group recorded its highest loss in 2019, the year it was listed on the NYSE    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:05 - Zone's decentralised PoS payment gateway 16:01 - The Copia Global story 33:22 - Gro Intelligence's shutdown   Useful links Kenya-based agritech Gro Intelligence to shut down two months after slashing headcount  After dismissing over 1000 employees, Copia Global stops taking orders in six Kenyan markets  Zone launches blockchain-powered PoS payment gateway to tackle chargeback fraud  This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk

Today on the podcast, our host, Bolu Abiodun, is joined by Oyindolapo Olusesi, Lead, Legal Services at Kora to discuss: The Brass acquisition Bolt's inDrive copycat Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:13 - The Brass acquisition 15:42 - Bolt's new bidding system   Useful links Paystack and PiggyVest join forces in Brass acquisition  Bolt introduces a bidding system for drivers and riders in Nigeria  This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

Today on the podcast, our hosts discuss: Nigerian fintechs and all things CBN policies What we know about the 16-month salary delay claims at Bloc Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Link to Insight of the Week: https://intelpoint.co/insights/nigeria-the-volume-of-pos-transactions-in-2022-was-1500x-the-volume-in-2012/?utm_source=Techpoint+Africa+Podcast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Insight+of+the+Week+TAP+225   Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:24 - Nigerian fintechs and CBN 23:12 - What we know about owed salaries at Bloc   Useful links CBN stops account openings for Kuda, Moniepoint, OPay  New anti-fraud law mandates Nigerian PoS agents to register as businesses with regulator  Everything we know about 16-month salary delay claims at Bloc    This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica  

Today on the podcast, our hosts discuss: Tanzania's unlicenced loan apps Nigeria's San Francisco startup house Paystack's 2023 report Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/, and Intelpoint's newsletter/    Link to Insight of the Week: https://intelpoint.co/insights/nigeria-the-telecoms-industrys-contribution-to-the-gdp-has-hit-the-15-mark-twice-in-5-years/   Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:06 - Tanzania's unlicenced loan apps 11:00 - Nigeria's San Francisco startup house 22:11 - Paystack's 2023 report   Useful links Tanzania's central bank bans unlicensed loan app with new directives FG approves startup hub in San Francisco and an SPV that will build 90,000km of fibre optic cable  Transfers might displace card transactions but not any time soon This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica  

Today on the podcast, we welcome a familiar face, Omoruyi Edoigiawerie, Startup Attorney and Chief Servant, E & C Legal. He joins our hosts as we discuss: Nigeria's about-to-be-implemented cybersecurity levy Nigerian PoS agents registering with the CAC The latest update on the Patricia hack Did you know? Nigeria deploys 74,000 new Point of Sale terminals on average each month. Find out more here Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:40 - Nigeria's cybersecurity levy 28:01 - Nigerian PoS agents to register with CAC 37:22 - Update on the Patricia saga   Useful links Hack or mismanagement? Inside Patricia's troubling customer fund crisis/ Nigerians to pay 0.5% cybersecurity levy on all electronic transactions/ Over 1.8 million PoS agents must register with the CAC/ Nigeria to remove naira on P2P platforms following order to shut crypto-related accounts/ This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo and Crystal-Agnes Joseph   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit 

Our guest on today's podcast is Ray Youssef, CEO, NoOnes. We discuss Nigeria's recent clampdown on Binance and crypto and what happened with his last company, Paxful.   But before that, we highlight  a few stories from this week. BuuPass acquires QuickBus CBN stops Moniepoint, Kuda, OPay from opening new accounts MTN Nigeria records first loss since 2021 IPO Link to Insight of the Week: https://intelpoint.co/insights/mtn-nigeria-recorded-its-first-loss-in-2023-since-its-initial-public-offering/   Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:21 - Recap of the news 03:16 - Thoughts on the clampdown 08:10 - Did P2P really cause the fall of the naira? 12:21 - Did Binance make money from P2P? 14:44 - Is the Nigerian government justified in going after Binance? 17:29 - The real numbers for crypto in Nigeria 20:11 - Consequences of the clampdown 23:57 - The real crypto scammers 25:26 - The double-edged sword of licencing requirements 28:36 -  NoOnes' role 32:28 - The importance of P2P 35:15 - What went wrong with Paxful 38:09 - How NoOnes will redeem the Paxful failure 39:24 - Possible challenges for NoOnes 43:32 - Outro   Useful links Kenyan BuuPass acquires QuickBus to expand to Nigeria and South Africa CBN stops account openings for Kuda, Moniepoint, OPay Q1 2024: MTN Nigeria's userbase sinks, loses ₦656.4 billion in foreign exchange This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

Our guest on today's podcast is Rosemond Phil-Othihiwa, Corporate and Startup Lawyer. She joins us as we discuss: The Thepeer audit South Africa's approved crypto asset providers Nigeria's first multilingual LLM Link to Insight of the Week: https://intelpoint.co/insights/only-once-have-nigerian-fintech-startups-raised-more-than-1-billion-in-a-single-year/ Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:22 - The Thepeer audit 22:21 - South Africa's approved crypto asset providers 31:24 - Nigeria's first multilingual LLM   Useful links Nigeria launches first multilingual LLM after drafting initial National AI Strategy Thepeer investors request audit following shutdown Regulator confirms approved crypto asset providers for licencing in South Africa This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica  

Our guest on today's podcast is Temitope Adeyemi, CEO and Founder, insurtech startup, Pay-U. He joins us as we discuss: Pula's $20m raise Starlink's troubles in Africa Lessons from building Konga by Sim Shagaya Link to Insight of the Week: https://intelpoint.co/insights/multichoices-revenue-has-been-growing-at-an-average-of-4/   Download Intelpoint's The Nigerian Insurance Industry report here   Listen to the episode where we first talked about Sim Shagaya's VC foray: https://podcast.techpoint.africa/episodes/tap-218   Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 03:16 - Pula's $20m raise 27:26 - Starlink's troubles in Africa 35:01 - Lessons from building Konga by Sim Shagaya    Useful links Kenya’s Pula gets $20 million Series B to offer insurance to 100 million farmers in Africa Telecom regulator orders Starlink to cut off subscribers in Zimbabwe Starlink to disconnect subscribers in Ghana, South Africa, Botswana Inside Sim Shagaya's mission to fund and support resilient African entrepreneurs Sim Shagaya on lessons learnt building Konga This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica    

On guest on today's podcast is Dr Olumide Okubadejo, Head of Product at Sabi and AI researcher. We discuss: Africa's AI strategy Zimbabwe's gold-backed currency Jump n' Pass partnering Justrite  Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:13 - Africa's AI strategy 22:51 - Zimbabwe's gold-backed currency 33:13 - Jump n' Pass partners Justrite    Useful links Zimbabwe just introduced a new gold-backed currency in an attempt to fight inflation and wean off the US dollar Paul Graham "delve" debate highlights 3 reasons Africa needs its own AI strategy/ Self-checkout startup, Jump n Pass, partners Justrite to activate queue-jumping service/ across all its stores in Nigeria This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

On today's podcast, we discuss: Thepeer's shutdown Sim Shagaya's VC foray Edo State's API for ride-hailing operators Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 00:50 - Thepeer shutdown 10:34 - Sim Shigaya's VC foray 15:06 - Edo State's API for ride-hailing operators   Useful links Thepeer announces shutdown, citing compliance struggles; investor funds to be returned Sim Shagaya enters venture capital space with “The Honey Badger Fund ” Edo State to introduce API integration for Bolt, Uber and other e-hailing operators This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica

Today's podcast is all about Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and we have Michael Ugwu, NFT Collector, Angel Investor, and CEO Freeme Digital as our guest.   2021 was the year of NFTs, but once the bear run started, the rave died down. But the real question is, are NFTs dead? Michael answers this and more on today's episode of the Techpoint Africa Podcast.   Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 02:47 - We meet Michael 04:25 - How big an investment NFTs were 07:32 - How transformational NFTs were to the art space in Africa 09:27 - What happened to NFTs? 13:13 - What's happening in the Alpha Chart market? 15:22 - Can NFTs be separated from crypto? 17:21 - The problem with the last cycle and NFTs 18:20 - Should creative people still turn their work into NFTs? 20:35 - Decentralisation unlocking more innovation 25:18 - Music and the NFT space 29:14 - NFTs do well when people get crypto rich 33:21 - The slogan for this year's bull run   Useful links MTN contemplates tariff hike to regain $101 million in forex losses  Netflix subscribers in Nigeria to pay more from April 1, 2024 Commercial Bank of Ethiopia recovers $10 million from its $14 million system glitch loss  This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https

Today's podcast sees us welcome a familiar face (Emmanuel Paul) as we discuss: New registration fees for Nigerian crypto exchanges Ethiopian bank loses $40 million to system glitch Nigeria's $593.6 million loss to Internet disruption Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and  Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:40 - New registration fees for Nigerian crypto exchange 14:55 - Ethiopian bank loses $40 million to system glitch 22:27 - Nigeria's $593.6 million loss to Internet disruption   Useful link Registration fees for crypto exchanges could go from ₦30m to ₦150m as SEC Nigeria proposes new crypto rules The Commercial Bank of Ethiopia loses $40 million to “systems glitch” Nigeria loses $593.6 million to Internet disruptions  Naira devaluation forces Nigerian startups to seek local alternatives to AWS, Azure This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica  

Our guest this week is Abubakar Idris, Tech Journalist at The Information and on this episode we discuss: Interswitch's 2023 financial report LemFi's expansion to China Subscribe to The Modern Workplace/, Equity Merchants/, Techpoint Digest/ and Intelpoint's newsletter/    Timestamps 00:00 - Intro 01:34 - Interswitch's 2023 34:53 - LemFi'e expansion to China   Useful links Interswitch to offer telecom services in Nigeria after securing licence from NCC LemFi Hires Ex OPay COO, Allen Qu to lead China Expansion This episode was produced by Ogheneruemu Oneyibo   Email us your feedback at podcast@techpoint.africa. Visit www.techpoint.africa/ for more stories.   Music - Beach by MBB - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEnQ8dHwDSk   Find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok @TechpointAfrica