Another Twitter-Musk drama?

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May 17, 2022
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6 min read
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@purzlbaum?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/twitter?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a>

Below is a delayed version of our flagship newsletter, Techpoint Digest

Every weekday, 30,000 subscribers get a fun 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in their inbox, hours before everyone else.

Hello there,

Remember Elon Musk saying his $44 billion bid to buy Twitter was "temporarily on hold" due to spam concerns on Friday, May 13, 2022?

So, Twitter CEO, Parag Agrawal responded yesterday, Monday, May 16, 2022, claiming Musk's plan to quantify the problem by randomly sampling 100 accounts would fail.

The Twitter-Musk drama that we thought was almost over appears to be just getting started.

But what do you think this is all about? Is it true that he probably won't buy Twitter and finding ways to avoid paying the $1 billion fine, as some claim? Or do you believe he is genuinely concerned? If you're indifferent, please let me know too.

Well, today, I’ll be discussing:

  • Why some people in tech fake it until they make it 
  • Topship’s $2.5m seed
  • Twiga Foods launching Twiga Fresh

Why do people in tech fake it 'till they make it?

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Have you listened to the latest episode of the Techpoint Africa Podcast? If you haven't already, you should. It is always published before the newsletter.

I laughed a lot while listening to today's episode; it is quite entertaining. My favourite story is probably, "Fake it till you make it."

Before we proceed, what do you think about the adage? Anyway, while listening, one question that kept popping into my head was, "Does doing that make you a bad person?" 

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I mean, humans need to achieve their goals one way or another, and if it means faking it until they reach it, what's the big deal? 

Hmm. Before you come for my head, let me unequivocally state that I do not support living a fabricated life on or off social media.

However, based on the definition of the adage, you may agree with me that humans may need to fake it before they make it at times.

So, what exactly does the adage mean? "Fake it until you make it" implies that you can imbue your life with confidence, competence, or an optimistic outlook by imitating those qualities.

And we all know that appearances are significant if you want to be appropriately addressed. Well, except you look like a baby like me. 😂 And, as we all know, babies don't care. 😅😅 Okay, I'm kidding.

However, you will agree that wearing high-quality or nice clothing and accessories boosts confidence. Still, I have a problem with the adage, especially when people try to convince us that they're doing something they're not on social media.

This happens all the time, and it isn't any different in the tech industry. Why will some tech bros and sis claim to be doing something they are not? To what purpose?

To be honest, I'm not sure why some people in the tech industry want to literally fake it until they make it — assuming they make it at all.

Back to the podcast, Oluwanifemi spoke with two experts from The Experts series concerning this, and I'm sure you'd like to hear their perspectives, and the editorial's too. You can listen here

Topship’s $2.5m seed

Topship Team Image

If you've followed closely, you'd have noticed that after the publication of our Y Combinator report, Emmanuel answered the question, “what problems are Y Combinator-backed startups solving in Africa?”

Today's news is about a startup attempting to solve one of the problems named Topship. If you don't know what the company does, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.

Topship is a Nigerian digital freight forwarder that recently completed the YC winter batch. It was founded in 2020 after Co-founder and CEO, Moses Enenwali, noticed an increase in merchants' needs for shipping parcels and cargo outside of Nigeria. 

And yesterday, Monday, May 16, 2022, the company announced that it has raised a $2.5 million seed round to assist merchants with international shipping.

The round was led by Flexport. Other participants include Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Starling Ventures, Olive Tree Capital, Capital X and True Capital, while some of the individual investors in the round include Immad Akhund, Mercury CEO and Arash Ferdowsi, Co-founder of Dropbox.

Topship wants to make shipping as simple as possible for African businesses to export and import parcels and cargo to their customers, suppliers, and distributors worldwide. 

The company says it enables 1,500 merchants to ship cargo and parcels from Nigeria to over 150 countries. 

Although it can assist Nigerian merchants in receiving parcel deliveries from other countries, it can only accept cargo deliveries from the United States, the United Kingdom, and China.

The new funding provides Topship with sufficient funds to proceed and begin operations in Ghana, Tanzania and Kenya. Also, a portion of the investment would go toward improving its asset-light technology and developing a proprietary global shipping infrastructure to make imports and exports much faster and easier.

Techpoint Africa Blockchain Summit

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The Techpoint Africa Blockchain Summit (TABS 2022) will take place in four days! Are you ready?

NairaEx is giving away 20 tickets to attend Techpoint Africa Blockchain Summit. To win, follow the instructions here.

VIBRA is sponsoring 20 free tickets to Techpoint Africa Blockchain Summit (TABS), holding on May 21, 2022. To win, follow the instructions here.

Besides, online tickets are selling out fast; save a seat for yourself here.

Twiga Foods launches Twiga Fresh

Twiga Foods Shop Kenya Africa

Twiga Foods, a B2B eCommerce startup, has announced that it will invest up to $10 million in Twiga Fresh, a new subsidiary focused on modern and commercial farming.

Twiga Fresh will help scale up the production of domestic horticultural staples like onions, tomatoes, and watermelons.

Why Twiga Fresh? Twiga Foods has used technology since its inception to connect smallholder farmers with informal traders. This has given producers access to new markets and a large pool of customers while also optimising the food supply chain in its markets.

However, Twiga claims that along the way, they have encountered traceability issues, stock-outs, and price volatility, making it difficult for the company to deliver on its promise of affordability and food security. 

Consequently, Twiga believes Twiga Fresh can improve production control.

The company claims that the investment in Kenya will result in one of Africa's largest single horticultural farms focused solely on the domestic market.

Further, Twiga Foods plans to start operations in Uganda and Tanzania soon and is also looking into new markets in Central and West Africa.

What I'm reading and watching

Opportunities

  • Do you breathe crypto or are you simply crypto-curious? Apply for the Coinbase Community Ambassador Program (CAP) — Summer 2022 here.
  • How do we feed 10 billion people on a hotter planet? If you have an innovative solution that addresses the prevailing question, apply for the Thought for Food (TFF) Challenge 2022 here
  •  First City Monument Bank and the Mastercard Foundation partnered to launch a 15.5 billion Naira ($27.8m) MSME Revitalisation Fund for techpreneurs. Apply here.
  • Google is providing 30,000 scholarships to those passionate about technology and keen on gaining skills in Android applications development and Google Cloud. Apply here.
  • The Social & Inclusive Business Camp (SIBC) has begun searching for its 6th cohort of African entrepreneurs. Apply here.

Have a beautiful Tuesday!

Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.

She's autistic and interested in mental health and how technology can help Africans with mental disorders. Find her on Twitter @latoria_ria.
She's autistic and interested in mental health and how technology can help Africans with mental disorders. Find her on Twitter @latoria_ria.
She's autistic and interested in mental health and how technology can help Africans with mental disorders. Find her on Twitter @latoria_ria.

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