Indeed to lay off 15% of its staff

·
March 24, 2023
·
5 min read
layoff

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.

Victoria here,

I watched TikTok CEO, Shou Zi Chew's testimony before the United States House Energy and Commerce Committee yesterday.

Members' worries about the app's data privacy, online child safety, and TikTok's ties to the Chinese Communist Party were the main discussion topics at the hearing.

Why is there a hearing? President Joe Biden and Congress are considering ways to take action against the social media app, including a possible American ban.

In his opening remarks, Chew argued that TikTok is secure and shouldn't be banned. But members of Congress claim otherwise. Watch it here.

It's the weekend! Rest, eat, and exercise well. Also, drink enough water and enjoy yourself however you can.

Here's what I've got for you today:

  • Nigeria's SeerBit wants to build the future of payments
  • Indeed to lay off 15% of employees
  • Canva launches several tools

Nigeria's SeerBit wants to build the future of payments

Omoniyi Kolade, SeerBit CEO
Omoniyi Kolade, SeerBit CEO

Building customer relationship management tools for companies was Omoniyi Kolade's —  Founder and CEO of Nigerian payments startup, SeerBit — first foray into technology.

A few years later, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued licences for mobile money services, and his team provided technical support for some of the first licensees, including Fortis Mobile Money and Afripay.

Be the smartest in the room

Join 30,000 subscribers who receive Techpoint Digest, a fun week-daily 5-minute roundup of happenings in African and global tech, directly in your inbox, hours before everyone else.
Digest Subscription

Give it a try, you can unsubscribe anytime. Privacy Policy.

But the team continued to look for ways to add value to these financial institutions while working with them, eventually founding SeerBit.

According to Kolade, the name SeerBit alludes to its mission to build the future of payments.

SeerBit currently provides several services for businesses out of a desire to offer practical payment options to both companies and individuals.

Find out these services here: Operating in 8 countries, Nigerian fintech, SeerBit, wants to build the future of payments

Indeed to lay off 15% of employees

layoff

Online job listing platform, Indeed, will lay off about 2,200 employees, or nearly 15% of its workforce.

According to Chris Hyams, CEO, the layoff will affect every team, function, level, and region.

He also says although the choices regarding who and where to make cuts were difficult, they were made with great care.

Indeed's prediction that the labour market will continue to cool off in the wake of "the recent post-COVID boom" led to the decision to make job cuts at the company.

The company believes that job listings, which are its main source of income, will continue to drop in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.

So, Indeed will be instituting "additional cost-saving measures moving forward."

Indeed will pay affected employees either 16 weeks of base pay, or two weeks for each year of service, whichever is greater.

In addition, it will give them access to ongoing mental health services for a full year and ongoing career placement services for six months.

Canva launches several tools

Canva website screenshot

Canva is launching several new features, including a Brand Hub, a suite of tools and features designed to help teams stay updated.

The Hub includes a new "Magic Replace" tool that enables users to quickly update brand assets, such as logos, across all designs on the platform.

The company now has a new feature that automatically creates presentations for you. You can request that the editor create several presentations based on an outline and content on each slide.

Its new "Magic Design" tool allows users to upload an image and choose a style to obtain a carefully curated collection of personalised templates that they can customise.

Canva is also rolling out Assistant, which enables users to search for design elements and provides design recommendations on graphics and styles that complement their current designs.

AI-powered design tools like Magic Write, the platform's AI-powered copywriting assistant, are accessible through Assistant.

You can use it to write website copy or summaries for presentations. Previously available in Canva Docs, Magic Write will be available in all Canva project types.

Also, a "Magic Edit" feature allows you to add or remove any element from an image. By brushing over the area, you can remove extraneous details from images with the "Magic Eraser" feature.

Then there's the "Translate" feature which converts text in designs into over 100 languages. It also syncs video footage to your preferred soundtrack.

Per user request, Canva is also introducing some features like "Draw," which lets you sketch a basic shape, like a circle, and then watch it turn into a polished one.

There are also "Layouts," which lets users add content to a page and receive layout ideas for designs, and "Styles," which allows users to browse suggested colour schemes and fonts.

To view all elements, including text, shapes, images, and video, in one location, use the new "Layers" tool.  

In case you missed it

  •  Rwazi raises $4 million seed to provide businesses with accurate market intelligence on Africa and other emerging markets

What I'm reading and watching

Opportunities  

  • Kuda is looking for a Frontend Engineer (Web). Apply here.
  • Andela is hiring an Engineering Matching Specialist. Apply here.
  • Think It is hiring a Software Engineer (DevOps & Cloud). Apply here.
  • RebelMouse is looking for a Project Manager to work remotely. Apply here.
  • Magic Eden (US) is hiring a Product Designer. Apply here for the remote job.
  • Paga is hiring a Sales Manager (Doroki), an Accountant, a Senior Accountant, and a Fraud Management Analyst. Check out this website to apply.
  • Genies is looking for a product designer and several engineers, including Data Infrastructure Engineer and Lead iOS Engineer. Check out this website to apply.  
  • If you're an African in the diaspora or are willing to relocate, Notion is hiring for several roles in Sales, Engineering, Marketing, Customer Experience, Data Science, Product, Communications, and likes, outside the continent. Check out this website to apply.
  • Google has announced that the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund is now accepting applications from Black founders across the African continent. Applications are open now and will close on March 26. Apply here.
  • If you are a software engineer, creative designer, product manager, design researcher, or a techie looking for an internship role, please, check out this website.

Have a fun weekend.

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.

Other Stories

43b, Emina Cres, Allen, Ikeja.

 Techpremier Media Limited. All rights reserved
magnifier