Privet,
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) warned all Nigerians yesterday, advising them to delay starting new businesses or registering existing ones until they have clear plans to operationalise them.
It came after the commission released a list of approximately 100,000 companies that would be delisted.
The CAC's Director of Compliance, Justine Nidia, stated that the commission opposes the registration of businesses that do not have a fully developed business plan they intend to implement.
According to him, allowing such businesses to remain on the CAC registry is akin to supporting "Shelf/briefcase" companies — registered businesses that are dormant or redundant.
Here's what I've got for you today:
- Buycoins to discontinue Buycoins Pro
- Visa and M-PESA launch physical debit cards
- Zambia to get Starlink kits for Members of Parliament
Buycoins to discontinue Buycoins Pro
Nigerian peer-to-peer cryptocurrency marketplace, Buycoins, is reportedly discontinuing one of its products, Buycoins Pro.
Asset withdrawal will be available for the next three months, and users can continue to trade with Buycoins' Over-the-Counter (OTC) service via Desk.
Timi Ajiboye, Ire Aderinokun, and Tomiwa Lasebikan founded Buycoins, formerly Bitkoin, in 2017 to give Nigerians a safe and easy way to buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies.
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Following its initial release, the company's platform soon evolved into two: Basic and Pro. Advanced technical traders used the Pro version, while the former was for purchasing and selling (investing in) digital assets.
The company's other products at the time included NGNT (Nigerian Naira Token), a naira-backed digital currency, and Sendcash, a platform for remittances powered by cryptocurrency.
In October 2021, the crypto marketplace and its other products merged into Helicarrier, a new parent business.
In October 2022, Helicarrier announced that it had reached a final agreement to acquire a significant equity stake in Accrue, a crypto savings startup in Nigeria.
The agreement stated that Accrue would replace Helicarrier's retail cryptocurrency trading service, Buycoins Basic.
Visa and M-PESA launch physical debit cards
Visa and M-PESA have partnered to launch physical debit cards for its customers to pay across the countries where the mobile money platform operates.
M-PESA, which operates in Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Egypt, South Africa, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Lesotho, first partnered with the payments giant in June 2022 to roll out the M-Pesa GlobalPay Visa virtual card.
Data show that debit cards are uncommon in Kenya, with only 22% of adults having them. Yet, M-PESA, with its 96.5% market share, still has use cases that require cards for a complete solution, such as subscription payments.
The availability of physical debit cards supports efforts to increase financial inclusion by giving users more options for accessing and using their funds.
Additionally, this partnership enables M-PESA users to conduct transactions in traditional retail settings and online.
Sidebar Alert: In February 2023, M-Pesa partnered with Amazon, an eCommerce giant, to enter the remittance market.
Zambia to get Starlink kits for Members of Parliament
On Friday, Zambia's Minister of Technology and Science, Felix Chipota Mutati, announced that each member of parliament will receive a Starlink kit for their respective constituencies.
Minister Mutati said the development would facilitate access to essential Internet services and allow the 156 members of parliament to maintain continuous communication with their constituents.
He emphasised how this advancement could help close the digital gap and improve communication between the public and elected officials.
The division responsible for electronic governance, Smart Zambia, will supervise the distribution process to guarantee a fair and effective implementation of the Starlink kits.
Zambia had 4.30 million Internet users as of January 2023, resulting in a 21.2% Internet penetration rate.
While Mutati said the Internet satellite service provider can connect over 300 devices simultaneously, a Starlink router only supports up to 128 devices.
The monthly subscription fee for Starlink is ZMK 771 ($36), and the hardware costs ZMK 10,744 ($505). However, the Zambian government has committed to covering the cost of the Internet service for the first year.
Nonetheless, the sustainability of this development raises serious concerns, especially in a country with a poverty rate of 54.4%, ranking it 16th in the world.
What's more, this announcement follows the October 2023 launch of the satellite Internet service.
Last week on Techpoint Africa
- Chipper Cash lays off again for the fourth time in 1 year
- New Bolt riders to take selfies before a ride request due to safety concerns in South Africa
- FCCPC says illegal loan apps continue to thrive because they use PSSP wallets
- Egypt could join Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa in the CBDC club as it considers issuing digital pound
- CBN directs all financial institutions to suspend processing fees on large cash deposits
- Mohbad, Asake's Lonely at the Top, and "What is fuel subsidy?" were among the top Google searches in Nigeria in 2023
- Google to allow crypto-related ads five years after it banned such adverts on its platform
- Telkom introduces 6 T-Connect electric vans to improve customer service in South Africa
- Nigerian learners perform well in entrepreneurship but poorly in tech courses on Coursera — report
- Bolt Nigeria insists its drivers are independent contractors, not employees
- Nigerians love Coursera, but skill deficiencies show the need for urgent reforms
- MTN launches a digital skills hub to reduce the staggering unemployment rate in South Africa
- Kenya scraps visa requirements for global tourists, introduces electronic travel authorisation
- South African eCommerce startup, TUNL, secures $1 million pre-seed funding to grow its export platform
- Facebook and Instagram content creators in Kenya can now monetise their audience
- Copia Global raises $20 million Series C extension round nearly two years after securing $50m in funding
- Grammy-winning rapper partners with Plateau State government to build a tech hub in Nigeria
- Flutterwave hires 6 new executives from Cash App, PayPal, Binance.US, others
- Jumia Food to shutdown in Nigeria from December 2023
- How fraudsters exploit loopholes in OPay, PalmPay to hijack identities
- Bitmama temporarily suspends deposits on its platform
- 7 game-changing ways Google's Gemini Pro could power innovation in Africa
- BlackRhino VR, a Kenyan reality company, launches a no-code Augmented Reality platform for content creators
- Flutterwave's new hires, Jumia Food's shutdown, and Nigerians doing badly on Coursera
- Ivorian healthtech startup, Susu, raises $4.9 million in funding to expand into new markets
- Bolt Nigeria to give ₦10,000 fuel subsidy bonus to support drivers in Lagos and Abuja
- Meet the 12 African startups selected for the second cohort of the Techstars accelerator programme
- Facebook and Instagram content creators in Kenya can now monetise their audience
- MAKA raises a $2.65 million pre-seed to strengthen its presence in Nigeria and Ghana
What I'm reading and watching
- FG reacts to rumoured resurgence of Covid-19 in Nigeria
- Is There Any Hard Evidence That Jesus Actually Existed?
- Time Does Not Exist. Let me explain with a graph.
Opportunities
- Lawyers Hub has opened applications for its 2023 Startup Law Accelerator program. Apply here.
- Do you live in Nigeria and work with a local or foreign company? Whether it's remotely, on-site, hybrid, full-time, part-time or as a freelancer, @TheIntelpoint is trying to understand the Nigerian workspace: how you work, and toxicity in the workspace among others. Please, fill out the questionnaire 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 great week!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
