Shalom,
Victoria here,
Here's what I've got for you today:
- Fresh news on Flutterwave's ₦2.9 billion hack
- Ilara Health scores $4.2m in Kenya
- Bostwana bans Starlink
Fresh news on Flutterwave's ₦2.9 billion hack
Remember that ₦2.9 billion Flutterwave hack last year?
Here’s a recap: Hackers swiped ₦2.9 billion from Flutterwave's accounts. The fintech's legal team went all out, reporting the whole mess to the Deputy Commissioner of Police and even managing to freeze 107 accounts to try and stop the bleeding.
Now? A Nigerian court has ordered 27 banks to unfreeze certain accounts related to the ₦2.9 billion hack.
Several account owners claimed that two banks — Access Bank and Providus Bank — had disregarded the court's order, although the court had revoked the post-no-debit placed on the account.
Meanwhile, Flutterwave aims to recover ₦19 billion ($24 million) in unauthorised transactions by PoS merchants on its platform.
Per the fintech, a "technical glitch" led to these unauthorised transactions, and Flutterwave is now contacting 6,000 account holders in 35 banks to recover the funds.
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Ilara Health scores $4.2m in Kenya
Kenya-based healthtech startup Ilara Health has scored big in a pre-Series A debt-equity round, bagging $4.2 million to scale in the country.
The funding party was led by DOB Equity, with players like the Philips Foundation, AAIC INVESTMENT, Angaza Capital, Black Pearl Investments, and Perivoli Innovations joining in on the $2.5 million equity round.
Alphamundi, Kiva Capital, and Boehringer Ingelheim chipped in with $1.7 million on the debt side.
In 2019, Emilian Popa, Maximilian Mancini, and Sameer Afzal Farooq launched Ilara Health. Its mission? Providing pharmaceutical and diagnostic supplies to private clinics.
Fast forward to today, and it has evolved to allow health centres to purchase pharmaceuticals, hospital furniture, and more on credit.
Ilara serves 3,000 out of Kenya's 15,000 clinics, making healthcare more convenient, even if it's a tad pricier than public options. To tackle equipment hiccups in public services, they've partnered with companies like Butterfly Network to offer affordable portable ultrasound devices.
CEO Popa says the startup’s move helps clinics stay well-stocked and provide top-notch care.
Ilara Health also offers a monthly subscription-based practice management software for clinics for a reasonable KSh1,000 ($6.25).
What's Ilara's game plan? The healthtech is gearing up to roll out a B2B health and occupational service that hooks up uninsured workers with care at partner clinics. All for a sweet monthly fee, making healthcare more accessible for everyone.
Bostwana bans Starlink
Two weeks after Botswana declined Starlink's licence application, the country’s telco watchdog has banned the Internet satellite service until further notice.
The Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) has cracked down on anyone importing, using, or selling those Starlink kits without the green light.
Now, here's where it gets tricky. People exploit a loophole by purchasing the kits in countries such as Zambia or Mozambique, where Starlink is licenced to operate, and then using them in Botswana undercover.
However, some Botswana residents who obtained Starlink kits for personal use are stuck at the Zambian border, unable to bring them into Botswana. It is like a standoff: take the equipment back to Zambia or try your luck begging Botswana's telco regulator for permission.
Besides, the company has already disconnected hundreds of South African users for breaking the rules.Not only is Botswana ignoring Starlink, but so are Ghana and Zimbabwe.
In case you missed it
- Visa and Egyptian Banks Company partner to facilitate international remittances
- 4 things Nigerian employers do when they can't increase salaries
- Nigerians turn to stablecoins as inflation rises, but there could be consequences
What I'm reading and watching
- Airtel underlines its African expansion ambitions
- Why 97% of Namibia is Empty
- Can MEN and WOMEN ever be equal?
Opportunities
- Application for the Innovest Afrika accelerator programme is open. Apply by February 14, 2024, here.
- Kenyan startups focused on embedded finance, future fintech, SME productivity tools, and content like local gaming and mobile advertising can apply for Safaricom’s Spark Accelerator programme. For more information, check this out.
- The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) is looking for an editor to support the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship. Apply here.
- Application for the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) Class of 2025 is now open. Check out the one-year, fully sponsored, graduate-level programme in tech entrepreneurship here before March 18, 2023.
- 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.
- Explore this website to find multiple job opportunities in Data that align with your preferences.
- 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 lovely Tuesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
