Bolu from Techpoint here,
Here's what we're talking about today:
- Uber's $100 million investment in Moove
- New guidelines for Bureau De Change
- A $300 million data centre investment by Equinix
Uber's $100 million investment in Moove
US-owned ride-hailing company, Uber, is planning to back Nigerian vehicle financing platform Moove in a $100 million funding round per reports from Bloomberg.
The round could take Moove's valuation from $650 million to $750 million.
However, the final figure for the funding round could change, ranging from $75 million to $100 million.
While Uber or Moove have refused to comment about the planned funding, there's a good chance it'll happen as this is not the first time both companies are working together.
In 2020, both companies formed a partnership that creates flexible vehicle ownership for Uber drivers.
Moove has raised a lot: If this $100 million funding happens, this will become yet another raise by the vehicle financing startup. It has raised funding almost every year since it was founded in 2019.
Its last funding round announcement was a few weeks ago when it raised $10 million in debt from Stride Ventures to expand its operations to India.
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The startup said the finding will help it strengthen its presence in India. It is currently in three cities, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.
Interestingly, Uber has also partnered with the African startup in India, to supply electric cars to Uber drivers in the Asian country.
While this investment plan by Uber could be a testament to Moove's growth, the company has faced its fair share of problems, such as having to lay off employees after a $140 million raise and driver protests poking holes in its vehicle-financing business model.
Equinix to spend $390 million to build data centres in Africa
Equinix, the US-based connectivity giant, that acquired Nigeria's MainOne for $320 million in 2021 is doubling down on its investment in Africa.
The company is set to spend $390 million building data centres on the continent.
The company's Managing Director in South Africa, Sandile Dube, said "We're going to need key hubs on the continent as we have in Europe, which is why we have started with Lagos, Johannesburg, and, in time, we would like to add Nairobi.
This is a good thing for Africa as the continent only accounts for 1% of the world's data centres. As Internet users on the continent increase, data centres would be required to meet the needs of these users.
Activision also recently launched servers for Call of Duty: Mobile gamers in Nigeria after launching one for gamers in South Africa.
From Meta's undersea Internet cable to Google's Equiano cable, there has been significant investment in Africa's connectivity, but only time will tell when they will translate to better Internet connection and penetration.
New guidelines for Nigeria's Bureau De Change
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continues to take action against the deplorable state of Nigeria's FX market.
From allegedly trying to control the exchange of naira to dollar-denominated stablecoins on crypto exchanges, the CBN has issued new guidelines for Bureau De Change (BDC) operators.
Per the Revised Regulatory and Supervisory Guidelines for Bureau De Change Operators published by the CBN, share capital for BDC operators is now ₦2 billion ($1.3 million), while licenses for both Tier 1 and Tier 2 operators have been increased from ₦35 million ($23,824) to ₦200 million ($236,137).
Tier 1 operators will also pay ₦1 million ($680) to apply for a licence and ₦5 million ($3,500) as a licensing fee. Tier 2 operators, on the other hand, will pay ₦250,000 ($250,000) and ₦2 million ($1,361).
Besides the ₦2 billion share capital, Tier 1 operators are going to also make a caution deposit of ₦500 million ($340,343).
While Tier 2 operators are expected to have a ₦200 million ($136,137) minimum share capital and deposit a mandatory caution of ₦50 million ($34,000).
Look out for more on the guidelines on the Techpoint Africa website.
What I'm watching
- What does the cheapest tech in India look like?
- Subjecting Sony's PS5 to extreme torture
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