Bonjour,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here's what I've got for you today:
- NCC pushes for infrastructure sharing to cut telecom costs in Nigeria
- Regulator wants Glovo, Uber Eats to open shops in Kenya
- Bank of Uganda requires ID verification for transactions over $260
NCC pushes for infrastructure sharing to cut telecom costs in Nigeria
Last week, telcos in Nigeria considered hiking the prices for calls and data. They've been struggling financially, with MTN Nigeria reporting a big loss because of the naira dropping in value, and Airtel's revenue taking a hit too.
The Association of Licenced Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) said that despite tough economic times, they haven't raised prices in over a decade, mostly because of rules from regulators.
What’s new? The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says telcos should share their infrastructure to save money and improve services.
Aminu Maida, the big boss at NCC, mentioned this during a telecom summit in Lagos. He also talked about the need for teamwork between the government, businesses, and schools to drive innovation.
The NCC thinks setting up all the telecom infrastructure costs a lot, so it’s suggesting partnerships and new ways of paying for it, like Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
Speaking of challenges, Maida stated that despite having over 219 million mobile subscribers and a tech-savvy population, Nigeria still has several issues such as subpar service and insufficient infrastructure.
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To tackle these issues, he suggested telecoms use tech like AI to make their networks better and smarter. Plus, he talked about how the future looks bright with things like 5G and even 6G, which could change industries like farming and healthcare by connecting everything to the Internet.
Regulator wants Glovo, Uber Eats to open shops in Kenya
The Competition Authority of Kenya has informed platforms like Glovo and Uber Eats to open up shops in the country to deal with customer complaints.
Why? There have been issues with these companies taking forever to sort out problems because they don't have offices there.
The competition regulator did a survey and discovered that folks were having a hard time getting their complaints sorted because everything was being handled from the companies' headquarters abroad. Emails were going unanswered, and it was just a hassle.
Furthermore, the watchdog proposes that these platforms develop their own rules to follow because there are no official laws governing how they operate in the country.
Before closing its doors in the East African country in December 2023, Jumia Food was the only online food delivery platform with an office in Kenya. However, platforms currently operational in the country, such as Glovo and Uber Eats, have offices in Spain and the United States.
Late deliveries have been the most common complaint, followed by receiving items they did not order or poor customer service. Surprisingly, only about 16% have filed any complaints.
Other issues reported include not knowing the full price upfront, being charged extra for delivery, and receiving low-quality products.
Bank of Uganda requires ID verification for transactions over $260
The Bank of Uganda has implemented a new rule governing digital transactions.
Here it is: If you make a transaction online or via mobile money that exceeds one million Uganda shillings ($260), you must verify your ID.
What does this mean? Every time you make a large transaction with a legitimate agent or operator centre, you must show your ID.
Ugandan citizens can present either a national ID card or a passport. If you are a foreigner living in Uganda, you must show a refugee or alien ID.
Why? Because there have been too many scams with mobile money, where crooks team up with fake agents to rip people off.
The central bank says this rule is part of the law and it’s just following the rules laid out in the National Payments Systems Act and some regulations from 2021.
But not everyone's happy about it. Some folks are worried it'll slow things down, especially for people who don't have IDs. And there's also a concern that this might lead to more fake IDs being made.
Meanwhile, Uganda's gearing up for a big project to give everyone new biometric ID cards, starting in June. It hopes this will make online transactions safer by making sure people's identities are legit.
Last week on Techpoint Africa
- Ghana reverses its decision, approves Starlink's broadband service application
- Canal+ continues its share acquisition spree at Multichoice
- MTN MoMo South Africa becomes the first non-banking player to offer PayShap
- Gambia and Guinea plan to have new subsea cable
- Lagos State Government and Uber settle real-time data sharing dispute after month-long standoff
- Nigerians may pay more for calls, data as telcos consider tariff hike
- First National Bank glitch exposed 88 customers, South African regulator reveals
- Unified Payments becomes the second holder of the Payment Terminal Service Aggregator licence
- Thepeer: How to properly shutdown an ailing startup
- A timeline of Binance's troubles in Nigeria
- "I'm optimistic about Nigeria and Africa; there's no reason not to be." — Adebayo Adewolu, CEO, Trium
- Why security should lead, not follow in Nigerian fintech innovations
- Unlocking Capital: Fintech's role in sustaining Nigeria's family businesses
- South African edtech startup HyperionDev raises $5 million to expand operations
- Regulator confirms approved crypto asset providers for licencing in South Africa
- "We have to show the world that it's a great idea to invest in Africa." - Maurizio Caio, Managing Partner, TLcom Capital
- Staff indicted in recent $2.1 million Equity Bank Kenya fraud
- The new NCC MVNO licences could make data cheaper in Nigeria
- Binance's executive arrest in Kenya reportedly debunked by wife and Kenyan officials
- Three African startups secure $200,000 each as Madica announces first African investments
- Court adjourns Binance’s Tigran Gambaryan’s bail ruling to May 17
- Certify of Covenant University emerges as the winner of ICP Hub Sahara's Decahack Initiative
- Imtiaz Patel steps down as MultiChoice Chairman three weeks after his reinstatement
- Beyond making ends meet: 4 surprising reasons why employees juggle multiple jobs
- South African edtech startup HyperionDev raises $5 million to expand operations
- Thepeer investors request audit following shutdown
- Kenya moves to regulate crypto market amid scams, money laundering
- Ghanaian identity regulator to hike service fees, starting May 1
- Regulator confirms approved crypto asset providers for licensing in South Africa
- "We have to show the world that it's a great idea to invest in Africa." - Maurizio Caio, Managing Partner, TLcom Capital
- Escaped Binance executive arrested in Kenya
- Bolt partners M-KOPA to launch 5,000 e-bikes in Kenya to increase driver earnings
- Ghana to develop local content legislation for its telecoms sector
- Egyptian fintech Bokra raises $4.6 million in pre-seed for wealth expansion
- Egypt’s Bluworks raises a $1 million pre-seed to automate workforce management
- First Bank appoints Olusegun Alebiosu as acting CEO after the former CEO abruptly resigned
- IFC-backed TLcom Capital raises $154 million for seed and Series A startups in Africa
- Nigeria launches first multilingual LLM after drafting initial National AI Strategy
What I'm watching
- Strangers with Disabilities Share Their Deepest Secrets
- What are the chances of YOU existing? A biologist explains
Opportunities
- If you're a Product Designer and are looking for a remote role, check out this link for several roles.
- Several companies are looking for software engineers. Check out this link to work remotely with them.
- Check out this link for several remote Product Manager roles.
- If you have an early-stage startup, apply for Pitch2Win to pitch your ideas to a panel of esteemed judges and investors. The selected startups will vie for a grand prize of $10,000 equity-free funding and an all-expense-paid trip to IVS2024 Kyoto, Japan. Apply by May 5, 2024, here.
- Apply for Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) by May 6, 2024, here.
- Seedstars has announced INFUSE 2024, a global invitation for innovative applications aimed at fortifying health systems against climate threats and improving immunisation delivery. Apply 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 productive week!
