Hello, Bolu here,
Here are the stories for today:
- Another naira P2P platform down
- MTN CEO's copyright infringement case
- A $152.2 million fund for African financial institutions
Another naira P2P platform down
Another global crypto platform, KuCoin has temporarily halted peer-to-peer trade in naira. This means that you cannot exchange crypto for naira directly with other users on the platform.
Why? KuCoin said it is making changes because it wants to be more compliant with regulations.
Interestingly, the Director General of Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Emomotimi Agama, reportedly told major blockchain and cryptocurrency associations in Nigeria that the naira needs to be removed from P2P trading to avoid manipulation.
Nigeria has been blaming crypto platforms for the poor performance of the naira since February this year. Binance, the biggest crypto platform in the country, was the first to remove naira services from its platform in February, but that hasn't stopped Nigeria from detaining its employees for over three months now.
Only a handful of crypto platforms now have naira P2P enabled and it is only a matter of time before they disable it so they do not suffer Bianance's fate.
However, can P2P be stopped? Ray Youssef, had some interesting things to say about P2P in this Techpoint Africa Podcast episode.
MTN Nigeria CEO faces copyright infringement lawsuit
MTN Nigeria CEO Karl Toriola has been accused of dodging the legal papers for a copyright case.
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Music rights mess: The company is in hot water for using singer Maleke Moye’s tunes without asking. They’ve been selling his music as ringback tones for years.
Legal tug-of-war: The court is trying to get Toriola to show up and answer for these copyright claims. But he’s giving them the slip and even the court is getting frustrated.
The judge has put their next court date on June 27, and from the looks of things, the case might drag on for long.
However, the part that really stood out for me about this story is that I'd never heard of Maleke Moye before this case.
If he's a big deal in the music scene, and I've been living under a rock, please let me know.
A $152.2 million fund for African financial institutions
Accion, a non-profit organization, has launched the Accion Digital Transformation Fund. This initiative aims to enhance financial inclusion by supporting underserved communities, particularly small businesses in regions like Africa.
Fund Size: Accion has secured $152.5 million for this fund. The focus is on traditional financial institutions, including microfinance banks, which often struggle to reach marginalised populations.
The fund will provide capital—ranging from $12 million to $15 million — to approximately 10 to 12 established financial entities. Interestingly, they are not prioritising fintechs they’ve previously supported.
Traditional institutions can leverage these funds to modernise their services and bridge gaps in financial access.
In case you missed it
- MTN Group service revenue plunges 18.8% in Q1 2024, fintech revenue up 11.4%
- d.light gets $3.4 million to provide solar home systems to refugees in Uganda
What I'm watching
- Google I/O 2024: Everything Revealed in 12 Minutes
- NEW GPT-4o: My Mind is Blown
