On today’s episode of the Techpoint Africa Podcast, our hosts, Oluwanifemi Kolawole, Bolu Abiodun, and Chimgzorim Nwokoma are joined by Senator Ihenyen, Lead Partner at Infusion Lawyers to discuss African tech stories making the waves this week.
This week is all about emerging technologies, and our first story focuses on the celebrity meme coin craze.
But first, a correction.
Last week, we mentioned that 2 African countries (Nigerian and Senegal) have active Central Bank Digital Currencies. However, data from Intelpoint shows that just one is currently active.
On Wednesday, May 29, 2024, Nigerian music star, Davido (David Adeleke) launched his token called Timeless Davido with the ticker $DAVIDO, on the Solana blockchain.
The token gained massive value — up to $10 million in market capitalisation — but lost it just as quickly. By May 20, it had a market cap of $2.2 million
This week, popular comedian, Sabinus (Emmanuel Ejekwu) also rolled out his own meme coin. Also within the week, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission issued a warning, advising citizens not to invest in the $DAVIDO meme coin.
Senator explains the legal consequences of celebrities launching meme coins and how the regular roll outs of meme coins affect the perception and adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.
Then, we go to the Ampersand-BYD partnership
On June 18, 2024, Kigali-based electric vehicle (EV) energy tech company, Ampersand, signed a landmark agreement with a Chinese–born EV company, BYD, to enhance electric motorbike development and deployment in Africa.
Being its primary supplier, Ampersand will purchase batteries from BYD to build around 40,000 electric motorcycles by the end of 2026.
Chimgozirim argues that there’s not much to be said for competition in the space considering how much of Africa is underserved when it comes to power supply.
You can catch up on the conversation on Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and anywhere you get your podcasts. You can also send your questions and observations to podcast@techpoint.africa or share your thoughts using the hashtag #TechpointAfricaPodcast.
