Meta to begin laying off 3,000 employees in Africa

Salam alaikum,

Victoria from Techpoint here,

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

Meta to begin laying off 3,000 employees in Africa
MTN Nigeria apologises for poor network
Sudan launches first National Instant Payment System

Meta to begin laying off 3,000 employees in Africa

Starting today, Monday, February 10, 2024, Meta will begin another round of layoffs, this time hitting 3,000 employees across Africa, Europe, and Asia. The company will begin notifying affected staff.

The notices will start rolling out from 5 a.m. local time in most countries, including Africa. However, if you’re in Germany, France, Italy, or the Netherlands, you’re safe — thanks to local labour laws. For employees in other parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, the bad news could come anytime between February 11 and 18.

This time, Meta is specifically targeting its so-called “lowest performers,” cutting about 5% of its workforce. In an internal memo seen by Reuters, Meta’s Head of People, Janelle Gale, called these cuts “performance terminations.” Unlike previous layoffs, the company won’t be shutting down offices or making big public announcements.

Interestingly, while Meta is letting people go, it’s also ramping up hiring for machine learning engineers and other key engineering roles. A separate memo from Peng Fan, VP of Engineering for Monetization, asked employees to help fast-track hiring between February 11 and March 13. Clearly, AI is the priority for 2025.

In Nigeria, Meta has been quietly scaling back for a while. Last June, the company cut down its Lagos office space after laying off at least 35 employees in mid-2023, including its entire Nigerian engineering team. At the time, Meta brushed it off as part of a routine real estate review, but it’s now clear that the company is winding down local operations.

It’s still unclear how many Nigerians will be affected in this latest round of layoffs, but given Meta’s recent track record, it’s likely that Africa is about to take another hit.

MTN Nigeria apologises for poor network

Remember how I mentioned Airtel Zambia was in trouble last week after a major network outage left users stranded? Zambia’s telecom regulator, ZICTA, made them pay up. Airtel Zambia now has to compensate all affected customers, with the total payout hitting 4 million Zambian kwacha (about $142,500).

Meanwhile, here in West Africa — Nigeria, to be precise — another telco is giving us the usual apologies. MTN Nigeria, on Saturday, February 8, sent out a text apologising for network disruptions in parts of Lagos, saying the issue had been resolved. But that’s all they did — no explanation, no post on their social media, nothing.

Users had been struggling with the network since Friday — dropped calls, slow Internet, and unreliable connections. People took to social media to vent, with one user joking, “After one week of enabling and disabling airplane mode, I’m happy to announce I’m now a pilot. Thanks, MTN, for your ever-failing network!” 😂

And honestly, this whole apology routine isn’t cutting it anymore. Airtel Nigeria’s network has been terrible since Sunday — calls not connecting, data moving at snail speed. And what do I expect from them? Just apologise. Like, why??? How is that enough? Compensation? Service improvement? Nothing. Just “We’re sorry.” It’s getting ridiculous at this point.

Experts believe these disruptions could be caused by fibre cuts across the country, with MTN and Airtel reportedly dealing with nearly 80 cuts per day. To tackle this, the Nigerian government declared telecom infrastructure as “critical national infrastructure” last August, making it a crime to damage things like fibre optic cables and telecom towers.

Another issue? Telcos say they’ve been unable to invest properly in infrastructure because call and data tariffs haven’t changed in over a decade. The good news is the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently approved tariff increases.

The bad news? It’ll take time before we see any real improvements in connectivity. So, for now, we just have to manage and hope they do better.

Sudan launches its first National Instant Payment System

After three years in the works, the Bank of South Sudan (BoSS) has finally launched the country’s first National Instant Payment System (NIPS), per TechCabal. This was done in partnership with the AfricaNenda Foundation, a group pushing for instant payments across Africa.

The goal? To make payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible, especially for the millions of South Sudanese who don’t have access to traditional banking services.

Right now, MTN and Zain pretty much control digital payments in South Sudan because there hasn’t been a proper instant payment system. But with NIPS, that’s about to change.

The system will connect with existing financial networks like the Automated Clearing House (ACH) and Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS), making it easier for people to send and receive money instantly. According to central bank governor Johnny Ohisa Damian, this is a huge step towards financial inclusion and economic growth.

This move also puts South Sudan in line with its East African neighbours. Most EAC countries have already introduced instant payment systems, backed by the AfDB, World Bank, and Gates Foundation.

Only Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo are still lagging. Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda already have their RTGS systems linked through the East African Payments System, making cross-border transactions smoother.

For South Sudan, this isn’t just about better banking—it’s about building a stronger economy. Since gaining independence in 2011, the country has struggled with economic instability and a heavy reliance on cash transactions.

With this new system, businesses can operate more efficiently, the government can improve revenue collection, and everyday people can finally have access to faster and more affordable financial services. Of course, the real test will be whether NIPS is implemented properly and if people actually trust and use it. But for now, it’s a solid step in the right direction.

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Opportunities

Lendsqr is looking for a Sales Manager. Apply here.
MTN is hiring for several positions. Apply here.
PalmPay is looking for an asset officer. Apply here.
Vesti is hiring a Sales Executive. Apply here.
FairMoney is looking for Business Operations Manager. Apply here.
Paga is hiring for several roles, including CRO, Treasury Manager, and Doroki Growth Manger. Apply here.
Meta is looking for a Public Policy Manager in Anglophone West Africa. Apply here.
MasterCard is hiring a Manager for Product Management in Emerging Markets Acceptance Solutions. Apply here.
AltSchool Africa is hiring several instructors. Apply here.
Moniepoint is hiring for several roles. Apply here.
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