Shalom,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here's what I've got for you today:
- Central African Republic (CAR) launches meme coin $CAR
- The truth about Helicarrier's founders
- Bento Africa shuts up shop in Nigeria
Central African Republic (CAR) launches meme coin $CAR
The Central African Republic (CAR) just launched its own meme coin, $CAR, in a bid to boost its global presence. President Faustin-Archange Touadéra made the announcement on X, saying the coin is meant to unite people, support national development, and put CAR on the world stage. Pretty ambitious for a meme coin, but hey, we’ve seen stranger things happen in crypto.
Despite having gold and diamond reserves, CAR is still one of the poorest countries in the world, struggling with economic instability and rebel violence. Now, it’s turning to crypto — again. Remember, this is the same country that made Bitcoin legal tender in 2022. But with meme coins being so unpredictable, it’s hard to say if this move will help or backfire.
So far, $CAR isn’t looking great. Its price tanked 64% in the last 24 hours, dropping from $0.22 to $0.1353, according to CoinGecko. Trading volume, however, shot up by 105% to $780 million, so at least people are paying attention. But technical indicators suggest the coin is struggling to hold key support levels, meaning it could drop even further.
To make things even messier, AI deepfake detectors flagged the President’s video announcing $CAR as suspicious. And then, the official X account for the coin got suspended. Not exactly the smoothest launch. But CAR is still pushing forward, doubling down on its crypto ambitions despite these hiccups.
Now, remember how just last week we talked about Tanzania planning to launch a meme coin? What’s with African countries suddenly jumping on the meme coin bandwagon? It’s like everyone’s hoping for the next Dogecoin moment, but these projects often end up as quick cash grabs or just fizzle out.
At the end of the day, meme coins are fun, but they’re also risky. Nigel Green, CEO of deVere Group, warns that this is “more gambling than investing” and that many investors will probably get burned. But people keep chasing the hype anyway. The real question is—will $CAR actually help CAR’s economy, or is this just another meme coin frenzy waiting to crash?
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Helicarrier’s (formerly Buycoins) founders quit
Company filings seen by Techpoint Africa show that some of Helicarrier’s (formerly Buycoins) founders have quietly exited the company. According to a filing dated January 8, 2023, Ireoluwa Aderinokun’s role as Director was set to end on June 30, 2023, while Olatomiwa Lasebikan had already left the board in 2021. That leaves Timi Ajiboye as the last founder standing — well, almost.
On February 3, 2025, Ajiboye announced he had taken up full-time employment at The Browser Company, the team behind Arc browser. This move raises big questions about Helicarrier’s future, especially with the shutdown of key products like Buycoins and Buycoins Pro. While the company is still listed as active on Y Combinator’s directory, the signs suggest all might not be well.
Helicarrier has had quite the journey. Launched in 2017 as Bitkoin, it was one of Nigeria’s earliest crypto startups, making it easier for Africans to trade crypto using local payment methods.
After securing an undisclosed investment from Microtraction in 2018, it rebranded as Buycoins and later got into Y Combinator. Fast forward to 2021, the company changed its name again to Helicarrier, reflecting its broader mission beyond crypto trading.
Back then, Ajiboye explained that "Buycoins doesn’t do a good job of telegraphing all that we’ve become." The company had evolved from a simple Bitcoin trading platform to an ecosystem offering products like Sendcash Pay, Sendcash, and NGNT, all aimed at connecting Africans financially through digital currencies.
But now, with its flagship products shutting down and its founders moving on, what’s really going on with Helicarrier? Find out in Bolu’s latest story.
Bento Africa allegedly owes customers in Ghana, shuts up shop in Nigeria
Bento Africa is in a jam, and not just in Nigeria. A source close to the matter says the HR tech startup is facing similar tax and pension troubles in Ghana. The company allegedly collected taxes and pension contributions from clients but hasn’t remitted them to the appropriate bodies.
Now, finance and payroll managers are stuck, not knowing what to do, and chasing Bento for answers isn’t getting them anywhere.
Meanwhile, things in Nigeria have gone from bad to worse. After weeks of financial trouble, Bento has temporarily shut down operations. This comes after its founder and CEO, Ebun Okubanjo, resigned, and the entire engineering team was laid off following a protest over unpaid January salaries.
Word on the block is that the board said the shutdown is to “bring stability back” and warned clients not to fund payroll positions for now. They promised normalcy would return soon, but with everything happening, that’s looking shaky.
The trouble started in January when Bento’s 10-person tech team refused to work without pay. Okubanjo, who stepped down on January 30, had told staff their salaries would be “strategically delayed” to prioritise client payroll. But employees pushed back, refusing to work until they got paid.
With the layoffs, Bento’s payroll processing collapsed. Several clients took to social media, saying their employees hadn’t been paid. The company, once known for its automated salary disbursement, has been manually processing payments since last year due to issues with payment processors and reconciling underfunded accounts.
Now, Bento claims it has cleared January salaries and brought back some key staff to fix payroll issues, but some customers are still waiting for their money. The company says it will refund clients who don’t get their salaries by Tuesday, but given how things are going, it’s anyone’s guess if that will happen.
In case you missed them
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What I'm watching
- Why do blood types matter? - Natalie S. Hodge
- The Ancient Origins of Body Words | Otherwords
Opportunities
- Pitch Friday is this Friday, February 14, 2024. To attend, register here.
- Paystack is hiring for several roles. Apply here.
- Lendsqr is hiring for different roles. Apply here.
- Taptap Send is hiring a regional director. 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.
- AltSchool Africa is hiring several instructors. Apply here.
- Moniepoint is hiring for several roles. Apply here.
- Celebrate the New Year with delightful stories like Smart Couples. Call 421 on your Airtel line now — you won't be charged! Alternatively, call 07080601391 at your network's regular rate. Learn more here.
- Follow Techpoint Africa's WhatsApp channel to stay on top of the latest trends and news in the African tech space here.
Have a productive week!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.
