Imagine trading a hammer and chisel for design software. That’s the unexpected but inspiring journey of Obasola Akintola, a geology graduate who defied expectations to become a rising star in the world of brand design.
But the path wasn’t paved with roses. Layoffs, rejections, and even exploitation tested his resilience. Yet, Obasola refused to be deterred.
From layoffs to dream job: he shares a guide to turning setbacks into opportunities.
In this letter, we cover:
- the latest on the alleged $10 billion fine on Binance in Nigeria
- Nigeria’s crackdown on Bureau De Change operators.
- updates on Zoho’s pricing structure in both Nigeria and Kenya.
We also have updates on the state of funding in Africa, other noteworthy information, and several opportunities.
The big three!
#1. Nigeria backtracks: $10 billion Binance fine “misquoted”
The news: Bayo Onanuga, a special adviser to the Nigerian president on information and strategy, has clarified that reports of a $10 billion fine against cryptocurrency exchange Binance were a misrepresentation of his earlier statements in a BBC interview on Friday morning.
“I said our government may impose heavy fines on Binance for what happened,” Onanuga told local media publication The Gazette. “I never said Binance had been informed about the fines or that it would be $10 billion. I only said the amount may be imposed, which is because nothing has been finalised yet.”
Binance also stated they were unaware of any such penalty.
Rewind: In the past two weeks, the Nigerian government has intensified its crackdown on crypto exchanges, particularly targeting Binance. This follows allegations of market manipulation by the exchange. Two Binance executives are currently detained by authorities, and Naira trading on the platform has been suspended.
Additionally, Nigeria’s central bank governor alleges that Binance Nigeria processed a significant amount of unidentified transactions in 2023, totalling $26 billion.
Onanuga, a vocal critic of Binance since the Nigerian government’s crackdown began, stated in an interview with BBC, “[The Nigerian] Government is asking for small money from them [referring to Binance]. We are asking them to pay us close to $10 billion in retribution because it really messed up our economy in a short time.”
Zoom in: “We aim to chart a good relationship with the government and the people of Nigeria. We want to see our services restored in Nigeria very soon, but we have no intention of paying fines for personnel or services,” according to Binance.
#2. CBN revokes 4,173 BDC operator licenses
The news: 4,173 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in Nigeria have had their licenses revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) due to non-compliance with regulations.
These included failure to pay required fees, submit reports, and adhere to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) guidelines.
Why it matters: This clampdown comes a few days after the bank announced proposed reforms for BDC operations to bring stability, transparency, and efficiency to the sector. “[We are] revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria,” stated CBN spokesperson Hakama Sidi Ali. “Compliance with the new requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective.”
Know more: The CBN restarted selling dollars to BDCs last week, but alongside this move, they also proposed new guidelines on February 23. These regulations include a ban on street trading of foreign exchange and an increase in the minimum capital requirement for BDCs, which must now hold at least ₦2 billion (approximately $1.3 million).
#3. Zoho maintains local currency billing for its Nigerian and Kenyan customers
The news: Zoho, the Indian cloud provider, has assured its Nigerian and Kenyan customers that they will continue to be billed in local currencies. “We are not going to change how we bill our customers at all,” stated Veerakumar Natarajan, Country Head of Zoho Kenya.
Zoho uses a local currency billing strategy across key African and Middle Eastern markets, including Nigeria, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Dubai. This approach allows customers to conveniently pay for Zoho’s customer relationship management software in their familiar local currency.
In Kenya, Natarajan said “Customers are happy to stay with us because we charge in Kenya shillings. This is not the case with rivals, who bill their clients in US dollars.”
Zoom in: Soaring inflation across Africa is pushing startups and businesses to localise costs. This trend is evident in recent moves by Paystack and Chipper Cash, which downsized their non-African teams, and Jumia, which relocated its Dubai-based team to African countries.
The mismatch between foreign currency funding and local currency revenue challenges African startups. They struggle to cover dollar-denominated expenses like software costs and salaries, while their income comes primarily in local currencies.
State of Funding in Africa
Renew Capital, a pan-African venture capital firm has launched a new tech fund to invest in up to 50 startups across the continent. This news comes alongside the success of one of its existing portfolio companies, tappi, which recently secured a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round from Acasia Ventures, Mercy Corps Ventures, Chui Ventures, and other investors.
Other deals from last week include:
- Egyptian fintech startup, MoneyHash, secured $4.5 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by COTU Ventures and Sukna Ventures, with participation from RZM Investment, Dubai Future District Fund, VentureFriends, and other strategic investors and industry leaders.
- Bfree, a Nigerian ethical credit manager platform, has raised $2.95 million in a round led by Capria Ventures. Other investors who participated include Angaza Capital, GreenHouse Capital, Launch Africa, Modus Africa and Axian CVC.
- South African AI startup, Cue has completed an R38.3 million ($2 million) seed funding round from angel investors.
- BuuPass, a Kenya-based digital travel ticketing platform has secured undisclosed funding from Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper.
Noteworthy
Here are other important stories in the media:
- Inside the inactive Y Combinator-backed startups in Africa: Since its debut African investment in 2012, YC has backed over 106 startups on the continent. We tracked down a few of these startups that have since shut down.
- Hackers infiltrate South Africa’s business registry: The body responsible for registering and protecting the rights of businesses in South Africa, the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission, which falls under the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition, has been cyber-attacked.
- Layoffs and rejections couldn’t stop this designer’s rise: Imagine trading a hammer and chisel for design software. That’s the unexpected but inspiring journey of Obasola Akintola, a geology graduate who defied expectations to become a rising star in the world of brand design.
- How AFCON 2023 scored a 300% revenue boost for content creators: African creators’ earnings during the recent African Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire, jumped by 300%, according to StarNews Mobile.
- Damage causes outage for Africa’s first subsea cable: Seacom, one of Africa’s leading undersea communications systems and fibre network operators, has disrupted its connectivity services due to suffered breakage on a segment of its cable lining in the Red Sea.
Opportunities
Jobs
We carefully curate open opportunities in Product & Design, Data & Engineering, and Admin & Growth every week.
Product & Design
- Flutterwave — VP, Product Engineering, Remote
- Paystack — Design Manager, Remote
- SunKing — Product Ops Associate, Lagos & Nairobi
Data & Engineering
- Oracle — Cloud Solutions Engineer, Lagos
- Bankly — DevOps Engineer, Remote
- Paystack — Senior Backend Engineer, Cape Town
Admin & Growth
- Visa — Biz Dev Analyst, Lagos
- VisionSpring — Regional Marketing Lead, Lagos
- LemFi — Country Marketing Manager, Kampala
Other opportunities
- Become a VC investor: Applications are open for the Dream VC 2024 Venture Capital Fellowship. The deadline is on April 14.
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