In this letter, we explore:

• MTN Nigeria struggles amidst economic challenges 
• CBN steps in to prevent future banking disruptions
• Janngo Capital raises $78 million to empower African women entrepreneurs

We also curated updates on startup funding in Africa, weekend reads, and several opportunities.

The big three! 

MTN Nigeria struggles amidst economic challenges

Last month, the CEO of MTN Nigeria emphasised the importance of returning the telecommunications sector to profitability to ensure its sustainability.

Now, the numbers tell the story: MTN Nigeria has reported a substantial loss of ₦514 billion in the first nine months of 2024, mainly due to economic challenges like currency devaluation, inflation, and soaring energy costs.

Despite these headwinds, data revenue continues to play a critical role, making up over half of the company’s total revenue as its data subscriber base grew by 5.1% to reach 45.3 million users.

However, MTN Nigeria’s mobile money business faced challenges, seeing a drop in active wallets due to shifts in its sales and distribution approach. In response, the company is working on subscriber recovery and financial improvement through strategies like adjusting tariffs, implementing cost-cutting measures, and investing in data services and network infrastructure.

Context: The Nigerian telecom sector as a whole has also been impacted by the NIN-SIM verification mandate, resulting in a total loss of 64.3 million subscriptions across operators. Despite this, MTN and Airtel have maintained their leadership positions in the market. With 77 million subscribers, MTN Nigeria lost 2.7 million users as a direct consequence of the regulations.

For the final quarter of 2024, MTN is focusing on rebuilding its subscriber base impacted by NIN-SIM policies and working closely with regulatory authorities to approve tariff adjustments to bolster its path to profitability.

Zoom Out: Meanwhile, Airtel Africa has shown strong performance in its newly released half-year financials for 2024, reporting a $79 million profit after tax compared to a $13 million loss in the same period last year. Operating across 14 African countries, Airtel continues to build momentum after a challenging 2023, demonstrating its commitment to delivering quality service and growth in the Nigerian market.

CBN steps in to prevent future banking disruptions

Nigerian bank customers have experienced significant disruptions in banking services over the past month, prompting the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to step in with new measures to prevent future issues.

The CBN has issued a directive requiring commercial banks to seek regulatory approval before making any updates to their core banking applications. This move comes after several banks introduced core system changes intended to improve efficiency and customisation but which instead caused widespread service disruptions, inconveniencing millions of customers.

The CBN’s intervention is focused on protecting consumers and ensuring smoother transitions during these system changes. Alongside this directive, the CBN has also updated its consumer protection regulations to further safeguard customer rights.

Although some industry experts have raised concerns over the timing of the CBN’s response, the new directive marks a positive step toward more regulated banking system changes and a more reliable experience for customers.

Janngo Capital raises $78 million to empower African women entrepreneurs

Janngo Capital, a leading African venture capital firm, has successfully closed its second fund at $78 million, exceeding its initial target. This brings the total fund size to $106.1 million.

The fund aims to support women-led and women-founded startups across Africa. It has received backing from prominent investors such as the African Development Bank Group, the European Investment Bank, the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, and others.

Janngo Capital’s investment strategy emphasises gender equality and diversity. The firm has invested in 56% women-led or women-founded startups, addressing the gender gap in VC funding in Africa.

The firm’s successful exit from Expensya, a company it invested in early on, demonstrates the potential for high returns in the African tech ecosystem. With this new funding, Janngo Capital plans to expand its portfolio and continue supporting innovative startups across the continent.

Context: Since launching its first fund in 2018, Janngo has participated in over 30 funding rounds across 21 startups, including several Series B follow-ons. The firm typically invests between €150,000 and €5 million in startups within sectors like healthcare, logistics, financial services, retail, agritech, mobility, and the creator economy. Janngo maintains offices in Abidjan, Mauritius, Tunis, and Paris.

In March 2024, the Janngo Capital Startup Fund (JCSF) secured €4 million ($4.3 million) in equity from Tunisia’s fund of funds, “ANAVA,” to boost investment in Francophone African startups and female-founded ventures.

💰 State of Funding in Africa

Here’s a roundup of African startups that secured funding this week:

• Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech startup, has raised $110 million in a Series C funding round. The investment round was led by Development Partners International (DPI), with participation from Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, Lightrock, QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, British International Investment, Global Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, and New Voices Fund.
• Ghanaian agritech company Oyster Agribusiness Ltd. has raised $2 million in funding. The funding round was led by Pangea Africa Limited, with support from Root Capital, RDF Ghana, and the Sahel Capital Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA FUND).
• Moroccan logistics startup Colis.ma has secured $300,000 in pre-seed funding from Witamax, a venture capital firm.

🍿 Weekend binge

• The single biggest reason why startups succeed
• They made a movie about Trump. Then no one would release it
• What happens when you walk or run daily without tech
• 43% of Nigerians don’t save or have stopped saving, according to Piggyvest 2024 Savings Report

💼 Opportunities

We carefully curate open opportunities in Product & Design, Data & Engineering, and Admin & Growth every week.

Product & Design

• Selar — Product Marketer, Remote
• Carbon — Product Designer, Lagos

Data & Engineering

• Arcadia — Data Engineer, Remote
• Arize — Backend Engineer, Remote

Admin & Growth

• Literal Humans — Content Marketing Manager, Remote
• Collabora — Marketing Automation and Analysis Executive, Remote