Condia Insider: Moniepoint faces lawsuit

In this letter, we explore:

• Ex-Moniepoint executive drags fintech unicorn to court
• SEC warns Nigerians against CBEX again
• DHL drops $575M to level up healthcare logistics in Africa & the Middle East

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

Ex-Moniepoint executive drags fintech unicorn to court

Stock options are great… until you realise you’re unable to vest them.

That’s the situation Damilola Ajiboye says he found himself in after spending five years helping Moniepoint (then TeamApt) build its Point-of-Sale system from the ground up. In return, he was promised 32,000 share options. He cashed out 4,200 in 2021, but when he resigned in 2022, things got weird.

Ajiboye claims Moniepoint gave him just five days to exercise the rest of his vested shares. When he flagged it, a senior executive allegedly promised they’d fix the window. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. Now he’s in court, fighting for 27,800 options worth nearly $890K, plus damages.

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Moniepoint says he missed the deadline. He says they moved the goalposts. How will this play out?

                      Read the full story here

SEC warns Nigerians against CBEX again

After vanishing in April and locking out over 600,000 Nigerians, CBEX has resurfaced under a new name: ST Technologies International Ltd. But underneath the rebrand, it’s still the same dodgy platform that promised 100% returns in 30 days via “AI trading”, and ended up freezing accounts and causing chaos from Lagos to Abuja.

According to Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), CBEX is not registered to operate any kind of investment or digital asset service. Never was. But that hasn’t stopped it from opening its doors again, letting new users register, trade, and withdraw, while older accounts stay stuck in “audit limbo.”

Now, the promoters say withdrawals will resume from June 25; but there’s a catch: users will have to pay a withdrawal fee starting at $100 for small balances.

Zoom out: While the clear intent of the platform’s resurgence is still unknown, Nigerian security agencies say they’re on it. The EFCC recently announced progress in recovering misappropriated funds and confirmed that a portion of the money has already been retrieved.

DHL drops $575M to level up healthcare logistics in Africa & the Middle East

DHL, a global logistics heavyweight, has announced a $575 million investment to expand its healthcare logistics network across Africa and the Middle East over the next five years. The goal? Build out cold chain infrastructure and deliver everything from vaccines to stem cells without breaking a sweat (or a shipment).

Why now? China’s deepening footprint in both regions has made the delivery of time-critical medical materials more important. And with the WHO stating that only 30% of African countries have decent cold chain vaccine systems, a massive gap is waiting to be filled.

The company’s plan includes new logistics hubs, upgraded facilities, and more muscle across all four of its divisions, from Express to eCommerce. It’s also betting big on time-sensitive pharma shipments, which are becoming mission-critical as healthcare demand rises.

John Pearson, CEO of DHL Express, calls the Middle East a “global logistics hub in the making.” In Africa, DHL is already supporting pharmaceutical giants like Egypt’s Eva Pharma, and this investment hints at even bigger ambitions.

💰 State of Funding in Africa

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

• Salus Cloud, an AI-powered DevOps platform tailored for African developers, has raised $3.7 million in seed funding. The round was co-led by Atlantica Ventures and P1 Ventures, with backing from LoftyInc’s Idris Bello, Everywhere Ventures, and Timothy Chen of Essence VC.
• South African agri-tech startup Nile has secured $11.3 million in fresh funding. The round was led by the Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, with support from FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, and returning investor Platform Investment Partners.
• South African coding academy WeThinkCode has received a $2 million grant from Google.org to expand its AI skills training programs in South Africa and Kenya.
• Senegalese e-health startup KERA Health Platforms has secured $10 million in funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group.

🍿 Weekend binge

• How countries get rich
• Silicon Valley’s obsession with AI looks a lot like religion
• From ₦500 flyers to millions of views: The creator journey of Abayomi Semudara

💼 Opportunities

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

Product & Design

• Semicolon — Product Manager, Lagos
• SaaS.group — Senior Product Manager, Remote

Data & Engineering

• Kuda — Senior Data Analyst, Lagos
• Shuttlers — Senior QA Engineer, Lagos

Admin & Growth

• Business Insider — Newsroom Social Media Manager, Lagos
• Outliant — SEO Strategist, Remote