| Kenya | ViewTech Limited secures license to carry out payment services in Kenya. The Central Bank of Kenya has licensed ViewTech Limited, a Kenya-based technology service provider, to carry out payment services in Kenya. This means that ViewTech will now be able to offer Mobile Money e-wallet services through its product, SasaPay. Mobile Money Africa |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | ViewTech is a relatively new company and Sasapay is yet to show any unique differentiator that makes it a key contender in a market that most economists would refer to as an "innocent monopoly". Despite its relatively new status, it is important for new players like Sasapay to enter the Kenyan fintech market.
It’s no longer news that the Kenyan fintech and payments landscape is dominated by telecom giants. With Safaricom’s mPesa controlling 98% of the market, there's little to no motivation for other players (especially those without the financial strength of Safaricom) to even come into the market. However, competition is essential because it motivates businesses to improve their product offerings and lower their prices. This is why it's important that more companies like ViewTech secure payment licenses in Kenya and provide good products that can create the necessary healthy competition for mPesa. |
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| Africa | What does the backend payment process of businesses look like? In this article, Samora Kariuki dives deep into the world of B2B payment operations. He explains the different issues that companies face and why banks are not well placed to serve them, how different companies are emerging to solve problems in this space and what needs to be done. In the latter part of the article, he spotlights what B2B payment operation looks like in Africa. Frontier Fintech |
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| Ghana | On the newly announced electronic payment levy in Ghana. Against the backdrop of Ghana's newly introduced electronic payment levy, the author of this blogpost explains why the Government needs to first align with the concerned stakeholders before the policy gets implemented. Bright Simons |
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| Tanzania | Tanzanian government plans CBDC. Following the release of Nigeria's eNaira - Africa's first Central Bank Digital Currency - the Tanzanian government has announced its plans to launch its own Central Bank Digital Currency. CoinDesk |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | After Nigeria launched Africa's first CBDC (eNaira) last month, there’s been a rise in the number of African countries showing interest, researching, planning and even developing their own CBDCs. Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, South Africa, Rwanda, Madagascar, and now Tanzania all have plans to launch a CBDC.
There are numerous advantages that CBDCs can bring to Africa. Greater financial inclusion is one possible advantage (at the moment, about 30% of Africans are financially excluded, and although mobile money technology has largely improved financial inclusion, more can still be done with blockchain-based digital currency offerings like CBDCs). Also, intra-Africa trade and cheaper distribution of finance can be better achieved with CBDCs.Nevertheless, there's a disturbing pattern of correlation between the countries that have banned (or frown at) cryptocurrency activities and those that are planning the launch of CBDCs. This may suggest that the primary motivation for launching these CBDCs is the need to retain and exert continuous control over citizens' financial activities, rather than the need to help people access and use funds in economically progressive ways.
Historically, when regulators try to drive the adoption of an innovation that the regulators themselves have tried to disincentivize innovators from pursuing, the result is either a distrust in the regulator's product and low adoption as a result (as was evident with the launch of the eNaira), or in extreme cases, an outright boycott of such innovation. Cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based technologies are not evil in and of themselves (as these governments are beginning to pick up on). It would be most helpful if the governments and regulators allowed innovation to precede regulation while they worked closely with the innovators to understand the best ways to regulate and protect the interests of the citizens. |
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| Nigeria | Herconomy raises $600k pre-seed round. Herconomy is a women-focused, community-based startup that empowers women through financial services, capacity building, jobs, and networking. This pre-seed round was led by existing members of the Herconomy community and other angel investors. Herconomy plans to use this pre-seed round to develop its yet-to-be-announced product and hire key talent. Afrikan Heroes |
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| Nigeria | Nigerian insurtech startup, Octamile raises $500k pre-seed round. Octamile is an insurance technology company that helps non-insurance companies create insurance products. They plan to use the funds provided by EchoVC Partners, Fiat Ventures, Kesho VC, and other investors, to scale their operations and onboard more businesses. Afrikan Heroes |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | Africa and Africans remain underinsured, with just about 4% insurance penetration - most of which is concentrated in urban regions. However, the story is beginning to change with the rise of insurtech solutions like Octamile that now help other non-insurance businesses to add insurance features easily. Read more about this rising trend here. |
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| Nigeria | Payourse - a Nigerian crypto startup - has raised $600k pre-seed. Payourse is a crypto startup that builds no-code tools for other businesses to build their own crypto products. The round was led by Michael Ugwu, Flori Ventures, Voltron Capital, Allegory Capital, and other angel investors. Payourse will use the funds to improve their existing product offerings and build more tools. Nigerian Crypto Startup, Payourse, Raises $600k Pre-seed - Afrikan Heroes |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | Despite the restrictions placed on cryptocurrency activities in Nigeria, investments in the Nigerian cryptocurrency and blockchain market have shown no signs of slowing down, as more startups seem to be launching and building new crypto products every other month. Just last week, we reported Busha's $4.2m seed round and Lazerpay's funding the week before that. This is a testament to the value that innovators, entrepreneurs, and other individuals generally see in crypto technology. For that value to be derived by the government, regulators may need to consider working with these innovators to determine the best ways to regulate the market, rather than outrightly restricting their activities. |
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| Partner Updates | Paystack Artwork: Episode 4 of Artwork is live! Learn how Dá Design Studio co-founder Seyi Olusanya grew from a freelance designer into a world-class brand design studio. Watch the episode and share with your friends. |
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