| Ghana | Ghana is set to reduce the e-levy rate to 1%. The Ghanaian government has announced a planned reduction of the e-levy charge applied on mobile money transactions, from 1.5% to 1%. Ghana’s Minister of Finance made this announcement at the 2023 budget presentation. Additionally, the daily levy waiver for mobile money transfers up to GHS 100 (~$13.30) will be removed. The Exchange |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | While the reduction in the mobile money levy is positive news, the very existence of the levy in the first place poses a threat to the adoption of cashless payment methods in the country. MTN MoMo, which is the biggest mobile money provider in Ghana, has reported slowed revenue growth and increased cash-out activities since the implementation of the e-levy. Surveys and interviews have also shown reductions in active agents and individual agent activity.
Additionally, the removal of the 100 GHS threshold on P2P transfers will most likely impact transaction activity, especially from retail customers who are most sensitive to fees and more likely to revert to cash to save costs.
As we’ve noted previously, direct taxes on money movements might have short-term gains but long-term negative effects. Hopefully, case studies like that of Tanzania - which reversed mobile money taxes after reduced volumes and consumer pushback - will prove a strong example to African countries. |
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| Global | Lending is easy, repayment is hard. In this tweet, Sheel Mohnot (@pitdesi) sparks an interesting discussion about the importance of good underwriting and loan recovery processes when giving out loans. Twitter |
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| Africa | The earned wage access opportunity. Emeka Ajene of Afridigest writes about the growing market for on-demand salary payment solutions, and the African startups driving adoption in the space. Afridigest |
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| Cote d'Ivoire | Djamo raises $14 million in new funding. Ivorian consumer fintech Djamo has raised $14 million in new funding. The round was led by Enza Capital, Oikocredit and Partech Africa, and comes after being accepted by Y Combinator, which also invested in this round of funding. Djamo will use the funding to expand into more Francophone countries and launch new lending and investment products. TechCrunch |
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| Nigeria | Pivo closes $2 million seed funding. Pivo, a Nigeria-based fintech focused on SMEs, has completed a $2 million seed round. The round which included investments from Precursor Ventures, Vested World, Y Combinator, FoundersX, and Mercy Corp Ventures, will be used to drive product development and expansion into new markets like East Africa. TechCrunch |
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| South Africa | Revio raises $1.1 million in seed funding. Revio, a payment and billing automation startup based in South Africa, has raised $1.1 million in seed funding. The round was led by SpeedInvest and will be used for product, team, and market expansion. Benjamin Dada |
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