Hi {{ subscriber.first_name | default: "there" }}, We held a Holiday Commerce Bootcamp last Saturday where we led over 100 Paystack merchants through various strategies for boosting sales this holiday shopping season. It's always such an energy boost meeting with and learning from Paystack merchants and Saturday was no exception. The event began at 10 AM and folks were still networking past 6 PM. Shout out to everyone for an incredible event!
Bolaji + Simi
Product Specialists, Paystack
Payments
Nigeria
The United Kingdom to deepen fintech partnership with Nigeria. The British Commissioner Harriet Thompson announced the creation of a tech hub in Nigeria by the UK’s Department for Digital Culture, Media, and Sport. The tech hub is focused on skills development and growing collaborations between Nigeria and the UK tech businesses. Nairametrics
Nigeria
CBN grants Flutterwave super agent licence. The Central Bank of Nigeria has granted an approval-in-principle to Flutterwave to operate as a super agent in the country’s financial services system. Financial Technology Africa
Global
Mastercard launches Accelerate scheme for onboarding fintechs. Mastercard recently launched Mastercard Accelerate, a global initiative that simplifies the way that Mastercard works with fintechs, and gives them access to tools they need to grow quickly. Accelerate will enable fintechs to be onboarded to Mastercard in a matter of weeks, and provide a guided experience through everything the company can offer. Financial Technology Africa
Global
Uber launches Uber Money. The ride-sharing company announced a new division called Uber Money, which includes a digital wallet and upgraded debit and credit cards. The first product by Uber Money will provide Uber drivers and couriers with real-time access to their earnings after every trip through the Uber Debit account. CNBC
Global
Venmo card now offers cash-back rewards. Venmo, the peer-to-peer (P2P) payments platform from PayPal, is rolling out a cash-back rewards program for its Venmo Mastercard debit card at certain retailers. Cash back will be deposited straight into users’ Venmo accounts. PYMNTS
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Do you have an announcement, event, or job posting you'd like to share, or have you come across an interesting bit of African fintech news recently?Hit reply and let me know! I might be able to include it in next week's newsletter.
FCMB and SystemSpecs partner to launch a payroll solution for SMEs. First City Monument Bank (FCMB) in collaboration with SystemSpecs Limited has launched a payroll solution designed for SME businesses. Proshare
Nigeria
POS agents and operators kick against N50 stamp duty charge in Nigeria. The introduction of N50 stamp duty on individual transactions above N1000 (~$3) has led to a reduction in the number of electronic payments processed by agent banking service providers on a daily basis. President of the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents (AMMBAN), Mr Victor Olojo noted that the policy has resulted in a reduction of customers patronizing agents and he called for a reversal of the policy. Nairametrics
Nigeria
Ecobank cancels USSD charges. Ecobank Nigeria Limited has announced the cancellation of charges on USSD services for its customers. The discussions around USSD charges began when MTN users received text messages stating that the telco was going to start charging N4 per 20 seconds for usage of the USSD code in line with directives given by the banks. Nairametrics
Lending
Nigeria
Access Bank, UBA, GTBank, 7 other banks increase loans by N1.84 trillion (~$5.08 million) in 9 months. 10 Nigerian banks have increased their loan disbursement to customers by N1.84 trillion (~$5.08 million) in the first three quarters of 2019. Nairametrics
EDITOR'S NOTE
The Central Bank of Nigeria recently increased the banks' loan-to-deposit ratio (LDR) to 65%. The LDR is used to assess a bank's liquidity by comparing a bank's total loans to its total deposits for the same period.
Fundraising
Kenya
Twiga Foods raises ~$30m Series B from Goldaman Sachs and IFC. Kenyan agri-tech startup Twiga Foods has doubled its total funds raised with a round worth ~$30 million to further develop its technology and expand internationally. Founded in 2014, Twiga Foods is a B2B food distribution company that uses technology to build reliable markets for agricultural producers and retailers. Disrupt Africa
