Updates in the Startup Ecosystem
The African tech and business landscape continues to evolve with significant developments. In the past months, major companies are expanding into markets outside their region. The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced a new regulation for online trading platforms. In this article, we discussed the major regulatory updates in the startup ecosystem.
Twitter’s First Africa Office Will Be in Ghana
Ghana was chosen to be the African headquarter of Twitter, although Nigeria has the highest number of Twitter users (over 3M Twitter users) in Africa. This decision is a win-win for the talent pool in both African countries, but it says a lot about the business atmosphere in Nigeria.
SEC Publishes a New Regulation for Online Investment and Trading Platforms
Nigeria’s Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) published a memo a few weeks ago, asking that capital market operators desist from working with online investment platforms (OIP) that give users access to trade foreign stocks online. This directive has invariably made it illegal for such OIPs to sell foreign stock to Nigerians.
Banks and Telcos’ Row Debt
The Easter break was accompanied by the inability of MTN users to buy airtime top-up through their bank app or USSD channel. The background issue is the decision of MTN to cut the commission it pays on airtime bought through bank channels from 4.5% to 2.5%. MTN Nigeria announced fintech alternative channels for its customers to buy airtime for their mobile devices, indicating a prospective prosperous partnership with fintech solution providers.
Udux Partners With Nigeria-Based Fintech Company Piggyvest To Launch a New Fan Investment Vehicle Called PopRev
PopRev is a partnership between Piggyvest and uduX, that will allow music lovers to invest in their favourite musician’s project and make profits based on the project’s digital streaming performance. The solution will avail fans the opportunity to be instrumental to the financial success of the favourite artists.
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SEC Draft Regulatory Guide on Digital Assets
Just as many regulators around the globe have been at the heels of the paradigm shifting technology, Nigeria is not left behind in the quest to understand, utilize and maximize the offspring of blockchain technology. Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently shared guidelines that will regulate and serve as a regulatory framework for the issuance of digital assets and providers in the Nigerian terrain
Startups Funding News
The past month have been a remarkable one for growth and funding across the African startup ecosystem, with several companies achieving significant milestones. In this piece, we spotlight key updates, including Flutterwave’s new unicorn status, Kuda Bank’s impressive Series A raise, and major developments from Paystack’s acquirer, Stripe.
