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Today: How Nigeria's fuel price hike affects gig drivers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 September 04, 2024 | [Read Online]( In partnership with [moniepoint logo] [Lire en Français]( [اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية]( Good morning ☀️ Calling all AI enthusiasts! Join the TechCabal X Zindi audio classification challenge. Join us in building an audio classification model for the Ewe language and stand a chance to win $500. You’ll be competing for a top prize, and contributing to the preservation of an important African language. [Sign-up now](. [today's edition image] - [Nigerian banks are still wary of crypto](#Story1) - [Binance calls for Gambaryan’s release](#Story2) - [Fuel price hike in Nigeria affects gig drivers](#Story3) - [The World Wide Web3](#Story5) - [Opportunities](#Story6) Crypto Is Crypto welcome in Nigeria? [Nigeria crypto]Image source: Pymnts Persona non grata is a Latin phrase that translates to "unwelcome person" and is used to describe someone who is officially declared undesirable or unwelcome by a government. This dictum may explain the Nigerian government's stance on crypto. Crypto regulation in Nigeria has been a rollercoaster. After [lifting a two-year crypto ban]( in December, the government had a change of heart. In the following months, it showed signs that it still frowned against digital assets. The government blocked the websites of crypto exchanges and warned against P2P trades. Executives of Binance who had come into the country to resolve the blocked access were arrested, with one executive still in detention. Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) also froze 1,000 bank accounts linked to crypto trade. If you’ve followed till now, you’ll get a sense that crypto may not be fully welcomed in the country. And while the SEC may have issued its first crypto licences to Quidax and Busha, banks and fintechs across the country [are playing it safe](. While the Nigerian SEC has released new guardrails for crypto transactions in the country, banks claim that they are unclear and difficult to follow. While the newly licensed entities are optimistic about a good rapport with banks and fintech, the banks have made their point clear that they’ll only engage when they receive instructions from the CBN. //link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.3gD7PSbuofKNJf4aviiyABEwLaotY-cnTvL9XkLJeecz8HFi5aIcJRlOHNPACAGtlq5KbbmzlzCpN5GuBGOUoSMHEQdMvCCErcPqfkCTamGENiBnMw13k66-yrDlLxWUkiYeShCmD_slnBrVKqm7Ax-rEvJIJYSHvWEbHj8XQr_45SmmmljBDGIiutY-YNeXvFi9-K9SBlUoQA3Z1h8tHF68T9gyBKOrg8vAV-mPnQg8tKzOBTbm-5ikO46XfzF5_-4ctMlp_5Cd_FKMUc0gLBc3AZ_ml5MKbhEdv1Fag3uzVtE3v93YUkQ9ggWwd6yKUxsWLbhsOFOUGT2QEeq46g6W8DZhAhjjquCQ_c5n1kPu4VLIHz870YTkWnXr4k3EleBNluu8n5CDImQN9efRwg/49h/UI479rFeTEetF_bO_BgayA/h7/h001.fID3xN0hx0geasidovbO6-YNouzsrCaDu4HY5QKwxF8 Read Moniepoint’s 2024 Informal Economy Report [Moniepoint image]( Did you know that 57.7% of the business owners in Nigeria's informal economy are under 34 years old? [Click here]( to find out more about the demographics of Nigeria’s informal economy. Crypto Binance calls for Gambaryan’s release [The Zimbabwe Gold]Tigran Gambaryan Since Nigeria started scapegoating crypto company Binance in February over claims that it allowed currency traders to manipulate FX rates, not much has changed. On September 3, the naira continued a [week-long slide](, settling at ₦1,590/$1. While the Central Bank’s search for stable pricing remains elusive, the case against Tigran Gambaryan, the Binance compliance executive arrested in February 2024 has continued. On Monday, a video of Gambaryan being denied the use of a wheelchair by prison officials went viral. His family has repeatedly asked for his release on health grounds. On Tuesday, Binance [also asked]( the Nigerian government to release Gambaryan. Its CEO Richard Teng [posted on X]( that Gambaryan’s treatment is “inhumane”, and that he must be allowed to go home to his family. US lawmakers have since petitioned President Joe Biden to secure his release. However, Nigeria is not budging in its stance that Gambaryan and his employer are allegedly complicit in laundering money. To this day, Nigeria has yet to show how it will hold any water to this claim, as it never tracked or regulated crypto transactions. Moreover, in 2021 when Nigerian banks were freezing crypto-related accounts, Binance’s peer-to-peer (P2P) platform allowed crypto trading to continue under the radar, drawing Nigeria's ire. Again, this is not Binance’s first money laundering case; the US Department of Justice [sued the company]( for $4.3 billion on similar charges in 2023. Nigeria is likely sensing an opportunity here. If this messy affair plays out longer, all indications point toward Binance eventually settling. //link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.3gD7PSbuofKNJf4aviiyABEwLaotY-cnTvL9XkLJeecz8HFi5aIcJRlOHNPACAGtlq5KbbmzlzCpN5GuBGOUoSMHEQdMvCCErcPqfkCTamGENiBnMw13k66-yrDlLxWUkiYeShCmD_slnBrVKqm7Ax-rEvJIJYSHvWEbHj8XQr_45SmmmljBDGIiutY-YNeXvFi9-K9SBlUoQA3Z1h8tHF68T9gyBKOrg8vAV-mPnQg8tKzOBTbm-5ikO46XfzF5_-4ctMlp_5Cd_FKMUc0gLBc3AZ_ml5MKbhEdv1Fag3uzVtE3v93YUkQ9ggWwd6yKUxsWLbhsOFOUGT2QEeq46gorJYgnuvK6wrNX147B7-vy9G3QauPeSFFO4VaWh-jGY8JgVNYemDhvEzjbFwg6Bg/49h/UI479rFeTEetF_bO_BgayA/h16/h001.hvJ3IxrBue4tTEYNEX1nqW7XWMYD5Oy3-qdvzPrZb3w Collect payments anytime anywhere with Fincra [Fincra image]( Are you dealing with the complexities of collecting payments from your customers? Fincra’s payment gateway makes it easy to accept payments via cards, bank transfers, virtual accounts and mobile money. What’s more? You get to save money on fees when you use Fincra. [Get started now](. Economy Fuel price hike in Nigeria affects gig drivers [NNPC fuel Pump Prices]Image source: Nairametrics Shortly after the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) opened up about its “financial strain” and [debts owed]( to petrol suppliers, Nigerians braced themselves for the inevitable. Since the subsidy removal in 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, citizens still managed to buy fuel cheaply at NNPC stations. Compared to private filling stations that sold higher to gain profits, the government-owned NNPC sold fuel at ₦610 ($0.38) per litre—shielding Nigerians from the [landing cost]( of ₦1,200 ($0.75) per litre in imports. However, on September 3, after succumbing to its financial reality, NNPC [increased the price of fuel]( by more than 40%. Some of its stations sold fuel yesterday at ₦897 ($0.56) per litre. Worse, other parts of the country sold higher at ₦910 ($0.57). While the long queues Nigerians have been witnessing these past three weeks will likely continue, fuel-dependent businesses like gig drivers will be feeling the heat. When we spoke to a Bolt driver in Owerri, he expressed frustration yesterday. “When I got to NNPC to buy fuel this morning, they were adjusting the pump price to ₦885 ($0.56) per litre. It was shocking. There was a queue so I was unable to buy fuel after waiting for 5 hours. I left and went to another [private] filling station, and bought fuel at ₦995 ($0.63) per litre.” With increased fuel prices, gig drivers will spend more money fuelling their cars. Yet, low fares and high commissions could eat into their daily earnings. They've been lobbying ride-hailing apps like Uber and Bolt via protests to increase base fares and reduce commission from the average 25% to 5%. But these apps have been understandably hesitant. Commissions [make up about]( 50% of Uber’s earnings. An 80% reduction could see these companies lose one-tenth of their revenue. While Uber says it has been “constantly monitoring” the local dynamics to understand the impact on the marketplace, it is possible that Nigerian gig drivers and their welfare unions will intensify efforts to lobby ride-hailing apps for better working conditions. //link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.3gD7PSbuofKNJf4aviiyABEwLaotY-cnTvL9XkLJeecz8HFi5aIcJRlOHNPACAGtlq5KbbmzlzCpN5GuBGOUoSMHEQdMvCCErcPqfkCTamGENiBnMw13k66-yrDlLxWUkiYeShCmD_slnBrVKqm7Ax-rEvJIJYSHvWEbHj8XQr_45SmmmljBDGIiutY-YNeXvFi9-K9SBlUoQA3Z1h8tHF68T9gyBKOrg8vAV-mPnQg8tKzOBTbm-5ikO46XfzF5_-4ctMlp_5Cd_FKMUc0gLBc3AZ_ml5MKbhEdv1Fag3uzVtE3v93YUkQ9ggWwd6yKUxsWLbhsOFOUGT2QEeq46mCR1SE1zBF7zsB3zsHTNgTojs7ML-vefrgbYaARyAb8SLaE4unIOgD5mi2unqXO6A/49h/UI479rFeTEetF_bO_BgayA/h25/h001._cw53f7MJkYg7bXvfi028y6aB-p3ibsd262zsnb_V6Y Paystack Virtual Terminal is now live in more countries [Paystack image]( Paystack Virtual Terminalhelps businesses accept secure, in-person payments with real-time WhatsApp confirmations and ZERO hardware costs. Enjoy multiple in-person payment channels, easy end-of-day reconciliation, and more. [Learn more on the Paystack blog →]( CRYPTO TRACKER The World Wide Web3 Source: [OneLiquidity logo] Coin Name Current Value Day Month Bitcoin $56,499 - 4.35% + 7.26% Ether $2,376 - 5.87% - 3.50% Toncoin $4.81 - 8.26% - 8.10% Solana $127.30 - 5.28% + 9.37% * Data as of 06:30 AM WAT, September 4, 2024. //link.mail.beehiiv.com/ss/c/u001.3gD7PSbuofKNJf4aviiyABEwLaotY-cnTvL9XkLJeecz8HFi5aIcJRlOHNPACAGtlq5KbbmzlzCpN5GuBGOUoSMHEQdMvCCErcPqfkCTamGENiBnMw13k66-yrDlLxWUkiYeShCmD_slnBrVKqm7Ax-rEvJIJYSHvWEbHj8XQr_45SmmmljBDGIiutY-YNeXvFi9-K9SBlUoQA3Z1h8tHF68T9gyBKOrg8vAV-mPnQg8tKzOBTbm-5ikO46XfzF5_-4ctMlp_5Cd_FKMUc0gLBc3AZ_ml5MKbhEdv1Fag3uzVtE3v93YUkQ9ggWwd6yKUxsWLbhsOFOUGT2QEeq46p905z3tSeF82vMFRDZYC2dFFO59-owXDOLiYktfhCrJpMzOaDMVrbJqAjzywJBoeA/49h/UI479rFeTEetF_bO_BgayA/h30/h001.ma7vqH1w2IXuZZz-h0QOvAdg4CYDwt7VWuOV0QuEQ5I Events - We’re excited to announce our partnership with Wimbart the second edition of their pioneering pan-African research publication, “[Startup Performance Reporting in Africa](”. This report will shed light on the intricacies of investor relations within the African tech ecosystem. If you’re a founder, take a couple of minutes to share some key insights with us [by filling out this survey]( - The Lagos Innovates Workspace Voucher Programme is back, offering startups the chance to secure state-of-the-art workspaces with top-notch equipment, all without the usual costs. Benefit from a collaborative environment, networking opportunities, and the freedom to focus on building your dream startup. [Apply for a workspace voucher](. - Lagos Idea Hub is an 8-week programme designed for entrepreneurs ready to scale their startups with tailored mentorship, proven growth strategies, and direct access to industry experts. Gain practical insights from mentors who understand your industry, implement strategies that drive sustainable growth, and connect with a powerful network of entrepreneurs, investors, and leaders. [Apply to join the Cohort 10.0](. - The Future of Capitalism Tech Startup Competition is offering $1 million to one lucky tech startup that can transform how businesses today operate. If your tech can save costs, boost efficiency, increase productivity or customer satisfaction, then [apply by September 30]( for a chance to win. Read the guide on how to build a fintech in Africa [Kora image]( To build a fintech in Africa, you must navigate complicated regulatory regimes, incorporate in each market, get the right licences, and use the right technology stack. Kora and Norebase put everything you need to build in this guide. [Check it out](. [in other news image] - [How Bangladesh’s tech industry navigated an unprecedented political crisis]( - [Congo cancels $1.2 billion ID system contract after costs spiral]( - [Why US govt delisted Nigerian airlines from category one status]( Written by:Faith Omoniyi & Emmanuel Nwosu Edited by: Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega & Timi Odueso Want more of TechCabal? Sign up for our insightful newsletters on the business and economy of tech in Africa. - [The Next Wave](: futuristic analysis of the business of tech in Africa. - [Entering Tech](: tech career insights and opportunities in your inbox every Wednesday at 3 PM WAT. - [TC Scoops](: breaking news from TechCabal P:S If you’re often missing TC Daily in your inbox, check your Promotions folder and move any edition of TC Daily from “Promotions” to your “Main” or “Primary” folder and TC Daily will always come to you. 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