TechCabal Daily, 766 - Econet Founder Strive Masiyiwa is set to take a major Botswana telco public

Nairobi-based E-commerce company raises $445,000 [View this email in your browser]( 26 - 04 - 2019 Hello, people! Welcome to this week's final edition of TC Daily. Please take a moment to [subscribe]( if this mail was forwarded to you so you don't miss out on future editions. Strive Masiyiwa is [set to take]( Botswana mobile network operator, Mascom, public. Masiyiwa had previously stated that he will take the company public after buying back MTN's stake in it. The condition was met last month when he reached a deal to buy back MTN's stake, originally sold for $70m, for $300m. Mascom's public listing will follow the trend of telcos going public in other African countries, the latest being MTN Nigeria. Although telcos do so mainly due to pressure from governments, Mascom doesn't appear to be under such pressure. Mascom holds 50% of the market share in Botswana. [In response to criticism]( of its $60 million National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS), the Kenyan government has approved a progressive draft Data Protection Policy and Bill. The data protection bill seeks to address how the biometrics data and DNA information the government will collect from every citizen in the NIIMS project will be handled but critics consider it to be inadequate. The government hopes it will allay fears of data breaches and privacy issues regarding the NIIMS project. NIIMS [was announced]( in February to serve as a single population register which the government described as a single “source of truth” on personal identity in Kenya. According to TechMoran, [Zipline raised]( $3m from the UPS Foundation [for its recent launch and expansion in Ghana]( possibly other markets). [Its contract]( to complete 600 deliveries a day for four years will cost the Ghanian government $12.5 million during the period. That's about $14 per delivery on the average. Should the money have been spent on something else? The jury is out on it. Nairobi-based e-commerce startup, AfricaSokoni [has raised]( $445,000 from an angel investor as part of its seed round. The latest raise brings its funding to date to $995,000. The startup will use the funds to expand its current product offerings. While Africa's e-commerce space scored a win with Jumia's IPO, there are few if any success stories primarily due to the size of the market and a lack of necessary infrastructure though others argue it might be due to inappropriate business models. Nigeria-based Konga raised well over $80m in funding but [struggled for survival]( before it was acquired by Zinox Technologies. DealDey, another e-commerce company by Konga's founder, Sim Shagaya, has [also closed shop](. African tech startups [can]( apply to pitch at the Africa Tech Summit London holding on June 11. [Apply here]( April 30. The annual Summit connects industry leaders, innovators and investors providing insights for ecosystem players. Join Odunayo Eweniyi (COO PiggyVest) on May 8 by 12 pm at Workstation, Maryland Mall, Lagos for a digital entrepreneurship workshop. The workshop is powered by [Everything Digital]( in partnership with Eden Venture Group and Wilson Juice. Podcasting company Acast [has acquired]( Pippa, a podcast hosting platform co-founded by South African, [Simon Marcus](. While the details of the deal are undisclosed, the acquisition will grow Acast's shows to over 7,000 with podcasters from the some of the world's most popular publishers such as BBC, Financial Times, Economist, and Vogue. We recently launched an in-depth report about [The State of Health Tech in Nigeria](. Here's an interesting fact: the health tech sector in Nigeria is 15 years old. That's half the age of the web. In this time, US$7.88 million has been sunk into the sector in funding to date, with the earliest funding received in 2014. 30% of the 90 startups we profiled are women. [Get the full report here to learn more](. We understand that there may have been unsuccessful attempts by interested parties to buy the report and will like to know what the challenges are. Send a reply to this email and we will attend to it. Kindly note that we are also accepting bank transfers for purchase of the reports. If you'd like to purchase the report through a bank transfer, also send a reply to this mail and we will attend to your request. A survey by MyBroadband [has revealed]( that 46% of IT professionals in South Africa are planning to leave permanently, or work abroad, in the near future. The 3,055 respondents identified political and economic concerns as the major reasons (35%) for their intention to leave. South Africa's economy took a hit [when it fell]( a recession last year and the country also experienced political crisis before Jacob Zuma stepped down as President. Talent migration isn't just a South African issue it's a continent-wide challenge and indeed a global phenomenon. Tek Experts has released a White Paper titled Achieving Gender Balance: Views from across the IT Industry. [Check it out here](. [The country where the internet has been shutdown for one year]( by Aanu Adeoye, CNN [There’s a growing chorus across Africa to regulate and tax Airbnb]( by Abdi Latif Dahir & Lynsey Chutel, Quartz Africa From TechCabal + [Egypt’s Growing eSports Industry]( + [What African Nations Can Learn from Rwanda’s Growth as an Innovation Hub]( That's All! We'll be back next week. - Olanrewaju Be a blessing to someone, share the digest. [Share]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( Copyright © 2019 Big Cabal Media, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you signed up on TechCabal.com Our mailing address is: Big Cabal Media Plot B, Block 1, Industrial Avenue, Ilupeju Industrial EstateIlupeju 100252 Nigeria [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.