The leading African tech moves from June

TechCabal won big in the OnePipe Challenge [Read this online]( [TC Daily Logo] 5 JULY, 2022 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH [Flutterwave Logo] Good morning In exciting news, 2 of TechCabal's reporters have emerged winners of the OnePipe challenge. Daniel Adeyemi and Sultan Quadri [were selected]( as 2 of 3 winning journalists for their [articles on embedded finance](. TechCabal will accept congratulations in merch purchases, so if you're really happy for us, [buy some merch]( so we can take Daniel and Sultan on a night out. In today's edition - June's Biggest Tech moves - Opportunities THE BIGGEST AFRICAN TECH MOVES FROM JUNE We're halfway through the year, and quite a number of exciting things have happened in Africa's tech ecosystem. From MTN's $53.4 mobile money fraud lawsuit and Kune's shutdown in Kenya, to big acquisitions across North Africa, here are the top 10 biggest tech moves from June. 1. AFRICAN STARTUPS RAISE $2.78 BILLION In June 2022, African startups made 36 fully disclosed* raises totalling $426,280,000 million. This amount is a 2.4% decrease from [May 2022’s $437,100,000](. This means that in the first half of 2022 (H1 2022), African startups raised a whopping $2,787,523,000, a 134.25% increase from the $1.19 billion [raised in H1 2021](. Per sector, the top 3 sectors in June are fintech, energytech, and mobility/logistics. Fintech startups raised $305,430,000. (71.7%), energytech startups raised $35,700,000 (8.4%), and mobility/logistics startups raised $32,700,000 (7.7%). Per region, North Africa led with $173,300,000 of the funding, with fintech MNT-Halan’s $150 million at the helm. South Africa came a close second with $127,500,000, while West and East Africa followed with $79,430,000 and $46,050,000 respectively. The top 5 disclosed deals in June are: - Egyptian fintech super app's [MNT-Halan $150 million bond issuance](. - MFS Africa’s [$100 million Series C extension](. - Ghana-based fintech [Fido’s $30 million raise](. - South African energytech [Yellow Africa’s $23 million raise](. - Moove Africa’s [$20 million debt funding]( from British International Investment (BII). Note: This data is inclusive only of funding deals announced in June 2022. Raises are often announced later than when the deals are actually made. This data is exclusive of estimated grants from accelerators like Techstars or Y Combinator. SEND BY FLUTTERWAVE Don't just send money, send money fast. Send and receive money directly to mobile wallets, bank accounts, Barter or through cash pickup with $end. Visit [send.flutterwave.com]( and do it now! This is partner content. 2. MTN'S $53.7 MOBILE MONEY FRAUD Less than 2 months after the launch of its mobile money payments service bank (MoMo PSB) in Nigeria, telco MTN in June reportedly [took 18 Nigerian banks to court over a $53.7 million fraud allegation](. According to the telco, the fraud was committed over a total of 700,000 transactions, over a one-month period, and the amount was transferred in error to 8,000 accounts. 3. FLUTTERWAVE NEW C-SUITE HIRES Africa's biggest unicorn, Flutterwave, made some pretty important hires last month. Former managing director at Goldman Sachs, [Gurbhej Dhillon, joined]( the fintech startup as chief technical officer (CTO) while former vice president of American Express, [Oneal Bhambani, also joined]( the company as chief financial officer (CFO). 4. KUNE SHUTS DOWN It's no news that about 70% of startups fail at the pre-seed or seed stage, and Kenyan food delivery service Kune's shutdown came as little surprise to Kenyans. Less than a year after [raising $1 million]( to solve a problem many Kenyans believe does not exist, [Kune shut down]( in June after founder Robin Reecht announced on LinkedIn that they had run out of money. 5. PIGGYTECH POCKETS AN MMO LICENSE PiggyTech, parent company of Nigeria-based fintech PiggyVest, [pocketed a mobile money (MOMO) license]( in June. PiggyTech also rebranded its payment app from Abeg to PocketApp. The licence will help the startup transition PocketApp from a payment app to a social commerce app that supports online merchants in Nigeria. SELL MORE WITH PAYSTACK [Paystack]( Increase your online sales with a Paystack Storefront - a free, beautiful seller page that helps you bring creative ideas to life. 👉🏾 Learn more at [paystack.com/storefront]( This is partner content. 6. AIRTEL LAUNCHES SMARTCASH PSB Nigeria may have lower mobile money usage compared to Kenya, Uganda or even Ghana, but that may soon change. In more Nigerian mobile money news from June, telecom giant Airtel also launched its own [payments service bank (PSB), SmartCash PSB](. With its PSB license, Airtel can provide the [55%]( of Nigerians who don't have bank accounts access to SmartCash PSB. 7. VEZEETA LAYS OFF 10% OF ITS STAFF About 15,900 tech workers from startups across the globe were [laid off in June 2022](. In Africa, Egypt- and Dubai-based healthtech startup, [Vezeeta, laid off about 10%]( of its staff. Its LinkedIn profile says it has 500 staff, so about 50 workers must have been laid off. This news comes a month after another Egypt- and Dubai-based startup, Swvl, [laid off 32%]( of its workforce. 8. WHO ACQUIRED WHAT? In big news about acquisitions, 3 happened in June 2022. First, [MFS Africa announced plans]( to acquire US-based payments software company Global Technology Partners (GTP) in a $34 million deal. Then Apetito, a Cairo-based on-demand grocery retail business [announced the acquisition of Lamma](, a similar startup, to help its expansion to Morocco, Tunisia, and West Africa. Finally, Nigeria's Access Bank announced its second acquisition in Kenya. It's reportedly aiming to [buy Sidian Bank for $36.7 million (Ksh 4.3 billion)](. 9. KENYA SAYS NO TO ICT BILL In June, Kenya's parliament [passed the ICT Practitioners' Bill]( which requires all techies in Kenya to register and pay tax before they can work in the country. Fortunately, President [Uhuru Kenyatta rejected the bill]( stating that it was "impractical and counterproductive". 10. KENYA PLANS 20% TAX FOR DIGITAL LENDERS In more news about Kenyan legislations, the Kenyan government made another move to regulate its digital lending space. The government [announced plans to introduce a 20% excise tax]( on all fees charged by all digital lenders. 11. IMPORTANT HIRES FOR AFRICANS Other than Flutterwave's, several other important hires were announced in June. Mara, a pan–African crypto exchange platform, [appointed ex-Apple executive Susan Younis]( as its chief marketing officer (CMO). Eloho Omame, co-founder and General Partner at FirstCheck Africa, [joined TLcom Capital as a partner](. TRY FINCRA'S PAYMENT SOLUTIONS [Fincra]( [Fincra]( provides easy-to-integrate APIs developed and designed to launch seamless and reliable global payment solutions. With Fincra’s customisable APIs, developers can build quick financial applications. Build the [best payment solutions on Fincra](. This is partner content. IN OTHER NEWS FROM TECHCABAL [Union54, the first YCombinator-backed startup in Zambia](, is now offering Zambians an opportunity to own virtual debit cards they can use to pay bills, check out goods from online marketplaces, and access local and global supply chains. [Google’s Equiano subsea internet cable has landed in Namibia](. The cable is meant to connect Europe and Africa via a cable running along the west coast of Africa from Portugal to South Africa. [Clement Hugbo](: The Web3 designer building a showcase for African product designers. [The Next Wave](: Can Nigeria’s infrastructure support tech talent? OPPORTUNITIES - Snapchat's Snap 523 Accelerator Programme is now open to applications from black content creators. Twenty-five selected creators will receive $10,000 per month for 12 months and a Google Pixel 7 Pro. [Apply by August 12](. - The Professor Ayodele Awojobi Design Competition (PAADC 6.0) is now open to applications from Nigerian students in tertiary institutions who are using STEN to create innovative ideas geared towards solving the country's problems. Three winning teams will share a prize of ₦4.5 million [Apply by July 8](. - Applications are now open for the Decentralised Umoja Algorand Bounty Hack II, by Algorand and Reach. The hackathon is a great opportunity for African developers to learn and build blockchain projects and win up to $3,000 in prizes. [Apply by July 15](. What else is happening in tech? - NFT giant [OpenSea reports major email data breach](. - [Tesla can now scan for potholes]( and adjust vehicle suspension to avoid damage. - The US government is [going after alleged crypto scammers]( as market crashes. SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER - - - - - mailto:info@example.com?&subject=&body= Written by - [Timi Odueso]( Edited by - [Kelechi Njoku]( Advertise To advertise with us, send an email to [ads@bigcabal.com]( [Unsubscribe from TC Daily](