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Good morning ☀️ ️
So money changers in Nigeria are saying that the CBN’s latest directive doesn’t stop them from providing services. They’re going to reach out to the apex bank to resolve the issues that were brought to light with the directive.
There seems to be some hope for them after all.
In today’s edition:
- Quick Fire 🔥
- M-KOPA’s plans
- Field intelligence is expanding
- TC Insights: Funding Tracker
Quick Fire 🔥 with Pearle Nwaezeigwe
Explain your job to a five-year-old
My 10-year-old cousin called me to tell me she wanted to join Tiktok and I told her she could not because she was below the age requirement (13years). She went on to ask me “If I joined TikTok, would it be your job to take down my account?” My response: “yes, that’s exactly my job!”
What’s the first career you dreamed of having as a kid?
I dreamed of becoming a teacher. I would steal chalk from school to teach imaginary students or my brothers at home. I plan to become a lecturer when I retire from tech.
What has been the most important career decision you’ve taken?
During my Master’s degree in California, I made the decision to not sit for the Bar exams. I knew I did not want to pursue a career in litigation or become an in-house counsel. It was a big bet I made on myself. While my coursemates studied and wrote the exams, I set out networking and researching tech policy issues. The decision landed me the job I have today
If you did not have to sleep, how would you spend the extra hours?
I would create more, I love graphic designs, writing poems, essays, nature photography, etc. Bringing my crazy ideas to life gives me so much joy. I use my designs to educate as well, as a visual learner I like to share information using relatable content.
What’s something you wish you knew earlier in your career/life?
I wish someone told me that nothing in life is set in stone, live a little. Don’t burn out. I can’t count the many times I was sick from studying too hard in the law library. In my mid-20s I learned so much about mindfulness, self-care practices and it has changed my life for the better.
What’s something new happening in your life right now?
I am living in a new country! I had to move to Europe to begin my role at TikTok! Each day I can’t believe that this young girl who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, studied in Berkeley, California is now working in Dublin, Ireland. I dared to dream big and now it is my reality.
Pearlé is the Policy Manager at Tiktok where she manages & enforces policies on behalf of users in Africa. She is also referred to as the Yoncé of Tech Policy, sharing policy insights and opportunities for young professionals.
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M-KOPA’S PLANS
Earlier this month, M-KOPA announced their plans to expand into Nigeria.
I spoke to them earlier this week. They’ve shared that they’re aiming for two million customers and their expansion into Nigeria will help them with that. In their launch test earlier this year, they sold 20,000 devices in Lagos alone, and they’re banking on Nigeria’s booming market to help them reach their goal.
How many customers do they have so far?
With branches in Kenya and Uganda, M-KOPA has over 1 million customers, as Chief Commercial Officer, Mayur Patel shared.
They’ve achieved this by offering customers a Buy-Now-Pay-Later option for everyday devices like fridges, televisions, solar lighting, and smartphones.
I found a few things interesting about their modus operandi. Most BNPL options are offered only to credit-worthy people, people with tenable financial histories. M-KOPA, through the years, removed this restriction and offers the option to everyone, regardless of the existence of their financial history.
All devices are also connected to M-KOPA’s CRM by IoT so whenever a customer fails to pay, their device can be automatically locked.
How Nigeria will help them reach their target
M-KOPA wants to focus on one product for Nigerians, mobile smartphones.
Nigeria has a large smartphone market, over 12 million devices are sold in the country annually. M-KOPA’s launch test has shown them what they can do within a few months in just one city. They’re expanding to Oyo to see how much better they can do in two metropolitan tech hubs.
To help with the expansion, M-KOPA has hired Babajide Duroshola, a super-scaler who’s worked at SafeBoda and Andela.
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Field Intelligence is expanding
In March 2020, Field Intelligence raised $3.8 million to scale its product, Shelf Life, and now it’s using that funding to expand into eleven African cities across Nigeria and Kenya.
Backstory: Shelf Life was launched in 2017 to solve the inventory problem facing Africa’s $75B retail pharmacy market. It is a subscription-based platform that allows users to pay-as-you-go.
With Shelf Life, Field Intelligence’s objective was simple. They wanted to help pharmacies, of any size, access thousands of products and cutting-edge inventory planning, then enable them to pay as they sell the products.
Expansion into Nigerian cities
Field Intelligence’s funding round helped the platform grow. They experienced rapid growth in sales and membership subscriptions. In Nigeria, subscription has increased by 47% and 65% in Kenya, selling over 586,950 products in 63 different product categories.
Their latest will push for another expansion. They will be expanding into 11 cities across Nigeria and Kenya; Rivers, Edo, Kaduna, Kano, Enugu, Delta, and Kwara States in Nigeria, and Eldoret, Mombasa, Kisumu, and Naivasha in Kenya.
Read more Damilare Dosunmu’s Field Intelligence expands into 11 African cities across Nigeria and Kenya
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TC Insights: Funding Tracker
This week, South African payments startup Yoco secured US$83m in Series C funding, the second-biggest deal out of South Africa this year.
The deal was led by Dragoneer Investment Company. Breyer Capital, HOF Capital, The Raba Partnership, 4DX Ventures, and TO Ventures also participated in the round.
The other deals for the week are:
- Pineapple, a South African insurtech startup, raised US$3.4m in Series A funding from Lireas Holdings, the ASISA ESD Fund, E4E, and other investors.
- Ivorian fintech, Julaya received US$2m in pre-Series A funding from Orange Ventures, MFS Africa Frontiers, Saviu Ventures, Launch Africa Ventures and others.
- Cairo-based grocery delivery platform, GoodsMart raised $3.6 million in fresh funds from Sawari Ventures.
- Cairo-based prop-tech startup Nawy raised a 7-figure seed funding round. It was led by the Sawiris family office, with participation from Hatem Dowidar and other angel investors.
- Guidewheel, a manufacturing tech company formerly known as Safi in Nairobi, Kenya, closed an $8m Series A round. The round was led by Greycroft and included leading firms, angel investors, and Fortune 500 executives.
That’s all we’ve got this week!
Follow TC Insights on Twitter and LinkedIn for more updates on funding deals.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Every week, TechCabal shares job opportunities in the African ecosystem.
- TechCabal – Senior Editor (West Africa)
- TechCabal – Senior Writer (Africa)
- TradeBuza –Backend Developer
- Stears – Engineering Manager
- Stears Data – Technical Team Lead
- Kifta Technologies – IT Manager
- Kifta Technologies – Software Engineer
- Kifta Technologies – Aerodynamics Engineer
There are more opportunities here. If you’d like to share a job opening or an opportunity, please fill this form.
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Written by – Timi Odueso
Edited by – Daniel Adeyemi
