CBN removes exchange rate cap 💵 | Canal+ wants to acquire MultiChoice 📺

In today’s menu 🥘

🤖 With Bard’s latest Update, Nigerian users can now access Gemini Pro and generate AI images free of charge
💵 CBN removes exchange rate cap, allows market-based limits
📺 Vivendi’s Canal+ proposes acquisition of MultiChoice
👨🏻‍💻 Opportunities

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💵 REGULATION

CBN removes exchange rate cap, allows market-based limits

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued a directive to remove the initial cap on exchange rates set by International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs). The move comes in response to alleged excessive speculation and hoarding of foreign currency within Nigerian banks.

As per a circular sent to authorized dealers, IMTOs, and the public, the CBN has now allowed relevant parties to base Naira payouts’ exchange rates on the current market rate in the Foreign Exchange Market.

This new regulation allows transactions to occur according to the “willing buyer, willing seller” principle, indicating that the exchange rates will be determined by the market’s supply-demand forces instead of a preset limit......….continue reading

📺 MEDIA

Vivendi’s Canal+ proposes acquisition of MultiChoice

Canal+ has revealed its non-binding indicative offer to acquire the pay-TV powerhouse, MultiChoice in South Africa, with an approximate value of R31.7 billion.

Thursday saw Canal+ release a statement indicating its proposal to purchase all outstanding ordinary shares of MultiChoice, conditional on the necessary regulatory approvals. Canal+ offered R105 per ordinary share, representing a 40% premium over MultiChoice’s closing share price on January 31, 2024.

In its latest annual report, MultiChoice revealed that Canal+ already owns 140,160,277 of its 442,512,678 issued shares. This means acquiring the remainder would cost Canal+ around R31.75 billion.......….continue reading

STATISTICS

The number of subscribers for YouTube Premium and Music. Google announced that YouTube has amassed over 100 million paid users for YouTube Music and YouTube Premium, marking a significant increase from the 80 million reported in November 2022…..continue reading

🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

With Bard’s latest Update, Nigerian users can now access Gemini Pro and generate AI images free of charge

Google announced that it is bringing Bard’s latest capabilities — including Gemini Pro in Bard — to more languages and places including Nigeria. The technology giant is also launching image generation to bring more of your ideas into reality.

In December 2023, Google integrated Gemini Pro into Bard in English, enhancing Bard’s comprehension, reasoning, summarization, and coding capabilities. Today, Gemini Pro in Bard is expanding its availability to over 40 languages and more than 230 countries and territories including Nigeria, allowing a broader audience to engage with this swifter and more proficient version of Bard.

To enhance a user’s creativity, Bard now offers image generation in English across most countries globally, and it’s completely free. This innovative feature is driven by Google’s improved Imagen 2 model, carefully crafted to achieve a balance between quality and speed, resulting in high-quality and photorealistic outputs...⁠..….continue reading

🚢 TRANSPORTATION

CMA CGM SCANDOLA Berth: A Pivotal Milestone for Nigeria’s Maritime Industry

In a momentous event on Monday, January 29, 2024, Lagos Free Zone proudly welcomed the CMA CGM SCANDOLA, an LNG-powered behemoth boasting 14,812 TEUs and an impressive length Overall (LoA) of 36.6 meters and a width of 51 meters Breaking barriers, this monumental vessel marked not only the largest container ship to berth in Nigeria but also the first LNG-powered vessel to navigate West Africa. The historic berthing took place at the state-of-the-art Lekki Deep Sea Port, operated by LFTZ Enterprise Limited.

The vessel’s historic journey positions the Lekki Deep Sea Port as Nigeria’s deepest and most advanced seaport, offering unmatched capabilities in handling large-scale maritime operations…..continue reading

OTHER STORIES

• Following shutdown of agency banking, Kippa Co-founder Duke Ekezie departs and pursues new venture….read more

• Uber slapped with €10 Million fine by Dutch Regulator for privacy violations……read more

• Oracle’s African Expansion Continues: Kenya Emerges as Key Site for Next Cloud Infrastructure Hub…..read more

• MultiChoice to inject an additional $89 million into Showmax by March…..read more

• Currency devaluation in key markets results in a 99% dive in profits for Airtel Africa….read more

🚀 OPPORTUNITIES

• The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is calling on all aspiring African entrepreneurs seeking to turn their business dreams into reality to apply to the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme (TEF2024), for the opportunity to receive a non-returnable seed capital of $5,000. Application deadline: 1 March 2024 Click here to apply.

• The Federal Government through the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, has opened applications for Nigerian girls to participate in its new initiative called the National Girls in ICT Competition. Application deadline: 18 February 2024. Click here to apply.

• Safaricom, M-PESA Africa and Sumitomo Corporation calls for tech startups looking to join the Spark Accelerator program, which aims at accelerating early stage startups to grow and scale their businesses. Application deadline: 16 February 2024 . Click here to apply

• Norrsken22 invites African startups to apply for its $125k Accelerator Program. Interested entrepreneurs can apply here.

• Cohort 2 of the Visa Accelerator Program is now open for applications. Click here to apply. Application deadline: February 18, 2024

• CcHUB is currently accepting applications from EdTech companies interested in becoming members of its 2024 cohort. Click here to apply. Application Deadline: 17th February, 2024

• Application open for the MEST Training Program. The MEST Training Program is a one year, fully sponsored, graduate-level program in tech entrepreneurship. Click here to apply. Application Deadline: 18th March 2024