Mastercard acquires a minority stake in MTN’s fintech business 💳 | Spotify surpasses 600m MAU 🎶

In today’s menu 🥘

💳 Mastercard acquires a minority stake in MTN’s fintech business
💰 Nigerian edtech Klas secures $1M to scale its online teaching platform globally
🛒 Paystack extends “Pay With Apple Pay” service to South Africa and Cote D’Ivoire
📱Creator of “Please Call Me”, Kenneth Makate, achieves significant legal win against Vodacom
⛏️ KoBold Metals, backed by Gates and Bezos, discovers vast copper deposit in Zambia

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💳 ACQUISITION

Mastercard acquires a minority stake in MTN’s fintech business

Financial services company Mastercard has completed the acquisition of a minority stake in the fintech business of mobile operator MTN Group.

According to a statement from MTN, the company has signed definitive agreements with Mastercard for a minority investment which could amount to $200 million (R3.8 billion) into MTN Group Fintech, valuing the business at $5.2 billion (R99 billion) on a cash and debt-free basis.....….continue reading

💰 INVESTMENTS

Nigerian edtech Klas secures $1M to scale its online teaching platform globally

Nigerian edtech platform, Klas, has secured $1 million in pre-seed funding in a round led by Ingressive Capital and featuring investment from Techstars, HoaQ Capital, and various angel investors. Klas, established in 2022 by Nathan Nwachuku and Lekan Adejumo, is a platform that allows users to create and sell ebooks, courses, and live classes.

Klas offers a range of features including class scheduling, payment processing, community interaction, analytics, and video conferencing. It caters to a wide array of subjects including coding, design, finance, art, and languages.

Klas is comparable to Shopify in its purpose; while Shopify provides an online platform for anyone to set up their stores and sell products, Klas enables its users to set up online schools and host classes, according to CEO Nwachukwu.......continue reading

EMURGO Africa Fuels Financial Inclusion with Strategic Investment in Fig Finance. EMURGO Africa, the venture arm of EMURGO focusing on Africa and the Middle East, has made a strategic investment in Fig Finance, a US-incorporated company operating in Africa, the EU, and the US. Founded in 2022 by George Johnston, Obi Ozor, Oscar Price and Seye Akinola, Fig Finance is dedicated to providing innovative financial solutions to underserved small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), making significant strides towards democratizing access to capital for trade across Africa.….continue reading

Canadian accelerator invests $1.2 million in World Innovation League, formerly known as NaijaHacks. World Innovation League (WIL), formerly known as NaijaHacks, has obtained $1.2 million in funding to provide technology training for black individuals around the globe. Uchi Uchibeke, the founder of Nigerian fintech Chimoney, established the non-profit in 2018…..continue reading

Tanzanian healthcare startup, Medikea, receives funding to address health issues triggered by climate change. The Tanzanian healthcare start-up, Medikea, has recently received financial backing from the Catalyst Fund, enabling it to further its goal of providing affordable healthcare services to vulnerable communities. This cash injection responds to the expanding healthcare requirements in Tanzania, fuelled by intensified health challenges across Africa due to climate change…..continue reading

🛒 PRODUCTS

Paystack extends “Pay With Apple Pay” service to South Africa and Cote D’Ivoire

Paystack has expanded its “Pay With Apple Pay” payment option to include Cote D’Ivoire and South Africa, allowing users to make payments on iOS apps and through the Safari web browser. This development comes two years after introducing the service in Nigeria and a year after its launch in Ghana.

The new facility enables merchants in five African nations (Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, and Kenya) to accept payments from users in countries that support Apple Pay, including the US, UK, Canada, and several African nations. However, to facilitate the payments, the merchant must activate international payments, even if the payment channel accepts GHS, NGN, KES, ZAR, and USD* currencies. A notification on Paystack’s website clarifies that only traders in Nigeria and Kenya can utilize USD.

Users with an existing Apple Pay account and a card already added should be able to see this new payment option, according to the fintech. Only cardholders at participating banks in supported countries are reportedly eligible for the service........continue reading

⛏️ MINING

KoBold Metals, backed by Gates and Bezos, discovers vast copper deposit in Zambia

KoBold Metals, a California-based metals exploration company with backing from influential figures like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, has announced the discovery of an extensive copper deposit in Zambia. This rare find holds the potential to significantly impact the global pursuit of essential materials crucial for the ongoing energy transition.

Copper’s demand has surged due to its pivotal role in renewable energy infrastructure and electric vehicles. The AI-backed unicorn believes that its Mingomba copper project in Zambia is poised to become one of the world’s largest high-grade copper mines, comparable in scale and quality to the renowned Kakula mine situated just across the border in the Democratic Republic of the Congo........continue reading

📱MOBILE VAS

Creator of “Please Call Me”, Kenneth Makate, achieves significant legal win against Vodacom

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in South Africa has denied an appeal from Vodacom and ruled favourably for Kenneth Nkosana Makate, the man behind the idea for “Please Call Me.” The Court determined Vodacom must compensate Makate with between 5% and 7.5% of the total voice revenue the “Please Call Me” feature earned over an 18-year period, in addition to interest.

Based on the language in the ruling, the 18-year period spans from March 2001 to January 9, 2019 — the day Vodacom first proposed a compensation of R47 million to Makate for his idea.

The Supreme Court ruled that Vodacom must use the models submitted by Makate’s team to calculate the amount owed.

According to these models, Makate’s legal team estimated that a 5% share of an approximated R205 billion in revenue over 18 years equals to R20 billion in compensation. This amount is double what Vodacom annually invests into its South African network as capital expenditure and accounts for over 10% of Vodacom’s entire market capitalization, which sat at R197 billion on Tuesday afternoon.

In response to a request for comment, Vodacom said, “We acknowledge the recent 66-page judgment handed down by the Supreme Court of Appeal regarding the Please Call Me matter. We are carefully studying its contents and will respond in due course.”.….continue reading

OTHER STORIES

• Ghana-based talent startup, Remoteli, secures £250,000 in funding from footballer Jeremie Frimpong….read more

• Meta is ending third-party access to the Facebook Groups API, leaving developers and customers in a state of upheaval….read more

• MTN collaborates with Jumo to provide short-term loans….read more

• Spotify surpasses 600M monthly active users milestone….read more

• Despite ban, StarSat Africa reduces pricing for Starlink kits in South Africa……read more

• Bluesky is now accessible for all to sign up and join….read more