🪙 Nigeria SEC set to crackdown on Crypto |🏦 Lesaka to acquire Adumo for $85m

Today’s Menu ☕️

🪙 Nigeria’s SEC Prepares Crackdown on Crypto Market, Plans Naira Delisting to Combat Manipulation
🏦 Lesaka set to acquire Adumo for $85 million
🛒 Jumia sees order growth in Nigeria and Ghana, slashes losses by 71% in first quarter of 2024
🤖 Microsoft and OpenAI Launch $2million Initiative to Combat AI Disinformation
💵 Chipper Cash resumes US services following two-month suspension

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🪙 CRYPTOCURRENCY

Nigeria’s SEC Prepares Crackdown on Crypto Market, Plans Naira Delisting to Combat Manipulation

The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is poised to unveil a series of stringent regulatory measures aimed at curbing the crypto market within the country. A key component of this crackdown, according to SEC Director General Emomotimi Agama, will be the delisting of the Nigerian naira from peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto trading platforms.

The SEC argues that this move is necessary to protect the Naira from alleged manipulation within the cryptocurrency market. Agama made these announcements during an interactive session with stakeholders in the Nigerian Blockchain Industry. He asserted that the delisting, alongside other upcoming regulations, are crucial to addressing what the SEC views as irregularities within the cryptocurrency space...……continue reading

🏦 PAYMENTS

Lesaka set to acquire Adumo for $85 million

Lesaka Technologies, a fintech firm listed on NASDAQ with a valuation of R4.5 billion ($242 million), is set to acquire the payment platform Adumo for R1.59 billion ($85 million) through a mix of cash and stock. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024, expanding Lesaka’s payment operations to a total of five countries in the southern African region.

Adumo, established in 2019 and headquartered in Cape Town, offers a range of payment solutions including card-acquiring point-of-sale (POS) devices, as well as integrated payment and reconciliation services for both merchants and consumers. The company boasts an impressive annual processing volume of over R24 billion ($1.3 billion), serving 23,000 merchants and 240,000 consumers.....……continue reading

🛒 E-COMMERCE

Jumia sees order growth in Nigeria and Ghana, slashes losses by 71% in first quarter of 2024

Jumia, the online retail platform, disclosed a revenue surge to $48.9 million and a gross profit of $31.2 million for the first quarter of 2024. These figures represent a notable increase from the $41.3 million in revenue and $24.9 million in gross profit reported in the same period of 2023. Notably, Jumia’s operating loss saw a substantial reduction of 71% to $8.3 million in the first quarter of 2024, down from $28.4 million in the first quarter of the previous year, attributed to significant cost savings and improved gross margins.

The company observed an uptick in orders and average order value, particularly in Nigeria and Ghana, despite challenging economic conditions. Jumia navigated through a tough macroeconomic landscape in Africa, including currency devaluations in some key markets, by maintaining adequate stock levels and offering a varied range of competitively priced products, thus retaining customer engagement on its platform, as per CEO Francis Dufay....……continue reading

🤖 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Microsoft and OpenAI Launch $2million Initiative to Combat AI Disinformation

The democratic process faces a new breed of adversary – not foreign powers or shadowy groups, but sophisticated AI algorithms capable of generating highly convincing deepfakes. Amidst a looming ‘disinformation arms race’ with potentially dire consequences for elections worldwide, Microsoft and OpenAI are taking action. The tech giants announced a $2 million Societal Resilience Fund, betting on education to combat these powerful new weapons.

The threat is clear. AI tools like ChatGPT, once the domain of research enthusiasts, now grant anyone the power to manufacture “hyper-realistic” fabricated content. Imagine a deepfake video of a politician giving a hateful speech, or falsified audio of a candidate making scandalous claims. Such weapons could swing votes, destabilise governments, and erode trust in the very foundations of democracy. This danger isn’t theoretical – experts from the World Economic Forum identified AI-generated disinformation as a top global risk for 2024.

The fund targets the broader concern of AI-powered disinformation campaigns. It recognizes that deepfakes are just one piece of a larger, alarming puzzle. AI can fuel the creation and spread of misleading news articles, manipulate social media trends, and even impersonate individuals online to sow discord. It’s about more than just fake videos; it’s an assault on our ability to discern fact from fiction in a digitally saturated world......….continue reading

OTHER STORIES

• Chipper Cash resumes US services following two-month suspension….read more

• SERAP Threatens Court Action Over Nigeria’s Controversial Cybersecurity Levy..…read more

• Milken-Motsepe Prize in Green Energy Awards $2 Million to Innovators in African Off-Grid Energy Solutions....….read more

• Binance CEO Richard Teng criticizes detention of employee in Nigeria as unjust leverage…..read more

OPPORTUNITIES

• Google launches application process for African AI Start-ups Accelerator….read more

• Pitch2Win competition opens for Nigerian startups with $10,000 prize up for grabs….read more

• Call for Applications: 4th Cohort of AUDA-NEPAD’s Healthcare Accelerator Program…..read more