Tingo founder charged with fraud | Adobe's Figma acquisition abandoned

TODAY’S MENU

• Tingo founder, Dozy Mmobuosi charged by the US SEC with extensive fraud

• TikTok Removes 1.4 Million Violative Videos by Nigerian Users in Q3 2023 📹

• Adobe abandons its $20B Figma acquisition plan amid regulatory scrutiny

• Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 sales paused before Christmas over patent dispute ⌚️

• Opportunities

BUSINESS

Tingo founder, Dozy Mmobuosi charged by the US SEC with extensive fraud

Dozy Mmuobosi, also known as Mmobuosi Odogwu Banye, has been charged by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly defrauding investors. He reportedly inflated the financial performance of three of his firms, namely Tingo Group, Agri-Fintech Holdings, and Tingo International Holdings.

The SEC claims that Mmuobuosi provided false information concerning Tingo’s operations and finances. As per a statement from the SEC, the company supposedly made up customer relationships and fraudulently procured millions in assets through these schemes.

The SEC, in its emergency application, is requesting a temporary restraining order to freeze Mmuobuosi’s assets. It’s also seeking to bar the transfer of funds or property to him, prohibit the sale of Afri-Fintech and Tingo Group shares, prevent record destruction, and mandate a show cause for preliminary relief.......….read more

EV Startup Nikola founder Trevor Milton sentenced to four years for fraud conviction

Trevor Milton, the former CEO and disgraced founder of the electric truck startup, Nikola, was handed a four-year prison sentence for securities fraud on Monday.

Judge Edgardo Ramo of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan delivered the sentence, concluding a years-long saga that once escalated Nikola stock by 83%, only to drastically plummet months later amidst fraud accusations and terminated contracts…….read more

ACQUISITIONS

Adobe abandons its $20B Figma acquisition plan amid regulatory scrutiny

Adobe has decided to drop its $20 billion strategy to buy Figma as they have concluded that there’ll be no straightforward approval from the regulators in the UK and European Union.

An agreement has been signed between the two parties resolving all matters related to the unsuccessful deal. Adobe will now proceed with the payout of $1 billion as a termination fee to Figma, the cooperative design platform; this was an agreement previously made between the two...…read more

IBM to acquire StreamSets and WebMethods from Software AG for $2.3 billion

IBM intends to acquire two data integration assets from the German enterprise software company, Software AG, with a cash deal valued at €2.13 billion ($2.3 billion). The deal involves IBM obtaining ownership of StreamSets, a data integration platform that Software AG acquired just last year, and WebMethods, a platform Software AG purchased in 2007 for over $500 million.

Earlier this year, Software AG was purchased by the private equity firm, Silver Lake. Initially, Silver Lake acquired a majority 63% ownership for $2.4 billion, eventually increasing its stake to over 85% in September. Recently, news has emerged that Silver Lake has now acquired 93% of Software AG, with plans to swiftly delist the company from public markets…..read more

SOCIAL MEDIA

TikTok Removes 1.4 Million Violative Videos by Nigerian Users in Q3 2023

In its recent Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, Bytedance’s short video platform, TikTok, disclosed the removal of 1.4 million videos originating from Nigerian users during the third quarter of the current year.

The report outlined that Nigeria featured among the top 50 countries contributing to policy-violating content in Q3, with a global total of 136.5 million videos removed during this period.

TikTok’s content removals, centered around policies related to Integrity and Authenticity, Privacy and Security, Mental and Behavioral Health, Safety, and Civility, targeted videos that contravened one or more of these guidelines.

Notably, the top 50 markets identified in the report accounted for approximately 90% of all content removals during the quarter.

In addition to video removals, TikTok reported the removal of 73.6 million accounts identified as spam or fake during the same period.……read more

EU takes formal action against X over illegal content and disinformation

X (formerly known as Twitter) may be heading into 2023 with a new name, but the year’s end also brings renewed scrutiny and criticism for the company. The European Commission has declared its initiation of formal infringement procedures concerning X’s operations, paying particular attention to possible infractions of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The news was ironically shared on X by Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the internal market, who highlighted concerns about X’s alleged lack of transparency and potential failure to combat illegal content. X’s potentially “misleading design” is also under review.…..read more

PRODUCTS

Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 sales paused before Christmas over patent dispute

Apple has announced that it will temporarily halt the sale of two of its latest Apple Watches models in the U.S. The decision is based on a dispute regarding the intellectual property rights of the Blood Oxygen feature used in these watches.

U.S International Trade Commission had mandated two orders on October 26 that would limit Apple’s rights to sell products equipped with the Blood Oxygen feature following the intellectual property disagreement with Masimo, a medical technologies company.

Though the cessation of sales, which applies to the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2, does not take immediate effect, online sales will be halted from 3 p.m. Thursday while in-store sales will stop after Sunday..……read more

OPPORTUNITIES

• African social entrepreneurs are invited to apply for the FINCA Ventures Prize, which offers grants up to US$70,000 for solutions aiming to alleviate global poverty. Applications are open here.

• The Anzisha Prize has opened applications for its latest edition, focusing this year on green entrepreneurs who combine innovation and sustainability. The Anzisha Prize aims to significantly increase the number of entrepreneurs in Africa that create job opportunities. Interested entrepreneurs can apply until December 30.

• The GSMA has announced a new initiative, the GSMA Humanitarian Innovation Fund, in collaboration with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). The fund aims to address humanitarian challenges in low and middle-income countries. Interested parties can apply until February 12, 2024.

• Applications are open for the African Agri-tech Scale-Up Programme, which aims to help agri-focused and agri-adjacent ventures scale across the continent more quickly. Applications are open here until December 30.