TechCabal Daily – eWallets, eNaira and eNdependence

1 OCTOBER, 2021

QUICK FIRE 🔥 WITH COURA SENE

Coura Sene is the General Manager Wave Senegal and Head of Francophone Africa Public Policy at Wave Mobile Money.

She has built a career in electronic payments and operations, working in several positions for Orange, Wizall, WANGO and the SMA Group.

Coura, please explain your job to a five-year-old.

I help millions of people in Africa send and receive money easily and at extremely affordable rates – all on their mobile phones. 

What’s something you wish you knew earlier in your career/life?

The value of relationships. Soft skills are just as important as technical skills.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received in your career?

Just do it. 

What (singular) achievement are you most proud of?

Moving back to Senegal with my family. I’m so proud I get to make a difference both professionally, via Wave, and, personally, by raising our children in my home country with my husband. 

Tell us about something you love doing that you’re terrible at. And tell us about something you really do not like doing that you’re great at.

Knitting. I would have loved to be able to knit my own home decoration items. 

Driving. I’m a great driver, but I hate driving. 

What new ways of doing things will you keep from this past year?

Building closer relationships with high-level stakeholders remotely and virtually engaging with my teams without any of us losing our drive and determination.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH NIGERIA’S eNAIRA?

If you’re Nigerian, you probably wonder what all the fuss about the eNaira is about. Well, we’ve got you covered.

On Monday, the Central Bank of Nigeria launched the website for its state-backed digital currency, the eNaira. 

Developed by Barbados-based fintech company Bitt Inc., the eNaira is a legal tender just like the naira. According to the apex bank, it must be accepted by all merchants and business outlets as a form of payment in Nigeria.

As we await the official rollout of the currency, starting today, here are a few things you can do on its website.

Download the eNaira application

The eNaira app (termed “Speed”) can be downloaded from either the Google PlayStore, Apple App Store or by scanning a QR code on the website. Speed will serve as the official wallet for smartphone users where they can store their stash. 

Manage your wallet

On the website, you’ll be able to manage the funds in your wallet once the digital currency is officially rolled out today. According to information on the platform, the wallet offers a “great way of making purchases with retailers on-site, transferring or sending money”. You’ll also be able to link your e-wallet to your bank accounts and use it for pay-as-you-go services.

Join the eNaira community

We bond over experiences and CBN is giving Nigerians the option to do that over their experiences using the eNaira on a community within the website. The community is a social hub where eNaira users across the globe can connect with one another, share their experiences using the digital currency, and offer as well as request help.

Michael Ajifowoke has written about some other features of the digital currency in eNaira: Five things Nigerians can do on the new website.

ACCEPT INTERNATIONAL PAYMENTS WITH PAYSTACK

iOS 15 IS GIVING YOU MORE CONTROL

Apple released the iOS 15 earlier this month, and it’s a super-smart operating system. 

We think Apple is taking a minimalist approach to building a more effective operating system. Unlike the flashy update that happened from iOS 6 to iOS 7, iOS 15 debuts with subtle updates that altogether form a more significant upgrade of iOS 14.

So what’s in it?

BUILD AND INVEST WITH FUTURE AFRICA

TC INSIGHTS: FUNDING TRACKER

This week, Andela, a global engineering talent outsourcing company, secured $200 million in a Series E funding round led by Softbank Vision Fund. With this round, the company reached a $1.5 billion valuation, becoming Africa’s second non-fintech unicorn.

The round included Whale Rock, a new investor, and existing investors like Generation Investment Management, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Spark Capital.

Here are the other deals for the week

• Yellow Card, a Nigerian cryptocurrency exchange, raised $15 million in a Series A funding round led by Valar Ventures, Third Prime, and Castle Island Ventures, with participation from Square, Blockchain.com Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and others.

• Senegalese-based logistics startup, YobanteExpress, raised a $1.2 million bridge funding round from Grenfell Holdings, Launch Africa Ventures, R-Ventures, Aguila Investments, and some local and international angel investors.

• South African solar leasing platform, Sun Exchange, secured $2.5 million in convertible note financing from ARPF, a Mauritian private equity fund.

• Nigerian edtech startup, Edves, closed a $575,000 seed funding round. The round was led by Beta Ventures and featured Launch Africa Ventures, Chinook Capital and Future Africa. 

• DataPathology, a Moro ccan healthtech startup, raised $223,000 from Witamax, an investment company.

• Egyptian blockchain startup, Pravica, secured an undisclosed direct investment from Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC), a Swiss VC firm and incubator.

That’s all we’ve got this week.

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more updates on funding deals.

EASING ONLINE PAYMENTS WITH FCMB

TECH PROBE

On Monday, we asked, “What’s the most feasible way to solve the electricity shortages in Africa?”

Here are some of the most interesting answers we found across our networks. 

• “Remove importation charges on all solar panels and batteries. Create drains equipped with hydroelectric turbines. Every state should have at least 2 major solar and wind farms. Methane tanks that store faeces and convert the waste to electricity should be installed in every primary and secondary school. All unis should have their hostels, halls equipped with solar panels. Also, dip all our leaders’ brains in a cat of hydrochloric acid.” – Hunkofadoc (@hunkofadoc, Instagram)

• “Alternative energy (solar), while it may be expensive to set up, the overall cost in the long run is far cheaper than the conventional existing power supply we have here, and of course in-depth sensitization of the benefits of going green is also a key area to look into while driving the continent of this importance,” – Victor Ayedun (@wavy1st, Instagram)

• “Washing and rinsing of our leaders’ brains, honestly.” – Fisayo Patrick (@fisayopatrick1, Instagram)

• “Isn’t the Congo River able to power a bunch of countries? They should come together and contribute towards harnessing that energy.” – My Side That’s Wild (@Rihmani97, Twitter)

• “Give companies a chance to generate and bill consumers directly.” – Precious Onyeze (@onyeze_precious, Instagram)

Watch out for a new question next week!

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Every week, we share job opportunities in the African ecosystem.

• BuyCoins – Technical Lead, Senior Backend Engineer, Technical Product Manager – Africa (Remote)

• TechCabal – Consumer Tech & Digital Culture Writer – Africa (Remote)

• Big Cabal Media – Senior Sales Manager – Lagos, Nigeria

• Ventures Platform – Head of Engagement and Community – Nigeria/Egypt/Ghana

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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