Finance
How Telcos are Bringing Inclusion to Africa’s Financial Landscape
Sourced from IDG Connect Mobile financial services are a global game-changer with an open money network being the connection needed between the financial industry and telecom to increase both the commercial and social benefits. As the world grapples with an unprecedented crisis in the form of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are cautious to use cash or making a withdrawal from an ATM and agent network. This has given mobile money a new dimension as customers can make payment anywhere at any time with their mobile devices as easy as sending a text message in geographies that are normally unable to benefit from banking structures. This allows customers to seamlessly purchase products or services without having to physically hand over cash or swipe a card. The freedom to send, spend and recei...
Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft Report Double Digit Growth while Apple “Plunges”
Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft revenue grew by 35%, 17% and 13% respectively during the first nine months of 2020. On the other hand, Alphabet’s (Google) revenue increased by 9% and Apple’s revenue was up by 4% during the same period. According to the research data analyzed and published by Comprar Acciones, Apple was the only one to post a revenue decline. The three tech giants (Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook) generated a cumulative $152 billion in Q3 2020. Apple Revenue Plunges by 20.7% in Q3 Due to iPhone 12 Delays During Q3 2020, Apple’s revenue totaled $64.7 billion, marking a growth rate of 1% year-over-year (YoY). iPad revenue increased by 46% YoY in that period. Mac revenue grew by 28% and services revenue soared by 16.3%. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_65c.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left;...
Nigeria debts will hit N38.68 trillion in 2021 – minister
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said the total public debts of Nigeria would hit N38trn by December 2021. The Minister stated this on Tuesday, in her presentation to the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts. The Minister said, ”The total public debt stock comprising the External and Homes debts of the Federal and state governments and the Federal Capital Territory stood at N31.01trn (USD85.90 billion) as at June 30, 2020. “It is projected, based on existing approval, to rise to N32.51 trillion by December 31, 2020 and N38.68 trillion by December 31,2021.” She attributed reasons for numerous abandoned road projects across the country to poor funds releases occasioned by dwindling revenue. She explained that the current Sukuk fund is N162bn for...
Paxful and Uhuru Wallet Join Forces to Ease Money Transfers
Paxful has partnered with Uhuru Wallet to add a new payment method to its platform. This collaboration is expected to give South Africans access to the crypto economy, making it easier to make money transfers. The cost of financial transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa can be sky-high. Fortunately, the global crypto-currency space is providing African users with a cheaper alternative for personal and business-related transactions across borders. A recent report by the blockchain forensic and research group Chainalysis on cryptocurrency use around the globe revealed that monthly crypto transfers under $10,000 to and from Africa jumped more than 55% in a year, reaching $316 million in June 2020. The number of monthly transfers nearly doubled, surpassing 600,000 transactions with mos...
How Digital Payments could Foster African Development
The World Bank has estimated that Africa could potentially hold 90% of the global poor population by 2030 and has recently cut its economic growth predictions to between -2.1% and -5.1% in 2020 from the 2.4% of 2019. The situation has been significantly worsened by the global pandemic, as the continent hits its first recession in 25 years. But this is not the picture that defines a continent that has long defied expectation and prediction. In fact, a young population, a growing consumer market, and the rapid movement towards mobile inclusion and connectivity are shifting the conversation. Africa is poised on the cusp of change introduced by mobile and internet technology. Africa has undergone a remarkable journey over the past 30 years. It has not only leapfrogged legacy technolo...
YouTube Reports Revenue Up 32%, Paid Music & Premium Subscribers Top 30M
CFO Ruth Porat acknowledged the increase in advertiser spend for Alphabet’s Search and YouTube groups in a statement. Alphabet does not break out YouTube’s non-advertising revenue, which comes from subscriptions and other entertainment transactions, like movie rentals. Those revenues are reported as part of the “Google other revenues” line item, which contributed $5.5 billion during the period. Alphabet began disclosing YouTube revenue in February of this year when it announced that the world’s largest ad-supported video platform had brought in $15 billion in advertising in 2019. The company also shared updated subscriber figures for its music and premium services, now topping 30 million paying customers and 35 including those on free trials. A version of this...
Pressure on banks over consumer loans money market
A Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Survey Report has shown that banks experienced higher loan default rates on credit cards and overdrafts/ personal lending to household in the third quarter of the year (Q3’20). The survey also noted that lenders expect to tighten the conditions for which loans are given to borrowers (loan covenant) in the next quarter (Q4’20). The Survey Report titled: ”Credit Condition Survey Report for Q3’20″ stated:”Lenders experienced higher default rates on credit card and overdrafts/personal lending to households in Q3’20 but expect lower default rates in Q4’20. “Losses given default on total unsecured loans to households and overdraft/personal loans to households both declined in Q3 2020. “Similarly, default on total unsecured loans to households was expected to worse...
Airtel Africa Reports Double Digit Growth
Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Africa has reported double-digit growth and stronger performance in Q2, with revenue up by 19.6% – in spite of interruptions from COVID-19 and the associated restrictions on activities of both consumers and businesses. The telco saw growth across every region; Nigeria revenue increased 20.2% and EBITDA growth of 21.5%, East Africa revenue up 21.9% and EBITDA growth of 35.1%, Francophone Africa revenue up 4.4% and EBITDA growth of 4.1%. Voice and Data led to a mobile revenue increase of 15.3% while Mobile Money revenue grew by 30.4%. Airtel Money now serves over 20million customers. The telco says that it is in a strong financial position to capture the growth opportunities in a fast-growing region that is vastly underpenetrated in terms of mobile and...
Vodacom Partners with AFI to Drive Financial Inclusion in Africa
Vodacom has joined forces with AFI to drive financial inclusion across Africa through knowledge sharing with financial policymakers and regulators. According to the companies, the partnership, which runs until October 2021, should enhance select AFI member services and platforms with private sector insights. “AFI members in Africa are among the world’s pioneers in mobile money services, having fostered decades of ground-breaking innovations that have shaped the financial inclusion landscape across the continent and beyond,” says Dr Alfred Hannig, AFI Executive Director. Regulators in the region have turned the current pandemic into opportunities to accelerate financial inclusion and ensure that no one is left behind. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_891.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_891.t...
Gold rises on renewed US stimulus hope, dollar falls
Spot gold rose 0.3 percent to $1,910.56 an ounce at 3:37pm, New York time, after falling as much as 0.5 percent. Gold rose on renewed optimism for a preelection aid package in the U.S., while the dollar fell to a one-week low. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said a bill for a compromise stimulus package is being written as she awaits a key phone call with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said his chamber would take up a comprehensive coronavirus package if an accord is struck. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index headed for the third straight decline. Pelosi said in a Bloomberg Television interview that while there are areas where more work is required to get a compromise, she was pleased with the Trump administration’s latest position on coronavirus testing ...
The Future of Bitcoin in Africa
Bitcoin is a popular cryptocurrency across the world today and even African countries are already picking up the pace. So far, Africa looks promising for cryptocurrency, and the Arcane Research Report on the State of Crypto in Africa further buttresses this point. This is due to several common factors in these countries, such as failing currencies, costly payments, lack of banking infrastructure, and more. These factors are enough reasons to make anyone move towards any other option that provides something better. For Africans, that might be Bitcoin. Bitcoin is a decentralized currency with no third-party institution like a bank, which makes transactions seamless across countries anytime and anywhere. Political Instability Although political instability can be seen in many countries,...
Stripe to Acquire Nigeria’s Paystack
Sourced from Redbubble and iStock. Stripe has revealed that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Paystack, a payments collection company based in Lagos, Nigeria. According to an official statement, Paystack works with more than 60,000 businesses in Nigeria and Ghana to securely collect online and offline payments. It also processes more than half of all online transactions in Nigeria and has plans to expand across the continent, having recently started a pilot with businesses in South Africa. Stripe and Paystack have been working closely together for some time. In 2018, Stripe led Paystack’s Series A financing round and has provided ongoing guidance as the company rapidly scaled. “In just five years, Paystack has done what many companies could not achieve in decades. Their tech-firs...
