Tech

Uganda’s Agent Banking Company secures further investment for its expansion plans

Published

2 hours ago

September 23, 2024

Ugandan fintech, Agent Banking Company (ABC), has announced securing an undisclosed amount of funding from Goodwell Investments, an impact investor financing inclusive growth in emerging markets, that will enable it carry out its expansion plans beyond the country.

The CEO of ABC, Richard Jabel, who made the announcement, said the funding will boost the company’s efforts in improving lives by facilitating access to quality and affordable financial services.

“Our business was established to address a very real need to expand the reach and improve access to quality and affordable financial services in Uganda,” Jabel said.

“With the introduction of Agent Banking, there has been exponential growth in the number of service points through which consumers can access and use formal financial services offered by over 15,000 authorised bank agents.

“This has made it much easier and enabled the previously underserved communities to enjoy a range of formal financial services across the country.

“The investment from Goodwell will be instrumental in the next phase of our growth, as we enrich our service range to encompass the full suite of basic financial services to be accessed through mobile phones, agents and merchants.

“The funding will enable Agent Banking Company to pursue ambitious goals for growth, including expanding its client base, increasing agent coverage, and deploying new services.

“We look forward to working with Goodwell as we continue to improve livelihoods and remove financial exclusion barriers through the transformation of the financial services landscape in Uganda,” said Jabel.

Founded in 2017, Agent Banking Company focuses on increasing access and use of a wide range of quality, secure and affordable financial services by underserved communities in Uganda through its shared and interoperable digital platforms.

The company enables multiple bank and non-bank financial services providers to provide financial services to consumers through authorised bank agents, and currently serves 18 supervised financial institutions and five payments services providers with over 15,000 bank agents across Uganda.

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Tech

Kenya: Court rules Meta can be sued over moderator layoffs

Published

2 days ago

September 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A Kenyan judge has declared that Facebook’s parent firm, Meta, may face legal action in the country due to a contractor’s termination of several content moderators.

The content moderators filed a lawsuit against Meta and two contractors last year, claiming that their attempts to form a union cost them their jobs as employees of Sama, a Kenyan company hired to oversee Facebook material.

They claimed that after Facebook switched contractors, they were banned from applying for the same positions at Majorel, another company.

October of last year saw the breakdown of the moderators’ out-of-court settlement negotiations with Meta. The case may affect Meta’s global cooperation with content moderators. The multinational behemoth is responsible for vetting graphic content uploaded on its site by moderators worldwide.

On Friday, the Court of Appeal’s order confirmed a labour court’s decision from April 2023 in Kenya, which had declared that Meta could go to trial regarding the moderators’ dismissals. Meta had challenged this decision.

Additionally, it upheld a different decision from February 2023 that allowed Meta to be sued in Kenya for allegedly subpar working conditions. Meta had challenged the decision.

“The upshot of our above findings is that the appellants’ (Meta’s) appeals … are devoid of merit and both appeals are hereby dismissed with costs to the respondents,” the judges at the Court of Appeal said in their ruling.

In the past, Meta has refuted claims of a subpar workplace in Kenya by stating that its partners must offer circumstances that are among the best in the sector. According to Majorel, it doesn’t discuss ongoing or ongoing legal disputes.

“Meta being sued in Kenya is a wake-up call for all Big Tech companies to pay attention to the human rights violations taking place along their value chains,” said Mercy Mutemi, a lawyer for the content moderators.

The moderators’ legal team, Foxglove, a British tech rights group, claimed Meta had reached its limit.

“We are excited the roadblocks are finally gone – and will support the 185 (contractors) every step of the road to the courtroom,” Foxglove director Martha Dark said.

Tech

Uncap VC earmarks $33m to empower early-stage African SMEs

Published

3 days ago

September 20, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Kenya’s Venture Capital firm, Uncap, has announced earmarking a whopping $33 million fund aimed at fostering the growth of early-stage small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.

Uncap CEO, Franziska Reh, who made the announcement on a statement, said the firm will collaborate with key partners to unlock new growth opportunities for African businesses.

She stated that the fund presents a “unique non-dilutive, revenue-based financing model that provides crucial support to early-stage businesses without requiring equity stakes.”

“These partnerships include O-Farms, a circular agriculture program run by Bopinc and funded by the Ikea Foundation, and SAIS, an agritech initiative supported by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ.

“The fund has garnered support from global institutions, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Bayer Foundation. This backing underscores the potential impact of Uncap’s innovative approach to SME financing in Africa.”

“This initiative by Uncap represents a significant step towards addressing the financing challenges faced by African SMEs. By offering a flexible, non-dilutive funding model, the fund aims to empower entrepreneurs to grow their businesses while retaining control.

“As Africa’s SME sector continues to evolve, innovative financing solutions like Unconventional Capital could play a crucial role in driving economic growth and development across the continent,” Reh added.

Uncap’s track record includes investments in 87 companies across seven sub-Saharan African countries with their portfolio spanning eight sectors, including agriculture, education, food and beverages, media and entertainment.

According to the CEO, to qualify for funding, intending SMEs must be registered limited companies in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, or Nigeria and should have at least two years of operational history and a minimum revenue of $89,000 in the past 12 months.