Global Courant 2023-05-01 12:38:42
Here are three key stories from the African business landscape to keep in mind this week:
Billionaires fought for Transcorp
In recent weeks, two of Nigeria’s richest men have been vying for control of the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) Plc, one of the country’s largest conglomerates. It all started on April 12th when Femi Otedola, Former Chairman of Forte Oil Plc and current Executive Chairman of Geregu Power Plc spent over N2 Billion to an interest of 5.5% in Transcorp.
Otedola previously owned no stock in Transcorp, and the acquisition would have made him the company’s largest single shareholder, replacing Tony Elumelu, another famous billionaire who also serves as the company’s chairman. Hence the drama began.
On Thursday Elumelu increased his portion in Transcorp dramatically from 2.07% to 25.58%. The next day, Otedola sold his stake to Elumelu in what appeared to be a sheath of swords. However, he made a fortune from it. Between the time of his purchase and departure, Transcorp’s stock prices had soared more than 100%.
Sudan is killing its internet
In Sudan, political unrest has taken a worrying turn with reports of a nationwide internet blackout. According to cybersecurity company NetBlocks, the country’s online connectivity has dropped to a measly 2% of the typical 40%. While some areas have since had partially restored their accessthe bigger picture remains bleak.
At the heart of the unrest are two military commanders, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who died in 2019. expelled long-time dictator Omar al-Bashir. In another attempt to overthrow power, the duo recently overthrew a civilian government led by Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, thwarting the transition to democratic rule.
Since then, international organizations have urged these military leaders to relinquish power and threaten sanctions if they refuse. Since then, however, the situation has escalated as former allies turned enemies have unleashed their armies against each other, leading to mass displacement and loss of life.
Meta is on a losing streak in Kenya.
Meta loses several battles in Kenya. Last week, a Kenyan court ruled in favor of two Ethiopians who accused the social media giant of failing to moderate inflammatory posts on its platform. This is the second legal battle Meta has lost in Kenya this month. Earlier this month, a Kenyan Supreme Court issued an order barring Meta from using any third-party content moderator company other than Sama to scrutinize its platform’s content. The same lawsuit also ruled that Kenyan courts have jurisdiction to rule on petitions against Meta.
Last December, Abraham Meareg sued Meta in Kenya for his father’s death which occurred during the two-year 2020–2022 Ethiopian war. Meareg claims his father was killed after his Facebook account was profiled and he was accused of having ties to the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF), a rebel group. So his lawsuit is trying to get Meta to create a Ksh250 billion ($1.8 billion) fund to compensate victims of hate crimes incited across all Meta platforms. And last week, the court gave Meareg permission to sue Meta outside of Kenya. However, that is still a long way from victory.
ICYMI: Market overview
Nigeria’s stock market rebounded with a 2.04% increase in the All-Share Index. The biggest winners were Honeywell Flour Mill PLC (34.91%), Cadbury Nigeria (32.35%), CWG (19.32%), Chams Holding Company (16.67%) and Transnational Corporation (14.69%) . The biggest fallers were Nigerian Brew. (-11.48%), Royal Exchange (-11.11%), Red Star Express PLC (-10.00%), International Energy Insurance (-8.82%) and Prestige Assurance (-7.69%) . The price of Brent crude ended the week up $80.25 per barrel, while WTI oil closed at $76.70 per barrel. The naira fell from N461.52/$ to N463/$ in the Window for investors and exporters.
The crypto market has a market cap of $1.18 trillion, up from last week’s $1.17 trillion. Bitcoin gained 4.38% to start the week at $28,633; Ethereum was trading flat at $1843 and BNB gained 1.4% to start the week at $333.
Capri companies, one of the leading Global South specialist firms investing in high-growth Global South startups, has announced the first close of its $100 million fund. The new fund will focus on investing in 20-25 tech startups in the entrepreneurial hotspots of Africa, India, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
Storspay, a Nigerian fintech startup, has raised a $320,000 funding round and has been selected to participate in the Techstars NYC accelerator.
Smile Identity has come into possession of Approve parent company (Inclusive Innovations, Inc.) to expand its footprint across Africa.
mahollaa South African viral consumer rewards app, has raised $1.5 million in seed funding.
