Global Courant
Here are three big stories from the African business and policy landscape that you (probably) didn’t miss, but should keep in mind this week:
MultiChoice Investors Lose $1.7 Billion
MultiChoice, a pay-TV company, has done just that seen Its stock price has fallen $1.7 billion in six months as it faces challenges in retaining its high-end customers and finding new sources of revenue. At the beginning of March 2023, MultiChoice’s shares were worth more than $7.86 each. But on March 13, when it announced that sales growth in South Africa would be lower than expected, shares fell to about $6.41 each. It also had a much lower profit margin due to its fixed costs and the additional costs of Showmax, its streaming service. This was the start of a six-month slump that wiped billions of dollars off its market value. One of the biggest problems for MultiChoice is that many South Africans are canceling their DStv subscriptions, especially in the Premium and Mid-market segments. This can be seen in the average amount each DStv user pays, which fell from $14.38 to $13.69 in one year.
The Nigerian naira falls to a record low
The naira, the Nigerian currency, hit a new low on the black market last Wednesday, as people bought more dollars to protect their wealth against inflation. The naira was selling for 980 naira per dollar on abokiFx, a website that tracks unofficial exchange rates, compared to 965 on Tuesday. On the official market, where the central bank lifted some restrictions on naira trading in June, the currency was trading at 773.50 naira per dollar at 1349 GMT. The naira fluctuated between 738 naira and 789 naira in the official market this month. The gap between official rates and black market rates has widened due to excessive demand for dollars on the informal market and speculation.
Collaboration between Safaricom and Apple
The Kenyan telecom company Safaricom is to work with Apple to connect M-PESA, its mobile money service, to PayPal, its online payment platform. This allows M-PESA users to make and receive payments worldwide. Kenyan President William Ruto made this known during a US-Africa business meeting. Safaricom and PayPal already have a partnership that allows customers to link their PayPal accounts to their M-PESA wallet. This way they can purchase goods and services from sellers all over the world. Additionally, M-PESA users can still get and withdraw cash from over 140,000 agents in Kenya. Currently, M-PESA has more than 51 million users in seven countries. It also has other international partnerships with AliExpress and Western Union that allow users to send and receive money anywhere in the world.
ICYMI: Market Overview
The Nigerian stock market rose slightly during a five-day trading week NGX All-Share Index fell by 0.11% and closed at 67,324.59 points. The biggest gainers were Sunu Assurances Nigeria Plc. (32.91%), Ellah Lakes plc. (28.79%), E-transact International Plc (28.57%), Chams Holding Company Plc (19.09%) and Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc (17.65%). The biggest decliners were Tantalizers plc (-21.05%), Guinea Insurance plc (-20.69%), Mcnichols plc (-13.33%), Unity Bank plc (-11.29%) and Secure Electronic Technology Plc (-10.34%).
The naira closed the week at ₦772.98/$1 on Friday window of investors and exporters.
Brent crude oil closed the week at $93.27, while the U.S West Texas average (WTI) crude oil closed at $90.03.
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization reached $1.05 trillion as of Sunday, September 24 at 10 p.m. Bitcoin was at $26,491.69, up 0.00%, indicating a change over the week. Ethereum also fell 1.86% to trade at $1,589.74. However, Binance coin fell 3.09% over the week to trade at $209.64.
Zambian neobank Lupiya successfully raised $8.25 million in Series A funding to scale operations in its home and new markets.
Fixit45a pan-African aftermarket automotive platform, has raised a $1.9 million pre-seed round to improve access to equal quality repairs and spare parts and unlock new markets.
