TechNigeria: A weekly digest of what went down in Nigeria’s tech space

Apple, Bolt, Qonto, Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Accenture, Udacity, Buildnow, Fawry, RemotePass, OpenAI, Elon Musk are some of the names that made the headlines this week.

The European Commission has imposed a historic fine of $1.95 billion (€1.8 billion) on Apple for breaching EU antitrust rules in the music streaming sector on its App Store, exceeding earlier forecasts.

Also, The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has announced the selection of 270,000 fellows for the program’s second phase.

Let’s get into the details

The European Commission has imposed a historic fine of $1.95 billion (€1.8 billion) on Apple for breaching EU antitrust rules in the music streaming sector on its App Store, exceeding earlier forecasts.

The fine stems from an investigation initiated in 2020 following a complaint by Spotify, alleging that Apple was unfairly stifling its music service to gain an advantage over competitors like iTunes and Apple Music.

According to the Commission, Apple has been preventing developers of music streaming apps from adequately informing iOS users about cheaper alternative subscription services available outside the app. This practice, termed ‘anti-steering,’ is deemed unlawful under EU antitrust regulations.

At the LEAP 2024 technology conference held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s National Development Fund (NDF), in collaboration with the Social Development Bank (SDB), has unveiled the establishment of two venture capital funds totaling $120 million to foster the burgeoning gaming and esports sectors.

This development falls under the auspices of the Gaming and Esports Financing Programme, in partnership with the Saudi Esports Federation.

To be managed by IMPACT46 and Merak Capital, the fund is poised to provide equity investments to gaming and esports enterprises as developmental capital, with the overarching objective of bolstering domestic content creation and expediting industry growth.

Instant messaging app, Telegram, has unveiled a new feature allowing users of the messaging platform to transform their personal accounts into business profiles.

The new offering provides additional functionalities tailored for enterprises such as listing location and operating hours, particularly advantageous for small-scale cafes and store proprietors.

In a statement issued by Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday, March 7, 2024, the transition marks a significant enhancement for users seeking to engage in commercial activities within the platform.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, has announced the selection of 270,000 fellows for the program’s second phase.

This was confirmed by the Minister via his Twitter handle seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday March 4, 2024.

In the post announcing the development, the minister highlighted the achievements of the first cohort, noting successful intern placements across the country.

Ride-hailing giant, Bolt, has launched its services in Cairo, Egypt, positioning itself in direct rivalry with counterparts like Uber and inDrive.

Haitham Mansour, Bolt Egypt’s Country Manager, confirmed this move in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.

The move reflects Bolt’s strategic expansion agenda in Africa, as it seeks to broaden its market presence on the continent.

Qonto, the Paris-based business banking startup, has announced acquiring Regate, an accounting and financial automation platform.

Laura Pallier, co-founder of Regate, confirmed this in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Thursday March 7, 2024.

Initially specializing in online business accounts and debit cards tailored for small and medium enterprises, Qonto has since diversified its offerings to include invoicing tools, expense management features, and extensive integrations within the fintech ecosystem.

A global professional services company, Accenture, through its LearnVantage subsidiary, has unveiled plans to acquire Udacity, a digital education provider specializing in technology courses.

The global lead of Accenture LearnVantage, Kishore Durga, confirmed this move in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday March 6, 2024.

The acquisition seeks to integrate Udacity’s expertise, offering a fusion of proprietary content, expert services, and scalable learning technology within Accenture’s portfolio.

A proptech company based in Saudi Arabia, Buildnow, has secured $9.4 million in Seed funding, co-led by Raed Ventures and Khwarizmi Ventures.

The round, according to the startup, saw the participation of international venture capitalists and local angel investors, including Abdulla Elyas, co-founder of Careem.

Abdulaziz AlTurki, Managing Partner at Khwarizmi Ventures, confirmed this in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday, March 6, 2024

RemotePass, a human resources and fintech platform, has closed a $5.5 million Series A funding, with 212 VC leading the investment round and participation from investors spanning the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

Ali Hikmet Karabey, Managing Director at 212 VC and lead investor, confirmed this in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Wednesday March 6, 2024.

Founded by Kamal Reggad and Karim Nadi, RemotePass claims to offer a solution for companies to manage, pay, and retain remote workers in more than 150 countries.

Egyptian fintech company, Fawry, has announced its partnership with PayMe to streamline remittance services for Egyptian expatriates worldwide.

Waleed El-Sayed, General Manager of Fawry, confirmed this partnership in a statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday March 5, 2024.

The collaboration claims to intend to empower Egyptian expats to effortlessly conduct financial transactions and settle bills electronically in Egypt from overseas, leveraging the PayMe smartphone app, readily accessible across all app stores.

Baubap, a Fintech based in Mexico City, has secured $120 million in debt financing in a pre-Series A round led by US-based fintech capital partner SixPoint Capital Management.

Roberto Salcedo, CEO and co-founder of Baubap, confirmed this in a translated statement seen by Ripples Nigeria on Monday March 4, 2024.

The microlending platform, founded in 2018, operates an app-based service, providing consumers with microloans of up to MXN 5,000 ($300) using alternative data sources and presently services half a million active loans a month

Elon Musk, a significant donor and co-founder of OpenAI in 2015 before stepping down from the board in 2018, has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI.

Musk alleges that OpenAI, originally established as a non-profit organization to serve humanity’s interests and counter the competitive threat from Google, has transitioned into a closed-source subsidiary of Microsoft.

Musk’s complaint, lodged in a San Francisco court, contends that OpenAI’s departure from its non-profit origins infringes upon its founding agreement.

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