Kill bill: the Ghanaian edition

Tiktok is now the internet’s most viewed site [View in browser]( [TC Daily Logo] CHRISTMAS EVE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH [Paystack Logo][Quidax Logo][Quidax Logo] Merry Christmas eve 🎄 ️ Tomorrow is the day we eat all our summer bodies away! If you’re running behind on gifts, check [our curated guide]( for tech items you can get your loved ones. While we couldn’t put Teslas on the list because we don’t want you to run out of juice on Kampala or Lagos roads, there are other great affordable items on it. TechCabal is also open to receiving the gift of sharing so if you’ve laughed or/and learned with us this year—or if we’ve even ticked you off a little—give us something by sharing this newsletter. Let us be someone else’s problem solution too. P.S. We know which of you is sharing and which isn’t. We are here. We are watching. We are waiting. In today's edition - The winners of Financial Times and Seedstars’ FTxSDG challenge - Ghana’s e-levy bill is leading to strikes and fights - AfDB approves $170 million loan to Nigeria - Tiktok overtakes Google as the internet's most visited site - Quick Fire 🔥: A compilation THE DAY IN REVIEW 1. THE WINNERS OF FINANCIAL TIMES AND SEEDSTARS' FTxSDG CHALLENGE The Financial Times and Seedstars have announced the six global winners of the [FTxSDG Challenge](. In September, the Financial Times and Seedstars put out a [call]( for applications from impact-driven startups and entrepreneurs in emerging markets who are creating innovative solutions that tackle the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and would like funding and learning opportunities. It was a theme-based competition with challenges tackling goals from gender equality to climate change. Kenyan retail tech company, [Duhqa](, has emerged as one of the six global winners winning for the category/theme of "Reduced Inequalities". Duhqa solves the problem of logistics and delivery inefficiencies by connecting retailers with manufacturers and suppliers, both locally and internationally. The other winners are: - [Anthem]( (India), for the category of Quality Education - [Medl]( (Trinidad and Tobago), winner for Good Health & Wellbeing - [Pinky Promise]( (India), for Gender Equality - [Trii]( (Cayman Islands), for Good Jobs & Economic Growth, and - [Safearth Clean Technologies]( (India), for the Climate Action category. The winners have the opportunity to receive $500K in funding for their startups and free access to Seedstars’ growth program. 2. GHANA’S E-LEVY BILL IS LEADING TO STRIKES AND FIGHTS The drama surrounding Ghana's proposed e-levy bill continues to unfold, and the last parliamentary hearing even led to a brawl. We already [told]( you how Ghana is set to impose a 1.75% charge on all electronic transactions above GH₵100 by February 2022 and how the bill made it to the [parliament](. Earlier this week, parliamentarians got into a physical brawl as an argument ensued while voting on the bill. On Monday, after Deputy Speaker Joseph Osei-Owusu suggested the bill be debated and voted upon under a hastened "urgency" procedure to quicken the process, a fight [broke]( out during voting. The [reason]( for the brawl is not clear, but this is just one of a number of issues currently plaguing the e-levy bill. Calls from both citizens, [minority-party]( members, and consumer [advocacy]( groups to scrap the bill have thrown the bill and its proposed intentions into negative light. Even the Mobile Money Agents Association of Ghana (MMAAG) is set to begin a [strike]( on the matter. A notice of the impending strike was put out to the general public on December 19, with the association describing it as "very regressive". The strike is set to begin on Thursday December 23. If passed, the levy will affect mobile money payments, all digital financial service providers, and remittances into Ghana. Ghana has one of the fastest-growing mobile money markets. A [report]( by the American research firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) pegged Kenya and Ghana as having the highest mobile payment rates after China, with mobile wallet transactions accounting for 82% of Ghana's GDP. A vote on whether to [proceed]( with the hastened urgency voting after the fight in the parliament was postponed to January 18. LEARN WITH PAYSTACK [Learn with Paystack]( In Ep. 4 of Artwork, learn how you can grow from a freelance designer to a world-class brand design studio. 👉🏾 [Watch now]( This is partner content. 3. AfDB APPROVES $170 MILLION LOAN TO NIGERIA The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has [approved]( a $170 million loan to finance the Digital and Creative Enterprises Program (i-DICE) in Nigeria. This investment into i-DICE is a federal government initiative promoting investments in digital and creative startups to create jobs for its large youth population. The programme is focused on Nigerian entrepreneurs between the ages of 15 to 35, who run "innovative, early-stage, technology-enabled startups'' or run MSMEs in the creative sector. According to [plans]( by the Nigerian government and AfDB, through this loan this program will "stimulate investments in 226 technology and creative startups and provide non-financial services to 451 digital technology and small and medium enterprises". The programme is also expected to increase Nigeria's job creation efforts by creating 6.1 million direct and indirect jobs. Speaking of the initiative in the announcement, Dr Beth Dunford, the Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development for AFDB said, "This programme is among the latest series of our operations meant to bolster the implementation of the Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy. Given that tech-enabled enterprises cut across all the economic growth sectors, the programme’s focus on the digital sector will deepen Nigeria’s job creation efforts.” This initiative is [co-financed]( by the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). 4. TIKTOK OVERTAKES GOOGLE AS THE INTERNET'S MOST VISITED SITE In a move surprising to no one, TikTok has [overtaken Google]( as the most visited site in 2021. This information is according to Cloudfare, a web performance and security company and it creates web rankings by calculating aggregated data on internet traffic patterns. The Chinese video app—owned by [ByteDance](—has rapidly [taken over]( the social media world, with an [increase]( in usage during the pandemic. The app [celebrated]( a billion active monthly users in September, a [47% increase]( from July 2020 when it had 689 million active users. To put this in context, in July, Facebook [reported]( that it had 2.9 billion active monthly users and this was a 7% increase year-on-year. The hold over the daily top stop between TikTok and Google [fluctuated]( throughout the year, but from August 10, TikTok held the top spot on most days. ACCESS CRYPTO WITH QUIDAX [Quidax]( Quidax is an African-founded cryptocurrency exchange that makes it easy for you to access Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. They also make it possible for Fintech companies to offer cryptocurrency services to their customers. [Learn more](. This is partner content. QUICK FIRE 🔥: A COMPILATION So, we started [Quick Fire]( 🔥 in April to demystify the lives of people who have hacked success in the African tech ecosystem. We aimed to have light and brief conversations with everyone whose work intersects with tech, from community managers to growth experts and senior leaders. Since then, we’ve interviewed 36 brilliant minds from 9 countries including Mali, Ghana, Zambia, and Uganda. Here are five of some of the most interesting answers to everyone’s favourite question, "Explain your job to a five-year-old": - "If you had your own lego shop, you would hire me to make sure that everyone who needs lego knows that your shop is open. I would also make sure people buy your lego and that they keep coming back to buy more and also recommend us to their friends, family, colleagues, and anybody who needs lego." - [Chioma Ugo](, Co-founder and Head of Growth at Prospa. - "I am the class captain who makes sure everything is in order." - [Ibrahim Bashir](, CEO and co-founder of dillali, an income and expense management tool for SMEs. - I make sure that the people who come to my workplace are able to get what they are looking for. It’s like when you visit your aunt/uncle, and you need a drink of water and ask your aunt for water? I am the aunty/uncle who makes sure you get the water." - [Eugene Kavuma](, Community Lead at MoTIV - I help big companies create things people will love."- [Sekayi Fundafunda-Lungu](, Innovation Lead at Bongohive - "I am in charge of keeping the computers running!" - [Sizwe Ndlovu](, Chief Technology Officer at Pineapple. DEVELOP WITH QALA [Qala]( Qala is a program designed to identify, train, and provide meaningful opportunities to the next generation of African Bitcoin and lightning developers. [Apply here]( This is partner content. What else we're reading - [Ghana’s answer to Silicon Valley]( is inside refurbished government buildings. - Flutterwave [partners with Wizkid]( to drive global payments adoption. - How to [ace a remote technical interview](. - Funding frenzy in African VC: [A review of tech startup funding]( in 2021. SHARE #TCDAILY THIS HOLIDAY - - - - - mailto:info@example.com?&subject=&body= Written by - [Uma Edwin]( Edited by - [Kelechi Njoku]( & [Timi Odueso]( Advertise To advertise with us, send an email to [ads@bigcabal.com]( [Unsubscribe from TC Daily](