👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – A Year-In-Review

The office of Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, looks pretty much like that of any fashion-forward startup. A sleek waiting area with a conference table smack in the middle, a whiteboard off to the left, and well-dressed employees converging in groups of two and three with MacBooks in hand. 

Not to worry, this isn’t about Bosun Tijani’s physical office. Instead, we’re here to speak to him about his experience of government having been named minister a little over a year ago. Side note: getting on the very busy schedule of a minister is no small feat. 

Being one of the most prominent ministers in President Tinubu’s cabinet means two things for Bosun Tijani: high expectations and a lot of scrutiny. 

It has made it challenging to properly understand his first year in office. How did Nigeria’s tech insider fare in his first year and is there an objective way to help thousands of people arrive at their own conclusions? That’s a question we thought about a lot in June and this week, it has become a living, breathing thing.

For the next two weeks, we’re publishing the most exhaustive examination of a minister ever undertaken by a Nigerian publication. On Tuesday, we published the introductory letter from our editor-in-chief, a primer that helps you understand our thinking. By 10 am, we’ll also publish an article on the minister’s goal for bringing high-speed internet to all Nigerians and how that’s faring.

Sounds interesting? Start reading here. 

Meta’s legal challenges in East Africa are far from over. On Tuesday, the social media giant was taken to court in a new lawsuit filed by advocate Mercy Mutemi. 

Mutemi’s case argues that Facebook can be held accountable in Kenya for its role in promoting harmful content in a two-year conflict in Ethiopia, where over 600,000 people lost their lives in a wave of violence against civilians. 

Mutemi claims that the platform’s algorithm prioritised and amplified provocative and dangerous posts that made it easier for police forces to target alleged dissidents. 

Abrham Meareg, the son of a university professor murdered after being targeted by online hate speech on Facebook, and Fisseha Tekle, an Amnesty International employee who reported harassment on the same social media platform, want Facebook held liable for its role during the conflict. 

On September 20, a Kenyan supreme court ruled in favour of two cases that involved 187 former Facebook content moderators who claim that they were unjustly terminated by Sama, a third-party service provider hired by Meta. The ex-workers, represented by Mutemi, are seeking $1.6 billion in compensation. 

The ruling sets a precedent that could strengthen the current case against Meta in Ethiopia.

Meta’s alleged failure to fix rogue algorithmic recommendations on its platform has led to deadly consequences in East Africa. Lawsuits and pressure from human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Katiba Institution, are compelling Meta for accountability and change.

A week after President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed Elon Musk’s SpaceX was in talks with the South African government about securing a licence for Starlink, the pair met again yesterday at the ongoing UN General Assembly in New York. 

In a brief press engagement after the closed-door meeting, Ramaphosa said it was a “good meeting,” offering a sliver of hope to South Africans waiting for Starlink’s low-earth orbit internet service. Despite launching in neighbouring countries including Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Starlink is yet to be available in South Africa.

In early September, after Starlink launched in Zimbabwe, Musk posted on X, stating that the service was waiting for licence approval from South Africa’s regulator, the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). However, in a later media engagement, ICASA chairman Mothibi Ramusi confirmed that Starlink had not yet submitted any application.

Starlink’s licensing troubles in South Africa and Elon Musk’s courting of President Ramaphosa bear semblance to how the service got licences in Zimbabwe and Botswana. In both countries, the licensing process had dragged on for more than a year as regulators pushed back with stringent requirements for the service.

However, following Starlink executives’ engagement with President Emerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe and President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, the service was swiftly given licensing and subsequently launched in both countries.

Since ICASA is seemingly not budging on its requirements, Musk will be hoping to work the same magic with President Ramaphosa to bring Starlink to Africa’s most industrialised economy.

On Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) surprised economists by raising interest rates by 50 basis points to 27.25%. 

Many economists had predicted the bank would hold rates, after inflation eased for the second consecutive month in August. However, the Central Bank governor, Yemi Cardoso argued that core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, continued to quicken. 

Choosing to raise the rates—the fifth consecutive rate hike as the tightening cycle continues—was true to Carodoso’s stance that the Bank had returned to orthodox monetary policies. 

While many believe that raising rates has had very little impact on inflation, Cardoso pointed out that it is an important course of action given the money supply which hit a peak in May 2024. 

Higher interest rates also make borrowing more expensive, reducing the amount of money in circulation. When spending decreases across the board, prices stabilise, slowing inflation.

In addition to raising interest rates, the CBN also increased the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks by 500 basis points, pushing it from 45% to 50%. This means that banks now have to hold half of all customer deposits as reserves. Merchant banks faced a smaller adjustment, with their CRR rising by 200 basis points to 16%, up from 14%. 

Events

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