US Capitol complex temporarily shut down
Champion Breweries gains 32.35% in a week, following Heineken’s indirect acquisition of its shares
Kinyungu Ventures Research calls for changes to cut-and-paste VC strategy in Africa
Flour Mills shares lose N7.4 billion on NSE, as investors book profit
First Bank, Dangote stocks drop, investors lose N39.54 billion
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
Daily Parallel Market Exchange Rate – ₦470/$1
4 cryptos gain over 400% in a month, far outperforming Bitcoin
Naira remains stable across forex markets as external reserve continues to rise
Oil prices tumble on fears of global economic recovery
Business News
Telcos, Banks at loggerheads over SIM swap fraud
There seems to be a brewing crisis between Telecom service provider and the Nigerian Communications Commission over the increasing incident of SIM swap fraud in the country.
There seems to be a brewing crisis between Telecom service provider and commercial banks over the increasing incidence of SIM swap fraud in the country.
Speaking at the inauguration of the newly elected executives of Industry Consumer Advisory Forum (ICAF), the Executive Secretary, Association of Licensed Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ALTON), Gbolahan Awonuga, noted that telecos should not be blamed for losing cash to fraudsters through SIM swap. According to him victims should blame their banks for whatever happened to the money kept in the custody of the banks.
Recall that NCC had earlier accused banks of complicity over the increasing wave Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) swap fraud in the country.
How does SIM swap fraud work?
- Your potential victim’s phone network will momentarily go blind (No Signal / Zero Bars) and after a while a call will come through.
- The hacker on the other side will tell the victim to Please press 1 on the phone to get the network back.
- Once this happens the victim’s phone will lose connection to the network again and the fraudster will receive all the SMS and voice calls intended for the victim.
- This allows the fraudster to intercept any one-time password OTP sent via SMS or telephone calls sent to the victim; and thus to circumvent any security features of accounts (be they bank accounts, social media accounts etc.) that rely on SMS or telephone calls.
Director, Consumer Affairs Bureau (CAB) at NCC, Mrs. Felicia Onwuegbuchulan, said the regulator has not given the telcos a clean bill of health on the matter, insisting that it is curious how services actually disappear from victim’s phones giving credibility to the directive of the fraudsters for victims to switch off their phones.
Around the World
US Capitol complex temporarily shut down
The US Capitol complex was shut down temporarily on Monday as a precautionary measure after a small fire broke out nearby.
The US Capitol complex was shut down temporarily for about an hour on Monday as a precautionary measure after a small fire broke out nearby, highlighting the security concerns that are being raised days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
The security concerns and the lockdown follows the January 6 attack on the US Capital by supporters of the outgoing US President, Donald Trump, after his encouragement and inciting comments, calling the Presidential election a fraud without any proof of evidence.
READ: President Trump says he won’t attend Joe Biden’s inauguration
Some of them even called for the death of the US Vice President, Mike Pence for presiding over the certification of Joe Biden’s November election victory.
While making the disclosure in a statement, the Capitol Police said that the lockdown has been lifted and the nearby fire contained.
The Acting Chief of the Capitol Police had said that the complex which comprises of the Capitol, its grounds and several buildings were shut down as a precautionary measure.
READ: US Supreme court dismisses Texas bid to overturn presidential election results
The US Secret Service in a tweet post on its official Twitter handle said, “Out of an abundance of caution the U.S. Capitol complex was temporarily shutdown. There is no threat to the public.’’
The city’s fire department in its tweet post said that firefighters put out a fire outside near the Capitol complex.
The fire department said, “There were no injuries. This accounts for smoke that many have seen.”
READ: Huawei accuses the United States of hacking
What you should know
- President-elect, Joe Biden is expected to be sworn in at the US Capitol on Wednesday amid an unprecedented cordon of security, with strict physical distancing measures in place due to threats of violent attacks in Washington and the rising cases of coronavirus infections.
- Donald Trump, who is just fresh from a historic second impeachment from the congress had said he would not attend, although his deputy, Vice President Mike Pence, had given an indication that he would attend.
Corporate Press Releases
Kinyungu Ventures Research calls for changes to cut-and-paste VC strategy in Africa
The Paper recommends investment structures and approaches tailored to African operating conditions.
East African venture advisory firm, Kinyungu Ventures has published a white paper Chasing Outliers: Why Context Matters for Early Stage Investing in Africa that has found that there continues to be a wide misalignment between traditional venture capital models and the African market. The team behind the report is now calling for a broadening of approaches to institutional investment on the continent. Speaking with 100 Pan-African founders, investors, and LPs across 15 African countries, the research suggests investors should prioritize investing structures and practices that reflect the realities of operating in Africa. This includes adopting more flexible investing structures with longer time horizons.
According to the paper, there are multiple mismatches between key characteristics of Silicon Valley VC and African markets, which influence how startups and funds maneuver as well as what results they expect and produce. Findings show that African markets are large, but also fragmented, and its consumers have limited purchasing power. Furthermore, consumers on the continent are difficult to acquire and retain, yet the sheer size of the African market also presents a real opportunity for profit once the environment is clearly understood. The paper’s key recommendations for funds include:
- Adopting more focused investment strategies, such as investing in b2b companies or cross-subsidizing a portfolio with less risky, steady return assets.
- Considering non-unicorn investing models geared at more resilient companies, with returns distributed more widely across the portfolio
- Using flexible structures such as debt or PCVs to accommodate market-level changes, where feasible
- Allowing a longer time horizon for returns, understanding that growth could be slow and difficult to achieve for many companies
Kinyungu Ventures catalyzes resilient businesses for local intergenerational prosperity. The East African-centric investor focuses on entrepreneurship in East Africa, startups, seed funding, debt financing, impact investing and angel investing.
Speaking on the launch of the white paper, Tony Chen, Managing Director of Kinyungu Ventures and co-publisher of the report says, “Capital in Africa is scarce and pursuing a “growth at all costs” strategy where capital pools are shallow presents huge risks for companies. We’ve also found that many great businesses don’t fit the typical VC profile, but have tremendous unfulfilled potential”.
Tayo Akinyemi, lead researcher and writer of the report added: “In our conversations with numerous investors and founders, it is clear that nuances in variables such as consumer behavior, cultural norms, and business practices impact startups significantly and being on the ground is crucial for success. While African markets aren’t always able to provide the outsized returns that Silicon Valley typically looks for in high-growth companies, a more focused strategy here could unlock real gems, as has been proven by some of the startup successes the continent has seen over the years.”
Companies
Neimeth Pharmaceuticals to raise N5 billion in additional equity
The Board of Neimeth is set to raise N5 billion additional equity upon the approval by shareholders of the company at the AGM.
