Ghanaians Abroad Can Vote in National Elections...If Parliament Formalises It

What’s happened this Week:

• Brass gets acquired by Paystack and others

• Botswana grants license to Starlink

• and more!

In The News This Week:

Nigeria Banking Startup Brass Acquired By Consortium Led By Paystack

The Nigerian business banking startup Brass has been acquired by a consortium of investors led by payment fintech company Paystack. Other investors include PiggyVest, Ventures Platform, and P1 Ventures.

Next-Gen InfraCo To Provide 5G Broadband Services In Ghana By End of 2024

Next-Gen Infra Co (NGIC) is planning to begin operations by the end of this year and will provide 5G broadband services to mobile operators and internet service providers in Ghana.

Botswana Grants Starlink License To Operate Its Satellite Internet Services

Botswana has granted a license to SpaceX’s Starlink unit to operate in the country. Earlier in the year, the country rejected Starlink’s bid to operate.

In the rest of the news:

• Flutterwave Receives Payment Licence From Central Bank of Mozambique

• Stables Partners with Yellow Card to Bring Its Stablecoin Service to Africa

• Starlink Granted License To Operate In Zimbabwe

• 64% of Africans Believe in Africa, But Only 14% are Loyal to African Brands – Report

• eCampus Launches Menstrual Hygiene Book On Its Digital App

• Thiqa Digital Finance and Paymenow Announce Partnership To Enable Ugandan Civil Servants To Access Earned Wages

• M-KOPA Granted $51 Million Loan From US Government To Enhance Digital Connectivity In Kenya

• Starlink’s Approval In Botswana Could Have a Huge Impact On Internet Service Competition

Deep Dive

Is Ghana Falling Behind On Allowing Ghanaians Living Abroad To Vote In Elections? - In 2016, Ghana’s parliament passed an amendment to “The Representation of the People’s Amendment Act (ROPAA) of 2006” Act which allowed Ghanaians living abroad to participate in elections.

But: Despite its passage, the implementation has faced hurdles, leading to a lack of practical application for several election cycles.

Zoom In: According to the EC, Parliament was yet to act on a Constitutional Instrument (CI) that would spell out the modalities and guidelines to implement ROPAA which the EC submitted in June 2020.

Africa Ecosystem Activity

• SA mobility startup Ratality acquired by Canadian firm Busbud - Disrupt Africa

• SA home services marketplace Kandua acquired by Santam - Disrupt Africa

• Copia Kenya parent company enters administration after failing to secure funding - Disrupt Africa

• SA’s Orca raises $550k to fight fraud in emerging markets - Disrupt Africa

• 9 Kenyan startups selected for Safaricom, M-Pesa Spark Accelerator - Disrupt Africa

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Stat of The Day

According to data from GSMA, there are currently 16 countries in Africa which have deployed 5G networks in their countries

View more data insights below: