Good day, and welcome to another Daba weekly newsletter!

Despite boasting one of the continent’s most active tech startup ecosystems, Egypt is only just about to get its first digital bank after Misr Digital Innovation secured initial central bank approval, a move that opens up the market for potential new entrants.

In other top stories for the week:

• Stocks, commodities mixed

• Fitch upgrades Nigeria, Egypt

• Wave makes top YC list

• Africa’s streaming allure

• Our partnership with TAF

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Transforming SME Financing With The African Fund (TAF)!!!

Hey Daba Community,

We’re super excited to announce our strategic partnership with The African Fund (TAF)!

TAF is a community-led initiative that aims to provide believers of the African growth story with a platform to invest in African small and medium enterprises (SMEs). 

This marks a significant stride towards revolutionizing SME financing in Africa, driven by a shared commitment to reshaping the investment landscape across the continent.

To learn more about the development, CLICK HERE to read the full press release on our website or tap the button below to watch our conversation with TAF’s visionary team.

Here are last week’s top stories

Mixed markets

BRVM benchmark index gains marginally on largely bearish stocks

The BRVM closed Friday with a decline of 0.33% in the Composite index, which stood at 219.19 points for the day, representing a marginal 0.01% weekly gain. Meanwhile, Nigerian equities started May bullish as investors gained $213m.

Bitcoin has continued its mixed performance post-halving. A move to above $65k early this week quickly reversed to below $63k, as US regulators ratcheted up pressure on crypto companies while there remains reduced demand for the Spot Bitcoin ETFs. 

Crude oil prices are little changed in the new week amid a pile-up in crude and fuel inventories in the US—a sign of weak demand—and cautious supply expectations ahead of an OPEC+ policy meeting next month while gold remained subdued as of Tuesday, with gains for the US dollar.

Rating upgrade

Fitch lifts outlook on two of Africa’s economic powerhouses

Last week, leading global credit ratings agency Fitch upgraded Nigeria and Egypt's long-term credit default rating outlooks from stable to positive. In the former, the revision was based on significant reforms in the foreign exchange market, the oil industry, and monetary policy.

In Egypt, the outlook reflects growing optimism about the country's economic prospects following a $57bn international bailout, coupled with a significant interest-rate hike, allowing Egypt to address one of its most severe foreign exchange shortages in decades.

The upgrades hold promise for both economies, particularly in terms of borrowing from international capital markets in the current high-interest environment. With improved credit ratings and economic stability, they may find it easier to access foreign capital and secure favorable lending terms.

Francophone unicorn

Senegal's Wave is the only African startup on YC's top earners' list

Senegalese fintech Wave has achieved a notable milestone for the second consecutive time, securing its position as the sole African Y Combinator (YC) alumni with the highest revenue on the 2024 list.

While the specific revenue figure remains undisclosed, Wave stands among 47 other companies, including prominent tech entities like Airbnb, Coinbase, and Reddit, collectively generating $57.2bn in revenue last year.

A provider of mobile money services, Wave made history in 2021 by becoming the first unicorn from Francophone Africa following a $200 million Series A funding round.

Headline roundup

A summary of the major business, tech, and finance headlines of the past week.

Macro & Markets

• Nigerian banks declare huge dividends despite hike in capital base

• Inflation in key African economies expected to slow into next year

• Zimbabwe’s central bank starts circulating gold-backed ZiG notes

• Nigeria's GTCO records largest-ever Q1 profit in banking industry

• Ivorian bank BICI grows profit by 35% to $27m in 2023

VC Funding & Startups

• Renda secures $1.9m to expand logistics service across Nigeria, Kenya

• Startups with Africa presence draw 58% of off-grid solar funding

• NASDAQ-listed mobility SaaS Swvl posts $3.1m net profit in 2023

• Kenyan agritech iProcure under administration over debt woes

Other Deals & Expansion

• Wasoko to expand in East Africa amid claims of Rwanda exit

• M-KOPA partners Bolt to roll out electric bikes in Kenya

Funds & Accelerators

• Google opens applications for 8th cohort of Africa accelerator

• Village Capital, Norad launch climate tech-focused program in Africa

Startup Opportunities

Discover funding and accelerator opportunities to boost your startup's growth.

• Greentech Africa 2024 (May 10)

• Google for Startups Accelerator Africa (May 20)

• Orange Social Venture Prize (May 24)

• Women’s Health Accelerator Program (May 16)

• Archipelagos SME Program (Jun 30)

• Mastercard Agribusiness Challenge Fund (Nov 22)

Our insight for the week

Get more context into events shaping Africa’s economic landscape.

The last frontier for subscription video-on-demand: Africa's unique blend of increasing internet connectivity and smartphone usage, a youthful population, and a burgeoning middle class make it a hotspot for streaming services with immense growth potential. 

Projections indicate that video-on-demand subscribers on the continent will soar to 17 million by 2027, tripling revenues from $623m in 2021 to $2bn.

The continent has already attracted the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney+, all looking to capture new audiences as competition heats up in their home markets.

But the market in Africa is not without competition.

Per recent data from tech-based research firm Omdia, Showmax boasts around 40% market share with a presence across 40 African countries. 

The South Africa-based service capitalizes on the extensive market understanding and content catalog of its parent company MultiChoice.

Then there’s Canal+, which dominates the continent’s French-speaking region.

Wi-flix, one of Africa’s swiftly expanding streaming services currently listed on the Daba platform, recently made its debut in Zambia, its fourth country on the continent following Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria.

The expansion aligns with the company's vision of becoming the foremost content provider across Africa.

However, Wi-flix's ambitions extend beyond catering solely to the African continent. It also aims to position itself as the premier streaming platform connecting the African diaspora to their roots.

The formula offers a compelling business case - diaspora viewers abroad generally have more disposable income than their counterparts at home, yet crave the authenticity of homegrown entertainment, we write in this edition of the Pulse54 newsletter on the African diaspora.

In addition to the competition, a few challenges also plague the African streaming market—such as access to stable, affordable internet. 

In one of our Pulse54 newsletters, we explore how operators are navigating the cutthroat industry, leveraging a playbook that requires them to customize services for African audiences.

Check it out here or tap the button below.

That’s it for this week. Next Frontier is sent once weekly. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.

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Catch you next week!