TECH ROUNDUP: Olx Group slashes 800 jobs globally

• Olx Group has cut around 800 jobs globally

• DataPro Limited has suspended Tingo Mobile’s credit rating

• The man who registered Binance Nigeria Limited says that he did it for “arbitrage purposes”

• Godwin Emefiele said that there is no basis for his continuous detention

Olx Group has cut around 800 jobs globally. The move comes as the company started to close operations of its automotive business unit Olx Autos in some markets after long exploring potential buyers and investors.

Payday users say that withdrawals from their USD cards have been paused for over a week and customer care has been unresponsive. In a now deleted post, the food critic Opeyemi Famakin said that the company had disabled the function to defund his USD card. While Famikin said that he has finally defunded the card, he said he was initially told that card withthrawals were “currently unavailable.”

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Nigerian credit rating agency, DataPro Limited, has suspended Tingo Mobile’s credit rating after the company was called a scammer entity in a recent expose.

Google has unveiled 25 African startups selected for its $4 million equity free Startups Black Founders Fund, with 72% led or co-founded by women. Selected startup will receive up to $150,000 in non-dilutive cash awards, up to $200,000 in Google Cloud credits, Ad support, mentoring by industry experts and connections within Google’s network.

Ahassan Ifzal Mughal, Esq., who registered Binance Nigeria Limited says that he did it for “arbitrage purposes” in the hopes that he could sell the incorporated name to Binance if the exchange decide to establish a local branch in Nigeria. “We are willing to hand over full control of Binance Nigeria Limited to binance.com should they choose to legally enter into the Nigerian market, and are further available to provide our legal services to them in obtaining legal regulatory compliance in Nigeria,” Mughal said.

POLITICS

Several banks and institutions in Nigeria have paid over N200 million to the Federal Government as penalties for violating the data privacy of Nigerian citizens, according to Vincent Olatunji, the National Commissioner of the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC).

Kamau Thugge is now the new governor of the Central Bank of Kenya. Before now, he was the Principal Secretary of Kenya’s National Treasury. Thugge succeeds Patrick Njoroje as the leader of Kenya’s apex bank after Njoroje served as the bank’s governor for two four-year terms. 

The CBN disclosed that the recent monetary policy decision implemented is not a free float but a managed float. “We are allowing the market itself to set a price…There is no country in the world, even the US, that has a completely free float,” Deputy Governor, Kingsley Obiora said.

SOCIAL MEDIA

WhatsApp has announced two new features, including the ability to silence unknown callers and a privacy check-up feature. 

Spotify is working on a more expensive subscription option, Supremium. The new package is expected to include high-fidelity audio.

OpenAI is considering launching a marketplace in which customers could sell AI models they customize for their own needs to other businesses.

A new survey shows that 63.33% of Nigerians favour using fintech apps over traditional financial institution, while 36.67% say they still prefer banking apps.

WORLD NEWS

Alibaba Group has named a new Chairman and CEO in a surprise management shakeup announced at a time of slowing growth and cutthroat competition. Joseph Tsai, the Executive Vice Chairman and one of Alibaba’s co-founders, will take over from longtime leader, Daniel Zhang as chairman of the board. 

Twitter Inc. employees sued the social media company claiming it refuses to pay 2022 bonuses, despite promises that they would be paid out at 50% of their target amounts. 

ENIGERIA NEWSPAPER