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21 Sep, 11 tweets, 2 min read
European Football NFT Platform Sorare Raises $680M Series B

Sorare says it’s traded over $150 million worth of digital cards on its platform since January and currently has over 600,000 registered users coindesk.com/business/2021/…
Sharing this b/c Africa is a huge market for sport betting millions of users accessing bets via USSD, Smartphone App, Web App, SMS and Agent services

Betting companies are succesful post revenue technology startups b/t few will admit it
Mobile Money Top Payment Categories, Sport betting makes tye cut at top 4 in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria
Kenya 🇰🇪is Africa’s 3rd largest gambling market after Nigeria 🇳🇬and South Africa 🇿🇦 a report by PWC (2019)

88% of gamblers in Kenya have placed bets using their mobile phones - GeoPoll
CEO of Mpesa & Safaricom attributed the growth in transaction volumes on M-Pesa to the growth of Sports Betting. Sports Betting now serves as one of the largest contributors to traffic on M-Pesa. Users use the mobile money platform to cash in and out of betting wallets (2016)
In 2020 M-Pesa lost Sh1.9 billion in revenues after the government briefly banned sports betting
As with other African nations, the most popular sport to bet on is football, with the European leagues accounting for a considerable segment of betting activity
“"I started betting because I was idle and this was a quick way to make money”

> Lots of time currency
> Not enough local currency
One reason why sport betting is popular is b/c of peer to peer based learning which help with acquisition, onboarding and retention at little cost to the betting firms. Agents also support the learning journey. Social pressure from social networks drives usage & learning
I am currently exploring betting firms as a role model for technology startups. Betting firms sympathize w/ their user base and meet them at their comfort level.

Evident through sport betting marketing, product, channels of access and payments
Takeaway here is to watch how

- African focused betting firms adopt NFTs
- African carriers support NFTs

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More from @pesa_africa

Kioneki Profile picture
20 Sep
Regulation by Central bankers in hot African fintech markets is a market variable you have to work with / around / find loopholes. It is not a constraint that VCs or entrepreneurs can "wish away"

Lets not be naive

True of crypto as well
Wizaj, VP at Chipper Cash, African Fintech w/ $150million+ funding in 3 years was quoted saying

"40% of Chipper cash staff count is legal and compliance people"
Part of the problem is

1. Naive entrepreneurs (20s w/ no real world business experience)
2. Foreigner VCs now remote who will idealize anything for LPs
3. Lack of appreciation for Advocacy as a product
Read 8 tweets
Kioneki Profile picture
14 Sep
Fuel prices going up in Kenya 🇰🇪 is an opportunity for alternative energy products - solar, ethanol, hybrid taxis... you name it!

This crisis is paving way for the business success stories of tomorrow
Severals example from Kenyan Uber drivers

1. more drivers are considering alternatives such as LPG Pro-gas which retails ~50% vs petrol (70kes vs 129kes). Some drivers have modified vehicles to cater for proGas compatible engines
2. Some Uber drivers are now considering hybrid ( electric & fuel) vehicles such as Honda Insight and Toyota Prius

3. Some taxi drivers have shifted to fully electric vehicles for example Nissan Nopia
Read 11 tweets
Kioneki Profile picture
13 Sep
E-commerce in Africa is growing & evolving, however, it’s taking place in different forms & channels; a significant amount of transactions are taking place 'informally' on digital channels such as Instagram, Whatsapp, Facebook, Websites, SMS, Voice calls, etc. Via @AfridigestHQ
“I believe e-commerce is just in its first iteration and I, therefore, hold the view that the question’s assumptions are mistaken. E-commerce is inevitable but its characteristics in Africa will look quite different than that of the US or Asia.”
The lack of e-commerce penetration in Africa is partly due to how it is defined. WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook (including Instagram) sales allow for the more accessible informal market to flourish. This is where many items in Africa are bought and sold
Read 15 tweets
Kioneki Profile picture
13 Sep
Where can i find a list of USSD services offered in Kenya 🇰🇪 or East Africa ? Like a compilation of all public/consumer facing USSD codes such as

- betting
- financial services
- ecommerce
- health
- surveys etc
Im trying to gauge the user experience of USSD across different services...

Any links to research, blogs or articles welcomed
Difference between licensing and issuance of USSD codes in Kenya 🇰🇪 versus Tanzania 🇹🇿 h/t @CGAP
Read 5 tweets
Kioneki Profile picture
24 Aug
It seems Nigeria 🇳🇬 is an entire different market from Kenya 🇰🇪 and East Africa b/c of Telcos/MNO/mobile money led digital financial services in East Africa in the last decade/1
We have always known that Nigeria 🇳🇬 was / is a Bank 🏦 led market, versus Kenya 🇰🇪 East Africa where Telcos unbundled some financial services from Banks since 2007 /2
On this side of the continent, payments already dominated by non-bank players , but the real impact of Telcos led digital finance was spurring banks 🏦 into adapting by opening up digital channels /3
Read 14 tweets
Kioneki Profile picture
23 Aug
⚠️ African Fintech VCs remind me of Crypto Bros, bag holders who will say anything and everything to pump their 💰 bags to the next greater fool.
East Africa FINTECH

Eversend user = Chipper cash user = Mpesa user = Opay user = Tala user = Branch user = X

Let’s at least have an honest conversation about user metrics: unique users, retention, repeat usage before any meaningful valuations
My theory is

- users are finicky/ no loyalty
- banks and MNOs are playing the Fintech game too
- there’s a cap on how much can be extracted from users
- adding more $$ into user wallets is # 1problem
- supposed size of ‘middle class’ is overstated
- Nigeria 🇳🇬 is not Africa
Read 4 tweets

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