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African VC Firm Enza Capital Closes $58 Million Across Two Rounds, Launches Founder Partner Program

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

Enza Capital, an African multi-stage venture investor that supports technology companies in sub-Saharan Africa, has closed $58 million across two rounds, as it launches its founder partner program.

The VC firm announced that the launch of the partner program is one way of cementing trust and belief with founders while committing to building long-term and mutually beneficial partnerships above and beyond traditional venture capital structures.

Also, the program will enable the founders and leadership team of its portfolio companies to become co-owners of the firm.

Co-founder and General Partner at Enza Capital, John Lazar said,

“The founder partner program fosters alignment and collaboration. It increases the likelihood of success across all stakeholders in the venture capital structure, ranging from LPs and investors to management teams, and extends to the ultimate beneficiaries of the products or services developed by these enterprises. We truly believe in shared ownership, and we can empathize with leadership teams.”

Enza Capital which launched an early-stage fund in 2019, to help build category-defining startups in the pre-seed and seed stages announced that the fund is still active and has invested in health startups, climate tech, logistics, and Fintech startups.

The multi-stage investor disclosed that it is still focused on these industries in its second fund launched this year.

The company’s co-founder Mike Mompi disclosed that the firm has made 38 investments in 31 companies from both funds. These investments span 8 markets across Africa which include Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, Egypt, Ivory Coast, and Senegal.

Speaking on Enza’s Capital investment vehicles function, Mompi said,

“We have sufficient capital to write meaningful checks. Sometimes, we’re going in early and also follow-on in our companies. Then we have the growth fund, which is mostly a later-stage vehicle, where we can invest at any stage and co-invest with the core funds in existing portfolio companies, thereby staying with our companies for a long time”.

Enza Capital’s typical check size in its portfolio companies includes firms such as SeamlessHR, Shara, Autochek, Peach Payments, JUMBA, Nash, and Cloudline, amongst others.

The VC firm is committed to building for Africa, with its focus on startups in various sectors such as Fintech, Logistics and Mobility, Human Capital Management, Education, Energy, and climate-smart solutions. Its investment stage includes Pre-seed, Seed, Series A, and Series B.

Enza Capital has a clear reserve policy and follow-on strategy where the company reserves significant capital to follow on into portfolio companies it has already backed.

Although not every company receives a follow-on investment. From its Fund, the company made at least one follow-on investment into 12 of the 23 companies that it backed.

Also, the VC firm has a dedicated Growth Fund that can invest up to $20m per company in follow-on investments, this vehicle is reserved for existing Enza Capital portfolio companies that are on high growth trajectories and have a qualified demand for significant capital to scale.

Enza Capital has an office in Nairobi, its eight-person team is dispersed across the city, Johannesburg, London, and New York. General Partner Mompi disclosed that the firm might open offices in Lagos and a Francophone African city to support its portfolio companies in those markets.

As a result, the company will employ more talent to work closely with these ventures across various departments. Until now, Enza Capital has provided value in the technical department, where its CTO-in-Residence assists startups’ engineering and tech teams pre- and post-investment.

The Procedures For Hosting A Foreigner in Nigeria

By
Stanley Alieke
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0
Joint venture is one of the ways to grow businesses

In international relations and diplomatic exchanges amongst nations of the world, there are rules and protocols and one of such rules is that you as a citizen cannot sneak a citizen of another country into your country without the consent and approval of the government of the country; it is illegal and criminal to do that. If you as a citizen of Nigeria want to invite or host a citizen of another country in Nigeria, especially if that foreigner needs a visa to enter Nigeria, there are procedures you must follow to do that and one of such procedures includes that you will have to write a letter of invitation to the Nigeria immigration service or to the office of comptroller general or to the office of minister of interior or to the ministry of interior or to the consulate office of the country of origin or residence of the guest you intend to host.

The primary purpose of writing this letter of invitation is to inform the government of your intent to host a foreigner in the country and to seek the official government’s consent and approval for that.

This letter will contain the host’s details like his or her name, occupation, residential address, a copy of the international passport data page and every other requested document will be enclosed. It will also contain the guest’s personal details like the guest’s country of origin, country of residence, occupation and even a copy of the guest’s data page of the international passport. 

The letter will also contain the purpose of the visit; whether it is for business and if it is for business, the nature of the business or if it is for holidays or vacation. The invitation letter will also contain the duration of the stay of the guest; the date of entry and the date of departure.

In that letter, the host will unequivocally undertake that he or she will be responsible and will be the person of contact for the guest for the duration the guest will stay in the country.

This letter of invitation is used for both personal invitations and also used by organizations or companies when they are inviting foreign experts. When it is from a company, the letter is expected to be on the company’s official letterhead.

This letter, if approved, will facilitate the visa granting process for the guest.

The purpose of this letter is not just to notify the host country who is inviting the guest into the country and who will be held responsible or serve as a person of contact for the safety and well-being of the guest. It also serves as an official notice to the country of origin of the guest as to who is hosting their citizen and who will be held accountable for the safety and well-being of their citizen.

This is the official proper protocol for hosting a foreigner into a country, any other channel will be deemed illegal. 

Prostitution Is Not A Crime In Southern Nigeria.

By
Stanley Alieke
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0

I saw a video of a task force and some law enforcement agencies from the government of Delta State assaulting some alleged prostitutes in Oghara, Delta State. The task force went down to the brothel or the “ashawo quatre” where the prostitutes conducted their business and beat up some of them in order to disperse them and also arrested some of the alleged prostitutes or “runs girls”. They even videoed the girls and posted it online. 

The truth is, prostitution or harlotry be it as it may is morally wrong but that does not make it illegal or a criminal act and morality as we say is not law. There is a clear cut between what is immoral and what is illegal. There is no law currently in force in Nigeria that criminalizes prostitution in southern Nigeria. The penal code criminalizes prostitution in Northern Nigeria but the legal jurisdiction of the penal code does not extend to southern Nigeria. This means that it is illegal and criminal to engage in prostitution in Northern Nigeria but it is not a crime in Southern Nigeria. 

The Nigerian Criminal Code does not outrightly criminalize or penalize prostitution. What it does in Section 223 of the act is to criminalize procuring or pimping of prostitutes and other related offenses like defilement by threat or fraud and administration of drugs on girls and women or running a brothel.

Procurement here is talking about pimping or pimps who take advantage of underage persons and make them have unlawful carnal knowledge or pimps who sell out or traffic girls and women into prostitution or those who run a brothel, but expressly, a girl or even a guy who is of age who has decided to engage in prostitution or harlotry in Southern part of Nigeria is not breaking any law.

At best, an alleged prostitute can only be charged for immoral acts or corruption of public decency if they are arrested but they cannot be charged directly for prostitution because there is no law criminalizing it in Southern Nigeria. 

What the task force should have done is to go after the pimps or the owners of the brothel that they engage in the act because those are the ones who are committing a crime. The activities of pimps or madams, underage prostitution and the operation or ownership of brothels are what have been penalized under sections 223, 224, and 225 of the Nigerian Criminal Code.

Coinbase mulled buying FTX Europe post-bankruptcy

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US, was reportedly interested in acquiring FTX Europe, the European subsidiary of FTX, one of its main competitors. According to sources familiar with the matter, Coinbase approached FTX Europe after the latter filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2023, following a series of regulatory setbacks and legal disputes.

FTX Europe, which was launched in 2020 as a licensed entity in Malta, had been struggling to maintain its operations in the region amid increasing scrutiny from regulators and lawmakers. The company faced several lawsuits from disgruntled customers and former employees, who accused it of fraud, market manipulation, and breach of contract.

FTX Europe also faced fines and sanctions from various authorities, including the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), and France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF).

In a bid to save its business, FTX Europe filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code, which allows a company to reorganize its debts and assets while continuing to operate. The company hoped to find a buyer or a partner that could help it resume its activities and regain its market share.

Coinbase has been looking to expand its derivatives offerings globally, especially since its spot trading volumes have dipped in the bear market. Spot trading refers to buying and selling cryptocurrencies at their current market prices. According to data from Kaiko Research, in Q2 2023, the trading volume for crypto derivatives was six times the volume of spot trades.

Coinbase, which had been expanding its presence in Europe and diversifying its product offerings, saw an opportunity to acquire FTX Europe and strengthen its position in the continent. Coinbase had been competing with FTX for market share and liquidity in the global crypto space, especially after FTX acquired Blockfolio, a popular portfolio tracker app, for $150 million in 2020.

Coinbase reportedly offered to buy FTX Europe for a fraction of its original valuation, which was estimated at $1 billion before the bankruptcy filing. However, the deal did not materialize, as FTX Europe’s creditors and shareholders rejected Coinbase’s proposal. They argued that Coinbase’s offer was too low and that FTX Europe still had potential to recover from its troubles.

FTX Europe’s bankruptcy case is still ongoing, and the company is still looking for a viable solution to exit from its predicament. Meanwhile, Coinbase continues to pursue its growth strategy in Europe and beyond, as it faces increasing competition from other players in the crypto industry.

For the crypto industry, it means that there is still a lot of uncertainty and complexity in the regulatory landscape, especially for derivatives products. It also means that there is still a lot of demand and innovation in this sector, as more players enter the market and offer new solutions.

Coinbase’s attempt to acquire FTX Europe was an ambitious move that could have given it a significant edge in the European derivatives market. However, due to various factors, such as competition, valuation, integration, and regulation, Coinbase decided to drop its plans and look for other opportunities. This shows that the crypto industry is still evolving rapidly and facing many challenges and opportunities along the way.

Binance sell its Russian Affiliate brand to CommEx

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has announced that it has sold its Russian affiliate brand, Binance.ru, to CommEx, a local digital asset platform. The deal, which was finalized on September 27, 2023, marks the end of Binance’s direct presence in the Russian market, which has been facing increasing regulatory pressure and uncertainty.

According to a press release, Binance.ru will continue to operate as an independent entity under the new ownership and will provide its existing users with access to CommEx’s products and services, as well as Binance’s global liquidity and ecosystem. Binance said that the sale was motivated by its desire to comply with the local laws and regulations, and to support the development of the Russian blockchain industry.

“We are proud of what we have achieved with Binance.ru in the past two years, and we are grateful for the trust and support of our users and partners in Russia. However, we also recognize the challenges and complexities of operating in this market, and we believe that CommEx is better positioned to serve the needs and interests of the Russian crypto community,” said Changpeng Zhao, the founder and CEO of Binance.

CommEx is a licensed digital asset platform that offers trading, custody, lending, staking, and other services for cryptocurrencies and tokens. The company was founded in 2020 by a group of Russian entrepreneurs and investors and has received backing from several prominent local institutions and funds. CommEx claims to have over 500,000 registered users and over $1 billion in monthly trading volume.

“We are excited to acquire Binance.ru and to welcome its users and partners to our platform. We share Binance’s vision of democratizing access to the crypto economy, and we are committed to providing the best products and services to our customers. We also look forward to collaborating with Binance on various initiatives and projects that will benefit the global crypto community,” said Dmitry Volkov, the co-founder and CEO of CommEx.

Binance’s exit from Russia comes amid a series of regulatory actions and warnings against the exchange by various authorities around the world, including the UK, Japan, Canada, Singapore, Brazil, and others. Binance has been accused of operating without proper licenses or authorization, offering unregistered securities or derivatives, violating anti-money laundering rules, and facilitating illicit activities. Binance has denied any wrongdoing and said that it is working to comply with the local regulations in each jurisdiction.

So why did he decide to transfer his affiliate program to CommEx? The answer is simple: to create more value and opportunities for both platforms and their users. By partnering with CommEx, CZ Binance can leverage its network and resources to reach more potential customers and expand his user base.

CommEx, on the other hand, can benefit from CZ Binance’s reputation and expertise in the crypto space, and offer its users a seamless and secure way to access the Binance platform. Together, they can create a win-win situation that enhances the growth and innovation of the crypto industry.

Binance also said that it remains committed to supporting its users and partners in Russia through its global platform, Binance.com, which is not affected by the sale of Binance.ru. Binance.com offers a wide range of products and services for crypto enthusiasts, including spot and futures trading, margin trading, peer-to-peer trading, savings, loans, cards, launchpad, launchpool, NFT marketplace, academy, research, charity, and more.

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