Over the last few days, I have been reading multiple websites to check and verify things, not just relying on the typical news channels. Mastercard and Visa have suspended operations in Russia. According to TASS, Russian news agency, Chinese UnionPay will replace them. Russia has the Mir network and that network will continue to process domestic transactions; Visa and Mastercard affect only international transactions: “Mir has processed most domestic payments in Russia since 2015, while foreign operators such as Visa and Mastercard continued to run international transactions. The operator – which is 100% owned by the country’s central bank – was established on government orders to protect the economy against sanctions imposed over Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.”

Consumers will still be able to use Mastercard and Visa-branded cards for domestic transactions in Russia, the country’s state-backed payments network has said, reducing the impact of the US firms’ decision to pull services over the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia’s homegrown payments system Mir said the cardholders would still be able to access their funds, make withdrawals and domestic transfers – at least until their bank cards expire.

Let me share some numbers: In 2019, Visa and Mastercard combined for a total transaction volume of $16 trillion globally; UnionPay China does around $16 trillion. (The largest network, though not just card, was AliPay at $18 trillion)

UnionPay handles close to 45% of all card global issuance; Visa and Mastercard do respectively 27% and 18%.

I expect nations like India to begin to explore how to build/promote local alternatives to Visa and Mastercard. I expect India to promote RuPay massively now. Nigeria’s Interswitch Verve is also there. You never know; say an election mess and Visa and Mastercard decide to pull out; Verve can serve innocent citizens who live far away from Abuja!

As we discussed in Tekedia Mini-MBA on Saturday, the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict will be huge and many companies will be massively affected. Russian firms like Yandex are already on life-support. But do not overlook companies like Visa and Mastercard to be under pressure: would you just depend on them if they can switch off?

Expect India, Brazil and some countries to begin to promote local brands to mitigate risks in future. In the last 5 days, both Visa and Mastercard have lost about 8% of their market caps.

More so, the movement and storage of wealth will begin to change. Since 1790 when the United States awarded the first patent, it has built a property-rights-first nation. In other words, the US and UK have supported property rights. In TASS, the Russian government has flipped the extraction against its citizens, reminding them what it has told them: those property rights cannot be depended upon, citing examples where Russians are now losing assets, companies, etc. It ended by saying: move all your assets back to Russia. In such, the head of the communication mocked those losing assets, for ever moving Russia’s wealth out of the nation.

People, what is happening in the world is convoluted. But one thing is evident: nations need thinkers who can connect the dots. The world has changed as a result of this current conflict and many layers have been opened. The impact will be felt for years. And China which will possibly buy more Russian oil and wheat will play major roles.

But as we write and analyze events, may we remember innocent Ukrainians and I will add innocent Russians, who are going to be adversely affected by this conflict. The world needs peace, fiercely urgently.

Several Russian banks said on Sunday they would soon start issuing cards using the Chinese UnionPay card operator’s system coupled with Russia’s own Mir network, after Visa and MasterCard said they were suspending operations in Russia.

Announcements regarding the switch to UnionPay came on Sunday from Sberbank (SBER.MM), Russia’s biggest lender, as well as Alfa Bank and Tinkoff.

Comment on LinkedIn Feed

Comment 1: This is a good example where most Americans don’t approve how Biden is handling the Ukraine issue. Now you will see companies playing a bigger role which will have more impact on Russia’s economy vs sanctions!

I commend all these companies for making this hard decision. Not only will this affect the global economy, it will affect Visa/MasterCard’s bottom line.

User Response to Comment 1: I love this piece, I wish Nigeria and entire Africa will wake up and look inward for our local home grown solutions, we are scattered over the global doing great things, I hope soon we will return and build the country of our dream for the benefit of our coming generation irrespective of our religion and tribe.

Comment 2: Russia is a bit like China, apart from the western infrastructure. You arrive in Moscow, no Uber but Yandex. Google is replaced also by Yandex. Chatting is Telegram. Facebook is replaced by VK, VKontacte. They are pretty much autonomous in term of software. Actually, they have very good, probably the best coders and developers.

Comment 3: The world has changed, we may not see it now. For the west to levy the type of nuclear sanctions on Russia they already know the consequences.

I believe they have an information not known to the public, especially coming immediately after Russia China agreement of no limits to relationship. And the now news that Russia did consult with China before the invasion.

The west have reasoned that events have already been put into place nonetheless.

What we are going to see is a situation where Russia is disconnected from the western trading system more like the soviet Union, with a minimal connection to China I areas that China can be insulated from the west.

Another scenario is China damns the west and integrates more with Russia hoping to attract more countries in the global South to their platform where they inturn being locked out of the west. Actually, this is the outcome that China dares and try to avoid.

So companies are increasingly going to choose which markets to operate in.

Comment 4: Our people at the corridors of power, do they even understand the global implications of the geopolitical and social imbroglio that is unfolding.

We are NEVER prepared. We talk and go to sleep. We don’t execute. After sleeping, we continue talking.

If it is private sector driven, the Government feels threatened, and yet the Capacity is NOT there.

Ordinary oil and gas we discovered in 1956, we CANNOT refine even a barrel today, we want already-made: importation of refined products.

Few days ago, it made news that Nigeria is bidding for Nuclear Power Plant! Wetin we wan use build the Nuclear Power Plant? Wood or Bamboo? Ajaokuta Steel Mill has not been completed since 1979, Delta Steel Company (DSC) in Warri was sold to an Indian Company who cannibalized the assets of the DSC.

With over 187 Trillion cubic feet of gas reserves under our legs, we don’t even generate enough power for the 4 most industrialized cities of Nigeria in a 24 hour period.

Local alternative is key, no wonder Charles Soludo is facing Innoson for all Government vehicles especially as USD inches towards #600 Naira.

But the truth is that the Abuja Political Squad don’t care, unknowingly to them, the apocalypse is not going to spare anyone.

Sudo Africa has raised $3.7 million pre-seed to build its card-issuing API for developers and businesses in Nigeria.

The pre-seed round was led by Global Founders Capital (GFC) with participation from Picus Capital, LoftyInc Capital, Rallycap Ventures, Kepple Africa, Berrywood Capital, ZedCrest and Suya Ventures.

The Kaduna-based API fintech startup offers programmable cards and making them affordable to all types of businesses regardless of their size or revenue level. It enables businesses to build unique features with an open application programming interface (API) and a readily available sandbox environment.

In 2020, Aminu Bakori and Kabir Shittu co-founded the company from following their frustration from the card issuance challenges faced at a previous startup. The recognition that other founders experienced the same problem deepened their conviction to launch the service.

Traditionally, issuing debit cards is a very expensive, slow, and inflexible process reserved as a privilege for only large companies. This means that smaller businesses and startups would not usually have access to this, but things are about to change.

With Sudo, any small business can start issuing cards to its staff and customers for different purposes including, but not limited to loyalty programs for customers, management services for corporate expenses, buy now and pay later schemes for retailers, digital wallets for virtual banks, amongst other use cases.

According to Sudo Africa, the new funding will be used to expand into new markets in Africa and also restructure its current team. Sudo Africa is currently the only player in this space that offers its virtual and physical cards service solely in Nigeria.

Here are the key dates and deadlines for Q1 2022 investment cycle:

• Publication of the startups: March 16
• Demo Day: Demo Day is scheduled for March 26 at 4pm-6.30pm WAT (Zoom link will be provided later)
• Valuation Update: By March 30, we will share the current valuations of the startups to guide on the expected percentages any investment will buy. We will also request to know how much you plan to invest, if investing. 
• Tell us how much and startup you’re investing: April 6
• Fund Transfer: Between April 8 and April 15. Transfer could be in US Dollars or local currency; bank details will be provided.
• Master Agreement Signing: upon payment

To join this cycle, register here and join the Syndicate and co-invest with others, in Africa’s leading startups.

Meanwhile, yesterday, Tekedia Capital had an OPEN session; vide below.

Let me congratulate the Nigerian government for the efforts the nation has put to bring our young people studying in Ukraine home. While we continue to wish for an improving nation, moments like this should challenge everyone of us: you can say anything you want about home, home remains home. 

In the Igbo Nation, we name our daughters “Nneka” [mother is supreme]. There is a reason for that. In ancestral Igbo, when you lose your land, your kingdom and your kinsmen cannot help, the last hope is your mother’s land. Interestingly, your mother’s people have an unalloyed obligation to help you. As a result of that, men pay special attention to mothers because when everyone abandons you, you remember your mother’s land.

In your mother’s land, you are Nwa-ada [child to our daughter] and by tradition, you assume immediate ascension, even well ahead of most men of that land. How do you know? Go to Obi (the temple) as elders gather, and before any meeting starts, a wine is offered.

Before the lead elder (usually the most senior) begins to do libations, he will ask “do we have any Nwa-ada here”. If there is an Nwa-ada, the person is acknowledged immediately. And when they begin to serve the drink, the Nwa-ada despite his age will drink well ahead of the indigenes of that land. Yes, he drinks with the elders and by tradition, his security is absolute and guaranteed while in the mother’s place. 

(In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe brought this tradition when Uchendu gathered his entire family, including Okonkwo; a man belongs to his fatherland and stays there when life is good, but he seeks refuge in his motherland when life is bitter and harsh. Many have called Nigeria the motherland!))

Nneka. NigeriaKA. We need to make Nigeria better because that is our home. As I watched those young people descend from the aircraft, you should be proud that in the time of need, your nation answered. That is what it is all about, even in the imperfection of that nation.

Many have called Nigeria a “motherland” – more than words!

The second batch of Nigerian evacuees from Ukraine arrived, on Friday evening, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

They arrived on a plane owned by Air Peace, one of the airlines billed to airlift Nigerians returning from Ukraine. The plane took off from Poland, where the Nigerians had fled to following the war in Ukraine.

“The journey was very stressful but we take joy because we are saving lives, rescuing our compatriots, our future because these are our children. We all did it with excitement…,” Akinremi Bolaji, the director of consular and legal services, ministry of foreign affairs, told journalists at the Abuja airport.

According to Mr Bolaji, there were 180 adults and three infants aboard the aircraft.