Europe has continued to tighten its antitrust grip on American tech companies, with one fine after the other. Each borders on breach of anti-competition rules that keep being updated to keep the Big Tech in check.

Last month, Apple and Amazon were handed $225 million fine by Italy’s antitrust authority for anticompetitive cooperation in the sale of Apple and Beats products. Less than a month later, the authority has found Amazon guilty for abusing its dominant position, pushing third-party sellers to use the company’s logistics service Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

The offense came with a €1.129 billion about $1.3 billion fine, the biggest the watchdog has ever handed to a tech company.

In a 250-page report summarized by TechCrunch, the Italian authority, the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM), stated its findings. It said among other things, that third-party sellers don’t get the same treatment if they’re leveraging FBA or using their own logistics stack.

Sellers who take advantage of FBA can participate in the company’s paid loyalty program, Amazon Prime. Subscribers get free deliveries on some products. In addition to Amazon’s own inventory, products from third-party sellers that come from Amazon’s warehouses thanks to FBA also get a Prime label.

This leads to far-reaching consequences as Prime products are then included in Amazon’s events, such as Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. In other words, you have a better chance of getting featured in Amazon’s events if you use Fulfillment by Amazon.

But that’s not all. On Amazon’s product page, the company automatically selects a seller for the buy box. On a computer, the buy box is the box on the right side of the screen that lets you add a product to your cart or buy directly with the “Buy Now” button.

You can see other sellers in a tiny box below the buy box. According to Italy’s competition authority, sellers who use FBA have a higher chance of getting featured in the buy box compared to other third-party sellers.

I tried to find a good example on Amazon.it and here’s what I found on this toilet seat. Amazon itself doesn’t sell the product directly. You can only get it from third-party sellers. By default, Amazon features WOLTU GmbH in the buy box. The item is shipped by Amazon as WOLTU GmbH uses FBA. And you can get free expedited shipping with Amazon Prime.

Below that buy box, there’s a tiny box that says you can get it from another seller. This time, we can see WOLTU GmbH once again (and a used product from “Amazon Warehouse”). It’s the same seller, but they ship it directly to you and you also get free shipping.

Why does WOLTU GmbH list the same toilet seat twice? FBA isn’t a free logistics service. Amazon gets a larger cut from items that are sold through FBA. And it seems like WOLTU GmbH would get more revenue from a direct sale. But it’s unlikely that customers will choose to get the toilet seat from the seller directly because it’s hidden in a submenu.

A recent study from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance has highlighted that Amazon is generating more and more revenue from third-party sellers, highlighting that FBA is a vicious circle and that third-party sellers have become a captive audience:

In a similar fashion, Amazon has compelled sellers to buy its warehousing and shipping service, Fulfillment By Amazon (FBA). Amazon’s algorithms heavily favor sellers who do so, making FBA all but required in order to generate sales on the site. As a result, the share of sellers who have left other carriers and signed on to FBA has soared in recent years. By compelling this captive base of businesses to use its shipping service, Amazon has grown into a major logistics provider almost overnight. Its parcel delivery operation now rivals that of the U.S. Postal Service in scale. And, over the last few years, Amazon has steadily raised its storage and shipping fees, using FBA as yet another way to squeeze revenue from sellers.

After its findings, the AGCM has asked Amazon to create a new set of standards that would be fair to third-party sellers whether they are using FBA or not. The company will also have to implement behavioral measures. A monitoring trustee will review the changes.

In response, Amazon said it disagrees with the decision and will appeal.

“We strongly disagree with the decision of the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) and we will appeal. The proposed fine and remedies are unjustified and disproportionate,” the company said.

“More than half of all annual sales on Amazon in Italy come from SMBs, and their success is at the heart of our business model. Small and medium-sized businesses have multiple channels to sell their products both online and offline: Amazon is just one of those options. We constantly invest to support the growth of the 18,000 Italian SMBs that sell on Amazon, and we provide multiple tools to our sellers, including those who manage shipments themselves,” it added.

Let me commend the civility and patriotism of the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso who resigned his position as a result of his inability to deal with the security paralysis in his nation. Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore has since accepted the resignation.

While I understand that politics is business and you do not expect people to reduce their “market share”, I am hoping that Nigerian political leaders, from state to federal levels, are reading.

Most things we treasure in Nigeria are being messed up, daily. I used to do rounds from Usman Danfodio University to ABU Zaria to OAU Ife to FUTO to Babcock to Covenant to NDA Kaduna to UNILAG to UNIBEN, etc, but today, none is possible because of insecurity.

Prime Minister Christophe Dabire has put out a loud message: if you cannot do the job, MAKE WAY. Nigerian politicians, hope you copy.

President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, who had already changed his military leadership over the security crisis, accepted Prime Minister Christophe Joseph Marie Dabire’s resignation, according to a presidential decree.

The resignation of a prime minister requires the resignation of the entire government, according to Burkina Faso law.

After his resignation, Dabire called on citizens to “support the president… and the new executive that will be put in place” in a post on his Facebook page.

As an amalgam of fintechs and payment apps mushroomed, I started looking for a company that can aggregate and integrate major payment apps as one. Yes, once you integrate it in your product, your customer can pay via any of the other apps. That has been a winning model in the business of internet – when supply is high, aggregators bring order. As we worked, we saw that in 1app.

I am happy to share that Tekedia Capital has invested in 1APP to help the team build up and unveil a payment system which will make it possible for you to integrate just 1APP and your checkout will provide other ones including Paystack, Flutterwave, etc.

We do think that its technology provides a new basis for foreign merchants to reach new markets by integrating in one app different payment engines at checkout simplifying the need for currency conversions. A South African company can sell to Nigerians on its website but at checkout, the system will allow them pay via a Nigerian gateway with no need for global currency conversions.

I welcome Opeyemi Paul Adekunle and the whole team to Tekedia Capital where innovators are converging. Go here and open a free account at https://1app.online/

Outperform your previous records; attend Tekedia Startup Masterclass. Master how to build from an idea into a unicorn. Begin here by registering.

Tekedia Startup Masterclass: from Start-Up to Unicorn is designed to help founders, entrepreneurs, and those generally working in the startup ecosystems, to master the mechanics of building category-king startups. The program runs for 8 weeks and it includes an hour-long one-on-one Zoom session every week, per participant, with Tekedia Institute’s Lead Faculty, Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe.

This program is on-demand which means you can enroll and begin anytime. The goal is to help the participant master modern mechanics which are used to scale and blitzscale ideas into unicorns (startups with a minimum of $1 billion in valuation)

Nigeria is leading the burgeoning Africa’s tech ecosystem with various innovative ideas that have been attracting investors from around the world.  With Africa’s tech investment volume at more than $2.5 billion in 2021, the focus has been on fintech and e-Commerce. Nigeria leads other African countries with $1.7 billion share of the total investment fund received.

But while the payment industry has received the most attention from investors, other sectors like transport, edtech and now telemedicine, are gradually grabbing interest as investors are beginning to bet their money on them. To foster investors’ interest, innovators are building platforms to reach the underserved in the above mentioned areas.

HealthPlus, Nigeria’s first integrative pharmacy, has launched West Africa’s first-ever ePharmacy and digital prescription platform to help Nigerians in Nigerian and elsewhere to get a prescription from a certified pharmacist and have the medicines delivered promptly.

“This is a very exciting offering that combines technology and the capabilities of fast-growing sector dynamics of Healthcare and e-Commerce in synergy to deliver high-quality customer-centric customer patient care. It gives our customers a channel to conveniently get a wide array of their medical needs with the added benefit of One-on-One pharmaceutical consulting through our bespoke “Chat with a Pharmacist” functionality that ensures patients are getting exactly what they require for their optimum health,” Ernest Eguasa, CFO HealthPlus Limited said.

This game-changing application will facilitate the interaction between patients (customers) and health-service providers nationwide. It also marks a big step in the democratization of health in Nigeria and provides unprecedented healthcare access for Nigerians in all geographical locations.

“Healthcare in Africa is at an inflection point and has proven its ability to leapfrog traditional business models; it is becoming more consumer-focused and precision-driven. With this technology and platform, we are increasingly focused on preventative care and patients’ well-being, in providing access at their fingertips and the last mile,” Afsane Jetha, Managing Partner & CEO Alta Semper and HealthPlus’s private equity partner stated.

Though Africa has telemedicine companies like Lafiya Telehealth, serving Nigeria and the rest of the continent, the healthcare gap remains huge and the involvement of pharmacies in filling it scanty. Only 25% of Nigeria’s local governments have any sort of pharmacy. That means, 70% of Nigeria’s local government areas have no access to a pharmacist.

HealthPlus’ Chief Transformational Officer Chidi Okoro pledged that the company “will help bridge this gap,” he added that “Nigeria has one of the lowest productivity rates in the world. This is due to absenteeism and inadequate health care. If more Nigerians have access to health and we take a more proactive approach, productivity will increase significantly.

“Pharmacists are the first point of care for many Nigerians and are critical to ensure access to essential drugs. The HealthPlus ePharmacy platform is following the mission to enhance access to wholesome medicines and good pharmacy care services. Customers can now access professional pharmacists online from the comfort of their homes using mobile devices.”

The outbreak of covid-19, which ushered in the digital life, where in-person activities such as going to the drug store or talking to a health professional, can be done online, spurred the telemedicine idea.

The HealthPlus ePharmacy was inspired by the rise in the number of internet consumers, increased access to web-based and online services, and the rising implementation of e-prescriptions in hospitals and other healthcare services.

Nigeria has a huge number of underserved when it comes to healthcare, with hospitals and pharmacies miles away from the location of a large number of people. This poses a challenge for many to receive quality healthcare. But with the prevalence of mobile internet, HealthPlus is hoping to reach as many people as possible using its digital platform.

“In keeping with its commitment to raise the standard of care, provide safe access to wholesome medications and reduce wait times, HealthPlus is utilizing the latest technology to consolidate the compendium of care and expand our vision to our customer’s mobile devices,” Okoro said.

Nigeria has more than 120 million mobile phone users and about 108 million internet users. HealthPlus is hoping to utilize the telecom to connect more Nigerians to qualified pharmacists and fast-track the provision of efficient health care.

“HealthPlus is at the forefront of being able to respond to this industry evolution, given the strength of the Company’s brand and its growing footprint nationally, we plan to dedicate further efforts to transformative initiatives aimed at integrating end-to-end healthcare services for our customers,” Zachary Fond, Managing Director at Alta Semper said.