The Nigerian telcos are doing great in their airtime credit playbooks, just as category-king fintech companies in most parts of the industrialized world are milking it on Buy Now Pay Later redesign. The latter has seen new generation financial companies like Afterpay become very valuable as young people shift from the construct of credit cards to instantaneous credit systems, with the benefits that in some cases the merchants pay for interests fees!

If you have not noticed, the most impactful innovation in the telecom space in Nigeria in the last 12 months is the pricing model. Data from MTN and Airtel, both publicly traded, show that selling airtime on credit (borrow now, pay later) is a great business in Nigeria.

The message is clear: there is value in the credit economy in Nigeria if you can develop a way to mitigate risk.

Telecommunication giants MTN and Airtel Nigeria reported massive growth in their airtime credit businesses otherwise termed ‘borrow now, pay later” services. This is contained in the annual report of the GSM giants for the quarter ended June 2021.

MTN, Nigeria’s largest telecommunication company reported a massive 69.6% growth in its Fintech segment which comprises its MoMo Agency business and its Xtratime airtime credit service business. According to the company, its FinTech segment was the fastest growing business rising 69.5% to N31.6 billion in the first half of 2021.

MTN’s FinTech business includes Xtratime, its use now pay later business, and MoMo its agency business.

MTN also reported that revenue from Xtratime makes up about 95% of revenue from its FinTech segment. Airtel reported strong numbers during the quarter with its airtime credit services revenue from Nigeria rising by a whopping 70.9% year on year. Both companies lead in the airtime credit services space.

Meanwhile, MTN has noted that it makes 70% of its money from 30% of its customers: “Nigeria’s largest telecommunications company, MTN, has revealed that it earns 70% of its revenue from about 30% of its customers. This was mentioned by the company in an investor call with analysts and investors, held after the publication of financial reports. MTN relies heavily on salary and wage earners to keep boosting revenues.”

As noted earlier, the telcos made tons of money last year in Nigeria: “According to the Nigerian Communications Commission’s recently released 2020 Subscribers/Network Data Report, the telecoms industry reported a collective revenue of ?2.889 trillion ($7.05 billion) compared to ?2.516 trillion ($6.14 billion) made in 2019. The report further disclosed that revenue generated by GSM operators increased by 12.33%, from the ?2.02 trillion ($4.93 billion) recorded in the previous year to ?2.27 trillion ($5.54 billion).”

Thank you to the good people of Lagos State, our nation’s centre of excellence, for honouring this village boy, by including my portrait in Lagos State Ministry of Science & Technology main building. From universities like Covenant University to Boardrooms, I am grateful for the generosity, of considering my face worthy, to grace boardrooms, auditoriums, etc.

As always, I pray that the favour which I receive  from Nigeria and the Nigerian people will extend to everyone. This Nation has been kind to me and I have never struggled for the best of Nigeria. And that is the reason for my tough love for Nigeria.

Young People, remember this: the greatest moment in a career is to attain a position when people can recommend you in your absence.

To Lagos State, thank you for including me in that history!

The content of the US Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act shows that crypto cannot hide and the government wants technologies that will normalize crypto: ” Buried in the bill is a provision that would require the reporting of cryptocurrency transactions to the I.R.S”. IRS is the US tax agency.

“The industry is fighting this, calling it a job killer, but it looks like it just puts crypto in the same category as many other financial assets. Maybe it’s just me, but if tax avoidance is central to a relatively developed industry’s growth plan, it doesn’t sound like a winning political argument.” (Fortune)

As that was happening, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s head threw a bomb against the cryptocurrency sector, calling for more regulation and oversight of digital currencies and assets. “Right now, we just don’t have enough investor protection in crypto,” said SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, who went on to compare the assets to the “Wild West.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission will regulate cryptocurrency markets to the maximum extent possible using its existing authority, Chairman Gary Gensler said Tuesday, while also calling on Congress to grant the agency more scope and resources to oversee the sector.

Calling the asset class rife with “fraud, scams and abuse,” Mr. Gensler signaled the SEC is likely to become more active in policing crypto trading and lending platforms, as well as so-called stablecoins.

“We just don’t have enough investor protection in crypto. Frankly, at this time, it’s more like the Wild West,” Mr. Gensler said in prepared remarks to the Aspen Security Forum. “We have taken and will continue to take our authorities as far as they go.”

U.S. financial regulators have struggled to get their arms around the fast-growing world of cryptocurrency and related financial technologies. Unlike in the securities and derivatives markets, no single regulator oversees crypto exchanges or brokers. As the market value of the asset class has exploded to more than a trillion dollars, so have scams.

Mr. Gensler said large parts of the sector operate outside of regulatory frameworks that seek to protect investors and consumers, reduce crime, promote financial stability and protect national security.

Bitcoin went marginally down after his remarks. But that may not be a bad thing. Yes, by the time these processes are over, the stable state of Bitcoin will arrive, and by then it would become like a typical asset class which would be more widely investable.

And of course, the illusion of crypto “hiding’ from government will go because government will be in charge!