Wednesday, 27 July 2022

Partner(s)

Good morning!

Dennis here!

There is no stopping mobility fintech Moove. Obviously, with all the raise announcements, it has the money for all the expansion it has been making. As it stands Moove has entered into almost all the developing markets in the world, including this week India. Thanks to that partnership with Uber.

What really concerns me is whether or not it tactical? Does it have the mechanics to keep a lid on every single market?

Below are the tech stories and news you need to know to start your day, carefully curated by Technext.

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Summary of the news

Namibia has launched its first crypto ATM, Crypto Kiosk
Moove has expanded its mobility financing product into India
Meta, Google, Microsoft, and others have joined the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria
Binance CEO, Changpeng Zhao has sued Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese publisher for defamation

Namibia launches Crypto Kiosk

From the Central African Republic making crypto a legal tender, to crypto debit cards, African countries are accelerating their adoption of the cryptocurrency.

As the acceptance and adoption of blockchain technology continues to spread across Africa and the world, the first crypto ATM in Namibia has been launched. According to a report in the New Era, the crypto ATM, dubbed the Crypto Kiosk, was launched at Maerua Mall in Windhoek, Namibia.

Technext reports that with the newly launched Crypto Kiosk, Namibian residents will be able to convert the two world’s largest cryptocurrencies -Bitcoin and Ethereum to the Namibian dollar.

Aminah Nauyoma-Ndeulita, a representative from Crypto Kiosk Investment said:

Our kiosks allow them to essentially self-bank through the digital wallet on their phone by turning their cash into cryptocurrency, which can be used to transfer money internationally, pay bills, or invest in other cryptocurrency investment channels.

We are optimistic that our company will bring user-friendly and convenient services to more people across the country as we grow and establish more crypto kiosks nationwide.

Moove enters India

Moove has entered India. Technext reports that the ambitious mobility financing startup announced this week the launch of its operations in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru as part of the company’s global expansion plan.

Ladi Delano, co-founder and co-CEO at Moove, said:

As our first global expansion outside of Africa, launching in India is a very special moment for the whole Moove team. We’re excited to be expanding our revenue-based vehicle financing model to enable the sustainable creation of jobs across the country, where there are some of the lowest vehicle ownership rates in the world, in part because of the lack of access to credit.

We are delighted to be expanding our Uber partnership to solve this problem for our new customers in India.

Binod Mishra, the Regional GM for South Asia for Moove said:

We’re looking forward to working closely with the Uber India team to roll out Moove’s innovative platform, starting in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, and scaling up to many more cities over the next five years.

Meta, Google, Microsoft, and others join IXPN

Major content distribution firms including Meta, Microsoft, and Google are now routing their traffic locally through the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN).

An Internet exchange point is a physical access point that Internet service providers (ISPs) and content delivery networks (CDNs) connect to for the purpose of exchanging traffic. According to Nairametrics, the IXPN ensures that internet traffic that is being exchanged within Nigeria remains within Nigeria to keep internet traffic local. IXPN now have over 100 members.

Speaking on the 100 members milestone, the Chief Executive Officer of IXPN, Mr Muhammed Rudman said:

All Mobile Network Operators, major network operators in Nigeria, as well as some of the largest Content Networks such as Facebook (Meta), Google, and Microsoft, are now among the networks peering at the exchange point, which was designated as a West African regional exchange point by the African Union a few years ago.

Reaching the 100-member mark demonstrates the IXPN’s broader reach and excellent service delivery. The IXPN has multiple locations across Nigeria, making its services easily accessible thereby allowing local service providers to save costs through peering. In fact, we have recently seen an increase in connections from even international networks, indicating our commitment to providing excellent services with high availability.

Binance CEO sues Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese publisher for defamation

The chief executive officer of Binance, Changpeng Zhao, has opened a defamation lawsuit against Bloomberg Businessweek Chinese-language publisher, Modern Media. CZ alleged that Modern Media labelled false and unfounded criminal charges against him in a recent publication.

Cryptopolitan reports that CZ reportedly filed the defamation lawsuit this week at the Hong Kong High Court, particularly on the 250th issue of Bloomberg Businessweek, which Modern Media titled “Zhao Changpeng’s Ponzi Scheme.”

Binance‘s CEO said the statement was defamatory and caused him considerable distress and embarrassment. He added that such a statement harms his image in cryptocurrency and business settings.

For that, CZ and his legal representative, José-Antonio Maurellet, SC, of Des Voeux Chambers, have asked the court to order the removal of the alleged defamatory content, and prohibit Modern Media from publishing the defamatory content. CZ also seeks a formal apology and compensation from the defendant.

In 2020, Binance filed a lawsuit against two journalists at Forbes, Michael del Castillo, and Jason Brett, who accused the CEO of purportedly employing tactics to avoid US regulators.