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Friday, 19 August 2022

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Good morning!

Dennis here!

There is a new ride-hailing company in town. HerRyde has launched in Abuja with ambitious plans to curb the harassment that runs rampant in the ride-hailing space. One of the founders said in an interview that part of the motivation stems from the experiences of women close to them with these drivers.

While this is a way forward beyond any doubt to bring more women into the space, I doubt this will solve the problems of misogynistic, sexist disrespect that women face from drivers. If a woman says something sexist to another woman, is it less sexist?

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

  • MTN is the biggest gainer as 21,051 subscribers ported in H1 2022
  • Women’s only ride-hailing platform, HerRyde has launched in Abuja
  • Crypto.com has laid off hundreds more employees
  • Snap has stopped the development of Pixy, its flying camera drone
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MTN wins the battle for ported subscribers

Technext Round1
Mobile telephone operators lost 21,051 subscribers in the first six months of the year (H1 2022) as customers ported out to get better service quality, Technext reports. Total recorded porting in H1 2021 was 606. In H1 2020, the number is 82,495.

Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) revealed that a total of 3,246 subscribers ported from one network to another in May 2022 alone. This resulted in gains for the two largest mobile network operators, MTN and Airtel, as more subscribers moved to their networks.

MTN gained 1,731 customers from other networks in May, while Airtel attracted 1,050.

See porting data summary below:
  • 9mobile emerged as the biggest loser for the month as 2,728 subscribers ported out of its network to others.
  • Airtel recorded 815 outgoing porting.
  • MTN lost 200 subscribers to other networks.
  • 297 subscribers left Globacom.
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HerRyde launch in Abuja

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Looking to combat all kinds of rampant harassment that women face ordering rides from cab-hailing apps, a new ride-hailing company has launched exclusively for women.

Last Friday, HerRyde, a woman-only ride-hailing company, launched in Abuja, TechCabal reports.

According to the company’s co-founders (CEO Monsurah Oluwafuyi, COO Muhammad Muazu, and Chief Product Officer Kamaldeen Ibrahim), the company is providing a safer option for female drivers and riders while creating work opportunities for more women.

“HerRyde is committed to women’s safety and inclusion in the ride-hailing/mobility space. We aim to provide women with safer taxi experiences while driving inclusion by providing a safe space for women to work and earn as mobility entrepreneurs,”
their statement reads in part.
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Crypto.com laid off hundreds more staff

Amazon
In June, cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com announced it was laying off around 260 employees, or 5 per cent of its workforce, due to the widespread downturn in the crypto market. But layoffs did not end there.

Sources in and outside the firm The Verge reports said that the company has quietly let go of hundreds more employees since the initial layoffs. These new layoffs have not been publicized, and it’s difficult to estimate their exact number.

Crypto.com has been trying to limit knowledge of the extent of these departures even within the company, with CEO Kris Marszalek refusing to answer a question about the total figure in a recent employees-only town hall meeting.

All this suggests that Crypto.com — one of the most visible players in the crypto market, with a Super Bowl ad starring LeBron James and its own named stadium, formerly LA’s Staples Center — might be under greater financial stress than publicly known.
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Snap exing Pixy flying camera drone

Netflix
Snap is pausing the development of Pixy, its $230 flying camera drone that was first announced in April, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak on the record, CNBC reports.

The Pixy was introduced as a new way for Snapchat users to capture photos from unique angles. It’s capable of launching from a user’s hand and can follow four different flight paths, including one that follows the user.

Snap, which calls itself a camera company on its website, has been trying to break into hardware, most notably through several iterations of Spectacles sunglasses with built-in cameras. The first version of Spectacles caused the company to take a nearly $40 million write-down in 2017 due to excess inventory.

As the company’s struggles continue with physical products, its core ad business is also getting pummeled. Snap’s shares have lost almost three-quarters of their value this year, as the company reckons with slowing demand for its ad platform, a challenging economy and Apple’s 2021 privacy changes that have made ad targeting much more difficult.
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Latest in funding

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Other stories we are following

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Have a great day!
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