Two of Africa’s largest mobile operators and mobile money providers, Orange Group and MTN Group recently announced a joint venture, Mowali (mobile wallet interoperability), to enable interoperable payments across the continent. Mowali makes it possible to send money between mobile money accounts issued by any mobile money provider, in real time and at low cost.

Mowali will immediately benefit from the reach of MTN Mobile Money and Orange Money (OrangeMoney.orange.fr), bringing together over 100 million mobile money accounts and mobile money operations in 22 of sub-Saharan Africa’s 46 markets.

Mowali is ready to enable interoperability between digital financial service providers beyond MTN and Orange operations and markets, to support the existing 338 million mobile money accounts in Africa.
Mowali is a digital payment infrastructure that connects financial service providers and customers in one inclusive network. It functions as an industry utility, open to any mobile money provider in Africa, including banks, money transfer operators and other financial service providers.
The objective of Mowali is to increase the usage of mobile money by consumers and merchants.  Mowali enables money to circulate freely between mobile money accounts from any operators in all countries. From the customer’s point of view, this means “I can pay or receive money anywhere from my mobile account regardless of my operator”. The system will unlock further innovation in the digital financial space within the continent.
For Stéphane Richard, Chairman & CEO of Orange, “by providing full interoperability between platforms, Mowali will provide an important step forward that will allow mobile money to become a universal means of payment in Africa. Increasing financial inclusion through the use of digital technology is an essential element in furthering the economic development of Africa, particularly for more isolated communities. This solution embodies Orange’s ambition to be a leading player in the digital transformation of the continent. By joining forces with another of Africa’s market leaders, MTN, we aim to accelerate the pace
of this transformation in a way that will change the lives of our customers by providing them with simpler, safer and more advantageous services. “
“One of MTN’s goals is to accelerate the penetration of mobile financial service in Africa, Mowali is one such vehicle that will help us achieve that objective. Furthermore, co-operation and partnerships that help us accelerate the pace of development and overcome some of the scale, scope and complexity of challenges that society faces are key. This partnership with Orange is therefore an important step in helping us play a meaningful role in supporting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals related to eliminating extreme poverty and enhancing socio-economic development in the markets we operate in and beyond. Thus giving our customers access to a bright, digital future.” said Rob Shuter, Group President and CEO of MTN.
The GSMA supports the Mowali initiative as interoperability at this scale is a key accelerator for both financial inclusion and Mobile Money usability across Africa.
“Today, there are over 690 million mobile money accounts around the world. Mobile money services have become an essential, life-changing tool across Africa, providing access to safe and secure financial services but also to energy, health, education and employment opportunities.

The creation of Mowali will help to further transform mobile financial services throughout the African region. It demonstrates the mobile industry’s continued leadership and commitment to driving financial inclusion and economic empowerment through industry collaboration. The GSMA is proud to support its development,” said Mats Granryd, Director General, GSMA.
“Interoperability of digital payments has been the toughest hurdle for the financial services industry to overcome, in support of financial inclusion. With Mowali, Orange and MTN deliver a solution that will enable them, and other companies, to scale digital financial services across Africa, faster, to everyone—including the poor,” said Kosta Peric, deputy director of Financial Services for the Poor, at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“This is a signal that a new wave of innovation, which can help alleviate poverty and drive economic opportunity, is coming. We’re pleased to see an implementation of Mojaloop—an open source payment platform available to operators across the sector—help achieve that.”

Recently, the city of Cape Town, South Africa welcomed over 300 active and aspiring investors representing Africa’s early stage investing ecosystem for last week’s two-day Africa Early Stage Investor Summit organized by VC4A and ABAN.

Celebrating its fifth year, the summit attracted the highest ever number of early stage African investors from 35 different countries, and more specifically 25 African nations representing 110+ investor organisations to share expertise, experiences, and fostering collaborations to bolster the ecosystem of capital provision for African entrepreneurs.

Key takeaways from the two days included:

• Silicon Valley will not be replicated in Africa. Though there are lessons to be learned from the Valley, African VC faces unique constraints in scale, capital and exit opportunities. Rather than spend time ‘unicorn hunting,’ investors should push founders to build profitable, sustainable, and locally-adapted businesses.
• Collaboration is required to build a thriving industry.Investors must be activists in attracting more capital and resources into African markets, especially from larger corporates, growth equity investors and development finance institutions (DFIs). More collaboration is needed in designing instruments and financing structures tailored to African ventures.
• Human capital and diverse teams will be a key to success. In the coming decade, Africa will hold the majority of the global youth population, bringing a wealth of opportunity and innovation. Yet accessing strong talent and building diverse teams remains a stark challenge for most ventures. Investors want to see more female and locally-led organizations with thoughtful human capital strategies.

As Keet van Zyl from Knife Capital expressed during the opening panel discussion: “It is easy to invest money in Africa right now, but it is hard to make money in investing here. The key is to be exit centric – we only invest in entrepreneurs who are focusing on building sustainable businesses that can exit.” Ben White, CEO of VC4A says, “This conversation succinctly captures the challenges venture capital faces in Africa and why we need to keep working to strengthen and support the entire African venture ecosystem.”
One key announcement at the Summit came from Nikunj Jinsi from IFC Venture Capital: the World Bank Group has launched L’Afrique Excelle, a post seed stage acceleration program and showcase of the best startups from Francophone Africa. The program, following the first XL Africa cohort, will target and select high growth business in order to provide much needed support to the region’s nascent ecosystem. “With the conversations around the current lack of resources availed to Francophone Africa, and the importance of public-private partnerships, having frequently surfaced in the Summit sessions, this news was highly welcomed and appreciated by all in attendance,” says White.
While still in the early days, angel investors are experimenting across the continent and seeking ways to professionalize within their home markets. ABAN president Tomi Davies presented “Finding Product/Market Fit: The State of Angel Investing in Africa” (- a first ever scoping study by ABAN in partnership with infoDev / The World Bank Group on angel investing in Africa. The ABAN network has grown from 5 to 80 active networks and it is important to now have research that captures this emerging investor segment.
Babajide Sodipo, Regional Trade Adviser with the African Union (AU), announced a new partnership between the AU and ABAN formalizing their joint ambition in supporting entrepreneurs and SME’s across the continent. David van Dijk, ABAN Executive Director: “It’s great to see so many connections being made. More importantly we are excited by the level of engagement. Now is the time to take an active role and to be part of the next great African success story. We invite all actors and stakeholders to join the conversation.”
“It was the largest and most successful summit we have run with over 60 speakers participating in 7 panels, 4 investor masterclasses, 3 keynotes, 2 roundtables and 1 fireside chat. It’s amazing to see this industry rise in Africa. The passion and commitment shown by speakers and participants alike to partner with entrepreneurs to unlock the continent’s opportunities demonstrates how much there is to still achieve and I have no doubt that this ecosystem will prosper”, concludes White.

Generation Z is entering the workforce, bringing with it a tech-first mentality that will propel businesses further into the digital era while potentially deepening the divide among five generations in the workplace. According to global research commissioned by Dell Technologies, post-millennials – those born after 1996 and known as Gen Z – have a deep, universal understanding of technology and its potential to transform how we work and live.

“It’s almost a given that these digital natives have advanced technology and data science skills, but what is surprising is the level of digital maturity they are bringing to the workplace,” said Danny Cobb, corporate fellow and vice president of Technology Strategy, Dell Technologies. “Yet we haven’t raised a generation of robots. Gen Z sees technology not only as a tool for enabling human progress, but also as a means for leveling the information empowerment playing field. Their combination of vision and optimism is remarkable.”

The survey of more than 12,000 high school and college students in 17 countries reveals the younger generation’s outlook on technology and future jobs. Specifically:

         98% have used technology as part of their formal education

         91% say the technology offered by an employer would be a factor in choosing among similar job offers

         80% want to work with cutting-edge technology; of those 38% are interested in IT careers, 39% want to work in cybersecurity and 46% aspire to do technology research and development

         80% believe technology and automation will create a more equitable work environment by preventing bias and discrimination

An overwhelming 89% recognize that we are entering the age of human-machine partnerships: 51% of those surveyed believe that humans and machines will work as integrated teams, while 38% see machines as tools for humans to use as needed.

While most Gen Zers are confident with their technical prowess, they also worry about having the soft skills and experience that employers are seeking. Seventy-three percent rate their technology literacy as good or excellent and 68% say they have above-average coding skills. Even more telling, 77% are willing to mentor an older coworker who may be less experienced with technology. Yet nearly all new grads (94%) have some concerns about future employment.

         Only about half (57%) rate their education as good or excellent in preparing them for their careers

         52% are confident they have the tech skills employers want but not necessarily the non-tech skills

At the same time, senior professionals are concerned they are being outpaced and that a majority of leadership roles in the future will be filled by digital natives. According to previous Dell Technologies research, 87% of business leaders fear that their organizations will struggle to offer equal opportunities across generations.

With up to five generations now in the workplace, businesses must help workers find common ground as they push to create a digital-first culture. Cross-functional teams with complementary skillsets can encourage knowledge exchange and a fresh approach to problem-solving. Internships, rotation programs and other early-career development opportunities can help young professionals gain experience and develop soft skills on the job. And reverse mentorship programs can enhance technical competencies throughout an organization, with Gen Z leading the way.

“At Draper, we thrive on cross-discipline collaboration. It’s not unusual for us to bring together military experts, rocket scientists and students from area universities to solve some of the world’s most complex challenges,” said Mike Crones, CIO at Draper. “In these scenarios, the student provides a unique perspective to solution development. Many of the technologies we work on are highly interactive and Gen Z brings a curious, user-first approach that we might not otherwise consider.”

Although they have interacted with electronic devices practically since birth and grew up with social media, Gen Z yearns for more human interaction in the workplace.

         In-person communication (43%) is the preferred method for communicating with coworkers, followed by phone (21%); messaging apps and texting ranked last

         75% expect to learn on the job from coworkers or other people – not online

         82% say that social media can be a valuable tool in the workplace

         More than half (53%) prefer to go to a workplace versus working from home and 58% prefer to work as part of team rather than independently

“Today’s young professionals grew up in a collaborative educational environment and they are bringing those same expectations to the workplace,” said Maribel Lopez, technology industry analyst and strategic advisor at Lopez Research. “Though face-to-face communication isn’t always in possible in today’s modern workplace, immersive technologies are enabling all types of workers to collaborate in both the physical and virtual worlds.”

Added Cobb, “Ultimately, those organizations that create a workforce in which all generations are supported will thrive in the era of hum

The deployment of technology to make Nigeria’s real estate sector more investable, increase liquidity to drive greater home ownership, will be a major talking point at this year’s West Africa Property Investment (WAPI) Summit taking place on 15 and 16 November in Lagos.
For PropTech pioneer, Abdulhakeem Sadiq, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of new market entrant, ZAMA, the increasing role and use of Proptech is a boon for the regional real estate sector.
“Proptech is slowly gaining momentum in developed markets, and we feel a developing market like Nigeria can learn and re-calibrate itself for seasoned investors.”
Having spent years in research and development to refine the residential & commercial focussed ZAMA platform, Sadiq believes that their multiphase tech solution has the potential to enhance and shape the Nigerian industry drastically.
Says Sadiq, “We have been working for about two years to research the local market in preparation to launch a modern and innovative web and mobile platform for Buyers, Sellers and Agents in the Nigerian real estate space.”
Designed as a one-stop platform to bring cohesion to the market; the product is an example of how tech-savvy African entrepreneurs and experts are harnessing global smarts, tech and efficiencies to create lucrative opportunities by solving historical economic challenges.
“We reached out to Google to grant us access to a back-end API to edit their map and integrate to our platform to literally put properties on the map. It was an investment we knew was necessary for the market and subscribed for it. Currently, the platform is focused only on Lagos with the goal to launch in other local markets in Nigeria and the rest of West Africa.”
Inspired by billion-dollar valuated international firms like Zillow, Zoopla and Rightmove, Sadiq and his team have used their know-how and industry experience to suite the unique Nigerian Real estate sector.
As he explains, “Our market has its peculiar problems and introducing a process driven technology would greatly enhance the validity of property valuation for instance, or even in the process finding a reputable agent to work with to help sell and buy properties.”
Before developing, Zama, Sadiq spent five years with global property consultancy JLL in Dubai and Nigeria.
This experience working for one of the world’s pioneering and increasingly data-driven property firms provides him with a specific and global view of the local property sector.
“It taught me how to look at the property from an investment point of view and enabled me with the right training and skills to advise various clients in all markets around the world. Nigeria is my home, and I would love to help change and improve the way the real estate industry functions.”
And while expertise, insights and market-leading tech are integral to making Zama successful, Sadiq has invested strategically in brand development and by partnering with the region’s most high-profile real estate conference – WAPI – to launch the ZAMA platform.
“It was collaborative, and together with our London design firm, we came up with the name: Zama. In Hausa, a local dialect, it means a “place to stay” but is also designed to spell NEMA – a local term meaning to search. The combination of which means “searching for a place to stay.”
Adding that the annual property conference taking place on the 15^th and 16^th of November is pivotal for the development of the sector as it allows industry high profile networking.
“I believe WAPI has done a good job at bringing together industry professionals to discuss challenges and opportunities in the industry. Platforms like WAPI also help build relationships and as far as I’m concerned, real estate is about relationships; the rest is just details.”
And as WAPI provides the industry’s largest and concentrated location to meet; WAPI’s host, Kfir Rusin is confident that ZAMA will be a force in the Nigerian market.
“We’re honoured that Zama’s big coming out party is at WAPI. Abdulhakeem and his team have done significant work, and I know long-term that ZAMA will drive the real estate sector by providing more data, transparency and a powerful platform for industry players to come together.
Adding that, “I know a number of our stakeholders are very interested in the ZAMA, and I know there will be a lot of discussions around his game changing platform.”
As Sadiq ends, “Tech and data, are fundamental to growing the sector and driving more investment and liquidity. The local and international market is hungry for data! With our platform, we will provide relevant data to aid decision making and guide users with relevant insights to make informed decisions on property while also connecting them to professionals who can help.”