👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – MNT-Halan’s fourth expansion

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How much do Nigerian bankers really earn?

Ever wondered how much you could make working at First Bank or Zenith? It’s one of the banking industry’s best-kept secrets. But we’ve uncovered the truth. From entry-level roles to management positions, we’ve got the numbers. 

Here’s a sneak peak: Union Bank pays its trainees—yes, trainees—about ₦547,000 ($354) per month, the highest we’ve found. The lowest is Zenith Bank’s at ₦245,000 ($159).

Here are all the other interesting things we found.

Expansions

Egyptian Unicorn MNT-Halan Expands to UAE

MNT Halan
Image source: MNT Halan

Egyptian unicorn, MNT-Halan, is expanding its services to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) market. Its first offering, “Halan Advance,” allows employees to access a portion of their salary in advance.

Building on its success in Egypt, Turkey, and Pakistan, MNT-Halan plans to introduce credit, payments, and investment products to the Gulf region subsequently. MNT-Halan has been prepping fopr this expansion since April 2024, partnering with employers and acquiring over 40,000 customers.

The company, which provides financial services, including loans, and e-commerce services, aims to serve the UAE’s 3.7 million underbanked individuals by leveraging the country’s strong economy and high smartphone adoption. 

Since it was founded in 2018, it has issued over $4.4 billion in loans and has 2.2 million quarterly active users. In 2022, MNT-Halan surpassed $300 million in gross revenue. 

After attaining unicorn status, the company has focused on expansion. In March 2024, it acquired Advans Group in Pakistan, a microfinance bank with over 62,000 clients and 19 branches. Later, in July, MNT-Halan acquired Tam Finans, a Turkish company, to enhance its micro-lending and factoring services.

The expansion follows MNT-Halan’s $157.5 million funding round and its entry into the Turkish market in July. The funds aim to fuel the company’s growth beyond Egypt. 

Read About Moniepoint’s Impact on Pharmacies
Moniepoint image

Do you remember what you bought the last time you visited a pharmacy? Data from Moniepoint’s pharmacy case study reveals it was likely a painkiller. Click here to discover how Moniepoint is enabling access to healthcare through payments and funding for community pharmacies.

Economy

Nigeria records highest inflation figures in 2024

HIGHER, HIGHER GIF
GIF Source: Tenor

Yesterday, Nigeria recorded its highest inflation figures in 2024.

The National Bureau of Statistics announced a 34.60% inflation rate for November, up from 33.8% recorded in October 2024. 

November’s inflation figure was largely due to increases in transport and food prices. Although Nigeria’s harvest season helped ease food prices, flooding in key agricultural states like Borno and increased transportation costs due to a fuel hike have reversed those gains. The country’s failure to implement a 150-day waiver on food imports also quickened food inflation.

Analysts predict that Nigeria’s inflation may peak in the coming months, closely followed by a start of disinflation due to the waning influence of fuel subsidy removal and naira devaluation.

Despite multiple rate hikes to curb inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also anticipates a decline in inflation by the second half of 2024 and a potential interest rate reduction in the second half of 2025.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso has previously expressed the bank’s goal of achieving a positive real interest rate to stimulate investment and strengthen the naira. Economists also expects the CBN to proceed with gradual interest rate cuts from Q2 next year, predicting a 400 basis point cut to 23.5% by the end of 2025. 

Get Fincra’s Embedded Finance and BaaS Report 2024 for FREE
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Fincra in collaboration with The Paypers have released the Embedded Finance and Banking-as-a-Service Report 2024. This report examines the key challenges and innovative solutions defining the future of seamless cross-border payments and remittances across the continent, among other topics, with key experts. 

Get this valuable, free resource today!

Funding

develoPPP Ventures funds nine startups with €100,000

Image source: developpp
Image source: develoPPP

develoPPP Ventures has selected nine startups from Nigeria and South Africa to receive €100,000 each in non-dilutive funding. 

The funding is backed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It will be implemented by one of its three public partners, GIZ.

The fund targets early-stage companies with business models that improve living conditions in developing economies. In addition to funding, the startups will receive technical assistance to support their growth.

The beneficiaries include five South African startups and four Nigerian startups, namely, Nigeria’s Earthbond Limited, South Africa’s Franc, and Nigeria’s Cybervergent among others. 

In total, the fund supports 34 companies across various sectors in CĂ´te d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, and Tanzania. While this is the fund’s first expansion to South Africa, it is in its third phase in Nigeria.

To qualify for the funding, the startup must have generated initial revenue, it must be privately owned and profit-oriented. Furthermore, the company is required to procure complementary financing, cap prior funding at €2 million, exhibit strong growth prospects, and target profitability within a three-year timeframe.

develoPPP.de is one of three funding programs developed by BMZ to promote private sector engagement in developing countries and emerging economies. The next call for applications is expected in 2025.

CRYPTO TRACKER

The World Wide Web3

Source:

CoinMarketCap logo

Coin Name

Current Value

Day

Month

Bitcoin $106,444

+ 1.61%

+ 17.45%

Ether $4,002

+ 0.96%

+ 28.69%

XRP $2.49

+ 3.75%

+ 138.77%

Solana $214.11

– 3.14%

– 10.05%

* Data as of 06:20 AM WAT, December 17, 2024.

Jobs

There are more jobs on TechCabal’s job board. If you have job opportunities to share, please submit them at bit.ly/tcxjobs

Written by: Towobola Bamgbose and Faith Omoniyi

Edited by:Timi Odueso

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