TechPression

Tag: Gig Economy

  • Tech: The New ‘Oil’

    Tech: The New ‘Oil’

    What comes to your mind when you hear of oil? Wealth, right? What do your work colleagues mean if they jokingly ask you, “Have you gotten another job in an oil company?” They probably asked you such a question because you are intentionally or unintentionally ‘playing’ with your job because you’ve seen a higher-paying job.

    People working in an oil company are seen as men and women of timber and calibre. Men and women of affluence who are swimming in wealth. It is generally believed that once you work in an oil company, you live in luxury.

    Read also: TD Africa and CISCO’s Impact on Tech Skills in Africa

    Nigeria’s Economic Transformation: From Agriculture to Oil

    Nigeria experienced a notable surge in foreign exchange revenues amid the oil boom period in the 1970s. Until today, the petroleum sector has been the country’s highest revenue-generating sector since its discovery in 1956, thereby relegating the agricultural sector to the background, formerly the country’s primary revenue-generating sector.

    This article was not intended to bore you with Nigerian oil, which has been the bane of corruption in Nigeria today, but to use it as an analogy and draw your attention to the kind of wealth tech can fetch you.

    From Oil to Tech: The Evolution of Profitable Sectors

    As of today, tech experts are the most sought-after professionals in every organisation, and they are paid handsomely well for their expertise. One thing that makes tech different is that it’s not concentrated or monopolised by a few individuals like oil.

    Also, it doesn’t have to relegate any revenue-generating sector to the background, just as the discovery of oil did to agriculture. In contrast, tech is needed in every sector to improve their productivity, including the agricultural and oil sectors. That’s why, as somebody looking forward to building a career, you might want to consider tech.

    When you ask an average intending university student what course he plans to study, high-value courses such as medicine, nursing, accounting, engineering, law, and the like come out of his mouth. As an intending university student, you can add Information Technology (IT) or tech to the list of high-value courses. You can work anywhere as a tech specialist, including in the field of high-value courses mentioned earlier.

    Tech is specially designed, so you may not have to attend university to acquire this skill. You can learn it from any centre offering any tech skills. You can even learn it online from the comfort of your home. So, it is not limited to the four walls of the formal educational institution. This is to tell you that you don’t have to pay through your nose before acquiring tech skills.

    There are arrays of technical skills you may want to consider learning. They include data analysis, graphics design, cybersecurity, programming, product design, digital marketing, technical writing, python, product management, web development, cloud computing, mobile development, machine learning, DevOps, Artificial Intelligence, software development, etc.

    Read also: Nigeria gets 7th in internet speed among African countries

    I will give you an assignment to go and check the list of the top wealthiest people in the world. You’ll observe that most of them make their fortune from tech. I am talking of Elon Musk (Twitter), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Larry Page (Google), Sergey Brin (Google), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Ballmer (Microsoft), and the likes.

    Most advanced countries are also generating a significant chunk of their revenues from tech. For Nigeria to be counted among these countries, the government must invest more in developing human capacity for its teeming population in tech.

    Part of the government’s efforts to equip its teeming population with tech skills is through the introduction of the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) program. The program is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy to generate a pipeline of technical talent in the country. The government must be commended for this. However, more still needs to be done.

    Kudos must also be given to various non-governmental organisations for organising tech skills for interested young people. Young people can leverage these various platforms to equip themselves with skills that may interest them.

    You can also continue to check on Techpression Media to acquire the information necessary to advance your tech skills.

    Tech is the future.

  • ImaliPay Closes $3M Seed to Expand Gig Economy Across Africa

    ImaliPay Closes $3M Seed to Expand Gig Economy Across Africa

    Nigerian Gig economy fintech, ImaliPay, which describes itself as a one-stop-shop financial services platform, has raised a $3 million seed in debt and equity round to expand its financial services infrastructure in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.

    The round welcomed participation from Leonnis Investments and included Ten 13, Uncovered Fund, MyAsia VC, Jedar Capital, Logos Ventures, Plug N Play Ventures, Untapped Global, Latam Ventures, Cliff Angels, Chandaria Capital, and Changecom among the follow-on investors. Keisuke Honda of KSK Angels and other angel investors from Serbia, Kenya, and Norway also participated in the round.

    Last year, the fintech raised an $800,000 pre-seed round and launched in South Africa in December, initially being active in Nigeria and Kenya. The fintech is looking to explore new markets like Ghana and Egypt with new funding.

     

    Founding ImaliPay To Ease The Pains of GiG Workers

    Co-founded in 2020 by Tatenda Furusa and Sanmi Akinmusire, ImaliPay allows new and existing gig workers or freelancers to save their earnings and get in-kind loans through a purchase now, pay later model related to their trade.

    ImaliPay was launched after Furusa noticed the challenges ride-hailing drivers faced when accessing working capital or emergencies like running out of fuel in Nairobi.

    “One time, a Bolt driver ran out of fuel in Nairobi when I was coming from the airport and couldn’t top off immediately. It triggered me to think of what other pains these gig workers might be experiencing,” says Furusa.

     

    Read Also : Huawei’s Leap Programme to Upskill 100,000 Youths in Africa

     

    “We researched the gig economy and found that they were neglected by some financial services. And we saw that we were perfectly placed on building a fintech solving the problems of Africa’s gig economy workers, freelancers, and self-employed digital workers.”

    Furusa’s experience inspired ImaliPay’s pilot: a buy now, pay later (BNPL) fuel product for two-wheeler gig platforms, with the startup partnering with a few fuel stations in Ibadan, Nigeria, to provide this service to SafeBoda riders.

     

    Impacting Gig Economy in Africa

    Africa is experiencing rapid growth in the gig economy. Despite this growth, workers who are considered contractors rather than employees have remained unchanged.

    Being a contractor is unfavourable for many of them, particularly in the two-wheeler industry, because they lack access to some financial services. Some gig platforms have attempted to incorporate financial services onto their platforms; however, their capabilities are limited.

    Meanwhile, fintech like ImaliPay provides a broader spectrum of financial services for these gig workers (who, according to the Mastercard Foundation, are expected to reach over 80 million by 2030).

     

    Read Also : Amazon Set to Launch AWS Local Zone Cloud Infrastructure in Kenya

     

    The startup then proceeded to build a partner ecosystem so that some give it access to new users while others support its ecosystem and marketplace.

    “We built out other services around spare parts, smartphones, power banks, savings and investments, and insurance bundled with those products,” said Furusa. “So like accident covers and income protection loss insurance, we intertwine these products so gig workers can qualify for each product based upon their transactional behaviour.”

    The former is primarily the fault of the gig platforms. Bolt, Glovo, SWVL, Amitruck, Safeboda, Gokada, and Max.ng are among the 15 partners in this category.

    Vendors who deal with fuel, spare parts, mobile phones, and other items needed by gig workers make up the difference. ImaliPay has partnered with platforms in Kenya and South Africa to provide additional financial services such as insurance (health and income protection loss) and savings, partnering with various gig platforms.

    ImaliPay’s user base has increased 60X in just 15 months. These gig workers, who the company said are in the “tens of thousands,” access its services across 4,500 vendor points. The company also revealed that over 200,000 transactions had been processed on its platform. Transaction and referral fees are how the pan-African embedded financing provider makes money.

    Commenting on the round revealed that — “Our seed funding will be used to hire important personnel, improve technology, and expand into other areas.”

    “The impact we want to make in encouraging financial stability in the gig economy, servicing the underbanked, and taking them through a customized financial inclusion journey is firmly anchored in our passion for launching and keeping ImaliPay rising.” “Having strong partners and investors at the table demonstrates our commitment to building vital services for the future of work,” he added.

    “Fuelling disruptive startups and building ecosystems is the heartbeat of our investment model at Ten13; we’re excited to follow on and be part of ImaliPay’s journey as they re-shape the future of financial services for the African gig economy,” said Stew Glynn, co-founder, and managing partner at Ten13.