Is Ghana's E-Levy Here To Stay With Its New 1% Rate?
Airtel Africa gears up to roll out 5G and Jetstream raises $13 million in Series A
What’s happened this Week:
Airtel Africa purchases 4G and 5G spectrum in Nigeria
Flutterwave is looking to purchase a UK fintech
and more!
Ghana’s “E-Levy” caused quite a controversy last year when it was passed by Ghana’s parliament. Fights and protests erupted before the E-Levy was eventually passed.
The levy placed a 1.5% tax on movement of electronic from one person’s mobile money wallet to another’s wallet with a threshold of 100 GHC. This also affected bank to mobile money payments. Once a person was over their threshold, they were charged 1.5% on any transaction after that.
But in November last year, during a budget hearing, Ghana’s Minister of Finance stated that they would reduce the E-Levy rate from 1.5% to 1%. Initially, the Minister proposed a removal of the 100 GHC threshold but after protests from parliament, the threshold remained.
The new E-levy tax took effect from Wednesday, 11th January, 2023. With this new rate, will Ghanaians be willing to accept the E-levy or will there still more loud calls for the E-Levy to be scrapped entirely? We’ll wait and see.
In The News This Week
Releaf Raises $3.3 Million In Pre-Series A To Help Drive Profitability For Consumer Goods Manufacturers
Releaf, a technology company that makes it easier for consumer goods manufacturers in Africa to access high-quality ingredients for their factories, has raised $3.3 million in an oversubscribed Pre-Series A funding round.
Airtel Africa Acquires 5G Spectrum In Nigeria For $316.7 Million
Airtel Africa has acquired 4G and 5G spectrum for a total of $316.7 million as part of wider plans to bolster connectivity in Nigeria. The purchase was done at an auction where Airtel Africa was the sole bidder.
Jetstream Raises $13 Million In Series A To Help With Expansion Efforts
Jetstream Africa, a tech logistics company in Ghana has raised US$13 million in a combination of debt and equity financing to help it expand in Africa.
Flutterwave Reportedly In A Bidding War To Purchase British Fintech Railsr
A report is stating that Flutterwave is among a number of other fintechs, currently in discussions to buy a British fintech.
Djibouti Partners With Honk Kong Space Group In $1 Billion Deal To Build A Spaceport
Djibouti has signed a partnership with Hong Kong Aerospace Technology Group (HKATG) for the construction of a spaceport in the country.
Features
Five African Online Ticket Platforms Battling It Out For Local Event Creators
We took a look at online ticketing in Africa, specifically in the Ghana tech ecosystem and outlined five ticketing platforms offering online ticket services in Ghana
What To Expect From Ghana’s Creator Economy In 2023
Ghana’s creator economy is still in its infancy. At the moment, there are a range of creators creating contents on different platforms including YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.
We take a look at what we should expect from the creator economy in Ghana in 2023
The article has been republished from Labari Magazine
Africa Ecosystem Funding Activity
Egypt’s KarmSolar raises $3m debt funding for innovative micro-grid solution - Disrupt Africa
Tunisia-founded AI startup InstaDeep acquired in $684m deal- Disrupt Africa
Podcast: What’s Your Story - Episode 6
Most tech CEOs you see online tend to be a bit straightforward and serious. But that’s not really the case with Ethel Cofie. The CEO of EDEL Technology Consulting was always more of a creative at a young age and that shows with her online presence.
She spent most of her university days and early career in the UK before eventually coming back to Ghana where she founded her consulting company.
Ethel Cofie has always been an advocate for women in tech and she went on to create a membership group called Women In Tech Africa which has memberships across 30 countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.
Listen to the latest episode to learn more about Ethel’s story.