Cybersecurity

Hope Payment Service Bank, a digital bank in Nigeria, is trying to recover ₦6.5 billion ($4.1 million) stolen in a recent cyberattack. The bank has gone to court to get the money back.

On July 15, 2024, hackers broke into Hope PSB’s banking system and made unauthorised transfers to hundreds of bank accounts, including commercial and neobanks. 

To contain the cyber attack, , the bank temporarily shut down its banking service.

“This is the first time we have suffered an attack in five years, as we have a robust risk and compliance framework. Customer deposits are safe, and there was no risk transference,” said a company insider that ask not to be named.

At least 50% of all cyberattacks target banks and financial institutions. In the first three months of 2024, Nigerian financial institutions lost ₦3.007 billion ($1.88 million) to fraud in 20,638 cases.

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Telecoms

2023 was a tough year for Airtel Africa. The telecom company recorded $2 million in profit, a steep decline from the $523 million recorded in the 2022 calendar year. 

The telecom is now picking up the pace and its latest financial result paints that picture. Airtel Africa, which operates in 14 African countries, reported $31 million in profit after tax for the year ended June 2024.

Airtel Africa’s customer base also grew by 8.6% to 155.4 million. The telecom recorded an increase in its voice, data, and mobile money revenue. Data revenue climbed to $409 million, voice revenue reached $476 million, and mobile money revenue hit $22 million, with strong performances in East Africa and Francophone Africa. 

Airtel recorded less voice, and data revenue in Nigeria when compared to the previous year. The telecom made $256 million in voice revenue this quarter, a sharp drop from the $528 million it earned in 2023. It also made about $112 million in data revenue for the quarter, a decrease from the $254 million it earned in 2023. 

While currency devaluation persists, Airtel Africa’s revenue grew 19% in constant currency terms with Nigeria and East Africa leading the way. However, its revenue nosedived by 16% to about $1.15 billion in reported currency terms.

The difference between the constant currency and reported currency is primarily due to the devaluation of the Zambian kwacha, the Malawian kwacha, and the Tanzanian shilling, partially offset by the Kenyan shilling appreciation.

While the telecom group suffers from the effects of currency devaluation in some of its key markets, the telecom is forging on with its growth plans. 

“A key priority for us is to look for new opportunities to further grow our business, especially in the enterprise, fibre and data centre businesses across our footprint in Africa,” said CEO Sunil Taldar, on the earnings call.

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M&As

Ticketmaster, an e-ticketing platform, has completed the acquisition of Quicket, a South African event self-service platform for an undisclosed fee. Following the acquisition, Quicket will continue to operate as a standalone business in South Africa.

Founded in the United States, Ticketmaster processes around 500 million tickets a year and made an estimated net revenue of $12.3 billion in 2022. Despite the huge numbers, more than 80% of its business comes from the US alone. 

Though it already operates in 35+ countries globally, it now wants to strengthen its presence in Africa. 

Quicket offers a full event management platform that allows creators and artists sell tickets, create and manage merchandise sales and donations. More than 3,000 events—especially festivals, social events, and artist tours—are created on Quicket daily. The company raised $6.4 million series A capital in 2017, and has made $6.1 million in revenue so far in 2024. To put into perspective, the South African ticketing market size is estimated to reach $383.8 million by the end of the year.

A quick back-of-the-napkin math would estimate Quicket’s revenue by year-end to be $12.2 million; that’s around 3.35% revenue capture of the ticketing market in 2024. Quite an insignificant amount but Ticketmaster won’t mind. Quicket has other perks like its international presence in Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Botswana.

Ticketmaster wants to onboard creators to its ecosystem by creating a self-service platform for them to manage events. Acquiring Quicket will give Ticketmaster access to African creators and artists, giving it an advantage as it competes for market share against bigger players in South Africa.

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