SA Auto-tech Carscan Receives Follow-on Investment Worth $1.3m

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SA Auto-tech Carscan Receives Follow-on Investment Worth $1.3m

South African startup Carscan, a leading AI and AR app active in the auto-insurance space Augmented reality app, has raised a follow-on funding round worth ZAR20 million (US$1.3) million to help it further expand operations.

Carscan is an augmented reality (AR) app with embedded artificial intelligence (AI) that creates an accurate, reliable, agnostic, complete, and traceable digital record of a car. The platform helps automotive ecosystems buy, sell, rent, service, insure, finance and auction cars with great confidence by eliminating fraud, governance, and industry risks.

The digital application allows anyone to assess and extract details of a car in less than a minute, expediting the insurance claim process from weeks to minutes. Carscan claims to be a global first.

The startup, founded by Obins Choudhary and Chander Prakash, raised a seed round in late 2020, led by Kalon Venture Partners alongside Launch Africa Ventures and the IDF. The new round includes the same three investors, as well as Allan Gray E2 Ventures and AlphaCode.

Carscan has seen tremendous traction with South African, Nigerian and Indian customers, and recently completed successful proof of concepts in some Gulf countries. Although its technology has a range of other use cases, its immediate focus is on inspection and the insurance of cars.

“Carscan assists the consumer and makes the entire claims process simple and frictionless,” Prakash said. “Carscan is working with a number of local and international clients and has been developed in conjunction with one of the largest players in the automotive sector in South Africa.”

Kalon Venture Partners CEO Clive Butkow said the Carscan team had shown exceptional talent, and that their offering was solving a large problem across the insurance and automotive industries.

“The company continues to grow at a rapid rate which is evidenced by their traction and market acceptance,” he said.

“This follow-on round is testimony to the growth of the company and the Carscan’s team’s ability to deliver a solution solving a large problem across industries. The solution will disrupt the motor industry and make lives easier for numerous stakeholders in the automobile and insurance value chains.”

Abu Cassim, AlphaCode’s fund executive, said he was proud to make Carscan the first investment through AlphaCode’s newly-established fund.

“Carscan is a great fit for our broader group and the founding team has shown exceptional aptitude in executing on this solution. We look forward to seeing them grow this solution across various markets,” he said.

Renault, Nissan And Mitsubishi Form Alliance To Build 35 Electric Vehicles

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Renault, Nissan And Mitsubishi Form Alliance To Build 35 Electric Vehicles

With the majority of automotive companies looking to attain carbon neutrality in the coming years, the two-decade-old alliance between the French and Japanese automakers, the Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance has also announced its electrification roadmap for the coming decade.

The alliance during the announcement revealed their future plans which include the launch of more than 35 electric vehicles across all of the participating brands in their alliance.

Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi form Alliance; to build 35 electric vehicles

The French-Japanese strategic alliance will be investing a sum of €23 billion (almost $26 billion) over the next five years, which will be used for the development of five common platforms, namely CMF-AEV, KEI-EV, LCV-EV, CMF-EV, and CMF-BEV on which the majority of the forthcoming EVs will be largely based on. These platforms will be covering all of the major segments of the current automotive market. Furthermore, the alliance has also stated that the shared platform network is expected to increase from 60% to more than 80% by 2026.

Under the “Common Roadmap Alliance 2030” the association intends to aim for real-scale and affordability, which will allow for a 50% drop in battery costs in 2026 and a 65% decrease in 2028. While it also plans to have a total of 220 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of battery production capacity for EVs at major production locations across the world by 2030. The alliance is looking to push the envelope of battery technology by pouring its resources into the all-solid-state battery (“ASSB”) technology.

The said technology will help in significantly reducing the charging times for batteries by one-third which in turn will allow consumers to take longer excursions with greater ease, confidence, and enjoyment. The development of this battery technology will be mainly led by Nissan while, the responsibility of the reduction in costs will be attributed to the French automaker, Renault.

Additionally, based on a common electrical and electronic architecture built by Renault, the Alliance will introduce its first software-defined car by 2025. The developed framework by Renault will help in the improvement of digital integration in Alliance cars even further with more substantial OTA updates that will provide the customers with a more customized experience, better services, and lower maintenance costs. Subsequently, it was also announced that by 2026, over 50 lakh Alliance vehicles will be connected to the internet, and 1 crore vehicles across 45 types will feature ADAS. Furthermore, the Alliance will be the first to provide a complete Google ecosystem in its automobiles.

The roadmap introduced by the Alliance will also enable the member automakers to share a majority of components across their model portfolios and according to them, the common platforms will account for 80 percent of the 90 models the Alliance thinks will be on sale in 2026 which as of 2022 stands at 60 percent. This Alliance will also enable the Mitsubishi brand to once again enter the European market with some of the models based on the Renault vehicles. Subsequently, it will also help Renault to produce a seven-seater SUV based on Mitsubishi’s tried and tested SUV platforms.

According to industry experts, this alliance between Renault Nissan and Mitsubishi could become the most significant strategic EV venture in the future if it continues the momentum that it is currently operating with.

 

Data Leads MTN’s N1.65trn Revenue In 2021

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Data Leads MTN’s N1.65trn Revenue In 2021

MTN Nigeria generated over N516 billion from data services in 2021, which led revenue growth for the year at an increase of 55 percent. The revenue line accounted for 31 percent of the company’s turnover of N1.65 trillion for the year, rising from 24.7 percent in the preceding year.

These are contained in the company’s audited accounts for the 2021 operations – which produced the fastest revenue growth for the company in five years. The company grew turnover by about 23 percent in the year, accelerating from 15 percent growth in 2020.

Data services have been the engine room for earnings growth for the telecommunications company for the past two years in reflection of the coronavirus-induced changes in the communication pattern of people and businesses.

Data revenue had grown by over 51 percent in the preceding financial year. The telecoms sector is in a beneficial position from the major shift to virtual activities in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. MTN Nigeria, which leads the market, is converting the opportunity into earnings.

Data Leads MTN’s N1.65trn Revenue In 2021

The contribution of data earnings to the company’s total revenue expanded from less than 19 percent at the end of 2019.

Conversely, the company’s main revenue line – airtime/subscription, has continued losing its revenue dominance. At N819.7 billion, it accounted for 49.6 percent of total revenue at the end of 2021, down from 57 percent in 2020 and from 62 percent in 2019.

Amidst the company’s changing income structure, it recorded improvements across its key income lines during the year. Earnings from airtime services improved by 7 percent while income from interconnect and roaming grew by 26.7 percent to nearly N168 billion.

Income from SMS multiplied by 276 percent to over N46 billion during the year and value-added services leapt by 52 percent to N70.6 billion.

Some revenue disappointments were equally recorded in the year though they happened in the less critical service areas. These include digital services, which went down by 51 percent to less than N18 billion and handset and accessories, which dropped by 60 percent to less than N3 billion.

MTN’s group profit grew by 45.5 percent in the year to close at N298.6 billion for the 2021 operations. This is almost twice as fast as the growth in the company’s turnover. It is against a marginal improvement in after tax profit at the end of 2020 when the company closed with a profit of N205 billion.

The strength to grow profit that much came from both the gains in revenue as well as cost savings that stretched out the profit margin. Some major cost elements of the company slowed down relative to revenue and yielded cost savings that raised the ability to convert revenue into profit.

Among the moderated expenses are interconnect costs, which grew by 13.4 percent to N127.6 billion. Also, discounts and commissions grew by 14 percent to N78 billion while depreciation of property and equipment increased by 8 percent to N162.5 billion.

These and other costs claimed reduced shares of revenue, which permitted a strong growth of 37 percent in operating profit in the year to N584.7 billion.

Direct network operating cost – the company’s biggest expenditure line, however, failed to slow down. It grew ahead of turnover at 26 percent compared to 23 percent to stand at N390.5 billion at the end of the year.

Finance expenses also moderated at an increase of 11 percent to N160 billion at full year. This is a slowdown from an increase of 18 percent in the cost of finance to N144 billion in 2020.

The summary of the company’s cost-income balance in 2021 is that revenue grew generally ahead of costs, which improved profit margin.

Net profit margin increased from 15.2 percent at the end of the 2020 operations to 18 percent at the end of 2021. This is the main elevating factor for MTN Nigeria in the year.

The company closed the year with earnings per share of N14.67, up from N10.08 per share in 2020. It has announced a final cash dividend of N8.57 per share. This is upon an interim cash dividend of N4.55 per share.

Latest Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate/Black Market Rate For Today February 8

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Latest Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate/Black Market Rate For Today February 8

This is the news about the Dollar to Naira rate at the official and black market exchange rate Today February 8, 2022.

Read Brand Spur Nigeria update on the official dollar rates as well as Black Market rates, Bureau De Change (BDC) rates, and CBN rates.

How Much Is Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate Today Official Rate?

The official rate today, Tuesday, February 8th, 2022, for $1 dollar to naira = ₦415.42/$1.
According to the data at the FMDQ Security Exchange where forex is traded officially, the exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar opened at ₦415.42/$1 on Tuesday 8th, after it closed at ₦416.33 to a $1 on Friday, 4th January 2022.

Brand Spur Nigeria reports that the dollar to naira exchange rate has maintained an average of N416.69 to a dollar since the beginning of the new year.

How much is a dollar to naira today in the black market?

The exchange rate for a dollar to naira at Lagos Parallel Market (Black Market) players buy a dollar for N565 and sell at N568 on Tuesday February 8th 2022, according to sources at Bureau De Change (BDC).

Please note that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) does not recognize the parallel market (black market), as it has directed individuals who want to engage in Forex to approach their respective banks.

Trading at the official NAFEX window

The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar opened at ₦415.42/$1 on 7th February 2022 and closed at ₦416.50/$1. Showing a change of 0.04%.

According to data from FMDQ, forex daily turnover stands at $125.10 million.

Spot rate: The dollar sold to the naira as high as ₦444.00 and as low as ₦404.00

A spot exchange rate is the current price level in the market to directly exchange one currency for another, for delivery on the earliest possible value date.

GTCO Has Announced The Acquisition Of Fund Management And Pension Firms

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GTCO Has Announced The Acquisition Of Fund Management And Pension Firms

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc announced on Monday that it had completed the acquisition of Investment One Pensions Managers Limited and Investment One Funds Management Limited from Investment One Financial Services Limited.

 

The company said in a statement that it had notified the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the investing public of the completion of the acquisitions.

 

“This acquisition is in line with the evolution of the Guaranty Trust brand in becoming a fully-fledged financial services company, with the capabilities and drive to deliver end-to-end financial services to every African and African business,” said Mr Segun Agbaje, Group Chief Executive Officer, GTCO.

 

“The pension fund business is a natural fit for the Guaranty Trust brand, with over 30 years of being a trusted banker to millions of Nigerians and expertise in capital allocation to generate the highest yields for our customers and shareholders.”

 

“Also, our preference for the highest corporate governance standards will ensure transparency in how we manage the funds under our management, making us the preferred pension fund administrator not only in the Nigerian market, but also in Africa.”

 

According to Agbaje, the company’s move into wealth management allows it to become a one-stop shop for financial services and products that will empower its customers throughout their lives.

 

“We will concentrate on replicating our digital-first, customer-centric retail strategy to create distribution channels for wealth solutions that we will offer to both institutional and retail clients,” he said.

 

As a dominant leader in financial services, we are well positioned to add significant value to Nigeria’s asset management business and compete favorably with the world’s largest wealth managers in disclosure, corporate governance, and regulatory compliance.”

 

According to the statement, all regulatory approvals had been obtained for the pension manager company’s acquisition and start-up operations.

External Reserves Are At A Record Low Of $39.98 Billion

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External Reserves Are At A Record Low Of $39.98 Billion

According to a document released by the Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria’s external reserves have reached their lowest level in three months (CBN).

 

According to data, reserves fell to $39.82 billion on February 2, 2022, from $40.53 billion on December 30, 2021.

 

The country’s external reserves increased from $39.82 billion on October 15, 2021, to $41.83 billion on October 29, owing to Eurobond inflows and the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Right.

 

The country’s external reserves increased by $5.12 billion in 2021, from $35.37 billion at the end of 2020.

 

“Members also noted that, despite ongoing foreign exchange market pressures, the external reserves have continued to improve.” As of December 2021, the reserves stood at $40.2 billion.” Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, stated recently at the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting.

 

Emefiele believed that insecurity had hampered investment in the country, resulting in low productivity.

According to him, the country’s productivity level must rise before it can have a significant impact on its external reserves.

Adron Celebrates 10 Years Of Housing Excellence

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Adron Celebrates 10 Years Of Housing Excellence

The Nigerian foremost real estate company, Adron Homes and Properties today celebrates its 10th anniversary of making affordable land and housing attainable for Nigerians.

The apex real estate company was first introduced in February 2012 and started its giant strides in Lagos with a physical office presence with less than 10 staff strengths.

The Group Managing Director of the company, Aare Adetola EmmanuelKing narrated how he started like any other business but was driven by a high sense of growth and development to the housing sector of the Nigerian economy hence the need for the propagation of cheap, and affordable housing schemes embarked on by the company.

Adron
Adron Homes Anniversary

“We noticed a vacuum in the industry that lacks adequate housing information and flexible payment structure that would enable every Nigerian have a roof over their head which brought about our installment and flexible prices across all our estates.

Adron Celebrates 10 Years Of Housing Excellence

Our vision is to become a leading real estate company in Nigeria but we are now the best in Africa as of today. The company has grown so massively with over 3,500 staff strength including marketers, 40 estate location across the country and Republic of Benin and several operational offices.”

He continued, “as you can see, we’ve created many opportunities for the Nigerian population by creating jobs and giving hope for the hopeless in the area of housing.

We can categorically say we’ve closed the housing gap in the country by creating avenues for people to own landed properties without having to break the bank and enabling them to spread payment across years while they go on with their other economic needs without stress.”

Adron
Adron Homes Anniversary

“We’ve also enjoyed a robust collaboration from the people whose communities we’ve developed by bringing change to them and developing such communities. We are committed to making every of our host communities feel our presence in terms of development and infrastructural growth that we bring to their communities,” he stated.

The anniversary which was marked with thanks giving service at the company’s head office and regional offices around the country was tagged, “a reason to do more for the people and a charge to deliver more on our core mandate of making the incredible affordable and a selfless service to creating shelter for the people”.

Expressing the company’s gratitude to it’s teeming customers, Aare EmmanuelKing said, “we appreciate all our esteemed customers that has shown us love by patronizing our products in the past ten years and we say a very big thank you to them because they are the sole reason we are still in busines. We appreciate you all and hope to serve you more in the years to come”.

Euro Area is Recovering Strongly, But Challenges Lie Ahead

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Euro Area is Recovering Strongly, But Challenges Lie Ahead

Economic policies in the euro area have forcefully supported household incomes and protected corporate balance sheets. High levels of vaccination and increasing adaptation to the pandemic have also helped to foster a strong economic recovery.

The challenge now is to coordinate the normalization of economic policy in the face of elevated uncertainty, including the evolution and legacies of the pandemic, as well as ongoing geopolitical tensions. Agility will be key, as policies become increasingly targeted to contain scarring and mitigate a potential rise in inequality and poverty.

Once the expansion is firmly underway, highly indebted countries in particular will need to reduce their debts. Credible plans to achieve this should be announced now. In addition, European Union fiscal rules need reform, including consideration of an EU-level climate fund.

Under the baseline, medium-term inflation dynamics are expected to remain weak. But upside inflation risks have clearly increased, and the European Central Bank should stand ready to adjust course as needed.

Some euro area countries could tighten their macroprudential stance given stretched asset valuations, especially in real estate markets.

The labor market recovered rapidly but unevenly across sectors. Policies need to facilitate labor reallocation and protect the vulnerable, which includes reskilling and upskilling workers, using hiring subsidies, and enhancing targeted safety nets.

Structural reforms and high-impact investment envisioned in the Next Generation European Union package are crucial to enhance resilience, support green and digital transitions, and boost potential growth.

Infographic

Emerging Markets Rankings Show African Gains In Digital Readiness

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Emerging Markets Rankings Show African Gains In Digital Readiness

Leading African economies that have struggled to improve their infrastructure, business conditions and overall competitiveness are generally performing better against other emerging markets in areas that measure their digital skills and sustainability.

 

That’s one of the findings of the 2022 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index , a ranking of the world’s 50 leading emerging markets.

 

Kenya ranks No. 28 in the overall Index but is 17th in digital readiness. South Africa, No. 24 overall, is 21st in digital readiness. Likewise, Ghana is 32nd overall and 23rd in digital readiness.

 

The Index, now in its 13th year, ranks countries for overall competitiveness based on their logistics strengths, business climates and, for the first time, their digital readiness – all factors that make them attractive to logistics providers, freight forwarders, air and ocean carriers, distributors and investors. The Index includes a survey of 756 supply chain industry professionals.

 

Digital readiness assesses digital skills, training, Internet access, e-commerce growth, investment climate, and ability to nurture startups, as well as sustainability factors such as renewable energy mix, lower emissions intensity and green initiatives.

 

“The connection between a country’s digital capabilities and growth prospects is undeniable,” Agility CEO Tarek Sultan said. “The competitiveness of emerging markets countries will be determined by their ability to develop digitally skilled businesses and talent pools, and find the resolve to lower their emissions in ways that spur growth rather than sacrificing it.”

 

The importance of digital readiness was apparent in the survey. Logistics executives identified adoption of technology as the leading driver of economic and business growth for emerging markets. The top focus areas for their companies: technology and sustainability.

 

In addition to performing relatively well in digital readiness, Ghana improved its year-to-year rankings in international logistics infrastructure (to 37th from 45th); domestic logistics infrastructure (to 36th from 38th); and business fundamentals (to 28th from 32nd).

 

Most logistics industry executives see moderate-to-strong economic growth and little or no chance of recession in 2022, even without immediate relief from the snarled supply chains and sky-high ocean and air freight rates triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Roughly two-thirds of the 756 industry professionals surveyed for the Index  believe shippers will see cargo rates come down by the end of the year. Eighty-percent see port bottlenecks, air capacity shortages and trucking issues easing by year end.

 

“The industry’s optimism reflects the fact that emerging economies are getting more resilient and figuring out ways to weather supply chain disruption,” Sultan said. “If emerging markets can get better access to vaccines and give small business a boost, they can help power a broad, dynamic global recovery.”

2022 Index Highlights:

  • Index rankings for Sub-Saharan Africa: South Africa (24), Kenya (28), Ghana (32), Nigeria (34), Tanzania (42), Uganda (43), Ethiopia (45), Mozambique (46), Angola (47).

 

  • China and India, the world’s two largest countries, held their spots at No. 1 and 2 in the overall rankings. UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Thailand, Mexico and Turkey rounded out the top 10. Vietnam, No. 8 in 2021, fell to 11th, switching places with Thailand.

 

  • Powerhouse exporters China, India and Mexico topped the rankings for international logistics. China, India and Indonesia ranked highest for domestic logistics.

 

  • Overall Index rankings for Latin America: Mexico (9), Chile (12), Brazil (16), Uruguay (23), Colombia (25), Peru (26), Argentina, (31), Ecuador (38), Paraguay (41), Bolivia (44), Venezuela (48).

 

  • In the Middle East and North Africa, rankings were: UAE (3), Saudi Arabia (6), Qatar (7), Turkey (10), Oman (14), Bahrain (15), Kuwait (17), Jordan (19), Morocco (20), Egypt (21), Iran (30), Lebanon (35), Tunisia (36), Algeria (37), Libya (50).

 

  • Rankings in Asia: China (1), India (2), Malaysia (4), Indonesia (5), Thailand (8), Vietnam (11), Philippines (18), Kazakhstan (22), Pakistan (27), Sri Lanka (33), Bangladesh (39), Cambodia (40), Myanmar (49).

Transport Intelligence (Ti) , a leading analysis and research firm for the logistics industry, compiled the Index.

John Manners-Bell, Chief Executive of Ti, said: “How quickly emerging markets recover from the crisis of the last two years is heavily reliant on the speed of the vaccine rollout, not least from the perspective of social, economic and political cohesion. At the same time, the links connecting these economies with western markets need to be reinstated if shippers are to be integrated back into the global trading system. COVID has meant that shipping has become even more costly, complicated and slower, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Digitization will play an important role in facilitating frictionless cross-border movements, but in the long run the benefits of globalization will only be shared with emerging markets if supply chains and logistics can be made more resilient in the face of future crises.”

2022 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index: www.Agility.com/2022index

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Hospitality Packages Set To Go On Sale In Nigeria

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FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Hospitality Packages Set To Go On Sale In Nigeria

MATCH Hospitality has confirmed that leading sports management and marketing agency, Integral , has been appointed as its Sales Agent in Nigeria for the sale of the Official Hospitality Programme of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.

 

MATCH Hospitality is the global rights holder and the only company appointed by FIFA to exclusively promote and sell, either directly or via a network of sales agents, official commercial hospitality packages for the FIFA World Cup 2022™, including guaranteed match tickets. MATCH Hospitality has successfully operated the FIFA Commercial Hospitality Programmes for the previous three editions of the FIFA World Cup™ and FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa, Brazil and Russia, and of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ in Germany, Canada and, most recently, France.

 

JAIME BYROM, Executive Chairman of MATCH Hospitality, said: “Qatar promises to deliver an amazing tournament that will capitalise on its principal attributes; the close proximity of its eight venues which are all located in or within short driving distance of Doha, and a fascinating region with unique attractions, spectacular state-of-the-art stadiums, and traditional Arabic hospitality. MATCH Hospitality strongly believes in the unique potential of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Hospitality Programme and in our ability to deliver truly ground-breaking and unprecedented sales globally. Our Sales Agents will be key to our success, and I am delighted to announce our decision to continue our long-standing collaboration with Integral in an exciting new chapter in our long-standing relationship.

 

I have no doubt that Integral will help deliver the best possible results for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and open the door to a Nigerian market ready for the extraordinary experiences promised by what will be an exceptional FIFA World Cup.”

 

DEOLU LAMIKANRA, Associate Director at Integral and Chief Revenue Officer added: “Integral is honoured to act as the Exclusive Sales Agent for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Hospitality Programme in Nigeria. Thanks to this agreement, our company will bring this territory a lot closer to the most coveted football competition in the world, offering fans a unique opportunity to purchase ticket-inclusive hospitality packages for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.”

 

Integral will also offer various services in conjunction with the hospitality packages, including flights, accommodation, end-to-end transportation and social experiences unique to this edition of the FIFA World Cup™.

 

MICHAEL KELLY, Chief Revenue Officer of MATCH Hospitality, said: “As part of our global tender process launched in February 2020, we have received proposals from most of the key territories from where we anticipate high demand for the Official Hospitality Programme for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

 

 

We have been most encouraged by the remarkable global response, which has further cemented our belief that despite the unprecedented events of recent months, there remains unwavering enthusiasm and interest in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Hospitality Programme. Nigeria represents an important territory within our overall strategic sales operations for the FIFA Hospitality Programme and, working in partnership with Integral, we are extremely optimistic about its sales potential.”

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