The Decent Report

Nov 06, 2023

(Mariblock) - The Blockchain Association of Kenya (BAK), an industry lobby group, made history in September when it took the country’s government to court, challenging the legality of the digital asset tax. Two months later, it’s yet another landmark moment for the group. The National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning has asked BAK to develop a draft bill to regulate crypto assets.

On Oct. 31, BAK appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Finance and National Planning for the second time in 2023 to discuss digital asset regulation in the East African country. The group first appeared before the Committee in May to argue, albeit unsuccessfully, against the digital asset tax (DAT) provision in Kenya’s Finance Act, 2023.

However, three significant events between May and October have made the need for crypto regulations more urgent, Mariblock learned. Kenyan parliament is now enlisting BAK’s help to understand digital assets and how to regulate the space.

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Nov 08, 2023

(Techcabal) - According to data by ChainAnalysis, Sub-Saharan Africa has the smallest crypto economy of all regions, accounting for 2.3% of global transaction values between July 2022 and June 2023. In that period, the region received an estimated $117.1 billion in on-chain value. However, in terms of volume, countries like Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania had some of the highest grassroots adoptions in the world and ranked in the top 20 Global Crypto Adoption Index. Figures show that transaction volume made up of retail-sized transfers in Africa is at 7%, against the global average of 5.5%.

Despite the fact that African blockchain startups raised $474 million in 2022 to build solutions for the increasing adoption of the technology—up 429% in a year—this is still a pittance relative to the rest of the world. This is a challenge that Crypto Valley VC (CV VC) is trying to solve through their $20 million Africa Fund. The fund invests in early-stage founders across the African continent who are solving some of the emerging markets’ largest problems using blockchain technology.

To understand the history of CV VC’s Africa involvement and to get a better understanding of its investment philosophy, TechCabal caught up with Brenton Naicker, principal and head of growth of the firm’s Africa operations. As part of the Ask An Investor series, Naicker speaks on the state of crypto innovation and funding in Africa, how to accelerate adoption as well as the unique opportunities that the continent holds for crypto innovators.

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Nov 09, 2023

(thefintechtimes) - In the dynamic world of venture capital and blockchain technology, gaining insights from experienced professionals is invaluable. Andre Ayotte, a partner at Modus Capital, recently shared his thoughts on venture capital investments in Africa and the potential of blockchain technology in the region.

In a candid interview during World Blockchain Summit Dubai, Ayotte sheds light on Modus Capital’s approach, the regulatory landscape and the future of blockchain in Africa.

Ayotte is no stranger to the African venture capital scene, having worked in the Middle East for seven years and invested in both the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa during that time. When asked about the stage of companies they invest in, Ayotte mentioned that Modus Capital focuses on early-stage startups but follows a dual mandate. This means that they are committed to supporting their investments for as long as necessary.

One common challenge in the venture capital industry is the ambiguity of startup stages. Ayotte acknowledges this by stating that they prefer to invest in companies with some traction. They define their entry point as when a product or product development aligns well with the market, often referred to as seed or seed plus stage.

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Nov 09, 2023

(zawya) - Google wants to, once again, redefine the landscape of internet search. Only this time the search giant is starting at a deficit with its unlikely biggest competitor - Microsoft's Bing - leading the search with generative AI charge. Google's response after a couple of false starts with Bard is an experimental version of its search feature, known as the Search Generative Experience (SGE).
This new experience integrates artificial intelligence (AI) to generate answers directly into the search results, offering immediate responses to user queries right on the Google Search webpage.

“Our mission is to make the world’s information universally accessible to all,” explained Wambui Kinya, GM of Google Search for Sub-Saharan Africa to a contingent of African journalists during a briefing call.

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Oct 30, 2023

(theguardian) - In South Africa, there are drones monitoring weeds; in Mauritius, there are computers crunching health data for better outcomes for patients; and in Nairobi, surveillance systems impose a modicum of order on the chaotic traffic.

The bright new future of artificial intelligence in Africa is part of the bright new future of the continent as a whole, advocates say.

“One thing is clear: Africans have a goldmine at our fingertips. A rapidly growing population of 1.4 billion people, 70% under the age of 30, combined with huge growth in AI investments, creates a potent recipe … We will not sit back and wait for the rest of the world to reap our rewards,” wrote Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice-president of Ghana and head of the government’s economic management team, in the Guardian earlier this year.

Many point out that AI is not new on the continent. Ghanaian cashew farmers use unmanned aerial vehicles to detect disease by collecting data from leaves, stems and trunks of cashew trees, allowing swift detection of symptoms before they become visible and lead to serious crop damage. In Rwanda, AI efficiently schedules the delivery of medicine to patients in remote areas by similar drones. In Cape Town, a startup is digitising African languages to allow them to be translated by AI-powered software such as Google Translate and so boost connectivity. In Namibia, AI is orienting solar panels to maximise their energy generation capacity

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