BD Insider, Letter 85: Facebook’s METAmorphosis, Risevest recent court order, Business-to-Business

This is a blog copy of the 85th version of our weekly newsletter, BD Insider. Subscribers get to read it first and can take action based on it.

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Happy new month to you!
Last Thursday was an exciting one for us as a Pan- African API fintech company, Stitch announced that Benjamin Dada, our Founder and Editor-at-Large will now oversee the company’s expansion into Nigeria.

Launched in February 2021, Stitch has a data API product that enables ​​developers to connect their apps to users’ financial accounts, at which point users can confirm their identities, share their transaction history and balances, and seamlessly initiate payments.

Once again, Congratulations Ben! We are looking forward to this new dispensation

In Letter 85, we cover:

• Facebook’s METAmorphosis
• The recent court ruling on Risevest and the impact on the ecosystem
• How the Business-to-Business model works

Ready? Let’s go inside:

Why Facebook is now Meta

Facebook's corporate entity is now Meta Platforms, Inc. The parent company behind social networking apps — Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp made the announcement on Thursday at the company’s annual Connect conference.

The objective of Meta (formerly Facebook, Inc) is to not just build social media but the metaverse  — a  virtual-reality space in which users can interact with a computer-generated environment and other users  — as well.  Find more about Meta on the blog

A High Court in Abuja ordered the CBN to unfreeze Risevest’s accounts

Last Monday, a Federal High Court sitting in Nigeria’s capital Abuja ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria to unfreeze the accounts of Risevest, a fintech startup connecting users to wealth creation opportunities, home and abroad.

This order is coming almost 60 days after the CBN secured a court order to freeze the accounts of Risevest for 180 days for violating the Apex Bank’s directive and contributing to the weakening of the naira against the US dollar.

We analyzed the potential impact of the recent ruling on the ecosystem, read the analysis here

Tech Word of the Week: Business-to-Business

B2B companies are supportive enterprises that offer the things other businesses need to operate and grow. Payroll processors and industrial suppliers are a couple of examples.

This is in contrast to business-to-consumer (B2C) models, which sell directly to individual customers, and consumer-to-business (C2B) models, in which users offer services for a business (such as customer reviews or influencer marketing).

Last week, Dara explained the business-to-business model.

💰 Fundraising

Here are some of the recent startup fundraises across Africa that you should be aware of:

• SA e-health startup RecoMed raised $1.5m funding for Kenyan expansion
• Jise raised $100,000 angel funding, to commence food delivery in Lagos
• Autochek secured a $13.1m seed fund to scale its technology and accelerate expansion
• Zambian Fintech Startup Union54 raised $3 million in funding
• Nigerian Agritech Startup Vendease Closed a $3.2 million seed round

Tip: If you're looking to improve your take-home (salary) by moving jobs, companies that have just raised are a great place to apply. Companies almost always hire after a significant raise.

🔍 Things we found interesting.

Here are some of the most exciting stories we've written and read over the last seven days:

• Fintech’s influence on traditional banking in Africa, what?
• How the Igbo Apprenticeship system is building wealth for young Nigerians
• "Seems billionaires want to escape the world they ruined", how?
• Microsoft is now the world’s most valuable company.

💼 Job Opportunities

In addition to last week's list of jobs, events, and other  opportunities, check these out, too:

• Helicarrier is hiring a Product Manager
• Greentree is hiring a Financial Analyst
• Volition Capital is hiring an Executive Associate (Lagos, Nigeria)
• Microsoft is hiring a Marketing Communications Manager (Lagos, Nigeria)
• Thrive Agric is hiring a Corporate Communications Specialist (Abuja, Nigeria)
  

Contribute to our investor’s database 🙏

We’re putting together a list of the best and most active seed and pre-seed investors on the continent. Kindly fill this form if you are an investor or you know one or more that should be on the list.

Thanks for reading,
Johnstone