Lagos State to allocate $1 billion in seed funding for startup innovation

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This is Victoria from Tech Point Africa.

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Lagos State Allocates $1 Billion in Seed Funding for Startup Innovation Nigerian Tax Service Drops Taxes on Binance Tycoons MultiChoice Hits the Ground Lagos State Allocates $1 Billion in Seed Funding for Startup Innovation Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Source: Twitter

The Lagos State Government, through the Lagos State Scientific Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC), has set aside $1 billion in seed funding for start-ups.

The big announcement was made during the inauguration of the newly reconstituted LASRIC members in Lagos, where Governor Babajide Sanwo-Oluye highlighted Lagos' growing reputation as a hub for early stage start-ups and unicorns.

He highlighted that the Lagos startup ecosystem outperforms many other African cities in terms of success metrics, foreign direct investments, and number of innovative solutions and patents.

He also noted the importance of innovation in his administration’s THEMES agenda, which led to the creation of LASRIC to drive science and technology initiatives. The council includes experts from industry, academia and the public sector, all focused on scaling up innovation in Lagos.

Over the past four years, LASRIC has supported start-ups in sectors such as agritech, circular economy, climate change and construction technology, creating over 500 jobs. It has also supported over 70 research and development initiatives, boosting innovation in Lagos by over 250%.

Additionally, the Commissioner for Innovation, Science and Technology, Olatunbosun Alake, introduced a new rating system called POEM to evaluate technology companies applying for seed funding.

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Nigerian Tax Office Drops Tax Charges Against Binance Tycoons Photo by Vadim Artyukhin on Unsplash

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has dropped tax evasion charges against two Binance executives, Tigran Ghanbarian and Nadim Anjarwala.

Binance is currently the sole defendant and is represented by Ayodele Omotilewa.

Background: In March 2024, the FIRS filed a tax evasion lawsuit against Binance, alleging that the platform violated four tax laws and was not registered for tax purposes. Gambarian and Anjawala were named as defendants.

However, Binance argued that Ghanbarian is not a decision-maker and should not be detained while the litigation proceeds.

Additionally, Binance is still awaiting a court ruling that will fully exonerate Gambarian. The company praised the FIRS for its handling of the case and stressed its commitment to a transparent resolution.

Binance hopes that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will follow the FIRS instructions and allow Gambarian to return home, after the EFCC charged the company and its executives with money laundering following FIRS allegations of tax evasion.

Although the tax evasion charges against the pair were dropped, Binance’s conflict with the Nigerian government is not over, and the company stated that it will continue to work with the government to resolve the issue.

MultiChoice in trouble

Remember? MultiChoice reported revenue losses and subscriber declines for the fiscal year ending March 2024.

Now, MultiChoice CEO Karbo Mawela recently spoke about the company's strategy amid financial difficulties, stressing that it will cut costs without making any job cuts, despite revenue falling by 5% and losses after tax increasing to R4.1 billion.

To stabilise its finances, MultiChoice is focusing on renegotiating big-ticket contracts such as satellite leases, aiming to save R2 billion by 2025.

Mawela highlighted efforts to expand digital services to bolster revenue, and noted positive performance in growth areas such as insurance, where active policies increased 19 percent and revenue grew 35 percent.

Another focus, Showmax, is aiming to hit $1 billion in revenue within five years.Despite these gains, MultiChoice has faced difficulties, losing subscribers in key markets due to issues such as power outages in South Africa and economic problems in other African countries.

Peter Takaendesa of Mergence Investment Managers said MultiChoice's South African business remains important despite losses on the Showmax development. Takaendesa credited Canal+'s R125 a share offer as a key factor supporting the share price amid business difficulties.

Moreover, veteran asset management expert Shane Watkins has warned that unless Canal+ acquires MultiChoice or significantly improves the business, MultiChoice may need to raise capital through a rights issue.

Canal+ has offered MultiChoice shareholders R125 per share and already owns more than 40% of the company. However, the deal is not a sure thing and still needs approval from regulators such as ICASA and the Competition Commission. If the deal does not go through, Watkins predicts MultiChoice's share price will fall to below R60.

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Have a productive week!

Victoria Fakiya of Techpoint Africa.

Sources 1/ https://Google.com/ 2/ https://techpoint.africa/2024/06/17/techpoint-digest-858/ The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

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