{"id":1939,"date":"2024-02-01T20:11:01","date_gmt":"2024-02-01T20:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/?p=1939"},"modified":"2024-02-01T20:11:01","modified_gmt":"2024-02-01T20:11:01","slug":"nigerian-fintech-startup-cova-shuts-down-after-two-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/2024\/02\/01\/nigerian-fintech-startup-cova-shuts-down-after-two-years\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigerian fintech startup, Cova, shuts down after two years"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Nigerian fintech startup, Cova, reportedly shuts down after two years<\/b><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Here&#8217;s what we got for you today:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Cova reportedly shuts down<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AltSchool Africa enters Kenya<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Starlink users may be arrested in Zimbabwe<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Cova reportedly shuts down<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Cova<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, a Nigerian fintech startup, is reportedly shutting down on February 10, 2024, citing &#8220;several factors.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Benjamindada, the co-founders, Oluyomi Ojo and Yomi Osamiluyi, notified users via email that subscription refunds would be processed by February 13, 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Founded in 2021, Cova aimed to be a comprehensive platform, allowing users to monitor and manage all their assets in one place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The company concentrated on offering lending, investment, and savings solutions to its clientele through digital financial services.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While the reason for its shutdown is unknown, the startup, which charged $10 to $100 per month or year for subscriptions, faced several challenges, including customer demand for deeper integration and the need to build trust in a relatively new idea.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What&#8217;s more, customers and staff are uncertain in the wake of Cova&#8217;s closure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>AltSchool Africa enters Kenya<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AltSchool Africa, a Nigerian ed-tech startup, has expanded into Kenya, its second East African market. This move comes after the company opened an office in Rwanda in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tabitha Kayvu will lead operations in the new market.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Launched in 2021 with a global presence in over 100 countries and 60,000 learners, AltSchool Africa offers courses designed to accelerate entry into global tech roles.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The startup began with one-year diploma courses in software engineering and has since expanded to include five schools: engineering, data, business, product, and the creative economy. The courses cover several topics, including sales, digital marketing, fintech product management, and data engineering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Adewale Yusuf, the co-founder, and CEO, emphasised the decision to expand to Kenya due to its potential for learner enrollments, albeit currently trailing behind Nigeria.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">AltSchool Africa&#8217;s expansion into Kenya signifies a strategic move to address the growing demand for tech skills in East Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Statista, there will be a rise in digitally skilled jobs in Africa during the next several years. The prediction states that by 2030, digital skills will be necessary for about 28 million jobs in Nigeria and 17 million jobs in Kenya, respectively.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The startup&#8217;s plans to explore additional launches in African countries with demonstrated traction demonstrate its commitment to bridging the continent&#8217;s tech skills gap. Understanding the changing nature of the workforce, AltSchool Africa prioritizes training students to meet employer expectations and achieve long-term, meaningful outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Starlink users may be arrested in Zimbabwe<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A Starlink dish placed on a fence next to a house<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gbadebo&#8217;s Starlink setup<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Individuals and businesses using, distributing, or advertising Starlink or its kits may face arrest in Zimbabwe.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Why? According to the nation&#8217;s telecom regulator, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ), Starlink has not yet officially secured a license to operate in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The regulator issued the warning after the authority became dissatisfied with Starlink Internet service kits&#8217; social media advertisements on several platforms, including Facebook.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to reports, POTRAZ is partnering with the police to conduct a nationwide raid to apprehend those using Starlink services. The basis for potential arrests lies in the absence of licenses for Starlink services to operate in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So far, arrests have already occurred, with two individuals arrested in Vic Falls and Bulawayo, and their cases are currently in court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In September 2023, Zimbabwe said it received Starlink&#8217;s application for an operating license, and POTRAZ was reviewing it. However, two months later, the telecom regulator said that Starlink had yet to apply.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zoom out: In December, the National Communication Authority, Ghana\u2019s telco regulator, warned the public not to use Starlink&#8217;s equipment or services and directed anyone involved in sales or service operations to stop.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nigerian fintech startup, Cova, reportedly shuts down after two years &nbsp; Here&#8217;s what we got for you today: Cova reportedly shuts down AltSchool Africa enters Kenya Starlink users may be arrested in Zimbabwe Cova reportedly shuts down Cova, a Nigerian fintech startup, is reportedly shutting down on February 10, 2024, citing &#8220;several factors.&#8221; According to &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1940,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,5,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fintech","category-shutdowns","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aqqute.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}