Insyte Weekly: Spotify's podcast plans, Nigeria easing import taxes, and more

This was an interesting week in the business world. Here’s a breakdown of some of the week’s top stories including how Spotify will revamp its podcast experience, how Nigeria is tackling rising food prices and the latest fintech innovations.

Media & Entertainment

As cited by Chance Townsend, Spotify is enhancing its podcast platform by introducing a new commenting feature to boost listener engagement and retention. This feature allows listeners to comment on episodes, with podcast hosts having control over which comments are displayed and the ability to respond. Interactive elements like polls and Q&As have already shown significant engagement, with 9 million participants this year, an 80% increase from the previous year. The new feature aims to strengthen creator communities and increase podcast consumption, positioning Spotify in direct competition with YouTube for creator-listener interaction. Spotify's internal data indicates that interactive listeners are four times more likely to return to a show within 30 days and listen to twice as many podcasts as non-engagers. Over 70% of listeners have expressed a desire for more interaction with hosts. This commenting feature, which will be optional, allows creators to manage and approve comments per episode, ensuring quality discussions.

As reported by Joyce Lee, Samsung Electronics unveiled its latest foldable smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6, focusing on making the priciest flagship model lighter, slimmer, and enhanced with AI functions to challenge Apple's dominance in the premium market. The launch is critical as Samsung's foldable phone market share dropped from 81% in 2022 to 63% in 2023 amid rising competition. Samsung's new AI functions include a “listening mode” for simultaneous voice interpretation and AI search features developed with Google. New health monitoring functions in the Galaxy Watch, approved by the U.S. FDA for sleep apnea monitoring, include measurements for cycling enthusiasts and biomarkers related to diabetes. The Galaxy Ring, priced at $399, offers constant heart rate and stress level monitoring, along with phone control features. These products, available starting July 24 in South Korea, North America, and Europe, aim to boost Samsung's appeal in the premium segment.

Fintech

Michael Wong reported that Azimut Egypt, a subsidiary of Azimut International Holding, has secured Egypt’s first Fintech license from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) for its digital investment platform, "azinvest." This platform marks a significant innovation in Egypt's asset management sector, offering a fully digitalized approach to investment funds and portfolios, including money market funds, fixed income, equities, multi-currency investments, and gold. Supported by updated FRA regulations and aligned with Egypt’s financial inclusion strategy, "azinvest" integrates advanced digital tools such as e-KYC, e-identification, e-contracts, and e-registry, eliminating the need for physical presence. The platform allows users to manage investments and conduct transactions through multiple payment methods. Ahmed Abou El-Saad, CEO of Azimut Egypt, emphasized the platform’s impact on democratizing investment options and fostering financial inclusion. The successful launch of "azinvest" involved strategic partnerships with technology firms like Optimatica, Lumin, CyberSource, El-Delta Trust, and Paytabs.

As reported in the Daily Guardian, GCash, the Philippines' leading digital financial service provider, introduced several groundbreaking features at GCash FutureCast 2024 to revolutionize the fintech landscape. These include Online PaySafe, a multi-factor authentication security feature; Gigi, an AI-powered assistant for customer support; and Send Money Protect, an insurance option against fraud. GCash also launched Dashboard 3.0 for improved app navigation, GCat & Friends for financial education, and Money Manager for real-time spending tracking. Additionally, AI-powered innovations such as GScore AI for credit assessment, Hyper-Personalized Ads, and GCoach AI for personalized financial guidance were unveiled, aiming to enhance user experience and promote financial wellness among Filipinos.

Tourism

Temitope Oke reported that African airlines are set to post a collective profit for the second year in a row, marking a significant turnaround from the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) attributes this recovery to booming travel demand, with profit per passenger expected to nearly double from 2023. Despite this improvement, the projected US$100 million profit, or 90 cents per passenger, remains well below the global average of US$6.14, highlighting ongoing challenges such as high operational costs and heavy taxation. IATA's Focus Africa initiative aims to address these obstacles by creating a more resilient and efficient aviation sector. While the profit margin for African airlines is anticipated to reach 0.6% of revenue, still below the global 3.1% margin, the sector is showing signs of recovery with expected passenger growth and load factors improving. The pent-up demand for travel is expected to boost both the aviation and tourism sectors, with countries like Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa leading the rebound. Global international traffic, including in Africa, has reached 88.6% of 2019 levels, indicating a return to normal growth patterns in 2024.

Retail

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a United Nations agency, has projected that by 2030, approximately 82 million Nigerians, or about 64% of the population, may face hunger. This alarming prediction comes amidst the severe hunger currently affecting Nigeria. Toyibat Ajose reported that the UN has called on the Nigerian government to tackle climate change, pest infestations, and other agricultural threats. Taofiq Braimoh, a UN official, highlighted at the launch of CropWatch in Abuja that leveraging technology is crucial for achieving sustainable development goals in food and agriculture. He stressed that the government, in collaboration with others, conducts an annual food security survey, revealing that about 22 million Nigerians will face food insecurity in 2024, with 80-82 million at risk by 2030. The satellite-based crop monitoring technology provides real-time data on crop conditions, helping farmers and policymakers make informed decisions to enhance agricultural productivity and food security.

Reuters reported that Nigeria plans to suspend taxes on certain food imports, including wheat and maize, for 150 days to help control rising prices in the country, according to Agricultural Minister Abubakar Kyari. This measure is part of a broader effort to curb food inflation, which has climbed to over 40% year-on-year, and to stimulate economic growth, which has been fragile for nearly a decade. President Bola Tinubu has directed his economic management team to prepare a 2 trillion naira ($1.33 billion) stimulus plan to address food supply and pricing concerns and strengthen key sectors. The government will import 250,000 metric tons each of wheat and maize, targeting small-scale processors and millers. The tax waiver will apply to food commodities imported through Nigeria's land and sea borders. This initiative aims to alleviate food inflation exacerbated by insecurity in food-producing regions and poor transportation infrastructure.

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