Uber does the impossible: Made money

🍾 Proving haters wrong

Uber, the ride-hailing giant once known for its bottomless pit of losses, did an impressive U-turn in 2023, showcasing a net income of $1.4 billion.

This is a sweet turnaround from their early days of relentless “whatever it takes, just grow” strategy. Critics even declared Uber's business model fundamentally flawed.

However, Uber surprised everyone with a strategic shift. They cranked up fares, made peace with their former nemesis - taxi fleets - and squeezed every penny for efficiency. The results?

• A 15% revenue growth to $9.9 billion.

• Net income of $1.4 billion

• Having 26 million daily riders

💵 Drivers still get the short end of the stick

But not everyone's celebrating just yet. Driver shortages back during the pandemic led to frantic cash injections to lure them back, causing losses during COVID.

Now, drivers, are still feeling the pinch, continuing to strike over making less money than before.

Saving $600K just by offering crypto

Solana Mobile, the smartphone subsidiary of Solana Labs, has processed more than $20 million in payments for their upcoming "Chapter 2" phone. The craziest part? They didn’t have any credit card fees.

Partnering with Shopify and USDC (USD Coin), Solana Mobile processed payments without the usual credit card fees.

This resulted in saving $600,000 in fees if they paid using credit cards for the same volume. They do this by not having middlemen like banks and processors, also giving merchants a bigger cut.

More than 51% of customers used USDC through Solana Pay, powered by Helio, which shows more interest in faster and more transparent transactions

Some credit card companies have transaction fees that range from 3-5% on each transaction, but crypto can go as low as 1% according to BigCommerce.

Temu shakes up South Africa

🛍️ The #1 of shopping goes to South Africa

South Africa's online shopping scene just got a lot more interesting (and potentially competitive) with the arrival of Temu, the budget-friendly ecommerce platform known for its ultra-low prices and loyal user base.

Launched in January 2024, Temu going to South Africa has already caused a stir: bargain hunters love them while local retailers hate them.

This isn't Temu's first rodeo. Already operating in 49 countries, including other African nations, it entered South Africa with ambitions to shake up the market.

Its partnership with Fastway allows for a not-so-speedy delivery of 6-20 days, though slightly slower than other regions.

💰️ Everyone loves discounts (except competition)

But Temu's biggest draw is its affordability, and users love it.

• Temu users spend an average of 18 minutes browsing the app, nearly double the time users dedicate to competitors like Amazon and AliExpress.

But with rock-bottom prices come whispers of unfair competition. South African retailers fear Temu, and similar players like Shein that could exploit tax loopholes to hurt local businesses.

While Temu denies this, questions linger about its use of "de minimis" rules, exempting low-value imports from duties.