The loan advanced to citizen engagement platform GovChat has negatively impacted the earnings of JSE-listed fintech group Capital Appreciation.
This, after Capital Appreciation placed GovChat into business rescue in December 2022, over loans it advanced to it. The controversial dispute caused a public outcry when Meta-owned WhatsApp sought to terminate GovChat and #LetsTalk, a technology start-up that connects government and citizens, from the WhatsApp Business application programming interface.GovChat was eventually victorious when the Competition Commission referred Meta Platforms and its subsidiaries, WhatsApp and Facebook South Africa, to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution for abuse of dominance.
Revenue increased by 19.7% to R995.1 million, benefiting from good growth in annuity-based payments revenue and substantial growth in cloud-based and digital consulting services, security hardware sales and third-party software licence fees, says the firm. “Healthy pipelines and the continued diversification of revenue streams have created notable growth opportunities for the group. Ongoing investment in resources and research and development has positioned the group well to meet this demand. As a result, the prospects for the year ahead are promising.