A recent investigation by TechCrunch has revealed that Y Combinator's nearly 5,000 portfolio companies often include startups that replicate ideas from other YC companies, particularly in fields like AI and code editors. One such example is PearAI, which admitted to cloning another AI startup's technology in October 2024, vowing to start again from scratch.

This phenomenon is not limited to AI, as YC has been enthusiastic about backing startups in crypto trading, e-commerce platforms, payroll solutions, and corporate expense management, following the successes of Coinbase, Shopify, Gusto, and Brex. Many startups have taken advantage of duplicating what worked, sparking concerns about the originality and innovation of these companies.

In other news, Marc Jury, CEO of Showmax and the South African arm of MultiChoice, announced his resignation effective March 2025. Byron du Plessis, currently the group deputy chief financial officer (Deputy CFO), will take charge from April 1, 2025. Jury has been with the company for over ten years, playing a crucial role in expanding SuperSport's broadcasting rights and prioritizing local content production at Showmax.

Under Jury's leadership, Showmax grew its active subscriber base by 50% and topped subscriber watch hours in H1 2024. However, the local streaming service has since relinquished its position to third, now competing with Netflix and Amazon Prime Video for the top spot. MultiChoice Group has announced plans to continue investing in Showmax, describing the service as being in its "peak investment cycle."

In addition to these developments, Nigeria has saved $20 billion by removing fuel subsidies, according to the country's finance minister, Wale Edun. The removal of the subsidy has led to a steep hike in petrol prices, affecting millions of Nigerians. Meanwhile, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has vowed to pay uninsured Heritage depositors, commencing the process of recovering debts from debtors to repay depositors.

The NDIC has successfully paid 82.36% of the total insured deposits to customers of the bank, with 2.3 million insured depositors having balances less than ₦5 million ($3,000), while 4,000 depositors have ₦5 million and above. The regulator will likely employ strategies like storming the residences of defaulters with available security resources, employing debt recovery agents, sale of pledged property, and engagement with ex-staff to recover the debts.

Furthermore, food inflation in Nigeria has reached a decade high of 41%, leading to more Nigerians skipping meals. A new General Household Survey report by Nigeria Bureau of Statistics states that almost two out of three Nigerian households are unable to afford healthy meals. The situation is exacerbated by the recent increase in fuel prices, which has impacted the cost of transporting food.

In the world of cryptocurrency, the World Wide Web3 tracker shows Bitcoin's current value at $97,820.23, with a 46.31% increase over the month. Ether's current value stands at $3,371.03, with a 37.30% increase over the month. Solana's current value is $252.63, with a 52.14% increase over the month.

Lastly, various job opportunities are available in Lagos, Nigeria, including positions at Platos Health, Flutterwave, Jobberman Nigeria, Renmoney, Nosmas, Kora, Paystack, Startbutton, Qore, Hustlebean, and PressOne Africa.