Nigerian Startup Checks Out Of Afghanistan Post Taliban Takeover
Nigerian startup checks out of Afghanistan post Taliban takeover
The internet was engulfed by a horrifying video from Afghanistan. Hundreds of Afghans were seen running after and clinging to the body of a US Air Force plane as it prepared to take off from Kabul International Airport in a desperate attempt to flee the country, according to the footage.
Over the weekend, the Taliban overthrew the government and seized complete control of the capital city; it wasn't long before they had complete control of the entire country on their hands. President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan fled the scene unannounced; leaving what was left of his administration at the mercy of the Taliban. The central government was disbanded, and Ashraf Ghani was forced to flee.
Afghan citizens are not the only ones who are suffering as a result of the current crisis. Many African business owners and skilled workers who run operations in Kabul are also dealing with the fallout from the Taliban's actions in their home countries. What strategies are they using to deal with the heat? Are they packing up their belongings and fleeing, or are they staying put to see where the leaf lands next.
Last year, Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega, a former senior reporter for TechCabal, conducted an interview with Vincent, a Nigerian cybersecurity expatriate based in Kabul who described Afghanistan as a city on the verge of collapse, a mountainous city with two presidents, and a city on the verge of collapse.
Chekkit is Affected
Recent developments have seen Chekkit, a Nigerian authentication and product tracking startup, expand its operations to Afghanistan, following the establishment of a partnership with the Afghan Ministry of Health to assist in the fight against the widespread use of counterfeit medicine products in the country.
In a conversation with Tosin Adelowo, Chekkit's chief marketing officer, I inquired as to why Afghanistan. Tosin stated that the country was in desperate need of a solution to the counterfeit market that was plaguing its cities and streets, and that “Chekkit has the perfect solution to the problem,” which, along with other brokering factors, was a major determinant of the company's expansion in the United States.
Following a successful pilot of Chekkit's drug verification solution in collaboration with their blockchain partner, Fantom Foundation (which served as the deal's primary broker), the Afghanistan Ministry of Health announced that the service would be rolled out across the country on May 2, 2021, effective immediately.
The company is now ceasing all operations in Afghanistan, a little more than three months after beginning operations there. Because all of their partners have been forced to leave the country, their decision to leave was not a difficult one.
“We have suspended all communication and operations in the region because our partners have also left the region as a result of the civil unrest,” Adelowo wrote in an email to TechCabal. "We have suspended all communication and operations in the region." ”Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Afghanistan as they struggle to overcome and overcome the current challenges.”
Chekkit's departure is only the beginning of a series of regressive movements that are expected to occur in Afghanistan as a result of the unrest currently taking place. The absence of Chekkit's solutions, and other similar solutions available on the market, raises the possibility that counterfeit products will reappear with unchecked and unverified vengeance in the near future.
