Hi there, 

Nigeria’s venture/startup ecosystem is absolutely crushing it. 

Since 2019, 75 fintech companies in Nigeria — the world's 7th most populous country — have raised a combined $1B+ in funding.

246 unique investors have done a deal in Nigerian fintech.

These are mostly cross-border investors coming from:

1. The US

2. China — big $ deals

Watch this market. You can see all 246 investors here (requires a CBI login).

Sunny with a chance of CRISPR

CRISPR could revolutionize how we tackle some of the world’s biggest problems, including cancer, food shortages, and even organ transplant needs.

We explain how the tech works — and how companies are harnessing it — in our CRISPR explainer here.

Happy birthday to you

Legendary investor Warren Buffett turned 91 yesterday. He’s now worth over $100B.

Each year, he writes an open letter to his investment firm’s shareholders.

We read 40 of these letters and gathered 28 lessons from them for you. These lessons delivered in Buffett’s trademark straight aww-shucks sort of way include:

• Ignore short-term movements in stock prices 

• Invest in unsexy companies that build products people need

• Embrace the virtue of sloth

Get more of the Oracle of Omaha’s business and investing advice here.

SoftBank statement

Riding on record profits, SoftBank has been backing companies at a breakneck pace. The firm is on track to reach 197 deals by year-end — nearly 3x its previous record in 2019.

We take a detailed look at SoftBank’s investments in 2021 to see what they say about the firm’s current investment strategy — and future vision — here.

Blockchain-based remittances

The global remittance market totaled over $700B in 2020, with international money transfer fees reaching as high as 9% in some regions in 2021.

How can blockchain technology help improve remittances? 

Our friends at Blockdata dive into the tech's potential here.

Hop off the fence
 

Time is running out for you to reserve a ticket to the Future of Fintech (Oct. 5-6, NYC + online).
 

On the fence? Here are our top 5 reasons to attend:

1. An impressive C-Suite and founder-heavy lineup. Exciting new additions include Hari Moorthy (Global Head of Transaction Banking, Goldman Sachs) and Mike Novogratz (Founder and CEO, Galaxy Digital)

2. A panel on super app growth with Ant Group (Asian super app leader; $200B+ valuation) and Rappi (unicorn — $5.2B valuation)

3. A lively discussion on the hyper-verticalization of banking with founders and CEOs from First Boulevard (banking for Black America), Step (banking for teens), and Majority (banking for immigrants)

4. Various blockchain sessions, including with founders and execs from Blockdata, Fireblocks (unicorn — $2B valuation), and Chainalysis (unicorn; backed by Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff)

5. Our first-ever live tech market featuring 25+ hand-picked startups giving 6-minute demos, including Accelitas (Security, Fraud, KYC & AML for Banking & Payments), Array (Core Platforms and APIs for Banking & Payments), and Seeds Investor (Wealth Management Software)

Rest assured that we are committed to safety — our in-person event requires all attendees to be vaccinated.
 

Save $100 with code top5.
 

Prices go up tomorrow! Get your ticket here.

I'm wearing all my favorite brands, brands, brands, brands

LVMH is the world’s largest luxury group by revenue, raking in $54.5B in 2020. 

But factors like changing shopping behaviors and rising sustainability concerns could disrupt LVMH and the luxury retail industry at large. 

From upcycled materials to NFTs, here are the tech companies unbundling LVMH. 

TechCrunch. Alex Wilhelm (@alex) and Anna Heim (@abracarioca) cover CVC activity using CB Insights research.

Protocol. Biz Carson (@bizcarson) looks at Salesforce Ventures’ ambitions and cites CB Insights data.

Wall Street Journal. Heather Somerville (@heathersomervil) discusses the effect of Theranos’ downfall on healthcare tech investment and references CB Insights unicorn data.
 

P.S. We have 20+ analyst roles open right now on our research team. These include a:

• LatAm analyst

• Fintech analyst

• Private market valuations analyst

If you want to influence the world’s most important companies and investors and their technology investment, acquisition, and purchasing decisions, there is no better place to be. Check out all 20+ openings here.