#OPESAe

[ballercollective]

guys we should ALL chip in a little evilness and draw @hexational's evil gradient. i've been doodling this fucker over and over again in my sketchbook please i need food im starving im going to die you wouldnt let me die would you/silly/nf

[encyclopediacr]

Last month at the wiki — February 2023

Encyclopedia Exandria is always changing with updates, additions, expansions, and edits. The first Wednesday of every month, we highlight significant work done in the previous month by our editing community. We're doing this on a first Monday this month because the first Wednesday caught us unawares by being the first of March!

As always, to start, here's a selection of ten articles created in February. You can find more of our newest articles at the 50 newest pages report!

Port Udall, settlement in Tal'Dorei destroyed by Thordak c. 795

Faramore, merchant in Gelvaan

Tishtan, nomadic people that disappeared before the Age of Arcanum

Cobalt Reserve, branch of Library of the Cobalt Soul in Westruun [previously a redirect]

Fate-Touched, individuals who influence nearby threads of fate

Lita, of the Air Ashari, Will's sister and Orym's sister-in-law

Drekkit, leader of the goblin raiders who kidnapped the Brenattos

Khaaz, goblin raider and torturer, Drekkit's partner

Changebringer coin, holy symbol owned by Fresh Cut Grass

Egelin Quarry, strip mine in the Marrow Valley

Last month, we didn't just create new articles, we also created a new namespace! We moved all transcript articles to a new home on the wiki. If you missed it, you can read our post about it here on Tumblr.

Khime was found to be in Call of the Netherdeep. His article was expanded with new details and moved to the correct spelling of his name. The individual pages for Gilmore's parents were also merged into a single article, Soren and Opesa Geddmore, so that they may be better covered together.

Following a mention in Campaign 3, Terrah received an expansion to its history section, and now the article finally properly covers its history in Campaign 1 (and pre-Campaign 1).

This month was a little quieter outside of regular updates to keep up with newly releasing content, but we're always doing that valuable work as well.

[kal-theravenquing]

Thinking about Vax always bringing back a souvenir from his adventures with Vox Machina to give to Shaun.

Thinking about Vax happy flapping as he infodumps about his adventures to Shaun.

Thinking about Shaun smiling, chin in his hands, soaking up every word Vax says and burning it to his memory.

Thinking about Shaun making them Vax's favourite desert, warm vanilla sponge cake with cold velvety caramel sauce, cold velvety custard and a slice of warm cherry pie, making honeyed lemon tea to go with it because that's what he likes.

Thinking about Shaun making Vax a pillow nest in the corner of the store's backroom with some of Vax's favourite stim toys and story books in it, casting silence on the nest whenever Vax is overstimulated, also putting a protection spell on the backroom so only Vax, himself, Sherri, Jarett, Kima, Allura and the rest of Vox Machina are able to enter the back room.

Thinking about Vax taking Shaun to his mother's grave to introduce them, Shaun all awkward and shy but genuinely happy that Vax is letting him into this part of his life, Shaun then taking Vax to Marquet for a proper meeting with his own parents, Soren and Opesa Geddmore adoring Vax and welcoming him in as one of their own.

Thinking about Vax and Shaun ending up having 3 weddings; a public one in Shandal with Marquesian traditions for Shaun. Another public one in Byroden with Tal'Dorein traditions for Vax. And one more, back in Greyskull Keep with no rhyme or reason, and only the rest of Vox Machina and their closest friends are allowed to attend the private ceremony they consider to be their true wedding.

Thinking about Vax retiring from adventuring to train as and become a teacher so he can spend more time with Shaun, Shaun and Vax moving into a new townhouse in Emon together, them adopting 3 kids and a few cats over the years.

Thinking about Shaun Geddmore and Vax'ildan Geddmore happily married together with 3 wonderful kids, some cats and a massive family of quirky assholes whom they love deeply.

[opesa-art]

Trippy galaxy illusion 

Made with : Photoshop

2017-08-15

[icharitoct]

#OPESA #NUEVOUNIFORME https://www.instagram.com/p/BxrzkmXlwz2jQQM995ccRZQsjGZdKPfa_tUUHY0/?igshid=u0h6spxvh2cq

[argumate]

We also learned of a ruthless OKash and OPesa collection policy that was only recently changed as of June 2019, according to a former employee.

If a user was late to repay, the app had previously indiscriminately texted or called contacts in the user’s phone as part of loan collection efforts. This process began immediately after a loan repayment was delayed, according to user reviews.

Numerous users reported that friends, family, employers, and other contacts were harassed and threatened through Opera’s apps when a borrower was late.

oof

[bleedingedgeavoidancetactics]

Well the apps continue to be predatory even if the reports on the parent company stop. Some links for the legal action taken against the apps, and they're all still active:

2021 OPesa: https://techcrunch.com/2021/10/25/kenya-cracks-down-on-digital-lenders-over-data-privacy-issues/

2022 OKash: https://www.legit.ng/business-economy/economy/1460355-google-others-ignore-fgs-directives-leaves-okash-kashkash-other-loan-sharks-stores/

2022 OPay: https://dailypost.ng/2022/08/18/fccpc-orders-flutterwave-opay-paystack-to-stop-servicing-loan-sharks/

2022 CashBean: https://www.cnbctv18.com/finance/rbi-starts-crackdown-on-digital-loan-sharks-cancels-certificate-of-registration-of-pc-financial-services-12613882.htm

Probably because no one in the news circuit cares about the European based company raking Indians across the coals. :sigh:

So, yea, don't use Opera, but also, don't use the apps CashBean, OKash, OPay and OPesa and warn people who may be vulnerable!

me: ok so i need a web browser

opera: hell yea here you have one

me: damn now if only i knew where to find predatory loans

opera: you are not going to believe this

[lunaeclipsis]

@mythcarvd WHISPERED: 9, 20, 32 & 40 for gilmore

PYSCHOANALYZING SOME BLORBOS. | ACCEPTING.

what do they smell like? do they use perfume or cologne?

gilmore loves the smell of perfumes, florals and sweet scents are everything to him. he won’t often use colognes as their scents aren’t that appealing. at no point does gilmore not smell like florals and sweets.

what do they hate being teased about? are they teased often?

i don’t think he hates being teased about anything -- he’s very good at communicating when he’s bothered about a subject. he doesn’t get teased often, though. this is the glorious gilmore we’re talking about.

do they critique others easily? do they judge from afar?

gilmore will judge from afar. though, once he knows a person more he’s less judgmental of a person. he IS judging your ass from afar if youre at the same party as him, though.

do they have a big family or a small family? no family?

gilmore has two parents -- soren and opesa! however, he was the only child they had. so he’s got a pretty small family; even after leaving his home village of Shandal he still writes to them often.

[drharaprasannadas]

Addressing the Symposium of #Odisha_Private_Engineering_Schools_Association #OPESA on 28.11.21. #Theme- Resetting Goals for Holistic Education.*

[un-enfant-immature]

Opera and the firm short-selling its stock (alleging Africa fintech abuses) weigh in

Internet services company Opera has come under a short-sell assault based on allegations of predatory lending practices by its fintech products in Africa.

Hindenburg Research issued a report claiming (among other things) that Opera’s finance products in Nigeria and Kenya have run afoul of prudent consumer practices and Google Play Store rules for lending apps.

Hindenburg — which is based in NYC and managed by financial analyst Nate Anderson — went on to suggest Opera’s U.S. listed stock was grossly overvalued.

That’s a primer on the key info, though there are several additional shades of the who, why, and where of this story to break down, before getting to what Opera and Hindenburg had to say.

A good start is Opera’s ownership and scope. Founded in Norway, the company is an internet services provider, largely centered around its Opera browser.

Opera was acquired in 2016 for $600 million by a consortium of Chinese investors, led by current Opera CEO Yahui Zhou.

Two years later, Opera went public in an IPO on NASDAQ, where its shares currently trade.

Though Opera’s web platform isn’t widely used in the U.S. — where it has less than 1% of the browser market — it has been number-one in Africa, and more recently a distant second to Chrome, according to StatCounter.

On the back of its browser popularity, Opera went on an African venture-spree in 2019, introducing a suite of products and startup verticals in Nigeria and Kenya, with intent to scale more broadly across the continent.

In Nigeria these include motorcycle ride-hail service ORide and delivery app OFood.

Central to these services are Opera’s fintech apps: OPay in Nigeria and OKash and Opesa in Kenya — which offer payment and lending options.

Fintech focused VC and startups have been at the center of a decade long tech-boom in several core economies in Africa, namely Kenya and Nigeria.

In 2019 Opera led a wave of Chinese VC in African fintech, including $170 million in two rounds to its OPay payments service in Nigeria.

Opera’s Africa fintech startup OPay gains $120M from Chinese investors

Opera’s fintech products in Africa (as well as Opera’s Cashbean in India) are at the core of Hindenburg Research’s brief and short-sell position. 

The crux of the Hindenburg report is that due to the declining market-share of its browser business, Opera has pivoted to products generating revenue from predatory short-term loans in Africa and India at interest rates of 365 to 876%, so Hindenburg claims.

The firm’s reporting goes on to claim Opera’s payment products in Nigeria and Kenya are afoul of Google rules.

“Opera’s short-term loan business appears to be…in violation of the Google Play Store’s policies on short-term and misleading lending apps…we think this entire line of business is at risk of…being severely curtailed when Google notices and ultimately takes corrective action,” the report says.

Based on this, Hindenburg suggested Opera’s stock should trade at around $2.50, around a 70% discount to Opera’s $9 share-price before the report was released on January 16.

Hindenburg also disclosed the firm would short Opera.

Founder Nate Anderson confirmed to TechCrunch Hindenburg continues to hold short positions in Opera’s stock — which means the firm could benefit financially from declines in Opera’s share value. The company’s stock dropped some 18% the day the report was published.

On motivations for the brief, “Technology has catalyzed numerous positive changes in Africa, but we do not think this is one of them,” he said.

“This report identified issues relating to one company, but what we think will soon become apparent is that in the absence of effective local regulation, predatory lending is becoming pervasive across Africa and Asia…proliferated via mobile apps,” Anderson added.

While the bulk of Hindenburg’s critique was centered on Opera, Anderson also took aim at Google.

“Google has become the primary facilitator of these predatory lending apps by virtue of Android’s dominance in these markets. Ultimately, our hope is that Google steps up and addresses the bigger issue here,” he said.

TechCrunch has an open inquiry into Google on the matter. In the meantime, Opera’s apps in Nigeria and Kenya are still available on GooglePlay, according to Opera and a cursory browse of the site.

For its part, Opera issued a rebuttal to Hindenburg and offered some input to TechCrunch through a spokesperson.

In a company statement opera said, “We have carefully reviewed the report published by the short seller and the accusations it put forward, and our conclusion is very clear: the report contains unsubstantiated statements, numerous errors, and misleading conclusions regarding our business and events related to Opera.”

Opera added it had proper banking licenses in Kenyan or Nigeria. “We believe we are in compliance with all local regulations,” said a spokesperson.

TechCrunch asked Hindenburg’s Nate Anderson if the firm had contacted local regulators related to its allegations. “We reached out to the Kenyan DCI three times before publication and have not heard back,” he said.

As it pertains to Africa’s startup scene, there’ll be several things to follow surrounding the Opera, Hindenburg affair.

The first is how it may impact Opera’s business moves in Africa. The company is engaged in competition with other startups across payments, ride-hail, and several other verticals in Nigeria and Kenya. Being accused of predatory lending, depending on where things go (or don’t) with the Hindenburg allegations, could put a dent in brand-equity.

There’s also the open question of if/how Google and regulators in Kenya and Nigeria could respond. Contrary to some perceptions, fintech regulation isn’t non-existent in both countries, neither are regulators totally ineffective.

Kenya passed a new data-privacy law in November and Nigeria recently established guidelines for mobile-money banking licenses in the country, after a lengthy Central Bank review of best digital finance practices.

Nigerian regulators demonstrated they are no pushovers with foreign entities, when they slapped a $3.9 billion fine on MTN over a regulatory breach in 2015 and threatened to eject the South African mobile-operator from the country.

As for short-sellers in African tech, they are a relatively new thing, largely because there are so few startups that have gone on to IPO.

In 2019, Citron Research head and activist short-seller Andrew Left — notable for shorting Lyft and Tesla — took short positions in African e-commerce company Jumia, after dropping a report accusing the company of securities fraud. Jumia’s share-price plummeted over 50% and has only recently begun to recover.

As of Wednesday, there were signs Opera may be shaking off Hindenburg’s report — at least in the market — as the company’s shares had rebounded to $7.35.

Revisiting Jumia’s JForce scandal and Citron’s short-sell claims

[itechblogco]

📢Opera reportedly has multiple predatory loan apps in the Play Store with interest rates of up to 876% 👉http://bit.ly/2uk71oo 📛 #News #Tech #Computer #Game #africa #asia #cashbean #india #kenya #loan #loans #nigeria #okash #opay #opera #opesa #applications #apps #news

[dontletmeontheinternet]

Opera Accused of Offering Predatory Loans Through Android apps

"It's no secret that Opera isn't doing so well in the era of Chrome dominance," reports Android Police. "According to a report published by Hindenburg Research, the company's losses in browser revenue have apparently led it to create multiple loan apps with short payment windows and interest rates of ~365-876%, which are in violation of new Play Store rules Google enacted last year." The apps are aimed at India, Kenya and Nigeria, reports Engadget: The apps would claim to offer maximum annual percentage rate (APR) of 33 percent or less, but the actual rates were much higher, climbing to 438 percent in the case of OPesa. And while they publicly offered reasonable loan terms of 91 to 365 days, the real length was no more than 29 days (for OKash) and more often 15 days -- well under Google's 60-day minimum. The conditions only got worse for borrowers who missed their payments. Falling short by just a day could raise the APR as high as 876 percent. Also, the apps reportedly scraped phone contacts to harass family, friends and others with calls and texts in hopes this would pressure customers into paying up. These same notices often threatened legal action. Android Police points out that Opera became a public company in mid-2017, shortly after it was purchased by a China-based investor group. But since then, "Opera's market share has continued to fall, due to the increasing dominance of Chrome."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

from Slashdot https://ift.tt/2G74KPO

[icharitoct]

GRUPO H😋 Cabana/Opesa (en Machala) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwtCCNMHz47bTLthfHRr7HgmdbDNfhWW4IhCN40/?igshid=i96494apilvb

[gmanyasa]

Facebook post (2020-04-16T04:19:51.000Z)

LIST OF APPS BANNED BY CBK FROM ACCESSING CRB. 😅😅😅😅 I never knew all these apps existed wuueh!! Over 50+ Branch Zenka Tala Opesa Okash Okolea LionCash i-Save Mobile Lendi mkopo Okoa Cash Loans Fuliza Branch Investor MB-Kash iPesa Kopa Jirani FlashPesa Zash Loan Kashway Kava Personal Loans Kua Palm Loans Kenya Afrika loans Mshiko Chap Kenya Quick Loan Shop Senti Hikash MKash Bee PesaFlash Peso Loans Carbon Hela Pesa Eazzy Loans Fululiza Senti Stawika Tajiri Loanika Saida Kuwazo Fair Money Lendy LOANS Umba (Formerly Mkopo Kaka) UbaPesa Okoa 0% Interest Loans Kash Pesa Loans Fair Branch: Instantly and Accuracy Top Loan Lenders HiCash Quick and Easy Loans to MPESA Loans Chap Chap Izwa Loans Fintech Loans Imarika Credit PesaPata Okolea Quick Loans M-KOPAY Okoa Pesa pap Kenya Quick Loans Market Instant Cash- Reliable Money Pezesha mKopa tumaPesa Duta Saida Aspira Phedha Loans Credits Brabetts Bayern Munich

[componentplanet]

Opera Accused of Operating Predatory Loan Apps on Android

Anyone who was browsing the web in the early 2000s probably has some experience with Opera. In those days, Opera made a great alternative to Internet Explorer, but today it has a different business model. According to a new report, Opera has launched several shady loan apps in the Play Store that violate Google’s policies by charging exorbitant interest rates for very short-term loans. 

According to financial firm Hindenburg Research, Opera has launched at least four payment apps under various developer accounts. There’s Okash and OPesa in Kenya, CashBean in India, and OPay in Nigeria. On the surface, these apps appear to comply with Google’s rules for financial services. The Android maker instituted some modest rules to prevent predatory loan apps from charging multi-hundred percent interest rates. 

Upon investigating these apps (one of which has already been booted from the store), Hindenburg Research determined the loan products offered to customers were much different than the app descriptions would lead you to believe. The repayment periods could go as low as 14 days with annual percentage rates (APR) that reach as high as 876 percent. Google says loans have to be 60 days or longer, and it limits APR to 36 percent (in the US).

Hindenburg Research confirmed the details of the loans by posing as potential customers and reaching out to customer service. There are also ample public reviews in the Play Store backing up the claims. However, Opera says the report contains “numerous errors” and notes that Hindenburg Research is shorting Opera stock. However, it doesn’t really deny the substance of the report.

So, how did Opera get here? Two decades ago, Opera made money by offering an ad-supported version of its browser for free. If you wanted to remove the ads, you’d need to purchase a license. As it became impossible to sell browsers to consumers, Opera transitioned to search provider partnerships and other ad mechanisms. 

The explosion of mobile internet-connected devices in the late 2000s gave Opera a new revenue stream, but Opera’s highly optimized browser became less necessary as smartphones and mobile data became faster. With Opera’s market share shrinking, the original owners sold the company to a Chinese consortium in 2016. Since then, Opera has branched out into new businesses and gone public, earning $115 million in its initial public offering. It looks like the new owners are doing everything possible to prop the company up. Regardless of Hindenburg’s motives, the evidence points to Opera engaging in some extremely disreputable activities.

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from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/internet/305149-opera-accused-of-operating-predatory-loan-apps-on-android from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2020/01/opera-accused-of-operating-predatory.html

[afrobeatsglobal]

Opay Risks Ban As Report Finds Them Guilty Of Offering "Crazy Loans"

Opay Risks Ban As Report Finds Them Guilty Of Offering “Crazy Loans”

A new report by Hidenburg Research has put Opera’s loan apps under scrutiny for allegedly offering predatory loans to its customers in Nigeria, Kenya, and India. The report indicated that Opera is offering predatory loans that come with deceptive descriptions.

The research report also points out the outrageously high annual percentage rate (APR) rates (up to 438% in the case of OPesa) as opposed…