World Bank Bans PwC Africa Subsidiaries over Electricity Project Fraud
The World Bank has debarred three PwC Africa subsidiaries—PwC Associates Africa (Mauritius), PwC Kenya, and PwC Rwanda—for 21 months after uncovering collusive and fraudulent practices tied to the Eastern Electricity Highway Project. The firms manipulated procurement documents and misrepresented expertise to win consultancy contracts for Ethiopia’s power utility. As a result, the entities are ineligible for any World Bank‑financed work across the continent. PwC has accepted responsibility and agreed to internal investigations, staff discipline, and enhanced training.
African Freelancers Get Paid in Dollars. Hurupay Makes Sure They Keep Them.
Hurupay, a Kenya‑born, US‑incorporated fintech, offers African freelancers virtual dollar, euro and pound accounts backed by stablecoins, enabling fast cross‑border payouts. Since its 2023 launch, the company has processed over $50 million, achieving marginal profitability with roughly 40% profit margins. After...
Cellulant Taps Ex-Agoda CFO as New Finance Chief in Renewed Pan-African Push
Cellulant has appointed former Agoda CFO Darren Makarem as its new finance chief, bolstering a refreshed executive team that also includes CTO Michael Muriuki. Makarem arrives with experience overseeing a $12 billion annual payments network and stints at Binance and OnRamp,...
Ndovu Targets Kenya’s High-Income Investors with New Multi-Asset Fund
Ndovu Wealth has launched the Kibaba Multi‑Asset Special Fund, a regulated product with a KES 250,000 (≈$2,500) minimum ticket aimed at Kenya’s higher‑income investors. The fund bundles global equities, fixed income, REITs, ETFs and commodities into a single mobile‑first interface. By...
Nigerian Fintech Duplo Gets Licenced for E-Invoicing and Tax Transmission
Duplo, a Nigerian B2B payments platform, secured Systems Integrator and Access Point Provider licences from the Nigeria Revenue Service. The dual licences let the company generate NRS‑compliant e‑invoices, transmit them automatically, and settle payments within its platform. Nigeria’s digital tax...
How Safaricom’s New M-PESA Masked Phone Number Feature Will Work
Safaricom will roll out a phone‑number masking feature for M‑PESA transaction alerts at the end of March 2026. Alerts will replace full numbers with a partially hidden format such as 0722*000**, while still displaying the sender’s first and second names....
Kenya Moves to Let Courts Order ISPs to Block Illegal Livestreams
Kenya’s draft Copyright and Related Rights Bill 2026 would empower courts to issue blocking orders against internet service providers that host illegal livestreams of sports and entertainment events. The legislation introduces a formal notice‑and‑takedown regime and safe‑harbour protections for platforms...
CBN Mandates Liveness Checks and Device Limits to Fight Digital Banking Fraud
The Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a new regulatory framework requiring real‑time liveness verification and BVN/NIN validation for all account openings and reactivations. Mobile banking apps must be bound to a single device, with additional multi‑factor authentication for any...
Fintechs Expanding Between Kenya and Rwanda May Soon Need One Licence
Kenya’s central bank and Rwanda’s national bank have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a licence‑passporting framework for payment service providers. The arrangement would let fintech firms licensed in one country operate in the other without obtaining a new...
IFF 2026: Why Africa’s Financial Future May Not Belong to Banks
At the Inclusive Finance Forum in Kigali, leaders argued that Africa’s financial future hinges on digital public infrastructure rather than traditional banking apps. They emphasized a shift from mere inclusion toward wealth creation, calling for citizen‑owned digital wallets and interoperable...
For ₦1,300 a Month, inDrive Drivers in Nigeria Can Now Access Healthcare Services
InDrive Nigeria has teamed up with health‑tech startup Heala to embed affordable medical coverage into its driver app. Eligible Platinum drivers can subscribe to plans starting at ₦1,300 ($1) per month, granting tele‑consultations, prescriptions, pharmacy pick‑up and diagnostic services without...
JAMB Says There Is No Room for Failure in Its New UTME Surveillance System
JAMB has rolled out a strict CCTV‑based surveillance regime for UTME centres, enforcing a “No View, No Pay” policy that withholds payments unless remote monitoring is uninterrupted. The move follows the detection of 4,251 finger‑blending and 190 AI‑assisted cheating incidents...
Kenya’s Largest Bank Moves to Acquire Stake in Payments Firm Pesapal
Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group is awaiting regulator sign‑off to acquire a stake in regional payments platform Pesapal. The acquisition follows KCB’s recent purchase of fintech Riverbank Solutions and aims to broaden its merchant‑payment services across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda...
Aga Khan’s Exit Hands East Africa’s Largest News Publisher to Tanzanian Billionaire
Nation Media Group, East Africa’s largest independent publisher, is transferring its controlling 54.08% stake from the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development to Tanzanian billionaire Rostam Azizi’s Taarifa Ltd. The sale ends a 66‑year ownership lineage and includes roughly 92.6 million...
Kenya’s Parliament Committees Back $1.5 Billion Safaricom Stake Sale
Kenyan parliamentary Public Debt and Privatisation Committees have endorsed the government's plan to sell 15% of its Safaricom stake for KES204 billion ($1.5 billion). Proceeds will be funneled into a National Infrastructure Fund to finance roads, energy and other projects, easing fiscal...
WhatsApp Research Platform Yazi Raises First Institutional Round at $1.6M Valuation
Yazi, a South African AI‑native research platform built on WhatsApp, closed its first institutional funding round, valuing the company at R30 million ($1.6 million) pre‑money. The round, led by 3 Capital Ventures, will fund product development such as automated voice interviews, expand...
Ghana’s New Crypto Law Gets Its First Test with an 11-Company Sandbox
Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission has placed 11 crypto firms into a 12‑month regulatory sandbox, the first practical step after the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act (2025) legalised digital assets. The sandbox aims to test products while enforcing anti‑money‑laundering and...
CcHUB Says It Deployed $4.18 Million in Grants in 2025
CcHUB deployed $4.18 million in grants and sub‑grants across 49 African countries in 2025, supporting 3,312 ventures and training more than 25,000 people. The hub concentrated on education, health and the creative industries, launching 15 edtech products, accelerating nine digital‑health startups...
68% of Nigeria’s 2025 Music Streaming Was Led by Three Companies
In 2025 three foreign distributors—Empire, Universal Music Group and Sony—dominated Nigeria's streaming market, accounting for 68% of total Spotify volume. Empire led with 1.2 billion streams (32.9% share), followed by Universal at 21% and Sony at 14%. The dominance highlights Nigeria's...
Nigeria’s Prembly Launches Open-Source Database to Fight African Fraud
Prembly, a Nigerian digital‑security firm, has unveiled FraudLens, an open‑source fraud‑intelligence bank built on millions of identity‑verification checks. The platform aggregates fraud events from banks, fintechs and other partners, offering a publicly accessible repository that starts with Nigeria and aims...
Kenya’s Taxman Turns to Surveillance Tech to Root Out Customs Corruption
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has begun deploying about 350 body‑worn cameras to customs officers at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, supported by a new Central Command Centre that records and monitors interactions in real time. The initiative targets long‑standing bribery...
Two Funds, Two Continents: Why VC Firm Satgana Is Doubling Down on Climate Tech
Satgana, a venture capital firm focused on climate‑tech, is launching two dedicated funds—one for Europe and one for Africa—after backing 30 startups across 16 countries with roughly $10 million in assets. The firm invests about $570,000 per startup, emphasizing businesses where...
Kenya Rolls Out Automated Traffic Fines System for Road Offenders
Kenya’s National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has launched the Instant Fines Management System, a fully automated platform that detects traffic violations via cameras and sends SMS fines to motorists. The system records each offence on a digital driver profile...
“We Are Building on Top of an Immature Ecosystem”: Day 1-1000 of Bujeti
Bujeti, a Lagos‑based fintech founded in 2021, has transformed from a diaspora remittance app into a comprehensive finance control centre for African businesses. The platform now offers corporate cards, expense limits, payroll, automated VAT vaults and an AI‑powered assistant, serving...
69% of Africa’s Biometric Fintech Fraud Is Now AI-Generated, Says Report
A Smile ID report reveals that 69% of biometric fraud in Africa’s fintech sector is now AI‑generated, with a single syndicate using 100 stolen faces to launch over 160,000 verification attacks in one month. Fraud has shifted from fake‑ID onboarding...
Nigeria Exited the FATF Grey List. Now It Wants to Set the Rules for African Fintech
Nigeria was removed from the Financial Action Task Force grey list in October 2025 after completing a 19‑point anti‑money‑laundering reform that brought it into compliance with 37 of the 40 FATF recommendations. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s new Fintech Policy...
Nigeria’s Loan Apps Are Pulling Back From the Small Loans that Built Them
Nigeria’s digital lending boom built on instant nano‑loans of ₦5‑10,000 is receding. Regulatory crackdowns on intrusive phone‑data and new FCCPC fines have stripped lenders of cheap risk tools, while credit‑bureau fees and high recovery costs make tiny loans unprofitable. Lenders...
Nigerian AI Startup Intron Expands Speech Recognition Platform to 57 Languages
Nigerian AI startup Intron has upgraded its Sahara speech‑recognition platform to support 57 languages, adding 24 new ones and a bilingual Swahili‑English model that handles code‑switching. The v2 release incorporates offline deployment on Nvidia Jetson devices and claims benchmark gains...
This Startup Wants to Bring Bitcoin to Africans Who Can’t Afford the Internet
Machankura, a South African startup, enables Bitcoin transactions via USSD, allowing feature‑phone users across ten African countries to send, receive, and spend crypto without internet access. The service, built on Africa's Talking USSD infrastructure and the Bitcoin Lightning Network, has...
Africa’s Crypto Is Complex. Josephine Inika Has Made a Career Simplifying It.
Josephine Inika, Head of Content at crypto‑fintech platform Obiex, has built a career on turning complex cryptocurrency concepts into clear, audience‑first language for Nigerians and other African markets. Her method relies on first‑principles questioning, relentless simplification, and a pre‑mortem mindset...
Nomba Wants Nigerian Merchants to Collect Pounds Directly From UK Banks
Nomba has teamed with UK Open Banking platform Volume to let Nigerian merchants collect British pounds directly from UK bank accounts, sidestepping traditional card processors and saving 6‑7% of revenue. The integration uses the Faster Payments rail, settles instantly into...
Airtel’s SmartCash Hits 3 Million Users in Nigeria’s Mobile Money Push
SmartCash, Airtel Nigeria's payment service bank, reached nearly three million active users, defined by transactions in the past 30 days. The platform offers zero‑fee transfers, bill payments and a 15% annual interest on savings, positioning it against fintech rivals OPay...
How Nigerian Neobank Kuda Built Its In-House Core Banking Application
Nigerian neobank Kuda, serving over seven million customers, built its own core banking application, NERV, to overcome scalability and reliability limits of a third‑party provider. Starting in 2019 with a modest pre‑seed fund, the engineering‑first team ran NERV in parallel...
Weego Raises $1.1 Million to Fix Urban Mobility Across African Cities
Moroccan‑Senegalese mobility startup Weego announced a $1.1 million seed round led by Azur Innovation Fund. The capital will fuel the company’s rollout across key Moroccan cities and lay groundwork for expansion into Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Weego’s multimodal platform...
Nvidia-Backed Cassava Wants to Fix Africa’s Network Downtime with AI
Cassava Technologies, backed by Nvidia, has launched the Cassava Autonomous Network, an AI‑driven system that monitors and optimises Radio Access Networks across Africa. The platform replaces manual RAN adjustments with autonomous optimisation, claiming up to 75% efficiency gains and reducing...
Mark Essien Simplified Hotel Bookings. Now He Wants to Fix How Companies Travel.
Mark Essien, the founder of Hotels.ng, launched TripDesk in 2025 as an AI‑driven platform that streamlines corporate travel approvals for large enterprises. The system centralises scattered policy documents, routes requests through multi‑level approval chains, and can complete bookings via partner...
Chowdeck Taps MyCoverGenius to Introduce Accident Insurance for Its 20,000 Riders
Chowdeck has rolled out a personal accident insurance scheme for more than 20,000 active riders, partnering with Nigerian insurer MyCoverGenius. The auto‑enrolled policy covers accidental medical expenses, temporary disability benefits, and compensation for lost earnings. Launched in November 2024, the...
At Zikoko Citizen Townhall, Builders Urged to Engage, Not Avoid, Regulators
At the Zikoko Citizen Townhall in Lagos, tech leaders warned that regulatory uncertainty is hampering Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem. Panelists highlighted the psychological and financial toll of volatile policies, citing the 2021 cryptocurrency ban and fluctuating exchange rates as examples. They...
Day 1–1000 of Sharesell: How a Market Question Built a Credit Startup
Sharesell, founded in 2022 to streamline WhatsApp vendor supply chains, initially launched as a marketplace but struggled to gain traction. After two pivots, the founders discovered that informal Nigerian traders needed cash tied to inventory, prompting a shift to an...
Zap Africa Cuts 44% of Workforce in AI-Driven Restructuring
Zap Africa, a Nigerian cryptocurrency startup founded in 2023, slashed 44% of its staff in February 2026, reducing headcount from 18 to 10 as part of an AI‑driven efficiency shift. The cuts targeted design, operations, marketing and support roles, while...
Africa’s Industrial Future Requires a Different Kind of Capital
In 2024 over 70% of Africa’s equity venture funding went to fintech, leaving defense, industrial automation, climate, health and scientific platforms severely under‑capitalised. The prevailing venture model rewards fast‑scaling, asset‑light platforms and excludes capital‑intensive, long‑horizon projects that are essential for...
An AU-Endorsed Reskilling Drive Is Expanding Into South Africa
The African Union‑backed Reskilling Revolution Africa has entered Phase Two in South Africa, partnering the Womandla Foundation with IBM SkillsBuild and the International Association of Volunteer Effort. The program targets women and young people, offering free AI, cybersecurity, green‑skill and entrepreneurship...
This Startup Is Moving Nigeria’s Land Records to the Blockchain
Sytemap, formerly HouseAfrica, is building a blockchain‑based map directory that digitises private developers’ land records across Lagos and other Nigerian states. By geo‑referencing each plot with satellite imagery and recording allocations on an immutable ledger, the startup aims to eliminate...
Luno Nigeria to Offer Derivates in ‘All-in-One’ Investment Strategy Push
Luno Nigeria announced plans to launch perpetuals trading and potentially futures contracts in 2026, extending its crypto offering into derivatives. The move is part of a broader strategy to become an all‑in‑one investment app, building on recent launches of staking,...
CcHUB EdTech Fellowship Returns with $100,000 Equity-Free Funding
Co‑creation HUB (CcHUB) and the Mastercard Foundation have opened applications for the fourth cohort of the EdTech Fellowship in Nigeria. Twelve early‑stage startups will receive $100,000 in equity‑free funding and a 12‑month incubation program that includes mentorship, technical support, and...
Nigeria’s Crypto Exchanges Must Now Report Trades, but Enforcement Remains Unclear
Nigeria’s tax authority has mandated that all crypto exchanges upload daily transaction logs to a new e‑reporting portal, a rule that took effect in January 2026. The requirement aims to broaden the tax base and fund the country’s expanding fiscal...
The CBN Has a Plan to Make Regulation Work for Fintechs. Here Is What It Looks Like.
On Feb 2 2026 the Central Bank of Nigeria published its Fintech Policy Insight Report, outlining a new regulatory playbook aimed at turning oversight into a partnership engine for the sector. The blueprint introduces a quarterly Fintech Engagement Forum, a Single Regulatory...
“I’ve Never Been on Leave”: Busha Co-Founder Moyo Sodipo on Seven Years Building a Crypto Company
Busha co‑founder and COO Moyo Sodipo reflects on seven years of building Nigeria’s leading crypto exchange, highlighting how the COVID‑19 pandemic accelerated user growth and cemented the firm’s vision beyond a trend. He describes the personal sacrifices involved, noting he...
The Citizen-Led Platform Trying to Make Nigeria’s Vote Collation Transparent
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission launched the IReV portal in 2020 to provide real‑time result viewing, but the 2023 presidential election saw delayed uploads and only 94.68% of polling‑unit results posted after two months. In response, citizen‑led platform E Don Kast was...
Yango Taps Flutterwave for Cashless Taxi, Food Delivery Payments in Zambia
Yango has teamed up with Africa’s leading payments platform Flutterwave to offer card‑based, cashless payments for taxi rides and food delivery in Zambia. The integration routes transactions through Flutterwave’s infrastructure, reducing the platform’s reliance on cash and streamlining the checkout...
