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Latest From our blog

April 2 2025
BM

TechCabal Daily – Investors flock to Lagos coast

In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية It’s mid-week! Which means the weekend is almost here. But first, we’re running a survey at TechCabal. We’d love to really hear your honest thoughts about how you feel about our work—the news reports, coverage, features, everything. Tell us what you think. Why data centre investors are racing to Lagos’ coastline Nigeria’s cNGN stablecoin is looking for more love, will crypto exchanges swipe right? What does BYD vehicle launch in Nigeria mean for EVs? AI can make WhatsApp donations easier World Wide Web 3 Opportunities Internet of Things Why data centre investors are racing to Lagos’ coastline Image Source: Wunmi Eunice for TechCabal If Lagos’ coastline were a nightclub, data centre investors would be standing in line, waving cash, and bribing the bouncer to get in. By 2027, the city’s data centre capacity is set to hit 80 megawatts (MW), making it the second-largest hub in Africa—right behind Johannesburg, which is still hogging the VIP section at 200MW. So, what’s making investors flock to Lagos? Fast internet, for starters. The city is home to eight submarine internet cables, including Google’s Equiano and 2Africa. The closer a data centre is to these underwater lifelines, the quicker your Netflix streams, Zoom calls, and trades. “It’s all about infrastructure and proximity to landing stations,” says Ayotunde Coker, CEO of Open Access Data Centre (OADC). Translation? Lagos Island is prime real estate, with 10 of Nigeria’s 16 data centers squeezed into Victoria Island, Lekki, and Eko Atlantic City. And more are coming: Equinix’s 20MW facility, Nxtra by Airtel’s 38MW center, and OADC’s 24MW hub are all in the works, set to push Nigeria’s total capacity to 200MW. But there is more. Investors are also drawn to, wait for it, Lagos’ steady power supply—Victoria Island and Lekki get up to 20 hours of electricity daily—and access to coastal waters for cooling the beasts that keep the internet running. For now, Lagos’ coastline is the hottest spot for digital infrastructure. The only question? Can investors keep up with the tide? There’s more. Freelancers & remote workers, we want to hear from you! Fincra is exploring the challenges Nigerian freelancers and remote workers face with international payments. Share your experience and help contribute to building better payment solutions. Take the survey now! Cryptocurrency Nigeria’s cNGN stablecoin is looking for more love, will crypto exchanges swipe right? Image Source: Bitcoinist/TechCabal Since launching in early February, cNGN—Nigeria’s naira-backed stablecoin—has quietly made moves. It’s already listed on Busha and Quidax, two provisionally licensed platforms. Now, it wants more listings. And the talks are already happening. The cNGN team have been in early conversations with platforms like Yellow Card and Roqqu, but nothing’s official yet. What we’re learning from leaders of both companies—COO Jason and CEO Eseoghene, respectively—is that vibes are currently more we’re still texting chatting than we’ve signed stuff. Why does this matter? Broader listings make cNGN easier to access for saving, investing, or sending money. Like many tokens, the catch is that cNGN is facing a classic network effects problem. It needs more users to become useful, but it also needs to be useful to get more users. The more people hold and transact with cNGN, the more enthusiasm exchanges will have to list it. Being on larger exchanges, in particular, will allow more users to discover the stablecoin and spread the word. Right now, that flywheel has spun on 161 holders, according to its website. WAGMI or NGMI? The next few months will be critical for the coin to tip the momentum—consider this an extra push. Paystack introduces its first consumer app, Zap! Zap by Paystack is an app for secure and fast payments via bank transfers in Nigeria. Download Zap on iOS and Android → Mobility What does BYD vehicle launch in Nigeria mean for EVs? BYD Atto 3, AKA ‘China’s Tesla’/Image source: Google BYD, a Chinese automaker, has entered the Nigerian market, introducing its Atto 3 and Dolphin electric vehicle (EV) models. This launch is in partnership with LOXEA Nigeria, a subsidiary of CFAO Mobility, a vehicle distribution company. Per Vanguard, LOXEA will lead BYD’s EV distribution and installation of charging stations, maintenance, and repair workshops across the country. BYD’s arrival could be a turning point for Nigeria’s EV adoption. While EVs remain a niche market due to concerns over charging infrastructure, affordability, and awareness, BYD’s global reputation for producing relatively affordable and reliable electric cars might help change the narrative. The Atto 3 and Dolphin are positioned as practical EV options, offering modern features and decent driving range. One of the biggest challenges for EV adoption in Nigeria is the charging infrastructure. Without a widespread charging network, potential buyers may hesitate. However, partnerships like this could encourage investment in charging stations, making EVs more viable in the long run. Affordability is another key factor. The pricing of BYD’s models in Nigeria hasn’t been disclosed yet, but the company is known for setting its prices in line with market conditions in the countries where it operates. This approach is largely due to its global competition with other EV makers, like Tesla, in those markets. However, in Nigeria, no major EV manufacturers are competing for market share in a carved-out auto market that is still in its early stages of development—so that ship might not sail. Nigeria’s high fuel costs and growing interest in alternative energy sources could make EVs more appealing if prices are reasonable. But widespread adoption will depend on pricing, infrastructure, and government policies. If BYD can navigate these challenges, it could pave the way for a larger EV market in Nigeria. Its entry comes at a time when other foreign auto-makers like Russia’s AvtoVAZ are making inroads into the country. Beyond Gifts, We Engineer Brand Connections Turn your brand essence into bespoke souvenirs that strengthen loyalty & recognition among employees, clients & partners. Let’s create meaningful keepsakes. Features AI can make WhatsApp donations easier Image Source: Android Talk Across Africa, friends,

April 1 2025
BM

Bootstrapped OneKitty tackles crowdfunding transparency with WhatsApp chatbots

Manny Anyango, a Kenyan digital communications and social media strategist, runs a chama through a WhatsApp group. Chamas are informal micro-savings and lending groups popular in Kenya and East Africa. Like Nigeria’s ajó or South Africa’s stokvel, members pool money together to invest, save or lend to individual members at little to no interest. Beyond micro-savings, these groups also form small closely-knit communities where members often fundraise for social causes or to support members in times of loss. Most of these groups operate on social messaging apps like WhatsApp and track member contributions there. According to Anyango, manually updating names and contributions, as opposed to utilising crowdfunding apps like M-Changa and GoFundMe, poses a headache. “People join, leave, or change numbers, and keeping track of who has paid is a constant struggle,” says Anyango. “You need to remember how much you had (in your mobile money wallet) or eventually trace to the first amount you received and from whom and add the total manually countless times,” says Eddie Saroni, a social media marketer who runs an Arsenal FC fan WhatsApp group of 258 members and often manages contributions for funerals, birthdays, and hospital bills. “Updates stream in, people call asking why you are yet to add their names and balances, etc. It’s messy.” Still, WhatsApp offers more transparency and accountability to the crowdfunding process in a low-trust market like Kenya. In 2023, 23-year-old university student Danche Nganga came upon the idea to create a crowdfunding alternative that worked on Telegram and WhatsApp where people were already trying to keep track of communal fundraising. Nganga, who was studying Applied Physics and Computer Science at Multimedia University of Kenya at the time, first saw this as an opportunity while discussing with his then partner, who was trying to support a fundraiser for a late cousin. “I suggested to her that we create a payment kitty (an informal term for a pool of money raised communally) where you can send money and automatically [receive] the funds in your wallets,” Nganga says. “We argued a little, but I recalled that contributors also like to track the contributions being raised via WhatsApp. That was the starting point,” he says. A real-time chatbot OneKitty, the product which resulted from that conversation, is a crowdfunding app integrated with social messaging chatbots that provide real-time updates of contributions to every member in the group. This not only eliminates the hassle, confusion, and delays in managing contributions manually, it also lends transparency to the process, giving every member of a fundraising community equal insight into the communal pot. Crowdfunding platforms like M-Changa and GoFundMe are popular in Kenya, but monitoring the progress of crowdfunding campaigns in ways that contributors can track did not happen in real-time on either service, Nganga claims. M-Changa, Kenya’s Mobile Money Crowdfunding Platform, is Raising Capital for Growth As the startup’s technical lead, Nganga sought operational proficiency in 28-year-old Shem Maina, who joined the business as chief finance and operations officer. “My background is not in IT and Computer Science like many techies,” says Maina, who holds an MBA in Strategic Management from the same university. Once they had a product, the two partnered to conduct AB tests with friends and classmates at their university and church, attracting responders both organically and through referrals. Some of their initial challenges were building a platform that was simple and worked end-to-end, the co-founders said. They also struggled with market entry and earning user and partner trust. “Taking someone through how the product works was not enough, as most Kenyans are sceptical when sending money online,” Nganga says. The app, through partnerships with banks and telcos, allows payments from mobile money wallets M-Pesa and Airtel Money, but it is the integration with peer-to-peer services like SasaPay, that has led to the company’s success so far, according to Maina. To mitigate fraud, OneKitty’s co-founders say that an inbuilt AI monitoring system, as well as dedicated financial fraud personnel, are among several safety measures it employs. Its chatbot also allows a group to set as many or few signatories as possible to authorise withdrawals to avoid embezzlement. Since its launch, OneKitty—whose team of seven hybrid employees work out of a head office in Nairobi—says it has facilitated over 10,000 fundraising campaigns for over 200,000 Kenyans on its platform. Differentiating from competitors OneKitty’s co-founders say they’re differentiating from their competitors with its WhatsApp chatbot integration. They are yet to roll out a chatbot for Telegram. “Our competitors, most of them; actually, all of them are not on WhatsApp,” Maina says. According to Statista, the number of Kenyans who use WhatsApp, which has steadily grown over the years, is estimated to reach 15.31 million of the country’s 22.7 million internet users in the next four years. With the chatbot integration, not only can a fundraising community see contributions as they come through in real-time on a messaging app they use frequently, they can see when withdrawals are made and by whom. OneKitty is also the most affordable option in the market at the moment, according to Maina. While GoFundMe charges a fee of 2.9% + $0.30 per donation, deducted from the total amount raised, and M-Changa charges a standard platform fee of 4.25% of the total funds raised, OneKitty charges 2.5% of the total contributions upon withdrawals. For chama contributions, the company charges 2% of all withdrawals, and 5% for events—the WhatsApp bot can be integrated into a group and used to sell event tickets, the co-founders say. In addition to M-Changa and GoFundMe, OneKitty is also competing with platforms like Thundafund, Kickstarter and even Safaricom’s M-Pesa whose Paybill and Short-Term Paybill products offer long term and short term crowdfunding solutions for institutional and individual projects respectively. Most of these platforms employ an all-or-nothing fundraising model which means campaign managers can only receive their funds if they meet their target fundraising goals. OneKitty does not use this model, offering flexibility and allowing projects to receive any funds raised, which is beneficial for

April 1 2025
BM

Why data centre investors are flocking to Lagos’ coastline

To get a slice of Lagos’ booming data centre market—projected to reach 70 megawatts (MW) by 2027—global investors are pouring capital into Victoria Island and the Lekki Peninsula, two of the city’s most affluent urban neighborhoods. Thanks to its proximity to eight submarine internet cables, Lagos Island is positioned to become Africa’s second-largest data centre hub, trailing behind Johannesburg’s 200MW capacity. But the scramble for Lagos’ coastline reveals the promise and pitfalls of betting on Africa’s fragmented data economy. The closer a data centre is to a submarine cable landing station (CLS), the faster data can travel, reducing delays. Coastal data centers are built near these landing stations to improve speed and efficiency. They also serve as backup hubs, keeping networks running even if inland connections go down, said Ayotunde Coker, CEO of Open Access Data Centre (OADC). “It is the availability of infrastructure and proximity to landing stations and typical site selection parameters that make investors elect to build data centres in Victoria Island,” Coker told TechCabal. Google’s Equiano submarine cable, with a massive capacity of up to 144 terabits per second (Tbps), lands directly at OADC’s Tier III-certified, carrier-neutral facility in Lekki. Similarly, the MainOne submarine cable with a 10 Tbps is directly connected to the MDXi data centre, MainOne’s Tier III-certified facility in Lekki, Lagos. Nigeria’s eight submarine cables—including Google’s Equiano and 2Africa—make landfall along the Lagos Island coastline, connecting to terrestrial fiber-optic networks for broader distribution. Ten of Nigeria’s 16 data centres are already concentrated in Victoria Island, Lekki, and Eko Atlantic City, and operators are racing to add more capacity. Projects under construction include Equinix’s 5MW facility, Kasi’s 5MW centre, Nxtra by Airtel’s 38MW data center, and Open Access Data Centre’s 24MW facility—all slated for completion by 2027. These new data centres, alongside ongoing developments across the country, will expand Nigeria’s total capacity from 64MW to approximately 200MW. By bringing data processing closer to users, these facilities will reduce delays, enhancing the performance of cloud services, streaming, and online gaming. The increased capacity will also improve network reliability, minimizing downtime and ensuring more stable connectivity. Power, water, and urbanisation Investors are drawn not just by connectivity but by Lagos’ improving power infrastructure. As key urban hubs, Victoria Island and Lekki are designated “Band A” service areas, ensuring 20 to 24 hours of electricity daily—critical for data centre operations. “Power infrastructure in the Lekki Corridor today and in the future is more robust than other parts of Lagos,” said Wole Abu of Equinix West Africa. Another reason for choosing coastal areas is access to water for cooling systems, which prevents overheating and maintains efficiency. In 2023, data centers globally consumed an estimated 309 million gallons of water per day—enough to supply 3.3 million people—and this demand is expected to rise to 468 million gallons daily by 2030 as more AI-driven data centers emerge. The increasing investment in Lagos’s data centres reflects a global urbanization wave. A recent Bank of America Institute study identifies urbanization, aging populations, and evolving consumer behavior as key drivers of digital infrastructure expansion. The United Nations projects that by 2050, about 66% of the global population will live in cities, rising to 87% in developed nations, with Asia and Africa contributing 90% of this urban growth. One of the ultra-urban areas, Eko Atlantic, is envisioned as a cutting-edge smart city with world-class infrastructure, high-rise buildings, luxury real estate, and advanced flood protection systems. Though still under development, it has attracted major data centre investments, hosting two hyperscale facilities—Africa Data Centres’ Tier III data centre and Nxtra by Airtel. For now, Lagos’ coastline remains the hottest ticket in town if investors can navigate its tide. Here’s an opportunity to tell us how you feel about TechCabal. Join other readers to take this 10-minute survey now. Fill it via this link.