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Africa Bitcoin Corporation (ABC), the South Africa-based Bitcoin treasury and SME-finance company, now holds 5.0246 BTC in its corporate treasury, according to its real-time analytics dashboard. The SME lender and advisory firm has set an ambitious 2030 target of holding 21,000 BTC. Its 2030 target would make it the largest African-listed company holding Bitcoin on its balance sheet. At its current holding of 5.0246 BTC, the firm has only covered 0.02% of that goal. The gap between a growing yet limited stash and a sweeping long-term goal underlines how early ABC remains in this strategy, even as it pitches shareholders on gaining regulated stock-exchange exposure to Bitcoin across South Africa, Namibia, the US, and Germany. The company, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), has accumulated its Bitcoin holdings at a weighted average purchase price of $100,574 per coin across seven transactions since 2024. Its cumulative Bitcoin yield—a metric that tracks the percentage growth in Bitcoin holdings over time—has reached 207%, driven largely by accelerated accumulation in the final quarter of 2025. The company’s Bitcoin net asset value (BTC NAV), which represents the total market value of all the Bitcoin it holds on its balance sheet, now stands at $359,140. Its market-to-net asset value multiple (mNAV), which compares the company’s enterprise value to the value of its Bitcoin holdings, stands at 46.29x. The figure underscores how small ABC’s Bitcoin treasury remains relative to the total value of its business. Africa Bitcoin Corporation remains one of the few crypto-focused firms publicly listed on a regulated stock exchange anywhere on the continent. It currently trades on the JSE and A2X Markets in South Africa, the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX), the OTCQB Venture Market in the US, and Germany’s Börse Frankfurt (Deutsche Börse), including the Tradegate and Lang & Schwarz retail trading platforms. The company is continuing its multi-exchange expansion plans, broadening its African investor base and attracting pension funds and family offices seeking regulated, indirect exposure to Bitcoin.
Read MoreTable of contents Nigerian companies that cut staff in Q1 2026 Global restructuring affecting Nigeria Why is this happening? What this means for Q2 and beyond Q1 2026 is drawing to a close, and the Nigerian job market has had a rough three months. Across the banking sector, the startup world, and the crypto industry, companies have been laying off staff, in some cases quietly and in others more publicly. Two things drove most of these decisions. The first is local: the Central Bank of Nigeria set a March 31, 2026, deadline for banks to meet new minimum capital requirements. Banks that could not raise enough capital on their own had to merge with others, and mergers almost always bring job losses. The second is global: AI tools are increasingly being used to replace or reduce teams, particularly in customer support, marketing, and operations. This piece covers five Nigerian companies with confirmed staff cuts in Q1 2026, followed by three global companies whose restructuring plans are relevant to Nigeria. Nigerian companies that cut staff in Q1 2026 1. Zap Africa When it happened: February 2026 Number of staff affected: 8 roles eliminated, bringing the company from 18 employees to 10. That is a 44% cut in total headcount. Why they cut staff: Zap Africa is a Nigerian crypto startup that lets users buy and sell digital assets. As crypto trading volumes dropped sharply, retail activity on the platform slowed. The company responded by replacing human roles with an AI tool called Martha AI, which now handles first-line customer support. The cuts hit the design, operations, marketing, and support teams. What the company officially said: Co-founder and CTO Moore Dagogo-Hart told TechCabal: “Zap Africa intentionally moved from 18 to 10 as part of an AI-driven efficiency shift. What occurred was a targeted internal restructuring as part of our ongoing effort to improve operational efficiency and align the team with our current product and growth priorities.” Source: TechCabal, February 28, 2026 Martha AI, the tool Zap Africa used to replace its customer support team, is a product built by the CTO’s other company, Cognito Systems. The broader market gives context to the timing. Since October 2025, the global crypto market has shed nearly $2 trillion in value. For a startup whose revenue moves directly with trading activity, such a downturn typically forces cost-cutting as companies try to extend their runway. 2. Quidax When it happened: March 2, 2026 Number of staff affected: The exact number was not disclosed. Quidax did not respond to TechCabal’s questions about how many people were let go. Employees say the company has over 100 staff, but the count of those cut in 2026 is unconfirmed. The cuts hit the sales, design, and operations teams. Why they cut staff: During a company-wide all-hands meeting, Quidax announced it was cutting roles for performance-related reasons, using data from an internal tracking app to identify who would go. The company is also shifting away from retail crypto trading toward B2B infrastructure and enterprise crypto payments. It shut down its peer-to-peer trading feature in January 2026 and partnered with blockchain company Lisk in February 2026. What the company officially said: Quidax did not respond to TechCabal’s requests for comment. According to affected staff, the reason given at the meeting was performance. One person told TechCabal: “There were no clear metrics. It was something about numbers from an internal performance tracking app. All of it is confusing. There was not a lot of information for us to go by beyond that; just a verbal notice in the morning, and that was it.” Source: TechCabal, March 26, 2026 Taken together, these moves suggest a pattern: Quidax shut down P2P trading in January, partnered with a blockchain infrastructure company in February, and cut retail-facing roles in March. The company appears to be shifting from a consumer app towards B2B products. Such shifts often result in redundancies in teams aligned with the previous focus. 3. Kuda Bank When it happened: March 25, 2026 Number of staff affected: At least one hundred, across multiple departments. In the marketing department alone, 19 out of 40 employees were let go, according to two affected staff who spoke to TechCabal. Why they cut staff: Kuda said the cuts are part of a company-wide restructuring following a strategic review of future operational priorities and industry benchmarking. Executives were said to have told staff during an all-hands video call on March 25 that the decision was about shifting operational priorities, not financial pressure or individual performance. The internal notice obtained by TechCabal read: “Following a strategic review of future operational priorities, industry benchmarking, and long-term direction, the Company has identified the need to restructure and reorganise certain departments.” What the company officially said: A Kuda spokesperson told TechCabal: “Kuda is evolving how the organisation is structured to support the next phase of our growth and scale. This is not a decision driven by financial pressure, but part of the natural evolution of a company at our stage, aligning with industry benchmarks. We are supporting those affected with enhanced severance packages and practical transition support.” Severance: Affected staff were offered packages that vary by role and tenure. Some expect up to seven months’ pay. The company is also offering an enhanced exit option tied to a legal settlement agreement. Source: TechCabal, March 27, 2026 Kuda has been narrowing its losses steadily. According to BusinessDay, its losses dropped from $35.11 million in 2023 to $5.83 million in 2024, driven by its Nigerian subsidiary, which nearly doubled its naira revenue to N21.2 billion. The bank last raised external funding in 2024, bringing in $20 million at a $500 million valuation. The job cuts suggest that even a neobank nearing profitability may be rethinking its cost structure. The marketing cuts in particular may indicate a pullback in aggressive customer acquisition spending in favour of a leaner, more sustainable growth model. 4. Unity Bank (Providus Bank Merger) When it happened: January 1, 2026 Number of staff
Read MoreScale, a South African card‑issuing startup, has partnered with Mastercard, a global payments company, to simplify card products for businesses in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Across many African markets, companies offering card payment must coordinate with several parties, including issuing banks, payment networks, and Bank Identification Number (BIN) sponsors, leading to slow product launches and increasing operational complexity. Mastercard and Scale say their one-integration model streamlines onboarding, processing, and compliance so businesses can focus on building products for customers while the platform handles the operational heavy lifting. In Kenya, where mobile money is already big and card usage is growing for e-commerce and higher-value transactions, the partnership mainly cuts complexity and time-to-market for existing fintech players. In markets like Senegal, Ivory Coast, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, where cards are less common and cash or mobile wallets still dominate, the focus is on enabling new use cases such as companion wallet cards, small and medium enterprises, corporate spending cards, payout cards for governments and non-profit organisations. Through the partnership, Scale, founded in 2022 by Barbara Woollams and Miranda Naidoo, provides the issuing infrastructure, customer onboarding tools, and regulatory support while Mastercard brings its global payments network, bank partnerships and market expertise. “Across Africa, innovators are creating powerful solutions, yet many are slowed down by the complex steps required to issue cards, which has a significant impact on their business, the market, and their growth,” said Miranda Naidoo, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Scale. “This collaboration with Mastercard removes those hurdles by giving businesses one clear, efficient way to enter the market and scale.” This partnership builds on Scale’s earlier momentum, which included raising $700,000 in October 2024 to grow its card‑issuing platform across Africa. Additionally, it follows the surging demand for digital payments. McKinsey projected that Africa’s financial‑services revenues could reach around $230 billion in 2025, while globally, modern card‑issuing platforms are expected to issue about 35% of all payment cards by 2029. “By simplifying the issuing journey, we are supporting fintechs and non-financial institutions as they expand access to digital financial services and bring more consumers and businesses into the formal economy,” said Mete Guney, Executive Vice President, Market Development for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at Mastercard. The partnership gives Scale the network and credibility to move faster across five markets. The harder question is whether Scale has the operational depth to match that ambition, particularly in markets where mobile money already works well, and regulatory frameworks vary significantly. The next twelve months will be telling.
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