Bhluemountain is effective, reliable, and easy to work with. Schedule a free consultation and we’ll show you why we were named one of the top IT firms in Nigeria
start Now
We are a team of top-accredited professionals who are unceasingly committed to delivering trailblazing solutions that ensure your maximum productivity. We help our customers build the core foundation for a successful and secure digital transformation journey
Quality is at the heart of everything we do, and we continuously challenge ourselves to improve our services to meet or exceed the needs and expectations of our customers, while always complying with regulations and specifications.
Whilst we have a big smile on our faces about our recognition, we never forget that our team and our clients work together as one, so thank you for all of your support.
Together with our team of accredited experts, we assist businesses in navigating their current IT estates and digital future through informed and cost-saving IT models.
At Bhluemountain we help small and large enterprises, run their mission-critical systems and operations while modernizing IT, optimizing data architectures, and ensuring security and scalability across public, private and hybrid clouds. We deploy our technology solutions and services to enable businesses drive performance, competitiveness, and customer experience.
Whatever your industry area, we provide full-spectrum IT support services to help you meet changing business needs.
Effective Cloud Solutions and strategies that help you drive overall efficiency and scale effortlessly.
Gain key insights from data to drive impactful outcomes for strategic objectives.
Technology and industry consulting expertise to help you drive your digital transformation journey.
The African private capital market is entering a pragmatic phase, delegates at the African Private Capital Association’s (AVCA) annual conference heard, as venture-backed exits reached record levels in 2025 even as fundraising remained tough. Opening the association’s 22nd Venture Capital Summit in Nairobi on Wednesday, AVCA chief executive Abi Mustapha-Maduakor acknowledged the headwinds facing the sector but pointed to shifts witnessed in 2025. AVCA’s annual gathering brings founders, venture capital investors, corporate venture arms, philanthropic foundations, and policymakers “The centre of gravity is moving toward local capital, local expertise, and local conviction,” she said. Her remarks come as venture funding across Africa has slowed from its peak, mirroring a pullback in global risk capital, even as 2025 recorded a 25% year-on-year rebound to $3.4 billion. But investors at the conference argued that the adjustment is forcing a long-overdue rethink of how capital is deployed on the continent. “There’s a tendency to think something is broken when it doesn’t behave like the US,” said Tidjane Dème of Partech Partners. “African venture capital isn’t broken, it’s just young.” Increased deals Annual venture deal volumes have risen from about 30 a decade ago to more than 500 in 2025, while total investment has grown from roughly $400 million to about $4 billion, according to Mohamed Eissa of the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Despite that growth, investors said earlier assumptions about valuations and exit timelines have proved unrealistic in African markets, where regulatory hurdles and fragmented demand can slow growth. The question of exits remains a concern. With initial public offerings still rare, investors are now turning to mergers and acquisitions, which increased by 72% in 2025, as the most viable path to liquidity. Patricia Rinke of AfricInvest, a pan-African financial services company, and Andreata Muforo of TLcom Capital, an Africa-focused venture fund, said acquisitions should be treated as the primary exit route rather than a fallback, requiring greater coordination among funds across markets. Local capital Pressure is also building for domestic institutional investors to play a larger role. Alex Rumanyika of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Uganda urged African pension funds to reduce their heavy exposure to government securities and allocate more capital to private companies. “If we don’t get into this space, it is going to be an existential threat,” he said, warning that pension funds risk missing out on sectors driving job creation and economic growth. Alongside venture capital, private credit is emerging as an alternative financing source, particularly for more established businesses. Investors said the asset class offers more predictable returns in markets where exits remain uncertain. “What works in Africa is deploying into stronger, more resilient businesses,” said Nathaniel Micklem of Ninety One, a global investment manager, cautioning against applying traditional private equity models too broadly. Walid Cherif of BluePeak Private Capital, a global asset management firm, said companies across the continent continue to perform even in the absence of clear exit opportunities, but warned that fund managers must demonstrate consistent returns to build credibility with investors.
Read MoreKuiper, Amazon’s satellite internet project, which rebranded in November 2025 as Amazon LEO, is seeking regulatory approval to operate in Kenya as part of a broader push to expand across Africa. The company applied to the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK) for a Network Facilities Provider (NFP) Tier 2 licence that would allow it to build and operate telecommunications infrastructure nationwide, according to a regulatory notice dated April 17, 2026, seen by TechCabal. It would operate under the subsidiary Amazon Kuiper Kenya Limited. The move follows its recent regulatory breakthrough in Nigeria. In January 2026, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) granted Project Kuiper a seven-year licence covering satellite transmission, internet service provision, and international data gateway operations, clearing the company to begin operations from February. While commercial services have yet to launch there, Kenya could become another key test market as Amazon looks to establish a foothold in Africa’s evolving broadband landscape. Under Kenya’s telco licencing regime, a Tier 2 permit is meant for companies that build the behind-the-scenes infrastructure, like fibre cables, telecom towers, and data networks. Unlike the top-tier licences used by big mobile operators such as Safaricom, it still allows a company to operate across the country, but it must apply for radio frequencies in specific areas instead of getting one nationwide allocation. For Amazon, this means it can deploy ground infrastructure across Kenya’s 47 counties using a mix of technologies, including fibre backhaul and satellite-linked stations, but would still need to apply for spectrum in specific locations. The licence runs for 15 years and carries an upfront fee of KES 15 million ($115,000), alongside an annual levy of 0.4% of gross turnover. The regulatory requirements also introduce local ownership constraints. Kenya mandates that at least 30% of the licensee’s equity be held by citizens, although foreign firms are typically granted a three-year window to comply. Applicants must also incorporate a local entity, submit a detailed rollout plan, and meet tax compliance standards. Amazon’s entry would come at a time when satellite internet is already reshaping segments of Kenya’s broadband market. Starlink, operated by SpaceX, has emerged as the eighth-largest internet service provider in the country, with just over 22,000 subscribers as of December 2025. Starlink currently holds three primary types of authorisations in Kenya, including an international Gateway Systems and Services (IGSS) licence, Landing Rights Authorisation (LRA), and Application Service Provider (ASP) Licence While Starlink’s overall market share remains below 0.9%, it dominates the high-speed segment, accounting for more than half of all connections exceeding 100 Mbps. That growth has been driven in part by aggressive pricing strategies tailored to local conditions. Starlink offers installment payment plans and hardware rentals to lower the barrier to entry in a price-sensitive market, allowing households and small businesses to spread equipment costs over several months. If approved, Kuiper’s entry into Kenya would intensify competition not only among satellite providers but also with established local players such as Safaricom and Jamii Telecommunications, which dominate the fixed and mobile broadband markets. “The grant of these licences may affect the public and local authorities, companies, persons or bodies of persons within the country,” the CAK notice noted.
Read More
In early 2025, Peace*, a research assistant at Covenant University, Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria, had a health emergency and was short on cash. So, she did the first thing that came to mind: open the OPay app to take a loan. She navigated to EaseMoni, a loan product offered through OPay’s lending arm, reviewed the repayment terms, and took some loans. It was ₦6,000 ($4.21) the first time. Then subsequently, ₦24,000 ($16.85). Peace told TechCabal she repaid the loan before the one-month deadline, closed the app, and moved on. The app, however, did not. Image source: Chima David/TechCabal Image source: Chima David/TechCabal A few days later, the calls began: an automated and relentless stream of reminders about loan discounts and improved offers. “It was like an automated response, [talking] about how my loan discount has increased and how I should apply for a new loan,” Peace said. “Mind you, you don’t even have to eventually take the loan for them to bombard you with calls. Just going over the options alone without eventually borrowing will trigger the calls.” Image source: Lanre Adebanjo/ TechCabal Months later, she says, the calls have not stopped. “I’ve been looking for how to turn that [call] thing off, but I can’t find [how to]. It’s so annoying,” she said.Peace is not alone. In January 2026, Lagos-based growth professional Franklyne Ikediasor shared a curious experience on LinkedIn. After embarking on what he described as a personal “exercise” to understand Nigeria’s booming digital lending market, he found himself at the centre of a flood of unsolicited loan pitches. Image source: Chima David/TechCabal Image source: Chima David/TechCabal Ikediasor said his experiment allowed him to “test and experience a wide range of loan applications firsthand, reviewing limits, disbursement speed, interest rates, fees, and repayment structures.” Despite only interacting with a select few platforms, he soon began receiving calls and messages from lenders he had never even heard of, some offering to “buy over” his existing loans in a bid to capture his interest. “This is clearly illegal,” Ikediasor told TechCabal, adding that he scanned the 200-page terms-of-use documents for data-sharing loopholes. “Because I interacted with one application doesn’t mean that data should be passed to another. It’s not just an infringement; it’s predatory.” For a researcher and growth professional like Ikediasor, it did not sit right. “On average, I get about three [spam] calls a day,” he said. “I’ve already had two today. Some are robocalls, but others are human beings speaking to you,” he said. Image source: Chima David/TechCabal Image source: Chima David/TechCabal Their experience points to a broader issue: some digital lending companies and telcos have become persistent in calling their users. Across Nigeria, customers report a barrage of unsolicited promotional calls that disrupt work and invade privacy. For many, the calls continue even after they block numbers, clear outstanding debts, or—in extreme cases—delete the app entirely. Customers say these calls are rarely from human agents. Instead, users claim they are greeted by automated recordings pushing a variety of financial products, from airtime coupons to loan limits. The implications of automation that persists after an app is deleted go far beyond annoyance. It could allow Nigerians to normalise calls from random, unverified mobile numbers, creating a massive opening for vishing (voice phishing) scams, involving tricking people into sharing sensitive information over the phone. According to a 2025 report by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), phishing is one of the most frequently reported cybercrimes in Africa. The report stated that cybercriminals regularly impersonate recognised authorities and prominent corporations, exploit widespread unemployment by offering fabricated jobs, and use mobile platforms for prize-related and emergency-based scams. Since users are accustomed to organisations using unofficial channels to push loans, they are significantly more vulnerable to fraudsters who mimic this tone to hijack accounts. TechCabal also conducted a broader survey with 120 respondents across Nigeria. 79.2% said they frequently receive spam calls. The respondents include 54 Nigerian employed professionals whose workdays are being systematically interrupted, while the other respondents are students and unemployed young people. Image source: Chima David/TechCabal Image source: Chima David/TechCabal Of the 95 respondents who reported receiving these calls, 36 named OPay as a primary source of harassment. Other frequently cited sources included associated services such as EaseMoni and OKash, as well as telecommunications giants such as MTN and Airtel. EaseMoni, OKash, MTN, and Airtel did not respond to requests for comments as of presstime. TechCabal also spoke to 20 OPay customers across Lagos, Ogun, Abuja, and Plateau states. Their accounts revealed a consistent pattern: a high-frequency calling model that persists regardless of loan status, often utilising a rotation of mobile numbers to bypass blocks and filters. Adedayo Ojo, an associate consultant at TechCabal Insights, who says he receives OPay calls “at least four times a week,” captured a recording of one. In the audio clip, a female robotic voice said: “Enjoy a daily interest rate as low as 0.3%. Borrow ₦10,000 and repay as little as ₦10,900 in one month. Log in to your OPay app now to check your limited-time offer.” Click below to answer or decline the call. OPay declined to comment as of the time of publication. Seamless onboarding, relentless outreach OPay’s rise in Nigeria, following its entry in 2018, was built on simplicity. Months after entry into the country, the company implemented the strategy of using a phone number as an account number. This design choice lowered the barrier to entry for millions of unbanked Nigerians. However, this same phone-number-as-identity model inadvertently created a double-edged sword. While it made onboarding seamless, it also turned their direct phone lines into the primary target for the company’s customer retention and marketing strategies. Several current users were originally acquired through OPay’s earlier ecosystem approach, which included services like ORide, an on-demand motorbike ride-hailing service, and OFood, a food delivery service. By consolidating those users into a unified database, OPay successfully retained the users as fintech customers. The guardrails of data privacy The Nigeria Data Protection Act
Read More
