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For the seventh consecutive year, the Big Four (Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa) pulled in over 80% of all venture capital deployed across Africa in 2025, a share that has barely moved since 2019. But last year, South Africa alone took 19% of the total, and 29% of all African equity funding, making it the largest equity market on the continent. Beyond Johannesburg and Cape Town, the rest of Southern Africa, like Gaborone, Lusaka, Windhoek, Maputo, Luanda and Harare, captured almost nothing. For exits, the gap is even wider, as nearly half of the 138 venture-backed exits tracked by the African Private Capital Association across Africa between 2019 and 2024 were in South Africa. The country’s deep and more liquid capital markets, established secondary structures, and concentration of strategic acquirers have made it the default exit jurisdiction for the continent. As a result, founders building elsewhere in Southern Africa often look to South Africa when seeking capital or planning an exit. Botswana Tech Fund, a new fund anchored out of Guernsey, a self-governing British Crown dependency in the English Channel, is trying to change that. Backed by Stephen Lansdown, the British billionaire who co-founded Hargreaves Lansdown, the FTSE 100 financial services firm, and who has invested in Botswana since 2007 through his Tuli Conservation Trust, the fund has £10 million ($13.5 million) in committed capital, with a first close of £5 million ($6.7 million). It is operationally based in Botswana and run in partnership with Launch Africa, the pan-African seed-stage VC firm with over 130 portfolio startups. Martin Davis, the fund’s co-founder, is a UK technology investor and entrepreneur who also chairs Bethnal Green Ventures, a London-based social impact accelerator that has run programmes for 15 years. His co-lead, Florence Bavanandan, is head of platform and operations at Launch Africa, where she helped build the fund’s portfolio support infrastructure. Together, they have designed a multi-stage strategy with three legs: a pre-seed accelerator that will deploy £100,000 ($135,000) cheques to roughly 100 Southern African-based companies over five years; primary growth-stage investments of £500,000 ($670,000) to £2 million ($2.7 million); and secondaries that buy out early-stage VCs from already-developed companies in the bigger African markets. The geographic focus is what makes the fund unusual. Most African VCs follow the well-known capital concentration map in Lagos, Nairobi, Cairo, and Cape Town. Botswana Tech Fund is built around what Davis and Bavanandan call the “digital gap”: the Southern African markets that get less than a fifth of the continent’s funding despite collectively housing tens of millions of consumers and a younger, increasingly digital population. Their bet is that closing the gap requires capital deployed at the source, not routed through Johannesburg or filtered through Big Four ecosystems where most of the deal flow already lives. In this week’s Ask an Investor, Davis and Bavanandan explain why the fund is anchored in Botswana rather than Lagos or Nairobi, what they look for in founders at the pre-seed stage, why they expect haircuts on every secondary they touch, and why they believe the next decade of African private equity will be dominated by international PE money looking for roll-ups. This interview has been edited lightly for clarity and length. What’s the fund’s thesis, and what type of founder are you looking for? The thesis is pretty simple. I don’t need to tell you about the attractiveness of the African market for developing technology and digitisation—high-growth population, rising urbanisation, digital leapfrogging—all of that is happening within African markets. Right now is ripe for the digitisation of Africa. Some nations are further forward than others, and there’s definitely an increasing gap. What we’re looking to do with our fund is help accelerate the areas where digitisation has been slow and inevitably close that gap. We’re focusing on the critical core markets where this is the case. We’re centred in Botswana but also looking at other Southern African countries like Zambia, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, and Zimbabwe. The countries are where we feel that over the next decade, there’s going to be a significant move forward in technology being applied to advance digitisation across the entire economy. This is important for a couple of reasons. One is that only by digitising the economy will the economy speed up its development and build economic growth. With a rising younger population, that’s particularly important in this part of Africa. The other side is that economic growth creates opportunities for people to stay in the countries where they were brought up, rather than facing the dilemma of becoming economic migrants to other parts of the continent or the world. We are providing the capital to allow talented entrepreneurs and engineers in those markets to build digital capabilities at home, with principally international capital, to help digitise the economy and close that digital gap. We’re talking about software technology applied at whatever stage capital is required, because it’s not always early stage or late stage. The other thing is that the beauty of software is that it flattens the world. We believe the next Mark Zuckerberg could come from Africa, and there’s no reason why it can’t come from one of the SADC countries. With the technological infrastructure and the governmental support to build digital capabilities, there’s no reason why the next entrepreneur to build a multi-billion-dollar company can’t come from this environment. The only reason it won’t is if they haven’t got the capital to start. That’s what we’re trying to do. What’s the geographical focus, and why Botswana? Southern Africa countries—particularly those centred around Botswana, but also Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, Angola, and Zimbabwe—are the principal focus, because that’s where we see the greatest digital gap. That’s the geographic focus, and that’s where we want to provide the capital to help build economic growth. The fund is based in Botswana because that’s where the most progress has been made and where the greatest infrastructure exists. Maybe Botswana and Zambia, but particularly Botswana. We will do early-stage startup investments from all of those
Read MoreThe Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it wants to eliminate fees on transactions below ₦5,000 ($3.68) and reduce charges on mid-tier payments to drop the cost of cashless payments. Under a draft guide to charges by banks and other financial institutions dated April 21, 2026, inter-bank transfers between ₦5,000 ($3.68) and ₦50,000 ($36.81) will now cost ₦10 ($0.007). Fees for transfers above ₦50,000 ($36.81) remain capped at ₦50 ($0.037). The changes mark one of the most significant pricing shifts in Nigeria’s payments space in six years, effectively lowering the cost of sending money for millions of users who rely on small, frequent transactions. By removing fees on small transfers and compressing charges on mid-range transactions, the regulator hopes to incentivise the further adoption of electronic payment options by small businesses. Current Bank Transfer Fees What customers already pay across different transfer tiers. NGN (₦) USD ($) ₦50 ₦25 ₦10 ₦0 Fee: ₦10 ₦10 Below ₦5k Fee: ₦25 ₦25 ₦5k – ₦50k Fee: ₦50 ₦50 Above ₦50k In 2024, e-payments crossed the ₦1 quadrillion ($736.14 billion) mark. According to Moniepoint’s 2025 Informal Economy Report, only one in four informal businesses reported that digital payments accounted for at least 10% of their total revenue in 2025. How the policy affects transfers Today, bank customers already pay transfer fees: The Stamp Duty Shift Who pays the hidden transfer fees? Toggle to see the change. 2025 (Old Rules) 2026 (New Rules) ₦ $ Sender Pays Receiver Pays Transfers of ₦10,000+ Sender Total: ₦60 Receiver Deducted: ₦0 ₦10 ₦50 Bank Fee Stamp Duty Transfers of ₦50,000+ Sender Total: ₦100 Receiver Deducted: ₦0 ₦50 ₦50 Bank Fee Stamp Duty The 2026 Reality The burden has fully shifted. Senders now absorb the bank transfer fee AND the government’s Stamp Duty, making mid-to-high value transactions noticeably more expensive to initiate. Although the new pricing regime seeks to reduce the overall cost of transactions, transfers above ₦10,000 ($7.36) will still be priced at least ₦60 ($0.044). Five years after replacing stamp duty with the Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), Nigeria reintroduced stamp duties in 2026. Introduced in 2020, EMTL imposed a flat, one-off ₦50 charge on electronic transfers of ₦10,000 ($7.36) and above, paid by the receiver. From 2026, the ₦50 ($0.037) levy is no longer deducted from the receiver but from the sender, increasing transfer costs. The Stamp Duty Shift How total sender costs changed from 2025 to 2026. Hover over any bar to see why. 2025 Total (Sender) 2026 Bank Fee 2026 Stamp Duty Transfers of ₦10,000+ 2025 ₦25 2026 ₦10 + ₦50 Stamp Duty = ₦60 Transfers of ₦50,000+ 2025 ₦50 2026 ₦50 + ₦50 Stamp Duty = ₦100 Interact with the data Hover or tap on the grey (2025) or colored (2026) bars to see exactly how the rules shifted and who is paying for it. PoS fees get structure The new guide also introduces a more structured fee regime for Point of Sale (PoS) withdrawals. On-us withdrawals, using your bank or fintech’s own agent to get cash, will now cost ₦100 ($0.074) per ₦20,000 ($14.72). For not-on-us withdrawals, using another bank or fintech’s own agent to get cash, customers will pay ₦100 ($0.074) per ₦20,000 ($14.72), in addition to a fee determined by the agent. This represents a shift from the current informal pricing structure, where PoS withdrawals can cost as much as ₦100 ($0.074) per ₦5,000 ($3.68). PoS terminals are increasingly becoming the primary means of cash for many. In the first quarter of 2025, PoS terminals moved ₦116.79 billion ($85.97 million) per day. Nigeria 2026 Fee Checker See exactly what leaves your account. Bank Transfer PoS Withdrawal Transaction Amount (₦) ₦ Using my bank’s agent (On-Us) Agent’s extra charge (₦) Principal Amount: ₦15,000 Bank Fee: + ₦10 Stamp Duty Levy: + ₦50 Agent Markup: + ₦0 Total Deducted ₦15,060 At this tier, the ₦50 Stamp Duty (now paid by the sender) makes up the bulk of your transaction cost. For banks and fintechs, the CBN’s new transfer fee policy could reshape revenue expectations. In the first nine months of 2025, eight of Nigeria’s largest banks earned ₦514.82 billion ($378.98 million) from electronic payments. For the government, however, little changes. Stamp duty, like the EMTL before it, remains a small but growing source of revenue, with collections rising to ₦392.78 billion ($289.14 million) in the first 11 months of 2025. For users, sending small amounts is now cheaper, or free, but transfers above ₦10,000 may feel more expensive once the levy is applied, even as PoS withdrawal fees become more predictable. Exchange rate used: ₦1,358.44/$
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In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy salary week. Nigeria’s elections have a retention problem. A new Zikoko Citizen report predicts what participation in the 2027 election might look like, drawing on trends from previous cycles, and explores what could bring about a massive turnaround. Read the full report here. South Africa’s AI policy row Mastercard’s 10-year agreement with Nedbank Kenya establishes gambling monitoring unit Nigeria’s plan to upgrade Internet connection World Wide Web 3 Job Openings Policy Critics are calling out South African regulator for fake citations in its AI policy Solly Malatsi, South Africa’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies. Image Source: ITWeb On April 2, South Africa’s Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) published a draft version of its AI policy for public comment. South Africa’s proposal decentralises AI oversight by assigning different agencies to monitor its development. The regulator designated AI technologies as “unacceptable,” “high,” “limited,” and “minimal” risk, marking its risk tolerance and what technologies can be comfortably applied to finance and other critical systems that affect the public. Failing its own AI test: Yet, in a somewhat dramatic twist, critics of the proposed AI policy have found at least six of the citations in the draft to be fabricated. According to local publication News24, the policy includes referenced articles that were either never published, could not be linked to existing academic journals, or were simply fabricated by AI hallucinations. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher and an embarrassing situation for a country’s policy against AI risk and ethical use of the technology to be written by AI. Political critics of Solly Malatsi, the country’s Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, including Khusela Diko, Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Communications, have asked South African regulators to withdraw the policy. Malatsi responded on Saturday, saying he asked the DCDT Director General to “investigate and take action against anyone found to be responsible for any wrongdoing,” suggesting that regulators are now looking inward to find where the lapses occurred. In another post on Sunday, Malatsi confirmed the claims to be true and withdrew the draft policy. “The most plausible explanation is that AI-generated citations were included without proper verification. This should not have happened,” he wrote on X, adding that there will be consequences for those “responsible for drafting and quality assurance.” Zoomout: South Africa’s cabinet will be scrambling over the next few days to save face in what could potentially be a major public embarrassment resulting from a lack of detail. Whether somebody at the DCDT office used AI or not, the draft policy provided a framework to tackle AI risks as the technology gains more prominence in public systems. In Nigeria, the Central Bank is urging banks to use AI in money-laundering systems to combat fraud. South Africa’s policy showed that awareness, where most other countries’ frameworks, including Nigeria and Kenya, focused on centralising AI oversight. The intention is good, but the method of delivery may be less than perfect. Right now, South Africa’s cabinet is scrambling, and it is peak theatre. 20+ Markets. One API. Fincra connects your business to Africa’s payment rails without building market by market. For collection, payout, FX, and settlement through a single integration. See what this means for your business. Companies Mastercard deepens Africa push with Nedbank deal and crypto play Image Source: MyBroadBand Mastercard is tightening its grip on Africa’s payment rails, and it is doing so from both ends: traditional banking and digital currency. The payments giant has signed a 10-year agreement with Nedbank, South Africa’s fourth-largest commercial lender by assets, to migrate the bank’s card portfolio onto its network across South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Eswatini, Lesotho, and Mozambique. The deal will see Nedbank tap into Mastercard’s fraud detection systems and faster transaction processing as it pushes deeper into digital banking. This is a long game. Card networks rarely switch, and when they do, it signals a deeper alignment on technology, pricing, and future products. For Mastercard, locking in a major bank across multiple markets strengthens its position in a region where digital payments are growing, especially in e-commerce. At the same time, it is looking ahead. Mastercard has since announced plans to acquire BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure company, in a $1.8 billion deal, signalling a future in which card payments and crypto wallets are more intertwined. Between the lines: Mastercard is not choosing between fiat and crypto. It wants both. By adding stablecoin capabilities to its network, it is positioning itself as the bridge between traditional banking systems and digital currencies. Why this matters: Payments are becoming a stack rather than a single system. Cards, mobile money, and crypto are increasingly expected to work together, and companies like Mastercard want to sit at the centre of that flow. For banks like Nedbank, the partnership offers a way to modernise without rebuilding from scratch, plugging into global infrastructure while focusing on customers. The Safe and Reliable Banking App With over 35 million users and a 99.9% transaction success rate, PalmPay is making digital banking safer, simpler, and more reliable for everyday Nigerians. Download the app to learn more. Government Kenya sets up unit to tackle rising gambling addiction Image Source: Tenor When it comes to gambling and the risk-reward nature of online betting platforms, Kenyan regulators have noticed a trend: the house is always winning, and too many people are paying the price. The country’s Betting Control and Licencing Board (BCLB), its gaming sector regulator, has set up a dedicated unit to address rising addiction tied to online betting, as concerns grow over how deeply gambling has embedded itself in everyday life. The new unit will focus on consumer protection, awareness, and intervention as cases of problem gambling increase. This is not happening in isolation. Across Africa, regulators are starting to respond to the surge in online betting. South Africa has moved to tighten oversight around advertising and consumer protection, while Nigeria and Ghana have also faced mounting pressure to
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