TechCabal Daily – Gig drivers launch SimpliRide
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF! Today, the US will announce its “crypto strategic reserve,” a carefully selected collection of digital assets, including altcoins like Cardano and Ripple, developed under a federal regulatory framework. It marks the first time the US will include these alternative cryptocurrencies in its reserve. Let’s get into it. Quick Fire with Solomon Ayodele Nigeria’s treasury payment shake-up: Remita’s grip loosens but not lost Nigerian ride-hailing drivers launch SimpliRide to challenge industry giants Chowdeck slashes contract staff by 68%, fast-tracks its Ghana expansion plans Funding Tracker World Wide Web 3 Events Features Quick Fire with Solomon Ayodele Image: Solomon Ayodele Solomon is Head of Innovation at WEMA Bank, overseeing Ventures, R&D, Programs, and Product Innovation. He led the establishment of IDEAX Labs, the bank’s first Innovation Labs since 1945. Beyond Finance & Technology, he advises several African startups and creates multi-generational social impact through Boys Quarters Africa, a leading transformational movement for boys. With expertise in Innovation & Strategy, his mission is to catalyze Africa’s future through his voice & the enabling power of technology. Explain your job to a five year old? Imagine the bank is a big, cool playground, and my job is to find new toys and games that everyone will love to play with. These toys and games help people save money, buy things, and have fun while using them. So, I make sure the playground is always exciting and useful for everyone! You claim to be an accidental tech bro, how did you get your first tech role? I never applied or got a Tech Role. I joined a Core Banking Project as a contract staff in 2014, whilst my role was mostly administrative[i.e buying Shawarma], but I was curious. I stayed late, learning to code and shadowing technical teams, just really eager to understand how people, processes, and technology intersected.– this was how my accidental foray into tech began. Ultimately, the organization offered me the sandbox to grow across different roles and I experimented with multiple gigs outside of my 9-5 You’ve gone from being an accidental tech bro to being Head of Innovation at Wema Bank, what would you say was the most important ingredient in rising through the ranks? I think I have not started rising. It is still Day Zero for me. However, I’ll unapologetically say God is the most important ingredient. I have also just been privileged to have worked with great bosses and leaders.- Shout to people like Baba T, Adeoluwa Akomolafe, Ruby, TJ Bakare, Wole Adeniyi, and Mr. Moruf Oseni. There’s a way the world amplifies horrible bosses but having a great boss is beyond a breakthrough. I’ve worked and still work with many of them. I also think I am a very stubborn hard worker. I am not always the best in the room but you’ll always find me burning the extra candle when the room is empty. I knew early in life that I have no one except God and the work of my hand. You operate at the intersection between people, processes, and technology, what does your day-to-day look like? Well, I fight fire and I spend some more time explaining to stakeholders who want breakthrough ideas that I am in no way related to Albert Einstein. I am just an Ekiti Man who grew up in Agege. LOL My role is a Beyond-Tech-Innovation one. I manage the bank’s innovation ventures, including our newly built Incubation and Acceleration lab. I steer all innovation goals and efforts with organizational objectives, overseeing idea pipelines using frameworks like design thinking, and I manage innovative projects from ideation to execution. I also evaluate emerging technologies and lead prototyping for scalable, impactful solutions. You built the CoopHub – Digitised Cooperative Solution. What has been your biggest challenge in developing this product, and what was your most euphoric moment during the process? By the way, we are the first commercial bank in Nigeria who has been able to build something like this. However, It is hard to say ‘I built’ the product. WEMA Bank/ALAT is a community of rockstars whose core value is Partnership. Whilst the refining and implementation of the product came from the Innovation team I lead, I think the most euphoric moment is seeing it come to life through ‘Collaboration’ between the different Product, Business and Engineering teams across the Bank. Additionally, seeing a fresh Product Manager [Eseohe], grow under my wings to deliver such a solid product is the biggest deal. You have a passion for inspiring the next generation, how has that been like for you and what avenue have you used to demonstrate that? By day, I’m a wannabe Tech Bro; by night, a Social Impact leader. In 2018, I founded Boys Quarters Africa, and we’ve engaged over 500k+ boys and men across 5 African countries to promote healthy masculinity. I’ve partnered with the Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs to mobilize over 10k men as allies in ending gender-based violence. I also run Out of Office, a budding community supporting young professionals. Finally, I share some ‘aspire to perspire’ videos across my social media platforms too. Beyond all of this, it’s been a really exciting journey of being able to give back and do purposeful work. What do you do outside of your job? I ride my Bicycle. Analyse VDM’s analysis and sit/argue with my suya guy at night. I serve as the Ministry Director for Media and Information Systems, alongside my Pastor & Mentor, Damilola Oluwatoyinbo, at KINGS [Kingdom Influencers in Nations, Generations and System]. We are a global community of Kingdom Influencers touching and transforming individuals and communities with the love and light of Jesus Christ. Asides this, I run a BoyChild Transformation Movement, where I educate, empower & advocate for a new tribe of boys who will deliberately & purposefully transition from boyhood to manhood. Beyond all of these activities, my overarching objective is to catalyze the future of Africa, through my voice
Read MoreNigeria hasn’t “dumped” Remita but plans for a new “Treasury Portal” signal a shakeup
Nigeria’s federal government has not “dumped” Remita, the electronic payment platform that has powered the Treasury Single Account (TSA) for nearly a decade, despite reports suggesting otherwise. Instead, a new system—Treasury Management & Revenue Assurance System (TMRAS)—will operate alongside Remita, the latest in a series of attempts to loosen the company’s grip on government revenue collection, according to multiple documents seen by TechCabal and conversations with a high-ranking Remita executive. For years, Remita, a subsidiary of SystemSpecs, has been at the centre of controversy and regulatory scrutiny over a perceived monopoly in processing federal payments. The latest development stems from a 2023 memo by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), which authorized Simplify International Synergy Limited to build an “FGN Treasury Portal” and requested historical TSA transaction data. While this move signals the government’s desire to restructure how revenue collection works, a senior Remita executive told TechCabal that TMRAS remains layered on top of Remita’s existing infrastructure, not a replacement. Another attempt to unbundle Remita? Remita won the federal government’s bid in 2012 to consolidate public funds into the TSA, an initiative to improve transparency and curb leakages. Though proposed under Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, the system was not fully implemented until 2016 under Muhammadu Buhari. Since then, Remita has played a significant role in Nigeria’s public finance management, allowing real-time tracking of government inflows. Despite its benefits, politicians and regulators have repeatedly attempted to reduce Remita’s dominance. In 2016, the Senate investigated the company following allegations of corruption, but it was cleared of any wrongdoing. Still, critics argue that entrusting a private company with sole control over government revenue collection creates risks. Various efforts to introduce alternatives have failed over the years. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has attempted at least twice in the last five years to design a new payment aggregation model. According to a senior Remita executive, these efforts fell apart due to a lack of technical depth. “They never understood the end-to-end of what we were doing and the depth we had gone,” the executive said. “They look superficially and issue a circular. Without understanding the depth of the problem, a circular announcing a new arrangement won’t help.” While TMRAS represents the latest attempt to unbundle Remita, its impact remains unclear. The TSA system has evolved to allow at least four other Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs) to collect payments. However, Remita has remained the sole aggregator responsible for remitting funds to the Central Bank. The company’s contract states it charges a 1% transaction fee, shared with the CBN, participating banks, and PSSPs. Whether the introduction of TMRAS will significantly alter this arrangement or finally succeed in breaking Remita’s dominance remains to be seen.
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TechCabal Daily – Airtel takes aim at M-Pesa
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy pre-TGIF! TechCabal has relaunched the column, My Life in Tech, which features founders and operators in Africa’s tech scene telling their stories of how they started and built impactful solutions for the continent. In our first edition, our reporter Ngozi Chukwu had a three-hour conversation with Douglas Kendyson, Selar CEO, distilling it all into a beautiful narrative on how he built one of Africa’s largest creator platforms. As of 2024, Selar has paid out over ₦16 billion ($10.8 million) to 241,000 creators selling ebooks, courses, and digital products. Here’s Kendyson talking about his life in tech. First Bank, GTBank bet big on tech talent South Africa’s big banks turn away from ATMs MTN’s MoMo PSB shifts strategy amid 46% drop in active wallets MTN’s MoMo PSB shifts strategy amid 46% drop in active wallets World Wide Web 3 Events Banking First Bank, GTBank bet big on tech talent Image: Wunmi Eunice/TechCabal Two of Nigeria’s biggest banks are on a hiring spree, but not for traditional bankers. First Bank and GTBank are ramping up recruitment for software engineers, DevOps specialists, and product designers as technology becomes a critical moat with digital banking on the rise. You won’t be wrong if you say no tech, no bank. First Bank has listed openings for frontend and backend developers, scrum masters, and software quality assurance leads, while GTBank is hiring experienced tech professionals (though they’re keeping roles hush-hush). The hiring push follows GTBank’s core banking upgrade late last year, which left millions of customers stranded—an experience that underscored just how vital tech talent is to banking operations. But, traditional banks aren’t just competing with each other, they’re also battling fintechs for Nigeria’s top tech talent. Since 2023, Moniepoint has poached key hires from Access Bank and Stanbic IBTC as it expands its retail business. This hiring push isn’t just about competition, it’s about survival. More Nigerians are ditching physical branches for digital banking. Per KPMG, 70% of Nigerian customers now use banking apps weekly. The shift is forcing banks to double down on tech, with the industry set to spend at least ₦82 billion on core banking software. Of course, banks offer stability and high salaries (GTBank reportedly pays some tech employees ₦1 million ($613) monthly but fintechs counter with remote work, stock options, and more flexibility. One bank product manager who recently switched to a fintech told TechCabal, “I have more autonomy and feel like I’m at the forefront of innovation.” Banks hiring tech professionals isn’t just a strategy, it’s a necessity. With fintechs offering better perks, banks will have to do more than just raise salaries to stay competitive. The talent war is just getting started. Are you a freelancer or a remote worker? Fincra wants to understand the challenges and opportunities related to cross-border work payments for freelancers and remote workers in Nigeria. Please take just a few minutes to complete this survey. Banking South Africa’s big banks turn away from ATMs Image Source: Tenor Years ago, automated teller machines (ATMs) were once trusty pit stops on life’s highway, always there when people needed to get cash. Sadly, they could soon become relics of a banking age that prioritised bringing the user to the bank. As the digital age begins to grow on us, the new normal is bringing the bank to the user, which created the mismatch between ATMs and the Four out of five major South African commercial banks—Absa, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank which have a cumulative total of R 7.23 trillion ($394 billion) in total assets—have reduced the number of their ATMs across the country, according to their reports. In H1 2024, these four banks closed 233 ATMs, bringing the total between them to 21,044—excluding partner ATMs mounted in retail stores and high-foot-traffic areas which banks typically don’t own or maintain. Yet, South Africa’s ATM decline is not an isolated case. For example, Nigeria has 18.94 ATMs per 100,000 adults, while Kenya has 6.83 ATMs for the same adults—far lower than the globally recommended 50. Digital banking, mobile payments, and fintech solutions have reduced the need for physical cash, making ATMs less relevant. This decline is not only about convenience; it’s also about cost. ATMs are expensive to operate, requiring maintenance, cash replenishment, and security. Banks are cutting back, redirecting resources toward digital infrastructure instead. Mobile banking apps, contactless payments, and mobile wallets are now the primary ways people access their money digitally. Still, cash is king for transactions in South Africa. According to the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) Payments Study Report, cash remains the most frequently used payment method, with 87% of South Africans preferring it for transactions. For those who rely on cash, fewer ATMs could mean longer trips and higher withdrawal fees at third-party machines. The withdrawal of banks creates an opportunity for Independent ATM Deployers (IADs) to fill the void. Companies like ATM Solutions, a subsidiary of Paycorp, have deployed over 5,500 ATMs across various industries and locations, including rural areas. While there’s no indication that IADs will slow funding, customer behaviour and the frequent usage of these machines will, to a large extent, dictate their interest. These developments seen across different African regions lead to a central question: are ATMs dying a slow death, or is the decline exaggerated? YouA startup’s guide to understanding data privacy Discover tactical tips for African startups on building a strong foundation for data privacy and protection. Learn more→ Fintech MTN’s MoMo PSB shifts strategy amid 46% drop in active wallets Image Source: MTN MTN Nigeria’s fintech arm, MoMo PSB, is undergoing a strategic shift after a 46% drop in active wallets in 2024. Despite initially rapid growth, with active wallets peaking at 5.3 million by the end of 2023, the company saw a sharp decline, losing 2.8 million active users. CEO Karl Toriola attributes this to a transition aimed at enhancing service penetration, increasing monetisation, and lowering customer acquisition costs. MoMo PSB, one
Read MoreMTN’s MoMo PSB resets strategy as active wallet users decline by 46%
When MoMo PSB, MTN Nigeria’s fintech arm, lost 2.5 million active wallets in 2024— two years after its launch—CEO Karl Toriola claimed during an investors’ call the decline was part of a strategic shift to enhance service penetration, boost monetization, and lower customer acquisition costs. Initially, the entry of MTN and Airtel Africa into Nigeria’s payment service sector in 2022 was expected to disrupt traditional banks and fintech firms. With MTN’s mobile money operations spanning 24 African countries and over 200 million wallets and Airtel Money serving 38 million users across 14 markets, both telecom giants were seen as formidable competitors. However, their impact has been more nuanced than anticipated. MoMo PSB is one of five Payment Service Banks (PSBs)-four telecom operators and one fintech – licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) between 2021 and 2022 to drive financial inclusion, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Alongside 9mobile’s 9PSB, Airtel’s Smartcard PSB, Unified Payment’s Hope PSB, and Globacom’s Money Master PSB, it was established to provide banking services to individuals and businesses beyond the reach of traditional banks. However, the PSB licence doesn’t allow them to offer loans, forex services, or invest beyond government-approved securities, limiting their revenue potential. PSBs have struggled to gain the same market traction as fintech giants like Opay, Moniepoint, and Palmpay, which have onboarded millions of users. In Nigeria, mobile money adoption is primarily driven by banking agents due to poor internet connectivity and low smartphone penetration. Many people in rural areas lack smartphones or stable internet access, making digital banking services inaccessible. Hence, banking agents have become the most reliable way to reach unbanked rural dwellers. Despite building an agent network, MoMo PSB has primarily relied on MTN Nigeria’s infrastructure to offer money transfers, savings, insurance, and payment solutions. The company has also received significant financial backing from its parent company to strengthen its position by building its digital banking infrastructure. By the end of 2022, MTN Nigeria had invested ₦16.4 billion to establish and scale MoMo PSB’s operations. In 2024, it injected an additional ₦9.4 billion after acquiring the remaining 7.17% stake from Acxani Capital, making MoMo PSB a fully owned subsidiary. This investment initially yielded strong growth. MoMo PSB’s active mobile money wallets surged from 2 million in December 2022 to 5.3 million by the end of 2023. This growth was driven by an expansion of its agent network, which grew from 103,000 to 327,000 within the same period. In March 2023, the company also launched a merchant ecosystem, which quickly scaled to 324,000 merchants by year-end. In 2024, MoMo’s fortunes changed. The number of active wallets fell to 2.8 million, and cash deposits from wallet users dropped by half, from ₦7.6 billion to ₦3.8 billion. The agent and merchant networks also saw significant declines, shrinking by 76.8% to 75,168 merchants and 79.2% to 68,016 agents, respectively. While this suggested a shift from agent banking as the company deployed investments primarily in digital banking, some industry experts viewed it as a sign of a broader trend. “A lot of payment service banks are focusing on cities and competing for existing bank customers, rather than targeting the rural communities they were designed to serve because the cost of banking the unbanked is high,” a fintech executive told TechCabal anonymously. Despite these setbacks, transaction volume increased by 4.3% in 2024, which CEO Karl Toriola interprets as a sign that MoMo PSB now has a higher-quality wallet base and that underlying demand remains strong. According to Victor Asemota, Growth Partner, AnD Ventures, MoMo PSB is deliberately reducing its reliance on agents and merchants, many of whom engage in transactions solely for commissions. He also suggests that a fraud incident may have triggered a complete overhaul of the company’s strategy. In May 2022, MoMo PSB experienced a significant security breach resulting in the loss of approximately ₦22.3 billion ($53 million). “They are also forcing a change in the type and quality of customers,” Asemota told TechCabal. MoMo PSB is actively expanding its service offerings. The company has applied for Payment Service Solutions Provider (PSSP) and Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTSP) licenses. These would allow it to handle payment gateways, provide merchant aggregation services, and manage point-of-sale (PoS) terminals This diversification strategy aims to reduce reliance on agents while better serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual customers. Looking forward, Toriola said the company will focus on user engagement and retention in a bid to reverse the decline in wallet usage and increase activity in the ecosystem before the end of the year.
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From Paystack superfan to CEO: The life of Selar’s Douglas Kendyson
Douglas Kendyson calls himself “God’s favourite,” and his journey so far reinforces his belief. After graduating from Covenant University at 19, he transitioned from a curious website developer to becoming one of the earliest employees at Paystack—a company he idolised—and later, Flutterwave. After two cushy jobs in Dubai, he’s now building Selar, an e-commerce platform that, in 2024, paid out ₦9.8 billion to 241,000 creators selling digital products like ebooks and courses, according to the company. Kendyson, now CEO of Selar, arrives at Basilico, an Italian restaurant in Victoria Island, a few minutes late. We settle in—he orders BBQ lamb chops with fried egg and yam, while I go for the barracuda, an overpriced fish served with mashed potatoes. Over our three-hour conversation, Kendyson is strikingly candid. He tells me about a former Paystack boss who urged him to get a mental health assessment—advice that led, years later, to a borderline personality disorder diagnosis. He admits he nearly stayed back in Dubai, afraid returning to Nigeria to build Selar, after japa, would seem like a failure. He tells me of his deep affection for his mother, who raised him as a single parent, and a cherished relationship with an ambitious journalist with “a beautiful beard.” But when it came to the mechanics behind Selar’s rapid growth over the past four years, his response is vague at first. “There’s no exact thing. Just a lot of intentional work,” he says after a pause. That work began in his early university days as a freelance web developer in 2013. Years of tinkering with his own devices had made him adept at repairing computers, but it was in university that he learned software development—and started charging for his skills. One of his early clients was the renowned musician Cobhams Asuquo, though Kendyson now believes he was underpaid—about ₦70,000—for two websites. He went on to make a business of it. His fascination with e-commerce took root during this period as he built several online stores, including a food-ordering platform that won a grant at a campus pitch competition. At the time, enabling online transactions on e-commerce platforms meant grappling with the expensive Interswitch API, a ₦150,000 hurdle that often deterred clients. It is easy to understand his admiration for Paystack and its founders, Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, who launched a cheaper, more accessible alternative. He became a superfan, actively engaging with the company on Twitter and their public Slack channel, and sometimes sharing feedback directly with CEO Shola Akinlade. All that enthusiasm was rewarded when Kendyson landed a job at Paystack, just two months after graduation. According to him, Akinlade offered him the position on the spot at their Shonibare, Ikeja office. “It was a product I was very excited about, and I was just happy to have a job,” Kendyson recalls, a smile spreading across his face. Kendyson recalls working long intense hours at Paystack with two other engineers, developing third-party integrations with banks and plugins for various CMS like WordPress, Joomla, Magento, and e-commerce platforms like Opencart, Drupal, Prestashop, and Abantecart. All of that work, against the backdrop of his experience developing e-commerce sites, seeded an idea in his mind: to create a marketplace for digital products. At this time, the most reputable e-commerce platforms, like Jumia and Konga, were all selling physical goods they had sourced themselves or from third-party sellers. While these companies grew, he noticed that Nigeria’s knowledge economy was growing, with course creators like Tricia Biz becoming internet celebrities for their expertise as business coaches. The model was simpler to operate as there were no physical goods that required cash-bleeding logistics, warehousing or delivery. “People were always training people to do things, and people were always paying for resources. Even though it wasn’t as mainstream, I knew there could be something here. I just didn’t know how big the market was, but I knew that it existed,” he says. Three months into his job at Paystack, he and five friends began working on Selar. But with little progress and demanding day jobs, one by one, they dropped off—until he was the only one left. Eight months later, he quit Paystack, which has since grown a reputation for high employee retention. Kendyson admits that it was more about him; he just strongly felt like his time there was up and refused to stay any longer despite persuasions from the company. A few months later, he joined Flutterwave—Paystack’s competitor—to work on Barter, a virtual card service that has since been discontinued. But that stint was also brief—he left in less than a year. He struck gold again with an engineering job at a Dubai fintech, Sarwa, which relocated him to Dubai. The job paid him about $4,000 every month—Kendyson admits he had incredible luck with jobs for a then-21-year-old. However, he was dismissed over a year later following a salary negotiation gone south. He was offered a 10% raise and a free apartment in Abu Dhabi, but after reading “Never Split the Difference”, a book on negotiation, he pushed for much more. Having experienced substantial pay increases before—his salary had jumped from ₦150,000 to ₦250,000 after a year at Paystack in 2016—he expected a bigger leap. However, during negotiations, he unintentionally came across as rigid, even insulted by the offer, and was ultimately let go. Kendyson called his encounter with the book “unfortunate,” yet he remains an avid reader of self-help books, favouring them over fiction because he struggles to visualise what he reads. Lately, he has been drawn to psychology books, which he says help him better understand people and mental health. Until Kendyson was fired, he had been working on Selar at a relatively slow pace. That changed when he landed another engineering job in Dubai at an open banking startup that paid him about $5,000 monthly. By then, a persistent feeling had taken root—that he could make Selar a success. He ramped up his efforts, shipping new features, cold-emailing popular creators, and pitching his platform
Read MoreTech as a moat: First Bank, GTBank intensify tech hiring
Two top Nigerian banks, First Bank and GTBank, are hiring tech talents as technology plays an increasing role in staying ahead of the competition. According to a job posting seen by TechCabal, First Bank is hiring for multiple roles, including frontend and backend software developers, DevOps engineers, scrum masters, software development team lead, product designers, product owners, product control officers, and software quality assurance team lead. While GTBank’s job ad did not state specific roles, the hiring comes months after the bank’s core banking upgrade took longer than planned, causing severe customer discomfort. While Nigerian banks don’t disclose the size of their tech teams, it is common practice to maintain an in-house technology team while outsourcing some functions to engineering shops abroad, according to two people familiar with the industry. This approach has even become more crucial as banks race to keep up with the growth of digital banking channels. According to the 2023 West Africa Banking Industry Customer Experience Survey by KPMG, 70% of Nigerian customers use their mobile banking app at least once a week, up from 55% in 2022. This shift has prompted banks to prioritise digital channels over traditional brick-and-mortar branches. In 2022, Standard Chartered Bank reduced its physical branches by 50% in Nigeria to focus on digital banking solutions. With more Nigerians relying on digital channels for financial transactions, banks are under pressure to improve their platforms and hiring tech professionals is one sure way to achieve this. Since September 2024, at least five Nigerian commercial banks have upgraded or changed their core banking applications. With millions of customers to serve across hundreds of channels, banks will continue to need to invest in technology. Nigeria’s biggest banks will spend at least ₦82 billion on core banking software. Both First Bank and GTBank did not immediately respond to a request for comments. There is competition for tech talent in Nigeria’s banking sector, with Moniepoint and other fintechs also jostling for experienced professionals as they expand their retail footprints. Since 2023, Moniepoint has been hiring top talent from Access Bank and Stanbic IBTC, including those in product and technology teams. Commercial banks have taken drastic measures to retain their technology staff in response to the growing threat of employee attrition. In 2022, GTBank doubled the salaries of its tech team to prevent a mass exodus after multiple employees left the bank for competitors and opportunities abroad. Tech professionals remain among the highest-paid employees in the banking sector, according to industry insiders. A GTBank technology employee at the same level as an Assistant Banking Officer (ABO) reportedly earns around ₦1 million ($613) per month—significantly more than their counterparts in other divisions, according to a source familiar with the bank’s pay structure. Yet, tech professionals in Nigeria have mixed feelings about working in banks versus fintechs. While banks offer stability and job security, fintechs are often seen as more innovative and flexible. Fintechs offer more attractive perks such as remote work options, stock options, and a more relaxed work culture, which traditional banks struggle to match. “I liked working at the bank, but the work culture was rigid. At the fintech, I have more autonomy and a sense of being at the forefront of innovation,” said Bayo, who asked to be identified by his first name. A product designer, Bayo recently left a traditional bank for a fintech startup. The talent war is no longer just about serving customers—it’s about attracting and retaining the best minds in technology. As fintechs continue to lure top talent with better pay and flexibility, traditional banks must step up their game or risk falling behind.
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TechCabal Daily – Canal+ takeover in slow mo
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy mid-week! Kenya has set a timeline for the publication of its national AI strategy, targeting May 2025. This move comes in response to the increasing adoption of AI technologies among Kenyans and follows earlier efforts to combat the spread of AI-driven misinformation in the country. It will join several other African countries—including Algeria, Senegal, and Egypt—that have defined regulatory frameworks for AI. Canal+ extends deadline for MultiChoice takeover Why taxing cryptocurrency in Kenya might be a long road M-PESA’s fix for a costly problem World Wide Web 3 Opportunities Streaming Canal+ extends deadline for MultiChoice takeover Image: Google Canal+, the French broadcasting giant, has extended the deadline to finalise its takeover of South Africa’s MultiChoice from April 8, 2025, to October 8, 2025. This extension allows more time to set up a licencing company (LicenceCo) that complies with South Africa’s foreign ownership laws, a key requirement for the deal’s approval. Canal+ has had its paws on South Africa’s MultiChoice for so long, viewing the pay-TV group as its most effective gateway into Africa, thanks to its operations across multiple countries. MultiChoice first caught Canal+’s attention in 2020 when it acquired a 6.5% stake in the pay-TV provider. Over the years, this stake steadily increased, reaching 41.6% by April 2024 and triggering a mandatory takeover offer under South African law. In response, Canal+ offered to buy the remaining shares at R125 ($6.74) per share. The transaction was initially expected to close by April 2025, but regulatory hurdles, particularly South Africa’s broadcasting ownership laws, slowed progress. The process was further complicated by Canal+’s separation from its former parent company, Vivendi, in December 2024, which led to its independent listing on the London Stock Exchange. Despite these challenges, the extension confirms Canal+’s commitment to acquiring MultiChoice under its new corporate structure. To comply with South African regulations, a new entity, LicenceCo, will be established to hold the country’s pay-TV licence and manage DStv subscribers. It will be controlled by South African stakeholders, including Phuthuma Nathi, Identity Partners, Itai Consortium, Afrifund Consortium, and a Workers’ Trust. Meanwhile, MultiChoice Group will shift from being a broadcaster to functioning solely as a video content supplier. Acquiring MultiChoice is a strategic move for Canal+, which aims to expand its influence in Africa’s fast-growing media market. MultiChoice is the largest pay-TV provider on the continent; an acquisition will strengthen Canal+’s position in both traditional and streaming services, helping it compete with global streaming giants with a target of 100 million subscribers. The full licencing and broadcasting takeover could bring increased investment in local content, improved streaming options, and potentially more competitive pricing. However, regulatory scrutiny and local content requirements will shape how Canal+ operates in the region. Are you an Afincran? If you’re building solutions for Africa, you already are. Join Fincra’s mission to empower Africa through collaborative innovation. Together, we’re building the rails for an integrated Africa. Join the Afincran movement—let’s drive change! Cryptocurrency Why taxing cryptocurrency in Kenya might be a long road Image Source: Yarn Kenya’s push to tax cryptocurrency transactions through a 3% Digital Asset Tax (DAT) has drawn more criticism from industry stakeholders. They argue that the challenges of taxing crypto extend beyond just setting a percentage. The approach Kenya is taking appears rushed and risks alienating key industry players. The Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill, 2025, which seeks to regulate the crypto sector, was released in January 2024, but stakeholders were initially given a short window to review and provide feedback. After concerns were raised, the Blockchain Association of Kenya (BAK) extended the consultation period until early February. Even with the extension, many in the industry argue that meaningful input requires more time, especially for a sector as complex as crypto. Another key issue is enforcement. Unlike traditional financial institutions, crypto operates in decentralised networks with peer-to-peer (P2P) trading at its core. Kenya has proposed a real-time crypto tax monitoring system through the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to track transactions, but its effectiveness remains questionable. Many traders rely on informal P2P networks and mobile money services, making oversight difficult. While the government has shown signs of cooperating with large centralised P2P networks operating in Kenya, there’s still the argument of incentives for these foreign players—which is not there yet given Kenya is a relatively smaller market for crypto transactions. If enforcement mechanisms are weak, traders may shift to offshore platforms or decentralised exchanges to avoid taxation. Additionally, the 3% tax is significantly higher than global standards, potentially discouraging innovation and driving local crypto startups out of the country. KotaniPay, which went for a South African crypto licencing in 2024 is one clear example. Indonesia, the only other country with a similar levy, charges between 0.1% and 0.2%—a fraction of what Kenya proposes. If the costs of compliance outweigh the benefits, companies may choose to operate elsewhere, undermining Kenya’s goal of becoming a fintech leader. Regulating and taxing cryptocurrency requires a nuanced approach. Kenya must balance revenue collection with policies that support industry growth. Without clear guidelines, proper consultation, and practical enforcement mechanisms, the road to effective crypto taxation will be long and uncertain for Kenya. YouA startup’s guide to understanding data privacy Discover tactical tips for African startups on building a strong foundation for data privacy and protection. Learn more→ Fintech M-PESA’s fix for a costly problem Image Source: Google Erroneous transactions have long been a headache for M-PESA users, and an expensive one for Safaricom. But a simple tweak to Hakikisha, its transaction confirmation feature, has slashed daily reversal requests from 12,000 to 4,000. It’s easier for M-PESA customers to authenticate a transaction with a “Yes” or “No” action instead of the previous opt-out system, which required dialing a number within 15 seconds to cancel a payment. It was a clunky process that often backfired. “The call to action was not very clear,” said Anita Kaunga, M-PESA’s Product Manager for Consumer Payments. The impact extends beyond M-PESA. Kenyan
Read MoreMoniepoint partners with AfriGO to introduce five million contactless cards
Nigerian fintech unicorn Moniepoint has partnered with AfriGO, the national domestic card scheme, to roll out five million contactless payment cards and tap-to-pay solutions across Nigeria. The move aligns with Nigeria’s ongoing shift toward contactless payments. The partnership could drive widespread adoption of contactless payment in Nigeria considering Moniepoint’s wide distribution network across the country. By leveraging Moniepoint’s vast network of agents and merchants, the initiative aims to bring “tap and go” convenience to an economy still dominated by cash and PIN-based card transactions, accelerating the Central Bank’s cashless agenda and extending digital payments into underserved communities. “Today, over 50% of merchants still rely on cash, because it’s fast and reliable,” said Didi Uwemakpan, Moniepoint’s VP of corporate affairs. “If cash is fast and reliable, what is that thing that can mimic cash and still helps the economy grow?” Moniepoint’s partnership with AfriGo comes one week after TechCabal reported that Palmpay partnered with CashAfrica, a contactless payment infrastructure provider, to roll out tap-to-pay functionality on its POS terminals, starting with 1,000 devices in a pilot phase before a nationwide expansion in March. Moniepoint is building its contactless payment infrastructure and plans to launch contactless-enabled cards in H2 2025. The company chose AfriGo for its cost efficiency when compared to global counterparts. “While we might decide to announce another card scheme partner, for us, it’s about how do we drive digital payments in Nigeria. At the end of the day, do my customers want this, do my customers find value in this and is it cost efficient?” Uwemakpan shared. “For AfriGo, it’s about capturing a part of the market that has not been already captured.” While contactless payment is a staple in markets like Europe and China, many Nigerians are unfamiliar with it. “The responsibility is on us to educate the merchants and users,” Uwemakpan added. Moniepoint will comply with the CBN’s contactless payment guidelines which require risk management measures such as a per-transaction limit of ₦15,000 and a ₦50,000 daily limit. “The goal is to introduce enough friction to safeguard customers from fraud,” the company said. Moniepoint will determine the threshold at which PIN authentication becomes necessary for transfers, with median transaction value for card payments pegged at ₦5,000. If successful, the Moniepoint–AfriGO partnership could be the beginning of a widespread adoption of contactless payment in Nigeria.
Read MoreAfter investors’ exit, Kobo360 new owner Obi Ozor plots Q2 2025 comeback
Dr. Obi Ozor, co-founder of freight logistics startup Kobo360, is attempting a high-stakes revival after reclaiming control of the company through an equity transfer. His multi-year turnaround plan hinges on restructuring ₦10 billion owed to partner banks and securing new financing to restart operations by Q2 2025, according to two people close to the company. But the path back is challenging. Kobo360’s future depends on winning long-term haulage contracts from major shippers, such as manufacturers and distributors, and convincing lenders that the business can generate predictable cash flow. These contracts are critical for securing contract-backed financing, where banks fund businesses based on guaranteed future revenue. In a WhatsApp message to recently laid-off employees, some of who Kobo360 still owes months of unpaid salaries, Ozor claimed the company was close to sealing crucial deals. He assured them that operations, which have been on hold across multiple markets, would resume by Q2 2025, with plans to recall laid-off employees by 2026. Before its financial troubles, Kobo360 was one of the most celebrated logistics-tech startups in Africa, raising over $79 million in equity and debt from investors including Juven, Goldman Sachs’ Africa investment arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and TLcom Capital. It expanded into Kenya, Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso, aggregating over 50,000 trucks and serving major corporate clients such as Unilever, Dangote, and DHL. But its rapid expansion masked deeper financial weaknesses. The company relied heavily on short-term bank loans to finance fleet operations rather than sustainable revenue. A breaking point came when a key banking partner suddenly cut its credit line, leaving Kobo360 unable to pay truck owners and suppliers. As its financial position deteriorated, investors began pulling out. Some refused to participate in follow-on funding rounds, while others wrote down their investments entirely. Meanwhile, key executives resigned. By late 2024, Kobo360 had paused operations in several markets, laid off staff, and by December, had all but shut down. Despite the company’s dramatic fall, Ozor insists Kobo360 can recover, two sources familiar with the matter told TechCabal. He has assembled a lean team to execute a recovery plan centered on cost-cutting, debt restructuring, and rebuilding the company’s core operations. But questions remain about the new business model it will adopt or how close it actually is to securing financing. Ozor remains confident, writing in a WhatsApp memo seen by TechCabal that “Companies for over a thousand years have struggled, come to the brink of total failure, and some—through grace, luck, or grit—have pulled themselves out of the ashes to emerge even more resilient and successful.”
Read MoreCBN’s new leadership: Here are the 16 directors that will shape Nigeria’s financial future
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has appointed 16 new directors, a major leadership shift that will influence banking supervision, monetary policy, fintech regulation, and consumer protection. While regulatory decisions are often attributed to “the CBN,” the individuals behind those decisions remain largely unknown to the public. Now, their names and roles are clear. Akinwunmi Olubukola Akinniyi will lead Banking Supervision, a department responsible for ensuring banks comply with regulations. Sike Rita Ijeoma will head Financial Policy and Regulation, shaping the rules that guide Nigeria’s financial system. Isa-Olatinwo Aisha will direct Consumer Protection, a crucial role in holding banks accountable for how they treat customers. With fintechs facing increased regulatory scrutiny, the Payments System Supervision Department has been split from Payments System Management to improve oversight. Yusuf Rakiya Opeyemi now leads the supervision unit, which will enforce compliance across the sector. Other key appointments include Obom Victor Ugbem in Monetary Policy, Farouk Mujtaba Muhammad in Reserve Management, and Vincent Monsurat Modesola in Strategic Management and Innovation. The supervision of microfinance banks, mortgage banks, and finance companies now falls under Solaja Mohammed-Jamiu Olayemi, while Nakorji Musa will oversee Trade and Exchange. This reshuffle cements the individuals who will shape Nigeria’s financial landscape, from banking regulations to digital payments. For years, their decisions will define how businesses operate and how consumers experience the financial system.
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