Digital Nomads: Can you truly be hired from “anywhere in the world”?
For several weeks now, I have been speaking with people who live or grew up in one part of the world and now work in another. In the current clime of remote work, we see, ever so often, employers selling themselves as “equal opportunity” employers on job boards, in companies’ hiring pages, and on remote work platforms. It’s supposed to mean anyone, from anywhere in the world, can apply for a role and stand a fair chance of being hired. That’s the idea, at least. However, last Saturday, I woke up with a frustrating question: where really is the “equal” in equal employment opportunities (EEOs)? Because the reality is quite different, especially for job seekers in the Global South. First, a history lesson Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) isn’t HR fluff—it began as a legal framework in the US, codified in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prevent discrimination in hiring based on race, sex, religion, or national origin. Over the years, this idea spread, especially into corporate mission statements. With the rise of remote work, EEOs started crossing borders. A job in Berlin? You can apply from right here in Lagos. Join a team in Toronto? Sure, Nairobi resident, come through. In theory, EEOs today are more inclusive than ever. But in practice, things get somewhat fuzzy. It’s one thing to say, “We accept applicants from everywhere.” It’s another to actually hire them. Get the best African tech newsletters in your inbox Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canton and Enderbury Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos [Keeling] Islands Colombia Comoros Congo – Brazzaville Congo – Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Dronning Maud Land East Germany Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories French Southern and Antarctic Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Johnston Island Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR China Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Metropolitan France Mexico Micronesia Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar [Burma] Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Neutral Zone New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Vietnam Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pacific Islands Trust Territory Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé and Príncipe Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine Union of Soviet Socialist Republics United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Unknown or Invalid Region Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wake Island Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands ?> Gender Male Female Others TC Daily Events <!– Next Wave –> <!– Entering Tech –> Subscribe GPT litmus test I wanted to answer a simple question: are remote equal employment opportunities truly equal? If you apply for that cushy remote job at a global SaaS company, does your location—or even your name—affect your chances? I was inspired by this Bloomberg article investigating AI bias in recruitment processes and wanted to test how the same ideology works in job applications for global opportunities. To do this, I asked Claude’s Sonnet 3.7 to roleplay as a global recruiter hiring for a mid-level product manager role. I fed in five job candidate profiles—all with the same experience, skills, and achievements. The only things I changed were their names, locations, and universities: Sophia Smith from San Francisco, USA Sofia González from Buenos Aires, Argentina Jean Dubois from Paris, France Tunde Afolabi from Lagos, Nigeria Raj Deshpande from Mumbai, India To remove human sentiment from this litmus test, I selected the names to be closely reflective of their backgrounds. Then I asked the model to rank who was most likely to get hired by a global remote company. Here’s what I found: Tunde came fourth. Here’s how Claude Sonnet’s ranked our five profiles for a global remote role/TechCabal Despite having the same experience and a strong portfolio of remote work, Tunde’s profile was ranked lower. Sophia from San Francisco topped the list, thanks to her UC Berkeley degree and “proximity to a tech hub.” Sofia and Jean ranked higher, largely due to global brand associations, location perception, and educational pedigree. AI doesn’t “think”—it reflects patterns. If most companies in its training data haven’t historically hired people like Tunde, it learns not to recommend people like Tunde. It’s not just about skill or output. It’s about what “looks” global. Infographic designed by Margaret Awojide for TechCabal ATS is not a one-way traffic I wanted things to get specific. Again, I roleplayed GPT as an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)—which over half of global employers use. Among
Read MoreGetEquity hits profitability after shift to local debt investments
GetEquity, the Nigerian startup known for enabling retail investors to invest in startups, has achieved profitability after its expansion into offering commercial papers and debt notes and laying off 40% of its workforce in 2024. The shift to debt investments came as retail investors increasingly sought lower-risk options amid a broader slowdown in venture capital funding. “We’re not yet at the stage where we can spend heavily on growth or expansion, but we’re able to pay our team and keep the business going without needing outside capital,” Jude Dike, GetEquity’s CEO, told TechCabal. Launched in 2021, GetEquity set out to help individuals own stakes in startups and participate in Africa’s venture funding boom. As investor appetite for early-stage equity cooled, the company shifted to helping retail investors lend to Nigeria’s largest companies through commercial papers and debt notes. Since offering debt notes in 2024, the startup claims to have processed over ₦500 million ($310,000), growing 10% monthly. It achieved this by partnering with asset managers such as ARM to offer commercial papers for large Nigerian companies like the Dangote Group—its first offering—to retail investors. “When we sent the Dangote mail, we thought if we could get ₦5 million, it was a win,” Dike said. “The initial responses added up to ₦7 million. Not bad. But then, within three days, we had ₦27 million pledged. That was our eureka moment.” That eureka moment validated GetEquity’s thesis that Nigerians are willing to invest in low-risk, local debt instruments. The startup also realised it could serve this demand and thrive with the right market offering. GetEquity’s partnerships with licensed asset managers also led to internal restructuring, making some roles redundant. Some in-house processes were transferred to the asset managers after the company shifted focus. “When we focused on private equity, we had to build internal tools and back-office systems from financial processes to investor education and hand-holding,” Dike said. “But with asset managers, they handle the heavy lifting—investment memos, due diligence, audits, documentation. So now, we focus purely on distribution.” GetEquity’s revenue model is built on transaction fees, which come directly from users, and commissions, which it earns from asset managers. It is also expanding its revenue sources to include a secondary market infrastructure where users can buy and sell their investments among themselves and investment-backed credit, loans backed by previous investments. “We’re working with a few financial partners to roll this out, which would open up new revenue streams,” Dike said about the credit-linked investment product. The startup is also in talks to secure an Approval-in-Principle for digital asset issuance and trading from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which allows digital platforms to issue derivatives of SEC-approved securities. “In our case, we’re not originating these debt products; we’re building a wrapper around them to make them tradable,” Dike said.. “Commercial papers are already approved by the SEC. We’re just digitising and distributing them.” GetEquity’s path to profitability has not been without challenges. In 2023, Peppa, a startup offering escrow services for online shoppers, filed a police complaint against Jude Dike and Temitope Ekundayo, the co-founders of GetEquity. The complaint followed GetEquity reneging on a payment plan for $43,000 Peppa had raised using GetEquity. At the time, Dike told TechCabal that Nigeria’s FX instability affected its ability to pay. While the startup processed $5 million from private equity deals and earned “great” margins on them, the challenges of processing the FX-based transactions necessitated GetEquity’s switch to Naira-based investments. “When we started with private equity deals, we did about $5 million in total deal volume, with a little over $1.5 million coming from the retail side,” Dike said. “The margins were great, but one of the biggest issues was currency conversion risks and the general volatility involved. That made us start thinking more seriously about investing in naira and what local market dynamics could look like.” GetEquity’s profitability has also changed the company’s expansion strategy. It initially planned to expand into Kenya, but after it became profitable, those plans have been shelved in exchange for deepening its debt product and incentivising customers to refer other customers. “Rather than pursuing aggressive expansion, we focused on deepening user engagement, increasing the lifetime value of current users, and building brand-driven, organic growth. Hypergrowth is attractive, but in African markets, it often leads to high churn.” After attaining profitability, GetEquity’s next step is to achieve $1 million in annual recurring revenue and launch business accounts to help fintechs and neobanks run treasury operations. The product will be similar to what Cowrywise and Piggy do with products for fixed-income assets, Dike said.
Read MoreSouth Africa’s Capitec raises salaries as 62% of staff now earn over $13,000
Capitec Bank, South Africa’s biggest commercial bank by customer base, has increased salaries across its workforce to attract top talent and sustain its high-performance culture amid rising competition for skilled professionals in the financial sector. In its 2024 remuneration report, the Capitec Bank revealed a shift in employee pay scales over the past three years. The number of employees earning between R250,000 ($13,268) and R500,000 ($26,536) annually has tripled, now accounting for 62% of the workforce. The move mirrors broader efforts by South African banks to retain skilled staff. Absa and Standard Bank have increased their minimum salaries for 2025. Absa raised its minimum pay to R250,000 ($13,268) annually, 8.7% higher than last year. Standard Bank also increased its minimum salary to R258,390 ($13,731) per year, with unionised employees getting an average 5.8% salary boost. The shift is also a response to macroeconomic trends. According to the payroll consultancy Axiomatic, salaries in South Africa are expected to rise by 5.5% in 2025, slightly above inflation. The share of employees earning between R180,000 ($9,550) and R250,000 ($13,268) has fallen sharply—from 61% in 2021 to just 16%—while those earning under R180,000 ($9,550) now make up only 2%, mostly interns and entry-level hires. “Fairness is reflected in the way that we structure pay for executives and higher earners. At this level, we manage fairness by a higher weighting of pay towards variable pay,” said Vusi Mahlangu, chair of the bank’s remuneration committee. 10% of Capitec employees now earn over R1 million (over $53,000) annually. The bank has also invested heavily in its tech talent base, increasing its IT salary budget by 28% to R1.7 million (about $90,200). That helped boost the proportion of staff earning between R500,000 ($26,536) and R1.5 million (about $79,600) from 11% in 2021 to 17% in 2024. Capitec has also focused on talent retention, with 63% of positions filled internally and a voluntary resignation rate of just 11.6%, well below the South African banking sector average of 15.6%. The bank’s strong financial performance drove the salary raises. Net profit rose 30% to R13.7 billion (over $728 million) in 2024, driven by expansion into new segments like business banking, insurance, and digital financial services. Capitec has also attracted a more affluent customer base, with a 27% increase in clients earning R50,000 (about $2,650) monthly. The salary raises come as the bank undergoes a leadership change. Chief executive Gerrie Fourie has led Capitec for 25 years and is stepping down. He earned R104.8 million (over $5.5 million) last year, including R75 million (over $3,9 million) in long-term incentives, and holds one million Capitec shares valued at roughly R3.3 billion (over $175 million). Though retiring as CEO, he will continue to advise the bank on its international expansion plans.
Read More
TechCabal Daily –Zipline to the rescue
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF! We have a question for you: How much does it take to educate a Nigerian child from primary school through university? Cowrywise thinks the math is around ₦65 million ($40,382). If you’re looking for Uber and Indrive alternatives on May Day due to drivers’ planned strike, check out Simpliride, a newly launched Nigerian ride-hailing platform that just went live in Lagos and Abuja. Kindly test out the platform and let us know about your experience. FSCA fines African Bank for misleading Ad campaign Rwanda launches digital healthcare record Ghana turns to Zipline to keep health supplies moving Ogun, Osun lead Nigerian states in highest Right-of-Way fees World Wide Web 3 Events Banking FSCA fines African Bank for misleading Ad campaign Image Source: Google Do you ever borrow money and call it “investing in your future”? African Bank did. Its regulator wasn’t amused. South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has slapped African Bank with a R700,000 (~$38,000) fine for false advertising after a December 2023 social media campaign blurred the lines between loans and investments. The ads, featuring a popular South African celeb, pitched personal loans with the tagline: “It’s not a skoloto chomi! Ke investment.” (Translation: It’s not debt, friend! It’s an investment.) Nice try. The FSCA says this marketing move misled consumers by painting a credit facility as an investment product, violating section six of its conduct standards that require financial ads to be clear, fair, factually correct, and free from false promises or forecasts. Beyond the bad copywriting, the regulator also flagged oversight failures in African Bank’s governance process, over the approval and review of advertising materials, further breaching another part of section 6 of the Conduct Standard. The bank is cooperating with the probe and has taken corrective steps. A portion of the fine—R200,000 ($10,642)—is suspended for two years, provided the bank behaves and remains compliant with the Conduct Standard during this period. Zoom out: Misleading fintech or finance marketing isn’t new in Africa. Nigeria’s FCCPC has gone after loan sharks for threatening borrowers via SMS and WhatsApp. Kenya’s regulator recently kicked dozens of digital lenders off the map for lack of transparency. And Ghana’s SEC issued warnings to unlicensed “investment platforms” promising 20% monthly returns—spoiler: they weren’t investing in anything real. As Africa’s financial sector modernizes, regulators are catching up—and fast. The message is clear: if you’re selling loans, don’t dress them up like savings accounts. Seamless Global Payments With Fincra. Issue accounts in NGN, KES, EUR, USD & more with one integration. Send & receive funds seamlessly across borders; no more banking hassles or complex conversions. Create an account for free & go global today. Healthtech Rwanda launches digital healthcare record Rwanda is racing to ditch paper medical records by the end of 2025 and it’s building the infrastructure to do it. The country’s Ministry of Health has launched e-Ubuzima, a homegrown digital medical records system that synchronizes patient data across hospitals, health centers, and community clinics. Already deployed in 15 districts, the platform will eventually cover all 520 public health facilities nationwide. e-Ubuzima? With real-time access to health records, appointment booking, doctor search, and integrated alerts, e-Ubuzima is designed to cut down hospital congestion, reduce prescription errors, and save patients hours of waiting time. A companion mobile app helps users find facilities and schedule visits. The system will also double as an official health alert platform for outbreaks and public advisories. Here’s why it matters: Rwanda’s decentralized health system is often held up as a model in sub-Saharan Africa. But gaps—especially in non-communicable disease care and timely information access—still persist. Digitizing records is a critical step toward plugging those gaps and making care delivery faster and more accurate. Still, hurdles remain: Only 25% of health centers have the required tech setup, and digital literacy among older healthcare staff is a work in progress. The government plans to fix this with more training, nationwide WiFi, and smartphone distribution to frontline workers in rural areas by mid-year. Zoom out: Rwanda joins a growing list of African countries scrapping analog systems for digital ones. Nigeria is digitising birth and death records , Kenya and South Africa have piloted electronic prescriptions and health data sharing , and Ghana recently rolled out drone-powered medical supply delivery. Even in finance, countries like Namibia and Uganda have moved to digital tax filing and ID systems. Here’s what happened at Paystack in 2024! Link your bank account once, and send money in 5 easy steps on Zap. Download Zap on iOS and Android now Download Zap on iOS and Android now → Healthtech Ghana turns to Zipline to keep health supplies moving Image Source: Wunmi Eunice/TechCabal A stop-work order and extended review process at USAID earlier this year disrupted dozens of health programs in Ghana. As the supply chain froze, stocks of malaria vaccines, antiretrovirals, and other essential health supplies plummeted, raising the risk of a surge in preventable diseases across the country. As the disruptions persist, Ghana has partnered with Zipline , an autonomous drone logistics company, to provide an uninterrupted supply of essential medical supplies to the country’s health facilities. The country’s partnership with Zipline is an important effort in maintaining the flow of health supplies amidst logistics breakdown. The Ministry of Health will use Zipline’s existing network of drone delivery hubs to distribute malaria test kits and treatments, medications for pain, cough, parasitic infections, nutrition supplements, and other medical essentials to the northern and eastern regions of the country. Ghana’s partnership with Zipline runs on a flat monthly fee for unlimited deliveries, meaning more reach with no extra cost. ICYMI: Zipline recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Nigerian government to expand operations to five additional states within the country. This means quicker and more efficient access to essential medical supplies for the country’s healthcare system and a national blood solution in place by the end of 2025. As Ghana clings to Zipline for its
Read More
Telecom Salaries in Africa: A Comprehensive Guide for 2025
The telecom industry has been a major employer of labour in Africa, playing an essential role in the continent’s digital transformation. The sector has been experiencing a significant job deficit for years. However, a potential talent deficit of 300,00 qualified professionals is projected to occur by 2025. For this report, data from multiple sources were compiled: salary surveys from major telecom recruitment firms, HR departments of telecom operators, and online platforms. Salary comparison by country Telecom salaries in Africa do not have a uniform structure. In this section, we will look at telecom job salaries across the continent using Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and other key markets. 1. Nigeria Image source: Nigeria Paylab The telecommunication industry pay in Nigeria varies according to each telecom company. However, the average salary for telecom professionals in Nigeria ranges approximately from ₦155,000 ($96.63) to ₦575,000 ($358.46) per month. The actual figures for telecom job salaries in the country are also influenced by role, experience level and the size of the employing company. MTN Nigeria is one of the biggest operators: the telecom giant’s payroll figures show some employees earning over ₦1 million monthly, indicating a higher salary structure compared with other telecoms in the country. The cost of living in Nigeria, specifically in major cities like Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, is relatively high and is factored into telecommunications industry pay in the country. A similar job description will earn higher in Lagos if compared with Osun state, due to disparities in the cost of living. Also, income tax rates in Nigeria are pegged between 7% and 24%, depending on annual income. Studying the salary structure trends, there has been an upward movement in telecom salaries for 3-5 years. 2. South Africa South Africa, being one of the most developed telecom markets in Africa, offers a more competitive salary structure – a reflection of the high skills and experience required. On average, the telecommunications industry salary is around R330,000 ($17,519.60) per year, with entry positions starting at approximately R216,000 ($11,467.38) and experienced employees earning as high as R988,000 ($52,452.62) annually. The cost of living in South Africa differs by city, with major urban centres like Johannesburg and Cape Town having higher costs of living. South Africa’s income tax rates range between 18% and 45% based on taxable income. Regional salary differences exist, with Gauteng and the Western Cape often offering higher salaries compared to other provinces. Historical salary trends in South Africa’s tech and telecom sectors have generally shown a steady increase, with projections for 2025 indicating further moderate growth. 3. Kenya The telecommunication sector is driven by its developed technology and high mobile penetration; telecom job salaries offer a wide range of opportunities. The majority of the workers in telecommunications engineering earn a monthly salary between Ksh 50,955 ($393.28) to Ksh 145,586 ($1,123.65), with the technicians earning an average salary of Ksh 122,500 ($945.47). Income tax rates in Kenya range from 10% to 35% based on annual taxable income, and telecom companies have regional salary scales with people in urban centres earning higher due to high living costs. Like other countries, the trend in the country shows an upward trajectory with the potential to grow higher in the coming years. 4. Egypt The average telecom salary in Egypt for an engineer is around EGP 365,410 ($7,170.73) yearly, while the average pay for a consultant is approximately EGP 284,324 ($5,579.52) per year. Compared with other countries, the cost of living in Egypt is relatively lower, with income tax pegged between 0% to 27.5% based on annual earned income. There is a high possibility of regional salary variations, with Cairo being a major city and an economic hub with a slightly higher cost of living compared with other cities. 5. Other key markets (Ghana, Morocco and Tanzania) Outside the major countries, the telecommunications industry’s pay in some other countries is also attractive. In Ghana, the average telecom job salary falls between 2,185 GHS ($147.64) and 8,583 GHS ($579.93) per month. Meanwhile, Morocco telecoms pay around 280,684 MAD ($30,228.82) yearly. In Tanzania, the salary range for employees ranges from 579,248 TZS ($215.53) to 2,221,127 TZS ($826.47) monthly. Experience level and compensation progression Entry-level (0-2 years): Professionals in the category, such as support engineers, junior network technicians or customer support specialists, earn modest salaries with little or no bonus. In countries like Nigeria, South Africa or Kenya, a telecom job salary for an entry-level employee ranges from $4000 to $7000 annually, depending on the company, location and other factors. Mid-level (3-6 years): Professionals with technical skills and certifications can occupy roles such as systems engineer, telecom analyst and project manager. At this stage, salaries increase by 30% to 80% compared with entry-level roles, with additional performance bonuses. Senior-level (7+ years): Telecommunications industry pay for this level usually doubles from the mid-level range, with more bonus options. Salary packages may go as high as $25,000 to $50,000 annually, especially at multinational telecoms. Executive/Director level (10-20+ years): Telecom job salaries at this stage are mostly negotiated individually. Salaries can range between $60,000 and $200,000 yearly, especially in big telecoms. These packages include bonuses, housing, travel allowances, etc. Education requirements and salary implications Educational levels play a major role in telecommunication career earnings in Africa. Higher levels of education and relevant certifications play important parts in determining telecom salaries in Africa for employees. Specific degrees that attract higher earning potentials include bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering, telecommunications engineering, computer science, information technology, and related fields. Specialised certifications, such as those offered by Cisco (e.g., CCNP, CCIE) in networking, or certifications in cybersecurity (e.g., CISSP, CEH), can also significantly boost earning potential, as they demonstrate a high level of expertise in critical areas. Telecommunications engineers with a master’s degree will earn considerably more than those with a bachelor’s degree due to advanced knowledge and research skills associated with postgraduate education. Similarly, professionals with industry-recognised certifications often attract higher pay due to their certified expertise and ability to
Read MoreRwanda hopes to ditch paper health records by December with e-Ubuzima rollout
In a bid to fully digitise its healthcare system by the end of 2025, Rwanda is accelerating efforts to eliminate physical medical records across all its public health facilities. The country’s Ministry of Health is banking on a locally built digital platform—e-Ubuzima—to achieve that goal by December. Developed as part of Rwanda’s broader digital transformation agenda, e-Ubuzima is designed to synchronise patient data across all health centres, allowing medical personnel and patients to access health records in real time. The system also aims to reduce patient waiting time, ease hospital congestion, and improve prescription accuracy. “This app enables users to search for health facilities, choose the doctor they want to see, and even schedule appointments,” said Muhammed Semakula, Head of Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Health Financing at the Ministry of Health in an interview with The New Times Rwanda. “Once the patient selects a doctor, the system notifies the hospital, and the doctor sees it on their calendar that a patient is waiting.” Currently deployed in 15 districts, e-Ubuzima comes with a mobile application that helps patients navigate Rwanda’s growing healthcare network—comprising over 60 district and referral hospitals, 500+ health centers, and thousands of community health posts. With a population of around 14 million, Rwanda’s decentralised health system has long been touted as a model for sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to its community-based approach and near-universal health insurance coverage, Mutuelles de Santé. What African Nations Can Learn from Rwanda’s Growth as an Innovation Hub But gaps still exist in the system, especially in areas like non-communicable disease care and timely access to health information. To improve information sharing, Semakula said the platform will also double as an official channel for health communication. “If there’s a disease outbreak, people need reliable information. This app will be one of the platforms we use to disseminate awareness content,” he explained. However, Rwanda’s digital health transition faces logistic and human challenges. For e-Ubuzima to achieve nationwide success, all 520 health centers must be equipped with at least 25 computers and stable internet access, Semakula told The New Times, admitting that hardware deployment remains a top challenge. Moreover, digital literacy among older healthcare workers is another concern. “Many in the older generation have lower computer literacy and are less motivated to use digital tools compared to younger staff. That’s why consistent training is essential,” he added. e-Ubuzima is part of the Rwandan government’s larger ambition to transform the East-African country into a tech-driven healthcare hub. As part of this vision, the government is preparing to launch a “virtual hospital” based on telemedicine technology, which will allow patients to consult with doctors remotely from a central facility in Kigali, the country’s capital. The government has also planned to distribute smart phones to public health workers in rural areas and also provide wifi access by June this year. While Rwanda’s ambitious project presents a remarkable leap toward full digital healthcare transformation, the journey ahead is not without challenges. Overcoming obstacles such as infrastructure gaps and digital literacy will be key to ensuring the success of this nationwide initiative. If Rwanda succeeds, it could serve as a blueprint for other African nations looking to revolutionise their healthcare systems through technology, ultimately improving healthcare access and efficiency across the continent.
Read MoreEducating a Nigerian child privately now costs up to ₦65.5 million
The cost of sponsoring a Nigerian child through private education from a private primary school to a public university is now ₦31.3 million ($19,431), according to a Cowrywise report. If that child goes through only private education, that bill shoots up to ₦65.5 million ($40,633). However, parents who invest in a savings plan that accumulates ₦1,300,000 ($806) annually at a 10% interest rate per annum can save 33% of these fees, depending on the path mix a child adopts. The fees start counting from primary education, which ranges from ₦613,000($380) to ₦1.9 million ($1,178) for private schools and ₦45,000 to ₦53,000 annually for public schools. By secondary school, which takes six years, the child’s school fees will range from ₦50,000 to ₦61,000 annually for public education and ₦750,000 ($465) to ₦2.8 million ($1736) for private education. Public university education costs between ₦58,000 ($36) and ₦167,000 ($104) annually, while private university education ranges from ₦900,000 ($465) to ₦1.2 million ($744), making it the most expensive for public schools, while secondary school education is the most expensive for private schools. With the rising cost of education becoming increasingly unaffordable for many parents and sponsors amid the country’s economic hardship, Cowrywise’s study highlights how the stratospheric cost of schooling is making it harder for families to keep their children in school. While the study highlights why parents should be interested in the cost of education, it also spotlights how investment plans can help them reduce the financial burden of funding their child’s education. Adopting the use of primary and secondary data, as well as analysis, the study focused on major education costs, excluding transportation and extracurricular activities costs, identifying investment as a smart strategy for effectively saving for planning to sponsor children’s education with reduced financial burden. Giving children a quality education is said to be a long-term responsibility and investment for parents, with many benefits. However, in Nigeria, where 63% of its total population is multidimensionally poor, the rising costs of education at all levels are increasingly making it unaffordable, leading to a surge in dropouts. “Education is an integral part of a child’s journey. It’s an ongoing experience that helps shape who they become, how they think, and the amazing opportunities ahead. That’s why every child must have access to education. But that brings up an important question: What does quality education cost?” Part of the study read. At the primary level, despite the country’s Universal Basic Education (UBE) offering free education to make every child count, hidden fees such as registration, uniforms, and textbooks make schooling expensive. Also, the cost of enrolling a child into secondary school outpaces many parents’ income growth. These challenges contribute to the country’s 20 million out-of-school children. At the tertiary level, the hike in school fees across government public universities has fuelled a significant dropout rate, making Nigeria experience 18% of tertiary students who left school owing to financial constraints. In 2023, the University of Lagos increased its school fees, surging from about ₦26,000 ($16) – ₦76,000 ($47), depending on the course of study and level, to between ₦120,750 ($75) and ₦240,250 ($149). Other institutions, including UNIMAID, UNIABUJA, and UNIBEN, also experienced significant fee hikes. But as the Nigerian government launched the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) for tertiary students in 2024, it claimed it had disbursed over ₦22 billion ($14 million) to over 200,000 students. However, concerns remain about the accessibility and effectiveness of these loans in addressing the issues of education affordability, as many students still drop out of school or turn to social media platforms like X and Facebook to crowdfund for school fees. At all levels of education, the cost of enrolling a child in private schools is often unaffordable for low- or mid-income parents in the country.
Read MoreSouth Africa’s BoxCommerce enters UAE to tap SME e-commerce boom
BoxCommerce, a South African e-commerce platform that serves SMEs and startups, has launched in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), betting on the country’s booming mobile commerce market, vast SME sector, and the limited availability of user-friendly e-commerce solutions tailored for local businesses looking to scale. The move positions BoxCommerce among a wave of African startups setting shop in the Middle East’s commercial capital. The UAE’s e-commerce market is projected to hit $8 billion in revenue this year, surpassing $10 billion by 2029. Launched in 2017, BoxCommerce offers tools for building online stores, managing inventory, processing payments, and handling logistics. The company began operations in Kenya in 2022 and claims to have onboarded more than 5,400 merchants in its first year, 16 times the number reached by Shopify over the same period. The UAE represents a strategic entry point for BoxCommerce into a region with strong consumer demand but limited user-friendly solutions for small businesses. “The UAE is a strategic market for BoxCommerce,” said CEO and founder Craig Mcleod. “With mobile commerce dominating and over 70% of the population shopping online, the country is on track to grow its e-commerce market size to AED 48 billion by 2028. Our platform is designed to help local businesses tap into this explosive growth.” In the UAE, BoxCommerce will focus on helping SMEs set up their online store in minutes with no technical expertise required. The platform will also support sales across websites, social media, and marketplaces, helping merchants expand their reach. “Despite having around 600,000 SMEs in the UAE, there are still very few easy-to-use eCommerce solutions designed to help local SMEs grow and scale,” Rahul Vaish, MENA Director of BoxCommerce, added. “SMEs are the bedrock of any economy, representing 94% of the UAE’s companies and employing over 86% of the private sector workforce.” BoxCommerce is backed by MasterCard’s Start Path program and previously participated in Facebook’s Commerce Accelerator in 2020. The company says it aims to become the go-to platform for emerging-market merchants looking to build omnichannel retail operations without technical complexity.
Read MoreOgun, Osun lead Nigerian states in highest Right-of-Way fees
Ogun State ranks fourth in Nigeria for fibre infrastructure investment, with 4,189.18 kilometres of cable laid. Yet, it charges the highest right-of-way fees—levied by state governments for laying fibre optic cables—in the country: ₦9,477 per linear metre, according to a list obtained exclusively by TechCabal from telecom industry operators. Osun State, which has one of the lowest levels of fibre deployment at just 64 kilometres, is second on the list, charging a right-of-way fee of ₦6,850 per linear metre. Compiled by telecom industry operators in March 2024, the list is the first comprehensive snapshot of right-of-way charges across Nigerian states. It highlights the fragmented and often burdensome nature of right-of-way governance. It reveals how several states have leveraged it primarily for revenue generation rather than as a tool to promote digital infrastructure development. Lagos, which leads Nigeria in fibre coverage with 7,864.6km, charges ₦6,264 per metre, making it the third most expensive state for right-of-way. Other high-fee states include Oyo (₦5,303), Cross River (₦4,737), Rivers (₦4,047), Edo (₦3,491), and Ondo (₦3,075). Some states have more affordable rates: Sokoto and Jigawa charge ₦3,000; Benue and Bayelsa ₦2,500; Kano ₦2,258; and Abia, Taraba, and Akwa Ibom ₦2,000. At the lower end, Borno and Yobe each charge ₦1,000, while Gombe offers the lowest rate at ₦500 per metre. In 2013, the National Economic Council (NEC)—including the Vice President, state governors, and other senior officials—recommended a fee of ₦145 per metre to streamline costs and promote nationwide fibre deployment. But with no legislation behind it, many states simply ignored the directive and imposed arbitrary fees. Some progress was made after a January 2020 meeting between the then Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. Since then, 16 states have revised their fees. Twelve states—Niger, Zamfara, Katsina, Anambra, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kaduna, Ekiti, Imo, and Plateau—have eliminated the fees. Delta, Enugu, Ebonyi, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) now charge the NEC-recommended ₦145. For some states, waiving right-of-way fees is a deliberate strategy to attract telecom investments beyond just urban centres. In Anambra, where over 1,000km of fibre has already been deployed, much of the investment is concentrated in commercial hubs like Onitsha and Nnewi. The goal, however, is to extend coverage statewide. “If telcos judged every investment strictly by profit, only commercial zones would get infrastructure,” said Chukwuemeka Fred Akpata, Managing Director of the Anambra State ICT Agency. “By waiving right-of-way, we’re encouraging deployment in underserved areas.” Similarly, Niger State passed a law adopting the ₦145 standard fee before issuing an executive order in September 2024 to waive the fee altogether. “The ₦0 right-of-way fee is based on executive order, but the ₦145 is law,” said Suleiman Isah, Commissioner for Communications and Digital Economy, Niger State. “If the investment we attract in the next year or two outweighs what we made from fees, we’ll amend the law permanently.” Telecom operators have often negotiated these fees and received reduced fees in a few states. In 2021, the Association for Licenced Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), whose members include the biggest telecom operators such as MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile, negotiated a reduced Right of Way fee with the Lagos State Government. Under Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration, Edo State eliminated Right-of-Way fees for a few telecom operators such as MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria. This policy enabled these companies to extend internet connectivity to numerous government offices and public institutions. Gbenga Adebayo, President of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), has observed these developments closely. He argues that while removing right-of-way fees is a step forward, it is not a sustainable solution on its own. “The era of state governments charging Right-of-Way fees should be over,” Adebayo told TechCabal. “When states impose these fees, they lose out on the broader benefits of digital infrastructure. Instead of charging right-of-way fees, states should require telecom operators to deliver social impact projects.” Adebayo added that some states, despite officially waiving right-of-way fees, impose hidden costs such as education taxes and highway levies, which discourage investment. In contrast, states like Kwara have successfully attracted impactful projects, including a multi-million dollar ICT hub, the Ilorin Innovation Hub. These inconsistencies in right-of-way policies continue to influence where fibre infrastructure is deployed, deepening regional disparities in digital access. While some states leverage fee waivers to draw long-term investment, others risk missing out by imposing high entry costs. Without a unified and enforceable national right-of-way framework, Nigeria’s ambition for universal broadband coverage will remain uneven and fragmented.
Read MoreSouth Africa drops controversial VAT hike, leaving $4 billion budget gap
South Africa has withdrawn a controversial proposal to raise value-added tax (VAT) following pressure from political parties and civil society groups. The National Treasury had proposed a 1% VAT increase over two years to plug a $4.02 billion (R75 billion) budget deficit. In a statement on Thursday, the National Treasury said the decision followed consultation with major political parties and parliamentary committees. However, it warned that difficult spending cuts now lie ahead to address the budget shortfall, including the potential withdrawal of cash transfers to low-income households. The reversal comes as a sigh of relief for South Africans, many of whom have received messages from service providers warning of price increases set to take effect on May 1. The now-shelved VAT hike would have immediately strained household budgets. However, the decision will mark a major step back for the government’s efforts to restore funding for essential services like healthcare and education that have suffered under years of budgetary constraints. “The initial proposal for an increase to the VAT rate was motivated by the urgent need to restore and replenish the funding of critical frontline services that had suffered reductions necessitated by the country’s constrained fiscal position,” the Treasury said. The Treasury planned to increase VAT by 0.5% from May 1 and another 0.5% in 2026, but some members of the African National Congress and its coalition partner, the Democratic Party, opposed the proposal. The planned hike was meant to fund healthcare and education. Treasury Minister Enoch Gogongwana wrote to the country’s parliament to withdraw the Appropriation and Division of Revenue Bills. The move will allow adjustments to the budget to cover the shortfall following the removal of the VAT hike. “There are many suggestions, however, some of them would create greater negative consequences for growth and employment, and some of them, while worthwhile, would not provide an immediate avenue for further revenue in the short term to replace a VAT increase,” Treasury said. South Africa’s last increase in VAT was in 2018, when the country’s public finances were under severe strain following years of mismanagement during Jacob Zuma’s presidency and the loss of its investment-grade credit rating. But VAT remains a politically sensitive subject in South Africa. More than 30% of the population is unemployed, and inequality is still deeply entrenched. While many essential goods used by low-income households are zero-rated, many still see the tax as unfair.
Read More