How to spot and avoid crypto scams: What experts and victims told us
Table of contents Common crypto scams How to spot crypto scams How to verify crypto projects, tokens, and smart contracts A friend once called, panicked. He had just sent ₦50,000 ($32.75) worth of crypto to what he thought was a legitimate investment platform. The site looked polished. The returns seemed realistic. There were even video testimonials. But after he sent the money, the support chat went silent, and the dashboard stopped updating. That was when he realised he’d been scammed. He’s not alone. We spoke to people who lost their life savings, tech experts who trace scam wallets for a living, and a former employee at a crypto startup who witnessed firsthand how shady projects are built. What we learned was clear: scams in the crypto space aren’t always loud or obvious. They don’t always come with a sketchy message or a too-good-to-be-true offer. Sometimes, they look and feel real until it’s too late. That’s why we created this guide. It’s built on real stories, real insights, and a simple mental model we call PATH: Promises, Authority, Transparency, and Hygiene. Once you understand how to use PATH, spotting crypto scams becomes easier, and protecting your money becomes second nature. Common crypto scams and how they work To protect yourself in crypto, the first step is to be aware of the types of tricks scammers use. Many of these scams aren’t new; they’re just old tactics with a new look, now using crypto and digital platforms to do the damage. Once your cryptocurrency is gone, it’s almost impossible to recover it. So knowing what to look out for is your best defence. Here are the most common types of crypto scams: 1. Fake investment offers My friend Tomi fell for this one. It started with an Instagram DM about a “crypto investment platform” that promised double returns in 7 days. They showed him screenshots of other people cashing out, and even offered to “match” his first deposit as a bonus. He invested ₦50,000 (US$32.75). A week later, the account was gone. No money, no replies. “It looked real,” he said. “ They even had a Telegram group where people were posting fake withdrawal alerts. I thought, maybe this is my chance.” That’s the trap. These scams rely on creating a sense of urgency and using fake testimonials to lure you in. Once you send your money, they disappear, and there’s no way to get it back. 2. Ponzi schemes This is where early investors are paid with money from new investors. It all looks real at first. You might even get some profit early on. However, the entire setup relies on continually recruiting new individuals. Eventually, it crashes, and many people lose their money. 3. Rug pulls and pump-and-dumps Here, scammers hype up a new token, creating fear of missing out. As more people buy in, the price jumps. Then the scammers pull out all the money, crash the value, and vanish, leaving everyone else with worthless coins. 4. Fake tokens and projects Some scammers build fake coins or projects from scratch. The websites and whitepapers look legit, but everything is fake. Once people invest, the scammers take off with the funds. 5. Impersonation scams Scammers pretend to be someone you trust, a business, a government agency, or even a police officer. They might claim you owe money or that your account has issues, and then ask you to send cryptocurrency to resolve the issue. Watch out for: Calls or emails from “banks,” “IRS,” or “tech support” asking for crypto. Instructions to use crypto ATMs. Scammers pretending to be celebrities or influencers backing a coin or platform. 6. Romance and emotional scams A scammer might connect with you on a dating app or social media. Over time, they build trust and ask for money, maybe for a “business opportunity” or a fake emergency. In some cases, they even show you fake profits from a fake trading platform to get you to invest more. This type of scam is sometimes referred to as “pig butchering.” They fatten up the victim with fake love and trust, then take everything. 7. Phishing and fake websites Image source: cwatch.comodo.com This is where scammers replicate the appearance of a genuine crypto site or wallet app. If you’re not careful, you might enter your login details or send money to the wrong address. These fake sites often use URLs that are just slightly different from the real one. 8. Malicious smart contracts Some smart contracts are built to trap you. For example, they may allow you to buy a token but block you from selling it. Others might drain your wallet once you connect to them. Always double-check contracts and only use trusted platforms. 9. Blackmail and fake charities Some scams involve threatening emails in which the sender claims to have information about you and demands payment in cryptocurrency. Others set up fake charity sites and solicit cryptocurrency donations, especially after disasters. Why crypto scams are so effective The biggest danger with crypto scams is that once you send your money, it’s gone for good. Blockchain transactions can’t be reversed. That’s why scammers love crypto; it makes it much harder for victims to recover anything. This also means the pressure is on you to spot the warning signs before it’s too late. Table 1: Common crypto scam types & characteristics The PATH to safety: A simple way to spot crypto scams When it comes to spotting crypto scams, one of the best things you can do is pause and ask the right questions. That’s where “The PATH to Safety” comes in. It’s a straightforward model you can follow before investing your money in any crypto project. Each letter in PATH represents a key area to examine. “Scammers move fast and prey on emotion, greed, fear, and love,” said Jeremy, a blockchain security analyst who works with fraud investigators to trace stolen funds. “PATH helps you slow things down. It gives you a clear lens to look
Read More
Mobile network with best call rates in Nigeria in July 2025
In Nigeria, a country of over 200 million mobile subscribers, call and internet charges have become a focal point for users trying to make the most of their airtime. While telecoms frequently promote bonuses and bundled deals, the base tariffs ultimately determine how far a user’s airtime can stretch. In this article, we compare prepaid call and browsing rates from Nigeria’s four major network providers: MTN, Glo, Airtel, and 9Mobile, to determine which offers the best value in July 2025. Cheapest network for calls: Glo offers the lowest call rate among Nigeria’s major mobile networks through its ‘Glo Super Talk‘ tariff plan, which charges 15.5 kobo per second (k/s) for calls. However, this rate applies after a ₦15 daily access fee is automatically deducted on the user’s first call of the day, making it a strong choice for users who make regular calls. Cheapest network for browsing with airtime: Glo also leads in pay-as-you-go (PAYG) internet browsing. It charges ₦1.50 per megabyte (MB) across all its tariff plans. This uniform rate makes Glo the best choice for users who browse the internet using their regular airtime balance rather than a dedicated data bundle. Best network for bonuses: Airtel takes the lead with its Ovajara Xtra tariff plan, offering a 200% bonus on every recharge: 100% for airtime and the other 100% for data. This means a ₦100 recharge gives users an extra ₦100 airtime and ₦100 worth of data. However, calls made from the bonus airtime are charged at 83.3 k/s (₦50 per minute), while the bonus data is deducted at a steep rate of 15MB per second. Following the January 2025 approval of a tariff increase by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), mobile operators made changes to their tariff structures. This included the discontinuation of popular bonus-based plans and adjustments to call/data rates. However, you can still find the best rates that suit your needs. Here’s what each mobile network is offering under its tariff plans as of July 2025. Glo Super Talk: This Glo tariff plan offers national calls at 15.5 k/s. However, international call rates vary depending on the receiver’s country zone. Users on tariff are charged a ₦15 daily access fee, deducted on their first call of the day. Talk On: Glo’s Talk On tariff charges 22 k/s for national calls, making it a moderate plan for calls compared to other network call charges. Its international call rates vary based on the destination country’s zone. The plan is a balanced option for users seeking moderate call charges without a daily access fee. Data rate on airtime (PAYG): Glo offers the same airtime charge rate for browsing the internet for all of its tariffs, charging ₦1.5 per MB. What people are saying We spoke to a few users to understand their experiences with the actual charges and recent changes to these plans. Yusuf Nasiru, a Lagos-based civil servant, shared that Glo was previously his preferred network for making calls, largely because of the generous airtime bonuses it offered. However, since he was migrated to a new plan, Glo Talk On, he said its rate no longer meets his airtime needs. “I was on Glo Berekete, and I used to get ₦20,000 airtime and 2 gigabytes (GB) of data as bonuses whenever I recharged ₦5000. I mostly make calls, and the airtime would last me up to three weeks, as long as I kept topping it up with at least ₦100 every seven days,” he said. “Since the new tariff has no bonuses, it has reduced how often I make calls with the line, because it is almost the same thing as the other SIM I’m using.” MTN Pulse: MTN’s Pulse tariff is the most affordable plan the network currently offers, charging 23 k/s for national calls. International call rates vary depending on the receiver’s country zone. Pulse is placed among the lowest call rate tariffs offered by mobile networks. BetaGist: This MTN tariff plan charges 30 k/s for national calls, making it one of the most expensive among the network’s tariff plans. However, it comes with an exclusive reward where users get 3 minutes as a call bonus after every 6 minutes of outgoing calls. The bonus can be used on the next calls or accumulated and is valid for two days. XtraValue: This plan charges 30 k/s for national calls, the same as BetaGist, making it one of the most expensive call rates on the network. Unlike BetaGist, XtraValue does not offer any exclusive call-time rewards or bonuses. Data rate on airtime (PAYG): For internet browsing with airtime, MTN charges ₦3.07 per MB on all its tariffs. This is among the most expensive airtime for browsing among all tariffs offered by mobile networks in Nigeria. What you should know MTN currently does not offer any airtime or data bonuses on recharge under its existing tariff plans. The provider recently decommissioned some tariffs, including BetaTalk, which previously offered large airtime rewards to subscribers. “The best tariff MTN ever had was BetaTalk. It gave us real value for money,” said Zubair Onireke, a final-year Microbiology student at the University of Ilorin. “You can recharge, get bonuses, and still use your original airtime to buy a data bundle. But suddenly, they migrated us out of it.” Airtel SmartTalk is the cheapest call tariff offered by Airtel, charging 25 k/s (₦15 per minute) for national voice calls to all networks. International call rates vary based on the destination country’s zone. OverJara Xtra is Airtel’s only tariff plan that offers bonuses on recharge among all its plans. It charges 30 k/s (₦18 per minute) for national calls. With every recharge from ₦100 to ₦5,000, users receive a 200% bonus, split equally between airtime and data, and valid for two days. However, bonus airtime is billed at a higher rate of ₦50 per minute, and bonus data is charged at 15MB per second. SmartGist is the second most expensive tariff plan for call rate by Airtel, charging 33.33 k/s, which amounts
Read More
👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Ghana welcomes crypto
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF. We’ve got news for you! Kate Kallot—TIME 100 Most Influential People in AI, founder of Amini, and former NVIDIA executive—and Jade Abbott, CTO of Lelapa AI and co-founder of Masakhane, will be speaking at Moonshot this October! Join two leading women shaping Africa’s AI future as they unpack the endless opportunities surrounding it. Register now! We’ll see you there. Let’s get into today’s dispatch. Airtel Africa grows profit by 403% Ghana to licence crypto firms Luno to launch tokenised stocks for South Africans in August Ethio Telecom pretax profits soar by 80% World Wide Web 3 Opportunities Companies Airtel Africa grew profit after tax by 403% on strong CFA performance and stable naira Image Source: Airtel Yesterday, Airtel Africa, one of the continent’s largest telecom players with business in 14 countries, released its financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2025. Airtel saw green in every key metric. Profit after tax increased fivefold to $156 million from $31 million a year ago. Revenue increased 24.9% in constant currency. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) climbed 30% to $679 million, with margin expanding to 48%. Operating free cash flow was up 48% to $558 millionAirtel attributed its strong performance. The top-line growth was powered by a 38% surge in data revenue and a 30% jump in mobile money. Nigeria, its largest market, grew revenue by 49% in constant currency thanks to higher data usage, tariff hikes (in Nigeria), and rising smartphone adoption. Though that same revenue growth reduces to 30% after currency conversion. Francophone Africa also contributed meaningfully to Airtel’s revenue. Revenue there rose nearly 18% in reported terms, buoyed by a stronger CFA Franc and 42% growth in data revenue. EBITDA in the region grew 25%. Airtel attributed its performance to steady demand, cost efficiency, and debt localisation. 95% of its operating company (OpCo) debt is now in local currency, up from 86% last year. Zoom out: With smartphone penetration still under 46% and mobile money adoption growing fast, Airtel says there’s plenty of room to do more. Despite its positive result—its strongest in recent times—Airtel’s performance has not elicited any reaction from retail investors. As of close of market on Thursday, investors only bought 25 shares of the telecom giant, even lower than the 200 from the previous trading day. The stock’s high price and illiquidity remains a major blocker for investor activity. Paying 2% or more on every transaction adds up fast. For businesses in e-commerce, logistics, travel, fintech, and more, every naira counts. Fincra helps you save more with 1% NGN fees capped at ₦300. Ideal for high-value or high-volume transactions. Get started for free with just your email address! Cryptocurrency Ghana makes U-turn, moves to licence crypto firms from September 2025 Image Source: Bloomberg Ghana is finally moving to regulate crypto. For years, crypto firms operated in a legal grey zone, not banned, not approved, just tolerated, but now the Bank of Ghana plans to send a licensing framework to parliament by September 2025. State of play: That era of crypto’s legal limbo began with warning public notices in 2018 and 2022, where the central bank instructed commercial banks and licensed financial institutions to steer clear of crypto-related transactions. Still, crypto thrived in the shadows, unregulated, and running on informal platforms and peer-to-peer (P2P) channels. Between July 2023 and June 2024, Ghanaians moved $3 billion worth of crypto. Like Nigeria and South Africa, Ghana has accepted a basic truth that crypto isn’t going anywhere, and ignoring it won’t make it disappear. Now, the central bank wants to license local platforms and bring activity into the light. What will this new law do? The crypto law will track money flows, regulate digital assets used by millions, boost cross-border trade, attract strategic investment and improve financial data. Ghana bets that this new regulation will convince users to switch from untraceable P2P channels to regulated players, making it easier for the country to monitor transactions and harder for illicit money to move undetected. This move also pressures major global platforms like Binance, which powers most of Africa’s P2P trading, to either localise or leave. Zoom out: Across the continent, countries are exploring how to regulate the crypto space. Ghana has joined the ranks of Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Seychelles, Mauritius, and the Central African Republic (CAR) to regulate cryptocurrency transactions in Africa. The Bank of Ghana’s decision to regulate cryptocurrency transactions shows a clear shift in its policy stance. While regulation alone will not eliminate the bank’s perceived risks of the digital asset, it introduces a foundation for control. Paga Engine powers the boldest ideas in Africa “Across various use cases and industries, Paga Engine provides reliable rails for your business needs to run smoothly and grow sustainably.” – Tayo Oviosu. Read the full article. Cryptocurrency Luno’s tokenised stocks to let South Africans invest in Apple, others Image Source: Luno In more crypto news, Luno is bringing tokenised stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to South Africa in August 2025. This move gives South Africans 24/7 access to global equities like Apple, Alphabet, NVIDIA, and the S&P 500, using South African rands and without waiting for Wall Street to open. If you don’t know what tokenised stocks are, they are a blockchain-based representation of real shares, held in regulated custody by Luno’s integration with global partners, like Kraken’s xStocks and Backed Finance. What makes these stocks different is that they are available in rand, fractional, and instantly tradable. South Africans can invest from as little as $1.14 in globally valuable companies. Buying a tokenised stock does not give users shareholder rights. Investors do not have the right to vote and participate in annual general meetings (AGMs). This tradeoff might be worth it for everyday investors who get to buy and sell portions of large companies through blockchain technology. For South Africa, Luno’s launch solves a long-standing headache of slow and expensive global investing, wrapped
Read More
South Africans can now buy Apple, Alphabet shares as digital tokens on Luno
From early August, Luno, a cryptocurrency and digital investment platform, will allow its users in South Africa to invest in tokenised stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), making global equities like Apple and Alphabet accessible for as little as R20 ($1.13). The move positions Luno as a multi-asset investment platform and marks what it says is a first-of-its-kind offering in South Africa’s fast-evolving financial landscape. Tokenised stocks are digital representations of real shares, backed 1:1 by actual securities. By enabling access via rands, Luno is removing longstanding barriers such as currency conversion costs, high fees, and trading-hour restrictions for retail investors in emerging markets. “Until now, access to global financial markets has been locked behind red tape and legacy systems,” said Christo de Wit, Luno’s country manager for South Africa. “With tokenised stocks, we are offering South African investors easy access to global investments any time of the day or night.” The platform will support over 60 U.S. companies and market indices, including Apple, Alphabet, NVIDIA, and the S&P 500. These tokenised products are made available through partnerships with infrastructure providers like Kraken’s xStocks and Backed Finance, which Luno says will ensure regulatory compliance, secure custody, and alignment with global financial standards. How Luno tokenised stocks work Customers can start investing with as little as R20 ($1.13), even in companies like Apple and Google. Instead of paying nearly R4,000 ($226) for a full Apple share, they can buy just a piece. These tokens are digital versions of real stocks, and customers trade them through blockchain. “This represents a fundamental shift in how we think about investing,” explained de Wit. “We are not just digitising old processes, we are reimagining what is possible when you combine improved technology with investor needs.” Launched in 2013, Luno has grown to become one of Africa’s leading crypto exchanges, but now it’s adding tokenised stocks and ETFs. South Africa remains one of the continent’s most active crypto markets. Over 5 million South Africans are estimated to own crypto, with digital asset ownership expected to grow by nearly 8% annually through 2031. Luno competes with platforms like VALR, Binance, AltcoinTrader, and wealthtech apps like EasyEquities and Satrix that focus mainly on traditional stocks and ETFs. Still, the expansion into tokenised equities could bring Luno under closer scrutiny. As digital tokens backed by real-world financial instruments, these offerings may fall within capital market regulations, including investor protection and transparency requirements. South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) is already in the process of licencing crypto asset providers and building a clearer framework for digital securities. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
Read More
User insights, new priorities: AI’s evolution in Nigerian banking operations
Every Thursday at noon (WAT), Delve Into AI will provide nuanced insights on how the continent’s AI trajectory is shaping up. In this column, we examine how AI influences culture, policy, businesses, and vice versa. Read to get smarter about the people, projects, and questions shaping Africa’s AI future. For years, Sam*, a product manager at a Tier-1 Nigerian commercial bank, spent over two hours scrolling X to compile feedback about their latest bank app features. Now, he spends less than 10 minutes on this task, thanks to Grok, an AI assistant integrated with X. He simply types a prompt: “Summarise the top customer complaints on X for our bank app for the last two weeks.” A few seconds later, a summary of complaints and recent posts outlining real user discontent is displayed. “It’s like you have someone beside you who you can dig deep for you, present the data, and help you draw insights to make valuable decisions,” he said. Sam, who asked to go only by his first name, is part of a growing list of commercial bank employees who are increasingly relying on AI tools to help automate and speed up their daily tasks. Whether these banks’ leadership is open to embracing these tools internally remains an open question. 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 TC Scoop <!– Next Wave –> <!– Entering Tech –> Subscribe Over the past decade, commercial banks have mainly restricted their AI innovation to customer-facing virtual assistants and chatbots, particularly due to factors such as regulatory uncertainty, cost concerns, and a lack of internal infrastructure. In 2018, United Bank for Africa (UBA) released Leo, an AI-supported virtual banking assistant. Three years later, Zenith Bank launched Ziva, an AI-powered chatbot tool accessible via WhatsApp. But while these banking industry’s embrace of these customer-facing generative AI tools is forward-thinking, the reception from the public hasn’t been promising so far. According to a KPMG 2024 survey, 73% of retail banking customers in Nigeria rarely engage with these chatbots, raising more questions about their long-term value. This is causing a rethink in AI strategy at various commercial banks. “Before, it was: ‘How can we integrate this fun, interesting tool into our systems?’ But now, there’s a thought process around: ‘How can AI drive tomorrow’s sense of what banking should be?’” said Dr.Olumide Okubadejo, an AI strategist for commercial banks. With the rise of popular generative AI platforms, such as Grok and ChatGPT, there has been an increasing interest in redefining ways to adopt AI in the banking space. In December 2024, Bello Hassan, the head of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), encouraged banks to adopt AI tools to strengthen their fraud detection approaches. For some bank executives, there is a growing concern that delays in strategic AI adoption may leave them falling behind. At the Innovate AI conference in February 2024, Abubakar Suleiman, Managing Director of Sterling Bank, warned; “If we fail to pay attention to artificial intelligence, all our efforts at ease of doing business will come to nought.” He added; “Companies that fail to embrace AI will become less competitive and they will die.” Some banks are now exploring the practical applications beyond customer-facing tools. Banks are starting to look within and identify opportunities for internal adoption and workflow efficiency. One UBA staff member who preferred to remain anonymous noted that in the Q1 of 2025, the bank renamed its internal “Advanced Analytics” team
Read More
“Motivation is my biggest tool for work”: 10 African freelancers on their tools of productivity
Freelancing can be a flexible and lucrative career option depending on what industry you work in. Freelancers don’t earn a fixed income, and because they work with different clients, often multiple at a time, they can negotiate better fees. They also set their own schedules and choose whom to work with. But how do they make it work? TechCabal spoke to 10 freelancers across Africa to understand how they work, what tools they use, and the challenges they face in their day-to-day. From creative professionals in Lagos, Nigeria to tech developers in Kigali, Rwanda and an IT Engineer in Rabat, Morocco, their stories paint a picture of a growing but uneven ecosystem. Gloria Chimelu – Web3 Content Marketer, Nigeria Gloria Chimelu is a Nigerian Web3 content marketer. She has written and consulted for multiple brands across the globe. Her freelance life is a mix of structured systems and the chaos that often comes with working in an emerging tech industry. “I use Google Docs, Notion, Google Keep, Twitter, and Discord to stay on top of my work,” said Chimelu. “Some clients prefer tools like Asana, so I adapt as needed.” Most of her payments come in cryptocurrency—usually stablecoins—which she converts to naira. When clients can’t pay in crypto, she turns to GeegPay to collect dollars and manage conversions. Her workflow starts on Twitter, where she either gets approached or finds job leads. After sharing her portfolio and going through up to three interview rounds, she signs a contract, delivers the work, and incorporates client feedback. “Once a project wraps up, I take the lessons and apply them to the next one,” she said. Being in Web3 means her earning potential often moves with the market. “When the charts are green, everyone’s hiring. When they’re red, rejections triple,” she explains. Payment delays or being paid in crypto tokens that drop in value are common, making income unpredictable. Despite this, Chimelu calls Twitter her most valuable tool. It’s where she finds jobs, tracks trends, and catches a break through meme threads when the hustle gets too loud. Stablecoins won’t “bank the unbanked”; so what are they for? Fabrice Bizimaan — Web Developer, Rwanda Based in Kigali, Fabrice Bizimaan works with global clients on full-stack web projects. He mostly gets hired through recommendations from platforms like Slack and LinkedIn. “When a new project comes in, I first meet with the owners or team to understand the scope and timeline. Once we agree, I start building,” he explains. His developer toolkit includes VSCode, Xcode, Android Studio, and frameworks like Next.js, Vue.js, NestJS, and Django. For collaboration, he sticks with Slack and Notion. Bizimaan prefers to receive payments through cryptocurrencies. He opts for Binance, the global crypto exchange app which, unlike Nigeria, is still operational in Rwanda. Other times, Bizimaan gets paid for his work through bank transfers. Equity Bank, Kenya’s second-largest bank by assets, allows Rwandans to accept international payments directly using SWIFT code. “Cypto takes seconds,” he said. “SWIFT transfers take longer when the sender is outside Africa; but they work, too. I also use Payoneer when needed.” One of his biggest hurdles to finding freelance work is geography. “Many opportunities exclude Africans. You’ll see: ‘Only open to US residents.’ That’s frustrating,” said Bizimaan. Despite the limitations, Bizimaan keeps building. His workflow is structured, his tech stack deep—and he’s proof that freelance developers on the continent are just as capable, even if the doors aren’t always open. Digital Nomads: Can you truly be hired from “anywhere in the world”? Itunu Obanla — Copywriter, Nigeria Itunu Obanla, a Nigerian freelance copywriter, builds his freelance pipeline mostly through Upwork, where competition is fierce and visibility now depends on bidding power. “Before submitting a proposal, I check client reviews. But now, whoever uses the most ‘Upwork Connects’ [a form of credit for applying to gigs on the app] gets their proposal seen first—it feels like a car auction,” he says. He supplements his work search with gigs on Fiverr and LinkedIn, but Upwork remains his primary platform. Payments pass through several layers: first to Payoneer, then converted to cryptocurrency, and finally to naira. “The platform is saturated,” said Obanla. “There’s nothing easy about it. I’m still doing this because I’m in the country.” His biggest pain working as a freelancer is the wait. Every finished job kicks off another round of proposal submissions on freelance websites, with no guarantee of what comes next. “You could be busy with work today, then wait months before the next project lands,” he said. Obanla doesn’t romanticise freelancing. It’s work, not freedom. But in a tight economy, showing up consistently is what keeps the wheels turning. Joshua Adeyemi — DevOps Technical Writer, Nigeria Joshua Adeyemi, a DevOps technical writer in Nigeria, focuses on writing clear, well-researched technical content for DevOps teams. His tools of choice—Google Docs, Grammarly, Fraser, and ChatGPT—help him stay organised and ensure his writing is polished and SEO-friendly. He gets paid in dollars through Grey or GeegPay, depending on what suits the client best. “Once the funds land in my account, I convert the money and withdraw to naira,” Adeyemi said. Most of his tasks are assigned via Trello. Each article begins with a round of research before he starts writing, usually taking about three days per task. Once done, the content goes through an internal review before being published. Staying productive, he says, is a mix of the right tools and the right mindset. “Trello keeps me on track, Google Docs makes collaboration seamless, and being eager to learn helps me handle tough subjects,” he said. His biggest challenge is managing multiple deadlines while keeping every piece accurate and digestible. “There’s a lot of pressure to be right and write clearly when you’re explaining technical topics to a non-technical audience,” he added. 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
Read More
AfriLabs backs 280,000 entrepreneurs, bets big on Africa’s $1 trillion digital future
AfriLabs, the continent’s largest network of innovation hubs, says it has directly supported more than 280,000 entrepreneurs and startups through its expanding footprint, now spanning 519 hubs across 53 African countries and over 220 cities. The numbers, detailed in its 2024 Impact Report, reflect a quiet but substantial scaling of Africa’s tech ecosystem at a time when global venture funding is shrinking and investor interest in emerging markets has cooled. The organisation says it has helped create over 100,000 jobs through a mix of skilling initiatives, innovation support, and ecosystem-building in key markets like Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, and Cameroon. It has also empowered 444 women with business skills and funding access across five countries, and trained 173 young Africans through its Talent4Startups programme with digital skills to enhance career opportunities. “We are deeply committed to ensuring that every African innovator has the resources, the network, and the platform to succeed,” said Anna Ekeledo, AfriLab’s Executive Director. “We’ve enabled startups to access critical resources, build networks, and refine their solutions to address Africa’s most pressing challenges.” In 2024, it expanded its AfriLabs Connect, a pan-African digital platform that now links over 7,000 stakeholders across the continent’s innovation landscape, including startups, academia, governments, and media. Through the platform, founders can access training cohorts, pitch to partners, and collaborate with peers across borders. It also introduced Amari, an AI-powered tool that offers entrepreneurs curated learning content, grant alerts, and operational guidance. One of the organisation’s impacts was the implementation of Llama 3.1, an AI Hackathon, which gathered over 100 tech talent from across Sub-Saharan Africa to co-create solutions addressing social challenges, including gender equity and language inclusion. Participants who were mentored were tasked to use open-source AI models to develop tools that promote inclusivity, reduce regional bias, and tackle real-world problems. Funded by Meta and The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the hackathon saw 19 emerging solutions developed by 19 teams. The report mentioned that the top eight teams have advanced to the next phase of the program, where they will receive additional mentorship and potential funding, based on product maturity and market readiness. “The project’s potential to contribute to development is substantial. By addressing gender bias in AI and ensuring linguistic inclusivity, it fosters a more equitable digital ecosystem,” the report said. At the same time, AfriLabs expanded its Greenovations Africa initiative, which supports climate-focused startups tackling issues like clean energy access, sustainable agriculture, and environmental monitoring. The report includes case studies of startups building AI-powered disease detection tools, solar energy platforms for off-grid communities, and agritech platforms improving market access for smallholder farmers. The report also highlights the organisation’s growing list of high-impact partnerships with global technology and development organisations to drive innovation in Africa. These include collaborations with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Intel Corporation, Digital Africa, Meta, Mastercard Foundation, UNDP, and Adaptation Fund. “There is the urgency in securing Africa’s digital independence every day to ensure that our startups have access to capital, our policymakers are shaping favorable regulations, and our innovators have the infrastructure to build world-class solutions,” said Ajibola Odukoya, the organisation’s Chief Operating Officer. Looking ahead, AfriLabs is aiming for scale. The network has set its sights on unlocking $1 trillion in digital economic value over the next decade through its Moonshot Initiative. The report outlines a roadmap for achieving this ambitious target, including deeper investment in data infrastructure, stronger support for local innovation hubs, expanded partnerships, and more inclusive digital participation. “The next phase of Africa’s growth will be defined by the power of its entrepreneurs and the ecosystems we build around them,” Ekeledo said. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
Read More
Japan’s SORA joins Africa’s $12 billion fight against malaria with AI-powered drones
SORA Technology, a Japanese drone-based solutions and aerial technology provider, is expanding its operations to Nigeria and 14 other African countries in a sweeping push to curb malaria using AI-powered drones. Starting August 25, the firm will deploy fleets of fixed-wing drones across high-risk areas, where they will identify mosquito breeding sites and spray larvicides with precision, an approach it says can reduce chemical use by 70% and cut operational costs in half. The expansion comes amid growing urgency for new disease-fighting tools as Africa continues to bear the brunt of the global malaria crisis. The continent accounts for over 90% of global cases and deaths, costing African economies an estimated $12 billion annually. With climate change expanding mosquito habitats and resistance to traditional treatments increasing, SORA’s drone-based Larval Source Management (LSM) model offers a more targeted, tech-driven alternative to wide-area spraying campaigns. With this rollout, SORA will increase its presence in Africa from 6 to 15 countries, including Sierra Leone, Ghana, Benin Republic, Niger Republic, DR Congo, Cote D’Ivoire, Senegal, Nigeria, Malawi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Togo. Each country will receive about 100 drones. The move positions the company to tap into the continent’s growing drone spraying market, valued at around $100 million. It will also bring SORA into direct competition with Zipline Africa, which operates the largest drone service on the continent. But SORA CEO Yosuke Kaneko insists the two companies are more collaborators than competitors. Zipline, with strong operations in countries like Rwanda and Ghana, specialises in rapid, long-range delivery of medical supplies via fixed-wing drones from centralized hubs. SORA’s approach is broader, covering a range of public health efforts, such as mosquito spraying, disease surveillance, and medical deliveries, often integrated into local health campaigns across Africa and Asia. Though malaria control is a key priority, SORA also targets agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors. Its drones are designed for tasks like crop monitoring, pesticide spraying, irrigation, and logistics support. SORA flies fixed-wing drones with AI cameras that scan mosquito breeding areas like swamps, farms, and riverbanks before spraying them. The AI then analyses the images to identify and map high-risk breeding sites. Larvicides—chemicals or biological agents used to kill mosquito larvae— are sprayed with drones only in those specific areas. “We use two types of AI,” said Kaneko. “Imaging AI helps us find and map mosquito breeding sites, while deep learning helps us rank which ones pose the highest risk.” This method, known as Larval Source Management (LSM), has already been deployed in countries like Ghana and Sierra Leone. It reduces insecticide usage by up to 70% and cuts labour and operational costs by around 50%, according to Kaneko, while working with local health ministries, community leaders, and trained residents for local impact and acceptance. Launched in 2018 after early groundwork in 2015, SORA raised $4.8 million in seed funding in March 2025, from investors including Nissay Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, DRONE FUND, and Rheos Capital Partners. The new capital will support the growth of drone operations, improve AI-based disease forecasting, and hire key talent. SORA is also preparing to sell a malaria-focused drone starting in August, and has plans to build an assembly plant in Africa. By year-end, the company aims to reach 100,000 people across the continent. “They’ve always shown interest in drone technology,” Kaneko said of African governments. “But never had the means to implement it. That’s the gap we are helping to close.” Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
Read More
Atsur is solving African art’s provenance problem with blockchain
Art—how we create, store, buy, and distribute it—has taken different forms across several centuries. In 2020, as a rare global pandemic sent the world indoors and forced them to stay digitally connected, blockchain, an emerging technology, powered new obsessions. Among its boldest cultural experiments were non-fungible tokens (NFTs), a technology many believed would forever change how art was owned, valued, and distributed. We saw the headlines: NFT artworks minted millionaires globally. OpenSea, launched in 2017, became the leading NFT marketplace in the US and achieved unicorn status in 2021. Soon, attention turned to Yuga Labs, the company behind “Bored Ape Yacht Club,” which helped define the aesthetics and economics of early NFT culture. But for all the headlines NFT art attracted, it did little to address the problems that have long plagued the African art ecosystem: provenance, protection, and payment. Adaobi Orajiaku, founder of Nigerian art-tech startup Atsur, which launched in 2024 as an NFT marketplace for physical art pieces, saw a way to use blockchain technology to archive physical African art. “Art in Africa is centuries old, but how we manage and protect it hasn’t caught up,” she said. “Unless a Western gallery or collector discovers you, your work can disappear into history, even if it’s great.” Worse, when we fail to preserve these prehistoric works and the oeuvre of remarkable talents, we open the door to an age-old problem: fake artworks become rampant in the market. “Your artwork is a fake” Today, Nigerian art arguably enjoys wider global appeal. Acclaimed 20th century artists and sculptors like Ben Enwonwu, whose bronze sculpture, Atlas, fetched over $500,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in 2021, are finally receiving the international recognition they deserve. Works by Bruce Onobrakpeya, the late Yusuf Grillo, and Peju Alatise have become staples in African modern art sales. But with this soaring demand comes heightened risk; forgery lurks as a Trojan horse, with fake art peddlers standing to profit from the bubble. It doesn’t help that Nigeria’s art and creative sector—which contributed between 0.2% and 2.5% annually to its gross domestic product (GDP) in the last four years since the negative all-time low (-3%) in 2020—is incredibly opaque. Provenance—the documented history of an artwork’s ownership—is often kept informally, sometimes only by memory. In many local galleries, artworks are tracked through handwritten receipts, unverified certificates, and photos saved on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets on desktops. Forgeries can slip through easily without a standard provenance, especially when artworks are resold by auctioneers abroad. In South Africa, where the market is larger and slightly more regulated, specialists estimate forgeries are a bi-weekly occurrence. Nigeria, lacking even that level of oversight, may be worse. This is the problem Atsur wants to solve. “We ask artists and galleries to verify and register works with us. We issue certificates of authenticity and track ownership using blockchain,” Orajiaku explained. “That way, even if the art travels from Lagos to London, the records follow it.” How artwork progresses on Atsur’s platform/Image Source: Atsur/TechCabal The startup is building a system where each artwork’s ownership, sale, and resale history is stored immutably on a decentralised ledger. Galleries can plug into this via Atsur’s web platform, issuing invoices, receiving payments, and embedding commission rules and royalties in smart contracts. For artists, it means no more being cut out of future profits. For collectors, it means confidence that what they are buying is real. Building a business from provenance Atsur is not trying to reinvent how art is made or sold. Instead, it offers a discreet but powerful infrastructure layer beneath existing operations. It works directly with galleries, brokers, and art distributors—the players already shaping Nigeria’s art economy. “We started as a sort of NFT marketplace for physical artworks,” Orajiaku said. “But experienced artists were already tied to galleries. And galleries said they loved our verification system but didn’t want to switch platforms or share collector data. So we pivoted to enabling them instead.” The company operates a business-to-business (B2B) model. When a gallery or broker signs on, they can register artworks through Atsur’s platform built on the Polygon blockchain—with plans to build on Linear next—where each piece is verified. This involves a kind of Know Your Client (KYC) check for buyers and sellers, along with authenticity and provenance verification for artworks. This helps validate the identity, origin, and ownership of the piece. Once the artwork is verified, a certificate of authenticity is issued and stored on the blockchain. Mock design of a Certificate of Authenticity issued on Atsur/Image Source: Atsur From there, the platform facilitates sales by issuing invoices, converting payments into stablecoin on the backend, and distributing funds through smart contracts. These contracts automatically assign and distribute commissions to everyone with a stake in the transaction—from artists to brokers to gallery owners. This resale infrastructure is central to Atsur’s value. When an artwork is resold, royalties and commissions are automatically enforced and tracked. This guarantees that artists and other rights-holders continue to benefit financially each time their work changes hands. Revenue model The company earns its revenue through these commission structures. Each transaction processed on the platform includes a fee that supports Atsur’s operations. Additional income comes from issuing certificates of authenticity, a service that individual artists or collectors can access even if they are not currently selling the work. Transactions are backed on Polygon due to the blockchain’s low cost and high interoperability. “A lot of our fees are mainly via commissions,” Orajiaku said. “We are enforcing resale royalties, we’re enforcing all these sales. We are enforcing tracking of the artwork such that if you wanted to resell it, you have records to resell it.” While Atsur plans to support direct-to-collector services in the future, it initially chose the B2B route for two reasons: it offers better scale and more effectively supports provenance tracking. Second, working with galleries, the natural gatekeepers in art sales, means Atsur can onboard multiple artworks in one go and reliably document ownership transitions. “We are building soft infrastructure,” Orajiaku said. “It may not look sexy
Read More
👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Canal+ gets approval for MultiChoice takeover
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy pre-TGIF. Our editor made a comment about the Canal+ and MultiChoice conditional deal which rocked the internet yesterday. He compared it to Rupert Murdoch acquiring CNN; it’s big big. This has been a long, patient play in the making, and finally, Canal+, the Vivendi-owned French streaming giant, now has the opening it has been looking for since 2020. What does this mean for Africa’s pay-TV content? Guess we’ll find out. Let’s get into today’s dispatch. Canal+ gets conditional approval for $2 billion MultiChoice takeover BasiGo is testing Kenya’s first intercity electric matatus Safaricom adds PayPal mini app to M-PESA’s super app MTN Nigeria introduces 12-week Cloud Accelerator World Wide Web 3 Events M&A Canal+ gets conditional approval for $2 billion MultiChoice takeover Image Source: Canal+ French media giant Canal+has received conditional approval from South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, to acquire the remaining shares of MultiChoice, Africa’s largest satellite TV provider. Why does it matter? Canal’s approved $2 billion takeover offer for MultiChoice is the largest media merger in African history. It will give Canal+ control over major content platforms, including DStv, Showmax, and SuperSport. The Tribunal’s approval will allow Canal+ to move towards full ownership. A third of Canal+’s global subscribers already come from Africa. The deal gives Canal+ a unique opportunity to expand beyond Francophone Africa into Anglophone Africa, where MultiChoice already has 19.3 million subscribers. ICYMI: Canal+ initially got a 6.5% stake in 2020 and steadily increased it to 41.6% by April 2024. According to South African rules, exceeding the 35% threshold meant that the French media company had to make a mandatory offer to buy all the shares it didn’t already own. By December 2024, it made an offer of R125 ($7.14) per share for Multichoice. The deal had received an approval recommendation from the Competition Commission in May 2025, but was now subject to approval by the Competition Tribunal. State of play: The tribunal’s approval is subject to some key conditions: a R26bn ($1.48 million) package that supports the participation of firms managed by Historically Disadvantaged Persons (HDP) and SMEs in South Africa’s audio-visual industry for the next three years. MultiChoice Group will also establish a new domestic unit called LicenceCo to meet a regulatory requirement that prohibits foreign entities from owning more than 20% of a South African broadcasting licence. Big picture: Canal+‘s acquisition of MultiChoice plays into its broader strategy to increase its subscriber base and position itself as a global media contender by expanding across Africa and Asia markets. For MultiChoice, this acquisition could bring essential capital to boost some of its ventures and local innovation needed to ensure its continued success in an increasingly competitive environment. Paying 2% or more on every transaction adds up fast. For businesses in e-commerce, logistics, travel, fintech, and more, every naira counts. Fincra helps you save more with 1% NGN fees capped at ₦300. Ideal for high-value or high-volume transactions. Get started for free with just your email address! Mobile money Safaricom adds PayPal mini app to M-PESA’s super app Image Source: M-PESA Safaricom wants to make it easier for freelancers and remote workers to access their money. The company has introduced a PayPal mini app inside the M-PESA super app to allow easier access to funds earned abroad. But make no mistake, Safaricom is eyeing a larger share of Kenya’s fast-growing digital freelance economy. Before now, withdrawing from PayPal to M-PESA was slow and clunky. Users had to bounce through a separate web portal with multiple logins and browser redirects. Now? A few taps on the app, and your funds are in, often within two hours. But the speed comes at a cost. To access this new service, users will pay a 3% withdrawal fee, a 4% top-up fee and currency conversion charges. M-PESA also caps single transactions at $1,938 and has an account balance limit of $3,875. If you compare that with Equity Bank’s PayPal withdrawal service, which handles up to $10,000 per transaction, M-PESA’s convenience looks a bit pricey. Although Kenyans have also turned to Wise and Payoneer to receive international payments, citing better exchange rates and fewer restrictions, PayPal remains dominant. Maybe it will come down to exchange rates, transaction volumes, or how desperate Kenyans are for liquidity. Zoom out: By bringing PayPal into the M-PESA app, Safaricom is meeting foreign currency earners right at the source, offering a faster way to cash out, and positioning itself to lock in more transaction volume. At a time when the mobile money market is shifting, if Safaricom becomes the go-to for cross-border payments, it might just be where its next revenue bump comes from. Paga Engine powers the boldest ideas in Africa “Across various use cases and industries, Paga Engine provides reliable rails for your business needs to run smoothly and grow sustainably.” – Tayo Oviosu. Read the full article. Mobility BasiGo is testing Kenya’s first intercity electric matatus 4NTE Sacco chairman Wilfred Kimotho (left) and Basigo Managing Director, Moses Nderitu charge an electric minivan at Nyahururu bus station in Laikipia County/Image Source: BasiGo BasiGo is hitting the throttle on Kenya’s clean transport future. The Nairobi-based electric mobility startup has launched Kenya’s first electric matatu pilot programme on inter-city routes. Matatus are vibrant, music-blaring minibuses that are central to public transportation in Kenya. This pilot may be powered by BasiGo’s recent $41.5 million fundraise in October 2024, which aimed to expand local EV assembly and operations. BasiGo is betting on the success of this pilot program to scale its operations and achieve its dream of supplying over 1,000 across Kenya. How will this work? BasiGo will partner with two transport Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (Saccos)—4NTE and Manchester Travellers Coach— to deploy three e-vans (types). These e-vans, which have a 300km range on a single charge and a 90-minute recharge time, will ply three popular corridors outside the country’s capital. The vans will be powered by BasiGo’s “Pay-As-You-Drive” lease model, which lowers the
Read More