South African fintech iKhokha “to run as per normal” after Nedbank’s $93 million acquisition, says CEO
When Nedbank, one of South Africa’s largest banks, announced that it had agreed to acquire iKhokha for about R1.65 billion (over $93 million) on August 13, the news was not just the price tag that drew attention; it was what the deal represented. A thirteen-year-old fintech startup, built in Durban to serve the needs of South Africa’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), was about to be folded into one of the continent’s oldest and most traditional banking institutions. Nedbank’s acquisition of iKhokha is part of the lender’s strategy to strengthen its digital offering and SME banking edge. By combining mobile payment technology from iKhokha with the scale of Nedbank, the deal aims to give small businesses better tools, financial inclusion, and extend Nedbank’s reach. Matthew Putman, co-founder of iKhokha, told TechCabal that the answer to what comes next is growth, not just integration into a big bank. “The business will continue to run as per normal,” he said. “We will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Nedbank, but we will keep our brand, our staff, and our independence. For our merchants, nothing changes, except that now we have a big brother and new opportunities to expand what we offer.” Pricing and product shifts are still off the table until after regulatory approvals are completed, but Putman says the focus is more on expanding services rather than changing existing ones. “The things our merchants love—our ease of onboarding, the products, the level of care—none of that will change,” he said. “If anything, they will gain access to more products and services on the back of Nedbank’s capabilities. This is very much a growth story.” Acquisitions often come with fears of culture clashes, brand erosion, and loss of entrepreneurial edge. In Canal+’s takeover of Multichoice, local creators feared the shifting of African roots and reduced support for African content. But Putman says Nedbank made it clear that they value iKhokha’s unique identity and the brand would remain intact. “The Nedbank leadership team was very clear in communicating that they respect what we have built, our platform, our brand, our way of serving merchants,” he said. “They are not looking to change our successful formula. If anything, they want to invest in the growth story, capitalising on iKhokha’s unique brand positioning in the SME market.” iKhokha will continue to operate under its name, led by the same executive team. Its staff remain in place, as does its diverse merchant base. Informal traders and small shop owners who adopted iKhokha for its simplicity and care will see no disruption, according to Putman. Why Nedbank? iKhokha began in 2012 with a simple but disruptive goal to help informal traders and SMEs accept digital payments. In a country where cash still dominates and SMEs often struggle to access affordable financial tools, iKhokha carved out a niche with low-cost card readers and user-friendly onboarding. Over the years, the company has grown into one of South Africa’s leading digital payments and merchant services platforms for SMEs. Putman noted that iKhokha has, for many years, partnered with Nedbank for payment processing and transactional banking. But beyond that history, the bank’s leadership and the fintech’s founders share a vision of convergence in banking and payments that creates new opportunities when combining the forces of a scaled fintech and a Big Four bank. iKhokha co-founder, Puttman. Image Source: South African Business Integrator. “Having built the business over the last thirteen years, making sure that the home we chose was going to be a good one was very important,” he said. “Through our interactions with the Nedbank team, we have built strong trust and a professional working relationship, which made this partnership a natural step.” What the acquisition brings For iKhokha, the acquisition opens a door to markets it could never have entered alone. “Nedbank brings pieces of the puzzle we did not have, like deep banking knowledge, a strong balance sheet, and complementary distribution channels, while we bring digital innovation and our SME merchant network. Together, we can build one platform that better serves SMEs.” Nedbank, which serves 7.6 million clients in South Africa, brings significant distribution heft with more than 4,100 ATMs, up to 400 branches, and over 110,000 point-of-sale devices. The bank counts 3.2 million retail clients, including 2.8 million on its Money App, where digital transactions jumped 15% in June. Beyond its home market, Nedbank is ramping up investment across the Southern African Development Community and East Africa as it seeks to lift earnings outside South Africa and cement its position in the continent’s emerging markets. For iKhokha, that “distribution in South Africa is complementary for both businesses,” Putman notes. “But another key strategic play is the ability to use Nedbank’s work in other markets across Southern Africa, East Africa, and take iKhokha’s model to SMEs across the continent.” Access to credit has always been a major challenge for small businesses in Africa, with only 20%-30% of these businesses with access to formal credit, according to Finmark Trust. With Nedbank’s balance sheet of total assets of R1.4 trillion (about $75 billion) as of December 2024, behind it, iKhokha could evolve from a payments partner into a full financial services platform for SMEs, helping traders not just to collect money, but to grow. “Banking and payments are starting to merge. By combining Nedbank’s balance sheet and their banking, financial services, and payments licensing and expertise with our tech-driven distribution, we can create a platform that actually meets SMEs where they are, ” Putman said. The acquisition is also a signal to the wider fintech ecosystem. Consolidation is accelerating, fueled by rising fintech competition, digital demand, inclusion pressures, shifting regulations, and the threat of global tech entrants. In January, Stitch, a digital payment fintech, acquired ExiPay and later acquired Efficacy Payments in July to expand its payments offering. As banks grapple with the rise of fintechs, some choose to build in-house, while others, like Nedbank, opt for acquisition. The deal still requires the standard regulatory approvals. But in the
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What do investors mean when they say founders should build for Africa?
Like many early-stage founders seeking capital today, Dipo Ojo, founder of Trippa, a logistics startup, has been inundated with investor advice to “build for Africa.” Since he started fundraising in April, investors have urged him to demonstrate traction, prove scalability, and show that his marketplace model can quickly work across multiple markets. While it is unrealistic to expect every African startup to follow the same blueprint since the continent’s markets are too diverse for a one-size-fits-all model, investors have been consistent in demanding sustainability and global reach, according to the founders I spoke to for this story. “From where I stand, investors talk of building for Africa, but what they often really want to see is a clear path to scale across regions,” Ojo said. “It’s all about solid unit economics now, and they’re paying close attention to how you plan to navigate regulation, because hoping the government plays nice is not a strategy.” Across multiple sectors, investors now expect startups to prove their ability to scale globally, regardless of where they were founded. The irony is that company ideation, formation, product development, and customer relations remain deeply shaped by local contexts. Yet, investors want founders to act locally to solve problems but think globally from the first day. “Founders should focus on building solutions that solve fundamental problems for people who can pay for them – whether that’s in Africa, Europe, or America,” said Uwem Uwemakpan, head of investment at Launch Africa, a pan-African firm with over 133 startups in its portfolio. “What matters most is having a scalable business model with a clear path to expand your customer base over time.” 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 For founders, a scalable business model means accounting not just for the cost of building their product but also the infrastructure it must run on, which is often expensive, underdeveloped infrastructure that startups themselves must create or subsidise. “Your business model must allow you to profitably cover these costs while serving your customer,” said Samuel Frank, an associate at Sahara Impact Ventures, a $30 million fund. “It will show if you are building with operational and cost efficiency in mind when your business model is put under the microscope.” But to “build for Africa” means different things depending on the investor. Venture capital is a highly opinionated business, and preferences diverge. Some investors push startups to expand into multiple markets quickly, while others argue the real prize lies in dominating the home market. The latter points to examples like Interswitch, which still earns over 95% of its revenue from Nigeria despite having expanded beyond the country since 2011. “The problem you’re solving has to be big enough. If your local market is not big enough to build a significant business as your primary market, then I’d ask whether you should even be building. If you have to expand just to make $10 million, then there’s no point,” said Fisayo Durojaiye, a startup investor. One consequence of the building for Africa thinking is that investors across Africa now overwhelmingly back startups that solve immediate problems and generate revenue from day one, citing the continent’s relatively small, price-sensitive consumer base. That bias toward early revenue comes with a cost, widening the funding gap for pre-revenue startups—those still in product development or experimenting with models—that could otherwise mature into category-defining businesses. However, with many
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Using AI, these 5 African startups make assistive tech more accessible
Assistive technology in Africa has long been expensive, hard to maintain, and poorly suited to local needs. Screen readers can cost thousands of dollars, prosthetics, tens of thousands more, and spare parts often have to be shipped from abroad. Local technicians are rarely trained to repair devices, and software struggles with local languages, leaving many tools unusable for the people who need them most. For millions of Africans with disabilities, this has meant exclusion by design. That is starting to change. A new generation of African startups is designing assistive technology from the ground up, using AI to make devices smarter, more adaptive, and easier to use. AI helps improve text-to-speech and translation for local languages, customise prosthetics and mobility aids, and deliver real-time feedback for users. The market, valued at $523 million in 2023 and expected to reach $1.076 billion by 2030, is growing fast. These locally designed solutions are more affordable and often outperform imported devices. This is about more than products. It is about local innovation, economic independence, and reshaping who drives Africa’s technological future. Here are five startups leading the transformation. Cure Bionics (Tunisia) Cure Bionics built the Hannibal Hand—an AI-powered, 3D-printed bionic arm that uses myoelectric sensors to read muscle signals and learns from user behavior. Users train with the prosthetic through a VR app called Myo Link, making the process gamified and accessible. The device delivers tactile feedback and charges via solar panels, crucial for regions with unreliable electricity. Founded in 2018 by Mohamed Dhaouafi, Cure Bionics has recognition from Forbes 30 Under 30, MIT Innovators Under 35, and other major programs. By combining local manufacturing with AI-driven personalisation, they’re bringing prosthetic costs down to around US$8,000, a fraction of traditional alternatives which go for US $50,000. The company has secured over $75,000 in funding through a mix of grants and accelerator programs including the Tony Elumelu Foundation, European Investment Bank, the PHI Science Institute, Investing in Innovation (i3), Qualcomm’s Make in Africa program, and the Remarkable Accelerator. 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 Vinsighte (Nigeria) Vinsighte (Visis) is a Nigerian EdTech startup giving visually impaired persons access to education through its Visis app, which uses AI-powered OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to scan text and read it aloud. Unlike conventional screen readers, it is built for African contexts, handling local accents and multiple languages. Founded in 2020 by Oluwatomisin Kolawole and Oyolola Caleb, the company began by deploying 35 units across eight schools, reaching over 5,000 learners. It now says its technology has touched more than 15,000 people in Nigeria. Vinsighte combines hardware with affordable subscriptions, making it accessible to schools that cannot afford costly imports. The startup has drawn support from the ₦1 million Art of Technology grant, the Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship, Orange Corners, MIT Solve [ED], Starta, Gener8tor, and CcHub. It reports generating more than $165,000 in revenue, and in 2023 was featured by the Paris Peace Forum as an impact project showcasing inclusive education technology from Africa. Signvrse (Kenya) Signvrse is a Kenyan startup rethinking how deaf communities access information. Its core product, Terp 360, turns spoken or written words into sign language using AI-driven motion capture and hyper-realistic avatars. The company was founded in 2020 by Elly Savatia, who first took it through Innovate Now, Africa’s assistive-tech accelerator. Since then, Signvrse has picked up a Presidential Innovation Award, joined
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Digital Nomads: From a cushy KPMG role to starting afresh in a new country
As a child, it was not unusual for Wilson Dike’s friends to travel outside the state, moving in and out of the neighbourhood for one reason or another. Separated, they developed a “pen pal” culture, writing letters to one another to stay in touch. But letters took weeks to deliver, and replies came back even slower. Then came the email. He remembers the thrill of sitting in a cybercafé, sending a message to a friend, and seeing their response appear instantly on his screen. That moment, small as it seemed, opened his eyes to what technology could do. He graduated from college with a degree in information technology but went into consulting. “I started as a consultant in one of the top 4 firms [at KPMG] in the world,” said Dike. “I worked at a Lagos office, but I always knew I was going to eventually work in IT.” Even in his early career, he had a clear sense of where the future was headed. He saw how businesses were shifting from owning entire operating systems to subscribing to services. He saw how the cloud was emerging as the next great platform for companies everywhere. “I knew that cloud was going to be a big thing in the future where people had full-on control of their security and access,” he said. 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 Consulting days Dike spent a little over two years at KPMG, where he worked on tax automations and computations for corporations in Nigeria. His work exposed him to the challenges of multinational companies, mid-sized firms, and indigenous businesses trying to operate across multiple tax regimes. It gave him perspective on how businesses function in different environments. That experience would later prove valuable. In 2015, he quit consulting and joined a software company with operations across Africa as a sales lead. Here, Dike’s consulting experience in multi-legislative contexts became invaluable. Soon, he was on planes across the continent: Ghana, Togo, Benin, Kenya, South Africa. He spent long stretches attending Big Tech events, onboarding clients, running demos, and putting out fires in markets where his company’s products were in use. But consulting knowledge alone could not carry him. Moving into sales meant starting again. He went through company-sponsored training, shadowed senior colleagues, and picked up experience directly in the field. At times, he was sent outside Africa to countries like the UAE and Kuwait, where he assisted with product training and supported local teams. It was at this company that Dike began to find his feet as a tech salesperson. Pulling weight in tech sales After a few years, Dike joined a UK-based cloud infrastructure company, his first role outside Nigeria. The firm was small—barely two years old—and was looking for ways to expand into Africa. Dike understood what they wanted to achieve, and he knew the market well. “Being Nigerian, I had a fair knowledge of the market,” he said. “And I already had relationships that could be leveraged.” He built a sales playbook to capture the strategy. Soon, the company secured its first multi-million-dollar deal in Sub-Saharan Africa. With that, the floodgates opened. Contracts, new clients, and expansion into new markets. Before long, Dike was leading the company’s sales and country expansion across Africa. Yet, as the business grew, he was planning his next move. Get the best African tech newsletters in your
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“You need believers more than résumés”: Day 1-1000 of Pharmarun
I first met Teniola Adedeji, CEO and co-founder of Pharmarun, at a health tech panel discussing the early days of launching Pharmarun. She told the audience that Pharmarun started with one simple observation: no single pharmacy ever had everything a patient needed. “People would wait, substitute, or send relatives across cities just to find medicine,” she says. That pain point became the seed of a platform now connecting 1,000 pharmacies and serving over 115,000 Nigerians. Adedeji is my guest on today’s edition of Day 1–1000. She tells TechCabal how Pharmarun grew from a WhatsApp lifeline during COVID to a nationwide healthcare platform. This is the story of Pharmarun as told to TechCabal. Day 0: A name before its time I’ve always known I wanted to run a pharmacy business. What I didn’t know was how restless I’d feel inside the four walls of a traditional community pharmacy. In 2020, I scribbled a name—Pharmarun—registered it, then tucked it away. I didn’t have a business yet, just a conviction that one day I would reimagine how people in Nigeria accessed medicine. At that time, I had a half-formed dream: something like Jumia, but for pharmacies. It wasn’t grounded in problem-solving yet. It was simply the vision of a different way to practice pharmacy. The problem revealed itself during COVID. Pharmacies rarely had all the medications patients needed. Customers begged for substitutions, waited days for stock to arrive, or sent relatives across cities and villages with shopping lists that felt like lifelines. Because I was in pharmacy networks, I knew where to find even the most elusive items. On WhatsApp, friends would message me: “My dad’s pharmacy is closed. He needs this drug urgently. Can you help?” I could. And soon it wasn’t just one or two people. It was 20. Then 50. That WhatsApp “side service” became the proof point: this wasn’t just a favor. It was a problem worth solving. 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 Day 1: Day One with Lola By late 2021, I began to think seriously about scale. My best friend, Lola, was a product manager at MAX, the logistics startup. I would pick her brain endlessly: How do we test this? Can we build a simple site? How do we know if there’s demand? At first, I hesitated to ask her to join me—her career was flourishing, and I didn’t want to drag her into uncertainty. But eventually, it was obvious: we did everything else together; why not this? In 2022, Lola became my co-founder. That was Day One. We launched a Wix website, opened social media pages, and waited. The response was immediate. Strangers—not just friends of friends—were asking us to source their medications. The problem was real, and people were ready to pay for the solution. The first month was chaotic. Most orders still came through WhatsApp, and Lola and I did the legwork ourselves. I’d dash out of the pharmacy to pick up meds, while she juggled logistics and customer updates. We weren’t just running a startup; we were delivery drivers, customer service reps, and pharmacists rolled into one. I remember thinking: If this feels this hard now, maybe we’re onto something real. Day 50: First pitch deck We built our first deck which was very messy. We applied for a fund run by Eloho and Odun. We didn’t understand valuations, problem statements,
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MTN, Airtel bet $400 million on Naira-priced cloud to woo startups
MTN and Airtel are investing nearly $400 million (₦613.81 billion) to expand beyond voice and data to offer core startup infrastructure such as cloud and AI services. Their goal is to become startups’ go-to providers in a market still ruled by AWS, Google Cloud, and Azure. By pricing in naira, promising AI-grade compute power, and running accelerator programmes, they hope to keep millions of dollars in tech spending from flowing overseas. AWS already bills in naira, but “there is a difference between charging in naira and being priced in naira,” said Lynda Saint-Nwafor, MTN’s chief enterprise business officer. The move also pits them against rising local providers like Nobus Cloud and Layer3, who gained ground after the naira’s sharp fall in 2023. Unlike MTN and Airtel, these smaller players do not own their infrastructure and rely on open-source platforms like OpenStack. Telcos believe their ownership of the entire stack — from infrastructure to service — gives them a pricing and performance edge. MTN targets startups with affordable cloud storage, local compute power, and naira-based billing. Airtel is betting on AI workloads, investing in hyperscale infrastructure built for massive data processing. Together, they believe they have enough to win over startups. MTN’s cloud ambition When MTN announced in June 2024 that it was building a Tier 4 data centre, its then chief technical officer, Mohammed Rufai, said, “Our facility will provide the space and services needed, enabling companies to digitalise their operations and improve efficiency.” This hinted at how the telco was thinking about its facility, so when MTN’s Saint-Nwafor recently revealed that Nigerian businesses spent $600–$850 million on cloud services in 2024, it became clear that the telco intends to be bullish on cloud services. According to Mordor Intelligence, Nigeria’s cloud computing market will hit $1.03 billion in 2025, reaching $3.28 billion by 2030. Statista expects the public cloud segment alone to generate $1.63 billion in 2025. Most of this becomes capital flight, with AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud — which together accounted for 65% of the $90.9 billion spent globally on cloud services in Q1 2025 — claiming the lion’s share. Since the 2023 devaluation, startups have faced growing pressure as naira revenues struggle to match rising dollar costs. The currency has slumped from ₦471/$ to ₦1,534.52/$ ₦1,534.52/$ as of August 14, 2025. “When the dollar devaluation happened, a lot of dollar expenses went up, and most startups’ expenses went up,” said Aaron Sotunde-Adesina, CEO of Quonos. MTN wants to turn this pain into an opportunity by pricing in naira, undercutting global rates by 15–20%, and hosting workloads locally to cut latency and strengthen data sovereignty. So far, it has invested $120 million, with another $135 million planned. “Our cloud is crafted for Nigerian startups, enterprises, and public institutions,” says Ifeanyi Otudor, senior consultant, MTN Enterprise Solutions. Alongside enhanced cybersecurity, the platform supports self-orchestration, allowing customers to provision and scale resources as they would on AWS or Google Cloud. Sotunde-Adesina believes adoption will depend on performance: “If it is cheap and works, people will adopt it. If it doesn’t work or isn’t reliable, it will be a big struggle.” He notes that local providers have historically failed to match foreign reliability. Shifting to a new cloud platform will be a learning curve for startups. “It might not take a while. We have young and new developers coming up. They’ll be native to it,” he added. The telco will still face stiff competition from global giants offering incentives. Google, through its African startup accelerator programme, has provided over $5 million in equity-free funding and cloud credits to startups since 2018. In April 2025, Amazon CTO Werner Vogels visited Lagos, pledging, “Amazon wants to follow where the talent is.” MTN is countering with its accelerator programme, offering up to ₦100 million in grants and incentives for growth-stage startups. “We want Africa’s future to be powered by MTN’s cloud,” said Saint-Nwafor. In 2019, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) introduced a Cloud Computing Policy to encourage public organisations and SMEs to use local providers. Kashifu Inuwa, director general of NITDA, reiterated this at the launch of MTN Cloud, saying, “This is an opportunity to show the world we are ready to build sovereign cloud infrastructure.” Abia State is already on MTN Cloud, but the telco’s broader ambition remains startups. Airtel’s AI bet In March 2024, Airtel broke ground on a 38-megawatt hyperscale data centre in Eko Atlantic, currently valued at $120 million and counting. Hyperscale facilities, typically housing at least 5,000 servers, are engineered for massive workloads like generative AI. When completed in 2026, it will be Nigeria’s first hyperscale data centre, and Airtel plans to leverage this advantage. “We are building at a hyperscale level, designed for the new server loads that modern infrastructure demands,” said Ogo Ofomata, director of Airtel Business, at a recent media gathering. CEO Dinesh Balsingh added: “If you want to make transformational change, we are talking about high-capacity data centres, which can take the load of artificial intelligence that Nigeria needs.” Unlike traditional data centres, AI-ready facilities depend on high-performance GPUs instead of CPU servers, offering builders computing power combined with advanced storage, networking, and cooling needed at scale. The facility has already received its first GPUs for AI model training. While the telco may have its heart in the right place, attracting startups will be challenging. “I want to move off AWS, but my CTO and backend engineer favour it as the best for building an AI company,” said Adeboye Idowu, CEO of 3Rings, an AI startup. AI could add $15 billion to Nigeria’s GDP by 2030, yet, according to Oxford Insights, the country’s AI infrastructure index stands at just 42.67. In Nigeria’s draft National AI Strategy, stakeholders emphasised that the vision depends on affordable, localised compute infrastructure. “The current era of AI requires modern data centres with accelerated computing, data and model stacks. Consequently, Nigeria’s data centre infrastructure needs to be upgraded and scaled to meet the demands of AI research
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7 African startups rethinking bookings, AI, credits, and commerce to watch
Startups on Our Radar is a bi-weekly column that highlights emerging startups across Africa taking fresh, unconventional approaches, filling fundamental gaps, and creating real value. Know a founder we’d love to feature? Nominate them here. In our previous edition, we featured 10 game-changing startups pioneering ride-hailing, seafarming, and CO₂ reduction. Expect the next dispatch on August 22, 2025. Let’s dive into this week’s picks. 1. Kindlybook — Free, seamless booking & payment software (Booking‑tech, Nigeria) What they do: Launched in 2024 by Charles Dairo, Kindlybook offers a free appointment scheduling platform tailored to service‑based businesses (salons, spas, fitness trainers, consultants), enabling clients to pick slots and pay upfront—complete with SMS/email reminders. Why we’re watching: What sets this company apart is the founder’s background. Before this, they ran an agency that developed bespoke SaaS solutions for businesses, so they know exactly what it takes to ship real products, solve customer pain points, and scale software across different markets. Kindlybook has the potential to become the pan-African leader for appointment scheduling, built natively for the realities of Africa’s informal economy. 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Wetrocloud — Plug‑and‑play RAG APIs for AI applications (AI‑infra, Global/Africa) What they do: Founded by Divine Erhomonsele, Michael Aluko, Jeremiah-louis Obobairibhojie, Afolabi Sokeye, and Einstein Ebereonwu in 2024, Wetrocloud is building the AI stack that automation experts use to power the future of AI-driven business workflows. Branded as the “AI Stack for Automations,” Wetrocloud provides a unified set of APIs for data scraping, data extraction, Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), and more, allowing automation engineers to integrate LLMs and intelligent systems into their business logic with ease. Instead of stitching together fragile scripts or juggling scattered tools, teams now use Wetrocloud to plug AI capabilities directly into the workflows they’re already building, simplifying what used to take weeks into minutes. Why we’re watching: Wetrocloud isn’t trying to be the automation tool; it wants to become the essential toolkit behind all of them. Just as Stripe powers payments and Twilio powers messaging, Wetrocloud is emerging as the go-to infrastructure layer for AI automation. With deep expertise across cloud and artificial intelligence, the founding team is building with the automation experts in mind, someone who doesn’t need another platform UI, but clean, scalable APIs that “just work.” In a world where every business wants AI to power their internal workflows, Wetrocloud is betting big on enabling the automation experts to make it happen, and they might just be right. 3. Storipod — Micro‑blogging “Stori” platform meets creator marketplace (Social‑tech, Nigeria/US) What they do: Storipod is a mobile-first microblogging platform designed for storytelling in short, serial “Stori” formats—think WhatsApp‑status meets Substack. It supports monetization through locked content and creator tools. African content creators often struggle to monetize text-based stories. Storipod integrates audience engagement with paid content access, monetization, and community tools. Why we’re watching: There’s a world where writing platforms finally work for African creators. Storipod is building that world. Just like the way Substack is changing the game for creators globally, Storipod wants to do the same for Africans. With 64,000 users and early Nigerian creator success stories, it’s building a new social‑writing ecosystem. 4. gamp — Device insurtech + repair service (Insurtech, Nigeria) What they do: gamp offers end-to-end insurance protection for phones, laptops, and other consumer electronics in Nigeria—covering accidental damage and repairs. gamp also provides a
Read MoreComparing virtual dollar cards in Nigeria (2025)
Table of contents Chipper Cash Geegpay Cardtonic Dantown Eversend ALAT by Wema Bank In 2022, a crippling dollar shortage forced Nigerian banks to suspend or severely limit international transactions on Naira debit cards, making it nearly impossible for freelancers, digital marketers, students abroad, and remote workers to pay for global services. Fintechs like Chipper, Payday, and Barter by Flutterwave quickly filled the gap with virtual dollar cards, providing short-term relief for subscribers to Canva Pro, Netflix, Upwork, and more. But regulatory scrutiny, funding delays, hidden FX spreads, and unpredictable fees soon turned many of these platforms into unreliable stopgaps. In 2025, Nigerian commercial banks began reactivating international spending using Naira cards, though often with tight spending limits, some capped at $500 per month. This guide blends research, firsthand testing, and user insights to help you navigate what remains a volatile landscape, where the key isn’t just finding a card that works, but one that will continue to work tomorrow. Virtual dollar card providers in Nigeria (2025) Here’s a closer look at some of the top virtual dollar card options available in Nigeria, based on pricing, limits, user experience, and their compatibility with international platforms. 1. Chipper Cash Chipper Cash is one of the most popular options in Nigeria. It charges a $5 card creation fee and a $1 monthly maintenance fee. The card is reloadable, with a daily limit of $2,500 and a monthly limit of $10,000. The card works for major platforms like Netflix, Apple, Google, Spotify, and AliExpress. “It’s fast and reliable. I’ve never had to wait long for transactions to go through,” says Boluwatife, a B2B and SaaS content writer. But not everyone’s had it as smooth. Jemimah, a master’s student, recalls hitting a wall after deleting her card. “When I tried to create a new one, it wouldn’t let me. I ended up paying another $5 just for support to remove the old card,” she says. 2. Geegpay Geegpay is built for freelancers, remote workers, and people who make international payments regularly. It offers very high spending limits, up to $20,000 per day and $60,000 per month for users at the highest KYC level. Card creation fee: $3 No monthly fees Funding charge: $0.50 per top-up “Compared to Payoneer, Geegpay’s rates are way better. Payoneer’s rates are just poor,” says Afolayan, a Lagos-based graphic designer. Still, the onboarding process can be tough for some. “The signup and KYC process stressed me out. Then my funds were frozen temporarily. They explained it was anti-money laundering compliance, but it was still frustrating,” says Chinenye, a nutritionist in Abuja. 3. Cardtonic Cardtonic started as a gift card platform but now offers a solid virtual dollar card service. Card creation fee: $1.5 No monthly fees Funding fee: 2% per Naira deposit Customers can fund their cards directly from their Naira wallet, and Cardtonic claims to use some of the best available exchange rates. “It takes me less than a minute to fund my card,” says Afolayan. Boluwatife adds, “It works perfectly for paying for X (formerly Twitter) verification.” 4. Dantown Dantown markets its card as the cheapest in Nigeria, and it might be right. Card creation fee: $1 No funding fees No monthly fees There are no official spending limits. Jemimah says: “Mine works fine on AliExpress, Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, and YouTube Premium without issues.” Afolayan also likes the low activation cost:“I’ve rarely experienced card rejections. It’s a solid choice for everyday online payments.” 5. Eversend Eversend gives you more flexibility with currencies, allowing you to hold USD, EUR, and GBP in one wallet. Card creation fee: Free Maintenance: $1/month or a one-time $3 Penalty fee: $0.35 for failed transactions due to low balance But there’s a catch: if your card fails 2–4 times, it may be revoked. “My card was revoked after a series of failed transactions. I wish there had been more warning,” says Chinenye, a nutritionist. Reviews were mixed. Boluwatife praised the company’s support: “The team is responsive.” But Jemimah noted: “Bank transfers can be slow, and exchange rates are sometimes higher than expected.” 6. ALAT by Wema Bank ALAT, Wema Bank’s fully digital platform, lets users manage their finances and make international payments through a virtual dollar card. Card creation fee: ₦2,260 (around $1.5) Funding fee: 2% + ₦100 No annual fees Max balance: $20,000 Afolayan says, “I use ALAT’s card mainly for Facebook Ads and Google Ads. I like knowing it’s backed by a bank, so there’s an extra layer of security.” Chinenye adds, “I can manage everything online without having to visit a branch. For me, it’s the perfect mix of bank trust and fintech convenience.” Other virtual dollar card providers These providers offer alternative features that may fit your specific needs: Bitnob – Best for users who want to spend Bitcoin or convert it to USD. Payday – Good for freelancers and remote workers. It provides virtual accounts and a global Mastercard. Cleva – A new option offering quick card creation and affordable fees. Grey – Offers USD, GBP, and EUR accounts, but some users report slow funding and support issues. UfitPay – Allows international spending of up to $2,000/month and comes with API access for developers. Kuda – Offers only a virtual Naira card, not a dollar card. Be sure not to confuse it with other options. How to choose the right virtual dollar card Everyone has different needs, so the right virtual dollar card depends on how you spend. For people who spend big monthly If you’re a freelancer, remote worker, or digital marketer, look for cards with high monthly limits. Geegpay offers up to $60,000/month for verified users. Chipper Cash allows up to $10,000/month. For people who shop or subscribe online sometimes If you only make a few purchases or pay for subscriptions: Dantown and Cardtonic are great because they don’t charge monthly fees. Eversend charges a one-time fee of just $3. For people who want full banking features If you want more than just a card, ALAT by
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AI in cybersecurity: A double-edged sword for Nigeria’s financial sector
Nigeria’s financial sector is rapidly digitalising, embracing mobile banking, fintech, and digital currencies. While this interconnectedness is a strength, it also creates significant vulnerabilities. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a double-edged sword, offering unprecedented defensive capabilities yet simultaneously empowering sophisticated new threats. As CISO, my focus is on safeguarding sensitive data and critical infrastructure in this escalating AI arms race. The sharp edge of defense: How AI bolsters our security The sheer volume of financial data overwhelms human capacity, making AI indispensable for security. Our institution leverages AI extensively. Advanced threat detection uses machine learning to analyse vast real-time datasets, identifying anomalous patterns in network traffic, user behavior, and transactions. This flags suspicious activities, significantly reducing fraud and detecting “zero-day” attacks. In an attack, automated incident response systems powered by AI can automate initial responses—isolating affected systems or blocking malicious IPs—drastically reducing impact and freeing human analysts for strategic tasks. AI also excels in fraud detection and prevention, where its ability to analyse intricate transaction patterns and detect subtle deviations is invaluable in preventing fraud across all channels. Beyond this, AI revolutionises enhanced customer authentication through biometrics (facial, fingerprint, and voice), offering superior security over vulnerable password-based methods. Our proactive stance is bolstered by proactive vulnerability management, using AI-powered autonomous penetration testing to identify weaknesses before attackers exploit them, enabling proactive patching. Lastly, AI tools automate compliance and risk management, assessing regulatory risks and monitoring cybersecurity law changes, ensuring adherence to crucial frameworks like the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023. The blunting threat: AI as an enabler for cybercriminals While AI offers immense defensive potential, its accessibility means malicious actors increasingly wield it for sophisticated and impactful attacks. We’re witnessing a concerning rise in hyper-realistic deepfakes and voice clones, used to impersonate officials and defraud organisations through social engineering scams. AI also drives advanced phishing and social engineering attacks, crafting highly personalised emails that are harder to detect, increasing risks like credential harvesting. Threats escalate with automated malware generation and evasion, as AI generates novel, evasive malware variants at unprecedented rates, rendering traditional detection obsolete. This adaptive threat is further amplified by reinforcement learning for attack optimisation, where malicious AI learns from defensive responses, constantly refining its strategies. Finally, AI automates various scalable fraud operations, from creating fake accounts to manipulating cryptocurrency markets, dramatically increasing cybercrime efficiency. Navigating the ethical and operational minefield AI adoption in cybersecurity presents unique challenges in the Nigerian context that we must address head-on. A primary concern is data quality and bias, as AI model effectiveness depends entirely on the data it’s trained on; biased data can lead to skewed outcomes or missed threats, making representative Nigerian financial data crucial. Another significant hurdle is algorithmic transparency (explainable AI – XAI), as understanding why an AI system made a decision is vital for compliance and incident response, necessitating a focus on XAI. Furthermore, Nigeria faces a significant talent gap in AI and cybersecurity experts, which can hinder effective implementation and response. While the NDPA 2023 is a commendable step, evolving regulatory frameworks are still developing comprehensive legal guidelines addressing AI’s use and misuse in cybersecurity, which are essential for responsible innovation and risk mitigation. Lastly, the cost of implementation for cutting-edge AI cybersecurity solutions is substantial, especially for institutions managing other technological upgrades and infrastructure limitations. The path forward: A collaborative and proactive Approach As information security leaders, we must navigate this AI-driven landscape with vigilance and strategic foresight. Our path forward involves strategic investment in AI-driven solutions, prioritising those offering advanced threat intelligence, anomaly detection, and automated response, while continuously evaluating their efficacy. Crucially, we must focus on building human capacity, investing heavily in training cybersecurity teams to understand, manage, and leverage AI tools, and fostering data science and machine learning expertise within our ranks. Cross-sector collaboration is paramount; actively engaging with industry peers, regulators (Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission), law enforcement (the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Nigeria Police Force), and local tech innovators to share threat intelligence and best practices will strengthen our collective defense. We are committed to promoting AI governance and ethics, developing internal policies ensuring ethical and responsible AI deployment, focusing on data privacy, algorithmic fairness, transparency, and accountability. Recognising the human element remains a critical vulnerability; employee cybersecurity awareness is key, requiring continuous education for all staff on identifying AI-powered social engineering attempts. Finally, we must foster localised threat intelligence, training AI models on Nigerian-specific fraud patterns and cybercrime tactics, tailoring defenses to our unique landscape. The integration of AI into cybersecurity is a strategic imperative for Nigeria’s financial sector. By fostering innovation, building capacity, and upholding robust ethical frameworks, we can ensure AI serves as a formidable shield, protecting Nigeria’s digital future from cybercrime. Ayowole Popoola is the Chief Information Security Officer at FCMB. He is a results-oriented IT & InfoSec leader with 20+ years protecting business-critical networks and data within the highly regulated financial services industry. 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
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South Africa’s Street Wallet raises $350,000 to expand QR payments for informal traders
Street Wallet, a South African mobile payment fintech, has raised $350,000 (R6.2 million) in funding at a valuation of $2 million (R35.5 million). The raise, led by undisclosed investors, will help the company deepen its reach into South Africa’s informal economy, grow sales, and expand operations nationwide. Founded in 2021 by Kosta Scholiadis, Street Wallet aims to solve what he calls “a simple but critical problem” in the informal economy. The company targets informal traders and service providers, from street vendors to car guards and township shopkeepers—many of whom cannot accept cards or digital payments because of their working environments, unreliable data, and security on the streets. Street Wallet offers vendors lanyard cards with QR codes linked to their profile. Customers who want to pay or give a tip scan the code using their smartphone and pay via Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, SnapScan, Zapper, or Scan-To-Pay. Vendors get instant SMS confirmations, and the day’s takings are converted overnight into Standard Bank Instant Money Vouchers, withdrawable at ATMs or retail partners the next morning. According to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), the country has about 3.9 million unbanked and underbanked, many avoiding formal banking due to costs, complexity, and mistrust. Scholiadis said that Street Wallet is banking on the fact that traders value speed and liquidity above all else. “If a street vendor sells stock today, they need that cash tomorrow to buy more. Waiting two to three days for settlement, as with many POS providers, kills sales momentum,” Scholiadis said. Street Wallet charges a 5% transaction fee in its street market segment, with reduced rates for business-to-business partnerships that bring in large user volumes. Current use cases range from car washes and petrol attendants to tip-based services, with plans to move into tourism and wage disbursements. The South African payments space is crowded with players like SnapScan, Zapper, PayShap, Yoco, and mobile money platforms. But Scholiadis said Street Wallet has carved out a niche in low-cost devices like a QR card instead of an R1,000 (about $57) card machine, and quick access to cash. Street Wallet plans to grow across three verticals, including individual street traders, business-led merchant networks, and wage payments, which the company aims to roll out in Johannesburg by year-end, following its Cape Town and Durban launches. Street Wallet is also building AI-driven analytics tools to give merchants personalised transaction insights without needing a dedicated data team. “This funding is a strong vote of confidence in our vision to empower informal traders,” said Scholiadis. “We are building a financial ecosystem for those left out of the digital economy, and we are just getting started.” 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
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