SASSA September 2026 payment dates: Full schedule
Table of contents The confirmed September 2026 payment dates Why SASSA pays on these dates SASSA grant amounts for September 2026 What about Grant-in-Aid? When does the SRD R370 grant pay in September? What is the fourth payment day for? A few reminders before payday Switch your Postbank Gold Card before September SASSA’s review crackdown continues South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has confirmed its September 2026 payment dates, following its usual three-day staggered schedule, with an additional date for beneficiaries flagged for review. The confirmed September 2026 payment dates Older Persons Grant: Wednesday, September 2 Disability Grant and War Veterans Grant: Thursday, September 3 Children’s Grants (Child Support, Foster Child, and Care Dependency): Friday, September 4 Review and eLife Certification payments: Monday, September 7 These dates come from the Department of Social Development’s 2026/27 payment schedule, approved by the National Treasury. Why SASSA pays on these dates SASSA sticks to a few simple rules when setting payment dates. Grants go out as early in the month as possible. Payments are staggered over three days to ease pressure on the National Payment System and pay points. SASSA also avoids paying on the first of the month, on a Monday, over a weekend, or the day right after a public holiday. September fits neatly into this pattern. There is no need to shift any dates around a weekend or holiday this month, so the schedule falls exactly on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. SASSA grant amounts for September 2026 Grant amounts for September stay the same as the rates that took effect in April 2026: Older Persons, Disability, and Care Dependency Grant: R2,400 War Veterans Grant: R2,420 Child Support Grant and Grant-in-Aid: R580 Foster Child Grant: R1,290 (this rises to R1,300 in October) SRD Grant: R370, unchanged, and extended through March 31, 2027 What about Grant-in-Aid? Grant-in-Aid rides along with the main grant it is attached to, so it lands in your account on the same day as your Older Persons, Disability, War Veterans, or Care Dependency payment. You do not need to look out for a separate date. When does the SRD R370 grant pay in September? The R370 SRD grant follows its own schedule, separate from the three-day system above. SASSA pays SRD grants in batches later in the month, usually from around the 24th through month-end, after checking your details against SARS, UIF, Home Affairs, and your bank. SASSA has not published an exact September window yet, so check your own status through these channels: SASSA’s SRD website: srd.sassa.gov.za WhatsApp: 082 046 8553 USSD: *134*7737# Toll-free line: 0800 60 10 11 What is the fourth payment day for? If SASSA flags your grant for a review or eLife Certification, you may get paid on Monday, September 7 instead of the usual dates. SASSA sends a bulk SMS to let you know if this applies to you. If you get flagged, here is what to do: Visit your nearest SASSA office with your ID and any documents listed in the SMS Complete your review or eLife Certification Keep your personal, banking, and contact details updated Respond quickly if SASSA calls or texts you asking for more information If you ignore the review request, SASSA can suspend your grant in the next cycle and cancel it if the issue stays unresolved. A few reminders before payday Your money stays in your account once it is paid. You do not have to withdraw it on the exact date. Use ATMs or retail stores like Shoprite, Checkers, Pick n Pay, Boxer, and Usave to avoid long queues at SASSA pay points. Keep your banking and contact details current so your payment does not get delayed. Contact SASSA directly if your payment does not arrive when you expect it. Switch your Postbank Gold Card before September If you still use a Postbank Gold Card, switch to the new Black Card before August 31, 2026. Postbank has said this deadline is final. The switch is free and only needs your South African ID or temporary ID. You do not need any forms. You can make the switch at Postbank points inside Shoprite, Checkers, Usave, Pick n Pay, Boxer, and Spar. Dial *120*355# to find a site near you. As of early August, about 250,000 to 280,000 beneficiaries still needed to switch. Social Development Minister Dina Pule has assured beneficiaries that the card transition will not affect their grant payments. SASSA’s review crackdown continues SASSA is still tightening its checks on who qualifies for a grant. By the end of 2025, SASSA had flagged 291,581 beneficiaries for review and cancelled 34,661 grants, saving over R170 million ($10,539,320). The agency cross-checks applicants against South African Revenue Service(SARS), Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), correctional services, and banking and credit bureau records. If you’re applying for the Older Persons Grant, you’ll also need to meet SASSA’s income and asset thresholds. Your monthly income must be below R9,350 if you’re single or R18,700 if you’re married. Your assets must also be worth less than R1,584,000 if you’re single or R3,168,000 if you’re married. Bookmark this page as your go-to guide for SASSA payment dates and grant updates every month. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Jumia bags $50 million
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy pre-TGIF. If someone told you in 2024 that South Africans would soon be paying for coffee with a ring that never needs charging, you would probably have assumed they had spent too much time watching fantasy fiction. Two years later, South Africans might start to do exactly that. VezoPay, the wearable payments startup behind the battery-free tap-to-pay ring, has gone live with Investec and Absa, taking its banking partnerships to four and putting it on track to add a fifth major retail bank before the end of 2026, as it tries to build network effects. Interesting times ahead for contactless payments in South Africa. Let’s dive in. Become smarter about tech and commerce in Francophone Africa, and the policies shaping them. Read our newsletter here first or subscribe below. Subscribe Virtual asset firms to join CBN’s sandbox Jumia secures $50 million equity funding Shoprite’s Sixty60 is having a moment Vodacom taps ex-Airtel CEO to join board World Wide Web 3 Opportunities Cryptocurrency Nigeria’s Central Bank expands sandbox to virtual asset companies Image Source: Tenor Nigeria has decided to bring virtual asset companies into the group chat. If the intention to regulate virtual assets was ever in doubt, the central bank’s decision to expand its regulatory sandbox to operators in the sector has now put any confusion to bed. What happened? The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has opened a dedicated Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) track inside its regulatory sandbox for companies building stablecoins, wallets, custody platforms, payment processors, and settlement infrastructure. Applications are open from August 12 to August 31, and the programme now sits alongside the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) own digital asset incubation framework. Explain like I’m new here: A regulatory sandbox is a supervised test environment where startups can try new financial products with real users under close regulatory oversight before receiving a full licence. It is a controlled proving ground for financial innovation. Between the lines: Nigeria launched a fintech sandbox in 2022, but the first cohort disappeared into a fog of silence with very little public information about admissions, testing results, or outcomes. However, the new version is launching with a broader institutional reset. President Bola Tinubu’s Virtual Asset Council now brings together the CBN, the SEC, the country’s tax authority, intelligence, and national security agencies, suggesting that coordination is replacing the old agency-by-agency approach. Stablecoins are the real signal here. Nigeria is no longer focusing only on crypto exchanges; it is preparing to supervise the infrastructure that moves digital currencies, settles cross-border payments, and could eventually compete with traditional banking rails. Zoom out: If this sandbox produces clear rules and predictable supervision, Nigeria could become one of Africa’s most important testing grounds for regulated stablecoin payments. The bigger question is whether the CBN can do what many regulators struggle to do: move from publishing frameworks to publishing results. Getting paid in cedis just got easier for African businesses operating in Ghana. Fincra now issues dedicated GHS virtual accounts to enable businesses to collect payments. See how Fincra GHS virtual accounts work. Ecommerce E-commerce giant Jumia raises $50 million from IFC, AXIAN Telecom Image Source: Tenor In Q2 2026, Jumia, the e-commerce company, narrowed its quarterly loss from $16.6 million to $11.7 million year-on-year. After years of bleeding cash, its profitability push is beginning to look more convincing. Chief executive officer Francis Dufay has suggested it could come sooner than many expected. What happened? Jumia, the New York-listed African e-commerce company operating in Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and other markets, has secured $50 million in fresh equity funding. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private-sector investment arm, led the round with participation from Axian Telecom, one of Jumia’s largest shareholders—which acquired an 8% stake in the e-commerce company in May 2025—and other investors. Dufay told Bloomberg that the company received more investor interest than it anticipated. Raising $50 million from one of its largest shareholders is a vote of confidence that the company may finally be on the right track after years of losses and leadership shake-ups.. Explain like I’m new here: Jumia spent years trying to grow as fast as possible across the continent. The new strategy is almost the opposite: fewer distractions, tighter spending, and a much stronger focus on markets that can actually make money, especially Nigeria. Between the lines: The numbers in Jumia’s Q2 2026 report tell a more important story than the fundraising headline. The company’s orders rose 28% year-on-year, active customers increased 24%, and gross profit jumped 28%, while the adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) loss narrowed by 36% to $8.7 million. Nigeria was Jumia’s standout market, with gross merchandise value (GMV) up 36% and orders up 34%. One fascinating detail: sales from Chinese and Turkish international sellers grew 96%, suggesting Jumia has fully embraced its identity as a marketplace for affordable imported goods rather than a traditional online retailer with large inventory. Zoom out: The IFC’s involvement matters because development finance institutions rarely write equity cheques into businesses they think are spiralling toward irrelevance. Jumia’s cash position was only $48.3 million at the end of June, so this raise buys time. More importantly, it buys credibility for a company now claiming it can reach breakeven in Q4 2026 and profitability in 2027—or even profitability by Q4 2026, as Dufay told Bloomberg. If Jumia pulls that off, it would mark one of the most significant turnaround stories in African tech in years. Download PalmPay. Bank smarter. With PalmPay, you can bank with confidence. Enjoy seamless everyday banking with security features designed to help protect your money. Send money, pay bills, and manage your finances all in one app. Learn more. Ecommerce Shoprite’s Sixty60 quietly becomes a $1.6 billion digital behemoth Image Source: Zikoko Memes While many traditional retailers struggle to make online delivery profitable, Shoprite, the South African retail giant, has turned its grocery app into a
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Shoprite’s Sixty60 is now a $1.6 billion digital commerce business
Shoprite’s Sixty60 generated R25.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in sales in the year ended June 2026, as the retailer’s on-demand digital platform grew 34.5% during the 12 months. Sixty60 is growing nearly five times faster than Shoprite’s core South African supermarket business, which grew 7.1% over the same period, the Group noted in its operational update on Wednesday. The numbers show how the retailer is turning its vast physical store network into infrastructure for a rapidly expanding digital commerce business. The broader Shoprite Group has almost 3,000 stores across South Africa, giving Sixty60 a vast physical network from which to fulfil online orders. Shoprite reported R270.8 billion ($16.8 billion) in sales from continuing operations, up from R252.7 billion ($15.7 billion) in 2025, adding R18.1 billion ($1.1 billion) in sales. But the standout growth came from its digital commerce platform, which the group said is included in the reported sales of the supermarket’s brands, including Shoprite, Usave and Checkers, during the year. The R25.5 billion ($1.6 billion) generated by Sixty60 represents sales flowing through the digital platform and already captured within the results of the retail brands. “Sales from the segment’s on-demand digital commerce platform Sixty60, included within the reported sales of the underlying retail brands, increased by 34.5%, measuring R25.5 billion ($1.6 billion,” Shoprite said in its operational update. The growth gives Sixty60 a key role in Shoprite’s retail ecosystem. Its R25.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in sales is equivalent to almost 9.4% of the group’s total reported sales, although the company does not report Sixty60 as a separate revenue segment. According to the update, the platform’s rapid growth is happening alongside an aggressive expansion of Shoprite’s physical footprint. Its Supermarkets South Africa (Supermarkets RSA) business, which contributes 84.5% of group sales, opened a net 262 stores during the year, taking its corporate-owned and operated store base to 2,839. That physical network gives Shoprite an advantage in a digital grocery market where delivery speed and proximity to customers are critical. Rather than replacing its stores with an online operation, the retailer is using its existing infrastructure to support digital orders. The contrast in growth rates is stark. Supermarkets South Africa sales grew 7.1%, while Sixty60 sales rose 34.5%. Shoprite’s broader group sales increased 7.2%. Shoprite’s digital growth comes as it keeps prices competitive. In South Africa, the company said its internal selling price inflation was just 0.8% for the year, below the 3.9% inflation recorded for food and non-alcoholic beverages by Statistics South Africa. “Like-for-like sales increased by 2.0%, reflecting the Group’s continued efforts to support customer affordability,” the company stated. At the same time, the supermarket chains’ other brands, Checkers and Checkers Hyper and Checkers LiquorShop, grew sales by 10%, compared with 4.3% for Shoprite and Usave, including Shoprite LiquorShop. The results suggest Shoprite is not replacing physical retail with digital commerce. Instead, it is connecting its store network to digital demand, giving Sixty60 a ready-made fulfillment footprint for its R25.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in sales. Shoprite expects its headline earnings per share from continuing operations to rise between 9.7% and 14.7% for the year. The company will release its full 2026 results on September 1, 2026. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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Vodacom taps former Airtel Africa CEO onto its board
Vodacom is bringing the former chief executive of one of its biggest rivals onto its board, as the telecom group prepares to execute the next phase of its Vision 2030 strategy. Segun Ogunsanya, who led Airtel Africa until his retirement in July 2024, will join Vodacom as an independent non-executive director from October 9, 2026. His appointment gives the South African telecom group an executive who spent more than a decade running a major pan-African telecoms business across 14 countries, as Vodacom expands beyond connectivity into financial services and digital businesses. Vodacom announced the appointment on Wednesday alongside a wider reshuffle of its board, including the departure of two prominent directors and a planned change in its chairmanship. The company said Ogunsanya has more than 35 years of leadership experience across finance, banking, telecommunications and corporate governance. Before joining Airtel Africa in 2012, he held senior roles at Coca-Cola operations in Africa and Ecobank Transnational. “Until his retirement in June 2024, Segun served as the Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Africa PLC, a FTSE 100-listed multinational providing mobile telecommunications and financial services in 14 African countries,” Vodacom said in its statement. The appointment comes as Vodacom positions itself as an African technology company rather than simply a mobile network operator. The group’s latest financial results show the scale of its operations beyond South Africa, with international markets, Safaricom and financial services forming significant parts of the business. The board changes also mark the beginning of the end of Saki Macozoma’s tenure as Vodacom chairman. Macozoma, who joined the board in July 2017, will retire at the company’s annual general meeting on July 20, 2027, after reaching the company’s self-imposed 10-year tenure for board members. Khumo Shuenyane, currently the lead independent director, will succeed him as chairman from July 21, 2027. Vodacom credited Macozoma with overseeing the implementation of its Vision 2025 strategy and the beginning of its Vision 2030 strategy. “Both have heralded a transformational era for the business,” the company said. The board is also losing Phuthi Mahanyele-Dabengwa, the Naspers CEO, who will retire on October 8, 2026, after joining the board in January 2019. She served as chairperson of the Remuneration Committee and as a member of the Nomination Committee. Vodacom said it would announce further changes to its board committees in due course. Clive Thomson, a former Barloworld CEO, will take over as chairman of the Remuneration Committee while retaining his role as chairman of the Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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How to watch Made by Google 2026: Time, channel, and what to expect
Table of contents What time does Made by Google 2026 start Where to watch Made by Google 2026 Who is hosting Made by Google 2026? What Google is expected to announce Why this year’s show looks different What about the Pixel 11 Pro Fold? Catch up if you miss it Made by Google 2026 goes live today, and you can catch the whole event from wherever you are. Here is everything you need: the exact time in your part of the world, where to stream it, and what Google is expected to show off. What time does Made by Google 2026 start Made by Google 2026 kicks off on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, at 6:00 PM ET / 3:00 PM PT. Here is what that looks like in other time zones: US Eastern: 6:00 PM, Wednesday, August 12 US Pacific: 3:00 PM, Wednesday, August 12 UK: 11:00 PM, Wednesday, August 12 Continental Europe: midnight, Thursday, August 13 Nigeria (WAT): 11:00 PM, Wednesday, August 12 Ghana (GMT): 10:00 PM, Wednesday, August 12 South Africa (SAST): midnight, Thursday, August 13 Kenya (EAT): 1:00 AM, Thursday, August 13 India (IST): 3:30 AM, Thursday, August 13 If you are in Nigeria, South Africa, or Kenya, plan to stay up late or set an alarm. Ghana runs an hour behind Nigeria, so keep that in mind if you are watching from Accra. Where to watch Made by Google 2026 You have a couple of solid options for watching the event live: The official Made by Google YouTube channel, which carries the main livestream The Google Store website, which mirrors the same feed Your smart TV, laptop, or game console, since the YouTube stream works on all of them Google’s Keyword blog, which will post updates and announcements as the show goes on Who is hosting Made by Google 2026? Comedian Trevor Noah hosts this year’s show, taking over from Jimmy Fallon, who hosted in 2025. Google’s teaser video also named a long list of guests, including Alex Cooper, Shubman Gill, Stephen Curry, Peggy Gou, JuJu Watkins, PinkPantheress, Chari Hawkins, Steven Gerrard, Daniel Durant, Ayami Nakajo, and Jesser. Being named in the teaser does not guarantee a guest will show up on stage. Last year, Stephen Curry only appeared in a video, so treat the list as a sign of who is involved rather than a confirmed lineup of live appearances. What Google is expected to announce Google already teased two of its new phones in its own videos: the Pixel 11 Pro and the Pixel 11 Pro Fold. It also teased the Pixel Watch 5 in a short clip that pokes fun at other smartwatch designs. You should also expect the standard Pixel 11 and the Pixel 11 Pro XL to round out the phone lineup, even though Google has not teased either one individually yet. A few accessories could show up too, based on leaks rather than anything Google has confirmed: A Pixel Tag, a small tracker similar to Apple’s AirTag, reportedly priced around €34.90 in Europe A new dark green colorway for the Pixel Buds Pro 2 A possible early look at Googlebook, Google’s laptop project A possible teaser for Android XR glasses Specs like the Tensor G6 chip, a new modem, and higher storage numbers have circulated widely, but none of it comes from Google directly, so treat those details as rumors until the event confirms them. Why this year’s show looks different Made by Google 2026 starts later in the day and lands a week earlier on the calendar than the 2025 event did. It also swaps last year’s talk-show-style format, hosted inside Jimmy Fallon’s show, for a standalone, celebrity-driven production hosted by Trevor Noah. What about the Pixel 11 Pro Fold? The Pixel 11 Pro Fold is expected to appear on stage today, but it likely will not go on sale until October, following the same pattern as last year’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Google has not confirmed a release date yet, so this is worth watching once the event ends. Catch up if you miss it A recording of the show will land on YouTube shortly after the event ends, so you can catch every announcement even if the time zone does not work for you. TechCabal will also cover every device Google announces once the event wraps up. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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Nigeria’s central bank opens regulatory sandbox to virtual asset firms
Nigeria has launched a regulatory sandbox for virtual asset operators, fintechs, financial institutions, and technology companies, marking the latest step in the country’s push to coordinate oversight of the country’s fast-growing digital finance ecosystem. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said on Tuesday that applications for Cohort 2 of its Regulatory Sandbox Programme will open on August 12 and close on August 31. The new programme includes a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) track for companies offering stablecoins, payment and settlement services, custody, wallets, and related financial infrastructure solutions. It also includes a second Data-Enabled Financial Services (Non-VASP) track for firms using secure digital infrastructure and permission-based data sharing to improve payments, credit, risk management, operational efficiency, and financial inclusion. The sandbox marks Nigeria’s latest move to regulate the virtual asset industry. The CBN will now oversee virtual assets used for payments, including stablecoins, payment, settlement, custody, wallet management, and other transaction-based infrastructure services. The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will oversee digital assets that behave like securities. The CBN began testing its supervisory approach in March with a pilot involving selected fintechs, including Flutterwave, Paystack, and Juicyway, to assess the stability of payment and cross-border transaction infrastructure linked to stablecoins under closer regulatory monitoring. With the new sandbox, the CBN now has a complementary testing framework alongside the SEC’s Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), which admitted nine digital asset-based investment companies in July. The CBN regulatory sandbox is expected to focus on stablecoin providers, on- and off-ramp companies, payment processors, settlement infrastructure operators, custody platforms, wallet-service providers, and other financial infrastructure firms that support the movement, storage, and conversion of digital assets. “The CBN Regulatory Sandbox provides a controlled environment in which eligible participants may test innovative financial products, services, business models, and enabling technologies under the supervision of the Central Bank,” Sidi-Ali Hakama, CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, said in a statement seen by TechCabal. “The programme enables the CBN and innovators to engage constructively throughout the testing process, supporting regulatory learning while encouraging responsible innovation that benefits consumers and the wider financial system.” The move follows President Bola Tinubu’s July 18 Executive Order to establish a harmonised regulatory authority under the Virtual Asset Council, which the CBN now chairs. As part of that committee, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS)—which released a tax framework for virtual assets on August 3—and the SEC serve as vice-chairs. Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) serve as the other members of the council. The council evolved from a virtual assets white paper in February that proposed a coordinated oversight framework led by the CBN, SEC, and NRS, with the July executive order formalising and modifying that structure. The order was created to harmonise regulation across agencies, close supervisory gaps, strengthen anti-money laundering controls, improve consumer protection, and reduce fraud in a market that has grown rapidly with limited coordinated oversight. Following the establishment of the council, an inaugural meeting was held at the CBN headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, on July 29, signalling that implementation has moved beyond policy design into active institutional coordination. Nigeria remains one of the world’s most active cryptocurrency markets. According to Chainalysis, Nigerians transacted about $92.1 billion in cryptocurrencies between July 2024 and June 2025, making it Africa’s largest virtual assets market by transaction volume. Stablecoins are becoming a bigger part of payments and remittances, as fintechs build infrastructure around stablecoin-based payment rails. The CBN said participation in the sandbox does not amount to a licence or authorisation to operate beyond approved testing parameters. Successful applicants will be required to comply with safeguards covering consumer protection, operational resilience, cybersecurity, and regulatory reporting. “The launch of Cohort 2 reflects the CBN’s continued commitment to developing a transparent, proportionate, and risk-based regulatory environment that fosters innovation while preserving monetary and financial stability,” Hakama said in the statement. “Insights from supervised testing will help deepen regulatory understanding of emerging technologies and inform the ongoing development of regulatory and supervisory frameworks for Nigeria’s evolving digital financial ecosystem.” For crypto operators, the immediate milestone is the application window. It will provide eligible virtual asset companies their first opportunity to enter the CBN’s supervised testing environment under Nigeria’s newly coordinated virtual assets regime. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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MTN expects profits to fall up to 30% as Iran investment takes a hit
MTN Group is making more money from its core telecom business, but its profits are heading in the opposite direction. Africa’s largest telecom operator expects headline earnings per share to fall by as much as 30% in the first half of 2026, even as its underlying earnings rise by up to 23%. The reason is Iran. A large impairment on MTN’s 49% stake in Irancell, an Iranian telecom operator, alongside foreign exchange losses and hyperinflation, is dragging down headline earnings despite stronger underlying performance, according to the company’s trading statement on Tuesday. MTN’s underlying earnings are expected to rise by up to 23%, but a write-down on its Irancell investment, compounded by hyperinflation and foreign exchange losses, is dragging reported earnings lower. MTN said it took a material hit on its 49% investment in Irancell because of geopolitical and economic conditions during the period, including the war in Iran. The impairment losses accounted for 213 cents of the difference between H1 2026 earnings per share and headline earnings per share, compared with 104 cents a year earlier. The Group also recorded 178 cents in non-operational items, up from 12 cents in H1 2025. These included a 52-cent impact from hyperinflation and 126 cents from foreign exchange losses. The result is a sharp decline in reported earnings per share that does not directly reflect the performance of MTN’s underlying telecom operations. Still, MTN said it expects earnings per share for the six months ended June 30 to come in between 377 cents and 431 cents, down 20% to 30% from the 539 cents reported in H1 2025. But that decline masks a stronger underlying performance. MTN projects adjusted headline earnings per share, which the company considers a better measure of operating performance, to rise 18% to 23%, from 657 cents in H1 2025 to between 775 cents and 808 cents. “Overall, the MTN Group delivered a resilient performance, with strong commercial execution and disciplined capital allocation in the period,” the company said in its statement. MTN also reported strong Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) margin expansion, free cash flow growth and cash upstreaming to the Group. MTN said its operations in Nigeria, Ghana and Uganda delivered “solid operational performance” during the first half. Nigeria remains an important growth market, but its fintech business is facing pressure. MTN believes this was partly driven by the regulatory suspension of airtime lending. MTN’s South African business is facing tougher conditions. The group said the country’s prepaid market remained challenging in Q2 2026, particularly for voice revenue. “As previously communicated and expected, the South African prepaid market continued to be tough in Q2 2026, specifically on voice service revenue,” MTN said. MTN is making progress on its proposed IHS acquisition. IHS shareholders voted in favour of the deal on August 4, giving MTN the required two-thirds majority to acquire the 75.3% of IHS it does not already own. The transaction would take MTN’s stake to 100% and result in IHS being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. The company said it expects to publish its full interim results on or about August 24. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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IHS Towers revenue rises 8% as diesel, merger costs squeeze profits
IHS Towers, Africa’s largest independent telecommunications tower infrastructure company, grew its revenue by 8.2% in the first half of 2026, but higher diesel and power costs, along with expenses related to its proposed takeover by MTN Group, put pressure on its profits. Revenue from continuing operations rose 8.2% to $844 million in the six months to June, compared with $780.3 million a year earlier. Revenue also grew 10.4% in the second quarter to $428.6 million, according to the company’s H1 financial report. The results show how rising diesel costs are putting pressure on IHS’s profitability, making cost control increasingly important as the company prepares for its proposed takeover by MTN. Operating income fell 38.4% year-on-year, while net income rose 10.3% in the first half compared with H1 2025. However, IHS swung to a $7.5 million net loss in the second quarter. A major reason was the rising cost of powering its towers. Diesel prices in Nigeria increased sharply during the first half of the year, from an average of ₦1,361.57 ($0.999) per litre in January to ₦3,277.47 ($2.41) in May in some parts of the country. That rise in diesel prices fed directly into IHS’s power costs. The company spent $205.4 million on power generation, primarily diesel, in the first half, up from $165.4 million a year earlier. IHS said the increase was partly driven by higher global energy prices and geopolitical tensions. “We incur capital expenditure in relation to the maintenance of our towers and fiber equipment, which is non-discretionary in nature and required for us to optimally run our portfolio and to perform in line with our service level agreements with customers,” the company noted in its report. Merger-related expenses also added to the pressure. IHS recorded $83.1 million in accelerated share-based payment and long-term employee incentive expenses during the first half, linked to the proposed MTN acquisition and the company’s asset sales. Despite these pressures, adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA), a measure of the company’s underlying operating performance, rose 2.6% to $514 million. The company also benefited from the stronger naira when its Nigerian operations were converted into dollars. The currency movement added $40.7 million to second-quarter revenue and $22.6 million to adjusted EBITDA compared with the same period last year. However, underlying revenue growth was weaker. Organic revenue declined 0.6% in the first half as gains from new tenants, new sites and lease changes were offset by lower foreign exchange-related revenue and the loss of some sites. IHS said about 1,050 sites were vacated following the renewal of its contract with MTN Nigeria. The company is also reshaping its business ahead of the MTN takeover. IHS shareholders approved MTN’s proposed $8.50-per-share cash acquisition in August. The deal is still subject to the remaining regulatory and closing conditions. “The proposed acquisition of IHS Towers by MTN, an important step in the Group’s evolution, was recently approved by our shareholders and remains on track to close in 2026, subject to the remaining closing conditions,” said Sam Darwish, IHS Towers Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In May, IHS sold its 51% stake in Brazilian fibre company I-Systems to TIM S.A, a Brazilian telecommunications company, for $183 million in gross cash. In August, it completed the sale of its Brazilian and Colombian tower operations, covering about 9,000 sites, to Macquarie Asset Management for an enterprise value of about $952 million. The sales mark IHS’s exit from Latin America and leave the company focused on its African operations. As of June 30, IHS operated 37,672 towers across seven countries, although its tower count was down by 1,512 from a year earlier, largely because of the sale of its Rwanda operations. IHS ended June with $1.5 billion in total liquidity, including $1.09 billion in cash and $407.1 million in unused credit facilities. It had $3.11 billion in total borrowings. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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Nigeria collects $19.9 billion in taxes as digital systems expand
Nigeria collected an average of ₦127.83 billion ($93.98 million) in taxes every day between January and July 2026 as new laws and digital systems helped the government bring more economic activity into the tax net. Tax collections reached ₦27.1 trillion ($19.93 billion) in the first seven months of 2026, according to data shared by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the country’s tax agency. The increase in collections puts Nigeria on track to raise more tax revenue in 2026 than it did in all of 2025, while new tax laws and digital systems give the government greater visibility into how much Nigerians and businesses earn, spend, and move. In seven months, the NRS has already collected 95.76% of the ₦28.3 trillion ($20.81 billion) it collected throughout 2025, and has reached two-thirds (66.57%) of its ₦40.71 trillion ($29.93 billion) revenue target for 2026. The NRS attributed the increase to the “digitisation of tax systems, four new tax reform laws, the transformation of the revenue service and an executive order that closed loopholes in the system.” In 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed four new tax laws, changing the framework for administering, collecting, and enforcing taxes in Nigeria. The reforms came as the government sought to raise more revenue from an economy where oil could no longer be relied on as heavily as it once was. The four tax laws signed in 2025 outlined new rules for administering and collecting taxes, including a legal basis for using technology to automate tax assessment, collection, and information gathering. “A relevant tax authority may deploy technology to automate tax administration processes including tax assessment, collection, accounting and information gathering,” part of the Tax Administration Act read. In 2021, the NRS, then called the Federal Inland Revenue Service, launched TaxPro Max, a platform that allows taxpayers to register, file returns, make payments, and download tax clearance certificates online. Since August 1, 2025, businesses with annual turnovers above ₦5 billion ($3.68 million) have been required to integrate their invoicing systems with the NRS platform for real-time validation and reporting. “Leveraging technology, such as the automated tax administration system (TaxPro Max and E-services) to further simplify tax processes, drive voluntary tax compliance, increase revenue collection, and create a tax environment that is conducive for taxpayers to fulfil their tax obligations,” the government explained in a policy paper. In July, the NRS told TechCabal that large taxpayers were already under compliance monitoring, while medium-sized businesses began mandatory onboarding in July 2026. Emerging businesses will follow in 2027 as part of a three-year phased rollout. Nigeria is looking to mirror the success of countries such as Rwanda, which digitised its customs process through the Electronic Single Window, and Kenya, which uses its iTax platform. The ₦127 Billion Clock Nigeria collected an average of ₦127.83 billion daily between January and July 2026. Select an illustrative public project below to see the elapsed time required for the government’s tax engine to collect an equivalent amount. Per Day … Per Minute … Per Second … Choose an illustrative project: Primary Health Centre — ₦150m 1MW of Solar Infrastructure — ₦1.2bn 1km of Paved Road — ₦1.5bn Annual Minimum Wage for 10,000 Workers — ₦8.4bn Time elapsed to collect this amount — The bigger story is not the clock. A fast collection rate improves government revenue without automatically closing the gap between what it earns and what it spends. The clock shows scale, not fiscal solvency. Despite hauling in roughly ₦1.48 million every second, the government must still borrow to balance its budget. As the Minister of Finance noted, for every ₦6 the government targets in revenue, its expenditure demands ₦10. Data: Nigeria Revenue Service (January–July 2026 Average) / TechCabal. Project costs are illustrative. Tax revenues are pooled and not explicitly earmarked for individual projects. The taxman can see more of the money In July 2025, TechCabal reported that the NRS, then the FIRS, had developed a real-time portal to track Value-Added-Tax-eligible electronic transactions and was requiring banks, card schemes, fintechs, and payment service providers to integrate with the system. In August 2025, the Federal Government said the portal had been introduced as part of the Transaction Monitoring System (TMS). To give the TMS access to more of Nigeria’s payment system, which processed more than ₦1.2 quadrillion ($882.26 billion) in 2025, the Central Bank of Nigeria in March 2026 mandated all licensed Payment Solution Service Providers (PSSPs) and Switches and Processing Operators to integrate with the system. VAT collections increased by 9.98% in the first quarter of 2026 to ₦2.42 trillion ($1.78 billion), according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The point of a more aggressive and efficient tax system is ultimately how it affects everyday economic activity. But higher revenue collections have not eliminated the government’s need to borrow, with Nigeria’s debt stock reaching ₦159.35 trillion ($117.16 billion) at the end of March 2026. Taiwo Oyedele, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said on July 20 that higher revenue collection does not necessarily eliminate the need to borrow when expenditure requirements remain higher than available resources. “We look at all our numbers and say that we can generate ₦6. ₦6 is our revenue target; our expenditure is ₦10,” Oyedele said. “If we end up generating ₦7, we will say we have exceeded our revenue target. It is not a lie. But we still need ₦3 to balance the budget because we need to spend ₦10. So this is the reason why both can co-exist. The government can exceed the revenue target and still have to borrow.” The numbers show that the government is getting better at identifying taxable activity and collecting revenue. The harder question is when that additional revenue will be enough to reduce the government’s reliance on borrowing and, eventually, translate into better public services. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders
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How Android Halo shows you what your AI agent is doing
You ask an AI agent to handle a task for you, close the app, and carry on with your day. But then you start wondering: Is it still working? Did it finish? Does it need something from me? Or did it get stuck somewhere along the way? This is one of the problems Google is trying to solve with Android Halo, a new interface designed to show users what their AI agents are doing without forcing them to stop whatever else they are doing on their phones. Google previewed Android Halo in May 2026 as part of its push to make Android more useful in an increasingly agentic AI era. Instead of keeping an agent’s activity hidden inside an app, Halo brings updates to the top of the phone screen, showing when an agent is working on a task, enters live mode, or sends a message. This article explains what Android Halo is, how it works, and why giving users a window into their AI agents could become increasingly important. What is Android Halo? Android Halo is a new interface on Android that gives users an at-a-glance view of what their AI agents are doing. Google describes it as a way to bring an agent’s status and progress to the top of the phone screen. Instead of opening the Gemini app or another app to check what an agent is doing, users can see updates while remaining on whatever screen they currently use. Think of it as a small communication layer between you and your AI agent. If you ask an agent to handle a task that takes several steps, you don’t necessarily need to sit and watch it work. Halo is designed to keep you informed as the task progresses. The feature is particularly relevant as Google moves from AI assistants that primarily answer questions towards agents that can carry out tasks on a user’s behalf. How does Android Halo work? 1. It shows when your agent is working The first job of Android Halo is visibility. When an agent takes on a task, Halo can show its activity at the top of the screen. Google says the interface provides at-a-glance visibility into what an agent is working on at any given time. This matters because agentic tasks can take longer than a typical AI response. An agent may need to work through several steps before completing what you asked it to do. Rather than leaving users wondering whether anything is happening, Halo provides a visible indication that the agent is active. 2. You can see progress without leaving your current screen One of Halo’s most useful ideas is that you don’t have to stop what you’re doing to check on an agent. Google says users can see an agent’s progress from the top of their screen. That means you could continue using your phone while an agent works in the background and still have a way to see what is happening. The distinction is important. Halo isn’t simply another notification that asks you to open an app. It is designed as an always-visible, lightweight status layer that keeps the agent’s activity within your field of view. 3. It can show when an agent enters live mode Halo can also communicate when an agent enters live mode. Google has described three specific moments that trigger the indicator: when an agent picks up a task, when it shifts into live mode, or when it has something to tell you. That gives users another indication of what the agent is doing without requiring them to leave their current activity. 4. It can surface messages from your agent Halo can also notify you when an agent sends you a message. This is useful because an agent doesn’t necessarily work completely independently from start to finish. It may need to communicate with you as it works, and Google is building Halo to make those interactions visible without interrupting your workflow. The important point is that Halo is not simply showing whether an AI is running. It is intended to create an ongoing line of communication between the user and the agent. What does Gemini Spark have to do with Android Halo? Android Halo is closely connected to Google’s broader push towards personal AI agents, particularly Gemini Spark. Google describes Spark as a 24/7 personal AI agent designed to help users navigate their digital lives and take actions on their behalf under their direction. It can work with Google’s tools, including Gmail, Docs and Slides, and continue working in the background even when a user’s laptop is closed or their phone is locked. On Android, Google says users will be able to see live updates and task progress from agents such as Spark through Android Halo. This is where the two products fit together. Spark is the agent doing the work. Halo is the interface that helps you see what the agent is doing. That distinction is important because an agent that can act on your behalf needs a different kind of interface from a chatbot that simply waits for your next question. Why does Android Halo matter? The bigger issue here is not the visual design of Halo. It is trust. When an AI only answers a question, you can usually see what it has produced immediately. But when an agent is performing a task for you, there can be a period where it is working without you watching every step. That creates a new problem: users need to know what the agent is doing. This fits a pattern in how Google has been positioning its AI rollout more broadly, leaning on language like transparency and user control as agents take on more autonomous tasks. Halo is one way of putting that principle into the interface. Instead of hiding an agent’s activity behind an app, Google is making that activity visible at the top of the screen. When is Android Halo coming? Google has not announced a specific launch date for Android
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