👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Starlink is live (again) in Kenya
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy salary week! Yesterday, our reporter, Muktar Oladunmade published an important article about Silverbacks Holdings and how the investment firm has found remarkable success backing growing startups in Nigeria. Silverbacks has benefitted from profitable exits in LemFi and OmniRetail in recent months. So, if you find yourself wearily asking, “Where are the exits?”, that article could provide a few pointers on how some investors are still spotting and backing rocketships. With that, let’s get into today’s dispatch. – Emmanuel. Starlink is live (again) in Kenya Chowdeck acquires Mira PaidHR bagged a $1.8 million seed round Takealot and Mr D hit $836 million in revenue World Wide Web 3 Opportunities Internet Starlink is live (again) in Kenya A Starlink store/Image Source: Reddit We wonder what the mood in Kenya is like now that Starlink has quietly resumed operations in the country. Seven months ago, Starlink, the satellite internet service provider (ISP) owned by Elon Musk, shut down activations and new user sign-ups on its app due to network congestion. As more people were buying Starlink kits in Kenya, this became problematic because the system’s capacity was built to support only a limited number of users in each satellite coverage area, and it quickly became overloaded. As of June, Kenyans in several affected regions have confirmed the satellite ISP is back online, promising rural coverage and speeds of up to 100 megabytes per second (Mbps). Starlink coming back likely means it has fixed its network issues and can now handle more users. People in rural areas can sign up again and expect faster, more reliable internet. Yet, Starlink faces turbulence ahead. Kenya’s regulators are mulling plans to hike licence fees for satellite ISPs by tenfold to $155,331 and introduce a 2% levy on their turnover. This will increase operating costs for smaller players, but for Starlink, the bigger concern may be sustainability. If regulatory pressure mounts and demand again outpaces capacity, users could end up paying premium prices for unreliable service. And let’s not forget: Starlink has no Kenyan office, no hotline, no repair vans—just an app, a dish, and Elon Musk’s Twitter feed. Customer support is often a black hole, as some users found during last year’s outage. For now, Starlink is back—and it will be re-igniting the chase in Kenya’s ISP market. Save more on every NGN transaction with Fincra Stop overpaying for NGN payments. Fincra’s fees are more affordable than other payment platforms for collections & payouts. The bigger the transaction, the more you save. Create a free account in 3 minutes and start saving today. 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 M&A Chowdeck acquires Mira to strengthen its grip on food delivery Chowdeck app/Image Source: TechCabal Since 2024, Chowdeck has crossed 1 million users, expanded to more cities across Nigeria, integrated AI services in its customer service operations, and expanded its operations to Ghana. And now? Nigeria-born on-demand YC-backed delivery platform has acquired Mira, the point-of-sale startup founded in 2023. The amount of the deal? Undisclosed. But what’s clear is that Chowdeck isn’t just delivering food anymore. The deal adds Mira’s inventory management, in-store payments, and financing tools to Chowdeck’s arsenal. Why does this matter? Chowdeck wants to embed itself into the heart of its vendors’ operations. This shift is key, especially in the delivery market where margins
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The 13x blueprint: How Silverbacks’ Africa strategy outperformed global markets
Between 2018 and 2022, Silverbacks Holdings, an Africa-focused private equity firm, made a series of investments in multiple tech startups primarily in the fintech and e-commerce sectors. Those investments are paying off. In the past month alone, the firm has secured two exits by selling part of its shares in Lemfi and Omniretail. Lemfi delivered a 29x return, while Omniretail delivered a more tempered but still strong 5x return. Though not structured as a traditional venture capital firm, Silverbacks Holdings invests with a VC-style risk appetite, and its portfolio reflects that. The firm backs some of Africa’s most valuable startups, including Flutterwave and Wave, alongside high-growth startups like Moove, Sabi, Kuda, Shuttlers, and Reliance. It also backs nine venture capital firms like Launch Africa and LoftyInc. Fintech has been its standout performer, generating a 13x multiple on invested capital (MOIC), a measure of unrealised returns, while e-commerce investments have returned a still-impressive 4x MOIC. The firm also invests in Africa’s media, sport and entertainment sectors, backing creator platform AMAKA, the Cape Town Tigers, and the African Warriors Fighting Championship (AWFC). “We view sports and entertainment as defensive assets,” Ibrahim Sagna, the firm’s executive chairman, told TechCabal. “While the multiples are lower than tech, these businesses have recurring revenue, especially since they are tied to platforms like Netflix or leagues like the NBA.” Nigeria has been Silverbacks’ most rewarding geography, with its local portfolio returning an average 10.7x MOIC, while Egypt has delivered a 9.7x MOIC, though over a shorter holding period. Overall, the firm’s African investments have returned nearly four times the capital deployed on the continent, far outpacing its global performance. Outside Africa, Silverbacks’ exits have yielded a more modest 1.3x MOIC. I spoke to Sagna to understand how the firm thinks about investing in Africa, its strategy of partial exits, why it prefers family offices as LPs, how it balances tech and non-tech businesses in its portfolio, and why it invests in VC firms like Launch Africa and LoftyInc. 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 This interview has been edited for length and clarity. What do these exits say about timing and liquidity events in Africa? First, these exits are indicators that follow-on rounds and liquidity are happening across multiple sectors. Most of the exits we’re seeing are tied to investments made between 2018 and 2022. That period, pre- and post-COVID, coincided with an exponential surge in the adoption of technology, both on the African continent and globally. The value being unlocked now is a reflection of that time frame. In many ways, it shows us the power of timing: most of these gains are from that COVID era, and we’re now three to four years removed from it. These exits tell us not just about timing but also show that startup businesses, when well-positioned, can deliver liquidity within a relatively short window. You’ve done partial exits in LemFi and OmniRetail instead of fully exiting. Why does this strategy make sense to Silverbacks? Silverbacks operates differently from most traditional fund managers. We use what’s best described as a permanent capital model. Most managers you follow operate within fund cycles—raising capital, deploying it, exiting, then raising a new fund. But Silverbacks is structured more like what’s called a continuation fund. Continuation funds are built to allow existing limited partners (LPs) who seek liquidity to exit, while giving new LPs
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10 years later, Luno reopens shop in Kenya amid push for crypto regulation
Luno, the UK-based crypto company which operates in Nigeria and South Africa, has relaunched in Kenya ten years after exiting the market. It previously operated locally under the name BitX before its exit in 2014. The company rebranded to Luno in 2017. Luno’s Kenya comeback reflects a growing confidence among crypto firms eyeing the market, as the government moves closer to introducing formal regulations for digital assets. It’s the clearest indication yet that the shifting regulatory stance—and engagement with regulators—may be improving how crypto companies view the country. “We’re excited to officially relaunch in the Kenyan market with a full suite of crypto trading services tailored for both individual investors and institutional users,” said Apollo Sande, country manager of Luno Kenya. “Our goal is to make crypto accessible, transparent, and trusted by offering the tools, education, and platforms users need to make informed investment decisions.” The relaunch will allow Kenyan users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies instantly. Kenyan crypto traders can use the Kenyan Shilling (KES) to access live trading pairs like BTC/KES, ETH/KES, USDT/KES, and USDC/KES, along with global pairs such as BTC/USDT. The setup supports both local transactions and arbitrage trading. Luno also offers referral rewards for users who bring others to the platform and stay active. 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 Kenya is currently weighing new rules to regulate the crypto industry. The country’s Parliament is reviewing the Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Bill, 2025, which would require companies to register with both the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). The bill proposes stricter oversight, including local offices, executive vetting, and compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and consumer protection standards. It also seeks to cover stablecoins, wallets, exchanges, and token offerings. Yet, the road to regulation has been bumpy. In 2023, the government introduced a 3% digital asset tax on every transaction as part of its amended Finance Act. The move drew criticism from industry players, leading the government to revise the rate down to 1.5% in a pending bill. In a June 20 ruling, Members of Parliament (MPs) overturned the tax and replaced it with a new excise duty that will be charged on transaction fees. The change is expected to make trading more affordable, draw users back to local platforms, and support growth in the sector. Luno, which previously operated as a hybrid crypto platform, has recently been repositioning itself as a full-fledged cryptocurrency exchange app to attract savvy crypto investors. In 2024, the crypto firm was granted a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) licence in South Africa and is now awaiting a provisional licence in Nigeria through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP). As Kenya continues to pull the right regulatory strings, it could usher in more crypto players like Luno looking to expand into African markets amid the continent’s growing adoption of digital assets. 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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Starlink resumes sign-ups in Nairobi after a 7-month pause
After more than seven months of blocking new users, Starlink is taking fresh sign-ups in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya. Its coverage map now shows availability in key towns, and at least three users told TechCabal they’ve managed to activate their kits this month. “It can be installed anywhere in Kenya right now,” said Isaac Migiro, a customer in Nairobi who purchased a kit in December and activated it this June. A retailer who sells Starlink kits told TechCabal on Monday, June 23, that “Starlink is now back to full capacity.” The freeze, which began in late 2024 and affected Nairobi and other areas, including Kiambu, Machakos, Kajiado, and Murang’a, resulted from a surge in demand that stretched Starlink’s network past its limits. Too many users in one area meant slower speeds, lags, and an eventual halt on new activations. A new ground station in Nairobi, launched in January, was meant to ease the pressure, but demand in urban areas is still pushing the network to its limits. At the same time, Starlink’s rapid growth, driven by word of mouth, media attention, and social posts from Elon Musk, has run into regulatory pushback. In Kenya, the government wants to raise satellite licence fees from $12,302 to $115,331 and introduce a 0.4% turnover levy, a move that would hit smaller satellite internet service providers (ISPs) hardest and give an edge to bigger players. Elsewhere, in countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe, Starlink is facing resistance for operating without full local approvals or through unofficial resellers. 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 Still, the service fills a clear gap, especially for users in remote and peri-urban areas, where fibre is unreliable or unavailable and where Starlink is the only real option for fast internet. Even with steep costs of KES 30,000 ($232) for hardware and KES 6,500 ($50) monthly, it’s become essential for homes, schools, and small businesses outside city centres. But local rivals aren’t sitting back. Safaricom is pushing cheaper 5G routers, with devices priced at KES 3,000 ($23) and monthly plans starting at KES 4,000 ($31), less than half of what Starlink charges. These plans target customers in urban and peri-urban areas with decent mobile coverage. Airtel has teamed up with Starlink to use its satellite backhaul for rural expansion. Safaricom has also hinted at exploring satellite partnerships of its own, indicating that the market is shifting towards hybrid models that combine fibre, mobile, and satellite connections. By the end of 2024, Starlink had over 19,000 active users in Kenya, making it the seventh-largest ISP. But it still has no local office and handles everything online, a setup that frustrates customers dealing with delays. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
Read MoreNigeria’s Internet has a border problem. IXPN wants to fix it by 2030
In 2006, a request from a computer in Lagos to another computer in Abuja took a bizarre and expensive detour to the US or even the UK. Nigerian data didn’t stay in Nigeria; in fact, only 0.01% of Nigeria’s internet traffic remained within its borders. The result was slower load times, higher costs, and a fragile digital infrastructure. That’s the problem the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) has been trying to solve for nearly two decades, and it’s working. IXPN, the operator of Nigeria’s first carrier-neutral data centre, has led efforts to localise the country’s internet traffic, and is currently aiming to keep 80% of Nigeria’s internet traffic within national borders by 2030. “When we started, just 0.01% of traffic was local,” said Muhammad Rudman, Chief Executive Officer of IXPN, during a peering community meeting hosted by Equinix on June 20, 2025. “Now, based on a survey with our members, between 40% and 70% of internet traffic is staying within Nigeria.” IXPN handled just 800 kilobits per second of traffic in 2006, barely enough to load a modern homepage. Today, it moves over 1 terabit per second. The exchange point now plans to double its current capacity by the end of 2025, driven by confidence in Nigeria’s accelerating digital transformation. IXPN’s foundation was laid with seed funding from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), with a core mission to build trust and reduce Nigeria’s reliance on foreign internet pathways. The funding enabled the establishment of Nigeria’s first carrier-neutral data centre. This open, non-discriminatory interconnection facility helped dismantle monopolies and allowed smaller internet service providers (ISPs) to connect and grow. However, the path to progress wasn’t without challenges. In the early days, most Nigerian ISPs relied on costly satellite links or international transit providers. Local peering required technical expertise, a new business mindset, and—most importantly—trust, all of which were initially in short supply. A pivotal moment came when Google began peering with IXPN. This endorsement sparked confidence among local ISPs, particularly access and content providers, leading to a surge in local connections and traffic volume. It marked the beginning of a more self-sufficient internet ecosystem in Nigeria. Routing internet traffic through international channels before it returns to Nigerian users not only causes delays but also increases costs and heightens exposure to global security threats. IXPN’s strategy of keeping traffic within the country ensures faster load times, reduces latency, and strengthens national cybersecurity. As Rudman noted, accessing a Nigerian website shouldn’t require a detour through Europe or the U.S. Beyond just traffic volumes, IXPN is focused on building robust foundational infrastructure. It now hosts multiple critical DNS root servers, including those for .com, .net, .ng, and recently, .ca domains, ensuring that domain name resolutions are handled locally. This development improves browsing speeds and enhances resilience during global network outages. “We are working to bring all critical internet infrastructure into Nigeria,” Rudman said. “For example, we’ve partnered with VeriSign to host their root servers for .com and .net here at IXPN.” In addition to technical growth, IXPN has taken a collaborative approach with the ecosystem. Notably, the organisation has never disconnected any ISP over non-payment, choosing instead to prioritise inclusive development over commercial gain.
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Analysis: Chowdeck is digging deeper into restaurants; and it just acquired Mira to do it
YC-backed Chowdeck, a Nigeria-born on-demand delivery platform, has acquired Mira, a point of sale (POS) founded in 2023 by Flutterwave alumnus Ted Oladele and Paystack’s Olaseike Ibojo. The deal adds Mira’s inventory management, payment processing, and inventory financing tools to Chowdeck’s delivery ecosystem. The price of the acquisition is undisclosed. However, it will see investors like Microtraction join Chowdeck’s cap table alongside shared investor HoaQ, positioning Chowdeck to integrate Mira’s POS suite—including hardware, inventory management, and invoicing—with its 10,000-strong delivery fleet. Mira CEO Oladele will join Chowdeck as Head of Product, with some Mira employees to scale the new business segment. Ibojo will be going on a career break after spending most of the last decade at Paystack and working on Mira since its founding in 2023. This comes on the tail of Chowdeck’s international expansion. The three-year-old startup, which grew from 300 users in October 2021 to 1 million monthly users by October 2024, recently expanded to Accra. The company reports that it is on track to complete 1,000 deliveries in Accra within two months, a milestone that reportedly took a year to reach in Nigeria. The Mira acquisition will deepen the startup’s relationship with vendors in new and existing markets. “For a long time, we’ve focused more on the customer side than on the restaurant, supermarket, and pharmacy side,” Femi Aluko, Chowdeck’s CEO, said. “But as we begin to expand, we’re paying deeper attention to the vendor side.” Why the acquisition matters Few sectors in Nigeria are as unforgiving as last-mile logistics. Poor infrastructure, thin margins, and price-sensitive customers keep margins thin, forcing even deep-pocketed entrants like Jumia Food and Bolt Food to abandon the market since 2022. The courier-logistics sector has seen venture capital-funded players like Sendstack, Sendy, Hytch, and others pivot or exit the market for the same reason. Investor interest in the sector—namely, last-mile logistics and food delivery—has also continued to decline. Acquiring Mira enables Chowdeck to embed itself deeper into merchant operations, moving beyond delivery alone to provide in-store capabilities such as real-time inventory management, a point-of-sale (POS) suite, and integrated payment solutions. 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 Chowdeck evolves from a delivery partner into a core business infrastructure provider, driving back-of-house and front-of-house operations. Becoming central to restaurant operations makes Chowdeck’s network far more defensible, as it becomes indispensable to its partners and less vulnerable to the price wars or poaching tactics of rivals. Previously, Chowdeck’s revenue was primarily generated from delivery commissions and service fees. The integration opens up new income sources, allowing Chowdeck to earn fees from in-store transactions, payment processing, and value-added services such as financing for vendors. This strategy mirrors playbooks that have been successful globally. For instance, DoorDash’s acquisition of Bbot enabled it to serve both delivery and in-store customers through unified payment and ordering systems, thereby increasing merchant stickiness. Similarly, Square’s expansion from payments into e-commerce and buy-now-pay-later services created a seamless merchant experience across all channels. These moves have consistently resulted in deeper customer loyalty and improved margins. In Nigeria, PiggyVest acquired a restaurant aggregator startup in an attempt to secure payments from food businesses. More recently, Glovo, one of Chowdeck’s leading competitors, partnered with Salad Africa to launch a financing program for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating on the Glovo platform in Nigeria. This program provides eligible Glovo partners with access to working
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Post MainOne acquisition, Equinix says it will enable not compete in telecom market
On June 20, 2025—eight months after completing its $320 million acquisition and integration of MainOne, Nigeria’s pioneering private submarine cable operator—Equinix hosted its first community meeting with key players in Nigeria’s digital network and infrastructure ecosystem. More than a meet-and-greet, the event was an occasion for the company to make known its post-acquisition play in Africa. “We’re not here to compete; we want to be an enabler in the market,” said Brenden Rawle, Equinix’s Senior Director of Business Development for EMEA. Wole Abu, Equinix’s Managing Director for West Africa, echoed the message, emphasising the company’s intention to expand opportunities for everyone. “We create a platform for everyone to thrive. So while we have local routes, we now have global connections,” he said. With over 260 International Business Exchanges (IBX) under management, Equinix operates some of the most critical global digital infrastructure, offering data centre colocation, interconnection, cloud on-ramps, and internet exchange points. These services sit at the core of modern telecom and internet operations, enabling operators, cloud providers, content platforms, and enterprise clients to connect and scale seamlessly. In a market like Nigeria, where low-latency, high-reliability infrastructure and data sovereignty are growing concerns, Equinix’s presence could easily be seen as a competitive force. Yet, by maintaining a carrier-neutral stance and supporting rather than displacing local networks, the company is positioning itself not as a rival but as a backbone to facilitate the growth and efficiency of the entire telecom and digital ecosystem. Central to this carrier-neutral positioning is Equinix Fabric—a software that allows businesses to connect their digital infrastructure, such as data centres, clouds, networks, and partners, directly and on-demand through Equinix’s global network. Operators, fintechs, cloud-native startups, and enterprise businesses can bypass traditional internet routing and establish direct, secure connections, helping reduce latency and improve reliability. “Equinix Fabric is one of my favorite tools. It inspires innovation. You start thinking of new services to offer the moment you plug in,” said Oluwasayo Oshadami, Director, Solutions Architects, Equinix. “You spin up connections when you need them, spin them down when you don’t. It’s efficient, cost-effective, and global.” Equinix Fabric went live in South Africa in May 2025, marking its first deployment on the African continent. It is scheduled to launch in Lagos in H1 2026, expanding access to a global digital fabric currently active in 63 metropolitan locations worldwide. Speaking during the meeting, Rawle said of the company’s philosophy that “success means building a platform that welcomes everyone: providers, networks, fintechs, enterprises.” Equinix’s global strategy hinges on a dual approach: maintaining strong local relevance while leveraging a powerful international platform. “We are a global company, but we must act locally. The access to local consumers and enterprises is what draws the big global players to our ecosystem,” Rawle said. That thinking informed Equinix’s decision to acquire MainOne—a move that brought credibility, local insight, and operational continuity into its Nigerian and West African expansion. Beyond Nigeria, Equinix operates in three other African countries: South Africa, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire. Its total investment on the continent has surpassed half a billion dollars, covering acquisition, integration, and infrastructure upgrades. In Nigeria alone, significant post-acquisition capital has been deployed to upgrade existing MainOne facilities and to build out new capacity. “We’ve already invested more on top of the $320 million acquisition to upgrade and expand,” Rawle said. “Our roadmap includes new facilities—LG3, LG4, and LG5—as well as additional interconnection services. LG3 is 15 kilometres from the current campus, and LG4, launching in 2027, will be even larger.” Bridging infrastructure and policy gaps The stakes are high. West Africa is one of the world’s youngest, fastest-growing, and most mobile-first populations. Equinix sees this demographic as central to an upcoming explosion in digital traffic. “When we looked at West Africa, we saw a market defined by tech-savvy youth, entrepreneurship, and digital ambition. But we knew the best way to enter was through partnership or acquisition. The MainOne deal gave us that local depth and credibility,” Rawle explained. But expansion is not without hurdles. Reliable access to power, favourable regulation, and clear digital infrastructure policies remain uneven across the region. Equinix is engaging governments and policymakers to bridge knowledge gaps, especially around AI and the infrastructure demands of emerging technologies. “Many governments want to be AI hubs, but they underestimate the infrastructure it requires. We help them understand what’s needed—particularly power capacity,” Rawle noted. Equinix’s platform boasts more than 4,000 customers globally and over 64,000 interconnections. In Nigeria, the company is betting on partnership, not disruption, to expand its reach and impact. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
Read MorePaidHR completes $1.8 million seed round led by Accion Venture Lab
PaidHR, a Nigerian startup that helps businesses manage their HR functions, has raised a $1.8 million seed round. The round completes PaidHR’s initial fundraising, which began with a $1.5 million target first reported by TechCabal in October 2024. PaidHR plans to deepen its market share within Nigeria, accelerate product development, and expand its customer success teams with the latest round of funding. The investment was led by Accion Venture Lab, with participation from existing investors Zrosk, Chui Ventures, and Zedcrest Capital. The new funding round brings PaidHR’s total investment to about $2.9 million. The HR-tech startup raised $500,000 pre-seed in 2022 and an additional $600,000 in 2023. Founded in 2020 by Seye Bandele and Lekan Omotosho, PaidHR provides a comprehensive platform for payroll, HRIS, compliance, performance management, and Earned Wage Access (EWA). Its cross-border payroll system supports 49 currencies, empowering businesses to pay employees in their local currencies and navigate the complexities of international HR management. The startup currently serves over 200 businesses, generating revenue through subscription fees and transaction fees from payroll processing. In 2024, PaidHR processed ₦20 billion ($13 million) in salaries, nearly doubling the amount processed in 2023. “We are proud to support the team as they deliver scalable, cost-effective solutions that help strengthen small businesses and enable employees to take control of their financial lives,” said Amee Parbhoo, managing partner at Accion Venture Lab. The startup has recently launched an employee wallet app that enables employees to access and spend their wages without needing to transfer funds to a bank. PaidHR claims the wallet app currently processes over ₦1.3 billion ($835,134) monthly.
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Next Wave: Are African innovators playing the right game?
Cet article est aussi disponible en français <!– In partnership with –> <!–TopBanner Join us for TechCabal Battlefield, Moonshot’s startup competition where you can showcase your startup idea to a global audience and an esteemed panel of judges and stand a chance to win up to 2.5 million naira in funding for your business! Click to register for TC Battlefield First published 22 June, 2025 Image: Pixbay Much as I love a good success story, I’m a big follower of projects like Startup Graveyard Africa, which publishes sobering lessons from sunset African startups. It’s saddening to see its catalogue of companies grow, but going through the cases makes for interesting reading: the ambition is clear, the market fit seems right, the tech in many cases appears world-class, and yet many stall. This poignant, curious pattern of solid potential meeting sudden death is a puzzle facing the continent’s innovators. Several clever Africans have turned their attention to this problem, questioning whether capital has become too scared to fund the uncertain, or if our economies are too broken to let good companies survive. Both theories carry troubling weight. But certainly, a significant part of it is where we get our ideas from. We rightly stand on the shoulders of giants, but to adopt their ideas without deeply tailoring them to the unique dimensions of our own local infrastructure, our own historical contexts, our own socio-economic milieu, can only lead to subpar outcomes. For the third year in a row, capital inflows into the continent are falling. The large flocks of tourist investors and high-risk optimists of the last bull run have grown sparse. Detractors will say we chased scale when we should have built lean. But this new, toothless focus on capital efficiency may be the biggest threat of all, encouraging us to follow set playbooks rather than to critically question. It risks chipping away at the very sector-carving innovative grit that brought us to the world stage in the first place. I fear we may turn to treating the mere symptoms of rot while the root disease festers, creating ‘sexy’ solutions – as President Tinubu humorously puts it – that fail to shift the needle on the bigger, scrappy problems that could unlock ecosystem-wide value. It’s time we asked a harder question: Are we playing the right game? Next Wave continues after this ad. Cyber Africa Forum (CAF) 2025, the leading platform dedicated to cybersecurity and digital transformation in Africa, bringing together over 6,000 participants from 54 countries and 80 leading companies in the digital and cybersecurity sectors, will hold its fifth edition event on 24–25 June 2025 in Cotonou, Benin. Two strategic themes will be at the heart of this year’s discussions: Digital resilience and Accelerating digital transformation. Find out more here! The scaling game that works (somewhere else) The prevailing Silicon Valley playbook, popularised by venture capitalists like Reid Hoffman, is called ‘blitzscaling.’ The math is simple: lose money on nine startups, because the tenth could 100x your investment. The goal is speed and market domination above all else. Prioritise user acquisition, burn cash to grow and achieve a ‘winner-takes-allmost’ outcome. This model is built on a crucial concept known as ‘network effects.’ The value of a service like X or Uber grows exponentially as more people join. This creates a powerful competitive moat, where a user’s decision to join is reinforced by the presence of others. It’s a game of strategic complements, with every new user making the platform more valuable. The effectiveness of this Valley model, especially before 2022, can be attributed to what economists refer to as ‘pre-existing complementarities.’ American startups assume reliable electricity, widespread broadband, mature (and predictable) regulatory frameworks, and established financial systems. They’re building on top of infrastructure that took decades to develop. In most cases, they only need to build one thing: their product. But African entrepreneurs face what Harvard Business School professors Tarun Khanna and Krishna Palepu dubbed ‘institutional voids’ – the absence of “specialised intermediaries, regulatory systems and contract-enforcing mechanisms’’ that developed markets take for granted. We have to create (or work around) the complementarities while coordinating, making it a much harder game to win, but potentially more defensible once achieved. African companies chasing scale must play a multi-layer coordination game, building around contexual issues to create complimentaries. This creates a fascinating ‘scaling asymmetry’. A Western solution that is designed for a world of abundance often fails when imported into Africa because its foundational assumptions (like constant connectivity, universal credit history, single language) don’t hold. This may also explain why African solutions struggle to export: they’re optimized for different coordination challenges that simply don’t exist, at least not to the same degree, in developed markets. Solutions become context-specific, reducing their transferability across global markets, other African countries, and sometimes even between neighbouring states/cities. But where systems fall short, startups can step in Forget how gloomy this all sounds – there’s lots of promise. Technology can fill the institutional voids in African markets, and some companies are already doing it. Moove is an example I’m particularly fond of. They’re a mobility fintech company that took on the lack of access to credit and asset financing for informal economy workers. Moove created a new infrastructure for credit assessment using alternative data (like driving performance and platform earnings) to underwrite loans, effectively creating credit scores for the unbanked. By providing the essential asset (the vehicle), Moove solves the coordination problem between drivers who need cars and the ride-hailing platforms that need them on the road. This pattern repeats across Africa’s most successful tech companies. Many successful African companies have thrived by pairing two-sided platforms with fundamental infrastructure & institutional solutions. While their specific models differ, they share some common traits: 1. They leverage two-sided network effects on a platform that connects distinct user groups. 2. They take on core institutional/infrastructure problems that create a base for more people to be productive and prosperous. These companies are building the market itself on two-sided
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Nigeria wants your name and your debt
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy salary week! It’s salary week. I am as excited as you are. Here’s something to consider before you make that LinkedIn post this week: try out its AI-generated suggestions. Apparently, CEO Ryan Roslansky believes you’re not trusting the feature enough to help you polish your post. In other news, I’ll be bringing you loads of gists—in french perhaps—from my visit to Benin this week; I am attending the Cyber Africa Forum Conference. If you’ll be around, kindly say hi. Let’s get into today’s dispatch. – Faith. Nigeria to link credit history to NIN Egypt tightens payment rules Onafriq partners with PAPSS for cross border payment solution Mukuru fixes account balance glitch World Wide Web 3 Job Openings Regulation Nigerian government wants to link all your borrowing history to your NIN Image Source: Google Dear Nigerians, the government has said it wants to link your entire borrowing history to your National Identification Number (NIN)—yes, that means of identification some of you have refused to open since 2021. Reacting to the news, some of you asked a key question: why the NIN? Why not the Bank Verification Number (BVN)? Uzoma Nwagba, managing director of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), gave you an answer: “If you default on your loan, it could affect your ability to renew your passport, your driver’s licence, or even rent a house.” The idea is commendable because it means that every Nigerian citizen—as long as you have your NIN—will have a credit score. This could make it easier to access loans from fintechs, microfinance banks, and, if the big boys want to play, maybe commercial banks too. But the BVN has its limits. It only works inside the finance world. But with the NIN, your identity reaches telecoms, tax, and even licencing, giving more sectors access to your credit history. This is close (but not the same) to how the US uses its Social Security Number (SSN), which tracks income and work years to calculate citizens’ benefits. Nigeria hasn’t said if your earning history will be linked too. But if it is strictly borrowing history, it means two things: accessing a customer’s ability to pay back a loan—which is crucial for loan underwriting—will still be a problem. Second, it might also depend on fintechs, banks, and other credit providers—even loan sharks—to reliably report when customers take loans from them, thereby contributing to their credit history. We cannot say yet if this is a good plan. Rollout will be key. But tell us: does this move get a yay or nay from you? Save more on every NGN transaction with Fincra Stop overpaying for NGN payments. Fincra’s fees are more affordable than other payment platforms for collections & payouts. The bigger the transaction, the more you save. Create a free account in 3 minutes and start saving today. 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 Regulation Egypt tightens payments rules Image Source: Business Today Egypt The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has dropped a new rulebook for anyone running a digital payment business in Egypt. By anyone, we mean: If you’re handling money transfers, digital wallets, remittances, or payment systems that target Egyptian users, whether you’re a domestic or foreign company, you’re now under stricter watch. Here’s what it contains: These regulations outline the process for obtaining approval
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