Digital Nomads: He left Nigeria to learn—now he wants to build for farmers back home
Tosin Ayodele is a UK-based engineering lead who grew up in northern Nigeria, surrounded by family and neighbours who were farmers. Now based in the UK, he’s building an agrotech solution to help smallholder farmers in remote areas farm smarter using real-time weather and pest data without smartphones or internet. As an engineer, Ayodele has worked across companies building software, AI, and data solutions for agriculture, health, and financial services. In the UK, he holds a membership in the British Computer Society (BCS), as well as the US-based Association for Computer Machinery (ACM). Before Ayodele moved to the UK, he had spent five years working in Lagos, Nigeria. He had no desire to relocate abroad, until an opportunity for Bradford came knocking in 2022. Ayodele spoke with TechCabal about his life as an immigrant and building for Africa. This interview has been lightly edited for flow and clarity. How did you travel to the UK? I came to the UK on a study visa in 2022 after gaining admission to the University of Bradford. I studied Big Data Science and Technology from the Faculty of Engineering Informatics [at the University of Bradford]. Before that, I worked remotely in Nigeria and built skills through self-learning and hands-on experience. But I knew I wanted global exposure to open more doors. How tough was the visa process? It wasn’t too tough for me, but generally, it is demanding. Especially from Nigeria. There’s financial documentation, biometric appointments, visa fees, and Immigration Health Surcharge (IHS), which most non-EEA immigrants pay as part of their UK visa. All of it can be overwhelming. Plus, there’s emotional pressure. Rejection is common in Nigeria, and even though I had travelled abroad before for conferences, I knew many who struggled with visa rejections. Relocating here had its own challenges too. It’s been a bittersweet experience, but we’re still pushing. Did you travel to the UK on a scholarship? No, it wasn’t a full scholarship. But I did get an entrance scholarship after submitting my papers. It was a kind of half scholarship given by the school based on academic grades. What’s the process for getting that entrance scholarship? Technically, once you come from the Sub-Saharan region, you’re eligible for a particular percentage discount. Countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and The Gambia are under the Commonwealth and often get prioritised by British schools. There’s also the Chevening scholarship, but that’s different. Every school is different. Some offer £3,000–£5,000 depending on the course and school. And if you have exceptional results, you might get a Vice Chancellor’s scholarship. Though that’s more common with PhD applicants. How much did it cost you to travel to the UK at the time? What has changed now? I travelled in 2022, but I got my visa around November or December 2021. At that time, the exchange rate wasn’t too bad. We still had access to the Form A system, where the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) subsidised forex for students going abroad. You’d also get a quarterly upkeep allowance from the CBN. For instance, paying £2,000 then cost about ₦1.1 million. But now, £1,000 costs over ₦2 million. It’s like everything tripled. The Form A system is gone. Now, you have to source forex on your own and pay out-of-pocket. It’s a big challenge. What’s it like traveling from Nigeria to the UK, versus travelling from the UK to other countries? It’s like day and night. Travelling from Nigeria to the UK was tough. A lot of paperwork, visa fees, exchange rate issues. But the cost of moving to the UK now is easily three or four times more than what I paid back in 2022. There’s also emotional stress. You have to constantly prove your legitimacy, even after you’ve qualified and received admission. But now that I’m based in the UK, travelling to other countries is much easier. I have access to streamlined visa processes, short wait times, and even visa waivers depending on the destination. Getting a visa appointment for the US from the UK is very seamless. It’s not just about your passport. It’s about where you’re applying from and how you’re perceived. What’s one recent trip that stood out for you? In 2024, I attended a conference in Seattle, US. It was an ACM symposium. It was incredible because Seattle is where tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon are headquartered. I got to meet professionals, entrepreneurs, and investors. All under one roof. The atmosphere, the networking, it changed a lot for me. I really can’t wait to return this year. 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‘What YouTube cannot do does not exist’
In 2006, Philip Jenkins, a professor of history and religious studies at Pennsylvania State University, made a bold prediction: by 2050, Africa would become the “most Christian continent” in the world. Nearly two decades later, nowhere is this prediction more evident than in Nigeria, the continent’s most populous country. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of Christians in the country increased from about 73 million to 92 million, according to data from the Pew Research Center. In 2024, Nigeria was home to over 105 million Christians, over 45% of the country’s population. Religious faith remains central to both personal identity and national discourse in Nigeria. On social media and in everyday life, the appearance or substance of faith is lived and debated to varying degrees of intensity. But what has made the relentless spread of Christianity remarkable in the last decade is how it’s spread and practised today: searched, shared, and streamed online. From pulpit to plasma screen The relationship between Christianity and technology is not new. Radio and television, long before the internet, were instrumental in moving Nigerian churches beyond the physical limitations of the pulpit. These were the early instruments of mass evangelism, often modelled after Western templates. Broadcasts featured sermons, music, prayers, and calls to conversion. By the late 1990s and early 2000s, television networks dedicated to Christian programming began gaining popularity. Channels like Dove TV (affiliated with the Redeemed Christian Church of God), Emmanuel TV (founded by the late Prophet T.B. Joshua, one of the most-watched in the early 2000s), and ACNN (Anglican Cable Network Nigeria) became major platforms for televangelism, reaching millions of viewers across Nigeria and beyond. These networks marked a turning point for churches who moved from paying for time slots to air their programs to 24/7 broadcasting on their own platforms. 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 Through the 2000s, as internet and mobile phone penetration spread in Nigeria, and more people turned to their phones for entertainment, so did they, too, for spiritual upliftment. Religious institutions and churches responded accordingly. They began adopting platforms like Facebook and YouTube to spread word about church events, conduct devotional, livestream programs, or build larger communities unlimited by geography. The COVID-19 pandemic served as another inflection point. With lockdowns restricting in-person gatherings, churches faced a dilemma at a time where people perhaps needed the church the most. In response, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), a Christian non-denominational umbrella organisation, issued a directive encouraging churches to move their worship services online. Though some resisted, sceptical of the secularisation of something sacred, many obeyed, and a new digital ecosystem of religious activities was born almost overnight. For Pentecostal churches that had already begun exploring digital tools, such as projectors to display scriptures during sermons, the transition was smoother. However, for African Independent Churches (AICs), often less resourced and more anchored in a more indigenous approach than the Western one, the shift was jarring. A 2022 research paper described how economic constraints meant most AIC branches could not afford the infrastructure to stream services. As a result, members were directed to connect with the national headquarters via Facebook, YouTube, or WhatsApp. NSPPD and the new wave Out of this period emerged one of the most notable success stories of religious streaming in Nigeria: New Season Prophetic Prayers and Declarations (NSPPD), a livestreamed daily prayer session led by
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Nigeria is only other country in the world that treats Bitcoin as a security. Why?
Sixteen years after it launched as a libertarian experiment to sidestep government control, Bitcoin still defies easy classification. Is it money, a speculative asset, or simply digital gold? For regulators, particularly in emerging markets like Nigeria, that question is far from academic. In September 2020, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) classified Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as securities, a decision cemented in the country’s 2025 Investment and Securities Act. The move places Bitcoin under capital markets oversight, mirroring policy recommendations from the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), which says crypto-asset products should follow the same investor-protection rules as traditional financial instruments when their economic functions are similar. However, the nature and utility of Bitcoin make it a hard asset to classify. Let’s argue the cases. 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 The case for securities A security is a representation of money. Like bearer bonds or stocks, it gives the holder financial rights and typically involves the expectation of profit, often based on the work of others. When Company A issues securities, investors who buy into what it’s selling can profit from their investment if the company performs well. If Bitcoin is regulated as a security, it would bring closer oversight to the crypto industry. Exchanges, token issuers, and intermediaries must submit audited reports, follow strict disclosure rules, and comply with anti-fraud regulations. These rules, drawn from traditional capital markets, protect investors and ensure fair play. This is a dicey situation. First, according to the Howey Test, a transaction qualifies as a security if it involves an investment of money in a common enterprise with the expectation of profit, primarily from the efforts of others. It’s a legal test used in the United States to determine what falls under securities law. Bitcoin arguably fails the test. There’s no identifiable promoter, no central enterprise managing it, and no coordinated effort driving its value. People may invest in Bitcoin hoping for profit, but the price is moved by market dynamics, not the actions of a single issuer or team. That’s why regulators in many countries, including the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), have leaned toward calling it a commodity. But, Nigeria’s SEC thinks differently about this. “The [Nigerian] SEC’s mandate is to protect government interests and citizens, and it is executing it appropriately here,” said Tami Koroye, a virtual asset regulation lecturer at the University of Bradford. “While Bitcoin and other early cryptocurrencies were designed as libertarian payment systems free from traditional banking, that’s simply not how Nigerians are using them today.” Nigeria is one of just two countries—alongside Malaysia—that explicitly treat Bitcoin as a security. While Bitcoin was designed to be money, it isn’t in most regions. Historically, only two countries, El Salvador and the Central African Republic (CAR), have made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021 and 2022, respectively. That quickly turned out to be a bad idea. Due to its volatility, many traders refused to accept the digital asset as a means of payment. It also undermined central banks’ ability to issue monetary policy decisions effectively because Bitcoin is decentralised and cannot be controlled. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised both countries to overturn this rule. While El Salvador still keeps reserves in Bitcoin, both countries have reversed their decisions to make the asset legal tender. As money, Bitcoin fails two of the three economic tests. It
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SASSA releases August 2025 grant payment dates
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has released its August 2025 grant payment schedule, confirming that no grants have been suspended yet. But the agency is tightening its grip through digital reviews and automated cross-checks. Speaking at a media briefing on July 14, SASSA CEO Themba Matlou said that while payments will proceed as planned, the agency will not hesitate to lapse grants for individuals who fail to respond to review requests or update their personal details. August 2025 grant payment dates: Older persons grant – Tuesday, August 5 Disability grant – Wednesday, August 6 Children’s grants – Thursday, August 7 Grant amounts Old age (60-74 years) and disability grants – R2 315 Old age (75+ years) grant – R2 335 War veterans grant – R2 315 Care dependency grant – R2 315 Child support grant – R560 Foster care grant – R1 250 SRD grant – R370 SASSA currently administers over 19 million monthly payments, but behind the scenes, the agency is rolling out system-driven reviews that cross-reference beneficiary data with other government databases. These monthly checks are now standard, and stricter means and asset tests are being enforced. In June, SASSA found that around 210,000 beneficiaries failed to report additional sources of income, an omission that violates the Social Assistance Act. Grant recipients are legally required to notify SASSA of any changes to their financial situation, including new earnings or income streams. Non-disclosure can trigger grant suspension or permanent lapsing, especially as SASSA ramps up automated cross-checks with other government databases to verify eligibility in real time. Beneficiaries have to ensure that they qualify to receive the grants following the thresholds released in April. SASSA eligibility thresholds (effective 1 April 2025) Assets threshold Older persons, disability, and war veterans grants Single applicant: R1,524,600 Married applicant: R3,049,200 Annual income threshold Older persons, disability, and war veterans grants Single: R107,880 per year Married: R215,760 per year Child support grant Single: R67,200 per year Married: R134,400 per year Care dependency grant Parent/primary caregiver (Single): Means test applies Parent/primary caregiver (Married): R277,200 per year COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) Grant Income threshold: R624 per month Matlou noted that SASSA is legally required to give beneficiaries three months’ notice before suspending grants. However, continued non-compliance with review requests could result in permanent lapsing. The agency is also under pressure to deliver quarterly review reports to the National Treasury, adding to its operational load. 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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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Mawingu is winging a sale
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF. Lovable, the poster startup for “vibe coding” has become a unicorn after eight months in business. Yesterday, the company raised $200 million Series A at a $1.8 billion valuation. It previously raised $7.5 million pre-seed funding in October 2024 when it came out of stealth, and $15 million pre-Series A later this February. With $75 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), investors valued Lovable at 24X multiple. In the history of hockey-stick growths, this is as hockey-stick as it can get. We wonder which startup’s next? Cursor? Bolt.new? It seems AI vibe coding startups have found insane product-market fit. Check if your developer is a vibe coder today. Let’s dive in. Pembani Remgro wants a controlling stake in Mawingu Networks Wabeh, Kenyan BNPL startup, pauses operations UBA wants $103 million from shareholders Funding Tracker World Wide Web 3 Opportunities Internet South African fund moves to take 35% of rural internet pioneer, Mawingu Networks Image Source: Mawingu Kenya’s Mawingu Networks wasn’t always fibre and fixed wireless. It started as an underdog, using cheap, creative tech like old TV frequencies to beam internet to these communities. The company has spent the last decade doing what the big telecom operators wouldn’t: bringing internet access to rural communities. Soon, global backers like Microsoft and the US Development Finance Corporation, which loaned Mawingu over $4 million, saw potential and helped the company get started. Today, Mawingu is a much bigger player, and it’s trading some of its independence for scale. Here’s the tea: South Africa’s Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II (PRIF II), a private equity vehicle, wants a 35% controlling stake in the internet company. The deal is still pending approval from the Comesa Competition Commission (CCC). ICYMI: In 2024, Mawingu raised $15 million in debt funding to expand its fibre and wireless footprint in Kenya and acquire Habari, a Tanzanian internet service provider (ISP). This deal with PRIF II could mark a turning point for Mawingu. Why does this matter? Because Mawingu is trying to amp up internet access. If it succeeds, the approach to internet expansion and rural access could change across Africa. This is more than a deal. It is a test of whether a small, purpose-driven company can win a game built for giants. Mawingu’s rural-first approach could prove defensible or vulnerable. And with new owners and bigger expectations, there is more concern as to whether Mawingu can grow without losing sight of its mission. Paying 2% or more on every transaction adds up fast. For businesses in e-commerce, logistics, travel, fintech, and more, every naira counts. Fincra helps you save more with 1% NGN fees capped at ₦300. Ideal for high-value or high-volume transactions. Get started for free with just your email address! Startups Wabeh, a Kenyan BNPL startup, pauses operations as it battles high loan defaults Image Source: Wabeh Wabeh was supposed to make smartphone ownership painless, just a 30% deposit, a few installments, and a brand new phone is yours. The startup positioned itself as a friend to the everyday Kenyan consumers and small retailers, creating access to buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) for devices. But now, this bridge is cracking. Here’s what happened: In July, Wabeh, a Kenyan buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup, quietly paused operations with its vendor network, citing a need to “simplify” its operational model. Behind that PR lingo are growing customer defaults, cash flow strain, and no digital credit licence from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). The startup’s retail partners say repayment rates are collapsing. Like it is with BNPL businesses, the loan defaults are crippling the business; less than half of the devices financed on Wabeh get paid back. In a business where you pay for devices upfront with the hope that users return the favour, that can be a damning sentence. Here’s what to know: Wabeh isn’t a lender, at least not on paper. But it operates as one—fronting cash to vendors, managing repayments, and locking phones when people fall behind. This sidesteps CBK’s regulations. Wabeh took on credit risk without the tools, capital, or protections lenders have. This worked while repayment was high and the market was wide open. Now, both are slipping. And with new rules—like the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024—that could place BNPL models under CBK’s purview, the company’s middle-ground model is running out of room. Yet, loan default is not peculiar to Kenyan BNPL businesses like Wabeh. Across banking and micro-lending, the defaults are hitting new highs, and credit providers are in a race to plug the multiple leaks. Wabeh wants to pause, think, and try again. Paga Engine powers the boldest ideas in Africa “Across various use cases and industries, Paga Engine provides reliable rails for your business needs to run smoothly and grow sustainably.” – Tayo Oviosu. Read the full article. Banking UBA wants $103 million from shareholders Image Source: UBA 2025 is the year when Nigerian banks are hungry for more. UBA, a tier-1 Nigerian lender, plans to raise ₦157 billion ($103 million) in fresh capital through a rights issue of 3.15 billion new shares to shareholders. In essence, for every 13 shares an existing shareholder already owns, they have the right to buy one new share at ₦50 ($0.03) per share, compared to the market price of ₦50.50 ($0.03). This amounts to a discount of 50 kobo at the close of business on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. UBA’s shares closed at ₦46 ($0.03) per share on Thursday. Why does this matter? UBA had previously raised ₦239 billion ($157 million) during a rights issue in November 2024. Nigeria’s Central Bank says commercial banks with international licences must raise their capital base to at least ₦500 billion ($328 million) before the March 2026 deadline. The apex bank periodically mandates recapitalisation efforts to ensure banks are capable of supporting the growth and development of the local economy. UBA, which operates in 24 African countries, is conducting a rights issue to raise new capital and meet the CBN’s
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The men undressing women with X’s Grok
Every Thursday, Delve Into AI will provide nuanced insights on how the continent’s AI trajectory is shaping up. In this column, we examine how AI influences culture, policy, businesses, and vice versa. Read to get smarter about the people, projects, and questions shaping Africa’s AI future. On June 27, 2025, Nigerian content creator Asherkine posted a seemingly innocent video asking a young lady out on a date after she revealed she was single. Shortly after the post went viral, an anonymous Snapchat user known as ‘Kenny’ began spreading a fabricated narrative: that the lady in the video, later identified as Ifeme Rebecca Yahoma, a University of Nigeria Nsukka student, was his girlfriend. He created deepfakes, manipulating pictures she’d shared online to support the lie. In her photo, Yahoma’s head is slightly tilted, her lips pouted. In the black-and-white image ‘Kenny’ generates, he has doctored himself to appear as if pecking Yahoma. An emoji covers his face. Kennedy gained tens of thousands of followers off the lie, even advertising Snapchat ads as his virality surged. This incident isn’t an outlier; it’s the tip of a growing digital iceberg. Across Nigeria and other African countries, online users are employing AI tools like X’s Grok to manipulate, sexualise, or humiliate women. What used to be crude Photoshop jobs are now photorealistic deepfakes created from sexually explicit prompts fed into AI systems that produce disturbingly life-like results. If they won’t send nudes, create them Earlier this year, an X user had prompted Grok to undress Nigerian actress Kehinde Bankole. The post, which circulated widely before being deleted, sent shockwaves through her fanbase and other concerned X users. If a public figure like Bankole isn’t exempt, everyday women have even less protection. Gbenga, a self-identified mental health consultant who made such prompts, later posted an apology thread on X saying: “I feel a profound sense of remorse for not handling the situation with the care it warranted.” Remorseful or not, a growing number of users, often male, have found, in their harassment of women online, a willing participant in X’s AI tool which has recently been accused of generating antisemitic commentary among other gaffes. These incidents are leaving their victims with not only emotional damage and reputational smears but very little legal recourse. Users on X are prompting the platform’s chatbot, Grok, to undress women. Source: X Are there legal protections that apply? When asked if new laws are necessary to address how a rapidly evolving technology like AI is enabling abuse in manners previously unseen, legal policy analyst Sam Eleanya says it must be approached with more nuance. “The premise that we need laws to regulate every new advancement in technology is not always sound,” he said. “The better question is: how does this new tool fit into the existing legal order?” According to Eleanya, using tools like Grok to portray a woman in sexual or compromising ways without her consent could amount to criminal defamation of character under sections 373–375 of the Criminal Code Act. If money is demanded or intimidation is involved, blackmail, extortion, or conspiracy to do so, charges could follow under Section 408 of the Criminal Code Act. The Cybercrimes Act of 2015 also covers acts like cyberstalking, identity theft, and image-based abuse, all of which could apply to these new scenarios. But holding perpetrators to account remains challenging in various ways, according to Queen-Esther Ifunanya Emma-Egbumokei, a corporate lawyer specialising in international commercial law and the creative economy. Prosecution is often complicated by jurisdictional ambiguities—where exactly the perpetrator is meant to be tried remains unclear. Users often operate anonymously or hide behind pseudonymous accounts, making it difficult for identities to be verified and legal processes to be initiated. Additionally, Emma-Egbumokei notes that Nigeria, like many African countries, lacks AI-specific regulations that could clearly define and criminalise the misuse of generative tools for harassment or defamation. In the absence of such targeted legal frameworks, enforcement is further weakened, and victims are left vulnerable within a grey area of the law. Hidden cost More and more Nigerian women are now rethinking their presence on social platforms worried that users can modify their photos inappropriately. “Not posting my pictures on here before they use AI [to] remove my hijab,” wrote X user @wluvnana. While some users on the platform found humour in the post, she was expressing serious concern over a trend that she had begun to notice. “The only thing that seems viable is to take myself out of such situations, which is absurd. I should be able to post pictures on X if I want to, but now, I don’t have the power to do that anymore,” she later told TechCabal. Beyond doctored photos and videos, harassment using generative AI can also appear in text-based formats, explains Chioma Agwuegbo, executive director at TechHerNG, an organisation focused on supporting women through digital literacy and inclusion. “There are platforms online where you can go and simulate WhatsApp conversations, simulate Snapchat, Tiktok,” Agwuegbo says. “The word ‘generative’ implies that it is the creation of content, of media.” Compounded by a culture of shame around sex and sexuality, and an increasing inability to assess the accuracy of media shared online, it does not take much to cause lasting damage. “That’s why the easiest thing to say about a girl to bring her down is ‘I had sex with her’, or ‘I dated her and dumped her’,” Agwuebo says, and AI tools are making it increasingly possible to doctor those narratives believably. 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 –
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How to save your Windows 10 laptop battery
I used to treat my Windows 10 laptop like it was invincible. I would charge it when it was low, unplug it when it was full, and repeat. Battery care? That sounded like something only phone users worried about. Fast forward four years, and my laptop is now a glorified desktop, only powering on when plugged in, and dies the second I unplug it. Somewhere between the Google Chrome tabs and Word documents, I killed my battery, slowly and silently. Many people don’t realise how much control they have over their laptop’s battery health. Some settings and features quietly drain power in the background. If you’re using a Windows 10 laptop, and you would like your battery to last longer than mine did, this is your wake-up call. Features draining your battery Windows 10 laptops come with features designed for convenience, but they come at a cost. These small processes chip away at your battery life without asking for permission. Here are some features and how to fix them. 1. Background apps: Some apps never sleep. They continue to scan for information, receive notifications, and update, even when you’re not actively using them. Apps like Skype, Mail, Microsoft Store, and your Camera are all running quietly in the background. How to fix it: Go to settings > Privacy > Background Apps. Toggle off ‘Let apps run in the background.’ You’ll see a list of apps, previously running in the background, turned off. You can always turn them back on later. 2. Sync settings: Windows devices love to stay in sync—your emails, passwords, themes, and even language preferences. It is helpful, but it quietly eats into your battery. How to fix: Go to settings > Accounts > Windows backup. Then toggle off your preferences. 3. Startup apps Some apps elbow their way into your startup routine and slow your boot time while draining your battery. How to fix: Open Task Manager by clicking Ctrl + Shift + Esc > Startup tab. Click on each app and disable it. 4. Windows animations The smooth transitions and subtle fades on your Windows 10 laptop look nice and give a more user-friendly feel, but they cost battery. How to fix: Go to settings > System > About > Advanced system settings > Performance settings. Then select ‘Adjust for best performance.’ Other things that help: Sometimes, the things draining your Windows 10 battery are the obvious stuff we ignore: Lower your screen brightness Unplug any unused USB devices as they draw power even when idle Use battery saver mode Adjust power and sleep settings because the sooner your laptop sleeps, the less the battery is wasted. Go to settings > System > Power & Sleep to adjust it. Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth when not in use I thought my battery would always be there. The slow decline was preventable; I just didn’t know better. If you’re reading this on a Windows 10 laptop that still holds a charge, tweak a few settings today, and you’ll keep your laptop mobile and healthy for a long time. 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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“I’ll be lucky to get back what I put in”: MTN’s Zakhele Futhi leaves investors disappointed with low returns
MTN’s Zakhele Futhi (MTNZF), a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) investment scheme, will begin paying out shareholders from July 28, 2025, nearly nine years after it launched. But for many of its investors, the long-awaited payout offers little consolation, as they say the modest returns fall far short of the value they were promised when they were first locked in. “I will be lucky to get back what I put in,” says Nomvula Buthelezi, a Human Resources Practitioner. “They extended the investment term to 2027, but they now state that there is no benefit in proceeding due to market volatility. In my view, they made their profits, and the scheme did not benefit me as an investor.” The cracks in the scheme’s foundation were visible long before its closure. In 2019, the B-BBEE Commission flagged MTNZF for being inconsistent with the objectives of the B-BBEE Act, meaning it was not genuinely empowering black shareholders as intended. The Commission noted several restrictions and limitations placed on Black shareholders; instead of giving them real ownership and decision-making power, the scheme placed limits that went against what the Codes of Good Practice require. While MTNZF expressed its willingness to cooperate with the Commission, investors showed their frustration and disappointment as the money they are getting now is far less than they expected from one of South Africa’s biggest telecom companies. “I invested R20,000 (R20 a share) in 2016, for many of us, it was the first time we had done something like buying shares as black women earning middle-income salaries,” said another investor, who asked to remain anonymous. “Hard-earned savings, but now, almost nine years of lock-in, with little to show.” Luvo Grey, the secretary general of Progressive Blacks in ICT (PBICT), an advocacy group, told TechCabal that MTNZF may have delivered modest capital returns, but for many investors, the financial outcome fell short of expectations. “The scheme’s empowerment goals were commendable, but the low liquidity, high volatility, and underperformance relative to the market raise important questions about how we structure future B-BBEE investment vehicles. Ownership must come with real, competitive value creation,” he said. MTNZF is not an isolated case. Similar BEE schemes by Vodacom, Telkom, and Cell C have struggled to deliver on the expectations. This situation undermines the purpose of B-BBEE, which is to drive inclusive economic transformation. Instead of transferring ownership and control, it creates the illusion of compliance while maintaining the status quo. Grey noted that to restore trust in equity-based empowerment schemes, there needs to be greater transparency, exit optionality, and stronger alignment between the financial upside and the risks investors bear. “Broad-based ownership is vital, but it must also be genuinely rewarding if we are to drive long-term participation in the equity economy,” he said. What should shareholders who want to cash out do? For the shareholders who want to cash out, MTNZF told TechCabal the returns will be paid to shareholder bank accounts for certificated shareholders. For those shareholders who hold shares electronically (also called dematerialized), the payout will go to the Central Securities Depository Participant or a broker who manages their accounts. The first payment of R20.00 per share will be made on 28 July 2025, with a second distribution of approximately R2.00-R3.00 per share expected thereafter. To ensure that this happens on time, shareholders are encouraged to update their bank account and contact information. This can be done through the Shareholder Services centre, which can be accessed via phone at 010 476 2012 or 083 900 6863, WhatsApp at 011 321 5400, or email at MTNZF@singular.co.za. Can shareholders sell their MTNZF shares? MTNZF is now just a cash payout operation; it is no longer working as an investment scheme. The only assets left are a few ordinary MTN shares and some cash that will be paid out after costs and taxes. “While MTNZF shares may still technically be traded, they reflect only the remaining residual MTN ordinary shares to be sold and cash to be distributed after paying or providing for costs and taxes,” MTNZF said. “As such, shareholders are advised to exercise caution when considering any sale, as the value is now tied to the sale of the residual MTN ordinary shares and final cash distributions. 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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AI is learning to speak African languages, thanks to these startups
It’s a rainy Saturday morning in Lagos, and the noise inside the public hospital walls on the city’s coastal edge drowns out the pelting rain. In one of its echoey wards, voices overlap, and weary nurses try to manage paper trails that pile up faster than they can process them. For decades, this scene has been typical: overworked staff hunched over files, struggling to juggle patient care with burdensome documentation. But something is changing. In one consulting room, a young doctor in a lab coat finishes diagnosing a patient and instead of scribbling into a paper chart, he speaks. “Fifty-year-old male, presenting with fever, cough, and fatigue. Suspected tuberculosis. Start treatment protocol.” Within seconds, his notes appear, transcribed verbatim on his screen, complete with punctuation. This shift is powered by Intron, a startup using voice-based artificial intelligence (AI) to help healthcare professionals enter medical records using speech. The startup, which launched in 2020, was founded by Tobi Olatunji, a medical doctor with a decade of experience. In many African countries, doctors like Olatunji attend to hundreds of patients daily and deal with a lot of paperwork. Intron Health cuts the time doctors spend writing a patient’s diagnosis. Doctors can enter patients’ medical records, and generate patient reports by voice commands. Crucially, Intron’s AI understands Nigerian accents. Intron is part of a wave of African startups building artificial intelligence tools that speak to the continent’s realities. Beyond local accents, its voice-to-text system understands medical terminology, allowing overworked doctors in Nigeria and Kenya to dictate patient records hands-free, in real-time. Across sectors, homegrown AI solutions like this are bridging long-standing gaps: helping healthcare workers clear documentation backlogs, enabling customer support in indigenous languages, transcribing local court proceedings, and making radio broadcasts more inclusive. As global models struggle with the underrepresentation of African data, homegrown ventures like Intron are building tools trained on local voices to close service gaps in medicine, education, agriculture, and media. While AI applications on the continent have been affected by inadequate data, Intron’s speech-to-text AI transcription tool accounts for many African accents. Olatunji says the datasets are trained on over 3.5 million audio clips across African languages, making accommodations for 288 accents. The company currently cares for more than 56,000 patients across over 30 public and private hospitals in Nigeria and Kenya, including the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano, Babcock Teaching Hospital, Ogun, and Meridian Health Group, Nairobi. Intron, which has expanded its AI models to power courtrooms and call centres across Africa, claims it has helped reduce the turnaround time for radiology reporting at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, by 99.3% from 48 hours to 20 minutes. Intron’s text-to-speech AI tool has cut radiology reporting timelines at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, by 99.3% from 48 hours to 20 minutes.Source: Intron Health Intron isn’t alone. Enter Spitch AI Beyond Intron, a growing crop of startups across Africa is building foundational voice AI, tuned to the continent’s linguistic realities. One of them is Spitch AI, a developer-first audio AI platform. When Temi Babs realised that OpenAI’s Whisper “wasn’t well-tuned to African voices,” the former engineering student abandoned his note-taking app and set out to build the missing layer himself. “African languages were not being catered to by these large models, so we pivoted to voice AI for Africa,” he says, recalling the October 2024 launch of SpitchAI. The startup had a clear mission: make AI speak the languages of Africans, in both directions: speech-to-text and text-to-speech. Rather than build end-user apps, the Lagos startup sits at the bottom of the stack, offering simple APIs and SDKs that let any team plug local-language voice capabilities into call centres, media tools, or learning platforms, without the need for Machine Learning expertise. Starting with Yoruba, the team has since added Hausa, Igbo, Nigerian-accented English and, after demand from East Africa, Amharic. Those rails now power everything from multilingual customer-support hotlines to Nollywood studios that generate synthetic dialogue instead of hiring voice actors. “Producers choose the voices they want, now they can produce their movies in a shorter time and spend less money,” said Babs. Developers buy pay-as-you-go credits to use the speech-to-text and text-to-speech APIs, while large corporations pay bespoke fees for tailored models. “We price on a case-by-case basis: developers go to our portal to buy credits and make API calls, enterprises want a custom solution,” Babs explains.  The Nigerian government is in the race too While private companies like Intron and Spitch AI are building artificial intelligence tools that speak to the continent’s realities, the Nigerian government has quietly entered the race to build a foundational AI model. Last year, the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy commissioned Awarri, a Lagos-based startup, to develop what will be the country’s first government-backed large language model (LLM). The model, now nearing completion, is a direct attempt to help increase the representation of Nigerian languages in the artificial intelligence systems being built around the world, according to Nigeria’s tech minister, Bosun Tijani. Co-founded by entrepreneurs Silas Adekunle and Eniola Edun in 2019, Awarri is building the country’s first LLM model trained on five low-resource Nigerian languages and accented English, in partnership with Data.org. In November 2023, the Lagos-headquartered startup launched a data annotation lab poised to be an AI talent development hub. The lab employs over 100 workers, who are responsible for gathering and annotating data, creating language models, and developing AI apps. Awarri also launched LangEasy in April 2024, a platform that enables anyone with a smartphone to contribute to training the model through voice and text inputs. LangEasy gives users sentences to read out loud, and asks them to save the audio on the app. The app will help crowdsource data for Awarri’s LLM, according to the startup founder. Building Nigerian AI is anything but easy Building Nigerian AI is anything but easy. Training data remains scarce, especially for indigenous Nigerian languages with low digital footprints. Infrastructure barriers continue to slow progress,
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Kenyan BNPL startup Wabeh halts operations as defaults rise, cash flow tightens
Wabeh, a Kenyan buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) provider, paused operations with its vendor network in July, citing the need to “simplify its operational model.” The move follows growing claims of customer defaults, cash flow strain, and the lack of regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). Founded to simplify smartphone ownership through flexible instalment plans, Wabeh’s model allows customers to purchase devices by paying a deposit and repaying the balance daily, weekly, or monthly. But defaults are growing. A Nairobi-based retailer told TechCabal that fewer than half of the 50 devices sold through Wabeh are being repaid. “Wabeh paid us upfront for those phones. But now they’re stuck waiting for money that may not come back,” the retailer said. Wabeh has agreements with both retailers and device manufacturers. The stock sits with retailers, and when a customer requests credit for a phone, Wabeh steps in to finance the purchase. Customers typically pay 30% upfront, then repay the balance in instalments. Wabeh also has a separate arrangement with manufacturers like Transsion Holdings (maker of iTel, Infinix, and TECNO), sending them a small fee for every locked phone sold on credit. Revenue comes from margins embedded in device pricing, not interest, which exempts the company from formal lending thresholds. But with rising non-performing loans and no deposit funding or structured credit facility, its cash position has deteriorated. Devices sold via this arrangement are fitted with a firmware-level remote lock app to manage risk. If customers miss a payment, the phone becomes inoperable. Yet even this deterrent has proven insufficient, as some customers abandon payment after damaging the device or misjudging the cost burden. Wabeh lacks a digital lending licence, making it harder to follow up on defaults. “People go in thinking it’s manageable,” said another vendor. “But KES 200 ($1.56) a day adds up fast, especially for informal workers.” Wabeh did not respond to a request for comments. Regulatory grey zone Wabeh, like many BNPL operators in Kenya, operates in a regulatory grey zone. They offer instalment-based financing, but without interest-bearing loans that trigger licencing thresholds. While traditional digital lenders are now under the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) oversight, BNPL providers have slipped through the cracks until now. The Business Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seeks to explicitly place BNPL under CBK’s purview, replacing terms like “digital credit” with broader language to capture asset financing and instalment-based models. If passed, the bill will require BNPL firms to obtain digital credit licences, a hurdle Wabeh has yet to cross. CBK has already begun tightening enforcement since late 2021, publishing a registry of approved digital lenders and targeting unlicensed platforms. In the absence of a licence, Wabeh cannot legally scale lending or recover capital efficiently. Meanwhile, customer complaints are growing, ranging from unclear pricing to aggressive lockouts for minor late payments. “Even being late by a day can lock your phone,” said one borrower. Despite Wabeh’s struggles, Kenya’s BNPL market remains growing. The industry was valued at $1.03 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow 13.6% to $1.18 billion in 2025, according to industry estimates. Yet, Wabeh’s pause highlights the operational and regulatory challenges facing BNPL startups without credit licences or diversified capital sources. The startup has not confirmed when or if it will resume full operations. In the meantime, retailers and borrowers are left in limbo, and the future of asset-based BNPL in Kenya may depend on how the new regulatory framework takes shape. 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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