Explainer: Nigeria’s ride-hailing graveyard and the network effect
On the surface, Nigeria’s ride-hailing market seems ripe for disruption. Drivers continue to complain of tightening margins from dominant platforms, while riders constantly seek better prices. It is the perfect setup for a nimble challenger to offer a more equitable deal and win the day. But so far, Nigeria’s startup landscape is a graveyard for ambitious ride-hailing apps. An estimated 2,500 such apps have launched over the past decade, only to become obscure weeks, months or years later. This consistent failure has been framed as a story of startups being outspent by global giants, like Uber, Bolt, and inDrive. But that view is simplistic. The critical challenge is not just access to capital, but the punishing economics of creating what truly matters in a platform business: the network effect. Network effect is a powerful phenomenon where a product or service becomes more valuable as more people – users, and service providers – use it. Each party adds compounding value in a sort of positive feedback loop. For instance, the more riders express interest in a ride-hailing service, the more drivers join the network and vice versa. The concept of a network effect is the engine behind successful digital platforms, from social networks like WhatsApp and LinkedIn, to e-commerce platforms like Jumia, Selar, and Chowdeck, and ride-hailing networks like Uber, Bolt, and LagRide. A rider doesn’t care about a new sleek app or comfortable car options if the nearest driver is almost always 40 minutes away. They will leave for apps with shorter wait times and may never return. Likewise, drivers will leave, even if offered lower commissions, for platforms where the demand is constant. Getting started: Building an atomic network Within the concept of a network effect, the first dilemma every ride-sharing app faces is the classic “chicken-and-egg” problem: a platform needs drivers to attract riders, but drivers will not join without a critical mass of riders. The solution, experts argue, lies in creating an atomic network—the smallest viable network where enough riders and drivers are present to ensure everyone sticks around. Attracting and retaining the “hard side”—the drivers, who generate most of the platform’s value—is critical to building this network. One good way to approach this is to pick your battleground, geographically. When Uber launched in 2014, it focused on the island, a more upscale part of Lagos State. GoKada, the motorcycle-hailing service, launched in Lagos in 2018 with an exclusive focus on Yaba, a dense hub of students and tech professionals. By concentrating drivers in one area, a ride-hailing service can improve the perception of supply—like ensuring goods are always on the shelf—and refine its model with customer feedback before expanding to surrounding regions. Image source: Ngozi Chukwu, generated on Gemini An atomic network is critical. Laolu Onifade, founder of the now-defunct car pooling startup Hytch, learned this the hard way. Onboarding about 50 drivers before launch and about 1,000 riders days after launch, with no marketing spend, seemed like a good start, but their locations were too dispersed. “One thing we noticed was that sometimes, a driver would be on the island and the rider is somewhere on the mainland,” he recalled. Even when a service succeeds in building a viable atomic network, this success is not easily transferred to other locations or networks. This is why most platforms use a city-by-city expansion, and why some ride-sharing platforms are often described as a network of networks. Bolt cleverly exploited this by expanding into cities where Uber was less focused. According to news reports from the period, while Uber initially concentrated its resources on primary commercial hubs, Nigeria and Abuja, Bolt pursued rapid expansion into underserved cities like Enugu and Abeokuta. By doing so, it captured market share and built a local network effect in areas where it faced little initial resistance. The necessity of building a new network for each city creates opportunities for agile competitors. A new company can sidestep established rivals by targeting secondary cities and suburbs or regions within a city where they lack a strong presence. However, creating these networks from scratch in every new location is extremely costly. Wooing and keeping the hard side The consensus in two-sided marketplaces like ride-hailing is to focus on the “hard side” first. Riders are considered the easy side—more numerous and generally less costly to attract. The journey to securing a committed driver base, the hard side, has evolved dramatically. Ugochi Ugbomeh, co-founder of one of Nigeria’s foremost ride-hailing platforms, e-Tranzit, says that when the company launched 12 years ago, it started with company-owned cars and salaried drivers. This strategy was to ensure drivers were always available and to control the experience for their first users. She recalls a market with low smartphone penetration, where the concept of sourcing rides from an app was alien to taxi drivers, requiring extensive evangelism. “e-Tranzit imported over 100 mobile devices from China, providing them to drivers for free with repayment tied to ride earnings,” she told TechCabal. When Bankole Cardoso launched the Rocket Internet-backed Easy Taxi, another early ride-sharing platform, in 2013, he faced similar hurdles. “The first challenge was convincing Nigerian taxi drivers of the value of this innovation,” he said. Easy Taxi found a financing partner to provide phones to drivers on a three-month repayment plan. Within a year, they had 500 cars in Lagos and 200 in Abuja. The approach of the Nigerian pioneers like e-Tranzit and Easy Taxi to kickstarting their atomic network is known as flintstoning—manually bootstrapping the network by importing phones and providing financing to yellow cab drivers. These efforts were crucial, but by the time Uber arrived in Nigeria in 2014, these platforms still had fewer than 1,000 drivers combined. Uber’s launch changed the economics of driver acquisition by literally paying to bring in everyone to the network. The platform used a “peer-to-peer” (P2P) model, which looked beyond yellow cabs and began recruiting everyday people with cars who were not in the taxi business. Driver literacy and smartphone penetration were less of an issue
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South Africa’s Bank Zero shareholders to pocket $5m and 12% stake in Lesaka acquisition
The shareholders of South Africa’s Bank Zero are set to receive a 12% stake in Lesaka Technologies, worth roughly R1 billion ($56.3 million), plus up to R91 million ($5.1 million) in cash, as part of a deal that will see Lesaka fully acquire the zero-fee digital bank. The R1.1 billion ($61.4 million) deal, pending regulatory approval, marks a strategic shift for Lesaka from fintech to fully licensed digital banking. The agreement is based on an assumed Lesaka share price of ZAR 88.26 ($4.97). If the share price is higher when the deal is finalised, the cash portion will increase and the equity portion will decrease, maintaining the overall value. Bank Zero is expected to be profitable in its first fiscal year under Lesaka’s ownership. Bank Zero, co-founded by former First National Bank executives Michael Jordaan and Yatin Narsai, launched in 2021 with a radical proposition: a zero-fee, fully app-based banking experience. By April 2025, it had attracted over R400 million (over $22 million) in deposits and over 40,000 funded accounts. “Bank Zero was built from the ground up to deliver a secure, digital-first banking experience,” Narsai said. “Joining forces with Lesaka allows us to accelerate that mission at scale—reaching more customers, faster—while staying true to the principles that define who we are.” The deal gives Lesaka access to Bank Zero’s banking license and tech-driven infrastructure, enabling it to offer a full suite of banking services, tap into new revenue streams, fund lending growth through customer deposits rather than bank debt, and potentially reduce a gross debt of over R1 billion (over $56 million). “The acquisition of Bank Zero is a transformative event in Lesaka’s journey,” said Lesaka chairman Ali Mazanderani. “It enables us to better serve our consumers, merchants, and enterprise clients by embedding a trusted, well-engineered neobank capability into our fintech platform.” Bank Zero chairman Michael Jordaan said the company is “confident the synergies between our digital banking infrastructure and Lesaka’s fintech reach will create sustainable value for all stakeholders.” Jordaan will join Lesaka’s board post-deal, while Narsai will remain CEO. The founding team stays on with shareholding lockups ranging from 18 to 36 months. Rand Merchant Bank advised on the deal, with Webber Wentzel & Rouse acting as legal counsel. If all conditions are met, Lesaka is expected to provide deeper financial details in its year-end results in September 2025. 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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In Kenya, you could pay as much as $15 per page of a bank statement
In Kenya, accessing your financial history still comes at a premium. Despite years of digitisation, printing a copy of your bank statement can feel like begging to see your own birth certificate. Retrieving a printed or certified version of your bank transactions, required for loan, visa, or tenancy applications, can cost as much as $8 (KES 1,000) per page, depending on the financial institution. Sometimes, customers could pay over $154.8 (KES 20,000) to furnish six months’ worth of banking history. That’s more than the minimum monthly wage in urban Kenya. It shouldn’t cost this much, not in a system where nearly every bank issues monthly e-statements, financial inclusion is routinely praised, and digital payments are among the most advanced on the continent. Most banks provide electronic statements for free via email or their banking app. But once a physical printout or stamp is needed — as is often required by lenders, landlords, and embassies — the process becomes costly. At Standard Chartered, printing costs stand at $1.93 (KES 250) per page. Stanbic Bank charges $4.34 (KES 560) for statements older than one year. At KCB, the largest bank by assets, a statement older than five years will set you back $15.48 (KES 2,000) per page. Even recent records, less than two years old, cost $2.48 (KES 320) per page. Absa Bank applies a flat rate of $4.57 (KES 590) per page. DTB charges $0.77 (KES 100) per page for current-year statements. Co-operative Bank, Kenya’s third largest by customer base, charges between $0.77 (KES 100) and $8 (KES 1,000) per page, depending on the age of the record. Equity Bank, whose brand is built on mass-market access, charges $1.16 (KES 150) per page. At I&M Bank, the cost ranges from $3.36 (KES 434) to nearly $8 (KES 1,000). At NCBA, statements from the current period cost $0.81 (KES 105) per page, while those older than two years are charged $1.63 (KES 210) per page. Certification of e-statements is free for the first 10 pages, after which customers pay $0.93 (KES 50) per page, capped at a maximum of $15.48 (KES 2,000). 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Stacked up, these fees are akin to a silent penalty on anyone trying to prove their financial standing, whether for a loan, a visa, or a new apartment. For many working Kenyans, especially those without access to corporate banking perks, paying for a simple paper trail is more than an annoyance. It could be out of reach. Banks defend the fees as necessary to cover operational costs. A senior executive at one of Kenya’s top banks told TechCabal, on condition of anonymity, that the charges reflect the “real effort” required to retrieve and verify statements—particularly older ones — though offered few specifics. Historical records, he said, are always a click away, and bank staff have to review them manually. But users argue that these explanations no longer hold up. “I don’t think banks’ charges on statements make any sense with all this technology flying around,” says a consulting engineer in Nairobi, who requested not to be named. “I applied for a loan at National Bank, and they asked for six months of statements. That came to 60 pages. Stanchart, which I bank with, charges KES 250 per page, which is KES 15,000, to access my records. How is that fair?” Lower-
Read MoreStablecoins won’t “bank the unbanked”; so what are they for?
Founders are racing one another to build solutions that allow crypto to work like real money. This has led to the rise of stablecoin off-ramp solutions—apps that allow individuals and businesses to convert dollar-backed stablecoins like USDT and USDC into local African currencies—seeking to replace peer-to-peer (P2P) crypto exchanges, which are often targets for scams. Some interesting use cases I’ve seen include crypto cards that allow users to hold stablecoins and spend, transfer, or withdraw like regular money. Stablecoins are also being tested in social commerce and other everyday use cases. Yet, when people speak of stablecoin use cases in emerging markets like Africa, we talk about them like they’re still on the horizon. The reality is, many of these use cases are already here, just not evenly spread. In emerging markets today, stablecoins have two major uses: for cross-border payments and as a hedge against inflation. Somewhere in the evolution of their adoption, there might be a third leg in lending. Cross-border payments and remittances In many emerging markets, sending money across borders is still slow, expensive, and unreliable due to intermediaries. Banks and traditional money transfer services often come with delays and high transaction fees. Stablecoins are helping to fix that. “If you have a relative abroad, they can send you USDT,” said Uzochukwu Mbamalu, CEO and co-founder of Palremit, a crypto and stablecoin off-ramp platform. “You get the value immediately in your local bank account. That’s one of the major use cases, and we are seeing people use stablecoins for that right now.” Compared to just five years ago, there are now more off-ramp solutions like Palremit that have made these kinds of cross-border transactions more seamless and popular. There are two major reasons for this burst of activity. First, regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are now paying close attention to cryptocurrencies. The SEC has classified digital assets—including cryptocurrencies—as securities, and introduced a ₦500 million ($323,000) capital requirement for any exchange that wants to operate in the country. To avoid this regulatory pressure, founders are sticking to the stablecoin side of the market, which doesn’t yet have clear rules. Stablecoins are digital representations of fiat currencies and, under Nigerian law, are not classified as “virtual assets.” The second reason is that though the infrastructure that connects stablecoins to mainstream traditional finance still lags behind, transactions in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are increasing. What makes stablecoins cheaper for remittance isn’t just that they’re digital. It’s how they’re built. Most stablecoins are built to run on Layer-1 (L1) blockchains like Ethereum. These are powerful networks, but they often get congested. When too many people use them at once, transactions slow down and fees rise. To solve this, developers created Layer-2 (L2) blockchains built on top of the main Layer-1 networks to help process transactions faster at lower costs. Think of Ethereum like a busy country where everyone uses the same currency, Ether. People come in with tasks, like sending money or using an app, and they all queue up at one shop. That shop gets overwhelmed. Processing takes longer, and costs go up. L2s are like extra shops built nearby to handle the overflow. They take care of some of the tasks and later send a summary back to the main shop. This keeps things moving without clogging the original system. Platforms like Celo and Optimism are examples of these Layer-2 networks. Stablecoin transactions can now be routed through these Layer-2 blockchains, allowing people in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, or Ghana to send and receive money almost instantly and with far lower fees than through banks or traditional remittance services—without intermediaries. As stablecoin off-ramp platforms adopt Layer-2 solutions, stablecoin transfers are becoming not just faster, but practical and affordable for everyday users. That’s a big part of why they’re gaining traction in cross-border use cases. Hedging against inflation Inflation is a constant problem across many African countries. When local currencies lose value, people look for ways to protect what they have. Stablecoins offer one way to do that. Dollar-backed stablecoins like USDT and USDC keep their value tied to the US dollar. This helps people avoid the drops in value that happen with local currencies. Moving savings or business funds into stablecoins is, for many, a way to hold on to value in a system that doesn’t always offer that stability. Stablecoins provide an easier pathway to hold dollar value, especially in markets where direct access to US dollars is limited. Unlike traditional finance, stablecoins can move freely across borders without waiting for approval from Western institutions. Local traders and platforms now play the role of liquidity providers, helping people convert in and out of stablecoins without needing to go through foreign banks. 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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Food delivery is magic beans
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF! Africa’s tech ecosystem is alive with ambition, and Moonshot 2025 is catalysing it into unstoppable momentum. Our theme, “Building Momentum,” honors past builders and calls for doubling down on systems, capital, policies, and partnerships. Expect new formats, deeper conversations, and broader voices. This is where vision becomes action. If you’re building, funding, or enabling Africa’s innovation economy, join us October 15–16 in Lagos. Early Bird tickets are 20% off! Let’s build the future, faster, smarter, together. Reserve your spot here. Let’s dive in. Food delivery is magic beans Ethiopia to allow foreign banks for the first time in 5 decades President Ramaphosa backs BEE reforms for South Afica’s ICT sector Funding Tracker World Wide Web 3 Opportunities Food Delivery Food delivery is magic beans Image source: Ngozi Chukwu/TechCabal/Generated on Veo Ask any seasoned African tech expert and you’ll hear the standard verdict: food delivery drains investor dollars, an understandable stance as Africa’s digitally savvy youth population faces dwindling purchasing power. Yet Foodpod by Subtext, a three-part report produced with Paystack, asks different questions and shows the sector already defying predictions of failure. Between 2021 and 2024, Nigerians saw basic food prices double and their purchasing power halve, but more than ever embraced online orders; the segment recorded a spectacular 187 % compound annual growth rate. Chowdeck’s monthly orders rocketed to one billion, while Glovo clocked ₦72 billion ($46.5 million) in vendor sales. Growth now extends beyond aggregators to a buzzing lattice of logistics firms, cloud kitchens and quick-service restaurants. This exponential growth isn’t limited to aggregators; a bustling ecosystem of logistics providers, cloud kitchens, and quick-service restaurants is also thriving. Osarumen Osamuyi, author of Foodpod, argues that we shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the sector’s potential. He argues that the investment of previous players were not an absolute loss; they cultivated new market behaviours that have laid the groundwork for current growth, particularly in Lagos and some Tier 2 cities. The question of whether a successful business can be built selling convenience where money is scarcer than time may be outdated. Instead, Osamuyi proposes: “Perhaps the question is not whether you can build a large business doing delivery; it is about what you do once you’ve built one.” Foodpod likens food delivery to “magic beans” in the fabled Jack and the Beanstalk, where a boy trades his family’s only asset for a bag of beans that sprout a ladder to unexpected riches overnight. Likewise, the sector may not look lucrative at first but can reward those who master it. Platforms already stretch into non-food retail, courier services and advertising; Chowdeck’s recent acquisition of Mira pushes it into restaurant inventory management. And this, Foodpod insists, is only the beginning. If this optimistic perspective about the sector sounds interesting to you; you can read Osamuyi’s first part of the three Foodpod reports and catch up on the rest later here. 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. 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Starlink is increasingly popular in Zimbabwean cities; can local ISPs compete in rural areas?
In Zimbabwe’s busiest cities—Harare and Bulawayo—it’s hard to miss the white, pizza-box-shaped Starlink terminals mounted on cars. Even the humblest Honda Fit taxis cruise from suburb to suburb with these satellite kits bolted to their roofs, a visible symbol of the country’s latest tech interest. When Starlink landed in Zimbabwe in late September 2024, it was noted as a big step forward especially for a country where reliable internet remains elusive outside the urban core. By Q1 2025, over 30,000 terminals were active nationwide, according to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ). Starlink’s low-earth orbit satellite internet promises what traditional Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have long struggled to deliver – stable, high-speed, and wide-coverage internet. And in urban Zimbabwe, the appetite is visible and growing. “There is increased adoption by individuals, businesses, schools—even public institutions,” said Never Ncube, the CEO of Dandemutande, Starlink’s authorised reseller in Zimbabwe. “The services are being used as either primary and secondary internet links.” Yet behind the uptake lies a deeper tension, who gets to connect and who gets left behind. “While Starlink’s low-latency satellite tech is a game-changer in terms of reach and speed, cost remains a barrier as hardware purchases and subscription fees are priced in USD leaving many rural users still struggling to afford,” said John Arufandika, a digital transformation strategist at Aptiva AI. In rural Zimbabwe, where over 60% of the population live, the picture is less futuristic. The same high-speed service is largely out of reach due to pricing. The standard hardware kit costs $350, while the smaller, portable Starlink Mini goes for $200. Monthly subscriptions start at $30 and must be paid in U.S. dollars—well beyond what most rural households, 76% of whom live below the poverty line, can afford. The promise of rural kids online, farmers accessing weather data, and startups in remote towns is farfetched as “access in rural areas, so far, is mostly limited to missionary schools and donor-funded initiatives,” according to Arufandika. 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Arufandika noted that Starlink’s arrival is also stirring unease among local internet service providers (ISPs), many of whom have long struggled to expand reliable connectivity to rural areas. While Starlink launched nationwide in September, local ISPs only received permission to offer similar satellite services in January 2025—giving the U.S.-based disruptor a significant head start. With rural network issues still unresolved in many areas, Starlink’s rapid entry is forcing a tough question: will this push local ISPs to improve and expand, or will they continue losing users to the more accessible alternative? While the long-term impact remains unclear, Ncube cautioned that it’s too early to gauge how Starlink will reshape Zimbabwe’s connectivity landscape—whether through competition, collaboration, or hybrid strategies. A clearer picture may only emerge after a year of operations. Arufandika noted that some ISPs have started using Starlink’s network as backhaul in remote areas, informally rerouting the service to extend their own coverage. But under Starlink’s current direct-to-consumer model, local players are left without formal reseller pathways or enterprise-grade partnerships.There is limited support for local reseller models, meaning many ISPs feel locked out unless they find workarounds. “The field is not level,” Arufandika added. “Starlink in Zimbabwe operates with fewer ground infrastructure obligations and lighter regulatory demands. It’s hard for local players to compete when they are not
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African startups undervalued globally due to poor storytelling, report says
Despite the growth of Africa’s tech ecosystem in the last decade, startups on the continent continue to struggle with being overlooked and misunderstood on the global stage due to poor storytelling narrative on their transformative innovations and solutions, according to a new report by Talking Drum Communications, a public relations consultancy. The report said strategic narrative is now essential for attracting investors’ confidence, credibility, and long-term growth, and is to be treated as a priority. However, it noted that many African startups are failing to devise a strategic infrastructure to communicate their functionality effectively to global stakeholders, leaving a huge perception gap that could serve as a potential driver of their growth, making them misrepresented and undervalued. It cited a 2021 Village Capital report that ranked communications as one of the most underfunded capabilities among African startups, just behind talent and product development. It added that limited visibility, which fuels inaccurate understanding of startups’ value propositions, affects startups’ ability to attract funding, talent, and credibility. According to the report, in many cases, African startups rely on their founders’ personal journey to tell their story. While compelling in the early stages, it stated that it could lead to a one-dimensional narrative that fails to reflect the company’s broader mission, vision, or social impact. “…over reliance on this can overshadow the company’s broader mission and impact,” especially in complex sectors like B2B infrastructure or health logistics. It also highlighted the dangers of product-led storytelling, focusing on what the company does, from products, features, and services, instead of why they matter. This approach, it says, may appeal to early adopters but often alienates investors, regulators, or the broader public who are more interested in mission, values, and societal relevance. According to research cited from McKinsey & Company, many international investors and partners often lack confidence in African startups due to outdated narratives, fragmented information, and ingrained biases. Stated that even high-performing startups are often undervalued or overlooked, because their stories aren’t reaching or resonating with the global stakeholders. “Companies that neglect purpose and impact-led narratives risk being seen as interchangeable, forgettable, or irrelevant in the long term. In contrast, those that centre their communications on real-world outcomes, community impact, or societal relevance often build deeper trust, stronger emotional resonance, and more enduring brand equity,” the report said. It also outlines several success cases where storytelling has helped African tech companies overcome credibility barriers and sustain market leadership. Zipline, the world’s largest autonomous logistics system, has used narrative to position its drone-based medical supplies system not as flashy tech, but as essential healthcare infrastructure. Now, expanded from Rwanda to other African countries, including Ghana, where it has impacted a 56% drop in maternal deaths and a 25% increase in skilled deliveries in the country’s Ashanti Region. Duplo, a B2B payments infrastructure company, took a data-led approach to simplify and digitise how African businesses make and receive payments, making it a trusted financial partner in a region where informal processes, fragmented data, and legacy systems still dominate. As a new class of tech firms is emerging with strategic narratives, the report identifies that owned media, proactive PR strategy, executive visibility, and cross-market and differentiated narratives are the core strategies to improve public and stakeholders’ perception and confidence. To help African tech firms operationalise the insights in the report, Talking Drum proposes two practical frameworks: the Narrative Maturity Ladder (NLM), which maps how companies could evolve from startup to legacy institution with effective communication and storytelling, while the Return on Investment Model (ROI) which will help them to measure how strategic storytelling and stakeholder engagement impact them in four core areas of enterprise value: brand equity, deal flow, crisis resilience, and employer reputation. The report advised founders, investors, and the communication team to define “why,” fund startups’ storytelling as part of value creation, and charge the communication team with a strategic narrative to align with growth goals and stakeholder expectations. 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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These 3 HMOs are recommended by HRs in Nigeria
In Nigeria, access to healthcare is one of the most unpredictable aspects of everyday life. Public hospitals are underfunded. Private clinics are expensive. And even the best-laid health insurance plans can collapse under bureaucracy or poor service. Beginning around the mid-2010s, the sector saw the entry and growth of tech-powered health maintenance organisations (HMOs) that improved access to timely and quality care. These companies, as well as older ones turning to technology to enable their service delivery, are reshaping what employer-sponsored healthcare looks like, and Human Resource (HR) professionals are taking notes. I spoke to four HR professionals in Nigeria to find out which HMOs they trust, what makes them work, and where the system still fails. Their responses reveal what’s broken, what’s changing, and what’s actually worth paying for in Nigeria’s chaotic healthcare system. What HR professionals prioritise in HMO plans For HR professionals—Faith Emmanuel (8 years experience), Felix Bissong (7 months experience), Charity* (5 years experience), and Ebun* (3 years as a consultant)—the old metrics of price and “basic coverage” just don’t cut it anymore. More recently, professionals consider these three factors instead: Quick, reliable access to care: These HR professionals maintain that the ease and speed with which employees can access care from listed providers is crucial. “Delays frustrate employees and make them question the value of the plan,” Ebun says. Quality of service: For HR professionals, quality of service is non-negotiable. As Bissong puts it, “The peace of mind that comes with reliable service is worth more than cost.” Charity agrees: “If employees can’t access care because of poor service, the HMO ends up being underutilised [no matter] how affordable it is.” Emmanuel sums it up: “There are some mistakes money can’t fix, so it’s better they are prevented despite the cost [of the HMO]”. This includes access to specialists like Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctors or gynaecologists, but also extras like optometry and wellness features. There’s also a growing employee expectation that plans come with telemedicine services, gym memberships, and access to real account managers, not just customer service lines that lead to dead ends. Affordable plans with no surprise out-of-pocket payments: HR staff want coverage that protects employees financially. They are clear on the fact that employees shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for services their HMO is supposed to cover. Three HMOs that get it right These HMOs were named by Emmanuel, Bissong, Charity, and Ebun, who have tested them across companies and teams. They stand out, not just for popularity, but because they work, according to these professionals. Reliance HMO Reliance’s biggest strength is its tech, according to these professionals. The mobile app is intuitive, telemedicine support is responsive, and hospital approvals happen fast. HRs say this dramatically reduces complaints and absences resulting from sick days. “I’ve used Reliance for my company and recommended it to clients,” says Ebun. “It’s reliable. Their mobile app works. Their doctors respond quickly. The whole experience just feels like it’s built for the user.” Bridget Odo, a management engineer at First Primus, echoes this. As an employee, she says that before she arrives at the hospital, she can chat with an online doctor about her symptoms. “The registration process is smooth, and once I arrive, I don’t waste time. Their app is very easy to navigate,” she adds. Leadway Health Leadway isn’t new to insurance; it is one of Nigeria’s most established financial groups. While it may not have started out as a digital-first HMO like Reliance, HR professionals say it has adapted well to modern expectations, and praise Leadway for, among other things, managing new employee onboarding smoothly. Where other HMOs let names fall through the cracks, Leadway quickly resolves registration delays—a common pain point in Nigerian firms. “Leadway Health is the most effective HMO I’ve used,” says Charity. “They are prompt in service delivery, have a wide network of reputable health facilities, and are well respected by hospitals. This ensures that employees receive timely and hassle-free treatment when needed.” David*, a corporate communications officer at Globus Bank, adds that as an employee, he trusts Leadway because of its credibility. He adds that their pricing structure is affordable. AXA Mansard AXA Mansard stands out for its quality of service, according to Bissong. As part of the AXA Group, one of the world’s largest insurers, AXA Mansard is an older, more traditional player in the Nigerian HMO space. It may not be classified as a healthtech startup, but its scale and reliability still make it a top choice for HRs managing large teams. Employees under AXA’s plans also reported fewer service denials and better access to wellness benefits. HRs noted that AXA’s around-the-clock support and dedicated relationship managers make a noticeable difference, especially for large organisations. 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Benin makes its case as Africa’s next cybersecurity hotspot at Cyber Africa Forum
The Republic of Benin rarely comes to mind when one thinks of Africa’s tech powerhouses. But the small West African country—bordering Nigeria and home to just 14 million people—is working to change that. With startup-friendly policies, a currency pegged to the Euro, and growing investor interest, Benin is positioning itself as a serious player in the region’s digital economy. That ambition was on full display at the Cyber Africa Forum (CAF), held in Cotonou from June 24–25, 2025. Now in its fifth edition, CAF has quickly become one of the continent’s most important gatherings on cybersecurity and digital transformation. This year’s theme, “Resilience of Digital Ecosystems: The Necessity of Changing Paradigm,” underscored the urgency for African countries to reimagine digital sovereignty, infrastructure security, and public-private collaboration as cyber risks grow more complex and dynamic by the day. The two-day forum brought together about 1,000 people, including ministers, startup founders, investors, telco giants, and cyber experts. From artificial intelligence to venture capital, education policy to critical infrastructure, the forum tackled the most pressing digital questions facing the continent. But the central theme was clear: cybersecurity is no longer a technical footnote; it’s now a matter of national priority. “We’ve created this platform to enable everyone in the ecosystem to contribute to the discussions around cybersecurity and digital transformation,” said Franck Kié, founder and chief organiser of the forum. “And the rising number of government officials attending CAF each year proves how seriously that message is being received.” The event featured high-ranking government officials, including Aurélie Adam Soulé Zoumarou, the Minister of Digital Affairs of Benin; Ibrahim Kalil Konaté, Minister of Digital Transition of Côte d’Ivoire; and Léon Juste Ibombo, Minister of Telecommunications of the Republic of Congo. Image Source: Cyber Forum Africa. In his keynote, Redda Ben Geloune, CEO of AITEC group, urged Africa to stop being a passive observer in the digital revolution and instead take control of its narrative by investing in its infrastructure and talent. He praised recent efforts across the Francophone region: Côte d’Ivoire has launched national AI and digital governance strategies, with a cybersecurity agency set to be operational by April 2025; Senegal has unveiled a $1.7 billion tech transformation plan; and Benin has established a national data center. Geloune outlined three urgent priorities. First, he called for sovereign infrastructure, citing Ethiopia’s sovereign cloud and Côte d’Ivoire’s investments as models for building local capacity in data hosting and computation. Second, he emphasised the need for digital education tailored to governance, advocating for the training of 1 million professionals—including legal and public sector experts—by 2030. Third, he stressed the integration of AI and cybersecurity into the core of government operations, warning that institutions must adapt or risk becoming obsolete. Day 1: Africa is starved of patient and local capital Day one saw discussions across the full spectrum. Panelists discussed everything from the need for patient and blended capital on the continent to how AI is driving growth in Africa’s economy and the current state of cybersecurity on the continent. The call for patient capital first surfaced during my conversation with Benin’s Minister of Digital Economy and Communications, who made the case plainly: Africa needs a different kind of money to thrive. It’s a sentiment shared by many across the continent and ro resurfaced during an investor panel. Panelists agreed that Africa’s innovation economy can’t be built on short-term returns. What’s needed is patient capital—money that understands the long arc of startup growth—and blended finance structures that de-risk early bets by layering donor support, technical assistance, and guarantees. Over 80% of startup funding on the continent comes from foreign investors. That dependency, panelists warned, creates blind spots. “Why do so many African startups incorporate in the U.S., Dubai, or Mauritius?” asked Charles Kie, Director General of Genesis Group. “Because those places offer the legal security and patience investors demand. We need to create that environment here.” Much of the responsibility, they argued, rests on the shoulders of local investors. But a fundamental gap remains: many domestic investors are still unfamiliar with the venture capital model. Changing this cultural orientation towards high-risk, long-horizon investing is critical to unlocking local funding. “We can’t expect African startups to scale on foreign capital alone,” one panelist noted. “Our own investors have to step in and stay in.” Ghislaine Samaké, CEO of Ecobank Guinea-Bissau, outlined what blended capital can look like in practice. “At our bank, we had to turn to several hybrid structures, blended finance mechanisms that include first-loss guarantees,” she said. She cited a program in partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP) that channels microcredit to rural farmers. “WFP provides the guarantees and technical support. We do the scoring and lending. It lowers our risk and makes financial inclusion viable. One of my favorite conversations at the event was the keynote by Irene Auma, Visa’s Head of Risk, on the state of cybersecurity on the continent. According to her presentation slides, across the world, $1.3 trillion is lost to cybercriminals annually. These threats have been exacerbated by advancements in AI and deepfakes, exploitation of technology, and customers being the weakest link. Yes, you read right. VISA’s Head of Risk says you and I are the weakest link in cybersecurity threats. Auma’s point was reinforced when the head of MTN Benin, Uche Ofodile, shared during another panel how she almost fell for a phishing test her company’s IT was running. Day 1 closed out with panelists on the AI panel divided on whether or not Africa should have sovereign data for its AI. While the four-panel team argued for and against data sovereignty, one question stuck out for me: Is there a market for sovereign AI data in Africa? Day two: Resilience, culture, and the rise of Africa’s cyber talent Day two rode on the high that day one finished with. Key panel discussions tackled pressing topics such as addressing cyber threats in the era of resilience. Elsewhere, industry leaders debated whether cultural factors would shape the future of the
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AI startup Caantin in talks for $4 million seed round as it nears $1 million monthly revenue
Caantin, the Zambian artificial intelligence startup replacing call centres with voice agents, is raising $4 million to scale its AI infrastructure and expand outside Africa. The startup, which claims it is already close to $1 million in monthly revenue, is projecting $10 million in annual recurring revenue by the end of 2025. The round comes just six months after Caantin pivoted from its past life as an artificial intelligence startup businesses use to analyse and visualise data and relaunched with a new core focus: automating high-volume call centre operations for banks and fintechs. It is the startup’s fourth attempt at finding product-market fit after pivoting from the hospitality sector to artificial intelligence. This is Caantin’s first raise, but its CEO’s second, as he raised $2.16 million for TopUp Mama, a Kenyan-based restaurant procurement management startup. Founded in 2023, Caantin’s AI infrastructure can now handle over one million calls a day and already counts fintechs like Fairmoney and Carbon as customers. Carbon’s CEO, Chijioke Dozie, is an investor in Caantin. In African markets, these financial institutions maintain large teams of customer support agents. Each requires office space, power infrastructure, internet, laptops, and constant management overhead. Caantin bets that AI can reduce this cost significantly while increasing scale and consistency. “If these banks stop calling borrowers, they lose money,” Njawa Mutambo, Caantin’s CEO, told TechCabal. “But managing that operation is expensive and fragile. AI is not a nice-to-have. It’s essential for scale.” In South Africa, it charges 4 rands (2 cents) per second, while in Nigeria, the rate is ₦185 (12 cents) per minute, nine times higher than what local telecom operators charge. Caantin is targeting banks and financial services firms with its voice AI product because of their massive customer bases and revenue scale. Banks make up at least 26% of the top 250 listed African companies and hold five of the top six positions. The startup’s usage-based monetisation model, charging based on the volume of calls processed, mirrors what infrastructure players like Paystack and Flutterwave are doing for Africa’s payment sector, except that Caantin is building on top of voice. “By serving banks and fintechs, we are effectively hedged within a high-yield vertical,” Mutambo said. “We are a telecoms business tailored to financial services. Their growth becomes our growth.” Caantin plans to use the funds to deepen its enterprise integrations, scale its infrastructure, and expand into new markets. The company is bullish on Latin America, where labour costs are higher than in Africa, and enterprises face the same customer engagement pain points seen in Africa. The minimum wage in Brazil is $262, compared to Nigeria’s $46. “In Brazil, the cost of call centre labour is around $2 per hour. In Nigeria, it’s closer to 25 cents,” Mutambo said. “So the ROI for AI is even stronger in LATAM.” Caantin also serves internet service providers and insurers, with South Africa’s Africa Hosts and Kenya’s Turaco among recent clients. 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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