Tariff hikes power MTN Nigeria to ₦5.2 trillion record revenue
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest telecom operator, generated more revenue in 2025 reported ₦5.20 trillion ($3.82 billion) in revenue for the year, according to its full-year financial results. This is the highest ever recorded in Nigeria’s telecom sector, up from ₦3.36 trillion ($2.47 billion) in 2024. Backed by a 51.87% share of Nigeria’s 179.41 million active mobile subscriptions, MTN’s revenue nearly matched the entire telecommunications industry’s ₦5.30 trillion ($3.89 billion) revenue in 2023, according to data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The company also restored positive retained earnings and shareholders’ equity and has proposed a final dividend of ₦15 ($0.011) per share, after announcing an interim dividend of ₦5 ($0.004) in September 2025, bringing the total dividend for the year to ₦20 ($0.015). “2025 marked a significant turning point in our business performance and resumption of dividend payments,” Karl Toriola, MTN Nigeria chief executive officer, said. “In the period, we returned to profitability, generated stronger free cash flow, and restored positive retained earnings and shareholders’ funds.” MTN’s performance marks a sharp turnaround after years of economic pressure that pushed telecom operators into losses, as currency devaluation eroded dollar-denominated earnings and reduced average revenue per user (ARPU) from $3.08 in 2023 to $1.89 in 2024. Improved macroeconomic conditions in 2025, including a more stable naira and regulatory approval for market-reflective pricing, helped unlock revenue growth for operators in the industry. Airtel Africa’s revenue grew 28.3% in reported currency to $4.67 billion during the period, with Nigeria leading performance through a 50.6% expansion in constant-currency revenue. For MTN, revenue growth of 54.93% translated into a profit after tax of ₦1.11 trillion ($816.29 million), reversing the ₦400.44 billion ($294.48 million) loss recorded a year earlier. How Data Price Hikes Rescued MTN’s Bottom Line After securing regulatory approval to double data tariffs in Jan 2025, MTN Nigeria swung from a massive deficit to its highest-ever profit. The Profit Swing 2025 Revenue Drivers 2024 (Loss) -₦400.4 Billion 2025 (Profit) +₦1.11 Trillion By transitioning to market-reflective pricing, MTN entirely erased its 2024 losses, restoring dividend payments for shareholders. Total 2025 Revenue ₦5.20 Trillion Data (53.4%) Voice & Fintech (46.6%) Data (Up 74.5% YoY) Voice, Fintech & Other Following the doubling of data tariffs and a sustained surge in internet usage, data is now unequivocally MTN’s largest revenue engine. Source: MTN Full-Year Financial Results (2025) TechCabal Data demand drives growth After more than a decade of lobbying for cost-reflective pricing amid rising operating costs, telecom operators secured regulatory approval for tariff increases on January 20, 2025. Since then, the average price of 1GB of data has doubled to about ₦575 ($0.42), up from ₦287.5 ($0.21). The increase coincided with surging internet usage across Nigeria, driven by streaming, remote work, fintech adoption, and social media consumption. Nigeria’s annual data consumption rose 35.7% to 13.25 million terabytes in 2025, pushing average monthly usage per subscriber to 89.42GB, compared with 70.09GB from the previous year. Data has now become MTN’s single largest revenue driver, contributing 53.39% of total earnings and growing 74.58% year-on-year. Voice revenue also expanded by 49.54%, showing continued resilience despite the shift toward internet-based communication. Fintech revenue is up 79.68%. Since launching operations in Nigeria in 2001, MTN has evolved from a mobile operator into a critical piece of national digital infrastructure and is now one of the country’s most profitable companies.
Read MoreNigeria’s crypto exchanges must now report trades, but enforcement remains unclear
Nigeria’s push to tax cryptocurrency transactions now requires exchanges to log customer trades daily into a government e-reporting portal, a policy that took effect in January 2026. However, industry executives say enforcement gaps and regulatory uncertainty could undermine the effort. The new system, overseen by the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the country’s tax authority, requires digital asset exchanges to upload transaction data into a centralised platform designed to calculate applicable taxes. The move is part of a broader revenue drive as Nigeria seeks to expand its tax base and finance widening budget deficits. The crypto sector remains largely unlicenced, and questions persist over how authorities will enforce compliance, especially against offshore platforms serving Nigerian users. Nigeria is attempting to formalise and tax one of the world’s most active crypto markets through a new e-invoicing regime. But with no fully licenced exchanges, sandbox approvals stuck in limbo, and offshore competitors operating beyond domestic reach, the success of the tax push will depend less on policy design and more on whether regulators can build credible enforcement means. Ayotunde Alabi, country manager and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Luno Nigeria, a UK-born cryptocurrency firm operating in the country, confirmed that crypto startups are required to track and monitor customer transactions and upload on the NRS portal. Luno Nigeria currently uploads these transaction logs daily, according to Alabi. “There is a portal where [crypto exchanges] can upload all [customer] transactions into the NRS system; that’s where things stand at the moment,” said Alabi. “There’s still confusion about how this will be implemented. When you narrow it down to cryptocurrency or digital asset exchanges and their customers, it becomes even cloudier, because it isn’t clear what each party should be doing right now.” Crypto startups remain unclear about how different cases will be treated or how taxes will be calculated and remitted to the tax authority on the e-reporting portal. “From an individual perspective, however, it’s still not clear whether the e-invoicing system is sufficient,” said Alabi. “For example, it doesn’t address people running side businesses above the tax-exempt threshold. What happens in those cases? There’s also no clarity on how gains and losses will be treated.” Crypto exchanges are now working with auditors, including PwC and KPMG, to understand how to automate reporting into the government’s system, according to Alabi. Implementation remains uneven among local crypto startups, with no formal deadline publicly announced as startups continue to familiarise themselves with the new reporting system. Chimene Chinah, CEO of Dantown, a Nigerian crypto startup, said it has yet to begin reporting transactions to the NRS. “We [Dantown] haven’t started yet because we are trying to regularise user data to get their Unique Tax identifiers, including National Identification Number (NIN) and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration numbers [for merchants] as proposed by the NRS,” said Chinah. Enforcement questions While the reporting obligation is clear, the broader regulatory framework is not. No crypto exchange has received a full operating licence in Nigeria. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has admitted some firms into a regulatory sandbox and granted approvals in principle to Quidax and Busha, two Nigerian crypto exchanges, but full licencing remains pending. That creates a practical problem. The tax rules contemplate penalties, including fines or licence revocation for non-compliance. But without formal licences, it is unclear what authorities would revoke. The lack of enforcement clarity could create uneven competition. If locally-compliant exchanges implement tax deductions while offshore platforms do not, customers may simply migrate. “It becomes a disadvantage for compliant exchanges,” said Alabi. “Customers will move to exchanges that don’t enforce it.” Several foreign crypto platforms operate in Nigeria without local offices, including Bitget and Bybit, yet continue onboarding Nigerian users. Bitget did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its status of transaction logging on the NRS e-portal. Bybit couldn’t be reached for comment. Revenue imperative The government’s objective is straightforward: raise revenue as the country targets to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030. Like many emerging markets, Nigeria faces fiscal pressure and has widened its tax net across banking, fintech, and digital services. The new crypto reporting regime sits alongside broader financial transaction monitoring tied to Tax Identification Numbers (TINs). In theory, centralised logging of trades could allow authorities to calculate gains and apply capital or transaction taxes. In practice, industry participants say questions remain unresolved, including how individual investors will file, how losses will be treated, and how informal activity, such as peer-to-peer (P2P) trading, outside regulated platforms will be captured. “A huge chunk of crypto exchange providers run [over-the-counter] OTC desks via WhatsApp and other chat services with millions in USD processed daily, so that can be tricky to monitor,” said Chinah. “The focus will still be on local players, and it will only lead to churn of active users to foreign players who may not comply.” The NRS did not immediately respond to questions around P2P transaction monitoring on the e-portal, or how many crypto startups, both local and foreign, are now compliant. Nigeria’s cryptocurrency market is one of the largest globally by adoption. The country has seen sustained retail participation in digital assets, even amid regulatory crackdowns and banking restrictions. That scale makes the sector an attractive target for revenue mobilisation, but also a difficult one to police. The structure of the market compounds the challenge. Crypto exchanges can operate without physical infrastructure in-country. Websites can shift domains. Users can access platforms through virtual private networks (VPNs), and switching costs are low. Without coordinated licencing, monitoring, and tax enforcement, compliant operators could lose market share to competitors that opt out of reporting obligations. For now, crypto startups say they intend to comply as rules become clearer. But executives stress that policy credibility will hinge on consistent application across the sector.
Read More
Everything Samsung announced at Galaxy Unpacked 2026
Table of contents Product announcements Software & feature announcements Pricing & availability Samsung held its first Galaxy Unpacked event of 2026 on Wednesday, February 25 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The theme was “Your Companion to AI Living,” built around what Samsung calls “Agentic AI” software that anticipates your needs and handles multi-step tasks across your devices. The keynote unveiled the Galaxy S26 series, the redesigned Galaxy Buds4 lineup, the Galaxy Z TriFold, and Samsung’s first pair of multimodal AI smart glasses. If you want to see how this event compares to last year’s, read our full breakdown of Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 vs 2025 Here’s everything that was announced at the event. Product announcements at Galaxy Unpacked 2026 1. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Image source: Samsung on YouTube The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is Samsung’s most powerful phone for 2026, built around a titanium frame and packed with features aimed at professionals. We covered everything expected from this device in our earlier piece on Samsung Galaxy phones coming in 2026 The biggest new feature is the world’s first built-in Privacy Display. Samsung calls it “Flex Magic Pixel,” and it works at the pixel level using electronic current and light dispersion. When you look at it straight on, you get the full QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with 10-bit colour depth and flagship-level peak brightness. When someone looks at your screen from the side, they see nothing. No aftermarket privacy film needed. This is especially useful if you work in busy cities like Lagos or Nairobi, where shoulder surfing is a real concern. The display is also covered by Gorilla Armor 2, which cuts glare by up to 75%. Under the hood, it runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy. Samsung also redesigned the internal cooling system, repositioning the vapour chamber to more evenly distribute heat across the device. That means your phone holds its performance during video editing or heavy gaming without slowing down. For the camera, here’s what you get: 200MP main sensor with a wider aperture that takes in 47% more light than the S25 Ultra 50MP periscope telephoto lens 10MP telephoto lens 50MP ultra-wide sensor You can also shoot 8K video using the new APV (Advanced Professional Video) codec, which preserves near-lossless quality for post-production editing. Price and availability Nigeria: starting at approximately ₦1,705,000 for the 256GB model Global: $1,299.99 Pre-orders open February 26, retail launch March 11, 2026 2. Galaxy Z TriFold The Galaxy Z TriFold made its global commercial debut at Unpacked 2026. Samsung had teased the tri-folding design before, but this is the first time it’s being launched globally. Using a dual-hinge “Z” design, it unfolds from a standard smartphone into a large AMOLED display that works as a mobile workstation with standalone Samsung DeX support, no external screen needed. Key specs: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset 16GB RAM as standard 5,600mAh battery, the largest ever in a Galaxy foldable 200MP main camera, the same sensor as the Ultra It’s also built with nine recycled materials, including plastics from discarded fishing nets and recycled lithium. Price and availability Global: $2,500 (approximately ₦3,500,000 in Nigeria) Rolling out to the United States, Europe, and Nigeria in Q1 2026 3. Samsung Smart Glasses Samsung also announced its Smart Glasses, built in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm, with design input from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. They weigh 50 grams and are designed for all-day wear. The glasses run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon AR1 platform and Android XR. They come in two versions: A voice and sensor model for basic AI assistance A display model that overlays digital information onto the lens The built-in 12MP camera with autofocus lets the Gemini AI see what you see, enabling features like real-time translation of street signs and identification of objects around you just by looking at them. Pricing is estimated at $500-$800, consistent with high-end AR wearables in this category. Global release is expected later in 2026. 4. Galaxy Buds4 Pro Image source: Samsung on YouTube The Buds4 Pro is a complete redesign. Samsung used over 100 million global ear-shape data points and 10,000 fit simulations to get the fit right, built for comfort even during 24-hour wear. On the audio side: A new bezel-less woofer expands the vibrating surface area by 20% Paired with a dedicated tweeter for ultra-high-resolution 24-bit/96kHz audio Adaptive ANC that adjusts noise-blocking intensity based on your ear shape and environment Two features worth highlighting: “Head Gestures” lets you answer a call with a nod or decline it with a head shake, no hands needed. You can also launch AI agents like Gemini and Perplexity directly from the buds using your voice, so your phone can stay in your pocket. 5. Galaxy S26+ The S26+ sits between the base S26 and the Ultra, giving you a large-screen experience without the S Pen or Privacy Display. It comes with a QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with peak brightness suited for gaming and streaming. New this year is “ProScaler,” an AI feature that improves the resolution and colour of your streaming video in real time. For Nigeria, the S26+ may ship with either the Exynos 2600 or Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, depending on regional distribution, both paired with 12GB of RAM. 6. Galaxy S26 The base Galaxy S26 is the most accessible phone in the S26 lineup. Samsung has standardised 12GB of RAM across the entire S26 series, a 4GB increase over last year’s base model, specifically to support on-device Agentic AI tools. The 128GB storage option is gone. You now get 256GB as the baseline, double what you got before. Globally, the price went up by $100. 7. Galaxy Buds4 The standard Buds4 brings most of the Pro’s improvements at a lower price. It keeps the Machine Learning-powered “Super Clear Call” feature, which uses three microphones per earbud and 16kHz bandwidth support for clear audio in noisy environments. It also has a semi-transparent charging case and
Read More
Key highlights from Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026
The Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026 event, held on Wednesday, February 25, in San Francisco, in the United States of America, marked a pivotal shift from traditional smartphone launches to a broader vision of an integrated AI lifestyle. Notably, the entire keynote presentation was captured and livestreamed using the Galaxy S26 Ultra, demonstrating the device’s professional-grade broadcast capabilities. Image Source: Samsung Key highlights The event focused on the transition from generative AI to autonomous agents. Samsung introduced a multi-agent ecosystem, allowing users to choose between various AI assistants for specific tasks. A significant portion of the presentation was dedicated to the brand’s environmental commitments, specifically focusing on water management and circularity. Samsung detailed its progress in incorporating recycled minerals and ocean-bound plastics into its latest hardware, alongside a new initiative to restore water to local communities in proportion to the water used in its manufacturing processes. Products unveiled Galaxy S26 series: The flagship lineup featuring the S26, S26+, and the S26 Ultra. Galaxy Buds 4 series: New earbuds featuring an upgraded design and AI-powered active noise cancellation. New features Privacy display: Debuting on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, this is the world’s first privacy display on mobile. Powered by “Flex Magic Pixel” technology, it allows for hardware-level control of viewing angles. When activated, the screen appears dark to prying eyes from the side, effectively eliminating “shoulder surfing” without the need for physical screen protectors. Multi-Agent AI: For the first time, Samsung has integrated Perplexity AI at a system level alongside Gemini and Bixby. “We are building life-enhancing innovations that are dependable, broadly available and foundational to everyday life,” Won-Joon Choi, Chief Operating Officer of Mobile eXperience Business, said. “ To achieve this, our priorities are clear. AI must become a part of our infrastructure. You should be able to enjoy its benefits through the devices you use every day.” One UI 8.5: The new software layer introduces “Now Brief,” which provides a personalised summary of the user’s day on the lock screen, and “Drawing Assist” to turn rough sketches into polished digital art. Vascular load tracking: A new health metric for the wearable ecosystem that monitors stress on the vascular system during sleep. Availability and preorders Samsung confirmed that the new range of devices will be available for purchase from March 11. For those eager to secure the hardware early, preorders for the Galaxy S26 series and Galaxy Buds 4 start from today.
Read MoreOnly 20 Nigerian banks meet new capital requirements as March deadline nears
Only 20 of Nigeria’s 33 deposit money banks have met the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) new minimum capital requirements less than a month before the March 31, 2026, deadline, CBN governor Olayemi Cardoso said. “Of the 33 banks that have raised additional capital, 20 have met the new minimum capital requirements, reaffirming the steady progress towards a more robust capitalised financial system,” he said during the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) briefing on Tuesday. His comments come as Nigeria’s most ambitious banking recapitalisation drive in nearly two decades enters its final stretch, with lagging lenders facing shrinking options ahead of the March deadline. The recapitalisation exercise, first announced in 2024, is meant to strengthen banks’ balance sheets amid rising inflation, currency volatility, and growing credit risks, while positioning lenders to finance Nigeria’s long-term ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy. The CBN also expects stronger capital buffers to restore investor confidence, absorb unexpected shocks, and improve financial system stability following years of macroeconomic pressure. Under the new regime, banks must meet minimum paid-up capital based on their operating licences: international banks to ₦500 billion ($370.58 million), national banks to ₦200 billion ($148.23 million), regional banks to ₦50 billion ($37.06 million), merchant banks to ₦50 billion ($37.06 million), non-interest banks with national authorisation to ₦20 billion ($14.82 million), and non-interest banks with regional authorisation to ₦10 billion ($7.41 million). A recent report by S&P Global Ratings, an international credit rating agency, shows that most of Nigeria’s largest lenders have already crossed the regulatory threshold. According to the rating agency, nine of the 10 rated commercial banks, which together account for roughly 80% of total banking system assets, already meet the new capital requirements. The banks collectively raised about ₦2.3 trillion ($1.71 billion) in fresh capital during 2025. “We anticipate that some smaller banks may explore options such as mergers or business model adjustments to ensure compliance with the new capital requirements,” S&P said. Although the CBN did not disclose which lenders have fully complied, several tier-one banks, including Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), have publicly announced successful capital raises. With the deadline approaching, attention is now shifting toward smaller and mid-tier lenders that may still be weighing consolidation or strategic partnerships to meet the requirement. Unity Bank Plc and Providus Bank Limited recently announced that their proposed merger is nearing completion, with the combined entity’s capital base surpassing ₦200 billion ($148.23 million).
Read More
Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2026: What’s different from 2025
Table of contents Samsung Galaxy Unpacked January 2025 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July 2025 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked February 2026 2025 vs 2026: What’s the difference? The global smartphone industry is now driven by AI built directly into your device. For Samsung Electronics, the main stage for showing this vision is the Galaxy Unpacked event series. What started as a simple product launch has grown into a major showcase of its ecosystem and chip strength. The first Unpacked took place in June 2009 at CommunicAsia in Singapore, where Samsung introduced the Samsung S8000 Jet and the i8000 Omnia II. Since then, nearly three dozen major events have been held across cities such as Barcelona, Berlin, New York City, and San Jose, each advancing consumer tech. The February 2026 event in San Francisco is important for you and other global users, especially across Africa. It represents the peak of Samsung’s multi-year shift toward Truly Personal and Adaptive AI, built around its Integrated Device Manufacturer advantage. While earlier launches focused on generative AI, 2026 centres on autonomous agents. Your device is expected to anticipate your needs across more form factors, including smart eyewear and tri-folding displays. Samsung Galaxy Unpacked January 2025: The foundation of the AI phone On January 22, 2025, in San Jose, California, Samsung introduced what it called the “AI Phone.” This event centred on the Galaxy AI ecosystem, where software and intelligence shaped the experience more than raw specs. The Galaxy S25 series included the S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra, built as high-performance devices for a new phase of mobile AI. At the core was the customised Snapdragon 8 Elite Mobile Platform for Galaxy. It powered One UI 7 and delivered major gains over the Galaxy S24: 40% improvement in the Neural Processing Unit 37% increase in CPU performance 30% boost in GPU efficiency These upgrades enabled multimodal AI agents to understand text, speech, images, and video simultaneously, giving you more natural, context-aware interactions. The Galaxy S25 Ultra stood out with: A 6.9-inch display protected by Corning Gorilla Armor 2, the industry’s first anti-reflective glass ceramic A 50MP ultra-wide camera alongside a 200MP main sensor for better Nightography Samsung also added a 40% larger vapour chamber to manage heat during gaming and AI video editing, helping your device stay stable under pressure. On the software side, One UI 7 introduced: Now Brief, which learns your routine and shows updates like weather, health data, and daily tasks on your lock screen AI Select and Drawing Assist inside the Edge Panel to summarise articles and turn sketches into detailed images Samsung also included six months of Gemini Advanced and 2TB of cloud storage at no extra cost, strengthening its partnership with Google and its vision of Android with AI at the core. The Galaxy S25 Edge was teased as a slimmer option. At 5.8mm thick, it used a titanium frame and Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2 for durability. To achieve this design, Samsung removed the telephoto lens and reduced the battery capacity to 3,900 mAh. It sat between the Plus and Ultra models as a premium design choice for users who cared about style over telephoto power. Samsung Galaxy Unpacked July 2025: Foldables and comprehensive wellness On July 9, 2025, in Brooklyn, New York, Samsung shifted focus to foldables and wearables. This event centred on the seventh generation of foldable devices and an expanded Galaxy Watch lineup. The message was clear: AI tailored to specific form factors, such as foldables and watches. Galaxy Z Fold 7 Samsung positioned the Galaxy Z Fold 7 as its slimmest and most powerful Fold yet. Key details: 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch main display, larger than the previous generation 200 megapixel wide-angle camera, bringing S series-level photography to a foldable It ran on the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy with Vulkan optimisations for better gaming performance and smoother graphics. Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Flip 7 FE The Galaxy Z Flip 7 received a major redesign: 4.1-inch edge-to-edge Flex Window with 120Hz refresh rate Largest battery in the Flip series and a 50 megapixel camera powered by the ProVisual Engine Samsung also launched the Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE. It kept the foldable design and the 50MP camera but came at a lower starting price, giving you a more affordable entry into premium foldables. Galaxy Watch 8 Series The Galaxy Watch 8 series included: Standard model Classic with the returning rotating bezel Ultra 2 These were the first smartwatches to ship with Google’s Gemini out of the box. They ran on Wear OS 6 and One UI 8 Watch. New health features included Vascular Load, which tracked stress on your vascular system during sleep, and Antioxidant Index, which measured carotenoid levels for insights into healthy ageing. Software and sustainability Samsung introduced One UI 8, optimised for foldables and supported by KEEP (Knox Enhanced Encrypted Protection) for sensitive data. All new foldables launched in July 2025 ran on Android 16 with enhanced AI and security tools. Samsung also highlighted sustainability. The new foldables used nine recycled materials, including plastics from discarded fishing nets and recycled lithium. Samsung Galaxy Unpacked February 2026: The era of personalised AI and smart eyewear On February 25, 2026, in San Francisco, Samsung pushed beyond smartphones into what it calls the “Next AI Phone,” integrating XR experiences. The theme, “Your Companion to AI Living,” focuses on advanced AI that runs directly on your device for speed and privacy. While the Galaxy S26 series is the headline launch, the event also highlights smart glasses and the global rollout of the Galaxy Z TriFold. Galaxy S26 Series The Galaxy S26 lineup includes the S26, S26+, and S26 Ultra. The design shifts to a cleaner look, with a minimalist camera module replacing the separate lens rings of earlier models. The S26 Ultra stands out with: A 6.9-inch M14 OLED display reaching 3,000 nits peak brightness A 200MP main camera with a wider aperture that allows 47% more light into the sensor This upgrade improves motion handling
Read More
A new index wants to prepare African startups for London IPOs
In January, a group of African investors and executives, including Tomi Davies, the founding president of the African Business Angel Network (ABAN), and Babs Ogundeyi, CEO of Nigerian neobank Kuda, smiled for pictures at the London Stock Exchange to launch the Africa Tech 50 Index (AT50), a quarterly, rules-based benchmark measuring how prepared African startups are for public listings. The AT50 assesses companies using a six-pillar framework covering valuation momentum, revenue strength, liquidity, corporate governance maturity, expansion strategy, and broader market signals. “The goal is to make Africa’s most scaled private companies visible through a framework global capital can see, trust, and price,” said Karima El Hakim, a partner at Plug and Play and a member of the AT50 Governance Council. An independent governance council oversees the index to ensure discipline and uniform application of its rules. “It’s exciting because it gives a lot of awareness to African companies,” said Ogundeyi, adding that African startups could potentially list on the London bourse. The search for exit pathways in African tech has now set eyes on the London Stock Exchange, after a decade in which billions of dollars from U.S. and European development finance institutions and venture capital firms poured into African tech, with few comparable exits. Since 2019, over 20 African startups, including MNT-Halan, Flutterwave, Wave, and M-KOPA, have raised mega rounds and are now approaching a decade in operation without listing publicly. A benchmark such as the AT50 could help bridge that gap, giving mature startups greater visibility with later-stage investors and creating clearer pathways to growth capital or eventual exits. “If a company comes in on the AT50, they are potentially on the pathway to being able to raise capital on the private market of the London Stock Exchange,” said Sir John Lazar, the president of the Royal Academy of Engineering. “What we want is an IPO in London of an African tech company.” For this week’s Ask an Investor, I spoke to Gbite Oduneye, who chairs the AT50, via email to understand why now is a good time for the index, what African startups have missed when exiting globally, how the index requires disclosures, the business model behind the index, and what this could change for African tech. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You’ve described AT50 as market infrastructure, not hype. What specific market failure are you correcting? Africa does not have a capital shortage. It has a capital translation gap. Private companies scaled. Public markets did not receive a structured, comparable pipeline. AT50 builds the missing institutional layer between private scale and public capital. African tech companies have raised billions privately. Why do you think it hasn’t translated into public-market pathways? Private markets priced momentum. Public markets’ price discipline. Growth was funded. Governance maturity was not institutionalised early enough. AT50 introduces that discipline before listing, not after. What changed in the last 24 months that made this index necessary now? The reset exposed the difference between narrative and durability. Capital became selective. Exchanges became proactive. Secondary liquidity became structural. Infrastructure had to catch up with maturity. What is the biggest illusion in African private tech valuations today? Valuation is negotiated. Readiness is audited. That gap explains much of the friction. After investing £1 billion in Africa in 2024, BII’s Africa head explains the sectors driving its biggest bets Governance maturity is one of your pillars. How do you measure it? The AT50 measures this through observable institutional signals. The first is board structure and independence, auditing readiness and reporting cadence, committee architecture, the startup’s regulatory posture, and its disclosure behaviour. Governance is not opinion. It is structure. Will AT50 require companies to disclose metrics that they previously kept private? We do not compel disclosure, but we reward verifiable transparency. Signal strength increases with disclosure discipline. What level of financial transparency should African late-stage companies realistically be prepared for today? Audit-grade reporting. Consistent metrics. Board-level oversight. Institutional cadence. Public markets are not allergic to growth. They are allergic to opacity. You referenced credible liquidity pathways. What does ‘credible’ mean in the AT50 context? Credible means structured and defensible. IPO readiness. Dual listing feasibility. Regulated secondary liquidity. Strategic exits with institutional governance. Not aspiration. Preparation. Are you envisioning IPOs in London or dual listings, or domestic exchanges? Venue is secondary. Standards are primary. Africa’s growth story must be priced locally but recognised globally. Stronger domestic listings aligned to international comparability create long-term depth. Is there enough depth in African public markets to absorb scaled tech listings today? Depth grows with supply quality. Markets do not deepen from sentiment. They deepen from repeatable issuer readiness. What would have to change structurally for Lagos, Nairobi, or Johannesburg to host meaningful tech IPOs? Issuer preparation must begin earlier. Listing rules must accommodate growth companies. Analyst coverage and liquidity support must improve. Governance enforcement must be consistent. Preparation cannot begin at filing. It must begin years earlier. International investors often price Africa with a structural risk premium. Can an index realistically reduce that? An index does not eliminate risk. It reduces uncertainty. Uncertainty is what inflates pricing friction. Repeated comparability reduces uncertainty over time. AT50 is governed under the IOSCO-aligned benchmark discipline. That matters because global allocators understand those standards. Image source: Africa Tech 50 Index (AT50). How do you compare fintech in Nigeria to SaaS in Egypt to mobility in Kenya within one index? We do not compare sectors. We compare readiness architecture. Revenue strength, governance maturity, liquidity visibility, strategic expansion, valuation momentum, and market signal. Sector nuance is contextualised, not flattened. What is the long-term business model behind Indexa Exchange Group? Indexa Exchange Group operates as a benchmark infrastructure platform. Our revenue streams include institutional subscriptions, index licensing, and exchange and capital markets partnerships. Commercial scaling follows institutional credibility. What revenue threshold makes a company realistically IPO-ready in this environment? There is no magic number. IPO readiness is the convergence of durable revenue, governance maturity, audit discipline, and market timing. Revenue without structure does not
Read MoreLoftyInc backs Moroccan fintech WafR’s $4 million seed round in North Africa push
LoftyInc Capital, a pan-African venture capital firm, has co-led a $4 million seed round in Moroccan fintech startup WafR, one of the first investments from its newly launched Alpha Fund, signaling a stronger bet on North Africa. The round was co-led alongside Attijariwafa Ventures and Almada Ventures, with participation from UM6P Ventures and First Circle Capital. The funding highlights Morocco’s rising profile in Africa’s venture landscape; the country’s startups raised $58 million in 2025, placing seventh on the continent for capital raised. It also signals a broader shift in fintech strategy. As capital begins flowing more deliberately across regional boundaries, investors like LoftyInc are backing infrastructure-focused startups that embed financial services into informal retail networks. Founded in 2021 to digitise Morocco’s neighbourhood corner stores, known locally as hanouts, WafR enables merchants to offer services such as airtime sales and bill payments through a digital platform. The company plans to expand into peer-to-peer transfers and domestic remittances, positioning small retailers as financial access points in a market where informal commerce remains central to daily life. “We are proud to co-lead this round and champion WafR’s bold mission,” said Mariam Kamel, partner at LoftyInc Capital. “This investment exemplifies our commitment to backing strong founders in high-potential markets who are solving foundational challenges.” With nearly 20,000 corner stores active on its platform, WafR is building one of Morocco’s largest merchant-based fintech networks. The backing of regional investors is expected to support further product expansion and geographic scale. “The entry of LoftyInc Capital, Attijariwafa Ventures, and Almada Ventures is a pivotal milestone,” said Ismail Bargach, WafR’s chief executive and co-founder. “Their support brings not just capital, but deep fintech experience and strong regional networks that will be instrumental as we scale our impact.” LoftyInc said its Alpha Fund focuses on late-seed and Series A startups that have demonstrated traction but face limited access to growth capital, which the firm describes as Africa’s “graduation gap.” The firm has previously backed fintech companies, including Flutterwave, Moove, and Wave. In North Africa, LoftyInc has also backed startups such as the Egyptian AI company WideBot, as well as Odiggo and Illa, reflecting its ongoing expansion in the region. Get The Best African Tech Newsletters In Your Inbox Select your country Nigeria Ghana Kenya South Africa Egypt Morocco Tunisia Algeria Libya Sudan Ethiopia Somalia Djibouti Eritrea Uganda Tanzania Rwanda Burundi Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Central African Republic Chad Cameroon Gabon Equatorial Guinea São Tomé and Príncipe Angola Zambia Zimbabwe Botswana Namibia Lesotho Eswatini Mozambique Madagascar Mauritius Seychelles Comoros Cape Verde Guinea-Bissau Senegal The Gambia Guinea Sierra Leone Liberia Côte d’Ivoire Burkina Faso Mali Niger Benin Togo Other Select your gender Male Female Others TC Daily TC Events Next wave Entering Tech Subscribe
Read MoreYoco’s Marcello Schermer says the next test for African fintech is smarter tools
Marcello Schermer, who leads international expansion at Yoco, a South African digital payments startup, wants African fintechs to create products that nudge customers toward smarter decisions in real time. For him, fintechs should be more of a financial partner. Conversations about African startups today almost always circle back to fintech, a “leapfrog effect” that has reshaped how the world views the continent’s innovation. That shift is happening at scale. Africa now hosts more than 5,000 startups, a sharp rise in just a few years. Even as global venture capital cooled in 2024, the continent proved resilient, and fintech attracted over 40% of funding, about $1.37 billion. Thanks to investors who continued to bet on a young, urbanising population and digital infrastructure. Traditional banks, once the main gatekeepers of money, are steadily giving way to mobile wallets, digital kiosks, and all-in-one super-apps that now power everyday commerce from street markets to small businesses built around fintech. Nowhere is that transformation more visible than in the fintech sector itself. In Lagos and other commercial hubs, smartphones are the engines of trade. Fintech remains the heavyweight, accounting for over 30% of startups on the continent. “A few years ago, instant cross-border trade wasn’t possible,” Schermer told TechCabal in an interview. “ We relied on cash. Now, half of all transactions run on digital rails.” After a decade of startups digitising payments and expanding financial access, he believes the next phase is to become a true financial partner, with tools that not only record transactions but also guide smarter decisions in real time. “These changes may shift how fintechs do their business and how customers think about money and opportunity,” Schermer said. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How would you describe the state of Africa’s fintech ecosystem right now? It’s a pretty exciting place to be. We’ve got one of the most mature financial services industries, particularly in the big four markets: Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. At the same time, we’re seeing a wave of new fintechs putting fresh spins on old models and finding real traction. Fintech is foundational infrastructure for the economy and for society. If people don’t have ways to earn, save, invest, and spend safely, a lot of other things break, because so much of life is tied to how you make and manage money. What’s beautiful is seeing fintechs across the continent build that foundational layer in their local contexts. In some markets, that means giving people access to crypto because it’s more stable than the local currency. In others, it’s aggregating multiple mobile money wallets so users can see everything in one place. Remittances are another big one: helping people send money home or across borders more efficiently. All of this gives people better tools to improve their lives, to fund education, live better, invest, and that’s high‑impact work. Both the mature players and the new players are innovating, and that creates a very interesting dynamic. In 2026, what do you think is a must‑have for fintech startups in Africa? A must‑have is building proactive tools instead of reactive ones. For a long time, most financial tools have been backward-looking. Your spend‑management app told you what you spent last month, your investment app showed you how your portfolio performed last month, and your banking app told you what your balance ended up. What’s really interesting today is that a lot of financial services applications can become more partners and start nudging founders and customers toward better financial decisions in real time. Imagine your banking app saying, ‘If you save a little more here, you can afford that December holiday,’ instead of just showing you that you overspent. Or your investment app pinging you when a stock you’re tracking dips and saying, This might be a good entry point, instead of only reporting performance after the move. A lot of these capabilities used to be available only to people who could build them themselves, but now the underlying technology is accessible enough that they can work for everyone. That’s what’s exciting: tools that proactively help you live better financially rather than just documenting what already happened. Looking back at 2025, what happened in fintech that you think will matter in 2026? Africa’s reserve or central bank’s payments ecosystem modernisation is a big move. It’s an effort to update the national payment systems, make them more inclusive for fintechs, more technologically advanced, and more inclusive for society. These are regulatory projects, so they move at a regulatory pace, but once they land, they are going to unlock a lot for Africa’s fintech ecosystem. How do you feel about the fintech regulatory environment in African markets? As a starting point, payments should be regulated. We’re dealing with people’s money, financial crime risks, and the stability of the wider economy, so there has to be a framework and a level playing field where everyone knows the rules. In South Africa, the regulators have taken measured steps: for example, there are now licences for crypto providers and for different payment activities, which gives clarity on what’s allowed. Could they move faster? Probably, but their primary job is to protect the financial system, and that’s more complicated than it looks from the outside. You sit in the payment space. What should we be watching there in 2026? Payments in Africa are in a very interesting state because the space is so competitive. We’ve got many different offerings, with traditional banks and new players all active, and that competition is translating into more choice and better value for customers; that’s what we have to keep watching. For consumers and merchants, that means more choice and better quality, better pricing, better experiences, and more tailored products. That’s what we want to see in a healthy market. What patterns do you see fintechs struggle with as they build? The biggest challenge is how to balance partnering and building. It’s easier than ever to partner and stitch together solutions from different
Read MoreJAMB clarifies biometric rule after UTME hijab dispute
Nigeria’s university admissions body has said its biometric rules—not religion—are behind a viral dispute over a candidate’s hijab during registration for the country’s most important entrance exam into tertiary institutions. The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), which administers the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) for millions of candidates annually, said requests for candidates to adjust their hijabs or other head coverings during registration are strictly a technical requirement for biometric photo capture, not a religious restriction. This clarification follows a viral social media video, alleging that a candidate at a JAMB registration centre at the Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Southern Nigeria, was asked to remove her hijab before her photograph could be taken to complete her registration. According to the claim, the candidate was also asked to confirm in writing that she declined to fully comply with the ear-visibility guideline. The episode highlights the tension with implementing biometric identity systems in a deeply cultural and religious clime like Nigeria, where inconsistent enforcement or weak communication can quickly spark controversy. In a statement on Saturday, JAMB said its registration process aligns with global biometric standards used for passports and visas, which require certain facial features—including the ears—to be visible to ensure accurate facial recognition. “This requirement is purely technical and is intended to ensure that proper facial recognition and identification do not require the candidate to remove her hijab,” the examination body said. JAMB said candidates are not required to remove their hijabs, and that the guideline exists solely to meet the technical demands of biometric registration. In 2024, the examination body said it had no policy prohibiting candidates from wearing religious attire, following a similar controversy involving a hijab-wearing candidate.
Read More