How to move your WhatsApp chats from Android to iOS without losing them
What you will need: A stable internet connection (preferably a WiFi network), a fully charged Android device and iPhone, and a Type-C to iPhone cord (optional). I’ve been loyal to both Samsung and Apple for years. But earlier this year, when I tried switching from my Samsung to my iPhone, the process felt like rocket science. My biggest worry was losing years of WhatsApp chats. So, I tried moving my local backup from my Android to the iPhone. But when I was onboarding the WhatsApp account on my iPhone, the iOS did not recognise any backups available on the device. I considered online recommendations that shared unverified third-party apps, but I had concerns about data breaches with many of these apps. After reading through many articles, Reddit threads, and watching YouTube videos, I discovered a safe way to migrate your WhatsApp account from your Android to your iPhone. Here is how you can, too. Preparing for migration If you just purchased your iPhone and have yet to use it, this step is perfect for you because your iPhone will need to be formatted before migration. However, if you have already begun using your iPhone, you need to back up all your data to iCloud or a hard drive before formatting your iPhone. To do this: Go to the settings of your iPhone, and click ‘General’. Image Source: TechCabal Image Source: TechCabal Click, ‘Transfer or Reset iPhone’. Your iPhone will prompt you to ‘Get started’. When you click ‘Get Started’, back up your apps and data to your iCloud. Image Source: TechCabal Image Source: TechCabal Image Source: TechCabal Once your data is safely backed up, you can go ahead and click ‘Erase All Content and Settings.’ Setting up your iPhone Image Source: 9to5Mac This process helps you migrate all your data, including contacts, messages from your Android to your iPhone. However, if you are only interested in moving just your WhatsApp chat, you can indicate so during the migration process. Connect your Android device to a WiFi network: To avoid network interruptions during the migration process, put your Android device in Airplane mode. Then, go to your WiFi settings. If there are other available nearby WiFi networks that you have previously connected to, click on each WiFi connection and turn off ‘Auto connection’. Image Source: TechCabal This prevents your Android from switching connections during the transfer process To also prevent your screen display from turning off during the transfer process, go to your Android’s screen display settings and set the screen timeout settings to the maximum setting. You can reset this to your preference once the migration process is complete. Image Source: Lifewire Apple does not offer a way to achieve this during setup, so you will need to be on standby to tap your iPhone’s screen to avoid the display turning off during the data transfer. Download the Move to iOS app from the Play Store on your Android device: Once the app is downloaded, open the app on your Android device, and set it beside your iPhone. Begin the setup on your iPhone: Choose your preferred language and iPhone appearance. On the Quick Start screen, you will be asked if you want to set up without another device. Click ‘Set Up Without Another Device’. Image source: PCMag Set up your iPhone network: After this, connect to the same WiFi network that your Android is connected to. Then, you will be prompted to read through a Data and Privacy notice. When you have read through and understood. Click ‘Continue’. Continue setting up iPhone: Indicate who you are setting up the iPhone for. Once this is done, you can choose to set up your Face ID now or later, and then set up your passcode. Image Source: TechCabal After this, once the ‘Transfer Your Apps & Data’ screen comes up, click ‘From Android’. Image Source: Macworld Migrating your WhatsApp account Migrating your data can be done over a wireless connection or via a cable. If you have a Type-C to iPhone cable, you can connect both devices for the transfer. However, you will need to ensure both devices are fully charged for this. Open the Move to iOS app on your Android device: You will be shown a screen that says, ‘Move from Android’. Click continue. Image Source: MacRumors Terms of agreement: Once you have read, understood, and consented to the terms of agreement, the next screen will ask if you want to send app usage data to Apple. Indicate your preference. Enter one-time code: On your iPhone, you will be shown a screen that says, ‘Move to iOS’. Click ‘Continue’ on your iPhone. Your iPhone will display an authentication code. Input the code on your Android device. Image Source: TechCabal Your Android prompted you to ‘connect to the device’ (your iPhone) via a temporary WIFi network. Click connect. Transfer Data: Here, you migrate all your data to your iPhone from your Android, or just your WhatsApp chats. Toggle the data you want to migrate, and click ‘Continue’. Image source: Oscarmini/YT Note: If you are transferring your messages (SMSes), some messages might be lost or mixed up in other group chats. Your photo library might also be data-heavy to move, so you can consider migrating it later through Google Photos or Xender. Move chats to iOS: When you toggle ‘WhatsApp’ to move your WhatsApp data to your iPhone, a WhatsApp screen will pop up to continue the process. Follow the onscreen prompts. Image Source: XDA You can only move one WhatsApp account during this migration process, and this process solely works for regular WhatsApp accounts, not WhatsApp Business accounts. If you omit this step and move all of your other data from your Android device to your iPhone, excluding your WhatsApp data, you will not be able to move your WhatsApp data later. You will need to erase your iPhone data and restart the migration process. Once the WhatsApp import is complete, you will be redirected to the Move to iOS
Read MoreEverything to know about SASSA December payments
As the festive season approaches, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has released its December 2025 grant payment schedule, bringing payouts forward to help households prepare for holiday spending. But the agency is still tightening its system using technology to prevent fraud and ensure that social grants are paid to the correct individuals. SRD grant extended The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant has been extended for another 14 months, now set to continue through March 2027, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the extension during his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in Cape Town. Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe welcomed the decision, noting that the extension provides additional time to develop and refine proposals for a more permanent basic income grant. To ensure that the grant reaches only those who qualify, the government will tighten eligibility checks. Applications will be cross-verified against tax records, Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) data, and the national population register. SASSA has also addressed previous shortcomings in its SRD application system, implementing fixes aimed at making the process more efficient and reliable for beneficiaries. Grant payment dates for December 2025 Older Persons Grant – Tuesday, 2 December 2025 Disability Grant – Wednesday, 3 December 2025 Children’s Grants – Thursday, 4 December 2025 Sassa grant amounts: Old Age (60-74 years) and Disability grants – R2 315 Old Age (75+ years) Grant – R2 335 War Veterans Grant – R2 315 Care Dependency Grant – R2 315 Child Support Grant – R560 Foster Care Grant – R1 250 SRD Grant – R370 How to check your SASSA grant status After applying for a SASSA grant, beneficiaries often want to know whether their application has been approved and when payments will be made. Fortunately, SASSA offers several secure and convenient ways to check your status. Don’t forget to use the same ID number and contact details you provided when applying. 1. Online: Visit the official SASSA SRD website: https://srd.sassa.gov.za/sc19/status Enter your South African ID number and the mobile number used in your application. Submit the form to see whether your application is approved, pending, or declined. If approved, payment dates will also be displayed. 2. WhatsApp: Save SASSA’s WhatsApp number: 082 046 8553 Send a message and follow the prompts to provide your application ID and details. You will receive your grant status via chat. 3. SMS: Open your messaging app and send: STATUS <space> ID number to 32555 You will receive a reply with your current grant status. 4. Call or Visit in Person: Call SASSA toll-free at 080 060 1011 for assistance. Alternatively, visit your nearest SASSA office to check your status in person, including biometric queries if needed.
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Which savings app offers the best interest rates in Nigeria in 2025?
You’re probably familiar with the question, ‘savings or current?’ from a Point of Sales (POS) agent when you want to withdraw money. When you deposit your money in a savings account with a traditional bank, you are promised an accrued interest, averaging 8% per annum, depending on the bank. However, savings accounts with fintechs such as Cowrywise and Piggyvest, Kuda, Fairmoney, and PalmPay offer higher interest rates, ranging from 14% to 22% per annum. Regardless, every savings product (and loan product) comes with an interest rate—the percentage return set by the platform or asset you’re investing in. But beyond interest, each savings app has its own features and limitations, depending on your goals and lifestyle. Here are the Nigerian savings apps offering the best rates, and the key features to consider. Which fintechs have the best savings interest rates? Piggyvest Image source: PiggyVest Blog Founded in 2016, Piggyvest was the first West African savings app. Now a popular digital savings platform, here are the savings plans they offer and their rates. Safelock (Fixed Savings): Focus on disciplinary savings. Rates are determined by the locked duration (14%-20% for 10-365 days). While you can lock your funds for up to 1,000 days, interest on any Safelock over 365 days will be paid at maturity. Piggybank: Automatic daily, weekly or monthly savings with interest that accrues daily. Free withdrawals happen once every 90 days. Interest is at 17% per annum. Target Savings: Automated goal-based and core savings, typically 12% per annum. This plan can be private or public, which is done with others. Savings have a minimum duration of 30 days and cannot be accessed till maturity. However, if you break a target before the due date, you will pay a 1% fee and forfeit its accrued interest. HouseMoney: A semi-strict plan for saving towards a house, where you will only be allowed to move your funds from the account during the month the savings mature. Interest is 14% per annum. Withdrawal Policy: Strict quarterly free withdrawal dates apply to core savings, and interest forfeiture (such as 1%) for breaking Safelocks and Target Savings B. Cowrywise Image source: Cowrywise Cowrywise has plans driven by communities and social circles. Regular Savings/Life Goals: Goal-oriented savings with a minimum lock-in (e.g., 3 months). Rates are typically tied to underlying money market funds. Emergency funds have an interest rate of 13.27%, while the House Rent saving plan, Study plan (for tuition and study goals), and car plan (savings towards a vehicle) feature an interest rate of 13.85% Money Duo: This plan allows you to build wealth together with your partner. Football & Basketball circles: These plans are powered by real-life triggers, such as saving money whenever your team scores, with an average interest rate of 13.27% Withdrawal Policy: Stricter adherence to maturity dates on fixed plans; designed for maximum discipline and investment focus. C. Fairmoney Image source: Fairmoney The microfinance bank has held over ₦35 billion in savings for Nigerians. It offers a flexible savings plan and a fixed deposit plan. FairSave (Flexible Savings): Focus on high liquidity and reported competitive interest (17% per annum) FairLock (Fixed Deposits): One of the most competitive interest rates with up to 28% per annum. The plan is best for long-term savings. Integrated Banking: Seamless MFB operations (loans, accounts, etc.). Withdrawal Policy: High flexibility and daily interest accrual for FairSave, while FairLock fixed deposit will be withdrawn automatically to your FairSave balance upon maturity. D. Kuda Image source: JoinKuda/X Kuda offers a savings trigger called ‘Spend+Save’ where a percentage of your choice is saved automatically every time you spend. This has no interest rate. Save frequently pocket: You can save daily, weekly, or monthly and get up to 8% per annum. Fixed Savings: You can get up to 12% annual interest on Fixed Savings. Withdrawal Policy: If you withdraw from your fixed savings plan before maturity, the plan is automatically deleted, your ‘spend’ account is credited, and 10% of the accrued interest is deducted from your returns. E. PalmPay Image source: MarketForces Africa Cashbox/SmartEarn (Savings): Offers high interest for flexible savings products for up to 20% per annum for Cashbox, and 22% per annum for SmartEarn. Target Savings: Goal-based savings with a 12% interest rate per annum. You can customise your savings frequency and goal. Payout is upon maturity. Spend and Save: Palmpay’s spend and save feature automatically deducts a pre-decided amount (e.g, 10%, 50%, 70% or 100%) from every transaction to your savings account. Your savings also accrue a 20% interest rate. Withdrawal policy: With SmartEarn, you can have 24/7 instant withdrawals with no redemption fees. Choosing the right platform for your financial goals While fintechs typically offer higher returns than commercial banks, each platform has its benefits, depending on your goals or what you prioritise. 1. You can choose Piggyvest if you Need strong discipline: Your primary goal is to enforce savings discipline using tools like Safelock (fixed savings) and HouseMoney. Want low liquidity: You are comfortable with strict quarterly free withdrawal dates for your core savings (Piggybank/Target Savings). Seek competitive fixed rates: You want high interest rates in the 14% – 20% range and are prepared for a small interest forfeiture (e.g., 1%) for breaking the fixed plan early. Key differentiator: Core strength is providing tools that enforce strict, mandatory savings discipline (Safelock).* 2. You can choose Cowrywise if you Are highly goal-oriented: You want to save towards specific life goals (House Rent, Study, Car) or participate in community-driven or social savings circles. Prioritise an investment focus: You are willing to strictly adhere to the maturity dates of your plans. Key Differentiator: Focuses on social, community-driven savings and maximising returns through plans directly tied to underlying money market funds.* 3. You can choose Fairmoney if you Want high fixed returns: You are focused on long-term savings and want the highest potential interest rate available, up to 28% with their FairLock (Fixed Deposits). Need flexible high-yield savings: Alternatively, you require a highly liquid account (FairSave) that offers competitive
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Loan apps with the best interest rates for Nigerians in 2025
You were probably short on cash, payday is still some days or a week away, and you were beating yourself up for the jollof rice and ice cream you “splashed” your money on three days after getting paid— and at that moment, an ad popped up on your screen while watching YouTube. “Borrow ₦50,000 instantly! No collateral. Low interest rate. No paperwork.” Sounded like a lifesaver, right? Millions of Nigerians feel the same way with loan apps like Fairmoney, Carbon, and Renmoney, promising fast, low-interest loans. But here’s what the fine print doesn’t say: that “low 5% monthly interest rate” you saw on the ad is a marketing strategy, and the real cost becomes clear only after the full interest is calculated. How Nigerian loan apps calculate short-term interest rates and APR Short-term interest rates are the extra percentage you pay on the amount you borrow for between a few days and one month. For example, if you borrow ₦50,000 at a 10% monthly interest rate, you will pay ₦5000 interest, making your total repayment ₦55,000 for that month. APR shows the actual yearly cost of your loan, including all fees and charges. In simple terms, APR is calculated by dividing the total cost of the loan (interest + fees) by the loan amount, adjusting for the loan term, and then converting it to a yearly percentage. This means the longer your repayment cycle is, the higher your total loan interest. For instance, if you borrow ₦100,000 for 12 months at a 4% monthly interest rate, your loan calculation would be: The compound interest rate will make the APR 60.1%. Total amount to be repaid ₦160,103.22. Note: Some loan apps in Nigeria are also notorious for charging high interest rates on short-term loans that last 3-7 days. Loan apps interest rate comparison in Nigeria (2025 update) Loan app interest rates are not uniform; they offer different packages, products, and services. Let’s look into some popular loan apps in Nigeria and how much they really charge as interest rates. Fairmoney Fairmoney is one of Nigeria’s leading fintech lenders, offering loans within minutes with minimal paperwork and no collateral. Official monthly interest rate: Fairmoney charges between 2.5% to 30% per month, depending on your credit score and loan duration. Annual percentage rate: That translates to an APR ranging from 30% to 260%. User(s) experience: Ayomide* took a loan of ₦10,000 and repaid ₦14,500 after 30 days. Putting the total interest rate at 45%. Carbon Carbon (formerly Paylater) offers personal loans and rewards early payments with lower rates. Official monthly interest rate: Between 4.5% and 30% per month. The rate reduces as you build a repayment history. Annual percentage rate: Goes up to 195% per year for high-risk loans. User(s) experience: Sobur* took a loan of 19,500 with an interest of ₦4,485, making the total amount to be repaid ₦23,985 in 3 installments over 3 months. However, User H defaulted on his loan which has now increased to ₦34,370.59 after two years of default. OPay (Easemoni) Easemoni is a part of Opay’s ecosystem, which is financed by Blue Ridge Microfinance Bank. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Official monthly interest rate: The monthly interest rate ranges between 5% to 10% per month. Annual percentage rate: The APR ranges between 60% to 120% per year, depending on how long the loan lasts. User(s) experience: Temiloluwa* took a loan of ₦22,000 with an interest of ₦4,944, making the total repayment ₦26,944 after 28 days. Putting the interest rate at 22.42%. Temiloluwa* took another loan of ₦12,000 with an interest of ₦5,370, making his total repayment ₦17,370 in three installment payments with a 3-month timeframe. Putting the interest rate at 44.75%, and the monthly interest rate at 14.9%. PalmPay (Flexi) PalmPay offers credit through Flexi, a loan product provided by Blooms Microfinance. How PalmPay loans work Flexi cash: offers loans with daily interest rates ranging from 0.6% and 1.5%, depending on the loan amount. The loan period is from 7 days to 4 months. Flexi BNPL (buy now pay later): this allows users to make purchases within the app and pay later with 0% interest. User(s) experience: Moyo has a due loan of ₦16,000 with an interest of ₦2,352 and a service fee of ₦1,280 for a 21-day loan. After calculating, Moyo will pay a daily interest of 0.70% and a cumulative of 14.7%. When Alex tried to take a loan of ₦20,000 for 28 days, the interest on the loan was pegged at ₦5,520, bringing his total repayment to 25,520. After calculating, Alex will pay a daily interest of 0.98% and a cumulative of 27.6%. Conclusion Every “instant loan” comes with a price tag, and a 5-minute approval can turn into months of repayments and a debt profile that becomes hard to manage. To keep a low debt profile, look beyond marketing hype, correctly calculate your APR, compare lenders, don’t take a loan you can’t repay, and don’t engage in loan stacking. As a thumb rule, know that; the smartest borrowers are the ones who pause, calculate, and borrow with a feasible repayment plan. Lastly, loan app interest rates are not uniform; a lot of variables, such as loan amount, loan term, and credit history, affect the final interest rate.
Read MoreNigeria’s drug supply chain is broken. OneHealth thinks PillFinda can fix it
Nigeria’s pharmacies and health centres operate in a notoriously fragile pharmaceutical supply chain. Essential medicines regularly go out of stock, and retail pharmacies often depend on a patchwork of open-drug markets, middlemen, and informal distributors to replenish inventory. As a result, Nigeria’s unavailability of essential medicines at pharmacies sits at nearly 65%, one of the highest in Africa. At the same time, the continent’s online pharmacy and B2B drug-procurement sector is growing, valued at over $560 million in 2022. Players like DrugStoc, Remedial Health, and Pharmarun already anchor parts of this value chain. Yet Nigeria still lags behind its peers in digital procurement adoption, leaving space for newer entrants to propose alternatives to the long-standing distribution inefficiencies. OneHealth, a Lagos-based online pharmacy and health-tech company founded in 2019, is one of those entrants. The company runs a direct-to-consumer (D2C) online pharmacy offering prescription fulfillment, telehealth, and chronic care support. It claims to have served “tens of thousands” of customers across multiple Nigerian states, and has gradually expanded into healthtech products, including a medication subscription service and home diagnostics. Now, the company says it wants to tackle the deeper structural challenges that constrain its consumer business: the reliability and cost of medicines. Its new product, PillFinda, is a B2B procurement marketplace that aims to give pharmacies and hospital dispensaries access to real-time inventory data, coordinated logistics, and a structured channel for sourcing essential and hard-to-find drugs. “There have been difficulties where pharmacies struggle with drug procurement for their stocking, or maybe they just need drugs that are scarce or hard to find,” Babatunde Oguntona, PillFinda’s sales manager, told TechCabal. “Sometimes, they have to go to different manufacturers or multiple vendors to be able to restock. But with this solution, what we are trying to do is to ensure that access to medication end-to-end is being covered.” Nigeria’s existing procurement pathways make that ambition clear. Most pharmacies still rely on major open drug markets like Idumota in Lagos or Sabon Gari in Kano, where prices shift daily with FX swings, and quality control is inconsistent. Others depend on regional wholesalers who lack digital systems, forcing pharmacists to spend hours calling multiple suppliers. Most time-pressed pharmacies outsource sourcing to informal procurement agents, often at a markup. PillFinda attempts to simplify this process by allowing pharmacies to browse available stock, place orders digitally, request products, and track deliveries through OneHealth’s logistics arm, PillMova. “If you’re looking for a particular brand or product that you cannot find on the platform, you make a request and upload the name and exact picture, and we will source it for you,” Victoria Ifeonye, the platform’s product manager, explained. But the B2B drug-distribution market is already crowded and highly competitive. 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 TC Scoop Subscribe DrugStoc, one of the sector’s strongest incumbents, runs a licenced supply-chain network for pharmacies and hospitals in Nigerian states; Remedial Health provides inventory, software, data and financing solutions to healthcare providers in Africa; and Pharmarun aggregates pharmacy inventories for consumers and businesses. These platforms rely heavily on licensed distributors and, in some cases, run their own micro-distribution hubs, offering competitive pricing through negotiated bulk agreements. Compared to these companies, PillFinda does not yet operate large-scale warehousing or a nationwide network of distribution hubs. Oguntona says the platform’s differentiation lies in tighter logistics integration and deeper data tracking. PillFinda can monitor buying patterns and predict when a pharmacy is likely to run out of fast-moving products. That data, he said, allows for proactive restocking: “We can understand their buying pattern, what they purchase often, and then suggest when it’s time to restock,” he said. Nigeria’s pharmaceutical market is price-sensitive due to foreign exchange and tax. To keep pharmacies financially afloat, PillFinda incorporates a credit system that allows pharmacies to buy now and pay later, within controlled, monitored limits. “We give pharmacies a credit system,” Oguntona said. “But we monitor their credit behaviour, so we don’t give beyond what they can handle. That helps us stay profitable while supporting them.” PillFinda’s pricing model sits on traditional wholesale margins. The platform buys from manufacturers and licenced distributors, applies a markup, and sells to pharmacies. But because drug prices in Nigeria fluctuate with foreign exchange and import costs, OneHealth says it adjusts prices frequently based on supplier costs. The company also expects to earn from its credit system, offering short-term financing to pharmacies but capping limits based on repayment behaviour to reduce risk. Yet, the platform faces the same obstacles that have constrained others in the sector: Logistics costs remain high nationwide, regulatory compliance is complex, and many small pharmacies are slow to adopt digital tools. “We work with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria (PCN) as well to ensure that we are obviously complying with all the laws and rights of medication supplies,” Ifeonye said. That strategy helps keep product prices stable for pharmacies but also suggests PillFinda is still constrained by the same market realities as other platforms, particularly those without exclusive manufacturer partnerships or large warehouse capacity. Players with deeper supply-side leverage tend to shape pricing; others must react to it. “We currently have another challenge with price margins with competitors,” Ifeonye acknowledged. “ But how we are solving that is that we adjust pricing based on our supplier costs, because we look for cheaper suppliers that give us medication at a very affordable rate.” Despite these constraints, OneHealth views PillFinda as more than an extension of its consumer business. The company aims to
Read MoreIn a first, more Kenyans are on M-Pesa than on Safaricom’s mobile network
For the first time, more Safaricom customers now rely on its M-Pesa mobile money service than on its traditional mobile network, signalling a major shift in the company’s business model. In the six months to September (H1 FY26), Kenya’s biggest telco reported 37.9 million one-month active M-Pesa users, compared with 37.5 million mobile subscribers, per its latest investor presentation. Data service subscribers stood at 31.9 million. Its mobile money also generated more revenue than core telco services like calls, data, and text. The platform reported KES 88.1 billion ($676.9), driven by higher transaction volumes and a growing merchant network. That figure exceeds the total revenue from mobile data ($309.6 million), mobile voice ($305 million), and messaging ($42.2 million) over the same period. M-Pesa now accounts for 44% of total service revenues, pointing to the growing importance of the mobile money service to Safaricom. The telco has been expanding the backbone of its mobile money by introducing merchant solutions, insurance, and wealth management products. In the period, the number of businesses accepting M-Pesa payments rose to 2.4 million, covering SMEs across the country. Its agent network stood at 319,300 active agents; a footprint larger than that of all other financial-sector service providers in Kenya, including banks, combined. In the six months, the company reported a 52.1% rise in profit to KES 42.8 billion ($331 million), helped by M-PESA business and a reduction in losses from its Ethiopian unit. Total revenue rose 8.1% to KES 204.7 billion ($1.58 billion), supported by an 11.1% jump in service revenue to KES 199.9 billion ($1.54 billion). Mobile services grew 14% over the period. Calls to split M-Pesa Kenya’s National Treasury and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) have been pushing Safaricom to spin off M-Pesa into a standalone subsidiary to give regulators more control. In August, the Treasury Secretary told Bloomberg that the plan to split Safaricom into three separate units—its core telecom business, a tower company, and the mobile money giant M-Pesa—was in motion, a move that could also involve the state selling part of its 35% stake in the company. However, Safaricom prefers a group reorganisation that keeps M-Pesa under the same corporate umbrella, arguing that a complete spin-off would only make sense if it adds value for shareholders and customers, not to meet regulatory demands. On November 12, Vodacom Group, which holds a 40% stake in Safaricom, ruled out splitting M-Pesa from the core business and listing it separately, despite pressure from Kenyan authorities.
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Here’s everything we know about Google’s Gemini 3
Google is ushering in a new era with the launch of Gemini 3, an AI model that the tech giant claims is its most intelligent yet. This comes two years after Google launched the first version of Gemini to compete against OpenAI’s GPT models. The company says Gemini 3 represents a new level of reasoning, context awareness, and multimodal understanding, the kind of intelligence that actually plans and builds responses, and adapts as it goes. It is available across a suite of Google products. Gemini 3 is a culmination of Gemini 1, 1.5, and 2.5, stacking the specific breakthroughs of these previous models into a more potent architecture. Instead of reinventing the wheel, it leverages the context and multimodal infrastructure established in earlier versions as a baseline. The result is a model that is better at long-chain reasoning and significantly more capable of handling complex tasks without breaking coherence. The new model comes with upgrades across the Gemini app and Google’s AI ecosystem. Here are some exciting new features launched with Gemini 3. Deep Think mode that learns, builds, and plans The new model comes with a new Deep Think capability that allows the model to pause and reason through complex logic before responding. Gemini 3 is said to set a new benchmark for performance because it was designed to achieve the kind of depth and nuance that enables it to solve complex problems across science and mathematics with a high degree of reliability. Its responses are now concise as it has been trained to trade clichés and flattery for genuine insight. With advanced multimodal understanding, the model can synthesise and understand various types of content simultaneously, including text, images, video, audio, and code. This means that it can easily process a photo of handwritten material or transcribe lengthy lecture notes into customised, interactive learning materials like flashcards or visualisations. New generative UI in Gemini App The app has a visual layout feature that allows the new model to create a new type of interface that adapts to the user’s specific prompt. This feature is a magazine-style view that generates explorable visual content, such as a full itinerary for a trip plan, complete with photos and customisable modules. This new interface also comes with a dynamic view feature that allows the model to design a custom interactive user interface in real-time. For example, asking for an explanation of a historical gallery could result in an interactive guide optimised for learning. 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 TC Scoop Subscribe Gemini Agent for multi-step tasks A new agentic tool has been launched within the Gemini App that allows the model to take on multi-step tasks like research, planning, or interacting with other Google apps, like Gmail and Calendar, on the user’s behalf. This tool can handle actions like organising an email inbox, adding reminders, or researching and booking travel. This feature will roll out to Google AI Ultra members first. “My stuff” folder for your stuff The Gemini app has introduced a new section in the menu, dubbed My Stuff, which stores the images, videos, and Canvas creations that a user generates within a chat, rather than them being buried within such chat history. This feature makes it easier for users to find their generated materials. Better shopping experience The model now offers an improved shopping feature, pulling product listings, prices, and comparison tables directly from Google’s Shopping Graph, which has over 50 billion product listings. This allows users to conduct complex product research and receive actionable purchase information within the Gemini chat. Image source: Google Google Search learns to research Google’s update to AI Mode on Google Search will now use a query fan-out technique, which means that rather than the model looking for matching keywords from a user’s prompt, Gemini 3 will break a complicated question into smaller pieces, do the research on each part, and give you one clear answer. This allows Search to more intelligently fan out and uncover a broader range of relevant web content that might have been missed by older models. It will be available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers. Interactive simulations in AI Mode Google Search can now harness Gemini 3’s coding capability to instantly generate interactive tools and simulations directly within the AI Mode response. This may include a custom-built, functional loan calculator or an interactive simulation of a complex physics concept that is tailored specifically to the user’s query. Google Antigravity developer platform Google also launched Google Antigravity, a new agentic development platform powered by Gemini 3, and built around the idea that users need not spell out every line of code or manually debug every issue. It is a standalone Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. The environment allows the AI agent to operate across a user’s code editor and browser simultaneously. When a user gives it a high-level prompt, like asking it to build an app feature, the system creates a plan, generates subtasks, and executes the code. The agent also learns from its past work and integrates users’ feedback into its responses. Gemini 3 and Antigravity are pivotal for Google as they transform the company’s flagship model into a foundation for agentic intelligence. For Google, this new era is necessary to contribute to the evolving nature of artificial intelligence, and represents its belief that AI can be operational and active rather than just a response tool.
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I tried planning a BBQ on Piggyvest-backed PartyVest. Here’s what happened
Let me be upfront, I am not an event person. I actively avoid hosting (and sometimes, attending) anything, ever. Why? My stress tolerance is low, and the chaos of planning events just sends me running. You’d have one group chat for communication, a separate notes app for the budget (or, in my case, a piece of paper that will definitely vanish), and scrolling through debit/credit alerts on my bank app to know who paid for what. Did I mention frantically calling vendors? It’s a mess. As a curious person, when I heard about PartyVest, an app that claims to bring all these pieces into one place, I decided to see if it worked by hosting a small barbecue for five friends. Spoiler alert: the barbecue didn’t end up happening, but plotting it out on the app was its own kind of adventure. It was almost… fun. Building a ‘faaji’ (enjoyment) ecosystem PartyVest launched in September 2025 as a response to what General Manager Mobola Awe calls the Nigerian truth: that we celebrate everything, but planning anything feels like a battle. PartyVest began with a conversation between Awe, who had been working in events for over a decade, and an engineer about the endless tools she had to keep up with while planning events. The first version of the product was designed to address planning, featuring budgeting, task monitoring, vendor tracking, and collaboration tools. But as the team tested the product, it became clear that Nigerians attend events, give gifts at them, promote them, and share memories from them, in addition to planning them. So, the product shifted into something broader. “We wanted an entire ecosystem that caters to planners, attendees, people who want to give gifts, and people who want to receive gifts,” Awe said. 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 TC Scoop Subscribe The app is designed to be a central hub for planning, discovering, attending, and remembering events within or outside a user’s network. The company is led by Awe, along with an executive team that includes Francisca Edoki, Edidiong Uwah, and Aisha Musa-Bawa. It is backed by PiggyVest, the Nigerian online savings & investment platform, and Zrosk, an alternative investment management company, in a partnership that provides deep infrastructure for the app. PiggyVest Business powers the financial layer of the app, which includes the wallet system, vendor payouts, event account numbers, and inflows. Into the PartyVerse: Planning “Yemi & Frnds Sunday BBQ” When I started planning this event, I wanted to see how far I could get without feeling overwhelmed. So, I tapped ‘Create Event’ and was immediately prompted to define the vibe of the event. Since this was just an in-house hangout, I selected ‘Social and Community Gathering’ from the list. I named my event and set its timeline. I got a shareable event URL I could send to people and a slot to input the event description. Instead of typing out a paragraph, I let the built-in AI generate the description for me. It was a small detail, but for someone who was avoiding stress, it was a great start. Next, the app asked for basic logistics such as the expected number of guests (I input 5 people), an estimated budget (I settled on ₦50,000 [$34.53]), and whether I wanted extra features like a wishlist that tells attendees what I would like them to bring, a budget tracker to manage expenses, and vendor management. Now, I didn’t strictly need to onboard vendors because it was all going to be DIY barbecue, but I enabled the feature anyway. The app allows you to discover vendors for food, drinks, or rentals, which is an upgrade from sending Instagram DMs, wondering if the vendor is trustworthy. Awe explained that the vendor marketplace is curated, noting that the PartyVest team deliberately selects verified vendors and suppliers. For the aesthetics, I needed a cover image and a theme. You can upload your own, but I browsed the in-app library, selected a pre-made poster that perfectly fit the mood, and then the event dashboard appeared. The planner’s dashboard is where PartyVest starts to feel like a genuine planning tool. At the top is a countdown clock showing how long I have before my event starts. Below that is my event wallet, which allowed me to generate a unique bank account number for my barbecue. “That account number is a Pocket App account number that PiggyVest Business APIs provides, ” Joshua Chibueze, co-founder of PiggyVest, noted, adding that the engine powering transfers to vendors is Pocket. What’s interesting is that planners can earn daily interest on the money that sits in there. This effectively turns the planning period into an investment opportunity, ensuring that the money gathered for the event is actually growing until the moment it needs to be spent. The planner’s dashboard also enables me to manage my budget effectively. I input my estimated costs for chicken, juice, fries, and drinks, and the app visualised it for me (who doesn’t love a good pie chart?). To keep my planning organised, I used the task tracking feature, which works like a shared to-do list where each person can be added as a planner and assigned specific tasks. I also pinned the event location, which integrates with Google Maps, so that guests can navigate directly to the venue without the usual back-and-forth of location sharing. Guest management happens on the same dashboard. You can see people who have RSVP’d or those who have been
Read MoreHow Wema Bank, a $552 million bank, is investing in startups from all sectors
Corporate venture capital (CVC) offers a rare win-win for Africa’s startup funding sector, as it can increase how much African startups raise and the speed at which these large companies innovate. It’s not surprising that over 70% of African investors think the same. Abdulyekeen Abdulazeez, the innovation venture manager at Wema Bank, a Nigerian bank with a $552 million valuation, is one of those investors. After working at Ventures Platform and Lagos Angel Network, he’s been helping Wema Bank invest in and build startups. “If we want investors who truly understand the market, people who understand the local context, the operational realities, and what it takes to build in Africa, then corporates are among the best positioned,” Abdulazeez told TechCabal. “Many of them have survived and scaled through decades of economic cycles, regulatory uncertainty, and infrastructural gaps. That depth of experience is invaluable.” At Wema Bank, his work focuses on funding early-stage startups and providing them with resources and support that can help them reach product-market fit (PMF). The bank’s portfolio startups use its wallet and payout products, and are connected to Wema’s customer base, partners, and internal teams. “We give startups immediate access to the kind of infrastructure and credibility that would normally take them months or years to build on their own,” Abdulazeez said. “Through our digital platforms, APIs, and operational resources, startups can plug directly into the systems they need to launch quickly.” The bank is sector-agnostic and invests in startups building competing products, with an average check size of $40,000. “We don’t view innovation that overlaps with traditional banking lines as a threat. Instead, we see startups as indispensable allies.” Outside of his work as an investor, he is also a co-founder of Ule Homes, a rent-financing startup based in Lagos. He met his two other cofounders during his postgraduate programme, and a shared problem with house financing led to the startup’s creation. For this week’s Ask an Investor, I spoke to Abdulazeez on how Wema picks its portfolio startups, the type of support it offers, and how corporate venture capital works in Africa. How does Wema Bank define its corporate venture mandate? Our corporate venture mandate is focused primarily on strategic returns. We back startups in ways that go beyond funding by providing access to our infrastructure, tools, and platforms. For example, startups leverage our wallet APIs and payout API through AlatPay, which offers solutions similar to Paystack but faster and more cost-effective. In some cases, we also become clients of these startups, using their services within our operations. This creates a mutually beneficial relationship, where startups gain access to real-world markets and operational support, while the bank strengthens its ecosystem and strategic capabilities. A key element of this thesis is our flagship Hackaholics initiative. This platform is specifically designed to provide high-potential startups with the necessary infrastructure, mentorship, and capital. Through Hackaholics, we have had the privilege of supporting over 100 successful ventures, including notable names such as TeamApt (now Moniepoint), Plumter, Feegor, MyItura, and Build Africa, among others. What gaps or opportunities in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem inform your investment thesis today? I wouldn’t describe it as gaps in the financial sector; rather, we recognised a major opportunity. Startups and innovators are here to stay, and they’ve shown incredible agility and speed in solving real market problems. The regulatory environment also gives them enough room to experiment and innovate, which has contributed to their rapid growth. Seeing this, we asked ourselves, ‘How can we support this momentum in a way that adds real value?’ That led us to focus on providing startups with what they often need most—market access, infrastructure, credibility, distribution, and operational support. We help them enter the market faster and scale more efficiently. 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 TC Scoop Subscribe Which fintech segments interest you? The fintech segment that currently excites me most is the tap-to-pay, tap-to-tap, and phone-to-pay space. I believe this area represents the next major wave of growth for fintech in Africa. This is driven by high mobile penetration rates and the massive potential to leverage the increasing adoption of AI for smarter, more secure, and personalised payment solutions. My interest is particularly heightened because we are actively engaged in this market through a strategic partnership. We support GoTap, a promising fintech company focused on disrupting and innovating the tap-to-pay market. GoTap participated in our accelerator program, and we have been highly encouraged by their progress and potential for future success. How does Nigeria’s current macro environment reshape what you consider “venture-backable” in 2025? Nigeria’s macro environment has definitely reshaped what we consider “venture-backable”, but not in a limiting way; rather, in a more disciplined and opportunity-focused way. High interest rates and regulatory shifts have forced founders to build with stronger fundamentals, clearer unit economics, and faster paths to sustainability. That is a positive shift for the ecosystem. In this environment, what becomes venture-backable are startups that demonstrate resilience, capital efficiency, and the ability to localise their solutions to Nigeria’s unique market realities. We are seeing more founders designing products that hedge against FX exposure, diversify revenue, or leverage technology to reduce operating costs. These are the kinds of models that can not only survive macro pressures but grow through them. What internal incentives govern your decisions—who inside the bank needs to buy into a deal before you proceed? Our decisions are governed less by individual incentives and more by institutional alignment and a clear mandate from the
Read MoreNigeria launches ₦50m VC grant to turn student ideas into scalable ventures
The Nigerian government has opened applications for a ₦50 million ($34,250) equity-free venture capital fund for student innovators in tertiary institutions, betting that young innovators can build the country’s next wave of globally relevant entrepreneurs capable of driving the economy with real-world solutions. Launched under the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG), the initiative is part of a broader push to cultivate tech-driven entrepreneurship within universities and colleges. It promises equity-free funding, mentorship, and access to modern technology tools for selected student founders working on ideas with commercial and societal potential. “The President has challenged us to look for the next Moonshot within our tertiary institutions. We are not just looking for projects; we are scouting for future Nigerian Unicorns whose roots will be planted right here in our universities and colleges,” Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, said in a statement. The move signals a wider effort by the Nigerian government to support the nation’s innovation ecosystem. The government, through the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) programme, recently invested in Ventures Platform’s $64 million new fund, its first limited partner commitment to a major local VC. It also plans to launch two additional funds for Nigerian startups in 2026 under the iDICE programme. The S-VCG primarily targets students in STEM and medical fields, with an emphasis on ventures that can scale and address real-life challenges. The beneficiaries will enter an incubation pipeline that includes expert mentorship, technical resources, and structured support designed to help transform early-stage ideas into market-ready products. Alausa framed the programme as an “equity-free seed investment in Nigeria’s future,” positioning campuses as fertile ground for venture-backable innovation. One of the initiative’s most significant elements is a new partnership with Google. The Ministry says Google’s Gemini AI will power custom “evaluation agents” embedded into the application portal to support the screening process. In addition, every applicant who completes a submission will receive a one-year Gemini Pro licence and access to educational resources. Nigeria’s tertiary institutions have produced promising innovations for years, but many of these ideas stall before they can mature or scale due to chronic gaps in funding, mentorship, and institutional support. The S-VCG, if effectively executed, could provide the critical leverage student innovators need to break out of campus limitations and compete within a global innovation landscape.
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