Recommended Tecno phones to buy in 2026
Table of contents Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 5G Tecno Phantom V Flip 2 5G Tecno Camon 40 Premier 5G Tecno Camon 40 Pro 5G Tecno Pova 7 Pro 5G Tecno Spark 40 Pro Plus Tecno Spark 40 Tecno Pop 10 Pro You are seeing more premium features in affordable phones, and Tecno is one of the brands making that possible. Tecno Mobile, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Transsion Holdings, was founded in 2006 and has grown from entry-level devices into premium, foldable, and AI-powered phones. Tecno combines global technology with local needs in Africa, Southeast Asia, and India. By 2025 and 2026, its lineup is grouped into five series: Phantom, Camon, Pova, Spark, and Pop, making it easy to choose a phone based on your budget and usage. Tecno now leads Transsion’s push into higher-end devices, with foldable screens, high-refresh-rate AMOLED displays, and AI camera systems. It also promises up to three Android upgrades and five years of security updates on its flagship models. The models below were selected based on this growth, real-world performance, and long-term value for you. Tecno phones to buy right now To choose the right Tecno phone, you need to understand how each series balances performance, design, and price. Today’s Tecno phones focus on AI features like real-time translation and automated call summarisation, alongside hardware factors such as battery size and peak brightness. 1. Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 5G Image source: Valor Reviews on YouTube The Phantom V Fold 2 5G is Tecno’s most advanced device and is built for you if you want a phone that works like a tablet. It uses an aerospace-grade hinge designed to last over 400,000 folds and keeps the crease depth under 0.1mm. It supports the Phantom V Pen, giving you pixel-level control for creative work and document notes. The software is built for multitasking, with a global taskbar and split-screen features on the large 7.85-inch internal display. The phone also includes the Google Gemini-powered Ella AI assistant, which handles real-time translation and smart document summarisation. In Nigeria, the Phantom V Fold 2 5G sells for about ₦1,673,800.00 at major retailers like Pointek. 2. Tecno Phantom V Flip 2 5G Image source: Izzi Boye on YouTube The Phantom V Flip 2 5G is built for you if you want a small, stylish foldable phone that fits easily in your pocket. It uses a clamshell design and now comes with a much larger 3.64-inch cover screen, so you can open apps, reply to messages, and use the main camera for selfies without opening the phone. It runs on Tecno’s AI Suite, including the AI Wallpaper Generator and AI Artboard, so you can easily personalise your phone. The main camera uses a 1/1.57 inch sensor, which improves low-light pictures compared to the previous model. In Nigeria, the Phantom V Flip 2 5G currently sells for about ₦979,800.00. 3. Tecno Camon 40 Premier 5G Image source: Izzi Boye on YouTube The Camon 40 Premier 5G is built for you if camera quality matters most. The Camon line is known for imaging, and this model combines pro-level camera hardware with a powerful AI chipset. It comes with a Space Ring design and a One Tap Button that lets you quickly open the camera or start AI features like Ella. It uses the Independent Image Processor 2.0, which delivers 5.5 TFLOPS of power and is tuned for 4K 30fps Ultra Night Video and AI Distortion Correction. The Silicon Carbon battery keeps the phone slim while holding high energy density. With an IP69 rating, it can handle high-pressure water jets and deep immersion, making it one of the toughest phones in its class. 4. Tecno Camon 40 Pro 5G Image source: Izzi Boye on YouTube The Camon 40 Pro 5G is a more affordable option if you want most of the Premier’s features at a lower price. It keeps the high-refresh-rate display and the AI call assistant, which makes it popular in Nigeria for offering 5G and strong durability at a mid-range price. It runs on the 4nm Dimensity 7300 chipset, giving you a good balance between gaming performance and battery efficiency. The curved AMOLED screen and slim 7.3mm body make it feel premium in your hand. If you do not need the telephoto lens on the Premier, this model gives you almost the same everyday experience. 5. Tecno Pova 7 Pro 5G Image source: AleXplainIT on YouTube The Pova series is built for you if you care about mobile gaming and long battery life. It focuses on steady performance, large batteries, and bold design. The Pova 7 Pro 5G features the Interstellar Spaceship Design and a Delta Light Interface on the back that displays notifications and gaming status. It includes Bypass Charging, which lets the phone take power directly from the charger during gaming to reduce heat and protect the battery. The 6,000mAh battery can last nearly 11 hours of continuous gaming or 20 hours of video playback. It is also the first Pova phone with FreeLink, allowing 500-meter offline calls and messages in areas with no signal. 6. Tecno Spark 40 Pro Plus Image source: Izzi Boye on YouTube The Spark 40 Pro Plus is built for you if you care about design and a sharp screen. It has a 1.5K curved AMOLED display in a slim 6.49mm body. Even with this thin build, it still packs a 5,200mAh battery, making it one of the most power-dense mid-range phones. It is the world’s first phone to use the MediaTek Helio G200 chipset, which delivers a 10% performance boost over the G100 and an AnTuTu score of about 470,000. The phone supports 30W magnetic wireless charging and includes Tecno AI tools like Ask Ella and AI Eraser 2.0. 7. Tecno Spark 40 (Base Model) The Spark 40 is built for you if you want modern features at a lower cost. It comes with a 120Hz display and fast charging, but it doesn’t use an AMOLED screen. Also includes many of
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Can WhatsApp make healthcare predictable in Ghana? Rivia thinks so
For more than a decade, Job Konadu, a 33-year-old electrical technician in Kumasi, Ghana’s second-largest city, relied on the country’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) for his medical care. For him, however, routine hospital visits often became a test of patience. “Sometimes you go to the hospital and stay in a queue for hours,” Konadu said. “And even then, you might not get the treatment or medication you need. They tell you to buy the quality drugs outside and give you just painkillers. I used to spend the whole day in the hospital, which was very stressful.” The NHIS, established in 2003, was designed to provide universal health coverage and reduce out-of-pocket medical expenses for Ghanaians. In its early years, it covered a wide range of treatments and medications at minimal cost. Over time, delayed reimbursements, resource shortages, and gaps in coverage have made access increasingly unpredictable for many users. As these challenges persist, employers increasingly turn to ad hoc reimbursement schemes, paying staff back for medical expenses rather than offering structured healthcare coverage. For employees, this often meant paying out of pocket first and waiting weeks or even months for reimbursement. That experience is now beginning to shift for some Ghanaians through Rivia, a healthtech startup co-founded by Isidore Kpotufe in 2024. The platform aims to reimagine healthcare access for employees of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and individual users through a free virtual care plan. Rather than operating as a traditional insurer, Rivia offers what it calls “Health Access,” a subscription-based system designed to guarantee access to care through both virtual and in-person consultations, with payments and prescriptions managed digitally. Isidore Kpotufe, founder of Rivia. Image Source: Rivia. Healthcare via WhatsApp For Rivia users, healthcare begins and unfolds on WhatsApp, from booking appointments to virtual consultations and prescription fulfilment. The platform relies on WhatsApp because patients already use it daily, eliminating the need to download or learn a new application and making care instantly accessible, even for low-income users. Konadu first used Rivia in November 2025. After registering, he reached out via WhatsApp when he fell ill. “I introduced myself, told them which company I was coming from, and they responded immediately,” he said. “They asked what the problem was, I explained by typing or sending a voice note, and then they sent me a link to book a doctor’s appointment.” The system automatically confirms appointments, sends reminders 30 and five minutes before the scheduled time, and manages follow-ups. Image source: Rivia After consultations, patients receive their diagnosis and prescription through WhatsApp. Medications are coordinated with nearby partner pharmacies, and patients can submit receipts directly through the same channel for reimbursement. “Virtual care programs often fail because they force people into a new app,” Kpotufe said. “WhatsApp allows us to meet patients where they already are, providing instant, familiar access and increasing adoption of virtual consultations across our network.” Inside RiviaOS While WhatsApp simplifies access for patients, the technical backbone of Rivia is a proprietary platform called RiviaOS. The system grew out of the acquisition of Waffle, a Ghanaian SaaS company focused on hospital and inventory management, shortly after Rivia’s launch in April 2024. Waffle’s tools were rebranded as RiviaOS and now unify patient records, clinic workflows, scheduling, billing, and operational management across the network. Rivia’s dashboard. Image source: Rivia According to Kpotufe, this integration allows care to move seamlessly between virtual and physical settings. “Virtual consultations are documented in RiviaOS,” he said. “When a provider refers a patient for an in-person visit, the patient authorises record access through a one-time password. The receiving provider can instantly view the patient’s records and continue care.” At Teresa Hospital in Accra, one of the first clinics to join Rivia, those changes are already visible in day-to-day operations. Dr Samuel Nai, a prescriber at the primary healthcare centre, said the hospital joined Rivia during its pilot phase. “At the time, we were transitioning from paper records and expanding beyond maternity care, but we didn’t have the infrastructure to support that,” Nai said. “ Rivia provided the systems, technology, and training that made the shift possible. According to Nai, patient records, billing, and care coordination are now managed through RiviaOS, replacing manual processes and reducing administrative friction. “Everything runs on the operating system now,” he said. “It has made our work more structured, more predictable, and easier to manage.” A different model of insurance Rivia differentiates itself from traditional insurance by focusing on access rather than risk underwriting. “Insurance is built on exclusion,” Kpotufe said. “Health Access flips that. Everyone deserves a front door to care, and the system should make that door easy to open.” That positioning places Rivia in competition with both traditional health insurers and digital-first healthcare platforms. Conventional insurers such as Nationwide and Acacia primarily act as financial intermediaries, collecting premiums and reimbursing care delivered by third-party providers. Rivia also overlaps with healthtech startups like MPharma and MinoHealth AI Labs, offering virtual consultations and care coordination. But Kpotufe argued most stop at digital access. “Apps alone don’t deliver healthcare,” he said. “Our advantage is the physical infrastructure behind the technology. We can move a patient from a WhatsApp chat to a clinic, laboratories, and prescriptions without breaking the care journey.” That combination of physical clinics and digital access also shapes how Rivia makes money. Image source: Rivia For employers, Rivia operates a business-to-business model tied directly to service delivery. Companies pay a fixed annual membership fee of $40 per employee, which covers access to Rivia’s technology and virtual care services. Employers can also opt into an additional cashless care arrangement designed to make health spending predictable. Payments are made to partner clinics, which then deliver care to employees through the Rivia system. As the primary organiser of care and acquirer of members, Rivia earns a margin from this arrangement, Kpotufe said. For individuals outside formal employment, the company operates a parallel model. What was previously a free offering has now been converted into a low-cost virtual care
Read MoreDay 1-1000: How GetEquity found profit in the venture drought
GetEquity, a Nigerian fintech platform that functions as a digital marketplace for private capital, began in the venture capital boom in 2021. Its mission to democratise venture capital for everyday Nigerians felt not just timely, but inevitable. Retail investors filled a $50,000 startup round in an hour, and growth charts climbed. But by 2023, the narrative had fractured. A historic naira devaluation and a continent-wide venture capital freeze threatened to erase the blueprint. GetEquity’s startup journey would not be about scaling a dream, but engineering a survival, one that would force it to abandon its original thesis and discover a more fundamental truth about the African investment landscape. Day 1: The accidental neighbours Jude Dike and Temitope Ekundayo first connected online in 2020. Dike, a blockchain engineer, was trying to build an exchange for startup investments. Ekundayo was working on a business intelligence tool. They were chasing different problems, access to market data and startup fundraising, but saw the same market gap. After speaking virtually for months, they decided to meet. “I asked Jude for his address,” Ekundayo recounts. “He tells me, and I’m like, ‘You’re my neighbour.’” They lived on the same street. That serendipity cemented their partnership. Joining forces, they merged ideas and entered the Mozilla Builders Accelerator, an incubator program that focused on technologies that shaped the internet, in 2020, building the first version of GetEquity. The premise was bold: to let retail investors fund African startups the same way people participated in crypto token sales. The company secured a $100,000 pre-seed from Greenhouse Capital in early 2021 and launched that July. The timing seemed perfect. “We launched in 2021, and that was a really good year; we were growing at 15 to 20% month on month,” Dike says. Their first deal, a $50,000 raise for a startup, was filled in under an hour. It was a venture capital fantasy. But in the world of startups, the story is never a straight line. The early success of 2021 masked a growing structural problem. GetEquity had built what Dike calls “technical hubris”: a suite of products like Employee Stock Option (ESOP) portals and stock management tools. “We built a tool, but really, it’s not what people would want at that time,” Ekundayo admits. It was a ‘vitamin,’ not a ‘painkiller.’ When the naira devalued in 2023, the risk of funding US-based assets with local currency became a hole they couldn’t ignore. “2023 was our worst year ever,” Dike states bluntly. The platform was built for a venture ecosystem that had suddenly evaporated. Revenue from startup deals dwindled as the cost of everything soared. Their original thesis was crumbling. It was a moment of brutal clarity that many founders face. They had built a sophisticated engine, but the fuel—VC deals and investor appetite for them—was gone. They had to find a new fuel or the machine would stop. Their participation in the 2023 Techstars accelerator, an ARM Labs Lagos program, provided the framework for a desperate experiment. Day 500: Forced to look beyond startups, the team began testing new asset classes with their user base. They started small: a trade note, a debt note for motorcycle financing. The results were encouraging but modest. The breakthrough came with an idea so conventional that, in its context, it was radical: commercial papers. These short-term debt instruments from large, blue-chip corporations are staples of traditional finance but were largely inaccessible to the average Nigerian investor. In early 2024, they ran a test with a Dangote Sugar Refinery commercial paper. They estimated interest of about ₦10.5 million ($7,400). The result stunned them. “By the first day we put that out, we had done about 4 million. By the fifth day, we had crossed 27 million,” Dike explains. The product-market fit was explosive. By the end of 2024, they had facilitated nearly ₦300 million ($200,000) in commercial paper investments. The experiment was no longer an experiment; it was their new business. This pivot changed everything. Partnering with established asset managers who sourced and vetted these deals meant GetEquity no longer needed a large internal due diligence team. The company had to restructure, painfully. In 2024, GetEquity laid off 40% of its workforce after a shift in operational strategy. “It was an amicable departure,” Ekundayo explains, noting that the staff themselves had hinted at downsizing because they saw the roles becoming obsolete as the model shifted. The layoff, coupled with the capital-light partnership model, achieved a critical goal: profitability. GetEquity had traded the high-risk, high-cost VC model for a leaner, more sustainable brokerage engine. The pivot also revealed a hidden superpower. The digital infrastructure they’d built for startup syndicates, the portals, the dashboards, the investment flows, was perfectly repurposable. “GetEquity is actually a customer of its own product,” Dike notes, using its own platform to distribute deals to its retail community. They had accidentally built a white-label solution for the entire private capital market. Day 1000: For GetEquity, the breakneck growth of 2021 has been traded for calculated scaling from a position of operational efficiency. The company is now working to formalise its new path, seeking a digital asset custodian licence from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to solidify its standing. This move aligns with a key lesson from their turnaround, as Dike notes, “Your regulators actually want to see you thrive.” GetEquity’s focus is on the Nigerian market; Dike and Ekundayo have shelved expansion plans for Kenya. Their roadmap involves introducing more private capital asset classes with asset managers like ARM. Although built for one purpose, the company has found a more sustainable fuel, and the founders’ mission has shifted from disrupting the system to becoming a vital, digitised part of it.
Read MoreSouth Africa plans to link government services through digital ID before year-end
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs plans to roll out a national digital ID system before year-end, a move that could allow government departments to link their services digitally and improve public access. The government announced the plan on Friday in Pretoria at a media briefing on progress under its medium-term development. South Africa’s identity system remains weak, with many government departments still unable to share and use that data in a synchronised digital manner, often forcing citizens to repeatedly verify their identity across services. The digital ID rollout is anchored by the MyMzansi portal, launched in 2025 as a prototype one-stop platform for government services. According to the Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa, the system is designed to enable other departments, such as transport and basic education, to use a shared identity framework to digitise their services. If implemented effectively, this would allow citizens to access multiple government services without repeatedly verifying their identity across separate systems. The Department of Home Affairs has spent the past year rolling out its digital transformation strategy. Some key milestones include 3.6 million smart ID cards, surpassing its previous annual record by roughly 500,000. The department also cleared a visa backlog of 306,000 applications that had accumulated over a decade. Rolling out digital IDs nationwide remains a logistical challenge in a country where more than 30% of the population lives in rural or remote areas. To address this, Home Affairs plans to deploy mobile offices to service communities with low population density. The department says the use of digital tools such as drones and body cameras at South Africa’s borders increased the detection of illegal crossings during key pilot phases. Digital IDs, combined with the national population register, would allow departments to authenticate citizens for additional services. One planned application is a digital driver’s licence, to reduce the cost of producing physical cards and simplify related processes such as licence renewals and traffic fine payments. The initiative also relies on partnerships with the private sector. Banks already provide Home Affairs services at selected branches and support secure identity verification systems, helping the government extend its reach without building all infrastructure internally. To manage security risks, the department says its strategy includes a verification portal that will enable secure data sharing between government entities to combat fraud, improve service delivery, and support national security. For South Africa, the digital ID rollout aims to create more coordinated, accessible government services. For other African countries, it offers a practical example of how digital identity systems can support cross-department integration and improve service delivery at scale.
Read MoreQuidax discontinues P2P trading as Nigeria’s crypto rules tighten
Quidax, a provisionally licenced Nigerian crypto startup, has discontinued its peer-to-peer (P2P) trading feature five months after introducing the service, according to an email sent to customers seen by TechCabal. The feature allowed users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly with verified merchants on Quidax. The decision underscores the tight regulatory path Nigeria’s crypto exchanges face as authorities push to bring a largely informal market under capital markets oversight. Quidax operates under the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), a closely-monitored sandbox framework fordigital asset operators. Startups admitted into the programme—Quidax and competitor Busha—were expected to become fully crypto-licenced by August 2025 after completing the SEC’s stipulated one-year incubation period. That transition has since stalled, with the regulator pausing the licencing process to reassess its supervisory readiness. Within that environment, P2P trading sits at the edge of regulatory tolerance. In 2024, the SEC raised concerns about P2P crypto markets, citing exchange rate manipulations, opaque transaction flows, and the prevalence of platforms operated by prominent foreign players, such as Bybit and Bitget, which function in a regulatory grey area in Nigeria. Those concerns are rooted in oversight challenges: P2P transactions often migrate into informal channels, making it harder for regulators to monitor activity, protect investors, or detect abuse. Quidax’s P2P offering was designed as a response to those concerns. Rather than allowing trades to spill off-platform, the exchange sought to formalise P2P transactions within a controlled environment. Only verified users could become merchants, and eligibility required a fully registered account, Level-3 know-your-customer verification, two-factor authentication, and at least 7 days of active participation before applying through the platform. Applications were reviewed by Quidax, with approved merchants granted special badges to distinguish them within the marketplace. Despite those safeguards, Quidax said the decision to discontinue P2P trading was strategic. In a notice to customers, the company said most users preferred faster trading options, such as instant swaps and order-book trading, and that streamlining its services would allow it to focus on features with higher demand. Following the P2P shutdown by Quidax, its marketplace, ads, chats, and escrow services will be disabled, while other services will continue to operate normally. Since the SEC maintains close oversight of provisionally licenced startups, Quidax’s decision to discontinue P2P trading is also a direct signal of what the regulator is currently ready and well-equipped to oversee and what it cannot. If cryptocurrencies are often described as a Wild West industry, P2P markets turn up the flame on those risks, intensifying concerns around informal settlement, limited visibility, and investor protection. While the regulator is likely keen to gain deeper insight into P2P markets as rules evolve, the immediate focus has been on activities that fit more neatly within established capital-market structures. Nigeria’s regulatory posture for cryptocurrencies has become clearer in recent months. On January 16, the SEC raised minimum capital requirements for capital market operators, including virtual asset service providers. Under the Investment and Securities Act (2025), digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, are now regulated as securities, placing them firmly under the SEC’s oversight and within Nigeria’s capital markets framework. While the SEC did not explicitly outline requirements for P2P platforms in its latest capital thresholds, the classification regime offers guidance. A P2P trading platform operating as a standalone service could be treated as a Digital Assets Intermediary (DAI), providing broking, routing, or facilitation services between users, such as order routing, matchmaking, or agency-based P2P brokerage, with a new minimum capital requirement of ₦500 million ($352,000). Alternatively, platforms that operate a digital asset environment or protocol without running a full exchange stack may fall under Digital Asset Platform Operators (DAPOs), which carry the same ₦500 million ($352,000) threshold. Where providers stack services—particularly by combining P2P trading with full exchange functionality, custody, or escrow services—the regulatory bar rises further, potentially requiring a higher capital requirement. The SEC has yet to issue a dedicated regulatory framework for virtual assets in Nigeria, leaving operators to interpret how far innovation can extend before it runs ahead of regulatory clarity. Quidax also announced plans to delist 35 crypto tokens from its platform, including meme coins such as $TRUMP and Book of Meme; gaming-focused tokens like Axie Infinity; Sam Altman-backed Worldcoin; and World Liberty Financial ($WLFI), a 2024-launched stablecoin associated with Zachary Folkman, Chase Herro, Alex Witkoff, Zach Witkoff, and members of the Trump family.
Read MoreAndela acquires Woven to build AI-fluent engineering talent at scale
Andela, the global engineering talent outsourcing unicorn, has acquired Woven, a human-powered technical assessment company that simulates real engineering work, for an undisclosed amount. As companies go from experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) to deploying it at scale, the company says demand is rising for distinct AI-native engineers who create AI components such as Large Language Model (LLM) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, connect models and tools into autonomous workflows, and ensure AI systems run reliably while managing governance and risk. With Woven’s technology, Andela, which boasts over 150,000 technology professionals in its global marketplace, aims to better assess and match engineers to each of these roles. “To power the AI ecosystem at scale, the world needs AI-native, enterprise-ready engineering talent en masse. Andela plus Woven equals the best technical assessment engine in the world to ensure AI fluency and real-world job success,” said Carrol Chang, CEO of Andela. The acquisition positions Andela to deploy its strong talent pool against the engineers best equipped to turn advanced AI models into dependable, real-world solutions, sharpening the company’s edge in the AI talent race As part of the deal, Woven’s founder and CEO, Wes Winham Winler, will join Andela to lead the development of next-generation assessments focused on AI-assisted software development and AI system creation. “Andela already had a world-class industry reputation, talent network, and upskilling DNA,” Winler said. “Together, we’re building the most accurate and scalable way to measure real-world engineering performance in the AI era.” 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 Andela will integrate Woven’s library of real-world scenarios and AI-enabled evaluation capabilities. This technology will be built on Qualified, another assessment platform that the unicorn acquired in 2023, creating what the company describes as a unified foundation for AI-powered engineering assessments. Founded in Nigeria in 2014, Andela started as a company focused on training and connecting software developers from Africa to global technology companies. Over the past decade, it has evolved into one of the world’s largest marketplaces for technical talent. The company says its acquisition of Woven accelerates its ambition to become an AI-native talent platform that reliably assesses an engineer’s ability to succeed in real jobs. “With Woven, Andela is leapfrogging the development of world-class assessments for both AI fluency and engineering fundamentals,” said Barun Singh, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Andela.
Read MoreFlutterwave goes deeper into stablecoins with Turnkey-powered wallets for merchants
Flutterwave, Africa’s largest payments infrastructure startup, has partnered with blockchain infrastructure provider Turnkey and artificial intelligence-powered global banking platform Nuvion to launch stablecoin balances for merchants and users across its platform. The new feature allows Flutterwave users to transact seamlessly in cryptocurrency stablecoins like USDC and USDT, as well as currencies like the United States Dollar ($) and the Naira (₦), directly within embedded wallets on Flutterwave’s products. According to the company, the move is part of a broader strategy to position stablecoins as a core pillar of Africa’s financial infrastructure. This is for businesses operating across borders that face friction and high costs under traditional settlement systems. “To accelerate business growth in Africa, we must make it safe, easy, and affordable for businesses to accept all forms of regulated payment methods, including stablecoin, from a global customer base,” Nkem Abuah, Lead for Remittances & Stablecoin Partnerships at Flutterwave, stated in a report. Flutterwave is doubling down on stablecoins as a payment infrastructure to reduce its reliance on traditional banking rails. In October 2025, Flutterwave partnered with Polygon Labs, a blockchain software firm, making Polygon its default network for cross-border stablecoin settlements. Its latest partnership comes weeks after Flutterwave acquired Mono, the Nigerian open banking startup, in 2025, and complements its existing product offerings. As Flutterwave embeds more of its payments stack in-house, it is gaining greater control over transaction and payment rails. Access to this new feature will initially be limited to a select group of merchants, with plans underway to expand availability across Flutterwave’s wider merchant base later in the year. Turnkey will provide the wallet infrastructure and security layer enabling Flutterwave to offer embedded stablecoin wallets. Nuvion will bridge fiat and stablecoin rails with its AI-powered platform, allowing merchants to move seamlessly between currencies. The integration enables Flutterwave to offer what it describes as verifiable, secure, and programmable wallet infrastructure. “We share Flutterwave’s belief that stablecoins offer an incredibly efficient way to accelerate payments and put more money directly into the hands of business owners rather than intermediaries,” said Bryce Ferguson, CEO and cofounder of Turnkey. Flutterwave now joins the ranks of payments companies, including Polymarket, Axiom, and Alchemy, that integrate Turnkey’s blockchain infrastructure. The integration comes shortly after Turnkey raised $30 million in a Series B funding round in June 2025 to support team expansion.
Read MoreNedbank bids $856m for control of Kenya’s NCBA in East Africa push
Nedbank Group, one of South Africa’s largest banks with over 8 million customers, has offered to buy a controlling stake in Kenya’s National Commercial Bank of Africa (NCBA) Group in a cash and stock transaction valued at $855.5 million, accelerating its push into East Africa. The offer values NCBA at about 1.4 times book value, according to NCBA. It targets 66% of NCBA, leaving the remainder of the lender publicly listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The proposed deal signals a growing interest by South African banks in East Africa’s financial markets, where population growth, regional trade corridors, and expanding digital retail banking promise scale. For Nedbank, the acquisition could provide an established regional footprint. The structure seeks to keep NCBA on the Nairobi Securities Exchange while preserving its brand and management, and uses a share-heavy payment mix that limits cash outlay while tying the two banks’ fortunes together. Under the terms of the transaction, shareholders will receive 20% in cash and 80% in newly issued Nedbank ordinary shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), a structure that limits Nedbank’s immediate cash outlay while binding the two banks’ fortunes together. The pricing is anchored on Nedbank’s share price at the time of the announcement on Wednesday, bringing the total deal value to 13.9 billion rand, or $855.5 million. If completed, NCBA would become a subsidiary of Nedbank. The remaining 34% of NCBA shares would continue to trade on the NSE, a feature designed to maintain local market discipline and minority investor visibility. NCBA has said its governance structure, operations, and leadership team would remain in place. Formed in 2019 through the merger of NIC Group and Commercial Bank of Africa, NCBA is one of East Africa’s larger financial services groups. It operates 122 branches across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, and offers digital banking services in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The bank says it serves more than 60 million customers across these markets. Jason Quinn, Nedbank’s chief executive, said the combination would pair NCBA’s local presence with Nedbank’s capital base and cross-border banking capabilities.NCBA’s management has framed the deal as a partnership, according to its CEO John Gachora, who says Nedbank is seen as a strategic investor that can support expansion in existing markets and potential entry into countries such as Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Read MoreSASSA confirms February 2026 grant payment schedule amid misinformation
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has released its February 2026 grant payment schedule amid battling a wave of misinformation on social platforms, prompting multiple clarifications from both SASSA and the Department of Social Development (DSD). False claims about grant eligibility and policy changes continue to circulate on X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Facebook. The latest alleges that the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant regulations have been amended to allow broader access for foreign nationals. SASSA dismissed the claim as false and misleading, warning that misrepresenting eligibility criteria creates confusion for applicants. The agency said any changes to SRD regulations would be announced by the Minister of Social Development and formally published through official government channels. Separate claims that the government plans to terminate the SRD grant have also gained traction online. The Department of Social Development described these videos and graphics as “categorically false,” adding that no policy, directive, or Cabinet decision has been taken to end the programme. SASSA and DSD urged beneficiaries to verify updates through official government statements rather than social media content or anonymous influencers. The SRD grant remains a digital-payment heavy system, often targeted with misinformation that exploits confusion around eligibility rules and policy shifts. For millions of South African households, grant payments form part of monthly financial planning, making accurate information more valuable than ever. SASSA payment dates for February 2026 SASSA will disburse funds over three days to manage queues and reduce payment bottlenecks: Older Persons Grant: Tuesday, 3 February 2026 Disability Grant: Wednesday, 4 February 2026 Children’s and all remaining grants: Thursday, 5 February 2026 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. Read more: Here is how to update your SASSA banking details and cellphone number
Read MoreGates-backed Elimu-Soko opens $150,000 funding call for classroom innovations across Africa
The Teaching Innovation Lab (TIL), led by education innovation firm Elimu-Soko with support from the Gates Foundation, has opened a funding call inviting innovators to design and test low-cost, scalable solutions to improve foundational literacy teaching in African public schools. The programme is offering grants of up to $150,000 for organisations operating in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, and Mozambique. Selected pilots will run for six to 12 months and are expected to reach at least 200 teachers, with larger cohorts encouraged to enable comparative testing on cost, scalability, and effectiveness. Elimu-Soko said that many of the most effective teacher professional development (TPD) programmes across Africa remain heavily dependent on donor funding and are often too costly for governments to sustain over the long term. This reliance on external funding has left many education systems unable to scale effective teacher training, creating gaps in classroom support and limiting improvements in student learning. Without sustainable models, proven interventions often remain at the pilot stage, and teachers frequently lack the consistent guidance, coaching, and resources needed to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes. “Most successful TPD programmes have been funded by external donors at costs that exceed what governments can sustain,” the organisation said, adding that education systems are often forced to trade off programme reach for quality. For African founders and innovators, the funding could offer capital and an opportunity to test whether classroom-level innovations can improve learning outcomes at scale while remaining affordable for public schools. According to Elimu-Soko, the Teaching Innovation Lab is designed to test whether innovation can shift that balance. “The frontier we seek to explore is whether innovations can deliver meaningful improvements in teaching quality at costs governments can realistically manage,” Elimu-Soko said. The funding call is anchored on evidence that teacher quality is the most important school-based factor affecting student learning outcomes. Research from low- and middle-income countries suggests that structured pedagogy programmes—combining detailed lesson plans, quality materials, and continuous coaching—deliver some of the strongest learning gains in education interventions. Kenya’s Tusome literacy programme, which reached about 7 million learners across nearly 24,000 primary schools, recorded large improvements in reading outcomes, while a global meta-analysis found that instructional coaching improves teaching quality and sustains those gains over time. Despite this evidence, Elimu-Soko said many African education systems continue to struggle with limited daily instructional support for teachers, weak coaching capacity, fragmented professional development structures, and poor use of classroom data. The Teaching Innovation Lab aims to address these gaps by testing solutions that strengthen existing teacher development systems for foundational literacy and numeracy. “We seek solutions that strengthen existing TPD structures within government education systems while remaining financially viable at scale,” the organisation said. Applicants are expected to propose pilots that clearly define the classroom problem being addressed, explain how the intervention is expected to improve teaching or learning outcomes, outline implementation and measurement plans, and demonstrate a credible pathway for integration into government systems. The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is January 30, 2026. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit full proposals by February 27, 2026, with final funding decisions expected in March 2026.
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