Rwanda hopes to ditch paper health records by December with e-Ubuzima rollout
In a bid to fully digitise its healthcare system by the end of 2025, Rwanda is accelerating efforts to eliminate physical medical records across all its public health facilities. The country’s Ministry of Health is banking on a locally built digital platform—e-Ubuzima—to achieve that goal by December. Developed as part of Rwanda’s broader digital transformation agenda, e-Ubuzima is designed to synchronise patient data across all health centres, allowing medical personnel and patients to access health records in real time. The system also aims to reduce patient waiting time, ease hospital congestion, and improve prescription accuracy. “This app enables users to search for health facilities, choose the doctor they want to see, and even schedule appointments,” said Muhammed Semakula, Head of Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Health Financing at the Ministry of Health in an interview with The New Times Rwanda. “Once the patient selects a doctor, the system notifies the hospital, and the doctor sees it on their calendar that a patient is waiting.” Currently deployed in 15 districts, e-Ubuzima comes with a mobile application that helps patients navigate Rwanda’s growing healthcare network—comprising over 60 district and referral hospitals, 500+ health centers, and thousands of community health posts. With a population of around 14 million, Rwanda’s decentralised health system has long been touted as a model for sub-Saharan Africa, thanks to its community-based approach and near-universal health insurance coverage, Mutuelles de Santé. What African Nations Can Learn from Rwanda’s Growth as an Innovation Hub But gaps still exist in the system, especially in areas like non-communicable disease care and timely access to health information. To improve information sharing, Semakula said the platform will also double as an official channel for health communication. “If there’s a disease outbreak, people need reliable information. This app will be one of the platforms we use to disseminate awareness content,” he explained. However, Rwanda’s digital health transition faces logistic and human challenges. For e-Ubuzima to achieve nationwide success, all 520 health centers must be equipped with at least 25 computers and stable internet access, Semakula told The New Times, admitting that hardware deployment remains a top challenge. Moreover, digital literacy among older healthcare workers is another concern. “Many in the older generation have lower computer literacy and are less motivated to use digital tools compared to younger staff. That’s why consistent training is essential,” he added. e-Ubuzima is part of the Rwandan government’s larger ambition to transform the East-African country into a tech-driven healthcare hub. As part of this vision, the government is preparing to launch a “virtual hospital” based on telemedicine technology, which will allow patients to consult with doctors remotely from a central facility in Kigali, the country’s capital. The government has also planned to distribute smart phones to public health workers in rural areas and also provide wifi access by June this year. While Rwanda’s ambitious project presents a remarkable leap toward full digital healthcare transformation, the journey ahead is not without challenges. Overcoming obstacles such as infrastructure gaps and digital literacy will be key to ensuring the success of this nationwide initiative. If Rwanda succeeds, it could serve as a blueprint for other African nations looking to revolutionise their healthcare systems through technology, ultimately improving healthcare access and efficiency across the continent.
Read MoreEducating a Nigerian child privately now costs up to ₦65.5 million
The cost of sponsoring a Nigerian child through private education from a private primary school to a public university is now ₦31.3 million ($19,431), according to a Cowrywise report. If that child goes through only private education, that bill shoots up to ₦65.5 million ($40,633). However, parents who invest in a savings plan that accumulates ₦1,300,000 ($806) annually at a 10% interest rate per annum can save 33% of these fees, depending on the path mix a child adopts. The fees start counting from primary education, which ranges from ₦613,000($380) to ₦1.9 million ($1,178) for private schools and ₦45,000 to ₦53,000 annually for public schools. By secondary school, which takes six years, the child’s school fees will range from ₦50,000 to ₦61,000 annually for public education and ₦750,000 ($465) to ₦2.8 million ($1736) for private education. Public university education costs between ₦58,000 ($36) and ₦167,000 ($104) annually, while private university education ranges from ₦900,000 ($465) to ₦1.2 million ($744), making it the most expensive for public schools, while secondary school education is the most expensive for private schools. With the rising cost of education becoming increasingly unaffordable for many parents and sponsors amid the country’s economic hardship, Cowrywise’s study highlights how the stratospheric cost of schooling is making it harder for families to keep their children in school. While the study highlights why parents should be interested in the cost of education, it also spotlights how investment plans can help them reduce the financial burden of funding their child’s education. Adopting the use of primary and secondary data, as well as analysis, the study focused on major education costs, excluding transportation and extracurricular activities costs, identifying investment as a smart strategy for effectively saving for planning to sponsor children’s education with reduced financial burden. Giving children a quality education is said to be a long-term responsibility and investment for parents, with many benefits. However, in Nigeria, where 63% of its total population is multidimensionally poor, the rising costs of education at all levels are increasingly making it unaffordable, leading to a surge in dropouts. “Education is an integral part of a child’s journey. It’s an ongoing experience that helps shape who they become, how they think, and the amazing opportunities ahead. That’s why every child must have access to education. But that brings up an important question: What does quality education cost?” Part of the study read. At the primary level, despite the country’s Universal Basic Education (UBE) offering free education to make every child count, hidden fees such as registration, uniforms, and textbooks make schooling expensive. Also, the cost of enrolling a child into secondary school outpaces many parents’ income growth. These challenges contribute to the country’s 20 million out-of-school children. At the tertiary level, the hike in school fees across government public universities has fuelled a significant dropout rate, making Nigeria experience 18% of tertiary students who left school owing to financial constraints. In 2023, the University of Lagos increased its school fees, surging from about ₦26,000 ($16) – ₦76,000 ($47), depending on the course of study and level, to between ₦120,750 ($75) and ₦240,250 ($149). Other institutions, including UNIMAID, UNIABUJA, and UNIBEN, also experienced significant fee hikes. But as the Nigerian government launched the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) for tertiary students in 2024, it claimed it had disbursed over ₦22 billion ($14 million) to over 200,000 students. However, concerns remain about the accessibility and effectiveness of these loans in addressing the issues of education affordability, as many students still drop out of school or turn to social media platforms like X and Facebook to crowdfund for school fees. At all levels of education, the cost of enrolling a child in private schools is often unaffordable for low- or mid-income parents in the country.
Read MoreSouth Africa’s BoxCommerce enters UAE to tap SME e-commerce boom
BoxCommerce, a South African e-commerce platform that serves SMEs and startups, has launched in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), betting on the country’s booming mobile commerce market, vast SME sector, and the limited availability of user-friendly e-commerce solutions tailored for local businesses looking to scale. The move positions BoxCommerce among a wave of African startups setting shop in the Middle East’s commercial capital. The UAE’s e-commerce market is projected to hit $8 billion in revenue this year, surpassing $10 billion by 2029. Launched in 2017, BoxCommerce offers tools for building online stores, managing inventory, processing payments, and handling logistics. The company began operations in Kenya in 2022 and claims to have onboarded more than 5,400 merchants in its first year, 16 times the number reached by Shopify over the same period. The UAE represents a strategic entry point for BoxCommerce into a region with strong consumer demand but limited user-friendly solutions for small businesses. “The UAE is a strategic market for BoxCommerce,” said CEO and founder Craig Mcleod. “With mobile commerce dominating and over 70% of the population shopping online, the country is on track to grow its e-commerce market size to AED 48 billion by 2028. Our platform is designed to help local businesses tap into this explosive growth.” In the UAE, BoxCommerce will focus on helping SMEs set up their online store in minutes with no technical expertise required. The platform will also support sales across websites, social media, and marketplaces, helping merchants expand their reach. “Despite having around 600,000 SMEs in the UAE, there are still very few easy-to-use eCommerce solutions designed to help local SMEs grow and scale,” Rahul Vaish, MENA Director of BoxCommerce, added. “SMEs are the bedrock of any economy, representing 94% of the UAE’s companies and employing over 86% of the private sector workforce.” BoxCommerce is backed by MasterCard’s Start Path program and previously participated in Facebook’s Commerce Accelerator in 2020. The company says it aims to become the go-to platform for emerging-market merchants looking to build omnichannel retail operations without technical complexity.
Read MoreOgun, Osun lead Nigerian states in highest Right-of-Way fees
Ogun State ranks fourth in Nigeria for fibre infrastructure investment, with 4,189.18 kilometres of cable laid. Yet, it charges the highest right-of-way fees—levied by state governments for laying fibre optic cables—in the country: ₦9,477 per linear metre, according to a list obtained exclusively by TechCabal from telecom industry operators. Osun State, which has one of the lowest levels of fibre deployment at just 64 kilometres, is second on the list, charging a right-of-way fee of ₦6,850 per linear metre. Compiled by telecom industry operators in March 2024, the list is the first comprehensive snapshot of right-of-way charges across Nigerian states. It highlights the fragmented and often burdensome nature of right-of-way governance. It reveals how several states have leveraged it primarily for revenue generation rather than as a tool to promote digital infrastructure development. Lagos, which leads Nigeria in fibre coverage with 7,864.6km, charges ₦6,264 per metre, making it the third most expensive state for right-of-way. Other high-fee states include Oyo (₦5,303), Cross River (₦4,737), Rivers (₦4,047), Edo (₦3,491), and Ondo (₦3,075). Some states have more affordable rates: Sokoto and Jigawa charge ₦3,000; Benue and Bayelsa ₦2,500; Kano ₦2,258; and Abia, Taraba, and Akwa Ibom ₦2,000. At the lower end, Borno and Yobe each charge ₦1,000, while Gombe offers the lowest rate at ₦500 per metre. In 2013, the National Economic Council (NEC)—including the Vice President, state governors, and other senior officials—recommended a fee of ₦145 per metre to streamline costs and promote nationwide fibre deployment. But with no legislation behind it, many states simply ignored the directive and imposed arbitrary fees. Some progress was made after a January 2020 meeting between the then Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, and the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. Since then, 16 states have revised their fees. Twelve states—Niger, Zamfara, Katsina, Anambra, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kaduna, Ekiti, Imo, and Plateau—have eliminated the fees. Delta, Enugu, Ebonyi, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) now charge the NEC-recommended ₦145. For some states, waiving right-of-way fees is a deliberate strategy to attract telecom investments beyond just urban centres. In Anambra, where over 1,000km of fibre has already been deployed, much of the investment is concentrated in commercial hubs like Onitsha and Nnewi. The goal, however, is to extend coverage statewide. “If telcos judged every investment strictly by profit, only commercial zones would get infrastructure,” said Chukwuemeka Fred Akpata, Managing Director of the Anambra State ICT Agency. “By waiving right-of-way, we’re encouraging deployment in underserved areas.” Similarly, Niger State passed a law adopting the ₦145 standard fee before issuing an executive order in September 2024 to waive the fee altogether. “The ₦0 right-of-way fee is based on executive order, but the ₦145 is law,” said Suleiman Isah, Commissioner for Communications and Digital Economy, Niger State. “If the investment we attract in the next year or two outweighs what we made from fees, we’ll amend the law permanently.” Telecom operators have often negotiated these fees and received reduced fees in a few states. In 2021, the Association for Licenced Telecommunication Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), whose members include the biggest telecom operators such as MTN Nigeria, Airtel, Globacom, and 9mobile, negotiated a reduced Right of Way fee with the Lagos State Government. Under Governor Godwin Obaseki’s administration, Edo State eliminated Right-of-Way fees for a few telecom operators such as MTN Nigeria and Airtel Nigeria. This policy enabled these companies to extend internet connectivity to numerous government offices and public institutions. Gbenga Adebayo, President of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), has observed these developments closely. He argues that while removing right-of-way fees is a step forward, it is not a sustainable solution on its own. “The era of state governments charging Right-of-Way fees should be over,” Adebayo told TechCabal. “When states impose these fees, they lose out on the broader benefits of digital infrastructure. Instead of charging right-of-way fees, states should require telecom operators to deliver social impact projects.” Adebayo added that some states, despite officially waiving right-of-way fees, impose hidden costs such as education taxes and highway levies, which discourage investment. In contrast, states like Kwara have successfully attracted impactful projects, including a multi-million dollar ICT hub, the Ilorin Innovation Hub. These inconsistencies in right-of-way policies continue to influence where fibre infrastructure is deployed, deepening regional disparities in digital access. While some states leverage fee waivers to draw long-term investment, others risk missing out by imposing high entry costs. Without a unified and enforceable national right-of-way framework, Nigeria’s ambition for universal broadband coverage will remain uneven and fragmented.
Read MoreSouth Africa drops controversial VAT hike, leaving $4 billion budget gap
South Africa has withdrawn a controversial proposal to raise value-added tax (VAT) following pressure from political parties and civil society groups. The National Treasury had proposed a 1% VAT increase over two years to plug a $4.02 billion (R75 billion) budget deficit. In a statement on Thursday, the National Treasury said the decision followed consultation with major political parties and parliamentary committees. However, it warned that difficult spending cuts now lie ahead to address the budget shortfall, including the potential withdrawal of cash transfers to low-income households. The reversal comes as a sigh of relief for South Africans, many of whom have received messages from service providers warning of price increases set to take effect on May 1. The now-shelved VAT hike would have immediately strained household budgets. However, the decision will mark a major step back for the government’s efforts to restore funding for essential services like healthcare and education that have suffered under years of budgetary constraints. “The initial proposal for an increase to the VAT rate was motivated by the urgent need to restore and replenish the funding of critical frontline services that had suffered reductions necessitated by the country’s constrained fiscal position,” the Treasury said. The Treasury planned to increase VAT by 0.5% from May 1 and another 0.5% in 2026, but some members of the African National Congress and its coalition partner, the Democratic Party, opposed the proposal. The planned hike was meant to fund healthcare and education. Treasury Minister Enoch Gogongwana wrote to the country’s parliament to withdraw the Appropriation and Division of Revenue Bills. The move will allow adjustments to the budget to cover the shortfall following the removal of the VAT hike. “There are many suggestions, however, some of them would create greater negative consequences for growth and employment, and some of them, while worthwhile, would not provide an immediate avenue for further revenue in the short term to replace a VAT increase,” Treasury said. South Africa’s last increase in VAT was in 2018, when the country’s public finances were under severe strain following years of mismanagement during Jacob Zuma’s presidency and the loss of its investment-grade credit rating. But VAT remains a politically sensitive subject in South Africa. More than 30% of the population is unemployed, and inequality is still deeply entrenched. While many essential goods used by low-income households are zero-rated, many still see the tax as unfair.
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily –Flutterwave finds its Circle
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية It’s almost Friday! Next time you cross the street, you might spot something surprising: a sleek, silent EV rolling by. Nigeria now claims to have over 15,000 electric vehicles zipping around. Sounds like progress, right? Well, considering the sea of gasoline-powered vehicles still dominating the roads, your odds of spotting one are about as slim as a traffic-free Monday morning in Lagos. In other news, we are starting a new column to spotlight new startups across Africa that we find interesting but have little coverage. Know a startup we should feature next? Please nominate here. Flutterwave joins Circle payment network IZI Electric launches electric bus to rival Roam Kenya to scrap risk-based loan pricing Crossfin Invests in South Africa’s DigiSquad World Wide Web 3 Events Fintech Flutterwave joins Circle payment network Image Source: Google Nigeria’s fintech unicorn, Flutterwave, has joined the Circle Payments Network (CPN) to facilitate cross-border payments across the globe leveraging stablecoins.. Flutterwave joins the network alongside crypto exchange Yellow Card and 25 other payment platforms across the globe. Circle Payments Network? Launched by Circle Internet Group, the issuers of the USDC stablecoin, CPN connects banks, neobanks, payment service providers, virtual asset firms, and digital wallets worldwide and allows for real-time settlement of cross-border payments using regulated stablecoins. Why does CPN matter? Despite years of reform, cross-border payments are still slow and costly. Sometimes transactions take over a day to settle, and fees average above 6%, according to the World Bank. This friction, which mostly comes from intermediaries, compliance checks, time zone mismatches, and legacy infrastructure, makes stablecoins a faster, cheaper alternative. CPN’s pitch is to make transaction near instant using stablecoins. The network leverages USDC, EURC, and other regulated digital currencies for real-time payments and supports third-party developers building apps and financial workflows on top of the network. The CPN is a great boost for Flutterwave’s cross-border product, Send. Through USDC and EURC, Flutterwave can reduce settlement timelines for its enterprise merchants who move bulk money at scale. The fintech will also be able to help small businesses across the continent pay international vendors and suppliers almost instantly. Seamless Global Payments With Fincra. Issue accounts in NGN, KES, EUR, USD & more with one integration. Send & receive funds seamlessly across borders; no more banking hassles or complex conversions. Create an account for free & go global today. Electric vehicles IZI Electric launches electric bus to rival Roam IZI Electric is bringing the fight to Roam in Rwanda. Rwanda-based e-mobility startup IZI Electric unveiled the Impala E30 , a 30-seater electric coach designed to challenge Roam Buses and redefine long-distance public transport in East Africa. The Impala E30’s headline feature is a 10-year/1-million-kilometer warranty on its battery system. The warranty, aimed at easing financial anxieties among fleet operators and lenders, is a major leap from the 4-year, 400,000-kilometer warranties standard among other players, including Roam. Roam, the Kenyan-Swedish EV player best known for its electric buses and motorcycles, has largely focused on urban transit. In Rwanda, Roam is actively working with local operators but its electric buses—though clean and efficient—offer shorter-range options and lack the ultra-long warranty coverage IZI is banking on as its differentiator. The Impala E30 is engineered for 400+ km daily routes and built tough with anti-corrosion materials, reinforced waterproofing, and suspension systems ready for unpaved roads. It’s priced 10–40% lower than European and Chinese imports and promises up to 87% fuel savings over 10 years—a compelling economic case for fleet operators. The company will begin leasing the Impala E30 in June, with 50+ preorders already in place across East Africa. Here’s what happened at Paystack in 2024! Link your bank account once, and send money in 5 easy steps on Zap. Download Zap on iOS and Android now Download Zap on iOS and Android now → Banking Kenya to scrap risk-based loan pricing Image Source: Wunmi Eunice/TechCabal In more news from East Africa, Kenya’s Central Bank is slogging it out with commercial banks over high lending rates. In the past decade, the regulator has made several interventions, including capping interest rates to enable cheaper credit to the private sector. The central bank has now proposed a new framework that will peg lending rates to the Central Bank Rate (CBR). Interest rates will be set by adding a premium—“K”—to CBR. The premium will include the bank’s operating costs tied to lending, the return expected by shareholders, and the borrower’s risk profile. The decision follows frustration within the CBK over the banking sector’s reluctance to lower interest rates despite multiple reductions in the benchmark lending rate since October 2024. The CBK recently cut the Central Bank Rate (CBR) to stimulate lending and economic activity, but banks have largely maintained high lending rates, citing internal risk assessments. The outgoing risk-based pricing model, which allowed banks to decide on loan rates depending on individual borrower profiles, has faced criticism for being opaque and prone to abuse. When it was introduced in 2019, the regulator intended to encourage lending to riskier customers; in practice, it has resulted in prohibitively high rates, especially for SMEs and households without credit histories. Under the model, banks combined the base rate as a reference rate with risk-adjusted factors, such as a borrower’s creditworthiness, collateral, and overall financial behaviour. Here’s what happened at Paystack in 2024! Send, receive, and convert fiat or stablecoins like USD, CAD, USDT, USDC, and more in Nigeria with Juicyway—seamlessly and at great rates! Get free multi-currency accounts, enjoy instant transfers, and trade securely in one app. Join now to get started! Fintech Crossfin Invests in South Africa’s DigiSquad Image Source: Equinix DigiSquad, a Johannesburg-based fintech company specializing in payment advisory and software solutions, has secured an undisclosed investment from Crossfin, the venture capital arm of a prominent South African fintech group, Crossfin Technology Holdings. The investment from Crossfin is expected to accelerate DigiSquad’s regional expansion and further development of its platform, positioning it to compete with larger
Read MoreAfrica’s most interesting startups you haven’t heard of—yet
Africa’s most exciting startups aren’t always the loudest. At TechCabal, we believe in spotlighting early movers, quiet builders, and original thinkers solving Africa’s hardest problems in bold, different ways. With Startups on Our Radar, we’re shining the light on new startups across Africa that we find interesting but have little coverage. We’ll be exploring their use cases, opportunities, and models. Most importantly, we’ll be looking for teams taking unconventional approaches, filling fundamental gaps, and creating value in a way that feels fresh, focused, and meaningful. These are not necessarily the most funded or most followed, but they’re doing the kind of work that deserves more attention. Know a startup we should feature next? Please nominate here. Startups on Our Radar is a bi-weekly column; expect our next dispatch on May 7th. Here’s our first dispatch: 1. Vaulfi (Fintech, Algeria) While cross-border remittance startups in Nigeria are falling head over heels to help users receive and make international payments, it’s a different story in Algeria. Users in the country often rely on international banks like HSBC to send and receive money globally. In 2023, Safa Korti (ex-BNP Paribas compliance) and Karim Khattaby (ex-Revolut engineer) teamed up to change that narrative. Together they founded Vaulfi to help Algerians send and receive money globally. The app provides a multicurrency e-wallet platform that allows users to make international money transfers and get physical and debit cards. Why we are watching: Vaulfi is poised to become the market leader in offering legally compliant multi-currency accounts in Algeria. Vaufi will enable Algerians to have access to near-instant international money transactions. Previously, users relied on international banks to make those transfers and often had to wait days to confirm receipt of funds. Vaulfi will also be offering users internationally accepted physical and virtual cards. As of 2022, only 20% of Algerians own debit cards. This makes the startup a pioneering player in a market largely untouched by neobanks. 2. Revwit (SaaS, Nigeria) Founded by former employees of Interswitch, Bolt, Microsoft, and the London Stock Exchange Group—Chinedu Ossai, Dayo Adekanmbi, and Damilola Aluede—Revwit is building revenue infrastructure and CRM tools for African sales teams. Through its app, African sales teams can automatically capture leads from forms, emails, and calendars and manage deals through customisable pipelines that reflect local sales realities. The app also integrates seamlessly with email, eliminating manual data entry, and offers ready-made templates so teams can start selling immediately. The platform supports one-to-one and bulk personalised email outreach, smart reminders, and collaborative deal management, all within a single, easy-to-use interface. Why we are watching: Revwit is what Salesforce might look like if it were born in Lagos. The product is thoughtfully built for African sales teams—simpler UX, local currency support, and workflows that reflect how business is done here. With over $800 million in deal volume processed just six months after the launch of its MVP, they’re showing strong early traction and clear demand. 3. Apexloads (Logistics, Kenya) Aside from working capital constraints, one of the biggest challenges for logistics startups across Africa is the lack of backhaul. After completing a delivery, transporters often return empty, with no goods to carry back. This inefficiency drives up the cost of moving goods, as transporters factor in the likelihood of an empty return trip when setting prices. Launched in 2019 by Charles Thuo, Apexloads solves this challenge by connecting shippers and truckers through its app. Its load board lets transporters view and claim available loads by location, maximising truck utilisation and reducing empty return trips. Beyond load matching, Apexloads offers a transport management system, CRM tools, and invoice factoring—giving logistics businesses real-time shipment visibility, streamlined operations, stronger client relationships, and faster payment access. Why we are watching: In a sector still driven by phone calls, WhatsApp, and manual coordination, Apexloads offers the infrastructure to reduce downtime, improve transparency, and unlock working capital. With operations in Nigeria and Kenya and backing from Techstars, it’s well-positioned to become the digital backbone of African logistics, while layering in fintech for long-term monetisation. 4. Zimi (EV, South Africa) Imagine turning your (electric) car into a power bank. That’s the promise of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology—turning your EV into a giant power bank for your home, business, or even the national grid. V2G enables electricity to flow both ways: your car charges when there is abundant energy, and sends power back when demand spikes or outages hit Launched in 2021 by Michael Maas, Zimi is pioneering V2G technology in South Africa. In a country where load shedding is a daily headache, Zimi’s solution is timely. The company recently got a $320,000 grant from EEP Africa to test out this technology and partner with fleet operators. Why we are watching: Zimi has a first-mover advantage by building the foundational infrastructure for EV adoption in South Africa, starting with fleet and logistics operators who face rising fuel costs. As one of the first movers in this space, Zimi combines hardware (AC/DC chargers) with smart software for energy management, payments, and fleet optimisation—creating multiple revenue streams and long-term defensibility. Its focus on vehicle-to-grid (V2G) tech positions it uniquely as both a mobility and energy resilience solution in a country plagued by power instability. 5. Caantin (AI, Zambia) From fintechs nudging users to complete signups or pay back loans to FMCG brands chasing daily orders from mom-and-pop shops, phone calls are a critical part of daily operations. However, these phone conversations are a key cost in the sales operations of these companies. Launched in 2021, Caantin, a Zambian communication startup, wants to reduce the cost of making phone calls for businesses by using AI voice agents to have these conversations at scale. My first trial with the incredibly human-sounding AI agent made me a believer. We acted as a mom-and-pop shop trying to place orders. Save for a few communication gaps, the conversation felt natural. The call included the intonations, pauses, and inadvertent interruptions of a real-life conversation. Why we are watching: With low smartphone penetration, patchy
Read MoreCrossfin invests in South Africa’s DigiSquad to expand digital payments in underserved markets
Crossfin, the venture capital arm of South African fintech Crossfin, has invested in DigiSquad, a Johannesburg-based payments advisory and platform provider focused on underserved African markets. Although the investment amount remains undisclosed, the capital injection will drive DigiSquad’s plans to expand financial inclusion across the African continent, targeting both public and private sector clients. Founded in 2015 by Bishmen Kumalo, DigiSquad provides advisory, consulting, product development, and data analytics services to clients across Africa and the United States. The company claims it is bridging the gaps in financial inclusion by designing products tailored for communities ignored by traditional financial institutions. Over 18 months, DigiSquad built its flagship platform, DigiEngine, which recently secured a contract as one of Eskom’s five national vending agents. According to Crossfin, the collective experience and expertise within the squad have enabled the company to compete on an even footing with larger, more established companies. “Africa’s payments sector is rife with innovation, but many products for underserved communities overlook existing local solutions,” Kumalo said in a statement. “We are enabling these solutions through our digital offerings and are committed to redefining digital innovation as a black woman-owned fintech.” Kumalo noted that Crossfin’s demonstrated commitment to supporting fintechs focused on high-impact, often underserved segments like DigiSquad, was a key factor in their decision to partner. “DigiSquad attracted us because of its cloud-based payments platform that holds great relevance across our portfolio and has already enjoyed the endorsement of Eskom,” said Anton Gaylard, co-founder and CXO at Crossfin. “We look forward to using their expertise across our portfolio and supporting them as they build out an exciting payments business.”
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Mapping my AI brain
“We become what we behold. We shape our tools, and then our tools shape us” – Father John Culkin. The first time I ever used ChatGPT was December 2022, less than a month after it first launched, making me somewhere between user number 1 million and 57 million. I asked for 20 story ideas about productivity targeted at people who live in Lagos. I hated every single one of these ideas, but so much has changed since first time. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been quietly shaping our lives long before we started talking to it. It decides what videos we see, helps us retrieve old photos, and predicts the weather in our pockets. Once, Google Translate helped me converse with a French speaker in Abidjan. But this piece isn’t about the behind-the-scenes systems, it’s about the kind of AI I speak to directly, and think with. This is about how I use Generative AI tools—and how, in turn, it’s reshaping how I think, learn, and navigate daily life. We’ve always built tools to extend our minds. We drew symbols to store memory. Spoken language spread ideas; written language preserved them. Papers. Books. Libraries. Printing presses duplicated the ideas faster. Then came computers. Then search engines. With Generative AI, we’ve crossed into something different: tools that remix, respond, and reason. I stumbled on The Extended Mind Thesis—the idea that if a tool functions like memory or reasoning, and we use it as seamlessly as we use our brains, it effectively becomes part of the mind. It’s not without its critics, but the core idea stuck with me. Since Large Language Models (LLMs) entered my life, I’ve tested dozens of tools and experimented with different models. Over time, I’ve realised that my relationship with them rests on a few essential pillars. Language is the bridge between me and the model The more time I spend with these models, the more I realise that language isn’t just how we talk to generative AI, it’s often a key to domain expertise. I hear oontz oontz from speakers, and a musichead hears a four-on-the-floor kick pattern in a 128 bpm house track layered with synth textures. You read this article and see an interface, and a developer sees component trees, state management, API calls, and frontend frameworks that hold together with clean architecture. Every context has its language, from Law to making dinner. It’s hard to ask the right questions if you can’t speak the language, and even harder to think clearly. Working with generative AI has made this painfully apparent to me. The moment I step out of my comfort zone—say, trying to describe a song, or understand a piece of urban design—I feel the limits of my vocabulary. One way I close the language gap is by reverse-engineering. After watching Celine Song’s Oscar-nominated Past Lives, I couldn’t stop thinking about the original soundtrack Quiet Eyes by Sharon Van Etten. I asked ChatGPT to describe the song. “A haunting, emotional ballad,” it said. I pushed further: “Okay, but in music critic speak?” ChatGPT obliged: “sonic atmosphere,” “meditative,” “an emotional crescendo that lands not in catharsis, but quiet reflection.” And so on. I took those words to another tool—MusicFX by Google Labs—and asked it to generate music. It didn’t replicate the track, because of copyright restrictions, but the description helped me understand how tone and arrangement come together a little better. That entire loop—from asking ChatGPT about the song, to generating something with MusicFX, to learning through creation—took less than 10 minutes. This same loop helps me think better in teams. I once needed to explain a particular feature to a product designer; something I didn’t have the right words for. So, I collected screenshots from different websites and asked ChatGPT to help me describe what I was trying to express to a product designer. Language in hand, I turned to another tool, Lovable, and quickly built a rough prototype. It was effective enough for the designer to interact with and push it further than I ever could. Reverse-engineering still works best when I’m low on domain language, whether trying to navigate legal jargon or product designer-speak. Reverse-engineering continues to work for me in contexts where I’m low on domain language and need just enough to keep it moving, whether it’s spatial architecture or legal jargon. It’s not mastery, but it’s functional fluency, and that’s often enough to make meaningful progress. Creativity is just connecting things. Generative AI is great at that It’s making meaning out of mismatch, taking things that won’t always go together, and whipping them up into something new. The creative mind shuffles between deep domain expertise and fresh perspective. I like to think of myself as creative, so what could be better than a system trained on vast amounts of knowledge and surface connections across disciplines and contexts? LLMs have become a part of my creative process, more as a sparring partner than something that generates finished ideas. I feed them, and they stretch it. I come with half-thoughts, and it helps me find coherence. Here’s a breakdown of some ways I use generative AI across different creative functions. Ultimately, it’s less about offloading and more about thinking wider and testing deeper through the messiness of making something new. I (try to) put my models on a leash I spend a healthy amount of time studying models—how they’re built, improved, and just as importantly, where they fall short. The more I understand their limits, the better I can trust the tool for what it’s good at, and avoid blindly trusting it where it’s weak. ChatGPT is my daily driver, but I’ve learned not to rely on it whenever I need to verify specific real-life events, whether it’s sports or financial markets. Even though its hallucinatory tendencies have improved over time, I feel safer not trusting it entirely. Perplexity, on the other hand, behaves more like a traditional search engine with an LLM layer. It cites sources and every link it
Read MoreKenya to scrap risk-based loan pricing in push for lower interest rates
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has proposed scrapping the risk-based credit pricing model in favor of pegging lending rates to its benchmark policy rate, a major shift aimed at lowering borrowing costs and improving access to credit for households and businesses. The decision follows frustration within the CBK over the banking sector’s reluctance to lower interest rates despite multiple reductions in the benchmark lending rate since October 2024. The CBK recently cut the Central Bank Rate (CBR to stimulate lending and economic activity, but banks have largely maintained high lending rates, citing internal risk assessments. “CBK proposes the use of the policy rate (Central Bank Rate) as the common reference rate for determining lending rates in the Kenyan banking sector,” CBK said on Wednesday. “The lending rates will be determined by adding a premium to the CBR. CBK will publish the components of each bank’s lending rate premium on its website, the Total Cost of Credit (TCC) website, and in two newspapers of nationwide circulation.” Interest rates will be set by adding a premium—“K”—to the Central Bank Rate (CBR). The premium will include the bank’s operating costs tied to lending, the return expected by shareholders, and the borrower’s risk profile. The outgoing risk-based pricing model, which allowed banks to decide on loan rates depending on individual borrower profiles, has faced criticism for being opaque and prone to abuse. When it was introduced in 2019, the regulator intended to encourage lending to riskier customers; in practice, it has resulted in prohibitively high rates, especially for SMEs and households without credit histories. “CBK’s expectation of the risk-based model was to promote responsible lending practices by aligning credit pricing with borrowers’ risk profiles while ensuring transparency and fairness,” the regulator said. Under the model, banks combined the base rate as a reference rate with risk-adjusted factors, such as a borrower’s creditworthiness, collateral, and overall financial behaviour. By pegging interest rates on CBR, the Central Bank of Kenya hopes to improve the transmission of monetary policy decisions to borrowers and push for transparency in a market that has been criticised for opacity. For borrowers, it could mean lower and predictable interest rates.
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