Lipa Later enters administration after failed fresh fundraising efforts
Lipa Later, a Kenyan buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech, has been placed under administration effective March 24, 2025, after months of financial struggles and failed fundraising efforts. Joy Vipinchandra Bhatt from Moore JVB Consulting LLP has been appointed administrator, according to a gazette notice seen by TechCabal. This latest development caps a turbulent year for Lipa Later, which has struggled to secure fresh funding since its last capital injection—a $3.4 million debt raise in September 2023—leaving it unable to pay employees and suppliers. Entering into administration means the company’s directors have lost control of its assets and operations, with decision-making authority shifting to the appointed administrator. Creditors have until April 23 to submit claims as the company’s future hangs in the balance. “We are currently engaging all key stakeholders of the company to elicit their cooperation in order to achieve the best possible outcome for the company,” Bhatt said. At least five employees told TechCabal they had not received salaries for several months as of December 2024. Lipa Later also owed several suppliers, including London-based consultancy Africa Foresight Group (AFG), which sued the company in 2024 over an unpaid $13,516 consultancy fee, according to court documents seen by TechCabal. The dispute with AFG, which was contracted in April 2022 to prepare a market report, escalated after Lipa Later withheld payment, claiming the work was substandard. In a December 2024 ruling, Kenya’s High Court dismissed Lipa Later’s defense, stating the company had admitted to the debt in internal correspondence. “It is therefore clear to me that the amount demanded in the statutory demand is, in fact, not disputed, and the debtor (Lipa Later) is estopped from claiming so having admitted to the debt,” Justice Mong’are said in the ruling. The court also ruled that Lipa Later failed to meet the legal threshold of showing a genuine and substantial dispute over the debt. From investor darling to financial distress Lipa Later had previously strong investor backing, raising $12 million in seed funding in January 2022 from Cauris, Lateral Frontiers, and others, alongside undisclosed debt from the same investors. Earlier rounds saw seed investments from Orbit Startups in 2021 and Founders Factory Africa in 2019. Despite early investor confidence, the company failed to raise more funding in 2024. One top executive, who wished not to be named for discussing confidential information, claimed the company was close to securing a deal in Q4 2024, but it never materialised. The company’s financial position came under scrutiny in December 2023 when it acquired struggling e-commerce platform Sky.Garden for KES 250 million ($1.9 million). The deal raised concerns about Lipa Later’s financial health, as it was already grappling with mounting obligations at the time. Lipa Later’s fate now rests on whether its administrator can restructure its operations or find a buyer willing to take a chance on its BNPL model.
Read MoreFrom Okada Books to PiggyVest: Martha Kingsmike wants 9-5ers to work like they own a startup
Swipe away on Martha Kingsmike’s Instagram stories, and you might catch her mid-workout—legs splayed in a precarious split, stretching before or after a grueling gym session. You hold your breath, half-expecting her legs to buckle. They don’t. Spend two hours talking to her, and it’s clear: that’s how she lives—pushing her boundaries, testing her limits. Take 2024, when she juggled three jobs like a high-wire act: full-time product marketing associate at PiggyVest, Nigeria’s fintech darling; social media consultant for GoLemon, a fast-rising grocery delivery startup; and a five-month audience engagement contract with openDemocracy. By the end, she was running on fumes, but the quality of her work never suffered, she claimed. When I ask what fuels this relentless multitasking, she says, “Passion and money.” The openDemocracy contract, now mercifully over, outpaid her full-time gig at PiggyVest at the time, but it was dull. PiggyVest, on the other hand, keeps her sharp and on her toes. She’s either turning the chief marketing officer’s scattered sparks of ideas into full-blown strategies, chasing down designers to keep content on schedule, or crafting high-stakes influencer campaigns—all while ensuring PiggyVest’s online persona stays witty yet safe, never spooking users who have millions saved in the savings platform. Meanwhile, at GoLemon, she gets to play. The budding startup lets her audience engagement strategies lean into the chaotic humour that would be risky at PiggyVest but stimulating for shoppers. It also allows her to experiment more without the bureaucracy typical of late-stage startups. One night, in an ADHD-fueled sprint, she shot 30 videos for a 30-day challenge—and reach increased sevenfold. With nine years of marketing and audience engagement under her belt, Kingsmike has built a reputation that keeps job offers rolling in, all of which she has been declining in the past year. “I’m not being cocky or anything,” she says during our virtual interview, “but I’m great at what I do.” In her LinkedIn header, she describes herself as “superhuman.” But she wasn’t always this confident. Founder mode Kingsmike began her career at Okada Books, a now-defunct digital publishing startup, landing an internship after university. With a literature background and experience promoting her own blog, the audience engagement role suited her perfectly. The CEO called 30 minutes after she applied, offering a higher position due to her strong resume, but lacking formal experience beyond a one-off gig, she chose the content marketing internship instead. Nonetheless, three weeks in, she was promoted, and three months later, the then-five-year-old startup started facing serious challenges. Launched in 2013, Okada Books disrupted publishing with instant author payments and joined Google’s 2018 Launchpad Accelerator alongside PiggyVest (then PiggyBank, where Kingsmike now works) and three other Nigerian startups. As at the time she joined, key staff members, like the social media manager, were quitting without replacements. Kingsmike stepped up, learning on the fly and leaning on teammates to fill technical gaps necessary to keep the content marketing machine running. “I’m not the type of person to come into a company and just do my job. I try my hands at everything. I’m like a sponge—I absorb everything around me,” she said. This high agency mentality is one many in the tech ecosystem describe as ‘founder mode’—operating with the intensity, adaptability, and problem-solving drive of a startup founder—to get things done. By late 2019, exhausted and dissatisfied, Kingsmike left Okada Books. “I thought maybe it’d get better or I wanted better pay, but it wasn’t about the salary—I knew it was time to go.” Kingsmike joined TechCabal shortly after, where she worked to boost its online presence, balancing humorous audience engagement with credibility. After two years, having worked across both TechCabal and its sister publication, Zikoko, she moved on again when the role no longer inspired her. Growing with Piggyvest In search of a bigger challenge, Kingsmike took up an audience engagement management role at Pocket, a fintech platform acquired by PiggyVest. “It opened me up to a whole new world of fintech where things hardly stayed the same and where I could move out of my bubble to gain insight into how consumers actually behave with money,” she said. Like her time at Okada Books, she arrived during a period of transformation. Pocket, a recent acquisition of Piggyvest, initially built as a social payments app, was evolving, and so was her role. Though hired as an audience engagement manager, as the platform shifted, she transitioned into product marketing. When her team lead left, Kingsmike filled the gap just as she had done at Okada Books, saying she “had to keep the team in rhythm and make sure we stayed on track.” This ownership mindset has defined her career and has transformed her from a believer in switching jobs every few years into someone who now sees the value of growing within a great company. “I saw someone on LinkedIn who started working at Microsoft in 2001. They’ve had 15 roles, but they’re still there. That made me think: Just find a good company, stick there, and grow. I think I’ve found that at PiggyVest.” While a few startups, including the Stripe-owned Paystack, have gained attention for high employee retention, high churn is more common, driven by layoffs, shutdowns, toxic work culture, and more. The idea of spending half a decade in a company you have no equity in is almost radical in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem, where job-hopping isn’t just ambition but survival. Kingsmike acknowledges her privilege. “It’s sad how lucky a hardworking person has to be to find a place where they can work for a long time,” she said on a call. However, she believes there are indicators for spotting such companies: a thoughtful evaluation can show whether a company fosters an environment where high-performing people thrive. “You don’t have to wait until you’re employed to figure out a company’s growth trajectory,” she explained. “My research on PiggyVest, [before joining the company] showed that many mid- and high-level employees started as interns. Some began in one department and later moved
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In Egypt, AgriCan’s robots make farming smarter, one field at a time
Where once workers would toil under the heavy heat, sleek, wheeled robots glide silently between rows of strawberry plants on Abdel Rahman Abdel Karim’s farm in Egypt’s Nile Delta. Mechanical arm rise and swivel, releasing a fine mist of chemicals with pinpoint accuracy onto the leaves below. In 2023, when Abdel Karim was battling a severe infestation of powdery mildew and needed an immediate remedy, these robots became a lifeline. “It was the first time we saw robots outside of the internet,” he told TechCabal. “They sprayed pesticides quickly and with precision, something that would have taken human labor much longer and with less accuracy.” Each year, around the world, an average of 10 to 28 percent is lost to agricultural pests, driving a global reliance on herbicides and insecticides. These chemicals, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), are among the leading causes of fatal self-poisoning in low- and middle-income countries. In 2015, Salem Ghanam, then a young engineer, was hospitalized in a rural Egyptian province. Bedridden for days, he encountered dozens of farmers suffering from a number of respiratory ailments, all sparked by excessive pesticide exposure. Years later, tasked to come up with an AI-driven innovative solution while studying for his senior year, Ghanam recalled the plight of these farmers. “I realised Egypt has a serious problem with the uncontrolled use of pesticides, which can cause cancer,” he explained. “Farmers often don’t wear protective gear due to a lack of awareness, and because spraying usually happens in the summer, the heat makes wearing such equipment unbearable.” Motivated by this, Ghanam gathered a team of university peers and experts to develop precision pesticide-spraying devices, and what began as a student project grew into a full-fledged agritech startup, and in 2020, AgriCan was born. AgriCan leverages robotics and smart technologies to boost crop yields and quality by cutting pesticide use and improving crop monitoring. Initially focused on drones, the company shifted in 2022 to ground-based robots equipped with AI and Internet of Things systems. The robots, using cameras and data analytics, would diagnose plant diseases and deliver targeted pesticide doses reducing waste and environmental impact. Structural barriers AgriCan’s mission unfolds against a backdrop of deeply rooted challenges. Many Middle Eastern and African countries remain reliant on rudimentary or outdated agricultural techniques, in stark contrast to countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which have advanced in areas such as vertical farming and AI-driven agriculture. Yet, much of the region lags behind, slow to adopt sustainable and productivity-enhancing technologies. “The issue stems from the dominance of smallholder farmers in Egypt, who rely on traditional practices due to limited financial resources,” UN expert on agricultural sustainability Mohammed Ali Faheem explained. “Additionally, there’s a general lack of technological literacy among farmers, leading to hesitation in adopting new tools.” There are also structural challenges, he said: weak digital infrastructure, limited connectivity in rural areas, and insufficient investment in agritech, adding that the lack of strong governmental support and clear policies to drive agricultural digital transformation has slowed the adoption of modern technologies on a wide scale. “Convincing farmers to use a robot is a significant hurdle – it’s something completely new to them,” Ghanam explained. Caused by a variety of fungal species, powdery mildew affects hundreds of crop and fruit species worldwide.Source: Wikimedia Commons Early on, AgriCan offered free trial services to demonstrate the technology’s benefits. Over time, farmers began to notice improvements in crop quality, and word of mouth spread among agricultural communities. Today, AgriCan is working with research centres in Egypt to develop training programs for farmers to familiarise them with agricultural technologies. Faheem noted the “critical role” of smart agricultural tools, such as robots and sensor-based greenhouse monitoring systems, in enhancing sustainable development. “These technologies improve agricultural yields without depleting natural resources, reduce crop diseases and waste through AI and sensor-based systems, and limit environmental pollution through targeted spraying, ultimately reducing health risks,” he explained. These solutions, he argues, could also promote regional cooperation in agricultural research and development between Arab and African countries. Such technologies tackle key challenges by offering efficient alternatives as rural labor continues to migrate to urban areas. They also reduce operational costs compared to traditional methods, improving farm profitability. In addition, sensor systems and robotics enable farmers to better adapt to changing climate conditions. According to Faheem, however, concerns persist about the cost and risks of robotic technology, especially for smallholder farmers. “The high price of these robots could be prohibitive for small farmers,” he told TechCabal. “Any malfunction in the devices or errors in AI systems could lead to significant crop losses if there are no fallback options and repairs or replacements could add further financial strain on farmers already operating on tight margins.” For Ghanam, while Faheem’s concerns are valid, he sees climate variability as the biggest hurdle to scaling the technology. “One of the key obstacles is adapting robotic solutions to sudden climate shifts within the same growing season,” he said. “We need to design systems that can respond effectively to unpredictable weather patterns, and that’s no easy task.” Despite these hurdles, Ghanam is confident in the efficacy of his technology. He points to a field study his team conducted where a farm was split into two sections, one operated by a human workforce, the other by a robot. Both areas grew the same crops under identical conditions. The results were telling: the robot-assisted section produced 15% higher yields, used 31% less pesticide, and reduced labor needs by 12%. Abdel Karim also saw similar results. “The quality of the harvest improved by 15 to 20 percent compared to previous seasons, and we managed to export a large share of our crop,” he said. However, he pointed out that robotic solutions cost more upfront, compared to hiring human labor. So far, AgriCan has deployed its technology across 5,230 acres on more than 15 farms and expanded to markets in the UAE and Jordan. The next major milestone will come in 2025, with the
Read MoreRussian auto giant AvtoVAZ enters Nigeria with spare parts hub, local assembly plant
AvtoVAZ, Russia’s largest automaker, which is majority-owned by the Russian government, is expanding into Nigeria as part of a broader strategy to diversify operations beyond its home market. The company plans to establish a spare parts hub and service center at the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos before the end of 2025, marking its most significant push into West Africa’s largest economy. The automaker is also in talks with the Nigerian government to set up a local assembly plant, a move that could aid its long-term presence in a country where new car sales are outpaced by demand for used vehicles. AvtoVAZ’s expansion is in response to increasing competition, particularly from Chinese automakers strengthening their presence in Russia amid ongoing talks of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Great Wall Motors, a Chinese manufacturer, plans to boost its production capacity in Russia from 150,000 to 200,000 units by 2025. Hyundai and Renault are reportedly plotting a return to the Russian market after a ceasefire deal is reached. Seeking new growth avenues, AvtoVAZ is looking to Nigeria’s underdeveloped but high-potential automotive sector, where annual vehicle demand stands at approximately 720,000 units. Local production meets only about 14,000 units. AvtoVAZ plans to tap into Nigeria’s push for alternative fuel vehicles. It will partner with a Russian engineering firm to establish a compressed natural gas (CNG) conversion plant, allowing Lada cars to be equipped with factory-fitted or locally converted gas-powered engines. While AvtoVAZ will supply the vehicles, the yet-to-be-selected engineering partner will handle the conversion process, according to Adewole Opeyemi, AvtoVAZ’s official representative in Nigeria. “If you bring CNG cars to Nigeria, you don’t pay any duties, which is why we are in talks with the relevant agencies,” Opeyemi said. “Some Lada cars will arrive with factory-fitted gas-powered engines, while others will be converted locally by Russian specialists.” AvtoVAZ, best known for its Lada brand of affordable passenger cars, SUVs, and commercial vehicles, has been active in Africa since 1999, shipping approximately 100,000 cars to the continent. Its first major venture in Africa was a joint partnership with Egypt’s Amal Foreign Trade Company, assembling Lada vehicles at a local Suzuki plant in Cairo. Initially focused on producing the Lada 2107 model, the collaboration later shifted to the 2110 model. In December 2022, AvtoVAZ announced plans to export 20,000 vehicles in 2023, with a strong emphasis on expanding into new African markets. The company has since sought to reestablish its African footprint, with Ethiopia emerging as a key market. In 2023, AvtoVAZ signed a letter of intent with Ethio Engineering Group to begin local production of Lada vehicles. “We are witnessing a new wave of diplomatic cooperation between Russia and African countries. Nigeria, as the region’s biggest market, simply cannot be overlooked,” Artem Aglichev, AvtoVaz’s Head of Product Marketing, told TechCabal. “Opportunities are opening up for us, and we’re ready to explore them.” Nigeria’s auto industry remains largely dependent on imports, particularly used vehicles. The country’s local manufacturing sector includes players like Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing, Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN), Coscharis Motors, and GAC Motors. However, foreign brands continue to dominate the market, with Toyota holding a 16.1% market share, thanks to its reputation for durability and readily available spare parts. Japanese brands Toyota and Honda control almost a third of the new and used vehicle market, while South Korean brands like Hyundai and Kia have gained popularity with their modern designs and competitive pricing. “As a state-owned company, we fully understand the regulatory requirements and are committed to local assembly,” Aglichev said. “Nigeria has been a strong player in this field since the 1950s, with skilled labor, logistical capabilities, and economic feasibility. This is a logical and reasonable step, and we are confidently moving forward.” While AvtoVAZ’s ambitions in Nigeria are significant, the company will face challenges ranging from regulatory hurdles to entrenched competition from local and foreign players. Whether its low-cost Lada models can carve out a niche in a market dominated by second-hand imports remains an open question.
Read MoreTunisia to suspend Bolt for alleged tax evasion, launch state-backed ride-hailing app
Tunisia wants to suspend Bolt, one of the country’s leading ride-hailing apps, over allegations of tax evasion, money laundering, and operating without proper licences. Transport ministry officials said in a statement that they seized 12 million dinars ($3.8 million) from accounts linked to several apps, including Bolt, claiming the funds were illegally transferred abroad. The crackdown comes as Tunisia prepares to launch a state-backed ride-hailing app to control fares and regulate the sector. The transport ministry claims the yet-to-be-named app will cap prices at 1.5 times the traditional taxi metre rate and address drivers’ demands for higher rates. “This national app will provide services to all passengers via registered taxis and official channels,” the ministry said in a statement. “It will offer features similar to those found in other international platforms, including digital payments and real-time tracking.” Bolt has denied the allegations, describing them as “completely unfounded.” “All local authority actions have been taken without the involvement of an investigating judge,” Bolt told TechCabal. “We have not been allowed the opportunity to contest the authorities’ allegations, which has prevented us from defending our rights.” Bolt said banning foreign ride-hailing companies would “create a worrying precedent” and harm market competition. The company insisted that its operations in the country follow local laws. The ministry claims the plan is part of efforts to reform the transport sector and “help preserve the local market and ensure revenues stay within Tunisia, unlike foreign-based apps that transfer earnings abroad.” Several other ride-hailing apps, including Yassir, Heetch, and local platform Amigo, currently operate in the country. However, major international players like Uber and Careem have yet to enter the Tunisian market. “Bolt ride-hailing services will remain fully operational in Tunisia, and our drivers and customers will be able to use the app as usual,” the company said. With the government tightening its grip on the ride-hailing industry, the battle over market control—and foreign firms’ role in it—is far from over.
Read MoreMTN and Airtel ink network-sharing agreement in Nigeria, Uganda to cut costs
MTN Group and Airtel Africa have signed an agreement to share network infrastructure in Nigeria and Uganda, a strategic move aimed at reducing rising operational costs while expanding mobile coverage to underserved areas. The rare collaboration underscores a broader shift toward cost optimisation among African telecom giants as currency devaluation and economic headwinds strain profitability. Nigeria, the biggest market for both companies, has been particularly challenging. The country accounts for 40% of MTN Group’s revenue and 34.4% of Airtel Africa’s. However, both telecom giants have struggled with https://techcabal.com/2025/03/17/mtn-nigeria-loses-top-revenue-spot/revenue declines since 2023 due to naira devaluation. The currency slump has inflated network deployment costs, forcing operators to scale back infrastructure investment. By sharing towers, base stations, and fiber-optic networks, MTN and Airtel aim to manage expenses while improving connectivity in remote areas. MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita said the agreement aims to meet the growing demand for data services and digital financial solutions across Africa. In Nigeria, MTN’s market share grew to 51% in January, adding over 3 million new subscribers to reach a total of 87.5 million. Airtel Nigeria expanded its subscriber base from 56.6 million in December 2024 to 57.6 million in January 2025. “We continue to see strong structural demand for digital and financial services across our markets,” Mupita said in a statement. “To meet this demand, we continue to invest in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity for our customers.” Before stirking this deal, MTN Nigeria, a subsidiary of MTN Group, was in discussions with 9mobile, a struggling Nigerian operator that has lost millions of subscribers. The mobile-roaming deal, still under negotiation, would allow 9mobile to use MTN Nigeria’s infrastructure in select areas, while MTN would gain access to 9mobile’s spectrum in return. The new agreement aligns with regulatory efforts. When the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved telecom tariff increases in January, it required operators to deploy additional infrastructure within three months to improve service delivery. With the new tariffs taking effect in February, telecom companies now have only two months left to comply. Beyond Uganda and Nigeria, MTN and Airtel Africa are exploring further network-sharing opportunities in other African markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda, and Zambia. The companies are considering various models, including radio access network (RAN) sharing and agreements focused on fiber infrastructure sharing and construction of new fiber networks. “As we compete fiercely in the market on the strength of our brand, services, and offerings, we are building common infrastructure within the permissible regulatory framework,” Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar. “This allows us to provide a more robust and extensive digital highway while avoiding the costly duplication of infrastructure.” If successful, the partnership could set a precedent for further consolidation in network investments across the continent.
Read MoreJumia, Jiji unfazed as Temu shakes up Nigeria’s $13 billion e-commerce market
Chinese e-commerce giant Temu has made a rapid entrance into Nigeria’s $13 billion online retail market, luring shoppers with ultra-low prices and freebies. However, while the platform is gaining momentum, local rivals Jumia and Jiji see no threat. Since its Nigerian launch in November 2024, Temu has been aggressively courting customers with deep discounts, promotional giveaways, and promises of faster delivery. The company’s expansion strategy mirrors its playbook in other markets, where it has quickly become a dominant force by undercutting competitors on price and leveraging its direct-from-manufacturer supply chain model. Jumia, Africa’s largest e-commerce platform, says it welcomes the competition. “We don’t see Temu’s entry as a bad thing; rather, it’s good for the industry,” said Robert Awodu, regional head of public relations & communication for Jumia’s Sub-Saharan Africa operations. “Since last year, we have been focusing on expanding into secondary cities and rural areas.” Awodu said Jumia’s deep roots in Africa, with operations in nine countries, is a competitive advantage against nonresident firms like Temu. “Ultimately, when the freebies end, people will seek out the option that provides them with the best value, even if it means going offline,” he said. Anton Volianskyi, Jiji’s CEO, said Temu’s product categories don’t significantly overlap with Jiji’s core business. “We don’t bid on very low-priced product categories; we don’t work in the same business model,” he said. “We mainly represent local sellers, meaning that you have a choice of goods and services you could order available today, bargaining price, and get it delivered within one day in most cases.” Unlike Jiji, which specializes in vehicles, real estate, and services, Temu does not yet have a strong presence in these key segments. “We simply don’t feel the impact,” Volianskyi added. “In many of these categories, Temu doesn’t yet offer strong local value or trusted options.” Yet, industry analysts say Temu could disrupt the market in a big way. The platform’s popularity has surged in Nigeria, climbing to the top of Google Play’s rankings, outpacing apps like WhatsApp, Opay, and ChatGPT, according to SimilarWeb, a web analytics tool. A recent report from Euromonitor International noted that Temu’s rapid growth has placed it among the world’s top 20 e-commerce brands—up from outside the top 100 in 2023. Temu attributes its success to its direct-to-consumer model, which cuts out wholesalers and retailers to offer lower prices year-round. “We work with trusted logistics partners to ensure shoppers get their orders reliably and on time,” the company said in a statement to TechCabal. Beyond aggressive pricing, Temu is leveraging consumer trend data to refine its offerings, a strategy that differentiates it from rivals like Amazon and Walmart. Its gamified shopping experience—featuring spinning wheels, countdown timers, and promotional challenges—has proven highly effective in attracting price-sensitive shoppers. The rise of Chinese e-commerce platforms in Nigeria underscores a larger trend: the deep pockets and technological prowess of Chinese firms are reshaping Africa’s digital economy. Temu’s entry follows a broader push by Beijing to support emerging tech businesses, including a recently announced $138 billion government-backed fund to fuel innovation in AI, quantum computing, and e-commerce. “If Temu sets up local operations in Nigeria, it could be game over for Jumia and other players in the space,” said Oluwatobi Akapo, a former business development manager at Jumia Nigeria. However, Temu isn’t just battling local incumbents, it’s also up against Nigeria’s evolving consumer habits. The country’s e-commerce market is projected to double to $26 billion by 2030, driven by rising smartphone penetration and increasing internet access, according to Worldpay, a global payment processing company. Local knowledge, logistics infrastructure, and trust will be key differentiators in the long run. “Jumia isn’t Temu’s only competition,” said Uchenna Uzo, a professor of marketing at Lagos Business School. “The real challenge is adapting to a consumer base that is price-sensitive but also values trust, speed, and reliability.” Whether Jumia and Jiji can leverage their local expertise to fend off Temu’s low-price strategy remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: Temu has shaken up the market.
Read MoreNigerian fintech Payhippo rebrands as Rivy, raises $4 million for clean energy financing
Payhippo, a Nigerian fintech that formerly provided SME loans, has rebranded as Rivy and raised $4 million in a pre-Series A round to focus on its clean energy financing business. The funding—split evenly between $2 million in debt and $2 million in equity—will help the company expand beyond Nigeria with its clean energy financing solutions for businesses. EchoVC, a Nigerian venture capital (VC) firm which has funded 38 African startups, co-led the equity round through its $2.5 million Eco fund, which focuses on climate, energy, agriculture, and mobility solutions, alongside Shell’s All On, a climate-focused impact investment organisation. Debt was provided by local debt providers. Rivy’s shift underscores a growing trend among African fintechs looking beyond traditional lending to tackle structural challenges. In 2020, Nigeria’s Aella Credit expanded its micro-lending solutions to include healthcare, insurance, and bill payments, even experimenting with a blockchain lending solution Creditcoin. In 2023, Kenyan micro-lender Branch became a neobank after acquiring a microfinance bank. Rather than supplying clean energy solutions directly, Rivy operates a dual marketplace, connecting over 250 solar vendors and installers with businesses while offering loans to spread the cost of solar systems over time. “When Rivy was an SME lender, the recurring theme we found with small businesses that came to us for loans was their lack of electricity,” said Dami Olawoye, CEO of Rivy, formerly Payhippo. “We also noticed that solar installers didn’t have booking capital to buy equipment in bulk. We expanded to an asset financing solution in June 2023 to allow these small businesses to buy solar systems and spread the costs over a period of time.” Founded in 2019 by Chioma Okotcha, Uche Nnadi, and Zach Bijesse, Rivy initially provided loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. After joining Y Combinator in 2021, Rivy saw leadership changes in 2023 when Olawoye, formerly CFO, took over as CEO while Bijesse moved to the board. Despite the product expansion, Rivy’s underwriting engine remains central to its business. Olawaoye claims the startup’s non-performing loan (NPL) ratio remained below 1%, signaling strong credit risk management. “We built our underwriting engine and it is clearly working well because our loan defaults are low,” he said, declining to provide specifics. Since shifting to clean energy financing, Rivy has seen strong demand from businesses despite the high cost of solar systems. In 2024, it disbursed $2 million in loans to businesses and grew its loan book at an average of 15% per month, according to Olawoye. “When you do the math, businesses will spend more in the long-term [due to their high electricity demand],” said Olawoye. “If they get financing from us to buy a solar system in terms of the equivalent generating capacity, their monthly spend will be lower than what they pay to fuel their generator sets or on the revised electricity tariff bands.” Rivy’s loan terms are structured based on the electricity demand, logistics, and solar installation service charges. The loan interest rate typically starts at around 12% for a three-month term and increases as the term lengthens. However, businesses must make an initial deposit of at least 30% of the full loan amount before they can access the loans. Beyond individual businesses, Rivy also finances micro-grids—large-scale solar installations that serve business clusters, communities, and households. While businesses remain its core focus, the company has expanded to include consumer financing as well. Olawoye said the company raised a mix of debt and equity because debt is better suited to its lending model. However, to raise debt, it had to raise equity funding alongside. “Equity is expensive,” said Olawoye. “We can’t keep raising equity to lend money because everybody [shareholders] will keep getting diluted. If we want to raise future rounds, a structure we’re most likely to use will be one where we raise a combination of debt and equity.” Rivy plans to deepen its presence in Nigeria while exploring expansion into other markets. In the race to keep the lights on in households and businesses, Rivy wants to be holding the torch.
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TechCabal Daily – Caantin wants call centres for lunch
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy midweek! AI wants your job. Okay, not your job (we hope), but call center agents might want to watch their backs. Meanwhile, Temu’s making a payment play in Nigeria, and KCB is scooping up a majority stake in Riverbank. Shall we? KCB acquires 75% of Riverbank Solutions Caantin wants to do the talking for call centres Temu partners with Interswitch’s Verve World Wide Web 3 Opportunities M&A KCB acquires 75% of Riverbank Solutions KCB chief executive Paul Russo/Image Source: KCB What do Nigeria’s and Kenya’s banking industries have in common right now? Both countries are forcing banks to recapitalise. While Nigeria is only twelve months away from its March 2026 deadline, Kenya’s finance committee is trying to approve KES10 billion ($78 million) as the threshold for banks to recapitalise within three years. Recapitalisation can save a whole banking sector and prevent retail customers from losing confidence in the system. Yet, it is a nerve-wracking process for small banks. But not for KCB; not for Kenya’s largest bank by assets which, instead of keeping and raising more money for the recapitalisation exercise, has chosen to stray to the opposite side and complete a 75% acquisition of Riverbank Solutions, a Kenyan payments solutions provider, for $15.4 million. But it’s not hard to see why KCB bagged the deal. Riverbank Solutions offers payment systems to a diverse clientele, including manufacturers, microfinance institutions, retailers, county governments, and the military. Operating in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda, the company has been a key partner for KCB since 2013, particularly in agency banking services. The acquisition will allow KCB to expand its digital service offerings, particularly to government counties. Counties, being public institutions, process large transactions, which could be a useful clientele for KCB, giving the bank an edge over other commercial banks focused on retail investors. There is also the possibility for KCB to upsell its new corporate clients on its wealth management services through its subsidiary, KCB Capital Ltd, keeping its high-value customers in a closed loop system. The acquisition of Riverbank may have eaten deep into KCB’s pocket, but it is a minor dent compared to what it makes annually. In 2024, the bank’s profit after tax was KES 61.8 billion ($478 million) following strong business growth. Its cash flow position remains positive, and if the acquisition were to come back to bite KCB during the anticipated recapitalisation exercise—which is unlikely—the bank is owned by a holding company, KCB Group, which is willing to step in with a cash injection to balance its capital adequacy ratio, as we’ve seen in the past. Are you a freelancer or a remote worker? Fincra wants to understand the challenges and opportunities related to cross-border work payments for freelancers and remote workers in Nigeria. Please take just a few minutes to complete this survey. Startups Caantin wants to do the talking for call centres Njavwa Mutambo, founder and CEO at Caantin/Image Source: Caantin AI When AI became mainstream—thanks to ChatGPT’s viral launch in November 2022—the touted narrative was that AI was going to take your job. There’s no sugar-coating it; that might become the reality for business process outsourcing (BPO) firms and call centres across Africa if AI voice startups like Caantin perfect their tech. Caantin, the Zambian AI communications company, wants to help businesses reduce the cost of making phone calls daily. The Zambian startup launched in 2021 is building voice bots that can make thousands of phone calls a day for businesses—from fintechs chasing loan repayments to FMCG brands managing daily retail orders. TechCabal’s startup reporter, Faith Omoniyi, had a go at using the incredibly human-sounding AI voice bots by role-playing a mom-and-pop shop placing orders. The experience was surprisingly natural, complete with human-like intonations, pauses, and interruptions. Still, the product isn’t perfect yet. Conversations can occasionally fall flat, and the price—₦117 ($0.076) per minute in Nigeria—is nearly nine times what telecom operators charge in the country. Caantin defends its pricing, citing the cost of running human-staffed call centres. It claims fintech Cowrywise completed 100,000 calls with one employee using the tool. If Caantin pulls it off, Africa’s call centres may have more than dropped calls to worry about. Read our full review of the product here. Introducing Paystack’s new consumer app — Zap! Zap by Paystack is a mobile app for instant, secure payments via bank transfers. Download Zap on Android and iOS → E-commerce Temu partners with Interswitch’s Verve Image source: MSN Like customer behaviour, market trends are fleeting. Today, you’re excited to be the first to provide a new technology (read: contactless payments); tomorrow, the market tide shifts back to the old-school tech you thought was dying. Case in point: Temu, the Chinese e-commerce startup you can’t get out of your ad streams, has partnered with Nigerian card provider Verve. For years, local Nigerian cards were a giant pain because they didn’t work for international transactions. Banks and regulators restricted them to domestic use, making it difficult to pay for global services, subscriptions, and travel. Banks weren’t concerned; they weren’t trying to crack international payments or bring the exclusivity of dollar-denominated cards to the average Nigerian. GTBank, a tier 1 lender, stopped international transactions on its naira-denominated Mastercards on December 31, 2022. But for fintechs which exist to somehow make life easier for customers neglected by banks, this became a problem to solve. In the following years, the popularity of USD virtual cards—which allow customers to convert their local currency, hold dollars, and make international payments—took off. Fintechs plugged into card infrastructure providers like Alcineo, partnered with Visa and MasterCard, or used overlay solutions with USD virtual card issuers like Bridgecard. Soon, their selling proposition became: Get USD virtual cards, shop online—followed by a list of international platforms that punctuated marketing copies. Yet, local card scheme Verve, owned by payments giant Interswitch, remained in the lead—mostly thanks to banks that handed them out indiscriminately, it came right out of the box
Read MoreCaantin’s AI wants to do the talking for call centers
Zambian AI communications startup, Caantin, wants to reduce the cost of making phone calls for businesses by using AI voice agents that can have these conversations at scale. Communication is the lifeblood of many enterprises. 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. Traditionally, that job has fallen to large or outsourced call centers, or in-house support teams that come with overhead costs, hiring headaches, and natural limits—there’s only so many calls a human can make in a day. Caantin, a new AI communications startup, thinks it has a better way: AI voice agents that can have these conversations at scale. Launched in 2021—Caantin’s first iteration was Topup Mama, a procurement and management software for restaurants—and self-described as an AI communications company, the Zambian startup says it wants to reduce the cost of making phone calls for businesses. “Businesses struggle to scale for a number of reasons, and when you peel into it, you end up with a communications issue—the cost of communicating,” said Njavwa Mutambo, CEO and Co-founder of Caantin. “We help businesses communicate with customers in a way that is intelligent, contextual, and cost-effective.” TechCabal had a go at using Caantin’s incredibly human-sounding AI voice bots by acting as a mom-and-pop shop trying to place orders. Save the few gaps in communication, the conversation felt really natural. The call included the intonations, pauses, and inadvertent interruptions of a real life conversation. The AI chatbot allows you to have conversations accented in major African languages—Igbo, Hausa, Swahili, and Yoruba. Mutambo claims the startup has helped the businesses it serves increase their efficiency. For example, Mutambo says Caantin helped Nigerian fintech Cowrywise achieve 100,000 calls with one employee, a feat that would normally be achieved with 30 employees in a 3-month period. Voice is the entry point While AI use cases on the continent are still nascent—largely due to the high cost of building and running models—Mutambo believes voice AI will be the most dominant use case of AI in Africa. With low smartphone penetration, inconsistent internet access, and high illiteracy rates in many regions, Mutambo sees voice—not text or chat—as the most practical interface for AI adoption at scale. “Voice is how AI will be distributed in Africa,” Mutambo said. But beyond just building voice bots, he argues the key is developing context-specific use cases that align with how enterprises operate on the continent. For Caantin, that means designing voice agents that can drive collections, complete sales flows, and reduce the cost of customer support—at scale. For example, Caantin’s voice bot can prompt payment during calls using webhooks for integration with payment providers like Paystack and Flutterwave. Caantin is also looking to add a feature that would analyse tons of phone conversations and deduce insights that can be used for business decisions. How Caantin makes money Caantin generates revenue by charging per second for phone calls, operating much like a telecom provider. In South Africa, it charges four rands (2 cents) per second; in Nigeria, about ₦117 (7 cents) per minute—roughly nine times the rate of a local telco. Mutambo defends the pricing by pointing to the broader costs businesses typically incur to run large customer support operations. “When you’re doing the math, you have to factor in staff salaries, power, internet—all the overhead it takes to run a call center,” he said. “Most chief commercial officers we work with see AI as a cost-cutting tool, not a cost center.” In Caantin’s pitch, the higher per-minute price is offset by the scale, consistency, and 24/7 availability that AI voice agents offer—without the hidden costs of managing human teams. The company claims it is currently profitable. Competition and differentiation Caantin’s main competitors are traditional call centers—Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies—and global players like YC-backed Bland AI. Unlike its global competitors, Caantin is built with an African context. The chatbot understands local dialects, accents, and speech patterns more effectively than generic language models. Caantin’s plan to offer an analytics feature puts it in direct competition with ToumAI, a Moroccan AI startup that works with businesses, including telecom providers, banks, and call centers, to gather and analyze voice data. Fundraising and future plans The startup raised an undisclosed round from Ventures Platform earlier this year. While Caantin’s goal is to make startup customer support more efficient, we asked if that spells the end for BPOs. “BPOs will need to adapt or struggle to survive,” said Mutambo. Caantin’s AI isn’t perfect yet—but when it is, call centers won’t just be in trouble. They’ll be lunch.
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