Next Wave: Failed startups leave us richer in some ways
Cet article est aussi disponible en français <!– In partnership with –> <!–TopBanner Join us for TechCabal Battlefield, Moonshot’s startup competition where you can showcase your startup idea to a global audience and an esteemed panel of judges and stand a chance to win up to 2.5 million naira in funding for your business! Click to register for TC Battlefield First published 13 July, 2025 Image: Pixbay Okra, a Base10-backed African open banking startup, is scaling back after five years, returning an undisclosed portion of its $16.5 million funding to investors. This news sparked the predictable social media chorus: “Another startup bites the dust.” This outrage, as usual, missed the mark. Globally, 90% of startups fail, a reality venture capitalists are clear-eyed about, banking on a few big wins to offset losses. However, in Africa, where a single dollar stretches far ($1 ≈ ₦1,500), startups that manage to raise millions of dollars and later shut down are stigmatised, and founders are accused of setting investor funds on fire. However, when an ambitious startup fails, the impact of venture capital doesn’t vanish without a trace—these companies leave talent, infrastructure, and market maturity that fuel future innovation. VC-backed startups are talent incubators Startups often immerse employees—from novices to seasoned hires—in fast-paced, failure-tolerant environments that accelerate skill development. Early-stage professionals gain work experience and skills. Seasoned hires upskill, tackling novel technologies or business models. Many employees become founders—think Paystack, Interswitch, or Opay Mafias—while others become seasoned operators, invaluable to other organisations. Next Wave continues after this ad. It’s Upskill with Cardtonic season again. Applications for Upskill 3.0 are open Now is your chance to win one of the 20 units of 2024 M4 MacBook Pro Laptops we are giving away. If you’re a techie in software engineering, design, data science, product management, and content creation, this is for you! Find out more here! Let’s look at Okra. Its engineers, growth strategists, salespeople, and designers tackled a massive challenge: building secure, scalable technology for sharing banking data with fintech apps. They built, sold and created the continent’s first open banking API, without a blueprint. The people who worked there gained invaluable experience. Take Richard Famoroti, for example, who transitioned from a forklift operator at AWS to a junior software engineer at Okra. Or Lanre Ibrahim, a founding engineer at Okra, who went on to co-found Tunnel (a credit data-sharing startup later acquired by Prembly) and now leads an engineering team at Deel. Failed startups leave behind experienced talent who go on to use their hard-won expertise to solve problems in other companies. Professionals from these ventures are prized for understanding what can go wrong, albeit through an expensive education. Next Wave continues after this ad. Join Africa’s builders at Termii Elevate 4.0 on August 2 – where AI, APIs, and digital infrastructure take center stage. With Iyin Aboyeji, Wetech, and other top voices. Free to attend: Get your ticker here! Beyond upskilling employees, venture-funded startups leave African markets more sophisticated, priming them for the next wave of tech adoption. These startups don’t just build products—they teach markets to embrace them, driving new behaviours. Unlike traditional firms that play it safe, startups take bold risks to create demand from nothing. This market maturity is now fueling emerging sectors like blockchain, embedded finance and e-commerce, where new players can build on these foundations to scale faster and smarter. The market education is permanent Startups don’t just build products; they teach markets to embrace them. In Nigeria, with low digital literacy and a dominant informal economy, startups drive behaviours like online shopping and digital payments. Unlike risk-averse traditional firms, startups spend a lot of money to generate demand for their technology. Next Wave continues after this ad. All Talentz has launched Nigeria’s first nationwide tech hackathon, with TechCabal as media partner. Interested teams should register by July 4, 2025. The event runs from July 14 to August 23 in Lagos, and winners get ₦10M, a TechCrunch Disrupt trip, and opportuninty fr jobs. All applicants will join a global tech talent pool. Register here! Jumia Food’s closure in 2023 was labelled a bust, yet its millions in subsidies trained consumers to trust online food platforms, easing user acquisition for new entrants. A co-founder of eTranzit, one of Nigeria’s earliest ride-hailing startups that has now shut down, noted that ₦100 million was spent on driver education and marketing primed the market for new entrants. The same can be said about Okra’s work in open banking and other ambitious startups that later threw in the towel. We are richer despite these failures In Africa, venture capital is reshaping economies grappling with unemployment and infrastructure gaps. They build sophisticated markets by creating talent pools with deep expertise, fostering networks of investors and innovators, and driving demand for new technologies. Without their bold risks, these markets would lag. Startup failures aren’t final losses as they leave behind the foundations of Africa’s next tech wave. By taking this more optimistic stance, we can encourage founders to take more risks, knowing that so much is gained even if they fail. Accountability matters, but stigmatising failure can stifle innovation. We are richer despite these failures. Next Wave ends after this ad. Africa’s tech ecosystem is alive with ambition, and Moonshot 2025 is catalysing it into unstoppable momentum. Our theme, “Building Momentum,” honours past builders and calls for doubling down on systems, capital, policies, and partnerships. Expect new formats, deeper conversations, and broader voices. This is where vision becomes action. If you’re building, funding, or enabling Africa’s innovation economy, join us October 15–16 in Lagos. Early Bird tickets are 20% off! Let’s build the future, faster, smarter, together. Reserver your spot! Ngozi Chukwu Associate Reporter Thank you for reading this far. Feel free to email ngozi[at]bigcabal.com, with your thoughts about this edition of NextWave. Or just click reply to share your thoughts and feedback. We’d love to hear from you Psst! Down here! Thanks for reading today’s Next Wave. Please share. Or subscribe if someone
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Buhari, Nigeria’s former president who courted Big Tech while battling online dissent, dies at 82
Muhammadu Buhari died in London on July 13, 2025, aged 82. He had ruled Nigeria as a military leader in the 1980s before returning as an elected president three decades later. The family and his longtime spokesman, Garba Shehu, announced the death and have no cause. Born in Daura in 1942, Buhari first seized power in 1983. He returned to office democratically from 2015 to 2023. Under his second act, internet penetration roughly doubled, and the Nigerian technology ecosystem grew significantly. Yet, the same administration’s troops shot and killed #EndSARS peaceful protesters, froze crowdfunding accounts, and in 2021, cut millions of Nigerians off Twitter. This sequence of events, amongst others, left many in Nigeria’s youthful technology community regarding him less as a patron, and more as an impediment. During his eight civilian years, the ICT sector grew from 8.5% of GDP in 2015 to 19.54% in Q2 2023, broadband penetration rose from 6% to 46%, and Nigeria minted a few technology unicorns, including Flutterwave, OPay, Interswitch and Andela. Over 150 million mobile lines were linked to a national ID scheme, and six cities welcomed Africa’s first multi-operator 5G rollout. Yet, the downsides were equally significant. Amnesty International put the Lekki Toll Gate death toll at least 12. Estimates say the seven-month Twitter ban cost local businesses millions of dollars. A Central Bank clampdown on cryptocurrency and a general lack of optimism sent a tide of young tech talent abroad. For many in the ecosystem, Buhari’s rule is remembered as much for the severe policies as for the faster Internet speeds. Muhammadu Buhari took office in 2015, inheriting a nascent digital sector just as Nigeria’s youthful population was rapidly embracing the possibilities of the internet age. Nigeria’s tech ecosystem was budding: e-commerce ventures were novel, broadband penetration stood in single digits, and the idea of a Nigerian ‘unicorn’ was far-fetched. The optimism drew capital and attention. The President hosted Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg in 2016, who came calling and saw in Nigeria a vibrant market brimming with creators and consumers. Buhari told Microsoft’s president in 2022 that Nigeria was “ready to lead Africa’s digital tech race,” urging the company to expand its investments and train millions of Nigerians. VIDEO: We could not have pursued our goals and ambitions in Nigeria without the forward-looking policies of your administration, President & Vice Chairman of Microsoft, Brad Smith tells President Buhari, during a Meeting at the State House on April 1, 2022. pic.twitter.com/KICQCCAKw2 — Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) April 4, 2022 But even at this high point, Buhari’s economic conservatism constrained the same digital generation he was courting. A rigid foreign-exchange regime, with multiple exchange rates, a 41-item import blacklist (ranging from rice to fertiliser), and an ever-shrinking naira-card spending cap made it difficult for local tech companies to pay for services and settle foreign SaaS bills. By 2019, the monthly limit on naira cards for overseas payments had been cut from $12,500 to $100/month in four years, a 99% drop. That contrast, soaring connectivity, yet strangled currency, foreshadowed the wider duality that would define Buhari’s tech legacy. By October 2020, the tension erupted. The October 2020 #EndSARS protests exposed a gulf between a digital generation and an analogue state. Activists used hashtags, livestreams and fintech apps to organise, raise millions and share evidence of police violence. When commercial banks, under pressure from security agencies, froze the protesters’ crowdfunding accounts, young people simply pivoted to cryptocurrency. Buhari’s response was brutal. Soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on 20 October. Instagram Live streams, notably by DJ Switch, showed the shooting in real time even as officials denied any deaths. The state followed up by arresting volunteers, intimidating them, sending many others into hiding, and freezing protest-linked bank accounts. Critics said the administration’s enthusiasm for a digital economy didn’t extend to protecting digital freedoms on which that economy depends. A picture from the protest against police brutality in Lagos, Nigeria, in October 2020. Image Credit: AP Photo/Sunday Alamba Buhari’s restrictive stance on free expression was cemented nine months later. On June 4, 2021, Twitter deleted a presidential tweet that threatened secessionists “in the language they understand”. Less than two hours later, Nigeria’s information minister, Lai Mohammed, announced the “indefinite suspension” of Twitter in Nigeria. Overnight, one of Nigeria’s most important communications platforms went dark; digitally savvy users turned to VPNs. For many, it was a deja vu from Buhari’s military days when his government jailed journalists. For a leader who had benefited from social media in his election campaigns and who had been courting Big Tech investments, this was a jarring about-face. The ban lasted for seven months, but the damage was done: businesses lost customers, and ordinary people lost a voice. A court later ruled the ban illegal, and eventually the government backed down after extracting face-saving concessions from Twitter. Buhari spoke of Nigeria’s ambition to become “the epicentre for innovative emerging technology in Africa.” Yet, his central bank issued diktats that strangled cryptocurrency trading, ironically pushing many young developers to leave for places where they had more prospects. He conferred national honours on young Nigerians putting the country on the global tech map, even as thousands of those same bright minds fled each year for better livelihoods abroad. ezra olubi, officer of the order of the niger pic.twitter.com/SD2PR4cMdd — Ezra ‘God’ Olubi (@0x) October 11, 2022 The hard numbers on Buhari’s watch are impressive, but each sits beside an inconvenient qualifier. Mobile broadband coverage, for instance, climbed from 6% of the population in 2015 to roughly 46% by the time he left office. Two new subsea cables tripled bandwidth. Nigeria launched 4G nationwide and leapt into 5G, auctioning spectrum that put the country at the forefront of Africa’s high-speed mobile internet rollout. By Q1 2021, the ICT sector was growing faster than any other, and Buhari wasted no opportunity to highlight that fact. “Our emphasis on the development of our digital economy has positioned the sector as a prominent factor
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Old Buhari is dead
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Welcome to another week! RIP to Nigeria’s former president Muhammadu Buhari. Buhari’s stay as Nigeria’s president will be mixed in tech circles as he will be remembered for backing the Startup Act and launching the 5G broadband. But he also oversaw a Twitter ban, a crypto crackdown, and invasive digital ID policies. His digital legacy walks a tightrope: one foot in progress, the other in paranoia. Techies still debate which Buhari mattered more. Lipa Later attracts $23 million from new bidders as it fights for survival What happened to Nigeria’s tech ecosystem while Buhari was in power? Ethiopia launches secondary market for trading treasury bills LemFi makes a debut in Egypt World Wide Web 3 Opportunities Startups Lipa Later attracts $23 million from new bidders as it fights for survival Image Source: Lipa Later Lipa Later is in dire straits and multiple companies are competing to rescue it. The Kenyan buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) fintech startup, now finds itself in a heated acquisition race as multiple companies bid to rescue it after falling under administration. At least three firms have entered the acquisition race, submitting offers to buy or finance the struggling startup. Canadian financial services firm, Engage Capital, offered approximately $23 million to acquire their tech, customer base, licenses, and performing loans. London-based Advance Global Capital (AGC) is also proposing a 36-month, $5 million loan to cover the startup’s unpaid invoices, excluding its consumer lending operations. A local, Nairobi-based financial consultancy firm has also proposed acquiring the startup for Sh2.5 billion. Why are they rushing Lipa Later? The company’s tech platform and rich consumer credit data continue to draw interest from potential local and international buyers who believe they can revive the startup’s promise. ICYMI: Lipa Later was placed under administration in March 2025 following months of financial struggles and unsuccessful fundraising efforts. Joy Vipinchandra Bhatt from Moore JVB Consulting LLP was appointed administrator. Before the administration was announced, the startup’s employees and suppliers had already reported being owed compensation for months, indicating solvency issues. Going into administration means the company’s directors no longer control its assets or operations, and all decision-making power now rests with the appointed administrator. The big picture: While the acquisition interest reflects the promise of BNPL, the startup’s eventual fate will signal whether BNPL still has a future in Kenya in an increasingly tightening funding environment. How far are new buyers willing to bet on this sector? Paying 2% or more on every transaction adds up fast. For businesses in e-commerce, logistics, travel, fintech, and more, every naira counts. Fincra helps you save more with 1% NGN fees capped at ₦300. Ideal for high-value or high-volume transactions. Get started for free with just your email address! 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Image Source: The Guardian Nigeria Nigeria’s former president, Buhari, is dead. He was 82. Here’s a roll call of things that happened in tech during Buhari’s eight-year presidency: Nigeria launched 4G nationwide and rolled out 5G; fibre optic cables were laid across the country; the ICT sector became Nigeria’s fastest-growing industry; Microsoft opened a $200M hub in Abuja; the Nigeria Startup Act was signed into law; Twitter was banned for seven months. Though rarely effusive in public, Buhari lit up when tech
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“This is my life’s work, I’m not going anywhere”: Day 1-1000 of Fertitude
In exactly 80 days, Fertitude, a reproductive healthtech platform, will mark 1,000 days since its first version went live. Modelled after global femtech platforms like Flo, but deeply localised for African realities, Fertitude wants to become the go-to health companion for thousands of African women navigating fertility, hormonal disorders, and reproductive health. With a hybrid model combining AI-driven symptom tracking, real-time telemedicine, and community-driven care, it is one of the few startups in Nigeria solving the long-ignored crisis of access, trust, and care for women’s health. On today’s edition of Day 1 to 1000, Fertitude founder and CEO, Kieva Chris-Amusan, takes me through shame, startup friction, viral community growth, and the life-changing product she’s building, one period log and gynecologist consult at a time. This is the story of Fertitude, as told to TechCabal. Day 1: It started with pain Fertitude didn’t begin with a business plan. It began with shame. A quiet shame I carried through adolescence, into my twenties, and into doctor’s offices that made me feel small. It was the kind of shame many women know intimately—an unspoken rule that pain is something to be endured, not explained. So I did what we all do: I swallowed the discomfort, masked the irregularities, and kept going. Until I couldn’t. By the time I was diagnosed with PCOS—Polycystic Ovary Syndrome—the damage had already been done. Emotionally, physically, psychologically. The diagnosis didn’t come with a roadmap. It came with confusion. I was a doctor by training. And still, I felt lost. That loss led to a question. Why, in a world where I can hail a ride, order dinner, or find love with a few taps on my phone, couldn’t I access something as fundamental as women’s healthcare? Why was the experience of seeking help still mired in stigma, silence, and awkward consultations with men who didn’t understand—or didn’t care to? I didn’t know it at the time, but that ache—both literal and existential—was Fertitude’s first spark. In May 2023, I was running a thriving marketing agency. My path had veered far from medicine, and yet, the itch to build something that felt soul-aligned wouldn’t let me go. One night, I opened Wix and built an anonymous forum for women to talk about their health. I shared it with 30 women. They shared it with more. Within days, the stories started pouring in. They were raw. Honest. Quietly devastating. Women opening up about fertility struggles, recurrent infections, shame, silence, and deep-seated frustration with the healthcare systems around them. But one thread connected them all: they weren’t just seeking sisterhood. They were begging for care. That’s when I realized this was no longer just a community. It was infrastructure. Get the best African tech newsletters in your inbox Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canton and Enderbury Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos [Keeling] Islands Colombia Comoros Congo – Brazzaville Congo – Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Dronning Maud Land East Germany Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories French Southern and Antarctic Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Johnston Island Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR China Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Metropolitan France Mexico Micronesia Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar [Burma] Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Neutral Zone New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Vietnam Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pacific Islands Trust Territory Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé and Príncipe Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine Union of Soviet Socialist Republics United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Unknown or Invalid Region Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wake Island Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands ?> Gender Male Female Others TC Daily Events TC Scoop <!– Next Wave –> <!– Entering Tech –> Subscribe Day 180: From whisper to war cry By June 2023, I launched what I now call “version zero” of Fertitude—a barebones prototype rooted in community. But something extraordinary happened: women didn’t just show up. They stayed. They asked questions. They trusted us. And in doing so, I doubled down. I realized I wasn’t building a “fun project.” I was building a full-stack women’s health company. So I got serious. In September 2023, we got our first real sign that Fertitude might be more than a community project: a $150,000 in exchange for equity. But I turned it down because I felt the equity ask was too
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Digital Nomads: Tech privacy opened global doors for this Nigerian lawyer
After a rigorous law education, Motunrayo Adebayo worked for several years as a litigator, until she grew discontent with how boxed in she felt. The day she made the shift into tech, she said, was one of the happiest days of her life. Adebayo works in tech and IT privacy. It’s a tech-adjacent role with increasing influence in global companies, particularly in the United States, where privacy concerns and regulations have made this one of the fastest-growing segments in the global tech industry. The path into that world was far from obvious to Adebayo back when she still wore wigs and jumped buses to courtrooms. Let’s rewind. Get the best African tech newsletters in your inbox Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canton and Enderbury Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos [Keeling] Islands Colombia Comoros Congo – Brazzaville Congo – Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Dronning Maud Land East Germany Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories French Southern and Antarctic Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Johnston Island Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR China Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Metropolitan France Mexico Micronesia Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar [Burma] Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Neutral Zone New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Vietnam Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pacific Islands Trust Territory Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé and Príncipe Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine Union of Soviet Socialist Republics United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Unknown or Invalid Region Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wake Island Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands ?> Gender Male Female Others TC Daily Events TC Scoop <!– Next Wave –> <!– Entering Tech –> Subscribe Early years In 2018, after earning her law degree in Nigeria and completing law school in Abuja, Adebayo did what many young lawyers do: put on a gown, walked into courtrooms, and tried to thrive there. She was a junior counsel at a Nigerian law firm, but the courtroom life did not feel natural to Adebayo. The robes were heavy. The performative weight of litigation, its language, its posture, and its theatre, pulled against the quiet, introverted way her mind worked. “One aspect of law that challenged me was having to go to the courts,” Adebayo said. “I had to defend clients, but I was even struggling to express myself publicly at the time. But I saw my peers I graduated law school with; they were doing the same thing. So I kept at it for two years until I no longer enjoyed doing it.” Adebayo had a certification in corporate secretaryship, which allowed her to work in compliance departments for several companies. It was in the course of this work and alongside some digging that she discovered privacy. Over the next few weeks, she immersed herself in privacy policies, IT and tech laws, and it opened up a more exciting career path. In 2021, she got her first privacy-focused role, working full-time as an in-house lawyer at an IT consulting firm. There, she got into the trenches interpreting tech laws, reviewing privacy frameworks, and helping teams stay compliant. Adebayo described her role in IT privacy, which sits close to compliance, as looking for pins in a muddy haystack. Except this time, she said, you have to find the pins. Tech privacy means different things to different companies. The bigger a firm gets, and the more it expands globally, the harder it is to avoid occasional regulatory fines. At that point, the goal, month on month, becomes how much smaller the budget for those fines can get. She worked across two IT consulting firms in Nigeria as a privacy analyst and strategy operations lead before moving to the United States, where she went deeper into the technical side of privacy work. Life as a privacy analyst Adebayo wanted to go beyond legal interpretation. After years of drafting policies and reviewing compliance documents, she realised she needed to better understand the technology behind the rules. She wanted to communicate effectively with engineers and tech teams. So she pursued a master’s degree in Information Technology in the US. She graduated in April. And after two months of seeking new opportunities in the US, she clinched a job as an analyst. Today, her job is not vastly different from what she did back in Nigeria. But she admits that the
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Stuck at the border: The barriers to Nigeria’s global trade ambitions
Cross-border trade directly impacts Nigeria’s economic development, especially with the growing role of technology. However, this potential remains undercut by persistent and complex supply chain challenges, many of which are not often discussed. These challenges limit Nigeria’s ability to adopt emerging technologies, like agentic artificial intelligence, for efficient global marketplace operations. This piece explores three major hurdles obstructing Nigeria’s non-oil export ambitions: a hyper-focus on consumer goods, underutilised trade blocs, and inadequate infrastructure. Hyper-focus on consumer goods for export There is a gross imbalance between the export of consumer goods and value-added goods. In economics, consumer goods are finished products for direct consumption (e.g., biscuits, soap), while value-added goods are raw materials transformed to increase economic worth (e.g., Shea Oil or Cocoa Powder). Capital goods are the equipment used to produce both. Countries like China have thriving exports due to their heavy investment in capital goods, enabling the mass production of high-quality exports. In contrast, Nigeria struggles to match these volumes due to the lack of processing capacity. Despite opportunities like the UK’s recent decision to allow over 3,000 Nigerian products duty-free access, the impact remains minimal if dominated by processed consumer goods. Thousands of SMEs in Nigeria attempt to export consumer goods but fail due to stringent compliance requirements abroad. For instance, steam sterilisation is required to export certain goods to Europe, with one piece of sterilisation equipment costing around ₦90 million, well beyond the reach of many SMEs. This overemphasis on consumer goods, without the needed machinery and infrastructure to meet international standards, limits the economic impact and scalability of exports. Underutilised and unrealised trade blocs Trade blocs are agreements between countries to ease cross-border trade. Nigeria is a member of several promising blocs, yet these are either underused or practically ineffective. Take the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a U.S. trade initiative offering duty-free access to the American market for eligible African countries. It includes sectors like textiles, agriculture, auto parts, handmade goods, and beauty products. Despite its existence since 2000-2025, Nigeria has barely leveraged AGOA in non-oil exports. Similarly, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a landmark agreement among 54 African countries, aims to boost intra-African trade by removing 90% of tariffs, streamlining borders, and even introducing a single currency. However, its practical implementation lags far behind the political will. A typical example: shipping goods from Lagos to Kigali, Rwanda (a landlocked country), involves multi-modal transport, often routing through Kenya or Tanzania. Ironically, due to poor intra-African shipping routes, a container might transit through Europe or the Middle East before reaching East Africa, increasing cost, delivery time, and risks. This undermines the very essence of “free trade.” Hence, despite well-intentioned participation, Nigeria’s engagement with these trade blocs remains largely unrealised and limits its global economic leverage. Inadequate Infrastructure Global supply chains rely on critical infrastructure: sourcing, inventory management, payments, logistics, and warehousing, mostly powered by technology. In Nigeria, persistent issues with cross-border payments and warehousing continue to slow growth. Payment is particularly crucial for marketplaces dealing with hundreds of vendors. Initially, platforms like Mercury enabled Nigerian businesses to open U.S. accounts linked with global gateways like Stripe. However, when Mercury restricted access to Nigerian businesses, a gap emerged. Startups like Raenest have stepped in, recently offering payout services from U.S. accounts directly to Nigerian vendors. If sustainable, this could resolve a major bottleneck. Warehousing is another sticking point. International marketplaces operate subscription-based models (like Amazon), where vendors stock goods in destination countries for easy fulfillment. Nigerian vendors, however, are reluctant to pay recurring fees in foreign currency without guaranteed sales, while marketplaces still incur storage costs. Therefore, platforms must devise innovative models to address the warehousing issue or risk excluding many SMEs. What needs to change Currently, Nigeria ranks outside the top 50 exporters to the United States, the world’s largest consumer market. In 2024, Nigeria exported only around $5 billion worth of non-oil exports, compared to Mexico and China, which recorded over $500 billion and $400 billion, respectively. While Mexico benefits from NAFTA and China from government-backed industrialisation and machinery access, Nigeria’s challenges keep its global trade potential largely untapped. To reposition Nigeria as a competitive global exporter: SMEs must form consortia to pool resources and meet the volume requirements of international buyers. Production hubs with the right machinery must be developed with these consortia to meet regulatory standards. Value-added goods should be prioritised over raw or low-value consumer goods, as they face fewer trade barriers and are more adaptable to market needs. If Nigeria can tackle these issues systematically, it could create a ripple effect of innovation and industrialisation, especially technology-driven solutions that could transform its international trade. ______ Omowumi Omidiji is the founder of SOUQ OS, a B2B cross-border supply chain management platform leveraging technology to build trust and streamline Diaspora- Africa trade. With her experience in Law, Tech, and Export, she is a member of She Trades by ITC and eTrade for Women by UNCTAD. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
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South Africa’s Blue Label Telecoms to change name in major rebrand
South Africa’s Blue Label Telecoms, known for its prepaid and virtual service offerings, is planning to rebrand as Blu Label Unlimited Group. The proposed name change, pending shareholder approval, marks a significant shift in the company’s strategy, with ambitions to expand its footprint in the country’s tech and telecoms space. The company says it is undergoing a major restructuring, separating its telecoms operations from non-telecoms business units. In a statement to investors on Friday, the company said, “In light of this strategic shift, the Board believes it is prudent for the Company’s name to reflect this new direction by omitting the reference to “telecoms.” Furthermore, the adjustment of the term “Blue” to the abbreviated form “Blu” aligns with the recent adoption of the trading name and logo “Blu” across various marketing platforms. Blue Label is one of South Africa’s most quietly influential tech companies in the country’s prepaid economy. Its platforms and distribution network enable the seamless purchase of prepaid airtime, electricity, and mobile data through thousands of outlets, including spaza shops, petrol stations, and major supermarkets. In 2024, Blue Label reported serving around 35 million customers through a broad portfolio of telecoms, prepaid services, and digital financial solutions. It operates in a highly competitive market dominated by major players like MTN and Vodacom, who maintain an edge through extensive infrastructure, wide coverage, and strong consumer loyalty. South Africa’s telecom market is projected to grow from $10.43 billion in 2025 to $12.28 billion by 2030, and mobile data will be the biggest driver. The name Blu Label Unlimited Group has already been reserved with the Companies & Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). Once approved, the company’s long name on the JSE will change to Blu Label Unlimited. Its short name will become Blu. The JSE share code will remain unchanged. It will continue to be listed under the telecoms sector on the main board This rebrand coincides with Blue Label’s progress in acquiring a controlling stake in mobile operator Cell C, announced in May. Under the leadership of former Vodacom executive Jorges Mendes, Cell C has adopted a “capex-light” strategy aimed at financial recovery and sustainable growth. Blue Label has also hinted at a possible future JSE listing for Cell C, as part of a broader restructuring initiative. This would involve several transactions designed to strengthen Cell C’s balance sheet ahead of its separation from the group. If the plan moves forward, the listing will be contingent on the success of these interdependent steps. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
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What Africa’s 2024 blockchain funding says about investor priorities
After a record run, investor attention is shifting—and that says a lot about where blockchain is going in Africa. Africa’s blockchain sector has hit a decline since its funding peak in 2022. Now, the industry is akin to a baby learning how to walk again, thanks to a myriad of reasons: sluggish regulatory catch-ups, an investor climate allergic to big-risk plays, and global capital flows reorienting toward safer geographies. In 2024, blockchain startups in Africa raised $122.5 million—36% less than 2023’s $191.4 million, according to the latest African Blockchain Report by Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CV VC). This marks the second consecutive annual drop since the sector’s $474 million peak in 2022. But unlike past years where investors spread their bets widely, 2024’s funding paints a clearer picture of what venture capitalists now care about in Africa’s blockchain ecosystem. The capital is shrinking—and concentrating Only five countries in Africa attracted blockchain venture funding in 2024. Seychelles led with $38.85 million across eight deals—despite a 56% drop from 2023. This wasn’t surprising. Seychelles has long been a magnet for crypto exchanges and trading platforms, thanks to its favourable regulatory stance, tax neutrality on foreign-sourced income, and reputation as a trusted offshore jurisdiction. Seychelles does not ban assets for incorporated companies, and its regulatory framework offers clear licencing for digital asset businesses. Global crypto exchanges like KuCoin and OKX have used Seychelles as a home base, giving the island nation global name recognition in blockchain circles. That appeal matters. In 2024, companies headquartered outside Africa but registered in Seychelles received over half (51.8%) of all blockchain funding on the continent, amounting to $63.4 million. Some of these firms may not be building primarily for African users but are drawn to the country’s regulatory haven and operational ease. As a result, Seychelles’ numbers may overstate Africa-focused funding. 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Blockchain startups raised $18.86 million across 10 deals, a significant jump from just $1.57 million in the previous year. This growth likely reflects a bounce-back in investor confidence, especially after Nigeria lifted its two-year ban on crypto bank transactions in 2023. Kenya, on the other hand, suffered a steep drop. Its blockchain startups raised just $5.99 million across four deals in 2024—down nearly 84% from $36.1 million the year before. South Africa followed a similar trend, with a 51% decline, raising $22.54 million from five deals, down from $46 million in 2023. In Morocco, only one blockchain deal happened: Tookeez, a startup building a blockchain-based loyalty points marketplace, raised $1.5 million in seed funding. This was the country’s first blockchain investment since at least 2021, hinting at how investor confidence there is cautiously growing, given Morocco’s evolving stance on crypto. A thesis that favours consumers over builders The structure of the deals in 2024 indicates a shift in investor priorities. Of the $122.5 million raised, early-stage funding rounds dominated, with pre-seed and seed rounds making up $50.3 million, and early-stage VC contributing $31.3 million. That’s a combined two-thirds of total funding. Later-stage VC brought in another $40.5 million, while ecosystem grants and accelerator funding accounted for just $495,000—suggesting that philanthropic or development-driven capital could be playing a crucial, but negligible funding role at this stage. The companies attracting funding also say a lot about
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Equity Group expands fraud crackdown to Uganda after firing 1,500 employees in Kenya
Equity Group, Kenya’s second-largest bank by assets, has extended its internal crackdown on staff misconduct to Uganda, two months after sacking over 1,500 employees in Kenya over links to suspect dealings, including fraud. In Uganda, the bank has launched what it’s calling a “culture of accountability” campaign, a group-wide push to tighten internal controls, promote ethical behaviour, and weed out conflicts of interest. Equity Bank Uganda Managing Director Gift Shoko told Daily Monitor that the exercise is not a reaction to any single incident, but rather part of the lender’s plans to strengthen governance across its operations. “We’re doing regular audits, reviewing performance, and looking closely at conflict of interest and fraud risk,” Shoko said. “It’s not about punishing people, but about supporting them and setting clear expectations. But where trust is broken, we’ll take appropriate action.” Shoko said the bank is rolling out new whistleblower protections, ethics training, and back-end risk checks, including AI-powered analytics that flag unusual transactions. “We’re looking at every disbursement and where it was deposited. What we saw in Kenya was a shock. And we want to be transparent.” That “shock” refers to the bank’s sweeping anti-fraud purge in Kenya, where an internal investigation uncovered widespread collusion between staff and fraudsters. More than $15 million is estimated to have been lost in questionable transactions over the past two years, some of it wired to offshore accounts. Equity Group CEO James Mwangi said some employees were dismissed over links to suspicious M-PESA and bank transactions, even where the amounts were small. “This is not a toll station,” Mwangi said in May. “If you have ever eaten Mama Mboga’s chicken, the moment has come.” The clean-up began in May and has since become one of the most aggressive anti-fraud campaigns in Kenya’s banking history. Mwangi has vowed to take the exercise across all seven of Equity’s markets, which include Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and the DRC. Shoko said Uganda is now going through the same process, backed by external auditors and legal teams. “All affected staff are being given a fair chance to explain themselves. Some have, others haven’t—and disciplinary processes are underway,” he said. He added that the exercise is expected to wrap up by the end of July. Once a small building society in Kenya, Equity has grown into one of Africa’s biggest banks with $1.3 billion (KES180 billion) capitalisation, mainly offering affordable services to low-income customers. But with that growth—and a rapid shift to digital banking—has come new vulnerabilities, especially in internal systems and staff behaviour. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Safaricom scores a hat trick
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Wazzup! TechCabal has just launched a cool column, Delve Into AI, where we delve into the critical stories, questions, and opportunities driving Africa’s AI ecosystem. Every Thursday, Ifeoluwa, our intern reporter, looks deeply into topics surrounding local startups, talent pipelines, data infrastructure, and how AI is transforming our everyday social interactions. Read the first post here. MultiChoice enters mobile gaming territory Safaricom rehires for a crucial executive position Egypt keeps benchmark rates steady Funding Tracker World Wide Web 3 Opportunities Streaming MultiChoice enters mobile gaming sector Image Source: TechCabal MultiChoice, South Africa’s pay-TV giant, now builds mobile games. Yesterday, the company launched its first game, Shaka iLembe: Match Challenge, based on a South African series of the same name. This surprising venture has come at a time when MultiChoice is struggling to sustain user attention, or even justify the price of its pay-TV services amid inflationary markets where it operates. By March 2025, MultiChoice’s revenue declined as subscribers, with squeezed wallets, began to prioritise other necessary expenses. Why does it matter? MultiChoice’s gaming venture is following a bigger trend: streaming companies using their original stories to build new digital worlds and keep audiences hooked for the long term. Netflix, for example, now publishes more games than the maker of Candy Crush, King. MultiChoice could follow a similar playbook: it owns cherished African stories, has a considerable reach through DStv, GOtv, and Showmax, and can test whether mobile games can keep subscribers loyal to its broader offerings. It is starting small with Shaka iLembe, but it is looking to launch several new mobile games to boost opportunities for world-building and cross-platform engagement. State of play: Shaka iLembe: The Match Challenge is now live on the MyDStv app in South Africa, with additional games planned. The timing shows how MultiChoice is pushing for fresher ways to retain users amid the increasingly tougher operating terrain in streaming. In Ghana, regulators have just ordered MultiChoice to slash DStv prices by 30% to reflect the cedi’s rise. Meanwhile, MultiChoice Kenya will raise DStv prices from August 1, but lower Showmax fees to attract streaming-first viewers. The big picture: MultiChoice is transforming original TV hits into playable worlds and investing in games to help it compete, build customer loyalty, and stay relevant in the long run. Paying 2% or more on every transaction adds up fast. For businesses in e-commerce, logistics, travel, fintech, and more, every naira counts. Fincra helps you save more with 1% NGN fees capped at ₦300. Ideal for high-value or high-volume transactions. Get started for free with just your email address! Get the best African tech newsletters in your inbox Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canton and Enderbury Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos [Keeling] Islands Colombia Comoros Congo – Brazzaville Congo – Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Dronning Maud Land East Germany Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories French Southern and Antarctic Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Johnston Island Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR China Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Metropolitan France Mexico Micronesia Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar [Burma] Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Neutral Zone New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Vietnam Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pacific Islands Trust Territory Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé and Príncipe Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine Union of Soviet Socialist Republics United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Unknown or Invalid Region Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wake Island Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands ?> Gender Male Female Others TC Daily Events TC Scoop <!– Next Wave –> <!– Entering Tech –> Subscribe Companies Safaricom rehires for a crucial executive position for the third time in two years Image Source: Zikoko Memes In a major change to its executive lineup, Safaricom, Kenya’s largest telecom company, has tapped Frankline Okata as its new Chief Enterprise Business Officer. This announcement came barely days after Cynthia Karuri-Kropac, the company’s former executive, left the role. Catch up: Formerly, data and voice revenue used to be important revenue drivers for African telecom companies. Data has remained steady, while voice has declined. As a result, the demand for internet connectivity has led telecom companies, seeking to expand their revenue baskets, to strengthen infrastructure for data and data services. Safaricom has run an enterprise services
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