South Africa plans to link government services through digital ID before year-end
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs plans to roll out a national digital ID system before year-end, a move that could allow government departments to link their services digitally and improve public access. The government announced the plan on Friday in Pretoria at a media briefing on progress under its medium-term development. South Africa’s identity system remains weak, with many government departments still unable to share and use that data in a synchronised digital manner, often forcing citizens to repeatedly verify their identity across services. The digital ID rollout is anchored by the MyMzansi portal, launched in 2025 as a prototype one-stop platform for government services. According to the Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa, the system is designed to enable other departments, such as transport and basic education, to use a shared identity framework to digitise their services. If implemented effectively, this would allow citizens to access multiple government services without repeatedly verifying their identity across separate systems. The Department of Home Affairs has spent the past year rolling out its digital transformation strategy. Some key milestones include 3.6 million smart ID cards, surpassing its previous annual record by roughly 500,000. The department also cleared a visa backlog of 306,000 applications that had accumulated over a decade. Rolling out digital IDs nationwide remains a logistical challenge in a country where more than 30% of the population lives in rural or remote areas. To address this, Home Affairs plans to deploy mobile offices to service communities with low population density. The department says the use of digital tools such as drones and body cameras at South Africa’s borders increased the detection of illegal crossings during key pilot phases. Digital IDs, combined with the national population register, would allow departments to authenticate citizens for additional services. One planned application is a digital driver’s licence, to reduce the cost of producing physical cards and simplify related processes such as licence renewals and traffic fine payments. The initiative also relies on partnerships with the private sector. Banks already provide Home Affairs services at selected branches and support secure identity verification systems, helping the government extend its reach without building all infrastructure internally. To manage security risks, the department says its strategy includes a verification portal that will enable secure data sharing between government entities to combat fraud, improve service delivery, and support national security. For South Africa, the digital ID rollout aims to create more coordinated, accessible government services. For other African countries, it offers a practical example of how digital identity systems can support cross-department integration and improve service delivery at scale.
Read MoreQuidax discontinues P2P trading as Nigeria’s crypto rules tighten
Quidax, a provisionally licenced Nigerian crypto startup, has discontinued its peer-to-peer (P2P) trading feature five months after introducing the service, according to an email sent to customers seen by TechCabal. The feature allowed users to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly with verified merchants on Quidax. The decision underscores the tight regulatory path Nigeria’s crypto exchanges face as authorities push to bring a largely informal market under capital markets oversight. Quidax operates under the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), a closely-monitored sandbox framework fordigital asset operators. Startups admitted into the programme—Quidax and competitor Busha—were expected to become fully crypto-licenced by August 2025 after completing the SEC’s stipulated one-year incubation period. That transition has since stalled, with the regulator pausing the licencing process to reassess its supervisory readiness. Within that environment, P2P trading sits at the edge of regulatory tolerance. In 2024, the SEC raised concerns about P2P crypto markets, citing exchange rate manipulations, opaque transaction flows, and the prevalence of platforms operated by prominent foreign players, such as Bybit and Bitget, which function in a regulatory grey area in Nigeria. Those concerns are rooted in oversight challenges: P2P transactions often migrate into informal channels, making it harder for regulators to monitor activity, protect investors, or detect abuse. Quidax’s P2P offering was designed as a response to those concerns. Rather than allowing trades to spill off-platform, the exchange sought to formalise P2P transactions within a controlled environment. Only verified users could become merchants, and eligibility required a fully registered account, Level-3 know-your-customer verification, two-factor authentication, and at least 7 days of active participation before applying through the platform. Applications were reviewed by Quidax, with approved merchants granted special badges to distinguish them within the marketplace. Despite those safeguards, Quidax said the decision to discontinue P2P trading was strategic. In a notice to customers, the company said most users preferred faster trading options, such as instant swaps and order-book trading, and that streamlining its services would allow it to focus on features with higher demand. Following the P2P shutdown by Quidax, its marketplace, ads, chats, and escrow services will be disabled, while other services will continue to operate normally. Since the SEC maintains close oversight of provisionally licenced startups, Quidax’s decision to discontinue P2P trading is also a direct signal of what the regulator is currently ready and well-equipped to oversee and what it cannot. If cryptocurrencies are often described as a Wild West industry, P2P markets turn up the flame on those risks, intensifying concerns around informal settlement, limited visibility, and investor protection. While the regulator is likely keen to gain deeper insight into P2P markets as rules evolve, the immediate focus has been on activities that fit more neatly within established capital-market structures. Nigeria’s regulatory posture for cryptocurrencies has become clearer in recent months. On January 16, the SEC raised minimum capital requirements for capital market operators, including virtual asset service providers. Under the Investment and Securities Act (2025), digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, are now regulated as securities, placing them firmly under the SEC’s oversight and within Nigeria’s capital markets framework. While the SEC did not explicitly outline requirements for P2P platforms in its latest capital thresholds, the classification regime offers guidance. A P2P trading platform operating as a standalone service could be treated as a Digital Assets Intermediary (DAI), providing broking, routing, or facilitation services between users, such as order routing, matchmaking, or agency-based P2P brokerage, with a new minimum capital requirement of ₦500 million ($352,000). Alternatively, platforms that operate a digital asset environment or protocol without running a full exchange stack may fall under Digital Asset Platform Operators (DAPOs), which carry the same ₦500 million ($352,000) threshold. Where providers stack services—particularly by combining P2P trading with full exchange functionality, custody, or escrow services—the regulatory bar rises further, potentially requiring a higher capital requirement. The SEC has yet to issue a dedicated regulatory framework for virtual assets in Nigeria, leaving operators to interpret how far innovation can extend before it runs ahead of regulatory clarity. Quidax also announced plans to delist 35 crypto tokens from its platform, including meme coins such as $TRUMP and Book of Meme; gaming-focused tokens like Axie Infinity; Sam Altman-backed Worldcoin; and World Liberty Financial ($WLFI), a 2024-launched stablecoin associated with Zachary Folkman, Chase Herro, Alex Witkoff, Zach Witkoff, and members of the Trump family.
Read MoreAndela acquires Woven to build AI-fluent engineering talent at scale
Andela, the global engineering talent outsourcing unicorn, has acquired Woven, a human-powered technical assessment company that simulates real engineering work, for an undisclosed amount. As companies go from experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) to deploying it at scale, the company says demand is rising for distinct AI-native engineers who create AI components such as Large Language Model (LLM) and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems, connect models and tools into autonomous workflows, and ensure AI systems run reliably while managing governance and risk. With Woven’s technology, Andela, which boasts over 150,000 technology professionals in its global marketplace, aims to better assess and match engineers to each of these roles. “To power the AI ecosystem at scale, the world needs AI-native, enterprise-ready engineering talent en masse. Andela plus Woven equals the best technical assessment engine in the world to ensure AI fluency and real-world job success,” said Carrol Chang, CEO of Andela. The acquisition positions Andela to deploy its strong talent pool against the engineers best equipped to turn advanced AI models into dependable, real-world solutions, sharpening the company’s edge in the AI talent race As part of the deal, Woven’s founder and CEO, Wes Winham Winler, will join Andela to lead the development of next-generation assessments focused on AI-assisted software development and AI system creation. “Andela already had a world-class industry reputation, talent network, and upskilling DNA,” Winler said. “Together, we’re building the most accurate and scalable way to measure real-world engineering performance in the AI era.” Get The Best African Tech Newsletters In Your Inbox Select your country Nigeria Ghana Kenya South Africa Egypt Morocco Tunisia Algeria Libya Sudan Ethiopia Somalia Djibouti Eritrea Uganda Tanzania Rwanda Burundi Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Central African Republic Chad Cameroon Gabon Equatorial Guinea São Tomé and Príncipe Angola Zambia Zimbabwe Botswana Namibia Lesotho Eswatini Mozambique Madagascar Mauritius Seychelles Comoros Cape Verde Guinea-Bissau Senegal The Gambia Guinea Sierra Leone Liberia Côte d’Ivoire Burkina Faso Mali Niger Benin Togo Other Select your gender Male Female Others TC Daily TC Events TC Scoop Subscribe Andela will integrate Woven’s library of real-world scenarios and AI-enabled evaluation capabilities. This technology will be built on Qualified, another assessment platform that the unicorn acquired in 2023, creating what the company describes as a unified foundation for AI-powered engineering assessments. Founded in Nigeria in 2014, Andela started as a company focused on training and connecting software developers from Africa to global technology companies. Over the past decade, it has evolved into one of the world’s largest marketplaces for technical talent. The company says its acquisition of Woven accelerates its ambition to become an AI-native talent platform that reliably assesses an engineer’s ability to succeed in real jobs. “With Woven, Andela is leapfrogging the development of world-class assessments for both AI fluency and engineering fundamentals,” said Barun Singh, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Andela.
Read MoreFlutterwave goes deeper into stablecoins with Turnkey-powered wallets for merchants
Flutterwave, Africa’s largest payments infrastructure startup, has partnered with blockchain infrastructure provider Turnkey and artificial intelligence-powered global banking platform Nuvion to launch stablecoin balances for merchants and users across its platform. The new feature allows Flutterwave users to transact seamlessly in cryptocurrency stablecoins like USDC and USDT, as well as currencies like the United States Dollar ($) and the Naira (₦), directly within embedded wallets on Flutterwave’s products. According to the company, the move is part of a broader strategy to position stablecoins as a core pillar of Africa’s financial infrastructure. This is for businesses operating across borders that face friction and high costs under traditional settlement systems. “To accelerate business growth in Africa, we must make it safe, easy, and affordable for businesses to accept all forms of regulated payment methods, including stablecoin, from a global customer base,” Nkem Abuah, Lead for Remittances & Stablecoin Partnerships at Flutterwave, stated in a report. Flutterwave is doubling down on stablecoins as a payment infrastructure to reduce its reliance on traditional banking rails. In October 2025, Flutterwave partnered with Polygon Labs, a blockchain software firm, making Polygon its default network for cross-border stablecoin settlements. Its latest partnership comes weeks after Flutterwave acquired Mono, the Nigerian open banking startup, in 2025, and complements its existing product offerings. As Flutterwave embeds more of its payments stack in-house, it is gaining greater control over transaction and payment rails. Access to this new feature will initially be limited to a select group of merchants, with plans underway to expand availability across Flutterwave’s wider merchant base later in the year. Turnkey will provide the wallet infrastructure and security layer enabling Flutterwave to offer embedded stablecoin wallets. Nuvion will bridge fiat and stablecoin rails with its AI-powered platform, allowing merchants to move seamlessly between currencies. The integration enables Flutterwave to offer what it describes as verifiable, secure, and programmable wallet infrastructure. “We share Flutterwave’s belief that stablecoins offer an incredibly efficient way to accelerate payments and put more money directly into the hands of business owners rather than intermediaries,” said Bryce Ferguson, CEO and cofounder of Turnkey. Flutterwave now joins the ranks of payments companies, including Polymarket, Axiom, and Alchemy, that integrate Turnkey’s blockchain infrastructure. The integration comes shortly after Turnkey raised $30 million in a Series B funding round in June 2025 to support team expansion.
Read MoreNedbank bids $856m for control of Kenya’s NCBA in East Africa push
Nedbank Group, one of South Africa’s largest banks with over 8 million customers, has offered to buy a controlling stake in Kenya’s National Commercial Bank of Africa (NCBA) Group in a cash and stock transaction valued at $855.5 million, accelerating its push into East Africa. The offer values NCBA at about 1.4 times book value, according to NCBA. It targets 66% of NCBA, leaving the remainder of the lender publicly listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The proposed deal signals a growing interest by South African banks in East Africa’s financial markets, where population growth, regional trade corridors, and expanding digital retail banking promise scale. For Nedbank, the acquisition could provide an established regional footprint. The structure seeks to keep NCBA on the Nairobi Securities Exchange while preserving its brand and management, and uses a share-heavy payment mix that limits cash outlay while tying the two banks’ fortunes together. Under the terms of the transaction, shareholders will receive 20% in cash and 80% in newly issued Nedbank ordinary shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), a structure that limits Nedbank’s immediate cash outlay while binding the two banks’ fortunes together. The pricing is anchored on Nedbank’s share price at the time of the announcement on Wednesday, bringing the total deal value to 13.9 billion rand, or $855.5 million. If completed, NCBA would become a subsidiary of Nedbank. The remaining 34% of NCBA shares would continue to trade on the NSE, a feature designed to maintain local market discipline and minority investor visibility. NCBA has said its governance structure, operations, and leadership team would remain in place. Formed in 2019 through the merger of NIC Group and Commercial Bank of Africa, NCBA is one of East Africa’s larger financial services groups. It operates 122 branches across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda, and offers digital banking services in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. The bank says it serves more than 60 million customers across these markets. Jason Quinn, Nedbank’s chief executive, said the combination would pair NCBA’s local presence with Nedbank’s capital base and cross-border banking capabilities.NCBA’s management has framed the deal as a partnership, according to its CEO John Gachora, who says Nedbank is seen as a strategic investor that can support expansion in existing markets and potential entry into countries such as Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Read MoreSASSA confirms February 2026 grant payment schedule amid misinformation
The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) has released its February 2026 grant payment schedule amid battling a wave of misinformation on social platforms, prompting multiple clarifications from both SASSA and the Department of Social Development (DSD). False claims about grant eligibility and policy changes continue to circulate on X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Facebook. The latest alleges that the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant regulations have been amended to allow broader access for foreign nationals. SASSA dismissed the claim as false and misleading, warning that misrepresenting eligibility criteria creates confusion for applicants. The agency said any changes to SRD regulations would be announced by the Minister of Social Development and formally published through official government channels. Separate claims that the government plans to terminate the SRD grant have also gained traction online. The Department of Social Development described these videos and graphics as “categorically false,” adding that no policy, directive, or Cabinet decision has been taken to end the programme. SASSA and DSD urged beneficiaries to verify updates through official government statements rather than social media content or anonymous influencers. The SRD grant remains a digital-payment heavy system, often targeted with misinformation that exploits confusion around eligibility rules and policy shifts. For millions of South African households, grant payments form part of monthly financial planning, making accurate information more valuable than ever. SASSA payment dates for February 2026 SASSA will disburse funds over three days to manage queues and reduce payment bottlenecks: Older Persons Grant: Tuesday, 3 February 2026 Disability Grant: Wednesday, 4 February 2026 Children’s and all remaining grants: Thursday, 5 February 2026 How to check your SASSA grant status After applying for a SASSA grant, beneficiaries often want to know whether their application has been approved and when payments will be made. Fortunately, SASSA offers several secure and convenient ways to check your status. Don’t forget to use the same ID number and contact details you provided when applying. 1. Online: Visit the official SASSA SRD website: https://srd.sassa.gov.za/sc19/status Enter your South African ID number and the mobile number used in your application. Submit the form to see whether your application is approved, pending, or declined. If approved, payment dates will also be displayed. 2. WhatsApp: Save SASSA’s WhatsApp number: 082 046 8553 Send a message and follow the prompts to provide your application ID and details. You will receive your grant status via chat. 3. SMS: Open your messaging app and send: STATUS <space> ID number to 32555 You will receive a reply with your current grant status. 4. Call or visit in person: Call SASSA toll-free at 080 060 1011 for assistance. Alternatively, visit your nearest SASSA office to check your status in person, including biometric queries if needed. Read more: Here is how to update your SASSA banking details and cellphone number
Read MoreGates-backed Elimu-Soko opens $150,000 funding call for classroom innovations across Africa
The Teaching Innovation Lab (TIL), led by education innovation firm Elimu-Soko with support from the Gates Foundation, has opened a funding call inviting innovators to design and test low-cost, scalable solutions to improve foundational literacy teaching in African public schools. The programme is offering grants of up to $150,000 for organisations operating in Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, and Mozambique. Selected pilots will run for six to 12 months and are expected to reach at least 200 teachers, with larger cohorts encouraged to enable comparative testing on cost, scalability, and effectiveness. Elimu-Soko said that many of the most effective teacher professional development (TPD) programmes across Africa remain heavily dependent on donor funding and are often too costly for governments to sustain over the long term. This reliance on external funding has left many education systems unable to scale effective teacher training, creating gaps in classroom support and limiting improvements in student learning. Without sustainable models, proven interventions often remain at the pilot stage, and teachers frequently lack the consistent guidance, coaching, and resources needed to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes. “Most successful TPD programmes have been funded by external donors at costs that exceed what governments can sustain,” the organisation said, adding that education systems are often forced to trade off programme reach for quality. For African founders and innovators, the funding could offer capital and an opportunity to test whether classroom-level innovations can improve learning outcomes at scale while remaining affordable for public schools. According to Elimu-Soko, the Teaching Innovation Lab is designed to test whether innovation can shift that balance. “The frontier we seek to explore is whether innovations can deliver meaningful improvements in teaching quality at costs governments can realistically manage,” Elimu-Soko said. The funding call is anchored on evidence that teacher quality is the most important school-based factor affecting student learning outcomes. Research from low- and middle-income countries suggests that structured pedagogy programmes—combining detailed lesson plans, quality materials, and continuous coaching—deliver some of the strongest learning gains in education interventions. Kenya’s Tusome literacy programme, which reached about 7 million learners across nearly 24,000 primary schools, recorded large improvements in reading outcomes, while a global meta-analysis found that instructional coaching improves teaching quality and sustains those gains over time. Despite this evidence, Elimu-Soko said many African education systems continue to struggle with limited daily instructional support for teachers, weak coaching capacity, fragmented professional development structures, and poor use of classroom data. The Teaching Innovation Lab aims to address these gaps by testing solutions that strengthen existing teacher development systems for foundational literacy and numeracy. “We seek solutions that strengthen existing TPD structures within government education systems while remaining financially viable at scale,” the organisation said. Applicants are expected to propose pilots that clearly define the classroom problem being addressed, explain how the intervention is expected to improve teaching or learning outcomes, outline implementation and measurement plans, and demonstrate a credible pathway for integration into government systems. The deadline for submitting expressions of interest is January 30, 2026. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to submit full proposals by February 27, 2026, with final funding decisions expected in March 2026.
Read MoreAfrica leads on private capital diversity, women still get less money
The narrative surrounding African venture capital has been defined by a disparity of female founders receiving only a fraction of the funding secured by their male counterparts. Per data from TechCabal Insights, women-led startups raised $48 million in funding in 2024, compared to over $2 billion by their male peers, and only 10% of female-founded startups in Nigeria secured funding between 2019 and 2023. The African Private Capital Association (AVCA), a pan-African organisation that promotes investments in Africa, released a new report in January 2026 that exposes a counter-narrative. The report reveals that while the recipients of capital remain predominantly male, the people writing the cheques on the continent are increasingly female, and at rates that outperform the rest of the world. The AVCA report, Gender Diversity in African Private Capital, draws from a dataset of 218 investors that manage nearly 2,000 portfolio companies to show that in Africa’s private equity ecosystem, women make up 44% of the total workforce and 38% of investment professionals. The figure exceeds the global average, where women account for about 35% of investment teams, as well as the regional average in Europe (24%). This diversity extends to the Investment Committees (ICs), the people who make final funding decisions, where women hold 33% of committee seats in Africa, nearly triple the global average of 12%. AVCA’s report shows a correlation between who sits on these committees and who ultimately receives funding. Firms with majority-female investment committees allocate capital to women-led companies at higher rates (48% of their portfolio companies), compared to the 8% among male-dominated firms. It begs the question: If Africa has achieved relative success in diversifying who allocates capital, why does the funding landscape remain so skewed? The report highlights a structural disconnect stemming from the firm’s size. The highest gender diversity in private equity and venture capital firms is concentrated in smaller firms, which manage less capital, limiting their influence on aggregate funding flows. Larger firms, which are still more likely to have male-dominated investment committees, deploy the lion’s share of capital on the continent, which continues to shape the broader funding environment. Get The Best African Tech Newsletters In Your Inbox Select your country Nigeria Ghana Kenya South Africa Egypt Morocco Tunisia Algeria Libya Sudan Ethiopia Somalia Djibouti Eritrea Uganda Tanzania Rwanda Burundi Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Central African Republic Chad Cameroon Gabon Equatorial Guinea São Tomé and Príncipe Angola Zambia Zimbabwe Botswana Namibia Lesotho Eswatini Mozambique Madagascar Mauritius Seychelles Comoros Cape Verde Guinea-Bissau Senegal The Gambia Guinea Sierra Leone Liberia Côte d’Ivoire Burkina Faso Mali Niger Benin Togo Other Select your gender Male Female Others TC Daily TC Events TC Scoop Subscribe Beyond the moral argument for inclusion, AVCA’s data presents an economic case for gender-diverse leadership. The report found that between 2023 and 2024, female-led portfolio companies grew their revenue by 32%, while male-led peers saw a growth of 14%. The data also revealed that women-founded companies employ an average of 52% women, compared to just 30% for male-founded firms, showing that diversity at the decision-making level has measurable effects on employment and financial performance. The new data suggests that Africa has laid a foundation for gender diversity that is stronger than many developed markets. As the industry matures, the challenge will be ensuring that the strategies championed by a cohort of female-led firms leading the charge to close the funding disparity gap will be adopted by the continent’s largest capital allocators. Among this cohort of female-led firms are: Aruwa Capital Management The Lagos-based equity fund, founded in 2019 by Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, invests in businesses that provide essential goods and services to women or are founded by women. In April 2025, the firm raised $35 million and has invested in 11 companies, including an $11 million Series A funding round by cold-chain logistics provider, Koolboks, a $1.5m investment in safety footwear manufacturer Yikodeen, a $2m investment in Fastizers, a Nigeria-based biscuits and snacks manufacturer, and a $20 million Series A funding by OmniRetail, a Nigerian B2B e-commerce startup. Ingressive Capital Maya Horgan Famodu founded Ingressive Capital in 2017 as a seed-stage venture fund that connects African startups with global capital and business development opportunities. Ingressive Capital has backed some of the continent’s most successful startups, including participating in a $15 million Series A round for fintech Mono, a $1.8 million pre-seed funding round in Cameroonian fintech REasy, and leading a $1.1 million seed round for Egyptian insurtech SehaTech. In 2020, the firm unveiled a $10 million fund for high-growth tech startups, doubling the size of its investments. Alitheia Capital Alitheia Capital, co-founded in 2007 by Tokunboh Ishmael and Olajumoke Akinwunmi, invests in growth-stage small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that are women-led, women-owned, or serve the women’s economy. Alitheia Capital manages the $100 million Alitheia IDF fund, which stands as the largest gender-lens private equity fund in Africa that invests in and grows SMEs led by gender-diverse teams. The firm has led significant financing rounds, including an $11 million investment in South African home services platform SweepSouth and a $3 million Series A round for Nigerian agri-processor Reelfruit. Alitheia also led the $3 million seed round for logistics platform Haul247 in 2023. Janngo Capital Fatoumata Bâ’s Janngo Capital, founded in 2018, is one of Africa’s largest gender-equal venture capital funds, having closed its second fund at approximately $78 million in 2024. The firm has a strong track record of backing market-leading companies, including Sabi, a B2B e-commerce platform, in a $38 million Series B funding round and Expensya, a fintech startup, in a $9 million seed round for its subsidiary, Thunder Code. Most recently, it led the funding round for Moroccan HR-tech startup Jobzyn in an undisclosed pre-seed round, continuing its mandate to invest 50% of its capital in women-led businesses. Sahara Impact Ventures Based in Ghana, founded in 2020, and led by managing partners Yvonne Ofosu-Appiah and Mandy Nyarko, the firm is an investment advisory and venture fund that backs early-stage African
Read MoreWhy Shell Foundation and 500 Global built an accelerator for Africa’s climate startups
The transition to a net-zero economy, which balances the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere with those removed from it, is often told as a story of Western policy and technology. But the sharper test is unfolding far from the West. Across Africa, Latin America, and much of Asia, countries that will account for most future energy use, city building and job creation are making decisions that will shape the world’s carbon footprint for decades to come. The same countries also account for a rising share of global emissions due to industrialisation, urbanisation, and energy demand. Manufacturing has also shifted from the North, leading to a greater share of global emissions at about 63%. However, the task here is not to cut consumption but to expand it without locking in carbon-heavy systems. This is where climate startups have struggled. Local accelerators in these markets are small, thinly funded and often limited to one country. Global venture firms tend to avoid seed-stage climate companies in emerging economies, citing long payback periods, policy risk and low margins. Impact capital steps in, but usually with grants or short programmes that stop before commercial scale. Last week, I spoke with Juliette Keeley, chief impact officer at Shell Foundation (SF), which supports clean energy solutions, and Carrie Liauw, executive director at 500 Global, a US venture capital firm, to understand how both firms are backing African climate tech startups. They broke down how the Sustainable Innovation Program (SIP), an accelerator initiative led by the two firms, is making these sustainability-focused startups investable before they reach the hardest part of the capital stack. The effort sits at the intersection of grant funding and early venture capital. In Nairobi, startups in 500 Global’s Sustainable Innovation Seed Accelerator typically raise about $150,000 for 6% equity, with roughly $37,500 deducted as programme fees. Shell Foundation, which does not take equity, has backed early-stage agri-energy pilots in Africa with cheques ranging from $15,000 to $50,000. In parallel programmes elsewhere, Shell has gone further up the risk curve; its 2025 Shell E4 cohort in India received between €100,000 and €500,000 per startup. The African programme was launched in August 2025 with backing from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, targeting startups in energy, agriculture and mobility. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. How does the Sustainable Innovation Seed Accelerator connect emerging market startups to global mentors, investors and customers? Carrie Liauw: Many accelerators in emerging markets operate within a single country. Startups often have limited exposure to global investors, customers, and operating experience beyond their home market. The Sustainable Innovation Seed Accelerator is structured to give founders access to global mentors and 500 Global’s international network, rather than short, market-specific support. What does the Shell Foundation actually pay for in this programme? Juliette Keeley: Shell Foundation provides grant funding to support a 12-month accelerator model. The funding covers enterprise support delivered locally, including market validation, product-market fit, capital planning and fundraising support. The programme is non-equity. It focuses on business support, with 500 Global providing mentorship, networks, and toolkits to help companies grow revenue. The programme supports companies from Seed through Series B, reflecting where Shell Foundation sees the largest gaps in the market today. How do you avoid crowding out local capital or local accelerators when you step in with global funding and brand power? Keely: Many local accelerators operate at a small scale and for short programme durations. This programme is designed to complement, rather than replace, local efforts by extending founders’ access to global investors and customers. In Kenya, the startup ecosystem includes organisations such as Baobab Network, iHub, KCIC, Delta 40, Savannah Fund and Catalyst Fund. 500 Global is exploring collaboration with existing ecosystem players. The accelerator is being delivered in partnership with the timbuktoo Africa initiative led by UNDP, with a focus on strengthening local capabilities alongside global exposure. How much influence does the Shell Foundation have over a company’s strategy during the programme? Where is the line between support and steering? Keely: 500 Global provides mentorship and guidance on strategy and execution, but founders retain decision-making authority. From the Shell Foundation’s perspective, we focus on whether companies are serving our core customer groups and tracking income and gender outcomes. We monitor this through selection criteria and KPIs. Beyond that, we do not direct company strategy. How do you decide which risks you absorb and which risks you leave with founders or follow-on investors? What does that look like in practice? Keely: Shell Foundation accepts that impact risk is inherent at early stages, since income and climate outcomes only materialise as companies scale. We manage this through aligned KPIs, selection criteria, and reporting requirements, while founders and future investors continue to carry commercial risk. How do you price the cost of failure? When a startup does not scale, what signals do you track to decide whether the model failed or the market was misread? Keely: We set milestones and stop criteria tied to customer reach, income uplift, and gender outcomes within defined timeframes. These signals help us assess whether challenges stem from execution, market assumptions, or the model itself. What parts of the value chain do you intervene in most aggressively? Product design, unit economics, governance or market access. Why those layers? Keely: Shell Foundation works across innovation, scaling partnerships, and capital mobilisation. The accelerator reflects this by supporting companies on market validation, product-market fit, expansion, fundraising, and network access, rather than focusing on a single intervention point. What data do these startups flow back to the Shell Foundation during and after the programme? How is it used to shape future investment theses? Keely: Companies report on customer numbers, capital mobilised, and emissions avoided. A third-party evaluator assesses income impacts on customers. This data informs future decisions on investing in similar accelerators and funds. Lastly, at what point does the Shell Foundation step back? What conditions trigger a clean exit from active involvement? Keely: After the accelerator ends, we review results related
Read MoreDon’t agree with your tax bill? Nigeria’s new law gives you 30 days to object
This is Follow the Money, our weekly series that unpacks the earnings, business, and scaling strategies of African fintechs and financial institutions. A new edition drops every Monday. Nigeria’s new tax laws are designed to move money faster from the economy to the government. But that process does not start with payment; it begins with self-assessment. Once a tax authority issues an assessment, a taxpayer must pay within 30 days or object, according to the Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025. This 30-day rule is central to the government’s plan to raise at least ₦17.85 trillion ($12.59 billion) in tax and customs revenue in 2026. By making taxpayers either challenge an assessment within a month or accept it as settled, the system shifts the burden of accuracy from the state to the individual, accelerating how money flows into public coffers. For example, a freelancer earning between ₦4 million ($2,820.97) and ₦6 million ($4,231.46) monthly who is assessed above actual income and fails to object within 30 days is bound by that figure. They must pay, or face penalties and recovery actions. For freelancers, remote workers, and content creators, many of whom will pay income taxes for the first time in 2026, the deadline may matter more than the tax rate itself. Once an assessment is issued, they must respond within a month or accept the bill as final. Controversies have trailed the implementation of Nigeria’s new tax laws, but states have begun to align with them, and the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has started work as the country’s central tax authority. The reform aims to lift Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP ratio from around 10% to 18% in 2027, largely by pulling more people into the tax net. Freelancers, remote workers, and content creators are central to this expansion. Globally, objection windows vary widely. In South Africa, taxpayers have 80 days. It is 90 days in Canada, four years in Australia, and 30 days in the United Kingdom. How assessment works Unlike salaried workers, whose taxes are deducted before salaries ever hit their bank accounts, this new class of taxpayers must assess themselves. Under the law, a taxable person is required to voluntarily declare income, file returns, and pay taxes due. The tax authority can then do one of three things: accept the return as filed; accept it but raise an additional assessment; or reject it entirely and issue its own assessment to the best of its judgment. If a taxpayer fails to file at all, the tax authority will, to the best of its judgement determine the amount of the tax due. While the law gives tax authorities broad discretion to determine what someone should pay, it also offers taxpayers an objection window of 30 days. The 30-day window Once an assessment is served, the taxpayer has 30 days to challenge it. To be valid, the objection must be detailed and precise. It must spell out: the exact errors or disputed issues, with monetary values; the amendments requested; justification for those amendments; amount of assessable and total profits; the income or transaction values the taxpayer admits; and the amount of tax admitted, or a declaration that none is payable. This layer of objection is largely evidence-based and often requires professional tax advice. After receiving the objection, the tax authority can demand documents, summon witnesses, and request further evidence. If both sides agree, the assessment is revised and reissued, and a revised notice period, usually 30 days, is given. In cases where the tax authority and the taxpayer disagree on the outcome of the objection, the taxpayer can appeal. The tax authority has 90 days to respond to all valid objections. If it fails to do so, the objection automatically succeeds. NTAA Objection Tracker Don’t let the 30-day window close on you. Date Assessment Notice Received: — Days to Object Validity Checklist (Legal Requirements): Precise monetary value of disputed amount Justification/Evidence (Receipts, Invoices) TIN and formal written notice Select a date above to see your deadline. Data Source: Nigeria Tax Administration Act (NTAA) 2025. When does a tax bill become final An assessment becomes legally binding when no valid objection or appeal is filed within 30 days; the taxpayer agrees to the assessed income or profit; or the amount is confirmed after objection or appeal. Failure to pay attracts penalties, including at least 10% interest on tax owed, and gives the tax authority power to appoint the taxpayer’s bank as a recovery agent. After assessments, tax authorities are required to maintain assessment lists containing the names and addresses of the taxable persons assessed to tax. The name and address of any person in whose name any such taxable person is chargeable; the amount of the total profits of each person; the amount of tax payable by the person; and any other documentation determined by the tax authority. Taxes depend on proof. Taxpayers are taxed not just on what they earn, but on what they can document. For millions of first-time taxpayers in 2026, the difference between a fair assessment and an inflated one is a paper trail: bank statements, invoices, contracts, and receipts.
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