How Medwaka rebuilt itself into an emergency response platform
Rest Essence never expected to watch a family friend come close to dying while giving birth. It was around 1 a.m. when she went into labour, and she was taken from one hospital to another. The first hospital refused to admit her for reasons that remain unclear, while the second had no electricity. Under the glow of handheld flashlights at the third hospital, she delivered her second child by caesarean section. She then began haemorrhaging, and for a moment, Essence feared she would not survive. She did, but that experience changed the course of his own life. At the time, Essence had challenged himself to spend a year searching for a problem worth solving in Africa. That night gave his search a direction, he told TechCabal. “That experience opened my eyes to how big of a problem medical emergencies are in Nigeria and across Africa,” he said. “That was when it dawned on me that this is a problem worth solving. I had known how 911 operated outside of the country, but I kept questioning why it wasn’t functional in Nigeria.” Around the same time, he joined the Fishbowl Challenge, where participants formed teams to solve real-world problems. There, he met Dr Muyiwa Oluwatobi, Dr Glennise Ayuk and Abakar Mahamat, who joined the team through the challenge. The four founders realised that, rather than solving just one part of the emergency care puzzle, they wanted to build the infrastructure that could get people help faster when every second mattered. Together, they set out to build Medwaka, an emergency response platform that connects patients experiencing medical emergencies with nearby hospitals, ambulances, and trained first responders through a mobile app. Day 1: Rebuilding what already existed Before the Fishbowl Challenge, Dr Oluwatobi had begun piloting an early model in Ondo State, south-western Nigeria. The platform focused on blood donation and emergency support for pregnant women by connecting expectant mothers with blood donors during medical emergencies. When Essence and the other co-founders joined the project through the Fishbowl Challenge, they saw a bigger opportunity. The problem, Essence believed, was that people did not know where to go during emergencies and no coordinated system could get someone from the point of distress to the care they needed. “The problem we were solving initially wasn’t large-scale enough,” he told TechCabal. “We realised the actual problem we needed to solve was much bigger.” The team went back to the drawing board, speaking with healthcare professionals, ambulance providers and emergency responders to understand how emergency care worked. The end result was Medwaka, turning the blood drive platform into an emergency response network. Through a mobile app, people experiencing medical emergencies could be connected to nearby hospitals and ambulances. With that vision in place, the team developed the first prototype and officially launched Medwaka in 2024. By February that year, the rebuilt Medwaka was ready for its first pilot in Ondo State. Day 500: When reality set in When Medwaka began its pilot in Ondo State, it had a clear plan: train first responders, partner up with hospitals, and give people a number to call during emergencies. However, the team faced challenges it did not anticipate, including low awareness of emergency response services, the difficulty of building a reliable first responder network, and the lack of ambulance infrastructure. The team started by training healthcare workers and local volunteers as first responders in Ondo State while onboarding public and private hospitals to the platform, Essence said. He explained that they recruited people with motorbikes who knew their neighbourhoods well enough to reach a patient before an ambulance could. The goal was that if an emergency occurred, Medwaka should already have someone nearby who could respond before a patient reached the hospital. By the end of 2024, Medwaka had trained 10 first responders and brought 5 hospitals onto the platform. But a bigger obstacle lay ahead of them. The founders had envisioned Medwaka as a 911-style emergency response system, Essence noted, but they realised that such ambition depended on infrastructure they did not control. Buying ambulances was beyond the reach of an early-stage startup, and relying on hospitals’ existing fleets meant dealing with delays and inconsistent availability. “It was either you bought your own ambulance, or you partner with hospitals that currently have ambulances,” he said. “We had a lot of challenges navigating that model.” Day 1000: Rethinking emergency response Due to the ambulance problem, Essence and his co-founders made a decision that would reshape Medwaka’s entire strategy. They decided to stop trying to run an independent 911-style system without the ambulances to back it up, and lean fully into partnerships instead. “Instead of trying to run this 911 system when we knew we couldn’t get ambulances, we decided to just continue with partnerships,” Essence said. “That was the biggest thing we did.” From then on, he noted that the company began shifting its partnership focus away from public health institutions and toward private hospitals and health maintenance organisations (HMOs), governments, emergency agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and community organisationsincluding University of Medical Sciences, Ondo. According to Essence, the partnership model changed how Medwaka created impact, allowing it to focus on strengthening existing emergency response systems. The company also expanded its offerings to include emergency response technology, first responder capacity building, digital emergency coordination tools, and healthcare system integration, he said. Today, Medwaka says it has grown to a team of 20, trained 11 first responders, and facilitated more than 550 emergency requests through its platform and partner network. For Essence, however, the company’s ambition remains unchanged from the night he watched a family friend fight for her life: to build an integrated emergency response ecosystem that connects patients, healthcare providers, first responders, and public health institutions through technology. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders, and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off
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IHS exits Latin America as MTN takeover moves closer
IHS Towers has completed the sale of its Latin American tower operations to Macquarie Asset Management, exiting the region as the company reshapes its portfolio ahead of MTN Group’s planned acquisition. IHS Mauritius BR Limited, a subsidiary of IHS Holding Limited, completed the transaction on August 7, 2026, following an agreement announced in February. The deal covers IHS Brazil and IHS Colombia, comprising approximately 9,000 tower sites. The sale marks IHS Towers’ complete exit from Latin America, leaving the company focused on its African operations, where it has more than 28,000 towers across Nigeria, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon and Zambia. The divestment also aligns with MTN’s plan to acquire the remaining shares in IHS and take the tower company private. In a statement to shareholders, note-holders, and the media, including TechCabal, MTN said the completion of the sale “aligns with the intention by MTN to acquire only IHS’s African assets as part of the Transaction.” MTN announced the proposed acquisition in February. On August 5, IHS shareholders approved the merger at an extraordinary general meeting, satisfying one of the conditions required for the transaction to proceed. With the Latin American assets now divested, the proposed acquisition is focused solely on IHS’s African tower portfolio, simplifying the transaction structure and aligning it with MTN’s strategic priorities. JP Morgan advised IHS on the transaction. Macquarie Asset Management, the buyer, manages approximately $477 billion in assets globally. For IHS, the sale marks a significant strategic retreat as the company narrows its focus to emerging African markets. For MTN, it removes IHS’s Latin American operations from the proposed acquisition and strengthens its focus on African digital infrastructure. The broader acquisition, however, is still pending. MTN said the deal remains subject to regulatory approvals, which are still being processed. IHS shareholders approved the MTN Group acquisition on Wednesday, August 5, 2026. The acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals. Once completed, it will give MTN full ownership of IHS’s remaining African tower business, strengthening its control over one of the continent’s largest independent telecommunications infrastructure portfolios. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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How Pause Point on Android 17 works and why it matters
You unlock your phone to reply to a text message. Before you know it, you’ve spent half an hour scrolling through short videos, memes, or social media posts you never intended to see. It’s a familiar experience for smartphone users, and one Google wants to address with a simple but deliberate interruption. Pause Point is a new Digital Wellbeing feature Google unveiled during its Android announcements ahead of Google I/O 2026. Although it is closely tied to Android 17, Google says the feature is coming later this year. Rather than locking you out of distracting apps or imposing strict screen time limits, Pause Point introduces a brief pause before you open apps you’ve identified as distracting, giving you a moment to reconsider whether you really want to continue. The feature reflects Google’s broader effort to make Android not just smarter, but more intentional. As smartphones become increasingly powered by AI, the company is also looking at ways technology can help users build healthier digital habits instead of encouraging endless scrolling. This article explains what Pause Point is, how it works, and why it could become one of Google’s most useful Digital Wellbeing features. What is Pause Point? Pause Point is a new Digital Wellbeing feature designed to help users reduce mindless phone use. Instead of preventing access to social media or entertainment apps, it inserts a short pause before those apps open, encouraging users to think about why they’re launching them. Think of it as a speed bump rather than a roadblock. If you decide Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, or another app tends to distract you, you can mark it as a distracting app. The next time you try to open it, Android briefly interrupts the experience before letting you continue. Google says existing Digital Wellbeing tools often fall into two extremes. App timers can be easy to dismiss, while completely blocking access to apps may not be practical for everyday use. Pause Point is designed to sit between those approaches by encouraging users to make a conscious choice without preventing them from using the app. Unlike app timers that cut you off after you’ve already spent time scrolling, Pause Point intervenes before the habit takes over. How does Pause Point work? 1. You choose which apps are distracting Pause Point isn’t enabled for every app on your phone. Instead, you decide which apps should trigger the pause. That means productivity apps, messaging platforms, or work tools remain unaffected unless you choose otherwise. The feature is designed around personal habits rather than assuming every user finds the same apps distracting. 2. A 10-second pause before the app opens When you launch one of your selected apps, Android displays a 10-second pause screen instead of opening it immediately. During those few seconds, you’re prompted to ask yourself a simple question: “Why am I here?” Google designed the delay to interrupt automatic app-opening habits and encourage users to pause before continuing. 3. It offers healthier alternatives The pause isn’t just a countdown. During those ten seconds, Android can offer a short breathing exercise, setting a timer for your app session, looking at favourite photos, or jumping to another activity such as reading a book. These suggestions are designed to gently redirect users instead of forcing them away from the app altogether. 4. It’s deliberately harder to turn off Google has also added friction to disabling Pause Point. If users decide they no longer want the feature, Android requires them to restart their phone before they can switch it off. The extra step is meant to discourage impulsive decisions made in the middle of a scrolling session. Why did Google introduce Pause Point? Pause Point is Google’s latest attempt to help users reduce mindless scrolling and other habitual phone use. Modern apps are designed to capture and hold attention. Recommendation algorithms, infinite scrolling, and autoplay features can make it easy to spend far more time on a phone than originally intended. Traditional Digital Wellbeing tools already allow users to monitor screen time or set daily limits, but many people simply ignore or dismiss those notifications. Pause Point takes a different approach. Instead of restricting access, it introduces a brief interruption at the exact moment a habit begins. The idea is simple: creating a small moment of reflection before an app opens may help users make more intentional decisions about how they spend their time. The feature also arrives as governments, researchers, and regulators continue examining the effects of addictive app design and excessive screen time, particularly among younger users. Pause Point vs App Timers Interrupts you before opening an app vs limits how long you can use an app. Encourages reflection vs restricts access after a set time. Focuses on preventing automatic habits vs reducing overall screen time. Allows you to continue immediately after the pause vs locks the app when your daily limit is reached. For many users, Pause Point may feel less restrictive because it doesn’t stop them from using an app. Instead, it encourages more intentional choices before scrolling begins. Will Pause Point actually help reduce screen time? Whether Pause Point changes behaviour will vary from person to person, but the feature is built around a simple idea: interrupting automatic habits with a brief pause may help people make more deliberate choices. Many of us unlock our phones almost instinctively. We tap familiar apps without thinking, often out of habit rather than necessity. By adding just ten seconds of friction, Pause Point aims to break that automatic loop. Of course, the feature won’t eliminate distractions overnight. Users can still choose to open the app once the countdown ends. But even if it helps people avoid a handful of unnecessary scrolling sessions each day, those saved minutes can add up over time. Rather than relying on willpower alone, Pause Point makes mindful phone use a little easier. Which phones will get Pause Point? Android 17 is rolling out first to supported Google Pixel devices, with other Android manufacturers expected to
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Naira-backed stablecoin cNGN launches on Celo network to ease cross-border payments
cNGN, the Naira-backed stablecoin issued by private company WrappedCBDC, has launched on the Celo blockchain, opening a new channel for instant foreign exchange (FX) settlement and cross-border payments using digital tokens. The integration allows users to swap cNGN for dollar-backed stablecoins, such as Tether’s USDT, through Textile FX, a cross-chain liquidity network that said it had already onboarded 78 over-the-counter (OTC) traders and cross-border payment companies in Nigeria ahead of its launch. The move is intended to connect a naira-denominated digital asset with global stablecoin liquidity, potentially giving fintechs and payment companies a faster and cheaper way to settle international transactions than traditional banking rails. A stablecoin is a digital currency pegged to the value of a fiat currency, such as the US dollar or naira. WrappedCBDC was part of the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Regulatory Incubation (RI) programme, which allows companies to test and pilot tokenised products under regulatory supervision. The company was also included in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) anti-money laundering supervisory pilot on March 31, and was later admitted into the SEC’s Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP) on July 2. According to the company, cNGN is backed one-for-one by naira reserves held in Nigerian commercial banks. WrappedCBDC said it also invests those reserves in treasury bills, money market funds, and fixed deposits. As of August 7, cNGN had a circulating supply of about ₦2.5 billion ($1.8 million), cumulative trading volume of approximately ₦214.2 billion ($157 million), and 8,216 holders, according to the issuer. “Nigeria is leading much of the world in stablecoin adoption,” Uyoyo Ogedegbe, cNGN’s managing director, said in a statement. “Our mission since launching cNGN has been to enable scalable, real-world use cases across Africa and beyond. Celo extends that work into one of the deepest stablecoin ecosystems, where cNGN now sits alongside more than 30 other stablecoins.” Textile FX said it processed more than $4 million in institutional trading volume in July. Stablecoins have become increasingly important in Nigeria’s digital economy as businesses and consumers seek alternatives to expensive and often delayed cross-border transfers. The country is one of the largest crypto markets in sub-Saharan Africa and has seen rapid adoption of dollar-backed stablecoins for payments, remittances, and savings. Celo said it will begin a governance process to allow cNGN to be used to pay transaction fees on the network, a feature that could make the token more practical for everyday transfers and merchant payments. The launch also expands Celo’s growing stablecoin ecosystem, which the company said now includes 32 fiat-backed stablecoins. “Local currency stablecoins have been a core focus of the Celo ecosystem since mainnet launch in 2020, and Nigeria is one of the corridors where the case is clearest,” Markus Franke, Global Head of Stablecoins at Celo Core, said in a statement. “Bringing cNGN to Celo puts the regulated Naira stablecoin on rails where transfers cost a fraction of a cent and settle in an instant, on a network powering payments for millions worldwide.” True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders, and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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South Africa is betting on WhatsApp to bring Gen Z back to the ballot box
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), South Africa’s electoral body, has taken voter registration to WhatsApp, the country’s most widely used messaging platform, in a bid to attract more young people to local elections. Launched on Tuesday ahead of Friday’s registration deadline, the service reflects a simple premise: that bringing voter registration to platforms young people already use could attract more of them to the democratic process. The strategy appears to be gaining traction. Nearly half a million voter registration transactions during the IEC’s final registration drive came from people aged 16 to 29, while 46% of all new registrations were by voters under 29. The figures suggest digital platforms may be lowering barriers to registration. The bigger question, however, is whether making registration easier can also overcome the political disengagement that has defined past local elections. The IEC introduced WhatsApp registration this week, allowing eligible citizens to register or update their voting details through a service that uses OTP authentication, ID document uploads, address verification and voting station confirmation. Sy Mamabolo, IEC Chief Electoral Officer, said the commission chose WhatsApp because it is already part of many South Africans’ daily lives. “By leveraging a platform used daily by millions of South Africans, the commission is expanding access to voter registration, improving convenience and ensuring that more eligible voters can register or update their details before the close of the registration period,” he said. Mamabolo added that the platform’s identity verification measures are designed to protect the integrity of the voters’ roll. IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says the commission’s new WhatsApp registration service is designed to make voter registration more accessible. Image Source: Business Day. For the IEC, WhatsApp is the latest step in a broader push to digitise voter services. While physical voting stations remain central to elections, the commission is experimenting with technology to reduce the friction of registering, particularly for younger citizens who are more comfortable interacting through mobile platforms than queuing at government offices. Kate Bapela, the IEC’s spokesperson, told TechCabal that digital services have played an important role in attracting younger voters during the registration campaign. “We have seen a significant increase in the number of young people participating, largely because of the digital platforms we’ve made available,” said Bapela. “Online registration has been successful, and the latest addition is the WhatsApp registration service.” She said the commission’s goal is to remove as many barriers as possible for first-time voters ahead of the November local government elections. “It’s looking good. We are pleased that we have been able to provide as many registration platforms as possible for young South Africans so that we don’t miss them. People like you and me have long been registered, but it’s the new generation we want to bring into the electoral process, and they’re really taking advantage of these opportunities,” she said. Demand has been strong. Speaking to TechCabal on Friday, hours before voter registration closed, Bapela said the IEC’s digital platforms were operating “at full capacity” as South Africans rushed to beat the deadline. The commission’s figures also point to strong digital engagement. During the final voter registration weekend, South Africans completed 1.7 million registration-related transactions, including 291,016 first-time registrations, with the online registration portal accounting for 238,000 transactions. WhatsApp may help the IEC register more young South Africans. Whether those new registrations translate into higher turnout is a different challenge altogether. Making registration easier removes one barrier to participation, but it does not necessarily address the political disillusionment that has depressed youth turnout in recent local elections. Ultimately, persuading newly registered voters to cast a ballot will depend less on technology than on whether political parties can convince them that voting is worthwhile. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders, and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
Read MoreWhat to expect from Google Pixel Watch 5
Table of contents Has Google announced the Pixel Watch 5? When will the Pixel Watch 5 release? How much will the Pixel Watch 5 cost? What are the expected specs of the Pixel Watch 5? Pixel Watch 5 vs Pixel Watch 4 What we still don’t know Google’s Pixel Watch 5 is close. Regulatory filings, an appearance inside Google’s own Health app, and a brief tease in Google’s own event trailer all point to a watch that’s almost ready to launch. Google hasn’t announced the device itself yet, so this guide separates what Google has confirmed from what leakers and reporters are saying, and gets you ready for the Made by Google event on August 12. Has Google announced the Pixel Watch 5? Google has confirmed the Made by Google event for August 12, 2026, in New York City. The keynote starts at 6 PM ET (11 PM WAT), and Trevor Noah is hosting, with guests including Stephen Curry, Alex Cooper, Shubman Gill, Ayami Nakajo, Peggy Gou, and PinkPantheress. Google’s own teaser for the event showed a quick glimpse of the Pixel Watch 5, the first time Google has acknowledged the device by name. A few other signs point the same way. Four model numbers for the watch cleared US FCC certification in June, and the name “Google Pixel Watch 5” briefly showed up as a setup option inside Google’s own Health app. None of this confirms the specs or the price, but it confirms the watch exists and is close to launch. When will the Pixel Watch 5 release? Google will announce the Pixel Watch 5 on August 12. Leaks from Dealabs, a French outlet with a strong record on pre-order pricing, point to pre-orders opening on August 13 and the watch going on sale on August 20, the same day as the Pixel 11 phones. That timeline would move much faster than last year. The Pixel Watch 4 was announced on August 20, 2025, but didn’t reach shelves until October 9, 2025, a gap of about 50 days. If the August 20 date holds this year, buyers would only wait about 8 days between the announcement and the on-sale date. Treat August 20 as the date to watch. It comes from a leaker with a strong pre-order track record, and several outlets have repeated it. Some earlier reports guessed an October ship date based on last year’s pattern, but that guess came before the newer leak surfaced. How much will the Pixel Watch 5 cost? Leaked pricing from Dealabs points to the first price increase in Pixel Watch history. Here’s what the leaks say for the US, UK, and EU: Pixel Watch 5, 41mm, Bluetooth/Wi-Fi: $399 / £369 / €419 Pixel Watch 5, 45mm, Bluetooth/Wi-Fi: $429 / £399 / €449 Pixel Watch 5, 41mm, LTE: $499 / £469 / €519 Pixel Watch 5, 45mm, LTE: $529 / £499 / €549 That’s a jump from the Pixel Watch 4’s launch prices of $349, $399, $449, and $499 across the same four configurations. In the US, the 41mm models go up by $50, and the 45mm models go up by $30. In the UK and EU, only the 41mm models appear to rise, and the 45mm prices reportedly stay the same as last year. Google has given a reason for the increase. Speaking to 9to5Google, Google’s VP of Devices and Services, Shakil Barkat, said memory prices have jumped in ways the company hasn’t seen before. He pointed to data showing the price of 1GB of LPDDR5X RAM went from $2.80 in 2025 to $12 in 2026, and said the entire Pixel family will see price adjustments because of it. At $399, the entry-level Pixel Watch 5 matches the Apple Watch Series 11’s starting price and costs more than the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9, which starts at $379.99. The Galaxy Watch 9 also runs on Samsung’s newer Snapdragon Wear Elite chip, so Google’s watch costs more while using older hardware. What are the expected specs of the Pixel Watch 5? Leaks point to a watch that keeps almost everything the same as the Pixel Watch 4 and puts its upgrades into storage, memory, and software. Two leaked spec sheets, one from Dealabs and one from MyMobiles, give the clearest picture so far. 1. Processor The chip is the biggest open question. Dealabs describes it as a “Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 Accelerated,” a version of the chip that hasn’t been announced before. The MyMobiles spec sheet lists a standard Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 with a Cortex-M55 coprocessor instead, and a Google Play Console listing from earlier in the summer shows the same CPU and GPU as the Pixel Watch 4. Until Google confirms it, treat the chip as a Snapdragon W5 Gen 2, possibly with some tuning, rather than a new generation of silicon. 2. Memory and storage Storage looks set to double from 32GB to 64GB. RAM may rise from 2GB to 3GB, based on the Play Console listing, though the full spec sheets from Dealabs and MyMobiles don’t list a RAM figure at all. If the increase holds, it would be the first RAM upgrade since the original Pixel Watch launched. 3. Display Leaks point to the same Actua 360 LTPO AMOLED display as the Pixel Watch 4, at 320 ppi with peak brightness up to 3,000 nits and a refresh rate that adjusts between 1Hz and 60Hz. Both the 41mm and 45mm sizes return, with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top. 4. Battery and charging The 41mm model is expected to carry a 332mAh battery and the 45mm model a 465mAh battery, both slightly larger than the Pixel Watch 4’s cells. Quoted battery life stays the same at up to 30 hours on the 41mm and 40 hours on the 45mm with the always-on display active, or 48 and 72 hours in battery saver mode. Charging speeds are expected to match last year’s watch, and Google is expected to skip a charging brick in the box again. 5.
Read MoreQuick Fire 🔥 with Mohammed Bashir Yunusa
Quick Fire is TechCabal’s weekly column featuring executives, founders, and operators discussing the decisions, industry shifts, and contrarian ideas driving Africa’s technology and business landscape. This week: Mohammed Bashir Yunusa on non-interest commerce, why trust matters more than technology at the start of any financial innovation, and why the next decade of banking will not be won by branch count. Mohammed Bashir Yunusa is a banking executive with over 15 years of experience driving growth, transformation, and value creation across the financial services industry. His expertise spans business strategy, digital banking, commerce, innovative finance, investment and deal structuring, corporate finance, and non-interest banking. As Divisional Head, Digital Banking & Commerce at The Alternative Bank, Yunusa provides strategic leadership for the Bank’s digital banking, commerce, product management, and ecosystem partnerships. He focuses on shaping growth strategies, developing customer-centric solutions, and creating sustainable value through technology, strategic partnerships, and forward-looking business models. Throughout his career, he has led transformative initiatives across business strategy, product development, digital banking, commerce, and innovative finance. His experience also encompasses investment and deal structuring, where he has advised on strategic transactions, financing models, and partnerships across multiple sectors of the economy. His approach combines commercial insight with disciplined financial structuring to deliver sustainable outcomes for institutions and businesses. His leadership has contributed to the development of pioneering financial products, digital platforms, and business models, including Nigeria’s first credit-based e-commerce platform. By combining technology, innovative finance, and commercial strategy, he has consistently unlocked new markets, enhanced customer experiences, and delivered sustainable growth. Yunusa holds a Global Executive MBA from IESE Business School, a Postgraduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, a Master of Science in Strategic Planning from Heriot Watt University, and a Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Business Administration (Finance) from Ahmadu Bello University, where he also graduated with distinction in Accounting. He believes finance is at its most powerful when it expands opportunity, enables enterprise, and creates shared prosperity. His work is guided by a commitment to building institutions that combine commercial excellence with innovation to deliver lasting economic and societal impact. Explain your job to a five-year-old. I help people save, spend, borrow, and grow their money in smarter ways. My team builds the tools that make banking simple, fast, and useful, so people can focus on living their lives while money quietly works for them. Non-interest banking removes the tool most digital lenders build credit products around: interest. How do you build a credit-based commerce platform without it? You stop thinking about lending and start thinking about trade. In non-interest banking, every transaction must be backed by a genuine commercial activity that forces you to build around assets, partnerships, and real economic value, not risk-priced through interest. Our job isn’t to replicate conventional banking. It’s to build better commercial models where customers gain access to goods and services, merchants increase sales, and the bank earns from facilitating genuine trade. Done well, everyone wins. You helped build Nigeria’s first credit-based e-commerce platform. What almost killed it before it worked? The technology wasn’t the difficult part. Behaviour was. We assumed customers wanted credit. What they actually wanted was confidence: that delivery would happen, that repayment would be simple, and that the product would genuinely improve their lives. The lesson: innovation succeeds when it solves a trust problem before it solves a technology problem. Inside a bank, where do the digital banking team and the commerce team actually disagree? Digital teams optimise experiences. Commerce teams optimise economics. Digital wants fewer clicks; commerce wants higher lifetime value. Digital celebrates user growth; commerce asks whether those users are profitable. The best organisations make customer experience and commercial sustainability improve together, not one at the other’s expense. In bank-fintech-merchant partnerships, who holds the leverage, and has that shifted in the last few years? Leverage belongs to whoever owns the customer relationship. A few years ago, fintechs had the advantage because they moved faster. Today, banks have become significantly more digital, merchants more sophisticated, and customers expect integrated experiences. The future belongs to partnerships where everyone contributes something unique—not to whoever tries to own everything. What’s a deal or partnership you walked away from that looked good on paper, both in your career and in your role overseeing a division at The Alternative Bank? I came across a transaction recently that looked incredibly attractive on paper. It promised strong returns and could have worked well for the first few deals. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realised it wasn’t the kind of business I want to build. It relied too heavily on today’s market conditions, today’s financing model, and today’s technology. As those evolve, so does its value proposition. So I walked away. I’ve become less interested in opportunities that make money today and more interested in building businesses that will still matter decades from now. Businesses that adapt, compound, and create value long after we’re gone. Short-term wins are exciting. Enduring institutions are far more rewarding. Your background is in deal structuring and corporate finance. What’s the real tension between building at product speed and structuring it at the speed finance—and money—is supposed to move? Innovation rewards speed; finance rewards discipline, and the mistake is believing you have to choose one. Good organisations build governance into the product development process, so risk management becomes an accelerator rather than a brake. Moving fast without discipline creates expensive mistakes. Moving perfectly but too slowly creates missed opportunities. What’s the biggest risk in Nigerian digital banking right now that isn’t being talked about enough? Everyone is competing for users. Very few are building sustainable economics. Customer acquisition has become relatively easy. Building profitable, engaged, long-term relationships is much harder. The institutions that survive will be the ones that understand lifetime value, not just download numbers. What’s a decision you made that was commercially right but took years to be proven right? Investing heavily in ecosystems instead of individual products. Products can be
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Kenya’s new crypto rules give exchanges right to appeal regulator decisions
Kenya has given licenced crypto exchanges and other virtual asset companies a formal legal right to challenge regulatory decisions, one of the most significant additions to the country’s finalised cryptocurrency regulations. Under the finalised Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) Regulations, exchanges, wallet providers, token issuance platforms, stablecoin issuers, and other virtual asset firms can appeal licence refusals, suspensions, revocations, and other regulatory sanctions imposed by the relevant authorities. “A person aggrieved by any decision of the relevant regulatory authority under these Regulations may appeal against that decision in accordance with section 43 of the Act,” the National Treasury said in the policy. The appeals provision is particularly significant because the same regulations substantially expand the government’s enforcement powers. Regulators may reject licence applications, suspend or revoke licences, impose administrative sanctions, intervene in the management of a provider and appoint statutory managers to take control of customer assets under specified circumstances. The regulations also establish a legal framework for freezing and seizing virtual assets linked to suspected financial crime. Subject to court approval, investigators may obtain access to hardware wallets, seed phrases, and other devices necessary to secure digital assets under investigation. The appeals mechanism allows exchanges, wallet providers, token issuance platforms, and stablecoin issuers to challenge regulatory actions that could materially affect their operations in Kenya. At the same time, the regulations require enforcement authorities to protect customers who are not connected to the alleged wrongdoing, ensuring that freezing or seizure orders target specific accounts or virtual assets rather than all customer assets held by a platform. “A freezing or seizure order issued under this Part shall… target specific consumer accounts or specific virtual assets held in custody by the licensee; make provision for the licencee to seek clarification or variation of the order where compliance would affect assets of uninvolved consumers,” the policy read. The provision marks an important change from the draft regulations published in March, which did not contain an explicit statutory appeals mechanism for affected virtual asset service providers. The final gazetted regulations therefore introduce a clearer procedural safeguard even as Kenya strengthens oversight of the sector. The changes modestly rebalance a framework that remains heavily weighted toward enforcement. Authorities retain broad powers to inspect providers, require records, freeze assets and intervene in a firm’s operations where customer assets are considered at risk. For international exchanges evaluating the Kenyan market, the appeals mechanism provides an additional layer of regulatory certainty. Although regulators retain the authority to suspend or revoke licences, affected firms now have a clearly defined legal process through which they may challenge those decisions under the Virtual Asset Service Providers Act, 2025. Taken together, the regulations signal Kenya’s attempt to build a more mature regulatory framework for digital assets—combining stronger oversight of crypto businesses with clearer procedural protections for licenced firms subject to enforcement action. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders, and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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As African newsrooms shrink, powerful companies face less scrutiny
This article draws from my conversation with Ivana Heijnen in Episode 7 of the Voices and Visions podcast, which explores the people and ideas shaping Africa’s innovation economy. Across much of Africa, companies are becoming larger, richer, and more influential. The newsrooms expected to scrutinise them are moving in the opposite direction. I found myself returning to this contradiction during the seventh episode of Voices and Visions, a podcast hosted by Ivana Heijnen about the people shaping Africa’s tech and business ecosystems. I have always believed that journalism begins with caring about people, systems, and whether they work as they should. A reporter’s responsibility is not merely to describe events. It is to examine who is exploiting whom, which institutions are failing, and who benefits when they do. “There’s that surveillance role of a journalist,” I told Heijnen. “You scrutinise who is stealing from whom, what is going on well, what is not working as it is supposed to, and give people solutions to some of these things.” That role is becoming harder to perform. African newsrooms are operating under severe financial pressure. Advertising revenue has shifted to global tech platforms such as Facebook, Google, and X. Print circulation has declined, while audiences increasingly expect news to be free. Media organisations have responded by imposing hiring freezes, laying off staff, and shrinking editorial budgets. Reporters are expected to produce more stories across more platforms with fewer resources. Investigative journalism is particularly vulnerable. It is expensive, slow, and legally risky. A reporter may spend weeks pursuing a story that generates no immediate revenue and may never be published. By contrast, a sponsored event or corporate announcement can generate income and be turned into multiple pieces of multimedia content within hours. While this is now being presented as a media business problem, it is also a big accountability crisis. “Media has a huge role,” I said during the conversation. “Surveillance. We need to scrutinise everything that is in the public. We need to hold everyone to account, and that is telling the story as it is.” But watchdog journalism cannot survive on responsibility alone. It requires reporters, editors, lawyers, travel budgets, data, and institutions willing to withstand commercial and political pressure. As those resources disappear, the people and companies requiring the greatest scrutiny gain more room to shape the stories told about them. Powerful companies, weaker newsrooms Large companies have resources that most African publications currently do not. They retain communications advisers, lawyers, lobbyists, and public relations agencies. They cultivate relationships with editors, sponsor industry events, and buy advertising across multiple platforms. None of those activities is inherently improper. Companies have a legitimate interest in explaining what they do. The problem arises when their capacity to influence the public narrative exceeds the media’s capacity to interrogate it. Some of the companies journalists cover are also among the biggest sources of advertising revenue. Their executives may have close relationships with media owners. In some countries, the people who possess political or commercial power also directly own the outlets expected to scrutinise them. “Some of these people who have this power also own the media outlets,” I told Heijnen. “They just want reporters to rejig whatever they want to churn out.” A financially secure newsroom can resist some of that pressure. A struggling one must calculate what it can afford to lose. This imbalance matters because large corporations are not passive victims of weak systems. They can possess enormous power to influence regulation. A major bank, telco, or multinational can lobby policymakers, hire influential advisers, and gain access to decision-makers in ways that an ordinary citizen cannot. “If they want a regulation or a policy to be changed, they can lobby, they can push for it,” I said. “But they choose not to because they also benefit from that flawed system. And who loses in all this? The ordinary person.” Without independent reporting, the public sees only part of that relationship. Companies speak enthusiastically about innovation, inclusion, and the jobs they create. Far less is said about market dominance, labour practices, political connections, or the regulations they helped shape. Press releases become the story The effects are especially visible in Africa’s tech ecosystem. Startup coverage is heavily influenced by fundraising announcements, founder profiles, and carefully constructed claims about impact. The companies receiving the most attention are often those with the strongest communications machinery, not necessarily the strongest businesses. “Capital follows narrative,” I told Heijnen. Before capital becomes rational, it can follow emotion and attention. A compelling founder story attracts coverage. Coverage creates visibility. Visibility suggests momentum. That momentum attracts investors, partnerships, and still more coverage. Many highly funded startups understand this loop. They retain effective PR firms and build relationships with journalists and editors across the continent. They appear repeatedly in the media, becoming familiar to investors and policymakers. “Whether their business models are good, or they are solving a problem that is there, is neither here nor there,” I said. “They’ve mastered what can capture attention.” Journalists are meant to interrupt that loop with difficult questions. How many jobs did the company create? How much revenue does it generate? Are its customers better off? Did the product lower costs? What happened to the millions it raised three years ago? Are its claims independently verifiable? Yet these questions require time and expertise. It is much easier to rewrite an announcement saying that a startup has raised $5 million than to spend months investigating what happened after its previous round. “Fundraising should no longer be news,” I said. “A good idea should attract investment. The story should be the impact.” The amount raised is not meaningless. Funding can reveal where investors see opportunity and which sectors are attracting capital. But money entering a company should mark the beginning of the scrutiny, not the successful conclusion of its story. If journalism stops at the announcement, the media becomes part of the startup’s fundraising infrastructure. Funding accountability The answer is not to pretend journalism can exist
Read MoreGoogle Pixel 11 Pro Fold: Release date, price, and specs
Table of contents When is the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold coming out? Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold detailed specs How much will the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold cost? What colours does the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold come in? Where can you buy the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold? Google will announce the Pixel 11 Pro Fold at its Made by Google event on August 12, 2026, in New York. The foldable shares the stage with the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel Watch 5, but you’ll have to wait longer to buy it. Last year’s Pixel 10 Pro Fold was announced in August and only reached shelves in October, and every credible report points to the same pattern this year. Leaks have already filled in most of the picture. Expect a $1,899 starting price, a new Tensor G6 chip, a MediaTek modem replacing years of Samsung modems, and a slimmer body. Google has confirmed the event date and little else, so treat everything below as leak-based reporting until August 12. When is the Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold coming out? Google’s press invite confirms the Made by Google event for August 12, 2026, at 6 PM ET in New York City, as reported by 9to5Google and Android Central. That is a week earlier than last year’s event and much later in the day than usual. The announcement date and the release date are two different things for this phone. The Fold is expected to go on sale around October 2026, based on reporting from Android Central and PhoneArena. Google has followed this pattern before. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold was announced on August 20, 2025, and shipped on October 9, a gap of about seven weeks. The complexity of building the hinge and the foldable screen is the most commonly cited reason for the delay. A leak from French deal tracker Dealabs, reported by 9to5Google and Notebookcheck, points to an August 20 on-sale date with pre-orders opening on announcement day. That date applies to the regular Pixel 11, the Pixel 11 Pro, and the Pixel 11 Pro XL. It does not cover the Fold, so ignore any coverage that presents August 20 as the foldable’s release date. Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold detailed specs The full spec sheet below comes from leaked retail listings, FCC filings, and reports from named outlets. Google confirms the official numbers on August 12. 1. Outer display 6.4-inch OLED cover screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, according to Android Authority citing Android Headlines 1080 x 2342 resolution with peak brightness around 2,450 nits, per a leaked spec sheet reported by GSMArena One leaked Amazon listing said 6.5 inches, but most credible sources say 6.4 inches, which matches the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Treat 6.4 inches as the safer figure. 2. Inner display 8-inch foldable OLED with a 120Hz refresh rate, reported by Android Authority and GSMArena 2076 x 2160 resolution with peak brightness around 2,050 nits, per the leaked spec sheet Some early listings claimed 144Hz, but every credible named source reports 120Hz, so treat 120Hz as correct. The crease also looks set to stay about the same, with PhoneArena reporting little sign of improvement this year. 3. Processor and RAM The Fold runs on the Tensor G6, Google’s first chip built on TSMC’s 2nm process, according to GSMArena and Android Authority. If accurate, it would be the first major smartphone chip on a 2nm node. The leaked spec sheet describes one ARM C1-Ultra core at 4.11GHz, additional C1-Pro cores, a PowerVR GPU, and Google’s Titan M3 security chip. RAM lands at 16GB across every storage tier, per Android Authority’s detailed read of Google’s accidentally published Amazon listings. Some earlier listings mentioned 12GB, but Droid-Life reports that figure as an error from international listings. The RAM cut to 12GB is a genuine change this year, but it applies to the base Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL, and it skips the Fold. 4. Storage 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB options, reported by Android Authority and Droid-Life The 128GB tier is gone across the whole Pixel 11 lineup, making 256GB the new base The 1TB version is reportedly limited to the darkest colour, per GSMArena 5. Cameras The camera system largely carries over from the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, based on Android Headlines’ detailed spec sheet as reported by Android Authority: 48MP main camera 10.5MP ultrawide with macro support 10.8MP periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom and 30x Super Zoom 10MP selfie cameras on both the cover screen and the inner screen One possible hardware change stands out. Telegram tipster Mystic Leaks, as reported by 9to5Google, says the Fold gets a new main sensor codenamed “chemosh,” thought to be a 50MP sensor shared with the base Pixel 11. You may see other coverage claiming a full overhaul with a 48MP ultrawide and a 48MP periscope. That claim confuses the Pixel 11 Pro and Pro XL cameras with the Fold’s, and no major outlet backs it for this phone. On the software side, PhoneArena reports rumours of 100x AI-assisted zoom and 4K 30fps Cinematic Blur. The fingerprint reader stays side-mounted in the power button. 6. Battery and charging The battery appears to be shrinking. Android Authority’s Amazon listing leak points to 4,750mAh, smaller than the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s 5,015mAh pack, though the outlet cautions the figure could be placeholder data. Other leaks put it between roughly 4,650mAh and 4,800mAh depending on how it is measured. The exact number varies, but every source agrees the pack gets smaller this year, which is a step backwards worth knowing about before you buy. Charging is expected to stay at around 30W wired and Qi2 wireless with Pixelsnap magnets, in line with last year, per Android Authority and PhoneArena. A charging speed upgrade has yet to appear in any leak. 7. Durability PhoneArena expects the Fold to keep its IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold was
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