Luno draws 10,000 South Africans to tokenised US stocks in first month
In early August, Luno, the UK-based crypto company operating in four African countries, became one of the first startups to offer South Africans tokenised US-listed stocks. One month later, over 10,000 users have bought tokenised shares through the platform, according to Marius Reitz, Luno’s general manager for Africa and Europe. The early surge suggests that South Africans are quick to adopt digital assets that ease longstanding barriers in the financial system, such as high fees, foreign-exchange hurdles, and settlement delays. Tokenisation, by contrast, offers lower costs, instant access, and round-the-clock trading. “We launched with 44 stocks,” said Reitz. “Since launch, we have added 15 more stocks, and we have also added exchange-traded funds, including the S&P 500, which is one of the favourites among our customers. Customer interest has grown week-on-week, and the feedback has been positive.” While the adoption indicates strong demand for digital assets, it raises questions over investor protection, taxation, and how far regulators can keep pace with digital asset innovation. What tokenisation means Tokenisation refers to creating digital representations of real-world assets (RWAs) such as equities, property, or vehicles. In Luno’s case, customers are buying blockchain-based tokens that reflect the value of US-listed shares rather than the equities themselves, leaving them without the investor rights associated with traditional securities. The advantages lie in convenience and liquidity. Tokenised Apple shares (xAPPL), for instance, can be traded at any hour and transferred between wallets without intermediaries. Locally, stock exchanges are trying to compete with the always-on level of trading that tokenised stocks provide. In August, Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) CEO, Mary Vilakazi, told Bloomberg that the bourse is considering a move to round-the-clock trading. Globally, tokenisation is gaining momentum. Goldman Sachs, BNY Mellon, and several asset managers are experimenting with digital versions of money market funds and other securities to reduce costs, accelerate settlement, and reach new investors. Tokenised assets can also be used in decentralised finance (DeFi) protocols as collateral for loans. Why Luno moved first Luno rolled out tokenised US equities in partnership with xStocks, the tokenisation product of Kraken, the global crypto company. This gave South Africans access to tokenised shares of more than 60 public US companies and ETFs, such as Apple, Tesla, and the S&P 500. The actual shares are bought and held by regulated brokers and banks, while the digital tokens that represent them are handled by cryptocurrency providers, said Reitz. “There’s a separation of duties when it comes to [asset custody],” he added. “Kraken has been around for more than ten years, they’re a trusted brand, and they enabled us to bring this product to market in a way that is safe, transparent, and easy to use.” When a customer buys Luno tokenised stocks, the money first goes through Kraken’s regulated payments arm, Payward Digital Solutions. The funds are then sent to Backed, which converts them into US dollars and passes them to its broker in the United States. The broker buys the actual shares, which are held in regulated custody. Backed then creates a digital version of those shares on the blockchain and delivers them to partners such as Kraken and Luno. The real shares are held separately from company assets in regulated custody accounts, so they remain safe if a partner were to fail. But if the digital tokens are stored on an exchange that goes bankrupt, customers may lose access until administrators resolve the claims. However, since tokenised assets are digital tokens, users can move them into self-custody wallets. Luno charges a flat 1% fee on trades, which, according to Reitz, was designed to be transparent, compared to the hidden conversion costs and spreads that South Africans face when buying tokenised stocks offshore. The product also positions Luno against rivals such as VALR. But in the wider $341 million tokenisation market in South Africa, it competes with players like ReFi Cape Town and Salient Yachts offering tokenised access to other physical assets. “Our competitor [South Africa’s VALR] only offers five stocks,” said Reitz. “So our offering is much deeper and puts much more choice in the hands of customers.” Regulatory grey zones The growth of tokenised assets is forcing regulators to confront difficult questions.. Unlike traditional equities, tokenised stocks do not come with the same level of investor protection stop-gaps that securities laws provide. In South Africa, securities are taxed under capital gains and dividend withholding rules. Crypto and digital assets are treated differently; they are taxed as capital gains for long-term holders or as income for active traders. Yet the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has struggled to enforce compliance for crypto disclosures. As of August 2025, only 17,000 out of six million crypto holders in South Africa have declared their crypto assets and filed the required taxes. Applying existing tax regimes to tokenised assets could be more complicated, since they sit in a grey area between securities and digital tokens. The cross-border, digital nature of tokenised stocks further complicates oversight of trading and money flows. While Luno stresses that it applies stringent know-your-customer and anti–money laundering checks to curb illicit flows on the blockchain, it remains unclear whether such systems are sufficient to address products that mimic traditional securities. “We are a regulated financial service provider in South Africa,” Reitz said. “Any product that we offer to our customers must be compliant with regulations, else we risk losing our licence. There must be a balance between investor protection, which is of paramount importance, and innovation.” Industry sceptics are unconvinced. The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the trade association of publicly regulated stock, futures, and options exchanges, has warned that tokenising traditional assets undermines the ability of regulators to do their jobs and safeguard consumers. Still, the early traction of Luno’s product suggests tokenisation addresses real market gaps. For the sector to move from a niche experiment into mainstream finance, however, regulators will need to create clearer frameworks around investor protection and taxation at a pace that matches rising adoption. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal
Read MoreLife in Nigeria runs on data, and it now costs ₦721 billion monthly
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. Whether it is football, prayer meetings, or Nollywood marathons, life in Nigeria now runs on data. That shift, plus a long-overdue tariff hike, has increased the country’s monthly data bill by 307.74% to ₦721.18 billion in July 2025 from ₦176.87 billion in July 2023. For Peter Adebiyi, a fashion entrepreneur, data has replaced cable. His 40-inch TV has never seen a satellite dish. “I use a smart TV, so I just stream whatever I want to watch,” he told TechCabal. That shift has driven an 83% surge in data consumption in just two years, boosting telecom revenues but leaving Nigerians to shoulder a far steeper monthly bill. According to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), one hour of video streaming consumes about 350 MB in standard definition and 1 GB in high definition. More streaming has meant more data usage. Monthly consumption has surged 83.88% to 1,131,255.90 terabytes (1.13 billion GB) in July 2025, up from 615,207.39 TB (615.21 million GB) in July 2023. The math By TechCabal’s calculations, Nigeria’s monthly internet spend rose to ₦721.18 billion in July 2025, based on an average cost of ₦637.5 per GB. Two years earlier, it stood at ₦176.87 billion when 1 GB averaged ₦287.5. This calculation was based on findings that revealed the average cost of 1GB in the country (using prices on the telcos’ websites). 1GB on Airtel was ₦350, ₦200 on MTN, ₦300 on Glo, and ₦300 on 9mobile, bringing the average cost of 1GB to ₦287.5 in 2023. In July 2025, 1GB on Airtel was ₦800, ₦500 on MTN, ₦750 on Glo (for 1.1GB), and ₦500 on 9mobile, bringing the average cost of 1GB to ₦637.5 in 2025. Average monthly data consumption per subscriber has risen to 8.15 GB in July 2025 (with 138.75m subscriptions), from 3.86 GB in July 2023 (with 159.54m internet subscriptions). Win for telcos MTN’s data revenue has risen by 379.63% since 2020 to ₦1.59 trillion in 2024, and stood at ₦1.23 trillion in the first half of 2025. Airtel’s data revenues are up 50.35% since 2020, hitting $654 million as of its fiscal year ended March 2024. Airtel’s average data usage per customer has jumped 232.14% since March 2021, hitting 9.3 GB in June 2025, while MTN’s rose by 53.49% since December 2023 to 13.2 GB per customer in June 2025. This surge has pushed Nigeria above the regional average for internet usage, with around 29% of the population using it 85% of Nigerians on the mobile internet use it to make or receive video calls, 75% use it to watch free-to-access online videos, and 54% use it to stream free music, according to GSMA. YouTube takes the screen YouTube has been one of the biggest winners. Aside from being the primary streaming platform of choice for many religious leaders, it has become a home for Nollywood movies. Watch time in Nigeria grew more than 55% year-on-year as of October 2024, with more than 2 million Nigerians now watching YouTube on connected TVs at home, the company disclosed at its TV/Film Day in Lagos in August. The number of Nigerian channels making eight figures in revenue grew by 100% in 2024. “As filmmakers, the screen no longer means only the cinema or television set,” said Nollywood producer Bolaji Ogunmola at YouTube’s event. “For many Nigerians, YouTube is the new TV.” Tarek Amin, director for YouTube in the Middle East, Africa, and Turkey, added, “The old gates are coming down. We are in the midst of an ever-evolving media landscape, and Nigerian creators are at the heart of it.” Drawbacks As the internet becomes more central to everyday life, costs are also biting harder. In January, telcos implemented a 50% tariff hike after a decade of price stability, citing rising operational costs. Adebiyi told TechCabal that his monthly data bill has tripled since January from about ₦10,000 to close to ₦30,000. Temiloluwa Toluwase, a digital marketer, now spends no less than ₦20,000 monthly from ₦10,000. Adeolu Ogunbanjo, president of the National Association of Telecoms Subscribers (NATCOMS), said the hike has imposed untold hardship on many Nigerians. “Some people were forced to cut back on use.” Affordability and digital literacy remain the biggest barriers to broader adoption, GSMA noted. Internet subscriptions have already fallen by 3.41 million since January, dropping to 138.75 million by July 2025. Complaints about data depletion have also risen, with many subscribers accusing telcos of overbilling. According to the NCC, much of this usage is down to background app updates and heavy screen time. “It is important that telecom subscribers are equipped with the knowledge of how to monitor, control, and optimise the usage of their mobile data bundle allowance, be it daily, weekly, or monthly plans,” Freda Bruce-Bennett, director of Consumer Affairs Bureau at the NCC, said during a media briefing in August. Even with rising consumption, broadband penetration — availability of high-speed internet access — remains below 50%. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that only 38% of Nigerians (and Africans) used the internet in 2024, far below the global average of 68%. About 20 million Nigerians remain completely unconnected, according to Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy. Lack of internet usage cuts many from digital technologies, which are crucial for economic growth, innovation, job creation, and inclusion, according to Andrew Dabalen, World Bank Chief Economist for Africa. To close some of these gaps, Nigeria is rolling out 90,000 km more of fibre optic cables at $2billion. Despite these challenges, internet usage is expected to grow in the country, with 32 million new unique mobile internet subscribers expected in the country between 2025 and 2030. Karl Toriola, the CEO of MTN Nigeria, captured this in a TV interview in January 2025: “We are positioning ourselves to capture the opportunities of growth for the next 10 years. The demand for
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Kola Aina on AI in Africa, local capital, and exits
Kola Aina needs no introduction. As the founding partner of Ventures Platform, a $46 million early-stage fund, he has been a central figure in African venture capital for the past decade. His firm has backed more than 90 startups across the continent, including Paystack (exited in 2020), PiggyVest, Omniretail, Lemfi, Raenest, Thrive Agric, and MaaD. The firm has also returned four of its six investment cohorts. Before he founded Ventures Platform, Aina had already been active as an investor, backing startups like Moniepoint early. He also founded Emerging Platforms, a tech firm that built custom edtech, enterprise, and security products. It’s probably why he told me he would be an edtech founder if he were not an investor. As a sector-agnostic firm, Ventures Platform (VP) invests in companies that tackle non-consumption, close infrastructure gaps, and expand prosperity in Africa by lowering access barriers and cutting the cost of delivering goods and services. The firm can invest up to $1 million across the pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages, and has portfolio companies in all of Africa’s four regions. Outside of investing, Aina helped champion the Nigeria Startup Act process with the Presidency and other ecosystem leaders like Iyin Aboyeji and Adia Sowho. He is also the pioneer advisory board chair of the Yemisi Shyllon Museum of Art (YSMA) and an art patron. For this week’s Ask an Investor, I spoke to Aina about how Africa’s tech ecosystem has matured in recent years, why his firm’s thesis has not changed, the rise of local investors on the continent, his firm’s exits, the future of his firm and exits, why he wished he invested in Moove, what early-stage founders should never do, his preference for former operators as colleagues and why his firm is investing in Francophone Africa. There’s also some advice for founders based on the art industry. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 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The past year has been good, really good. I think, generally speaking, with the slowdown in the markets from the highs of 2021, we’ve seen a scenario where only the most clear-conviction, serious founders and investors are active. You know, there’s a lot more high-quality activity going on. The cream is rising to the top. There’s less herd behaviour, less capital blindly chasing deals. Everyone is showing up correctly. It’s also been good in the sense that encouraging folks to focus on capital efficiency and solid unit economics is now the standard. It’s been a season of growing up across the ecosystem, which makes our job easier, generally. You said there’s less herd mentality. Can you explain a bit more about that? What I mean is, the ecosystem is going back to what it was pre-2020. Building a startup is a very hard endeavour. Investing is difficult. It’s not about vibes. There’s less fanfare now, and folks are more focused on doing this for the right reasons. That’s leading to higher quality on both the founder side and the investor side. Has anything changed about your thesis in the last 24 months? No. Our thesis hasn’t changed. It’s always been focused on funding market-creating innovations that can capture Africa’s opportunities, make a significant impact, and deliver returns. That thesis has stood the test of time and remains evergreen. If
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Digital Nomads: A superbike accident was the breaking point for Oluwaleke Fakorede
Oluwaleke Fakorede’s story begins on a grim note. On a random weekend in July 2022, after visiting friends in Osogbo, southwest Nigeria, he rode home on his superbike, the sun warming his skin. Fakorede loved his superbike. For the Nigerian-born software engineer, the bike presented a regular rush of adrenaline break from sedentary work. But on this day in July, zooming through the asphalt tracks of the Osogbo highway, a car appeared out of nowhere and suddenly swerved in front of him. He skidded off the path, his body lurching forward, and in a blur, came crashing down helmet-first onto the hard floor. “I saw my life flash before my eyes,” recalled Fakorede. “I wasn’t going too fast, so I could still control where I dived to. Thankfully, I was wearing complete gear when [the accident] happened, but I still sustained bruises and sprained my ankle badly.” The accident occured right in front of a police station. The driver of the rogue car that hit him turned out to be a police officer who claimed his tyre had burst. Instead of holding the officer accountable, other officers turned on Fakorede and threatened to lock him up. Fakorede’s Kawasaki Ninja superbike after the accident/Image retrieved on August 25, 2025/Source: Fakorede “This is an insane country,” he remembers thinking after leaving the station in disbelief. The following day, still bandaged from the accident and walking cautiously with a limp, Fakorede headed out to drop his damaged bike parts at the mechanic’s. There, another unmarked police car pulled up, and officers jumped out with their guns drawn, demanded his papers, and tried to extort him. They detained him for nearly two hours until he called his father to intervene. Fakorede would spend weeks recovering physically, and several more years healing from the emotional scar. Until then, he had never seriously considered leaving Nigeria. But it was the accident, and the events that followed, that ignited a strong desire to move abroad and build his career in an environment where, as he puts it, “freedom of movement meant safety.” The man, his bike, and his dreams abroad Fakorede the biker, circa June 2022, before the accident/Image Source: Fakorede Fakorede is the founder of Proton Tech Lab, but is best known as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of GoWagr, a Nigerian ‘prediction market’ startup where over 400,000 users can win money from predicting real-life events. He co-founded the startup with longtime friends, Daniel Oladepo and Michael Okoko, in 2021. But they built their conviction two years later, during the country’s 2023 general elections, when they saw an opportunity to help Nigerians make money. They tested the idea by building a small spreadsheet to track people’s predictions on election outcomes and awarding winners a share of pooled contributions; a low-tech experiment that validated demand before they shipped the product. Before GoWagr, Fakorede had built his career across several high-profile Nigerian and foreign startups. An Andela-trained talent, he cut his teeth at Terragon as a data engineer before stints at Denmark’s Sports Compass, Nestcoin, Binance, and Yellow Card. But it was a remote job at Insomnia Labs, a US-based venture studio he joined in 2022, that gave him a real foretaste of life outside Nigeria. In his two-room apartment in Ife, Osun State, Fakorede built and scaled a tech team to deliver products for companies like Coca-Cola, ICC, Ava Labs, and Coinbase. Steadily, his importance to the team grew. He rose to VP of Engineering, then became CTO. The company decided it was time to meet the man in person. After his bike incident in July 2022, Fakorede travelled out of Nigeria to the UK for the first time to meet the top brass executives at Insomnia Labs. It left an impression on his employers, and soon, the company wanted him to move permanently. Fakorede in Scotland, United Kingdom, in 2023/Image Source: Fakorede “I thought, if I were physically closer to the team, we could get so much more done,” he said. Though he romanticised what life in the UK would look like, Fakorede also thought about Scandinavian countries to settle in. Yet his dream to build GoWagr, the desire that nudged him all along, drew him to the United States, where Insomnia Labs is headquartered. Moving to the US on an H-1B In April 2023, Insomnia Labs filed a petition for Fakorede’s H-1B visa, America’s tightly regulated work permit for specialty occupations. The application process was a gamble because the visa is awarded through a lottery. Every year, American companies file petitions for skilled foreign workers, but the demand is far higher than the supply. Hundreds of thousands apply, yet only about a minimum of 85,000 names are selected. Fakorede’s name did not make the cut at first. He waited with uncertainty, unsure if the door to his American dream had closed. Then, in August that same year, while still at home in Nigeria, he received the call that changed everything. His petition had been picked after all. It took four months. 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Busha, SEC partner to launch crypto course for financial leaders
One year since it issued provisional crypto licences to two startups, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)—under the capital market institute (NCMI)—and Kenya School of Government (KSG) have partnered with crypto startup Busha to launch a cryptocurrency course. The module, to be developed and facilitated by the UK’s Cambridge Enterprise, part of the Cambridge University, will aim to teach financial institution leaders and decision-makers about digital assets and the role they play in creating financial access. The programme, “Digital Assets Innovation, Industry, Regulation and Compliance (DAIIRC),” will target regulators and enforcement professionals, financial sector executives, policymakers, legal and compliance professionals, innovators, and ecosystem leaders, in a major collaboration between regulators and industry operators, signalling a clear push for institutional crypto adoption. “This partnership with the University of Cambridge and Busha to deliver a world-class executive programme reflects our commitment to equipping regulators, policymakers, and market leaders with the tools they need to engage with digital assets from a position of confidence, not caution,” said Dr Emomotimi Agama, SEC director general, in the programme brochure seen by TechCabal. According to the SEC, the four-way collaboration is underway and has not been finalised yet. Launching on September 30, DAIIRC will be a six-week Africa-focused hybrid programme facilitated by an ensemble cast of experienced digital asset academics, including Simon Callaghan, former director of the Cambridge Digital Assets Programme; Dr Dee Allen, associate professor at the University of Bahamas; Dr Patrick Conteh, CEO of Africa Fintech Network; Loretta Joseph, advisor to the Financial Services Commission of Jamaica on virtual asset regulation; Dr Tanya McCartney, CEO of GEM Advisory, a US-based regulatory compliance firm; and Olaoluwa Samuel-Biyi, Busha co-founder. The programme will cost $1,500 and participating institutions will be required to sponsor executives in their ranks. Get the best African tech newsletters in your inbox Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canton and Enderbury Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos [Keeling] Islands Colombia Comoros Congo – Brazzaville Congo – Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Dronning Maud Land East Germany Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories French Southern and Antarctic Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Johnston Island Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR China Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Metropolitan France Mexico Micronesia Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar [Burma] Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Neutral Zone New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Vietnam Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pacific Islands Trust Territory Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé and Príncipe Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine Union of Soviet Socialist Republics United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Unknown or Invalid Region Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wake Island Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands ?> Gender Male Female Others TC Daily Events TC Scoop <!– Next Wave –> <!– Entering Tech –> Subscribe Crypto licences? One year later While the collaboration between regulators and a startup is a landmark occurrence, access to formal banking rails remains the biggest hurdle for crypto firms. When the SEC issued its first batch of provisional licences in August 2024 to Quidax and Busha as part of a sandbox programme, the move was billed as the beginning of a new era for the industry. The expectation was that both startups would transition to full operating licences within a year and that more operators would be admitted to the sandbox. But progress has been slower than anticipated. In April, the regulator paused new approvals, citing difficulties in its due diligence process. This has left dozens of applicants in limbo and put added pressure on the two provisional licence holders to demonstrate what regulated crypto activity should look like. “A lot has changed since August [2024],” said Samuel-Biyi. “We’ve been able to grow, hire more people, and interact more formally with the banking system. But it also means there are many things hundreds of other players are doing in this space that we cannot do by virtue of being regulated.” Busha has had to scale its compliance processes. According to Samuel-Biyi, about 30% of the startup’s operations are now tied to regulatory obligations, up from 10% before licencing. These routines include real-time reporting to the SEC through APIs, stricter Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks, proof of sufficient reserves, and intensive transaction monitoring through global tools such as Chainalysis and Fireblocks for wallet security. The licencing regime has also nudged
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South Africans can now shop for home loans online
Getting a mortgage in South Africa is starting to look a lot like buying a fridge. Digital platforms are turning the long, paperwork-heavy process into something that can be done with a few clicks, and consumers are responding. The latest signal came last week when Takealot, the country’s largest e-commerce platform, launched a Home Loan Hub in partnership with MortgageMarket, the country’s online home loan marketplace. Within 48 hours, more than 1,000 people had applied, according to Tim Akinnusi, MortgageMarket CEO. They join a growing list of South Africans turning to online platforms like MTN, EasyEquities, and BetterBond to secure home financing, bypassing brokers and branch visits. With just one digital application on Takealot, users can receive instant pre-approval insights without affecting their credit score, compare offers from lenders such as Absa, FNB, Investec, RMB, and Standard Bank, and get loan proposals within 72 hours. Successful applicants even receive up to R20,000 (over $1,100) in Takealot vouchers once their bond is registered, a tactic reminiscent of e-commerce bundling logic designed to make online shopping stickier. “It’s a smart move by Takealot as they have established distribution and additional data from past purchases to help determine the credit risk,” said Michael Jordan, a chartered enterprise risk analyst. “I think it will be a success and would not be surprised if they expand into insurance next.” Davison Mudzingwa, an entrepreneur and business analyst, noted that accessing home loans through e-commerce platforms like Takealot speeds up the process of bond application and approvals. “I hope this will increase activity within the property and long-term loan market due to ease of access,” he said. This trend is unfolding as South Africa’s housing market shows signs of recovery from the pressures of high interest rates, rising costs of living, and post-pandemic economic strain. The recovery is driven by first-time buyers, who accounted for nearly 53% of the total applicants coming from this segment in Q1 2025, according to Absa’s Homeowner Sentiment Index. For BettaBond alone, loan approvals increased by 8.2% in the past 12 months ending in March 2025, compared to the same period the previous year Takealot’s move reflects a larger trend of digital platforms expanding into lifestyle services driven by surging internet, mobile, and social media use. Avo, an e-commerce run by Nedbank, bundles banking, shopping, and more in one digital interface. For younger, tech-savvy consumers, the ability to manage applications online without endless trips to banks is a major shift. Analysts say technology-driven distribution channels are well-positioned to ride this wave. “If getting a mortgage can be as seamless as buying a fridge, more people might finally buy both,” Mudzingwa added. “It’s a good development that shows technology as both an enabler and a frontier that takes down barriers for both business and consumers.” Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
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Stablecoins make up 43% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s crypto transactions in 2024
Global financial institutions are integrating stablecoins for payments and treasury operations, with corporate transactions growing by 25% in 2024, particularly in cross-border payments and supply chain settlements, according to a new report by Yellow Card, a stablecoin infrastructure startup operating in 20 African countries. The report noted that stablecoins accounted for 43% of total crypto transaction volume in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024. Nigeria processed nearly $22 billion in stablecoin transactions between July 2023 and June 2024, while South Africa has seen stablecoins displace Bitcoin as the country’s most used cryptocurrency. Adoption is spreading to Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Stablecoins are becoming critical tools for business operations dealing with volatile currencies and limited access to FX. Treasury management, payroll, and supplier payments are the top use cases. Yellow Card reported that 99% of its transactions now involve stablecoins, mostly among businesses using USDT, serving more than 30,000 of them across 20 African countries and processing over $6 billion in transactions. The growth is being driven by necessity rather than speculation. Businesses rely on stablecoins to bypass FX shortages and banking delays, moving money quickly and predictably across borders. In South Africa, companies are even running payroll on stablecoin rails, paying staff and contractors across the continent without the costs and inefficiencies of traditional banking systems. Despite rising adoption, traditional financial institutions in most African countries remain cautious. Many banks do not provide services to crypto firms or publicly integrate stablecoin rails into their operations, citing regulatory uncertainty. South Africa is the exception, having introduced clear rules for digital assets that make it the continent’s most advanced regulatory environment. Meanwhile, fintechs are pressing ahead. Yellow Card has partnered with PayPal’s Xoom service to enable international transfers using PayPal USD, and with Coinbase, the largest crypto firm in the US, to broaden access to dollar-backed stablecoins. The pan-African stablecoin startup is also planning to expand to emerging markets across the globe, including Argentina, Brazil, Bangladesh, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Colombia. As stablecoins become increasingly embedded in African business operations, regulators face mounting pressure to provide clarity. The direction they take will determine whether banks catch up or whether fintechs and businesses continue to lead the charge for stablecoin adoption. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
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Road to 2027: Preparing for Nigerian elections in a world of AI deepfakes
Every Thursday, Delve Into AI will provide nuanced insights on how the continent’s AI trajectory is shaping up. In this column, we examine how AI influences culture, policy, businesses, and vice versa. Read to get smarter about the people, projects, and questions shaping Africa’s AI future. Let us know your thoughts on the column through this form. In 2024, a video of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu made the rounds online. In the clip, Tinubu stands before a microphone, two men behind flanking him, addressing an unseen audience. “I am a fan of Chelsea, and I don’t like the way they are losing. Anytime they loss (sic), it gives me heart attack. So I’m planning to buy from their owner,” he says. The problem is he never actually said it; the viral footage was AI-generated. And though the deepfake was not directly political, it revealed just how easily AI tools can fabricate a politician’s words, and how quickly such fabrications can spread, shaping public perception before the truth catches up. As Nigeria looks toward the 2027 general elections, the dangers of AI-powered misinformation loom large. What happens when videos, voices, and images of political leaders can be convincingly faked? In a country where trust in visuals runs high and misinformation spreads at lightning speed, the risks are profound; as seen during the #EndSARS protests and the infodemic during COVID 19. Electoral bodies, political parties, fact-checkers, and AI researchers are already bracing for the challenge. From INEC’s new Artificial Intelligence Division to grassroots fact-checking networks and digital literacy drives, Nigeria is racing to build defences against a threat that could distort democracy itself. In other climes Nigeria is not the only country at risk of AI-powered misinformation. AI tools are being used in some parts of the world to generate voice-cloned robocalls impersonating politicians, create face-swapped campaign videos and fabricated screenshots, and amplify falsehoods through bot-driven social media networks. In March 2024, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma shared a deepfake video of Donald Trump, the current US President, endorsing the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) political party, which gained significant online attention. In Indonesia’s 2024 presidential race, deepfake videos falsely showed then presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto, speaking Arabic to appeal to Muslim voters. In Germany, a “Storm-1516” operation, set up numerous AI-powered websites to distribute deepfake content attacking politicians ahead of national elections. The list goes on and on: in the US, France, Argentina, Bangladesh, Philippines, Canada and Spain to mention a few. Similar tactics used with AI in these countries can be used to exploit Nigeria’s unique situation: high trust in visual and audio media, ethnic/religious sensitivities, and low digital literacy in many communities. Get the best African tech newsletters in your inbox Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canton and Enderbury Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos [Keeling] Islands Colombia Comoros Congo – Brazzaville Congo – Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Dronning Maud Land East Germany Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories French Southern and Antarctic Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Johnston Island Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR China Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Metropolitan France Mexico Micronesia Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar [Burma] Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Neutral Zone New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Vietnam Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pacific Islands Trust Territory Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé and Príncipe Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine Union of Soviet Socialist Republics United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Unknown or Invalid Region Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wake Island Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands ?> Gender Male Female Others TC Daily Events TC Scoop <!– Next Wave –> <!– Entering Tech –> Subscribe AI and elections: What’s at stake For decades, elections in Nigeria have been mistrusted. Many citizens doubt the process not only because of allegations of ballot rigging or opaque collation procedures, but also because political parties themselves rarely stand on firm ideological ground. Politicians switch parties at will, alliances are built more on expediency than philosophy, and campaigns are often more about personalities than policies. Elections are tense national events, shadowed by fears of manipulation, violence, or post-election unrest. Nigerians already brace themselves for outcomes they believe may be predetermined. This history has created a trust deficit now complicated further by technologies that influence the electoral process. “In 2019 it
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Uncovered Fund, Monex Ventures partner for $20 million African VC fund
Uncovered Fund, a Tokyo-based venture capital firm with portfolio companies like Piggyvest and Lemfi, has partnered with Monex, a Japanese financial services firm, to invest $20 million in startups across Africa and the Middle East, with cheque sizes ranging from $100,000 to $2 million. The fund, Uncovered Monex Africa Investment Partnership (UMAIP), will invest between $100,000 and $500,000 as its initial ticket size in 30 companies and reserve half of its fund size for follow-on rounds with $1-2 million cheques. The fund will also raise debt in Japan, given its low interest rates, and provide debt financing to fintech startups. “Monex was one of our LPs back when I was at my previous firm,” Takuma Terakubo, Uncovered’s CEO, told TechCabal. “It is a major Japanese financial institution and also operates Japan’s largest crypto exchange. They have long been interested in investing in Africa and are looking to leverage Japan’s financial strength to support African fintech and crypto-related companies.” The UMAIP fund mirrors Tokyo’s recent investment push into Africa as the country cautiously moves from aid toward de-risked private investment. Last week, Japan’s government signed an agreement with the African Development Bank to provide $5.5 billion in loans to African businesses in three years. The Nigerian government is also set to establish a $40 million fund to invest in early-stage technology startups, with half of the fund coming from Japan’s overseas development assistance arm, the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Equally managed by Uncovered and Monex, the fund saw participation from Japanese financial institutions, trading houses, automotive companies, and logistics firms. Given its diverse limited partners’ base, the fund is sector-agnostic with a preference for fintech, mobility, retail, logistics, and climate tech startups. “We focus on businesses that can leverage the scale advantages of Africa’s vast market and population, such as fintech, retail, the supporting logistics sector, and mobility,” Terakubo said. “We are also paying close attention to climate tech, which can harness Africa’s abundant land and solar potential.” The fund will invest in startups building infrastructure-like functions, and connect these startups to Japanese companies for partnerships, acquisitions, and funding. “We not only provide access to Japanese technology and business know-how, but also monitor and track the outcomes of these connections to ensure long-term value creation,” Terkaubo said. “Regarding climate tech, we will support enabling Japan to trade carbon credits issued by African startups in the future.” The UMAIP fund will focus on Egypt in North Africa and will mostly back consumer-focused businesses in the country. “Egypt represents one of the largest markets in Africa with strong consumer purchasing power,” Terakubo said. “We are focusing on business opportunities expanding from Egypt across the entire MENA region.” Uncovered has previously invested in 29 early-stage African startups across 17 countries and the Middle East, with companies like Gozem, Autochek, Termii, Chari, and Yoco in its portfolio. Based on its learnings from the first fund, the firm decided to double down on fintech, mobility, logistics, and online retail for the UMAIP fund. Another thing the firm will carry on is its annual Showcase Africa event, where it connects African startups to Japanese businesses and investors. So far, the firm claims to have connected over 500 Japanese businesses with 50 African startups. “While mergers and acquisitions activity from the US and Europe may be more familiar to African startups, our aim is to bring opportunities for acquisitions from Asian companies, particularly Japanese corporates, into the African ecosystem,” Terakubo said. Outside of Africa, the UMAIP fund will invest in scalable businesses that can expand across Asia and Latin America. Mark your calendars! Moonshot by TechCabal is back in Lagos on October 15–16! Join Africa’s top founders, creatives & tech leaders for 2 days of keynotes, mixers & future-forward ideas. Early bird tickets now 20% off—don’t snooze! moonshot.techcabal.com
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Inside Codex’s plan to build a stablecoin-only settlement layer for payments in Africa
Moving money across African borders has always been complicated. Transactions take time to complete, when or if they do, and come with extra costs. When dollars or euros are involved, exchange rates fluctuate, compliance checks hold up settlements, and companies are left scrambling to cover gaps. Codex, a global blockchain startup, is wagering that a narrow focus can fix this. It is building a blockchain that supports only one thing—stablecoins. Most blockchains try to do many things at once, hosting thousands of tokens and apps. Codex’s bet is that by focusing only on stablecoins, it can make payments faster and easier across borders. Founded by Haonan Li, Victor Yaw, and Momo Ong, Codex came out of stealth in April 2025 after raising $15.8 million to build a blockchain designed for stablecoins only. The seed round was led by Dragonfly Capital, with additional participation from Coinbase, Circle, Cumberland Labs, Wintermute Ventures and others. Codex competes in the global $230 billion stablecoin infrastructure market, where the demand for fiat-backed digital assets is growing and regulators are beginning to align around them. The startup is already active in Europe and North America, but its eyes are now on Africa, where cross-border payments remain one of the continent’s thorniest financial problems. Get the best African tech newsletters in your inbox Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canton and Enderbury Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos [Keeling] Islands Colombia Comoros Congo – Brazzaville Congo – Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Dronning Maud Land East Germany Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories French Southern and Antarctic Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Johnston Island Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR China Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Metropolitan France Mexico Micronesia Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar [Burma] Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Neutral Zone New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Vietnam Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pacific Islands Trust Territory Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé and Príncipe Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine Union of Soviet Socialist Republics United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Unknown or Invalid Region Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wake Island Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands ?> Gender Male Female Others TC Daily Events TC Scoop <!– Next Wave –> <!– Entering Tech –> Subscribe A market defined by friction To understand Codex’s play, it helps to first look at how money actually moves in and out of Africa today. Sending money from Lagos to Accra can take days, with multiple middlemen adding fees and delays. Digital transfers also face blockages once currencies change. This creates uncertainty and pushes up transaction costs for businesses and consumers. Stablecoins were supposed to solve this. These are digital tokens pegged to real-world currencies like the US dollar or the Euro. A Nigerian company can hold digital dollars on-chain, send them across the world in minutes, and then cash out locally. Yet in practice, stablecoins rarely behave like perfect dollars. The exchange rate can shift depending on the platform, the chain, or the compliance checks involved. “One USDC does not always equal one US dollar when you off-ramp into local currencies,” said Oluwaferanmi Ajetomobi, Codex’s Africa expansion lead. “You see differences in price across exchanges, across countries, across compliance checks. That lack of singleness is what Codex wants to solve.” That “singleness of money” is the critical gap Codex says it was built to close. Codex’s big bet Codex runs as a Layer 2 blockchain on Optimism, which means it is built on Ethereum but optimised for speed and lower fees. It is not trying to host all kinds of tokens. Instead, it focuses only on stablecoins, making them equal and interchangeable across markets. The chain already supports USDC and USDT, two of the most widely used stablecoins, and is preparing to integrate Nigeria’s cNGN. Codex has also drawn a firm line on what types of stablecoins it will support. Ajetomobi said the blockchain will not list algorithmic stablecoins, pointing to the collapse of Terra’s UST in 2022 as a cautionary tale. Algorithmic stablecoins tried to hold their value using formulas and automatic trades instead of being backed by real dollars in reserve. When UST lost its peg, it triggered a chain reaction that erased more than $40 billion in value and damaged trust across the industry. Steering clear of that model signals that Codex only
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