👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Nigeria wants your name and your debt
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy salary week! It’s salary week. I am as excited as you are. Here’s something to consider before you make that LinkedIn post this week: try out its AI-generated suggestions. Apparently, CEO Ryan Roslansky believes you’re not trusting the feature enough to help you polish your post. In other news, I’ll be bringing you loads of gists—in french perhaps—from my visit to Benin this week; I am attending the Cyber Africa Forum Conference. If you’ll be around, kindly say hi. Let’s get into today’s dispatch. – Faith. Nigeria to link credit history to NIN Egypt tightens payment rules Onafriq partners with PAPSS for cross border payment solution Mukuru fixes account balance glitch World Wide Web 3 Job Openings Regulation Nigerian government wants to link all your borrowing history to your NIN Image Source: Google Dear Nigerians, the government has said it wants to link your entire borrowing history to your National Identification Number (NIN)—yes, that means of identification some of you have refused to open since 2021. Reacting to the news, some of you asked a key question: why the NIN? Why not the Bank Verification Number (BVN)? Uzoma Nwagba, managing director of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), gave you an answer: “If you default on your loan, it could affect your ability to renew your passport, your driver’s licence, or even rent a house.” The idea is commendable because it means that every Nigerian citizen—as long as you have your NIN—will have a credit score. This could make it easier to access loans from fintechs, microfinance banks, and, if the big boys want to play, maybe commercial banks too. But the BVN has its limits. It only works inside the finance world. But with the NIN, your identity reaches telecoms, tax, and even licencing, giving more sectors access to your credit history. This is close (but not the same) to how the US uses its Social Security Number (SSN), which tracks income and work years to calculate citizens’ benefits. Nigeria hasn’t said if your earning history will be linked too. But if it is strictly borrowing history, it means two things: accessing a customer’s ability to pay back a loan—which is crucial for loan underwriting—will still be a problem. Second, it might also depend on fintechs, banks, and other credit providers—even loan sharks—to reliably report when customers take loans from them, thereby contributing to their credit history. We cannot say yet if this is a good plan. Rollout will be key. But tell us: does this move get a yay or nay from you? Save more on every NGN transaction with Fincra Stop overpaying for NGN payments. Fincra’s fees are more affordable than other payment platforms for collections & payouts. The bigger the transaction, the more you save. Create a free account in 3 minutes and start saving today. 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 Regulation Egypt tightens payments rules Image Source: Business Today Egypt The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has dropped a new rulebook for anyone running a digital payment business in Egypt. By anyone, we mean: If you’re handling money transfers, digital wallets, remittances, or payment systems that target Egyptian users, whether you’re a domestic or foreign company, you’re now under stricter watch. Here’s what it contains: These regulations outline the process for obtaining approval
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“I don’t think I’ll ever sell to anyone”: Day 1-1000 of Auto24
In Day 1–1000, we follow founders through the raw, unfiltered journey of company-building: the early scrambles, the quiet breakthroughs, the painful pivots, and the milestones that shape what a business becomes. I first encountered Axel Peyriere, co-founder of Auto24, as an angel investor after he had shared one of my stories in his weekly LinkedIn tech news roundup. Peyriere is French and Australian. He loves people, food, music, travel, and cars. After a decade travelling across Asia and Africa, Peyriere began angel investing in African startups in 2011—Bumpa, Monaco, Curacel, Termii, Grey and a few others are among his portfolio companies. In 2016, he founded a mobility startup, AfriCar, inspired, I believe, by his passion for cars. Peyriere is my guest this week on Day 1–1000. He talks to me about how his startup went from being a lean network of 45 automobile classifieds’ websites to an asset-heavy used car marketplace operating in five African countries. The day of our interview marked 1,095 days since the company’s pivot from its first iteration as a digital classifieds platform to the launch of Auto24. This is the story of Auto24 as told to TechCabal. Day 1: Classifieds In 2016, my co-founder Fredrik [Orrenius] and I set out to build digital infrastructure for Africa’s used car market. I had worked across emerging markets in Asia and believed many of the conditions I saw there—fragmented supply, limited online marketplaces, and an absence of transactional trust—also existed in sub-Saharan Africa. Fredrik, who brought deep operational experience, joined me in building what became AfriCar Group. We launched the company from Australia and rolled out 45 automotive classified websites across 45 African countries. Each website had a local name to build market-specific trust and avoid unnecessary branding costs. At the time, Facebook Marketplace had just launched, and OLX hadn’t yet penetrated much of sub-Saharan Africa. People were still buying and selling cars through neighbours or informal networks. Our classified sites offered a new layer of transparency, however basic. The model was simple. We didn’t own the inventory. Sellers paid to boost their listings. Dealers paid for premium slots. It was lean, low-margin, and slow. But in many countries, we quickly became the number one or number two platform. When capital-heavy ventures like Rocket Internet’s CarMoody came and crashed, we survived. We were leaner. More local. Less fragile. Then COVID hit. Get the best African tech newsletters in your inbox Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canton and Enderbury Islands Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Cocos [Keeling] Islands Colombia Comoros Congo – Brazzaville Congo – Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Dronning Maud Land East Germany Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories French Southern and Antarctic Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Johnston Island Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macau SAR China Macedonia Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Metropolitan France Mexico Micronesia Midway Islands Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar [Burma] Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles Neutral Zone New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island North Korea North Vietnam Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pacific Islands Trust Territory Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Panama Canal Zone Papua New Guinea Paraguay People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Korea Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Svalbard and Jan Mayen Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Syria São Tomé and Príncipe Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu U.S. Minor Outlying Islands U.S. Miscellaneous Pacific Islands U.S. Virgin Islands Uganda Ukraine Union of Soviet Socialist Republics United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Unknown or Invalid Region Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wake Island Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Åland Islands ?> Gender Male Female Others TC Daily Events TC Scoop <!– Next Wave –> <!– Entering Tech –> Subscribe Day 1460: Reinvention The pandemic brought everything to a halt. Ad revenue disappeared. Dealers froze their marketing budgets. For a few weeks, it felt like the engine had stalled completely. But something unexpected happened. Car manufacturers and distributors—Toyota, CFAO, and others—started reaching out from markets like Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and Zambia. They wanted help managing leads. They needed digital infrastructure. We said yes. Those early B2B consulting engagements gave me a new perspective. I realised the opportunity wasn’t just in helping others digitise—it was in building a full-stack, transactional marketplace ourselves. I had seen the model work in other emerging markets. Kavak in Latin America. Cazoo in Europe. I knew we could do the same in Africa. In 2022, Stellantis invested. That gave us the capital to pivot into what we’d long imagined but hadn’t yet built. That’s how Auto24 was born. The idea was simple but ambitious. We would buy used cars from consumers and fleets, inspect and recondition them, attach
Read MoreHow to check your HP, Dell, Laptop battery health before and after buying
In Nigeria today, the rising cost of brand-new laptops has pushed many consumers towards fairly used or “second-hand” systems. While these pre-owned devices offer a more affordable option, many buyers end up with laptops that barely last three hours on battery, despite paying between ₦150,000 and ₦300,000 ($90-$190 at $1/₦1,600) or more. One of the most common mistakes buyers make is asking, “How strong is the battery?” without actually checking the battery health themselves. In reality, battery degradation is a major issue with used laptops, and ignoring it could mean spending a lot of money on a device that’s practically useless without constant power supply. In this guide, we’ll show you how to check battery health on any Windows 10 or Windows 11 laptop, whether you’re buying a UK-used system or you simply want to check the health of the laptop you already own. Why checking battery health matters Whether you’re a student, gamer, remote worker, or tech entrepreneur, a healthy battery is key to mobility and productivity especially in a country like Nigeria where power outages are common. A laptop that can’t last long without being plugged in is a liability. Checking battery health before you buy helps you avoid regrets. And if you already own the laptop, it helps you plan ahead before the battery fails completely. Method 1: How to generate a battery health report using Windows PowerShell or Terminal This method is built into all Windows laptops and gives you a detailed, technical report on battery performance over time. Here’s how to use it: 1. Step 1: Right-click the Start Menu. On Windows 11: Select Terminal (Admin) On Windows 10: Select Windows PowerShell (Admin) 2. Step 2: Click Yes if a security prompt appears. 3. Step 3: Type the following command and press Enter: powercfg /batteryreport /output “C:battery-report.html” 4. Step 4: Open File Explorer (press Windows + E) Navigate to This PC > Local Disk (C:) Look for a file named battery-report.html Double-click the file to open it in your browser. If you don’t see it immediately, use the search bar in File Explorer to search for ‘battery-report.html’. 5. Step 5: Once opened, the report will display: Installed Batteries – Basic information about the battery Cycle Count – How many full charge cycles the battery has gone through (too many cycles may indicate an ageing battery) Design Capacity vs Full Charge Capacity: Design Capacity = what the battery could originally hold Full Charge Capacity = what it can currently hold If the full charge capacity is significantly lower, the battery is worn out. Step 6: Scroll to view these key sections: Recent Usage – Shows battery drain over time Battery Capacity History – Tracks capacity decline Battery Life Estimates – Compares current battery life to when the laptop was new Method 2: Use a free app – Pure Battery Analytics For users who prefer a simpler, visual option, the Pure Battery Analytics app on the Microsoft Store is a great alternative. How to Use It: Open the Microsoft Store on your laptop Search for “Pure Battery Analytics” and install it Open the app and view: Battery Design Capacity Full Charge Capacity Remaining battery life Battery wear level Real-time usage analytics Bonus: What else to check before buying a used laptop Battery life is only part of the equation. Before handing over your money for a UK-used laptop, make sure to inspect the following components: Keyboard – Are all the keys working? USB & Charging Ports – Do they connect and detect devices properly? Touchpad – Is it responsive and accurate? Screen – Any dead pixels, cracks, or flickering? If you already own a laptop… Monitoring battery health is part of good maintenance. Here are some tips to help prolong your battery’s lifespan: Avoid overcharging. Let the battery drop to around 20–30% before recharging occasionally. Keep your laptop away from dust, heat, and water. Clean the fan vents periodically to prevent overheating. Use Battery Saver mode when running on power. Final thoughts Don’t rely on what sellers say—check for yourself. Whether you’re buying a used laptop or maintaining the one you already own, regularly checking your battery health can save you from costly surprises and downtime.
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The Nigerian government to link entire borrowing history to your NIN
The Nigerian government has moved to adopt a unified national credit system that links individuals’ credit score to their National Identification Numbers (NIN), to enable financial institutions to access comprehensive and traceable credit profiles of customers seeking loans. This was announced by Uzoma Nwagba, Managing Director of the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) during a press engagement at the State House in Abuja, on Tuesday, June 17. He stated that all financial institutions including banks, fintechs, and microfinance are to report citizens’ credit history, including loan repayment, linked to their NIN. Nwagba added that the move will transform credit accessibility by encouraging inclusive and responsible borrowing, and reward financial discipline. “This is a fundamental shift in how credit works in Nigeria. Your NIN will now serve as the anchor for your credit profile. Whether you borrowed from a commercial bank, a microfinance institution, or a digital lender, that data will now be traceable and carry real consequences,” Nwagba said. “If you default on your loan, it could affect your ability to renew your passport, your driver’s license, or even rent a house. There will be no hiding place.” Financial institutions have varying factors for assessing creditworthiness of customers. Traditional banks rely on rule-based scoring using turnover thresholds and BVN-linked credit histories (accessible through the Central Bank’s credit check software) to evaluate creditworthiness of corporate entities or customers with structured income, mostly excluding regular customers due to high-risk of default. Fintechs leverage algorithms and digital footprints, mostly smartphone data to assess credit score, but often charge higher interest rates to offset the risk of loan defaults. 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 The proposed NIN-linked system will function as a centralised credit bureau, open to all financial institutions and key government agencies, meaning credit behaviour could also influence access to non-financial services like passports and housing, according to Nwagba. While the government’s new system could boost banks’ willingness to extend credits to regular customers, it could also be a win for fintechs as credit reporting will now be more transparent and consequence-flagged. Nwagba urged financial institutions to commit to the national credit framework to close the country’s credit gap estimated at ₦183 trillion, which also requires private sector participation. “With the right infrastructure and transparency, lenders will be more confident, interest rates will drop, and Nigerians will finally have access to affordable credit,” Nwagba said. 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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Uganda’s tech sector has “prepared the bride,” now it wants a dowry
In Kampala, Uganda, on June 19, just past 9 a.m., electric buses rolled through the gates of Kololo Independence Grounds, ferrying investors, policymakers, and tech founders into what has become the most critical stage for Uganda’s tech ambitions. The 2nd Uganda Investor Summit was not an event for flashy app demos and fevered pitches but a quiet statement of intent. An electric bus, designed, and assembled in Uganda by state-backed Kiira Motors, shuttled investors and dignitaries to the summit venue. Beyond a means of transport, the bus symbolised how Uganda is doing tech differently by starting with the hard stuff — manufacturing, hardware, logistics, and high-investment science — and leaving the startup hype for others. “This summit,” said Dr. Monica Musenero, Uganda’s Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, “comes at a point when we are really designing Uganda’s science, technology, and innovation environment to go to market.” Her voice, clear and commanding in a room full of local founders and foreign investors, did not dwell on high valuation figures or VC dreams. Instead, she made a grounded pitch for a country that has spent the last four years, in her words, “preparing the bride.” “We have matured our innovation ecosystem,” she said. “We have custom-designed it to be suitable for the purpose. Many people have asked why we weren’t telling them what we were doing. And I’ve said — we were preparing the bride. And now it’s time to meet her.” 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 long game Uganda’s tech ambitions are to create a pipeline of high-impact, often science-heavy businesses that touch the country’s real economy, including agriculture, energy, public transport, and health. Agriculture employs over 70% of the country’s workforce. Over 60% of electricity needs remain unmet in rural areas. And import bills for pharmaceutical and industrial goods run into the billions. The government is betting that technology — particularly hardware and research-intensive innovation — can help the country escape its low-productivity trap. “Those of you who came last year, you saw our ambition,” she said. “But this year, we want you to see the bride. We have been preparing her. She is ready.” The metaphor may sound poetic and obscure meaning, but Musenero’s message is clear: Uganda has done the groundwork putting policies, infrastructure, and pilot projects in place. Now, the country is seeking capital to scale what it has built. Among Uganda’s top pitches is Kiira. Born out of a Makerere University project, the automaker has become the government’s flagship for what it calls “strategic deep tech.” With a new assembly plant in Jinja, about 90km west of the capital, and plans to produce 5,000 electric buses a year by 2026, it has already secured about $40 million in state funding. Kiira Motors Corporation’s new manufacturing hub in Jinja, 90km East of Kampala. Image Source: KIIRA While critics question whether the project can scale, it’s one of the clearest examples of how Uganda is using state capital to create domestic champions, not just hoping private capital will do the job. Not far from the capital, Dei Biopharma is manufacturing over 3,000 pharmaceutical products at its high-capacity plant, serving both domestic and regional markets. It is a shift from policy talk to product validation, and it runs deeper than the conference stage. Government-backed engineers are building and testing hardware prototypes ranging from smart meters to
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From dusty shelf to digital engine: Why African policies must become tools, not trophies
Once upon a time, in the back room of a bustling ministry, sat a policy, born from months of consultations, late-night drafting sessions, and the collective hope of a continent eager for digital evolution. Its cover gleamed, and its pages were crisp with promise. But now, it languished on a shelf, lonely, dusty, and yearning for relevance. Around it sat countless others. They spoke of bridging the digital divide, empowering youth, and unlocking inclusive growth through technology. Displayed at summits, referenced in reports, and dusted off for speeches. But their purpose was left unfulfilled. The root of the problem was clear: policies were too often treated as an asset class. They became symbols of progress, trophies to be displayed, and credentials to be cited, rather than frameworks to be implemented. Policymakers and stakeholders would pose with them, roll them out at summits, raise funds, and then quietly return them to their shelves. This asset class mentality stifled innovation and left the continent’s digital dreams unrealised. But policy, our lonely protagonist knew, it was meant to be a utility. Its value lay in daily use-guiding decisions, shaping investments, and adapting to new realities. Policy should be the wrench in the hand of the builder, the compass for the navigator, not a relic for the historian. Only as a utility could it deliver on its promise to bridge Africa’s persistent digital divide, where only 37% of people have internet access, and youth are disproportionately excluded from opportunities. A chorus of unheard voices From its vantage point on the shelf, the policy watched as the world outside changed at breakneck speed. The African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (DTS) 2020–2030 called for a unified digital market and continental integration, envisioning a $700 billion opportunity by 2030. Yet, the policy saw how implementation lagged. Governments changed, priorities shifted, and collaboration between stakeholders faltered. The gap between what was written and what was realised grew ever wider. While over 60% of the population lives within 4G coverage, many remain offline, not because of a lack of signal, but because they cannot afford to stay connected or lack the skills to navigate the digital world. In most African countries, the cost of 1GB of data exceeds 2% of the monthly GNI affordability benchmark, pricing millions out. The policy longed to help reframe what “universal access” really means. It dreamed of strategies rooted in local realities, addressed affordability head-on, and placed an internet-enabled device in every home, with digital skills in every classroom. The policy dreamed of being put to work, to foster a digital evolution built on four interconnected pillars of Technology, Policy, Process, and People. It wanted to be co-created, adapted, and measured—not just admired. It knew that the most effective policies were those treated as living documents, shaped by ongoing dialogue between government, startups, investors, and civil society. It looked at Nigeria’s Startup Act and saw the potential: a policy designed for impact, grounded in ecosystem needs. Yet, it was rolled out with lukewarm execution – its promise is still alive but stalled. The policy also admired Sierra Leone’s approach, where frameworks were built from the ground up, mapped to the lived experiences of young people, entrepreneurs, and local communities. That’s what it wanted to be: real, relevant, and responsive. It yearned to be part of a robust policy infrastructure, one that included: co-created frameworks that brought together all ecosystem actors, multi-stakeholder collaboration to ensure buy-in and relevance, capacity development so implementers had the skills and resources to act, and monitoring and evaluation to adapt and sustain progress. The policy imagined itself as a tool that was regularly referenced, revised, and used to solve problems. It wanted to be the backbone of digital public infrastructure, supporting digital IDs, payments, and data exchanges that would unlock inclusion and innovation at scale. Each day the policy sat idle, it bore witness to lost potential. A generation, poised to make up 42% of the world’s youth by 2030, is being locked out of the digital economy. From its dusty perch, the policy watched entrepreneurs stall before they could scale, investors retreat, and governments fumble at cross-border cooperation. It came to understand something deeply sobering: policy paralysis wasn’t just administrative inertia, but a crisis that denied millions the tools to imagine, create, and thrive. It recognised that implementation was the greatest impediment to development in Africa. The policy longed for a new approach, one where political commitment, private sector engagement, and regional cooperation would align to turn vision into reality. From shelf to street: A call to action One day, a policymaker entered the room in search of inspiration. Dusting off the policy, they read its pages anew. They saw not just words, but a roadmap for action. A big tent approach, inspired by a convention of stakeholders- government officials, tech entrepreneurs, educators, and community leaders. Together, they reimagined the policy as a living tool. They set clear objectives, allocated resources, and established mechanisms for feedback and adaptation. The policy was finally put to work. It guided investments in digital infrastructure, shaped regulations to lower costs and encourage innovation, and supported digital literacy programs for youth and women. It became the foundation for public-private partnerships, the blueprint for startup support, and the reference point for harmonising efforts across ministries and borders. As the policy was implemented, the digital divide began to narrow. More Africans gained access to the internet at an affordable price. Startups flourished, creating jobs and driving economic growth. Governments delivered services more efficiently, and communities became connected. A new mindset for policy The policy’s journey from lonely document to living utility was a testament to a new mindset. Policymakers, implementers, and citizens alike came to see policy not as a static asset but as a tool for progress. They understood that the poverty line of the future would be drawn not by income alone, but by access to digital opportunity. No longer lonely, the policy became part of a vibrant ecosystem, revised, referenced,
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Next Wave: Neobanks are coming for small banks, not big ones
Cet article est aussi disponible en français <!– In partnership with –> <!–TopBanner Join us for TechCabal Battlefield, Moonshot’s startup competition where you can showcase your startup idea to a global audience and an esteemed panel of judges and stand a chance to win up to 2.5 million naira in funding for your business! Click to register for TC Battlefield First published 15 June, 2025 Neobanks are coming for small banks, not big ones Africa’s neobanks are not “challenging” the big banks. That war never started, and likely never will. Standard Bank, Ecobank, KCB, GTBank, and the National Bank of Egypt — these institutions are too entrenched. They’re politically connected, well-capitalised, and integral to state economies. They handle government salaries, disburse donor funds, and sit at the centre of domestic clearing and cross-border payments. No neobank, however well-funded or ambitious, is coming for their lunch, at least not yet. But something far more urgent and disruptive is happening beneath that top tier. Across the continent, the base of Africa’s financial ecosystem — microfinance banks, credit-only lenders, SACCOs, and Tier 3 and 4 commercial banks — is quietly slumping. This underlayer has long been the primary interface between formal finance and the informal economy. And as it breaks down, it creates a vacuum that neobanks are now racing to fill. This is not a story of fintech versus banks. It’s a story of systemic transition — a slow-motion implosion at the bottom of the banking pyramid and the scramble to build something better in its place. A broken business model Let’s start with the fundamentals: about 50% of Africa’s formal financial institutions are no longer viable at scale. Across East Africa, average non-performing loan (NPL) ratios at microfinance institutions (MFIs) now exceed 30%. In Kenya, the Central Bank’s latest Banking Sector Report notes that some licensed MFIs and Tier II and III banks have NPLs as high as 20%, with some undercapitalised and technically insolvent. In Uganda, the situation is similar — Tier 4 institutions report average portfolio-at-risk (PAR), the percentage of loans overdue in a period, figures above 25%. These are not temporary shocks but structural failures. The economics of traditional microfinance are breaking down. These institutions rely heavily on physical branches, manual credit assessments, and paper-heavy customer onboarding. That means higher cost-to-income ratios and poor scalability, especially when serving low-ticket borrowers. Some Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs), for example, spend upwards of 60% of their revenue just to maintain their physical infrastructure and staff. Next Wave continues after this ad. The 2nd Edition of the Uganda Investor Summit is here! Are you an entrepreneur looking to take your startup to the next level? Are you ready to rub minds with industry experts, policy makers, key players and investors? Or are you an investor seeking promising opportunities, or an operator looking to connect with Uganda’s booming economy? Then the Uganda Investor Summit is for you! Join us as we champion the theme “Made in Uganda: Innovation to Market.” through high-impact discussions, deal-making, and exclusive insights into science-driven ventures across East Africa. Register here! Regulators are also piling on compliance costs, enforcing banking-grade reporting requirements on institutions still operating with off-the-shelf core banking software and Excel spreadsheets. Most of these lenders lack robust APIs or cloud infrastructure. Few can support instant payments, embedded finance, or mobile onboarding. The gap between what the informal economy needs and what the formal sector can deliver is growing daily. Regulators are stretched thin Compounding the problem is regulatory fatigue. Many African central banks do not have the capacity or tools to monitor hundreds of small financial institutions effectively. In Kenya, the Central Bank (CBK) regulates licensed commercial and microfinance banks and payment service providers (PSPs). Meanwhile, the Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) — which lacks the technical capacity — oversees more than 1,000 SACCOs and dozens of digital lenders, many of which submit only quarterly reports, often in Excel spreadsheets. There’s little room for proactive supervision, let alone innovation. The result is a foundational collapse of the institutions most responsible for reaching Africa’s underbanked populations. Demand has shifted While small legacy lenders scramble, the informal economy, which makes up more than 85% of Africa’s workforce, is modernising from the bottom up. Today’s traders, farmers, logistics riders, or gig workers don’t want to queue at a branch. They want mobile-first accounts, instant disbursements, seamless payments, and transparent credit scoring. They want to save, borrow, and insure using the same app they use to shop or order a ride. Most small traditional lenders can’t offer that. And that’s exactly where neobanks are stepping in. Neobanks as the new base Neobanks like Moniepoint (Nigeria), Kuda, Umba, Finclusion, and Carbon are not fighting for elite customers in boardrooms and golf courses. They are building infrastructure to serve the next 100 million financially active Africans — the street vendors, informal traders, kiosk owners, and smallholder farmers abandoned by failing MFIs and SACCOs. Take Moniepoint’s recent bid to acquire Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank — a small, Nairobi-based lender with roughly 30,000 customers and a branch-heavy legacy model. The deal, approved by Kenya’s competition authority and now awaiting Central Bank clearance, is not about expanding into traditional banking. It’s about retooling the inclusion infrastructure. Next Wave continues after this ad. The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is proud to announce the 11th edition of the ICTEL Expo, set for July 29–30, 2025, at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island. Under the theme “Leveraging Technology for Innovation and Development in Africa,” the event aims to further position ICTEL as a premier platform for digital transformation, regional collaboration, and economic progress Register now! Moniepoint already serves over 2 million businesses in Nigeria, providing them with payment terminals, working capital loans, and business accounts through an all-digital platform. Its move into Kenya via Sumac is a bet that the future of microfinance is digital-first, mobile-native, and API-driven. It’s not alone. Umba, a Kenyan neobank, acquired Kenya’s Daraja Microfinance Bank in 2022. The
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👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Yellow Visa
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية TGIF! It’s Friday! We made it. How will you be spending your weekend? If you’re yet to subscribe to our Francophone newsletter, please do. Also, if you know anyone who is looking to get smarter about tech innovation, policy, culture, and economy as it unfolds in Francophone Africa, please tell them to sign up to the newsletter. Visa and Yellow Card want businesses to use stablecoins Chpter expands to 11 African countries Nigeria teams up with China for direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity Funding Tracker World Wide Web 3 Events Cryptocurrency Visa and Yellow Card want businesses in emerging markets to use stablecoins Stablecoins/Image Source: TechCabal If you thought the stablecoin hype was dying down, we’ve got news for you: it’s not. Visa has partnered with Yellow Card, a crypto company that has processed $6 billion in transactions (mostly in USDT and USDC), to bring stablecoin payments to emerging markets. Both companies are testing a new integration on Visa Direct that will allow businesses and individuals to send and receive stablecoins. While Visa is no newcomer to experimenting with stablecoins, its latest move comes just weeks after Stripe made a big internet splash by launching stablecoin payments in 101 countries, including several markets in Africa. Everybody is gung ho about stablecoins because they help businesses solve FX liquidity crunch. Stablecoins are digital versions of fiat money. They are digital tokens backed 1:1 by fiat reserves (like the US dollar), so they keep circulating as long as those reserves hold. That makes it easier and cheaper for businesses in cash-strapped markets to move money without waiting on slow, expensive bank rails. Regulatory clarity is also making companies take a second look. Countries like Japan, the UK, and Brazil are laying down legal frameworks for stablecoins. The US also passed a recent bill to govern stablecoin issuance and oversight. With more corridors easing up on stablecoins, the legal clarity is giving traditional finance players room to move. What used to feel like crypto’s wild west now has rules, and with the nimbleness of stablecoins, businesses can expand their services faster. With more traditional finance players committing to the script, stablecoins are starting to look like finance’s next infrastructure layer. Save more on every NGN transaction with Fincra Stop overpaying for NGN payments. Fincra’s fees are more affordable than other payment platforms for collections & payouts. The bigger the transaction, the more you save. Create a free account in 3 minutes and start saving today. 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 Ecommerce Chpter expands to 11 African countries in Flutterwave deal Image Source: Google Chpter opens a new chapter for social commerce in Africa Kenyan startup, Chpter, which helps businesses sell on chat apps like WhatsApp and Instagram, has expanded into 11 new African markets through a deal with fintech company Flutterwave. This expansion to new African markets including Ghana, Egypt, Uganda, and Rwanda, is building on the startup’s presence in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Merchants in these countries will have access to Chpters social commerce infrastructure, enabling them to accept payments in local currencies or USD through mobile money, cards, and bank transfers, while Flutterwave will process and settle the transactions on the backend. Why this matters: Africa’s commerce is moving into DMs. With the number of WhatsApp users in Africa projected
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Sabi cuts staff as it narrows its focus to commodities’ trade
Nigerian B2B e-commerce startup Sabi laid off roughly 50 staff members, about 20% of its workforce, in a broad restructuring to pivot to traceability services in Africa’s minerals and agricultural commodities market. In recent months, the company, founded in 2021 to provide digital tools for logistics and financing to merchants, has scaled back certain products to focus on its TRACE platform, which tracks minerals and agricultural goods for global buyers. Sabi’s narrower focus rendered some roles redundant, driving the job cuts. The layoffs, spanning multiple departments, are typical of businesses when they recalibrate strategies. “We’re doubling down on the part of our business seeing the most demand, built on the strong foundation we’ve laid since 2021, by supporting African merchants and their growth,” a company spokesperson wrote in an email to TechCabal. Sabi’s pivot centres on its TRACE platform, developed in partnership with Minespider, which leverages blockchain technology to create digital passports to trace the sourcing and shipment of mineral and agricultural goods. These passports track environmental, social, and governance data, as well as quality certifications, providing end-to-end transparency for buyers in Europe, Asia, and beyond. TRACE aims to standardise small- and medium-scale mining operations to ensure commodities meet international standards, a service that has become more essential as global scrutiny of ethical sourcing intensifies. Sabi, founded in 2021 by Ademola Adesina and Anu Adedoyin Adasolum, has been scaling rapidly to serve over 300,000 merchants and facilitating more than $1 billion in annualised gross merchandise value, per reports. The company has raised nearly $60 million to scale the business. The latest round, a $38 million Series B round in 2024, valued Sabi at $300 million, underscored investor enthusiasm for platforms digitising Africa’s trade economy. “While tough, this shift positions us for long-term success and ensures we remain focused on building scalable, responsible supply chains,” the company said in an email to TechCabal. “Our mission remains the same, and we’re more committed than ever to transforming how the world sources from Africa.” 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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MTN, Airtel, others will now deduct USSD charges from airtime, as banks clear ₦180bn debt
Nigerian telecom operators have officially begun migrating banks to a new billing system that allows customers to make short codes or Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) transactions directly from their airtime balance. In the past, banks deducted USSD fees from customers’ bank accounts but often failed to remit payments to telecom providers. The new billing comes into place following the payment of a long-standing ₦180 billion debt owed by 13 banks to operators. According to Gbenga Adebayo, president of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), three banks still in debt have opted for instalment payments which are nearing completion. “I would say 95% of the USSD debt has been paid pre-API,” Adebayo said, noting that the repayment has enabled the gradual rollout of end-user billing, where customers will now be charged from their airtime after each successful USSD session. The migration started with one bank; the rest of the banks will be migrated as soon as a Service Level Agreement (SLA) is signed. 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 For over five years, telecom providers had extended USSD infrastructure to banks, enabling millions of Nigerians—especially in underserved regions—to perform simple banking transactions such as checking balances, transferring funds, and buying airtime using feature phones. However, a deep financial rift emerged when banks, despite billing customers for these transactions, stopped remitting payments to telecoms for the use of their infrastructure. By 2024, the debt had ballooned to over ₦250 billion ($166.67 million at ₦1,500/$). Originally, USSD services were priced comparably to SMS rates. Banks used this to push mobile financial access to millions, and within a year of rollout, over 20 million new users were added to the formal financial system, according to Adebayo. However, as usage grew, banks saw a business opportunity. They lobbied regulators—the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)—to zero-rate USSD services to promote financial inclusion. Yet, customers continued to pay for their transactions, creating a mismatch: banks earned revenue from a service they claimed had “no cost,” but refused to pay telecoms for the infrastructure they used. Despite a 2020 joint public circular mandating that banks pay ₦6.98 per USSD session, compliance remained low. One revealing incident in Abuja saw a bank executive deny that his bank charged for USSD, only for a live demo to expose that charges were indeed deducted from a user’s account moments after a transaction. How end-user billing works To resolve this financial gridlock, the CBN and NCC introduced a new model: instead of banks deducting USSD fees from customer accounts and remitting them to telecoms (which they failed to do), telecoms will now charge customers directly via airtime. At the heart of end-user billing is a system designed to improve transparency, accountability, and consistency in how USSD charges are applied to subscribers. Transparency is enhanced by a new prompt that appears before each transaction. Customers will now receive a clear message informing them of the ₦6.98 fee and asking for their consent to proceed. This ensures users are fully aware of the charges and can choose whether or not to continue with the transaction. Accountability is built into the process. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) can only deduct the fee after the customer’s bank confirms it is ready to process the transaction. This safeguard helps reduce failed sessions and eliminates the risk of customers being
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