👨🏿🚀TechCabal Daily – Amazon finds space in SA
In partnership with Lire en Français اقرأ هذا باللغة العربية Happy pre-TGIF. I heaved a deep sigh this morning when I realised it wasn’t Friday yet (can capitalism let go of me?). Since we’re all in this together anyway, you should fill out our salary survey if you work in tech. It will help us build an independent report on compensation and career growth across Africa’s tech ecosystem. —Yemi Get smarter about Francophone Africa with our newsletter, Francophone Weekly—the startups, tech policies, and institutions building the pipelines for ecosystem growth. Subscribe Amazon Leo partners SA’s Herotel, to launch in 2027 Standard Bank backs Helios Towers with $29 million Absa wants more of its Kenyan bank Uganda is stepping up its anti-piracy fight World Wide Web 3 Opportunities connectivity South Africa is getting satellite Internet, just not from Starlink Image Source: Tenor There are two ways to enter a market: change the rules or change the strategy. Starlink, the Elon Musk-owned satellite Internet company, has spent years trying the first option—and failing—in South Africa. Amazon appears to have chosen the second. What happened? Amazon Leo, the e-commerce giant’s satellite Internet service, is coming to South Africa in 2027. Instead of applying for its own telecoms licence, Amazon partnered with Herotel, a South African fibre network operator that is being acquired by Vumatel. Explain like I’m new here: You may be wondering, “Wait… wasn’t this supposed to be Starlink?” You’re not wrong. Starlink has wanted to launch in South Africa since at least 2024, but the country’s telecoms licencing rules have stood in the way. Operators that hold an Electronic Communications Network Service (ECNS) licence must have at least 30% ownership by historically disadvantaged groups (HDGs). SpaceX, Starlink’s parent company, has argued against that requirement and has so far refused to restructure its ownership to meet it. Amazon looked at the same rulebook and chose a different path. So, how did Amazon do it? Instead of becoming a licenced telecom operator itself, Amazon partnered with one that already is. Herotel already holds the licences needed to provide Internet services. Amazon supplies the satellites, while Herotel handles regulation, customer support, installation, and local operations. Together, they’ll launch a satellite broadband service called Evry. What do you get? Pricing is still under wraps, but Evry says residential users can expect download speeds of up to 400 megabits per second (Mbps), while business customers using larger terminals could reach 1Gbps. What does this mean going forward? Amazon may have handed other satellite operators a blueprint for entering South Africa. Rather than spending years trying to change the country’s licencing rules, partnering with an existing telecom operator offers another route to market. But there are only so many operators with the right licences, and many already have ambitions of their own. Not every global satellite company will want to share customers, infrastructure, or branding with a local partner forever. Modern Rails for Africa’s Economy: How Fincra is helping businesses collect, pay out, convert, and settle across African markets. Read more here. banking Standard Bank is helping Helios Towers build more telecom towers Image Source: Tenor Every time you make a call or doomscroll on TikTok, there’s a chance that your network is traveling through a telecom tower that your network operator doesn’t own. That’s where Helios Towers comes in, and now it has secured a financing facility to help bring more towers online. What’s happening? Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets, has provided Helios Towers, an African telecoms tower operator, with a $29 million documentary credit facility to help import equipment for expanding mobile infrastructure across the continent. Helios builds and owns telecom towers and then rents space on them to operators like MTN, Vodacom, Airtel, and Orange. Several companies can share a structure to reduce costs and expand coverage rather than build individual towers. Explain like I’m new here: A document credit facility is not a loan in the traditional sense. The facility only comes into play when Helios orders equipment or services needed to build telecoms infrastructure. Standard Bank guarantees payment to suppliers, giving them confidence to ship the goods. Helios then repays the bank under the agreed trade terms once the equipment has been delivered. What’s notable is that Standard Bank has structured this facility as a social finance product because the equipment will be used to expand connectivity in underserved communities. Why not just get a loan? Helios could—and it already has. At the end of 2025, the company carried about $1.9 billion in debtraised through bonds, bank loans, and other financing to build towers across Africa. But financing long-term expansion is different from paying suppliers for equipment arriving next month. This facility gives suppliers confidence they’ll be paid while allowing Helios to preserve its cash until payment falls due. How does this affect you? Trade finance usually happens behind the scenes, but when tower companies can buy equipment more easily, mobile operators can expand coverage faster. Over time, that means better network coverage and capacity for people using those networks. Download PalmPay. Bank smarter. Join millions who trust PalmPay with their money every day. Download the app. Banking Absa wants a bigger slice of its Kenyan bank Image Source: Tenor When your business starts making more money, one question naturally follows: should you own more of it? That’s the question Absa Group is answering in Kenya. What’s happening? Absa Group, South Africa’s third-largest lender by assets, is in the middle of a KES30.9 billion ($240 million) tender offer to increase its stake in Absa Bank Kenya from 68.5% to 85% by buying shares from minority investors. It now says that once the offer closes, it could continue buying shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), potentially taking its ownership even higher. Explain like I’m new here: Absa already controls the bank, owning 68.5% of it. But listed subsidiaries still have thousands of minority shareholders who own the remaining shares. By increasing its stake, Absa gets a bigger share of
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Why Nigeria’s ntel is pivoting from telecom operator to infrastructure company
ntel, formerly Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), is making an unusual bet in Nigeria’s telecom market: its future lies less in selling phone calls than in leasing the infrastructure behind them. The former mobile operator and subsidiary of NatCom Development & Investment Limited said on Monday, during its relaunch, that it is transitioning into a digital infrastructure company, focusing on towers, fibre networks, power systems and real estate as operators increasingly look beyond subscriber growth for long-term profits. The move marks another chapter in the company’s long journey. NATCOM Consortium acquired NITEL and its mobile arm, Mtel, for $252 million in 2015, inheriting valuable assets including fibre infrastructure, spectrum licences and real estate. Launched as a 4G LTE operator in 2016, ntel struggled to compete with larger rivals and eventually fell into financial distress. Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), one of its largest creditors, later assumed control and is now backing the company’s latest turnaround. Under the new strategy, ntel has reorganised into three businesses: Beam, Titan, and Eden. Rather than relying primarily on consumer telecom services, the company wants to generate long-term revenue by commercialising its infrastructure assets, joining a growing global trend of telecom operators making more money from the networks they own than from the phone calls they carry. Beam will house the telecommunications business, including the rollout of WakaGo, a fixed wireless access service that uses eSIM technology and Tarana Wireless’ AirFibre platform to deliver broadband. The technology is supplied by US-based telecommunications company Tarana Wireless. “We’re simply using their technology, just as MTN buys network equipment from Huawei,” Soji Maurice-Diya, CEO of ntel, told TechCabal in a telephone interview. He said WakaGo is designed to serve frequent Nigerian travellers, allowing them to stay connected across 190 countries using eSIM-enabled devices and international roaming capabilities. Eden will manage ntel’s real estate business, including commercial office properties in Victoria Island, Lagos, one of Nigeria’s main business districts; residential developments in Wuse 2, Abuja, a high-end neighbourhood in the nation’s capital; and Nova Place, a mixed-use commercial and residential development in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State and a major hub for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. Titan, meanwhile, will commercialise ntel’s communications infrastructure, which includes more than 600 telecom towers and over 3,500 kilometres of fibre network, alongside its power assets. “Our towers connect people. Our digital services connect people. Through Eden, we will continue developing infrastructure and real estate that also supports connectivity,” Yvonne Alozie, Head of Business Operations at ntel, said at the event. The strategy reflects a broader shift across the global telecommunications industry. As traditional mobile revenues come under pressure from over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as WhatsApp, Zoom and FaceTime, operators are increasingly looking to monetise infrastructure rather than rely solely on consumer subscriptions. Across Africa, telecom operators have increasingly separated infrastructure ownership from retail mobile services. In October 2022, MTN Group launched Bayobab (formerly MTN GlobalConnect) as a standalone wholesale infrastructure business to commercialise its more than 100,000 kilometres of fibre network across Africa. Earlier, in June 2022, MTN South Africa sold and leased back 5,709 towers to IHS Towers in a deal worth about $412 million, freeing up capital while retaining access to the sites. In February 2026, the telco announced plans to acquire IHS Towers. The deal is now nearing completion, with IHS expected to operate as a separate entity after the acquisition. Airtel Africa has pursued a similar strategy over the past decade, selling thousands of towers across markets including Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Tanzania to independent tower companies such as Helios Towers and American Tower Corporation (ATC). These transactions have allowed operators to unlock capital, reduce maintenance costs, and focus on delivering mobile services while specialist infrastructure companies manage the physical assets. For ntel, infrastructure sharing is not only a business opportunity but could also benefit consumers. As more operators share towers, fibre and power infrastructure, the cost of building and maintaining networks falls. Over time, those lower operating costs could translate into more affordable voice and data services for subscribers while improving network quality and coverage. “This is much more than a relaunch,” Alozie said. “It is a bold new beginning built around strategic partnerships, renewed ambition and the determination to move beyond traditional telecommunications into a broader future of connectivity.” True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks.Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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Can the AT50 Index convince Africa’s biggest startups to list at home?
For years, listing on Nasdaq or the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has been the ultimate ambition for many of Africa’s most successful startups. But at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Wednesday, a different vision took centre stage: Africa’s future tech champions should be built and eventually listed on African exchanges. Africa has produced a growing number of billion-dollar startups, but its capital markets have yet to keep pace. That gap dominated discussions at the JSE on Wednesday during the African activation of the AT50 Index, a new benchmark designed to make Africa’s largest private technology companies more visible to institutional investors before they pursue listings or other liquidity events. The rules-based benchmark, launched at the London Stock Exchange in January, is a market intelligence platform that measures the continent’s leading scaled private technology companies. After Johannesburg, the AT50’s next African activation will take place at the Egyptian Exchange in Cairo on September 23 as organisers continue engaging exchanges and investors across the continent. The underlying message from Wednesday’s event was that if Africa wants globally competitive technology champions, it must also build universally accepted capital markets. For Gbite Oduneye, Chair of the AT50 Index, that begins by changing where founders look when they start thinking about life after venture capital. “Many founders dream of ringing the bell at Nasdaq or the LSE without fully considering African exchanges,” Oduneye said during a fireside discussion. “The wealthiest people in almost every African country built listed businesses on their domestic exchanges. I’m not saying every technology company should list immediately, but we need more conversations.” Oduneye noted that African technology companies have matured dramatically over the past 15 years, but capital markets have struggled to keep pace. “We have built phenomenal companies across the continent,” he said. “What has been missing is a consistent way to measure them and benchmark them.” He said the AT50 was created to bridge that gap by helping institutional investors better understand fast-growing private technology companies before they become public issuers. For the JSE, attracting those companies is part of a broader strategy to strengthen Africa’s capital markets. Sam Mokorosi, the JSE’s Head of Origination and Deals, said technology companies eventually reach a point where raising another venture capital round is no longer enough. “As companies reach this level of scale, the conversation naturally begins to evolve,” he stated. “The focus shifts from simply building businesses to sustaining long-term growth, and increasingly from raising capital to accessing the right kind of capital.” He said the exchange has introduced reforms to simplify the listing process while preserving strong governance standards and expanding alternative funding routes through secondary listings, private placements and other capital-raising mechanisms. “Growth does not follow a single path, and neither does capital formation,” Mokorosi said. “We believe that efficient access to capital and strong corporate governance should go hand in hand.” South Africa’s government signalled that it sees deep capital markets as part of its broader digital economy ambitions. Khusela Sangoni, Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies, said governance remains central to building investor confidence. “Strong governance is far more than a compliance exercise,” she said. “It is a competitive advantage.” That emphasis on governance was echoed by fintech leaders participating in the discussions. Carsten Höltkemeyer, CEO of South African fintech Yoco, said scaling a fintech business is no longer just about acquiring customers. “It also requires the operational maturity expected by larger, long-term investors,” he said. Meanwhile, Fidelis Chiwara, Head of Global Expansion at payments giant Flutterwave, said companies must constantly balance launching new customer-facing products with investing in compliance, internal controls and operational resilience. “The challenge is deciding whether to invest in defence before you invest in offence,” he said. “Sometimes you simply have to let go of an opportunity because you first need to strengthen your underlying product, your systems, and your processes.” Whether African founders ultimately choose Johannesburg over New York or London remains an open question. Local Exchanges continue to face challenges around liquidity, analyst coverage, valuations, and investor appetite for high-growth technology businesses. Yet organisers of the AT50 believe those conversations need to begin now, before Africa’s next generation of technology companies reaches the public markets. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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How to watch Galaxy Unpacked 2026 live and what to expect
Table of contents When Galaxy Unpacked 2026 starts How to watch the livestream What Samsung is expected to announce What it might cost How to register and what you get Samsung’s next Galaxy Unpacked event takes place on July 22, 2026, and it’s shaping up to be one of the company’s biggest launches yet. The event heads to London for the first time in years, where Samsung is expected to unveil a completely new smartphone form factor. Here’s everything you need to know about the event, including when it starts in your time zone, how to watch it for free, and what Samsung is expected to unveil. When Galaxy Unpacked 2026 starts Samsung has confirmed the event for July 22, 2026, in London. The keynote starts at 2 p.m. BST. Here’s what that time looks like around the world: 2 p.m. in the UK (BST) 9 a.m. on the US East Coast (EDT) and 6 a.m. on the West Coast (PDT) 3 p.m. across most of Europe (CEST) 3 p.m. in South Africa (SAST/CAT) 2 p.m. in Nigeria (WAT) If you’re in Kenya or elsewhere in East Africa, the show starts around 4 p.m. your time (EAT). How to watch the livestream Samsung is streaming the whole event for free, and you don’t need to register to watch. You can catch it live on Samsung.com or on the Samsung Newsroom website, and it also streams on Samsung’s YouTube channel. The show is expected to run for about an hour, based on past Unpacked events. Registering beforehand at samsung.com/unpacked won’t get you an earlier look at the stream, but it will unlock some pre-order perks (more on that below). What Samsung is expected to announce Samsung has only confirmed the date, the venue, the streaming details, and the tagline “A New Shape Unfolds.” Everything about the actual phones and watches below comes from reports, not from Samsung itself. 1. A New Galaxy Z Fold 8 Shape The teaser video for the Galaxy Z Fold 8 strongly hints at a wider foldable phone, shaped more like a passport than the tall, narrow Fold 7. Reports point to a 5.5-inch cover screen and a 7.6-inch inner screen, available in colours such as Cream, Graphite, Lavender, and Pistachio. Reported specs mention a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, 12GB of RAM, storage options from 256GB to 1TB, and a 4,800mAh battery. Charging speed is still unclear. Some reports say 25W, others say 45W wired with 15W wireless. 2. Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra Reports suggest Samsung may rename its traditional tall foldable the “Fold 8 Ultra” this year, while the new wide phone takes on the plain “Fold 8” name. Reports point to a stronger camera setup with a 200MP main sensor, a 10MP telephoto lens, an upgraded 50MP ultrawide camera, and faster 45W wired charging. Other reported upgrades include a bigger 5,000mAh battery, a thinner build, and the return of S Pen support, which the Fold 7 dropped. 3. Galaxy Z Flip 8 Most reports describe the Flip 8 as a small update rather than a full redesign. It’s expected to keep a similar look to the Flip 7, with a new chip inside and a hinge that hides the crease better than before. Reports suggest a lighter body and a slimmer folded design, with a chip that now differs by region. Some markets may get a Snapdragon chip while others get an Exynos chip, a switch from last year. 4. Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2 Both watches are reported to switch to a new Qualcomm chip, along with Bluetooth 6.0 and faster Wi-Fi. Some reports say only the Ultra 2 gets the new chip, while the standard Watch 9 sticks with its current one, so this detail remains unsettled. The Watch Ultra 2’s biggest expected upgrade is battery life, which jumps to around 800mAh from 590mAh, along with a titanium case and a brighter screen. Both watches are expected to run One UI 9 Watch. 5. Galaxy Glasses Samsung and Google already showed off audio smart glasses earlier this year, built with Gentle Monster and Warby Parker. Samsung said these Galaxy glasses will launch this fall in select markets, so Unpacked may only bring a short tease rather than a full launch. Reported pricing points are estimated between $379 and $499, though this hasn’t been confirmed. What it might cost Samsung hasn’t announced any prices yet. Everything below is based on reports. Prices are expected to rise across the board this year. A global shortage of memory chips, the parts that store data on your phone, has pushed component costs up sharply since late 2025, and Samsung has said this will affect prices industry-wide. As a result, worldwide phone shipments are expected to drop to their lowest level since 2013. For reference, here’s what last year’s models cost at launch: Galaxy Z Fold 7: from $1,999.99 Galaxy Z Flip 7: $1,099 Galaxy Watch 8: from $349 Galaxy Watch Ultra: $649 Reported prices for this year’s lineup suggest: Galaxy Z Fold 8 (wide): around $1,899 Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra: around $2,099, which would make it Samsung’s first foldable priced above $2,000 Galaxy Z Flip 8: no confirmed US price yet, though European reports suggest a jump of around €100 Galaxy Watch 9 and Watch Ultra 2: European pricing reports point to increases of roughly €30 to €100, depending on the model These are estimates only. The real numbers get confirmed on stage on July 22. How to register and what you get Registering for Unpacked is free and takes about a minute at samsung.com/unpacked. You don’t need to register to watch the stream. Registering simply unlocks some pre-order perks once the event ends. Here’s what’s on offer in a few key markets: In the US, registering unlocks a $30 Samsung credit toward accessories during pre-order, plus a chance to win one of ten $500 gift cards. In the UK, completing a short survey earns you a £30 voucher for
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How Google’s Daily Brief works and how to set it up
Google wants your morning to start with an AI assistant that has already read your inbox, scanned your calendar, and figured out what needs your attention each day. That’s the idea for Daily Brief, a new agent inside the Gemini app that Google introduced at I/O 2026 alongside a broader push to turn Gemini from a chatbot you prompt into an assistant that proactively works in the background. This article explains what Daily Brief does, how to turn it on, and why you may not be able to use it yet. What is Google’s Daily Brief? Image source: Google Daily Brief is a feature inside the Gemini app that generates a single, automatic summary of your day, once every morning. Instead of waiting for you to ask a question, it works overnight, pulling information from your Gmail, Google Calendar, and your past Gemini conversations, then organises it with suggested next steps. Google describes it as an “agent” rather than a static summary. It doesn’t just tell you what’s on your plate, it recommends what to do about it: replying to a specific email, prepping for a meeting, or following up on something you mentioned in an earlier chat with Gemini. The brief is built around two sections: Top of mind — timely, actionable items pulled mostly from Gmail and Calendar, like an email that needs a reply today or a meeting starting in an hour. Looking ahead — longer-term goals and deadlines, with suggested next steps so nothing important sneaks up on you later in the week. Under each item, you can mark it complete, dismiss it, ask Gemini a follow-up question, or rate it “Helpful” or “Not helpful” — feedback Google says is used to sharpen future briefs. Image source: Google How Daily Brief works Daily Brief runs on Personal Intelligence, Google’s umbrella system for letting Gemini use your Google account data. For the feature to generate anything useful, two things have to be switched on: Connected apps (Google Workspace): Gemini needs permission to read your Gmail, Gemini chats, and Calendar. Memory: Gemini needs to be able to draw on your past chat history for extra context. Once both are active, Gemini works in the background — no prompting required — and the finished brief is waiting the next time you open the app. There’s currently no option to set a custom delivery time; it’s generated automatically each morning. Who can use Daily Brief right now You must be 18 or older. You need a personal Google account — it does not work on a work, school (Workspace), or supervised/child account. You need a paid Google AI subscription (Plus, Pro, or Ultra). There’s no free-tier version. You need to be located in the United States. As of this writing, Daily Brief has not rolled out beyond the US, and Google hasn’t given a firm timeline for expansion. That last restriction matters a lot for readers across Africa: even a paid Gemini subscriber here currently won’t see Daily Brief show up in their account, regardless of device or app version. A step-by-step guide to set up Google’s Daily Brief If you meet the eligibility requirements listed earlier, here’s how to turn it on: Confirm your account and plan. Sign in to Gemini on the web or the mobile app using your personal Gmail (not a work or school account) and confirm your paid subscription is active. Open Personal Intelligence. On your desktop, go to Settings & help → Personal Intelligence. On mobile, tap your profile icon, then Personal Intelligence. Connect Gmail and Calendar. In the Personal Intelligence section, turn on access for your Google Workspace apps and accept the permission prompt. Daily Brief can’t generate anything without this. Turn on Memory. Still inside Personal Intelligence, switch on Memory. Google requires both connected apps and Memory before the Daily Brief becomes available. Toggle Daily Brief on. Find the Daily Brief switch (also inside Personal Intelligence) and turn it on. This is the same place you’d go to turn it off later. Wait for your first brief. It generates the next morning automatically; there’s no way to trigger it manually the first time. Once it’s live, you can find it from the sidebar on desktop or the menu on mobile, and a small blue dot marks it as unread. How to get better briefs Daily Brief’s quality depends heavily on how organised your Gmail and Calendar already are. A few adjustments help: Tidy your Promotions tab. Daily Brief mirrors your inbox, so a cluttered Promotions folder can dilute the brief with junk mails. Keep your calendar accurate. The “Top of mind” section leans heavily on real calendar events. Tell Gemini your preferences directly. Because Daily Brief uses Memory, a simple chat instruction — for example, asking it to prioritise client emails and skip newsletters — can shape future briefs. Use the thumbs up/down feedback on individual items consistently; Google says this is one of the main signals used to personalise the next brief. The limitations to know It’s Google-only. If your calendar lives in Outlook or Apple Calendar, or your tasks are in Notion or Todoist, Daily Brief won’t see any of it. It’s not real-time. It is generated once in the morning. Anything that happens later in the day won’t appear until the next brief. It can misjudge priority. Like any AI summary, it can occasionally surface something unimportant while burying a genuinely urgent email, so it’s worth treating as a helpful first pass rather than a definitive to-do list. It’s still an early rollout. Some users have reported the feature silently toggling off; if your brief stops appearing, check the Personal Intelligence settings first. The bottom line Daily Brief is part of a bigger shift Google is making with Gemini, from a tool you prompt to one that proactively works on your behalf, alongside other new agents like Gemini Spark. It is a genuinely useful way to start the day without wading through Gmail manually. For everyone outside the
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Former Branch Kenya CEO Rose Muturi joins Moniepoint to lead Kenya operations
Moniepoint Inc has appointed Rose Muturi, former Branch Kenya CEO, as the chief executive for Kenya, as the Nigerian fintech unicorn bolsters its expansion strategy in East Africa following the acquisition of Sumac Microfinance Bank earlier in the year. The Nigerian fintech, in an emailed response on Tuesday, confirmed the appointment, stating that Muturi has been brought on board to oversee the company’s strategic direction and not to manage its new local subsidiary. The appointment suggests that the unicorn is moving from securing a regulatory foothold in East Africa’s biggest economy to building a banking business. The acquisition of Sumac gave the company the licence required to operate in the market, but expanding operations will require local banking expertise as competition intensifies among banks, fintechs, and mobile money platforms. “We can confirm that Rose Muturi has joined Moniepoint Inc. as CEO to lead our Kenya operations, driving the group’s strategic direction in the country rather than managing a standalone subsidiary,” Edidiong Uwemakpan, Moniepoint’s vice president for corporate affairs, said in a statement. She added that Muturi is employed by Moniepoint Group, while Sumac Microfinance Bank “is a separate entity with its own leadership team.” Muturi joined Moniepoint in June, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before joining Moniepoint, Muturi spent more than four years at Branch, rising from East Africa managing director to chief executive of Branch Kenya. During her tenure, Branch became a neobank after acquiring Century Microfinance Bank, using its licence to expand beyond digital lending into broader banking services. Muturi has also held senior leadership positions at HF Group, Tala, TransUnion Kenya, Chase Bank, and Standard Chartered Bank. She founded the Digital Lenders Association of Kenya and serves on the board of the Association of Microfinance Institutions Kenya. Expanding beyond payments While Moniepoint has disclosed a few details about its Kenyan strategy, its recent acquisitions suggest ambitions beyond payments. Sumac holds a deposit-taking microfinance banking licence, allowing it to mobilise deposits and extend credit. Combined with the appointment of an executive experienced in running a regulated digital bank, the acquisition gives Moniepoint both the regulatory infrastructure and local management needed as it expands beyond payments in Kenya. Shortly before completing the Sumac deal, the company also acquired restaurant software provider Orda, extending its push beyond payments into software, lending, and banking services for small businesses. In Nigeria, Moniepoint offers merchant payments, banking, credit, and business management tools through a single platform, a model it could replicate in Kenya. The company also appears to be building out its Kenyan team. Its careers page currently lists tens of open positions globally, including roles in Nairobi such as People Business Partner, Financial Planning Analyst, and Head of Product Control and Accounting, suggesting it is assembling the local leadership needed to support its expansion. “Moniepoint is building capacity in Kenya as it works to bolster its strategy in the market,” Uwemakpan said. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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Supercell offers African game studios grants worth up to $200,000
Supercell, the Finnish game company behind Clash of Clans, Hay Day, and Clash Royale, has opened applications for its first Developer Grants Program, offering equity-free funding of between $20,000 and $200,000 to African game development studios. The programme is designed to help legally registered game studios build sustainable businesses, strengthen an emerging games ecosystem, and grow alongside the teams building the next generation of games, according to the company. Supercell will select three to five studios for the inaugural cohort. Applications close on August 9, shortlisted studios will be notified in October, and funding is expected to begin in December. Africa’s gaming ecosystem is expanding, with more studios entering the sector, yet access to early-stage funding remains one of the industry’s biggest constraints. Several initiatives have been recently launched to boost funding in the ecosystem, including Google Play’s $1 million equity-free fund for independent game studios across 32 African countries. “Africa is one of the most vibrant creative regions in the world. The ideas, the stories, the talent emerging from Africa will help shape the future of global gaming,” Ilkka Paananen, CEO and cofounder of Supercell, said in a video message at the MaliyoCon gaming conference in December 2025. “Our investment in Africa is both commercial and social. We are backing ambitious developers and committing to the continent’s long-term future.” The grants are open to studios whose primary operations and most of their teams are based in Africa. Although a studio with a holding company registered outside the continent can still apply, provided it discloses its legal structure. According to Supercell, studios can submit more than one game as part of their portfolio, but must identify a single one as the primary focus of the funding request. Previous investment, grants, or accelerator programs participation will not affect eligibility, and the company noted that it welcomes applicants across all platforms and business models. The grants are non-dilutive, meaning Supercell will not take equity or ownership in participating studios or their intellectual property. The game company noted that funding could be used across a range of development needs, including salaries, contractors, engineering, art and design, software, quality assurance, marketing, live operations and other costs that help studios reach their next stage of growth. “At Supercell, we believe the best teams make the best games,” the company said in its announcement. “Some of the most exciting creative energy and distinctive cultural narratives today are emerging from Africa, and we believe this talent will help shape the future of global gaming.” Eligible studios can apply through the portal with their pitch decks, gameplay trailers, links to previous games, and a funding plan. According to Supercell, applications will be evaluated based on the strength of the team, the quality and originality of the game’s creative vision, evidence of player engagement, the studio’s potential to build a sustainable business and contribute to Africa’s gaming ecosystem, and a clear plan for how the funding will accelerate its growth. The company first signalled its plans months before applications opened, at MaliyoCon in Lagos, where Deborah Mensah-Bonsu, global social impact lead at Supercell, told the room of the grants even as the company was still working out the criteria. “We believe there are incredible teams here on the continent that we want to support. We believe in the future of this ecosystem, and so we’re really excited to partner,” she said. “It (the grant) is really about trying to catalyse and accelerate some of the studios on the continent.” True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. Get 20% off Early Bird tickets for a limited time.
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This region wants to build Africa’s most connected fintech ecosystem
14 juillet 2026 Hello , Welcome back to Francophone Weekly by TechCabal, your weekly deep dive into the tech ecosystem across French-speaking Africa. For readers who want to understand Francophone Africa beyond headlines—through markets, startups, and systems. New editions of the newsletter will land directly in your inbox every Tuesday at 12 PM WAT. By default, this newsletter is in French. If you’re reading this in your email inbox, click the “Read in English” button below to switch to the English version. If you’re reading on our website, you can either click the button below or toggle the language selector at the top right-hand side of the page to view the English edition. Read in English Le 3 juillet, le Pullman Abidjan a accueilli Catapult : Inclusion Africa, une conférence organisée par la Luxembourg House of Financial Technology (LHoFT) dans le cadre de son programme d’accélération Catapult plus large, qui a déjà déployé des éditions similaires en Asie du Sud-Est. Soutenu par le gouvernement luxembourgeois, l’Agence Luxembourgeoise pour la Coopération au Développement (LuxDev), la Banque Centrale des États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (BCEAO), le Groupement Interbancaire Monétique de l’Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine (GIM-UEMOA), la Banque Africaine de Développement (BAD), Appui au Développement Autonome (ADA), l’Association Fintech de Côte d’Ivoire, et plusieurs institutions luxembourgeoises de développement et de finance, l’événement a réuni régulateurs, investisseurs et fondateurs autour d’un seul thème : comment construire un secteur fintech inclusif et finançable à travers les huit pays de l’Union Économique et Monétaire Ouest-Africaine (UEMOA). La journée s’est articulée autour de trois panels animés — réglementation, innovation pour la finance inclusive, et intelligence artificielle (IA)/cybersécurité — avant de laisser la parole à quinze fondateurs de fintechs pour une session de pitchs au rythme soutenu, puis de se conclure par une discussion orientée investisseurs sur le financement et les actifs numériques. Ce qui s’est dégagé ressemblait moins à un salon professionnel qu’à une séance de travail sur la plomberie d’un marché de 150 millions d’habitants que régulateurs, banques et startups s’efforcent tous de refaire en même temps. Voici pourquoi l’UEMOA pourrait devenir la prochaine frontière fintech de l’Afrique. 1. La réglementation comme fondation, pas comme obstacle Source de l’image : Seneweb. Le panel d’ouverture, piloté par la BCEAO et GIM-UEMOA, l’opérateur d’infrastructure de paiement partagée de la région, a donné le ton. Deux chantiers réglementaires convergent simultanément sur la région. Le Cadre d’Audit de la sécurité des systèmes d’information (CAF-STI/SSI), la certification de cybersécurité requise pour les acteurs de l’écosystème de paiement, est désormais obligatoire pour tout opérateur dans l’écosystème, avec un délai de grâce de deux ans accordé aux nouveaux entrants pour satisfaire douze exigences couvrant la sécurité des données, l’interdiction des mots de passe par défaut et la formation périodique des collaborateurs. L’académie de GIM-UEMOA et ses partenariats avec Stru Team, un cabinet de conseil en cybersécurité basé au Luxembourg, et l’Africa Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), une organisation de renforcement des capacités en cybersécurité travaillant avec des institutions financières africaines, existent précisément pour accompagner les entreprises vers cette conformité. En parallèle, la Plateforme d’Interopérabilité des Systèmes de Paiement Instantané (PISPI), la plateforme d’interopérabilité des paiements instantanés de la BCEAO, lancée le 30 septembre 2025, impose une connexion obligatoire à partir du 30 juin 2026. Le positionnement de PISPI est sans détour : une seule connexion couvre les huit pays de l’UEMOA et leur population combinée. Les virements de compte à compte (A2A) se règlent en moins de cinq secondes sur une plateforme gratuite, remplaçant un processus de virement classique pouvant prendre 48 heures et coûter jusqu’à 12 000 francs CFA (20,87 dollars). GIM-UEMOA occupe un terrain adjacent mais distinct, centré sur l’interopérabilité monétique et l’homologation des solutions d’acceptation de paiement, les deux institutions étant explicitement présentées comme complémentaires sous la supervision de la BCEAO. Les intervenants ont également précisé que PISPI ne remplace pas le système de règlement brut en temps réel de la région, le Système de Transfert Automatisé et de Règlement (STAR). Le moment le plus marquant du panel reste toutefois la discussion sur l’open banking, qui s’est appuyée sur le déploiement européen de la Deuxième Directive sur les Services de Paiement (DSP2) comme mise en garde. La réglementation sur l’interopérabilité ne fonctionne que là où le régulateur la fait réellement appliquer face à des banques réticentes — et de nombreuses fintechs européennes se sont trompées en se connectant aux interfaces de programmation d’application (API) bancaires sans modèle économique viable derrière la plomberie, une erreur qui pousse désormais certaines vers le Treasury Management comme source de revenus alternative. La BCEAO a déjà inscrit des obligations d’open banking dans sa nouvelle loi bancaire, même si les textes d’application restent en attente pendant que PISPI absorbe l’essentiel de l’énergie réglementaire pour l’instant. Le conseil pratique donné aux fondateurs était direct : cartographier chaque réglementation applicable, s’auto-évaluer par rapport à elle, et se présenter devant le régulateur avec un dossier préparé plutôt qu’à vide — en traitant la conformité comme une stratégie de croissance plutôt qu’une contrainte. GIM-UEMOA a ajouté son propre double défi, spécifique aux fintechs : démontrer leur valeur ajoutée aux banques en tant que partenaires plutôt que concurrentes, et devenir techniquement interopérables avec PISPI plutôt que de rester en silo — en soulignant que puisque tous les acteurs font face au même régulateur et aux mêmes contraintes, c’est finalement la qualité du management qui fait la différence entre les gagnants. IA et cybersécurité : un attaquant plus rapide qu’un défenseur Le deuxième panel a abordé un sujet plus inconfortable : l’IA arme les attaquants plus vite qu’elle n’arme les défenseurs. Les grands modèles de langage (LLM) offensifs ont été cités comme permettant des tests d’intrusion automatisés à vitesse machine — un exemple donné faisait état de 600 vulnérabilités détectées sur une application critique, contre les cinq environ qu’une équipe corrigerait habituellement en un an via une revue manuelle. La fraude d’identité suivrait directement le rythme des nouvelles versions de LLM, avec une plateforme de paiement citée comme subissant des millions
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Why South African banks still charge for instant payments
Three years after the launch of PayShap, South Africa’s real-time payment system, the technology behind instant bank transfers is no longer the issue. The question is why consumers are still paying to move their own money. Digital challenger banks argue that instant payments should be treated as a core banking service rather than a premium feature. “Every bank has its own commercial model and pricing strategy, so we can’t speak for the decisions other institutions make,” Cheslyn Jacobs, CEO of GoTyme Bank South Africa, told TechCabal in an interview. “From GoTyme Bank’s perspective, we believe that instant payments are a core banking service rather than a premium feature.” As technology evolves and payment infrastructure matures, Jacobs said customers should not have to think twice about moving their own money because of transaction fees. The debate extends beyond GoTyme’s pricing strategy. It reflects a shift in South Africa’s banking sector. With instant payments now widely available, banks are increasingly competing on price and customer experience. Although every major bank now supports real-time payments, customers pay very different fees depending on their bank, raising questions about whether those charges are still justified. According to publicly available pricing, GoTyme Bank offers PayShap transfers free across all supported transaction values. Other banks charge between R1 ($0.061) and R10 ($0.61), while Discovery Bank charges up to 0.5% of the transaction value, capped at R35 ($2). Nedbank, one of South Africa’s big four banks, also charges different fees depending on whether money is sent to a cellphone number or directly to a bank account. For consumers who regularly send money to relatives, pay domestic workers, split bills, or pay small businesses, those charges can add up. Banks maintain that instant payments carry real costs. Running the service requires investment in payment infrastructure, fraud prevention, cybersecurity, compliance, and settlement systems. Transaction fees help recover part of those costs while contributing to non-interest income. GoTyme argues that those costs should increasingly be absorbed as part of delivering a modern banking service. “For us, offering free PayShap transfers reflects our broader philosophy of making banking simpler, more rewarding and more accessible, because that is how banking should be,” Jacobs said. The debate is not unique to South Africa. Brazil’s Pix, launched in 2020, became the country’s dominant payment method by allowing consumers to send money instantly at little or no cost. India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) followed a similar path, processing billions of transactions every month while making free instant payments the norm. Jacobs believes South Africa has already built the infrastructure needed to achieve similar adoption. “International markets have shown that adoption accelerates when digital payments are simple, convenient, and affordable. Pix and UPI demonstrate that when customers can make instant payments easily and at little or no cost, those services quickly become part of everyday life,” he said. “South Africa has made significant progress by establishing a modern real-time payment infrastructure through PayShap. The next phase is encouraging widespread everyday usage.” PayShap was introduced to make digital payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible, particularly for lower-income consumers and the informal economy, where cash remains dominant. Greater adoption could also reduce the costs and risks of handling cash for small businesses. Despite banks using the same payment rail, pricing remains inconsistent, suggesting that competition is moving beyond instant payments themselves and towards the overall digital banking experience. “We believe the opportunity isn’t simply to make payments faster; it’s to make digital payments so easy and accessible that they become the default way South Africans exchange value,” Jacobs said. Whether transaction fees disappear altogether remains uncertain. South Africa’s largest banks continue to earn revenue from payment services, and none has indicated that free instant transfers will become standard across the industry in the near future. Still, Jacobs expects banking competition to continue evolving. “We believe the industry is moving towards a future where instant payments increasingly become a standard feature of everyday banking rather than a service customers pay extra to access,” he said. “Whether every bank reaches that point within five years will depend on each institution’s strategy, but the long-term direction is clear.” As instant payments become commoditised, banks are likely to compete less on transaction fees and more on the overall customer experience. For consumers, the bigger question is whether paying to send money will remain part of everyday banking. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial operators, enterprise leaders and individuals rewiring Africa’s technical frameworks. 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Why raising $50,000 may be harder than $10 million
This article is based on a conversation from Voices & Visions, a podcast produced through a partnership between Tutto Passa Agency and TechCabal, which explores the people and ideas shaping Africa’s innovation economy. One of the strangest realities of African business is that finding someone to invest $10 million can sometimes be easier than finding someone willing to write a cheque for $50,000. This is according to Francis Nasyomba, founder of Nairobi-based investment advisory firm Raising Capital. It sounds counterintuitive because smaller investments should, in theory, carry less risk. Small African companies are seeking modest capital to buy another production line, open a new branch, hire five more people, or digitise operations. They are not looking for $10 million, but may be seeking $100,000. Paradoxically, Nasyomba argues, that may be the hardest cheque to raise in African business today. “The value of death in fundraising in Africa is anyone raising between a million dollars and $3 million,” says Nasyomba in a recorded conversation on Voices & Visions, a podcast backed by Tutto Passa Agency and TechCabal. “If you’re raising below $50,000, there are many different sources of capital—grants, family, friends, banks. But once you start going above that, especially above half a million dollars, it shrinks significantly.” The contradiction exposes a deeper flaw in how capital is allocated across the continent. Africa has become successful at attracting global investment capital. Venture funds, private equity firms, development finance institutions, and impact investors oversee billions of dollars earmarked for African businesses. Institutional investors But those pools of capital have largely evolved to fund venture-scale opportunities or projects large enough to justify institutional attention. Nasyomba’s firm sits between entrepreneurs seeking capital and investors seeking opportunities. In theory, those two groups should complement each other. But that is not usually the case; they talk past one another. His conclusion is not that Africa lacks capital. It is that the continent has become remarkably good at financing the two extremes of business while neglecting everything in between. A market trader can borrow a few hundred dollars from a digital lender. A venture-backed startup can raise millions of dollars from international investors. But the manufacturer trying to expand production or the healthcare company opening clinics discovers there is no obvious home for businesses that have graduated beyond survival but have not yet reached institutional scale. Economists have long described this as the “missing middle”. But hearing it from someone who spends every day matching businesses with investors reveals something more fundamental. The problem is that the economics of investing discourage exactly the kind of financing that growing businesses need. “If I’m to raise a fund, I need to invest in maybe five to ten businesses at most,” Nasyomba says. “If I’m investing half a million dollars, I’m looking at a $5 million fund. A $5 million fund doesn’t make fund economics.” Due diligence takes weeks regardless of the deal size. Portfolio companies demand board meetings, reporting requirements, and strategic advice, whether they receive half a million dollars or twenty times as much. This means that large cheques simply justify the effort better. The result is an investment market that naturally drifts upwards, leaving thousands of businesses stranded in the middle. But Nasyomba does not blame the investors. Fundraising is not a success One of the biggest misconceptions in African business, he argues, is that raising capital has become synonymous with building a company. Somewhere between accelerator programmes, pitch competitions, and billion-dollar valuations, fundraising acquired a status it was never meant to have. Capital has become a measure of success, and that misunderstanding has consequences. His firm declines roughly nine out of every ten companies that approach it. Surprisingly, the reason is rarely the absence of investors. “They think because they have an idea and access to money,” he says. “No. You don’t have a business model. You don’t know what you’re selling. You don’t know who you’re selling to.” It is an uncomfortable observation because it challenges one of the dominant narratives surrounding African entrepreneurship. In the past decade, the ecosystem has largely argued that capital is one of the biggest constraints. Nasyomba sees it differently; he believes that readiness is the major constraint. He believes that the companies that survive are the ones that gradually stop revolving around their founders and fundraising. “We have a joke in the office,” he says. “You should not play Jesus.” His point is less theological than managerial. Too many entrepreneurs insist that every decision passes through them. They remain chief executive, head of sales, finance director, and operations manager long after the business has outgrown that model. In doing so, they create companies that cannot exist without them. Perhaps it is why the only business book he consistently recommends to first-time founders is Built to Sell by John Warrillow. The lesson from the book, he says, is frequently misunderstood. The objective is not to build a company for sale, but one that can survive its founder. Obsession with unicorns It also explains why he is sceptical of Africa’s enduring obsession with unicorns, privately held companies valued at more than $1 billion. The continent has produced about 10 unicorns, including Flutterwave, OPay, Wave, Andela, and Chipper Cash; most of them are fintech companies. “Not every business is going to be a unicorn,” he says. “Forget even billion-dollar valuations. Not every business is going to be valued at $100 million… It doesn’t have to. It’s okay.” For much of the past decade, Africa’s tech ecosystem has celebrated exceptional companies. The harder task may be building ordinary ones extraordinarily well. According to Nansionba, the businesses most likely to transform African economies may not be those capable of raising $10 million. They may simply be the ones that finally manage to find their first $50,000. Listen to the full podcast on Spotify. True scale demands moving beyond surface-level integrations to robust execution. We’ve filtered the noise out of Moonshot 2026, optimising the conference strictly for high-calibre connections between startup founders, global financial
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