In this episode: We analyse vehicle-financing giant Moove’s quiet shift toward autonomous robotaxis as it seeks to bypass driver friction, offline trip leaks, and labour overhead.

Plus, we explore why Spiro deployed 22,000 electric motorcycles in Rwanda but only 5,000 in Nigeria, and how African banks are turning to alternative behavioural data to lend to millions without formal credit histories.

Episode Show Notes

The Big Story: The Driverless Pivot

Financing vehicles for gig drivers built Moove into a global mobility heavyweight, but operating in driver-dependent markets has come with structural headwinds. Rising fuel inflation, drivers taking offline trips to bypass platform fees, vehicle maintenance disputes, and loan defaults have squeezed margins.

In response, Moove is positioning itself for a future centred on autonomous vehicle fleets and robotaxi management. By moving away from individual human driver risk and toward managing autonomous fleet assets, Moove aims to secure predictable, continuous returns. We discuss whether robotaxi infrastructure can realistically scale across emerging markets and what happens to the human workforce when fleet financiers stop betting on drivers.

Other Stories We Covered This Week

• The 17,000-Bike Divide: Spiro has scaled 22,000 electric bikes in Rwanda compared to only 5,000 in Nigeria. We break down how Rwanda’s aggressive national green policies and concentrated swap-station density outpaced Nigeria’s fragmented state regulations and grid challenges.

• Ditching the Credit Bureau: With over 60% of Africans lacking formal credit histories, traditional lenders are abandoning rigid legacy scoring. Banks are partnering with fintechs to analyse airtime top-ups, mobile money flows, and utility payments to underwrite underserved consumers.

Article referenced: https://startupgraveyard.africa/blog/addressing-burnout-culture-in-startup-life

Join the Conversation

As mobility companies start preparing for an autonomous future, do you think robotaxis will be viable in African megacities over the next decade, or will human drivers remain irreplaceable due to road infrastructure?

Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!

Connect with us!

Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

📢 A Quick Note on Our New Rhythm

Moving forward, the Startup Graveyard Africa newsletter is shifting to a Monthly Flagship Edition, landing in your inbox on the first week of every month.

As our team continues to analyse failure patterns across the continent, this new cadence lets us cut out the noise of the daily news cycle and deliver what matters most: uncompromising post-mortems, deep ecosystem data, and risk insights.

(Our podcast, Tech Tides Africa, remains weekly! You’ll find a monthly audio digest featuring our top episodes at the bottom of each issue.)

Featured Report: Why B2B E-Commerce and Retail Tech Fractured

Between 2020 and 2023, B2B e-commerce startups in Africa raised hundreds of millions of dollars to digitise informal retail. The premise was compelling: help neighbourhood kiosks (dukas) order inventory directly from FMCG manufacturers using mobile apps, digital payments, and streamlined logistics—eliminating middleman markups.

Investors poured capital into leaders like MarketForce, Wasoko, Capiter, and Alerzo, betting they could build the definitive digital infrastructure powering Africa’s fragmented retail economy. The goal was an all-in-one platform for inventory, embedded credit, payments, and store management.

By 2025 and into 2026, the picture changed drastically. Market leaders downsized, exited key markets, merged under distress, or collapsed entirely.

High Demand + App Adoption ≠ Sustainable Unit Economics

Why Investors Backed the Model

Informal retailers account for the vast majority of consumer goods sales across Sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, the traditional supply chain was manual and inefficient. Kiosk owners frequently faced stockouts, unpredictable pricing, and tedious visits to wholesale markets.

With rising smartphone adoption, investors saw an opportunity to aggregate demand, capture purchasing data, and layer high-margin embedded finance on top of regular transactions once trust was built. Direct relationships with manufacturers promised better margins than traditional distribution.

Where the Model Diverged

The structural reality hit quickly. These startups weren’t just software platforms—they simultaneously became fleet operators, warehouse managers, micro-lenders, and distributors. Operating inventory-heavy models in macro environments plagued by currency devaluation and fuel inflation eroded margins faster than software scaling could compensate.

👉 Read the full analysis on the SGA Blog

SGA Radar: July Signals

• 🔴 GoLemon & Gigbanc Shutdowns: Both platforms officially ceased operations in July. Our research team is currently conducting post-mortem research to analyse the operational pressures behind their closures.

• ⚠️ Rentoza Enters Business Rescue: South African tech rental platform Rentoza has formally entered business rescue proceedings to restructure its debt obligations and stave off liquidation.

• ⚖️ BitMEX Shutting Down Amid Litigation: Crypto exchange BitMEX has shuttered operations as it faces a massive $40 million class-action lawsuit alleging market manipulation, fraud, and insider trading.

• 📊 H1 2026 Funding Data Brief: Mid-year venture capital reports confirm a stark shift toward strict unit economics and debt financing—validating the structural funding trends we highlighted in our Q1 Ecosystem Report.

Tech Tides Africa: Monthly Audio Digest

While our newsletter is now monthly, Karen Maina and Kelvin Gobo drop new episodes of Tech Tides Africa every week.

🎙️ Monthly Spotlight: Ep #44 — Inside the Startup Achieving Growth with $0 Paid Marketing

In this stand-out episode, we sat down with Linnet Kitonga, Co-founder and CMO of G-Rani Mobility, a Kenyan platform transforming informal carpooling into structured digital infrastructure.

Key Takeaways:

1. The Illusion of Disruption: Don’t tell African consumers their habits are bad. Take an existing informal behaviour (neighbourhood carpooling) and remove the unspoken friction—like awkward fuel-cost splitting.

2. The Coordination Gap vs. EV Hype: Capital is flooding into hardware (EVs), but software that coordinates existing road capacity remains critically underfunded.

3. Redefining Unit Economics: G-Rani maintains positive MoM growth with zero ad spend by building utility from Day 1 rather than subsidising rides with venture cash.

🎧 Listen to Episode #44 & Catch Up on the Podcast:

• Ep #44: Growth with $0 paid marketing (feat. Linnet Kitonga) — [Listen Now]

• Ep #45: Startup cutting Lagos power bills by 70% — [Listen Now]

• Ep #46: Why Kenya Denied Copyrights to AI Creators — [Listen Now]

• Ep #47: ORA raised $10 million from local investors — [Listen Now]

SGA Data & Ecosystem Tracker

• 📉 2026 Failure Tracker: SGA data has recorded 12 African tech startup shutdowns year-to-date. Detailed post-mortems are being added to our open intelligence database.

• 📄 Recent Case Study: Have you read our breakdown on pioneer streaming platform Wabona? Check out The Pioneer’s Dilemma: Why Wabona Didn’t Survive the Streaming Wars on the blog.

Thanks for reading the Startup Graveyard Africa Monthly Flagship. Forward this issue to a founder or investor who values real ecosystem data over hype.

In this episode: We examine the shutdown of Lagos grocery delivery startup GoLemon and unpack “the full-stack cost trap” that continues to wipe out capital-intensive on-demand delivery platforms across Nigeria.

Plus, South Africa’s Rentoza enters business rescue after raising $7.3 million, a Kenyan court strips unlicensed digital lenders of debt recovery rights, MTN Nigeria’s fintech revenue drops 72%, and Paystack’s Zap app expands into bill payments.

Episode Show Notes

The Big Story: The On-Demand Delivery Graveyard

Operating a full-stack, on-demand logistics startup in West Africa’s macro environment has become one of the hardest challenges in venture capital. GoLemon, the Lagos grocery startup founded by ex-Paystack senior managers, has officially wound down operations after 28 months.

The startup moved over ₦2 billion ($1.4M) in groceries across 57,000 orders and averaged basket sizes of ₦43,700 with positive per-order margins. However, owning the entire value chain—warehouses, fulfilment centres, direct farmer sourcing, and software—created massive fixed operational costs that required enormous order volume to offset. When follow-on funding failed to materialise amid investor fatigue for asset-heavy delivery models, the runway ended. We dissect GoLemon’s closure alongside Jumia Food, Bolt Food, FoodCourt, and Eden Life to analyse why asset-light aggregators are winning the delivery war.

Other Stories We Covered This Week

• The $7.3M Subscription Crunch 🇿🇦: South Africa’s Rentoza files for voluntary business rescue. Despite serving 14,000 active subscribers and raising $7.3 million, mounting unpaid consumer balances, delayed refunds, and overdue financial audits forced the company to seek legal protection from creditors.

• No Day in Court for Unlicensed Lenders 🇰🇪: In a landmark judgment, a Nairobi court dismissed 139 debt collection lawsuits filed by unregistered digital lenders like Aventus Technology, ruling that apps operating without Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) licenses cannot use the court system to recover defaulted loans.

• MTN’s Regulatory Shock 🇳🇬: Following FCCPC compliance mandates that forced the suspension of its XtraTime airtime lending product in April, MTN Nigeria saw its Q2 2026 fintech revenue collapse by 72.4% down to ₦13 billion, while bad debt provisions jumped 5x to ₦15.97 billion.

• From Anti-Super-App to Multi-Service ⚡: Paystack’s Zap app made headlines last year, promising a distraction-free, zero-bloat money transfer experience. Fast forward to today, and Zap has added airtime, electricity, DSTV, and gaming top-ups, stepping onto the traditional super-app battleground.

Join the Conversation

Can full-stack grocery or food delivery ever achieve long-term profitability in African cities, or is the asset-light aggregator model (like Chowdeck) the only viable path forward?

Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!

Connect with us!

Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

In this episode: We break down the high-profile cyberattack on Kenya’s official presidential website, where hackers defaced the homepage and demanded 5 Bitcoins in ransom before state ICT teams took back control.

Plus, we look at Morocco’s ORA Technologies securing a fully local $10M Series A extension, M-KOPA’s $30M debt facility for e-motorbikes, LemFi’s stablecoin partnership with BVNK, and why investors are making fewer but larger bets in African tech.

Episode Show Notes

The Big Story: Ransomware at State House

In one of the most visible cyber incidents in East Africa this year, Kenya’s official presidential portal (president.go.ke) was temporarily defaced by hackers who demanded a ransom of 5 Bitcoins (roughly $320,000) while threatening to leak unspecified personal data.

Government ICT authorities activated emergency cyber response protocols, taking the portal offline for forensic containment. While Cabinet Secretary William Kabogo confirmed that no sensitive government records or public data were compromised, the breach underscores the growing sophistication of cyber extortion threats targeting state infrastructure. We discuss the technical lessons from this attack and what it means for digital governance in the region.

Other Stories We Covered This Week

• 100% Local Capital in Morocco 🇲🇦: Super-app ORA Technologies extended its Series A round to $10 million, raised entirely from Moroccan local investors—a major vote of confidence for domestic capital in North Africa.

• M-KOPA’s $30M E-Mobility Push 🇰🇪: M-KOPA Kenya Mobility secured a $30 million senior debt package from Dutch development bank FMO to accelerate e-motorbike financing and charging infrastructure.

• Quality Over Quantity in VC 📊: H1 2026 funding data shows African startup capital holding steady, but VCs are shifting strategies—concentrating funding into fewer, more mature, and revenue-proven companies rather than early-stage bets.

• Stablecoin Settlement Rails 💱: Fintech pioneer LemFi joined forces with crypto infrastructure provider BVNK to utilise USD-pegged stablecoins for real-time settlement, cutting fees and delays on global diaspora remittances.

Join the Conversation

If a creator spends hours engineering the perfect prompts to generate a digital masterpiece, should they be denied the copyright? Or did the Kenya Copyright Tribunal make the right call by protecting purely human artistry?

Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!

Connect with us!

Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

It's officially the last week of the month, and we'll keep giving you the best news updates at Startup Graveyard Africa. Don't forget to check out our blog for more. Our opportunities section is constantly updated, so check that out as well and go build something awesome!

Now, to the stories of the week!

Featured story

Wabona, one of Africa’s earliest streaming platforms, had an early start on the continent compared to Netflix and other global players. Despite being an early mover, it couldn’t compete against global streaming giants with bigger pockets, larger content libraries and stronger distribution. The company eventually shut down. Check the blog post to get all the details on why. But first…

Here’s why it matters: First-mover advantage is not always a hit. Wabona entered the market before many global investors but couldn’t overcome limited capital, content acquisition challenges and changing customer expectations. It shows that success doesn’t depend solely on an early opportunity.

Lesson for Founders: Compete where you can win. Your biggest competitive advantage isn’t matching the big spenders – it’s solving a problem better than anyone else for a clearly defined market. Trying to outspend global incumbents is hardly a sustainable strategy for startups. Instead, identify niches, underserved customers, or unique local advantages that larger competitors may overlook.

Read our full report: The Pioneer’s Dilemma: Why Wabona Didn’t Survive the Streaming Wars

Top stories from around Africa

Airtel Money Prepares for IPO Following $61.4 Billion Transaction Boom

Airtel Money is preparing for an initial public offering after reporting $61.4 billion in transaction value during the quarter. The IPO is expected to help unlock the value of one of Africa’s fastest-growing fintech businesses while raising capital for future expansion.

Why it matters: This move tells us how fast Africa’s mobile money industry is maturing. Rather than focusing solely on customer growth, leading fintech companies are now demonstrating the scale, profitability and transaction volume needed to attract global public market investors. A successful listing could increase investor confidence in African fintech and create a benchmark for other startups considering public markets.

Lesson for Founders: Scale creates options. Airtel Money didn’t prepare for an IPO overnight. Years of building customers, expanding its agents network and increasing transaction volume have given it multiple financing options. The takeaway – Companies with consistent growth and clear unit economics get more choices. Whether that’s raising private capital, going public or attracting strategic buyers.

Three Ghanaian Startups Secure USD 500 K From Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility

Built Financial Technologies, GrowForMe and SAYeTECH have secured a combined $500,000 in funding from the Africa Ecosystem Catalysts Facility, whose mission is to support early-stage startups in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania tackling climate resilience and economic instability. The investments were sourced through local ecosystem partners, highlighting a community-led approach to venture funding.

Why it matters: Rather than solely relying on international investors to identify promising startups, there is now an increasing partnership with local accelerators and ecosystem builders who understand their markets best. This helps direct funding to founders solving real, local problems that might otherwise be overlooked.

Lesson for Founders: Your ecosystem can open doors. Built Financial Technologies, GrowForMe and SAYeTECH were recognised through local entrepreneur organisations that helped shape the investment pipeline and conduct due diligence. Don’t underestimate the value of accelerators, incubators and startup hubs. Building relationships within your local ecosystem can increase your visibility, strengthen your business and create opportunities for funding that you might not find on your own.

Nigeria launches Atlas Network to build AI solutions for Africa

Nigeria cuts the ribbon on ATLAS Network, a Pan-African initiative designed to develop AI models built around African languages, cultures and knowledge systems. It aims to ensure that African languages and contexts are better represented in global AI ecosystems.

Why it matters: Africa is shifting from consuming AI to building it. Most of today’s leading AI models are trained primarily on Western languages and cultural contexts largely underrepresented. The ATLAS Network is an effort to close that gap by creating AI systems that better understand African realities while strengthening the continent’s role in the global AI economy.

Lesson for Founders: Understand the shortcomings of the existing infrastructure. Don’t just build on top of what currently exists; actively look for where those systems fail. True innovation often lies in identifying the gaps, inefficiencies, or constraints in current infrastructure. By solving these specific shortcomings, you create a more necessary and valuable foundation for your users rather than simply layering features onto a flawed base.

Other interesting stories

• TikTok removes 4.8 million videos in Nigeria over violations

• Uganda steps up crackdown on telecoms vandalism

• Zambia updates postal laws for digital economy

• Kenya Mandates One-Year Warranties and Return Policies for Electronic Devices

• M-KOPA Reaches 10 million Customers Across 5 Markets

• Morocco’s Ora Technologies Extends Series A to $10m

Did you know?

Another top executive exits Safaricom weeks after Vodacom’s acquisition of 55% stake

Opportunities

• Mastercard Worldwide Internship Programs 2027 for Students

• Call for Applications: MTN Foundation MUSON Scholarship Programme 2026

• Apply for the TS Academy Enioluwa Tech Scholarship 2026

• The Tony Elumelu Foundation Recruitment 2026 jobs

• Appzone Limited Recruitment 2026 jobs

• Identiko Solutions STEM Graduate Trainee Programme 2026 Lagos

Join founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts staying ahead by subscribing to the Startup Graveyard Africa Newsletter. Don't miss next week's digest. See you then!

Investments are still rolling in, same as opportunities. This week, we see the rising tide of climate tech continuing to scale. While others are investing in AI and data protection, it is imperative to feed into the system that keeps the company going – your team.

Now, to the stories of the week!

Featured story

The African tech ecosystem is continuing its transition into a hyper-rational operational epoch. Ambition and high-order volumes are no longer enough to mask the crushing weight of heavy operational overhead. This season, we saw two prominent platforms—cross-border fintech Gigbanc and Y Combinator-backed cloud kitchen FoodCourt—hit terminal crossroads, providing a sobering case study on what happens when capital-intensive structures outrun their runways.

Gigbanc, launched in 2023 by Paul Okundaye and Babatope Oni, built an impressive community of over 150,000 freelancers and creators, processing over ₦10 billion ($7.2 million) in transaction volume. Yet, the intense infrastructure demands of a consumer-facing payment product, coupled with soaring compliance and Know Your Customer (KYC) expenses, proved too heavy to sustain in a dry fundraising environment, forcing the team into an orderly wind-down while pursuing asset acquisition.

On the food-tech side, FoodCourt sought to conquer the notoriously low-margin food delivery sector through an end-to-end virtual-restaurant model. Founded in 2021 by Henry Nneji and Paul Iruene, the startup controlled everything from kitchen operations to the final delivery. But that extreme level of control came at a high cost. Nigeria’s relentless inflation, currency volatility, and soaring energy and logistics expenses squeezed margins to the breaking point. Following mounting debts and kitchen worker strikes over unpaid wages, the startup was forced to completely suspend operations.

Why it matters: These operational breaks signal that the sheer cost of building and maintaining independent, asset-heavy or compliance-heavy consumer platforms in Africa is becoming unsustainable without continuous capital injections. When venture subsidies dry up, macroeconomic pressures expose foundational vulnerabilities almost instantly. The consumer tech layer is entering a brutal consolidation phase, where stand-alone products must either achieve perfect unit economics quickly or be absorbed by well-capitalised infrastructure players.

Lesson for Founders: High operational overhead will outrun vanity metrics every time. It is easy to celebrate massive user bases and billions in processed volume when venture dollars are smoothing over the operational cracks. But if your underlying unit economics are fundamentally burdened by high transaction compliance costs or physical kitchen infrastructure, scaling too fast simply increases the blast radius of your burn rate. Treat operational efficiency not as a post-growth optimisation exercise, but as a day-one survival metric. In this climate, the leanest architecture wins.

Top stories from around Africa

Climate tech becomes Africa’s top destination for venture capital

A report by Briter Intelligence shows that climate tech has overtaken fintech as Africa’s largest venture-funded sector. In 2025, climate tech attracted $1.5 billion - roughly 40% of all venture funding on the continent - surpassing fintech for the first time. The surge was driven by growing investor interest in renewable energy, clean mobility, climate-smart agriculture and other solutions that address Africa’s climate challenges.

Why it matters: Climate tech’s rise signals that investors are increasingly backing businesses solving long-term structural challenges such as energy access, food security and climate resilience. This shift broadens the continent’s innovation landscape and creates new opportunities for founders building outside the traditional fintech space.

Lesson for Founders: Big Markets attract patient capital. Climate solutions often require longer development cycles and larger upfront investments than software startups. Yet, investors are increasingly willing to commit because they see decades of demand ahead. As a founder and innovator, do not shy away from tackling difficult, capital-intensive industries if the market opportunity is large and enduring. Investors now seem willing to wait longer for businesses addressing essential long-term needs.

SA’s Cue secures $5m to scale customer service with AI agents

South African customer service startup Cue has raised $5 million dollars in a funding round co-led by Knife Capital and Fam Investments. The company seeks to use the funding to accelerate the development of its AI-powered customer service agents, expand into international markets, and expand its voice AI, security, and enterprise integrations.

Why it matters: Businesses are no longer using AI solely to handle simple FAQs. They are increasingly adopting autonomous AI agents that can resolve customer issues end-to-end, reducing response times and allowing human agents to focus on more complex interactions. This signals a broader shift in enterprise software, in which AI is becoming a core part of business operations rather than just a productivity tool.

Lesson for Founders: Raise Capital to accelerate proven traction. Cue has already built a customer base of more than 500 companies before raising this round. The funding is being used to expand an existing business rather than validate an untested idea. Oftentimes, investors are more willing to fund startups that have demonstrated product-market fit. Use early traction to prove demand first, then raise capital to scale what already works.

Malawi strengthens its data protection framework

Malawi is now advancing the implementation of its Data Protection Act by introducing draft regulations that require data controllers and processors to register and pay annual fees based on their annual turnover. The proposed framework is designed to strengthen enforcement of the country’s data protection regime while balancing privacy, innovation and investment.

Why it matters: Data Protection is becoming a business requirement, not just a legal one. As more African countries strengthen privacy laws, businesses that collect and process customer data will face greater compliance obligations. Stronger data protection frameworks help build consumer trust, create clearer rules for digital businesses and make countries more attractive for investment in the digital economy.

Lesson for Founders: Build with tomorrow’s regulations in mind. Data privacy requirements across Africa are becoming stricter every year. Companies that wait until regulations take effect often face expensive system overhauls and operational disruptions. A smart founder anticipates where regulation is heading, not just where it is today. Designing products with future compliance in mind just might save you significant time and costs as your business scales.

Other interesting stories

• Nigeria moves to track every official retail dollar sale in the latest push to rebuild confidence in the FX market

• South Sudan, Pakistan move to strengthen ICT ties

• Rwanda launches eKash instant payments platform

• Amazon Leo to power satellite internet for South Africa’s largest internet provider

• Kenya licenses 25 more digital lenders as mobile loan market hits $1.16 billion

• Morocco’s central bank cuts electronic payment fees

Did you know?

Niger’s telecom regulator, the Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP), has given the country's mobile operators one month to resolve network quality issues

Opportunities

• The Tony Elumelu Foundation Recruitment 2026 jobs

• Appzone Limited Recruitment 2026 jobs

• Identiko Solutions STEM Graduate Trainee Programme 2026 Lagos

Join founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts staying ahead by subscribing to the Startup Graveyard Africa Newsletter. Don't miss next week's digest. See you then!

In this episode, we break down a massive landmark ruling from the Kenya Copyright Tribunal that draws a strict legal boundary between human artistry and machine outputs, declaring that purely AI-generated works cannot be copyrighted.

Plus, we analyse Nigeria’s spectacular policy leap to become Africa’s highest-ranked nation for Responsible AI, the bizarre paradox of H1 2026 crypto hacks, and why traditional banks are being forced to completely rebuild their cybersecurity systems to defend against AI-driven threats.

Episode Show Notes

The Big Story: The Machine Line — No Copyrights for AI in Kenya

The legal definition of creativity in East Africa has changed forever. In a high-stakes dispute involving an author who utilised AI tools to produce a series of commissioned books, Kenya’s Copyright Tribunal ruled that authorship remains the exclusive preserve of human beings.

While the judgment doesn’t ban creators from using tools like ChatGPT or Midjourney, it establishes a strict legal precedent: purely machine-generated outputs lack legal personality. Moving forward, anyone hoping to protect or commercialise AI-assisted content must now prove “sufficient human intervention” and keep meticulous records of their creative input. We unpack the massive downstream implications this has for publishers, musicians, and advertising agencies across the continent trying to navigate IP law in the algorithmic age.

Other Stories We Covered This Week

• Nigeria’s Responsible AI Leap: Overtaking regional giants like Kenya and Egypt, Nigeria has claimed the top spot in Africa on the Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI). The index singled out Nigeria as a global “Bright Spot” for successfully combining massive technical talent programs (such as the 3MTT) with concrete, proactive data protections for children and citizens.

• The Crypto Hack Paradox: The first half of 2026 saw a record 207 crypto hacks globally, yet the total stolen funds actually dropped by 57% to $972 million. We dive into the data to look at whether smart contract auditing is getting better or if hackers are simply working harder for lower-value protocols.

• Rebuilding the Vaults: The rise of highly sophisticated, AI-driven phishing and automated exploits is rendering old defence mechanisms obsolete. Traditional African banks are being forced to throw out their legacy security playbooks and completely restructure their cyber architecture to survive the onslaught of algorithmic threats.

Join the Conversation

If a creator spends hours engineering the perfect prompts to generate a digital masterpiece, should they be denied the copyright? Or did the Kenya Copyright Tribunal make the right call by protecting purely human artistry?

Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!

Connect with us!

Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

We bring you stories old, new and updated. From the start, we shared the story of KOKO Networks, the Kenyan clean cooking startup that has served millions of Kenyan households as they transition from traditional cooking fuels to clean, affordable bioethanol. This week’s story feels like the beginning of the end of an era and a very important lesson for all.

So, from us at Startup Graveyard Africa, startup failure doesn’t always mean innovation was worthless. Well-built assets can outlive the company that created them and become the foundation for another business.

On that note, onto the stories of the week!

Featured story

Let’s explore the rise and fall of WhereIsMyTransport, a South African mobility startup that set out to map informal public transport networks across emerging markets. The company built one of the world’s most comprehensive transit datasets, expanded to more than 40 cities across Africa, Asia and Latin America and raised over $14.5 million from investors, including Google and Naspers. Despite solving a real problem, it shut down in 2023 after failing to secure additional funding.

Why it matters: WhereIsMyTransport proved that informal transport can be digitised, but many of its target customers, particularly governments, lacked the budget and the urgency to consistently pay for the service. This case is a reminder that impact and commercial viability are not the same.

Lessons for Founders: Product-market fit includes willingness to pay. It’s not enough for customers to love your products if they are not willing and able to pay for them. Build for a market with both demand and purchasing power. Before scaling, validate not just the problem but the economics behind solving it. The best products solve problems and have a clear path to sustainable revenue.

Read our full breakdown: Case study: What Really Happened to WhereIsMyTransport?

Top stories from around Africa

MTN, Telecel set to compete for Ghana’s 5G licences

Ghana is opening its 5G market to competition after ending its exclusive rights previously granted to Next Gen Infraco (NGIC). As a result, MTN and Telecel Ghana are preparing to bid for new 5G licences in an auction expected to begin soon. The move is intended to speed up 5G deployment after NGIC fell far behind its rollout targets.

Why it matters: Ghana’s decision reflects a growing belief that opening markets to multiple operators can accelerate innovation and improve service delivery. Competition can oftentimes deliver better infrastructure than exclusivity. The exclusive 5G model struggled to meet deployment goals, prompting the government to introduce competition to accelerate coverage expansion.

Lesson for Founders: Opportunities never come once. When one company fails to execute, opportunities emerge for others. Just as MTN and Telecel now have the chance to reshape Ghana’s landscape, you may be just one strike away from hitting a home run. Stay alert to market shifts, regulatory changes, failed competitors and changing customer needs

PwC puts Koko Networks’ assets up for sale following collapse

KOKO Networks, the Kenyan clean cooking startup, is now up for grabs as PwC has begun searching for buyers for its assets. The sale follows the company’s collapse after its carbon credit-dependent business model became unsustainable.

Why it matters: KOKO built one of Africa’s largest clean cooking networks, serving 1.5 million households and investing hundreds of millions of dollars in infrastructure. Despite its collapse, its technology, distribution network and intellectual property still hold significant value for prospective buyers.

Lesson for Founders: Build Assets, not just Revenue. Revenue can disappear, but proprietary technology, strong distribution networks, customer relationships and intellectual property often retain value even during difficult times. Think about your strongest value even in the red zone. As you grow your startup, ask yourself what someone would be willing to buy if your company were to stop operating tomorrow.

Canal+ “No Comment” on allegations of breaching retrenchment condition

Less than a year after acquiring MultiChoice, Canal+ is facing allegations that it may have breached conditions attached to the merger approval. One of such conditions being that MultiChoice employees will not be retrenched for three years. However, reports claim that more than 600 employees have accepted voluntary severance packages, with insiders alleging difficult working conditions and that restructuring efforts have effectively pushed staff to leave.

Why it matters: Mergers don’t just reshape companies. They affect people, culture and operations. The success of any merger depends on how well the new organisation manages its people, fulfils regulatory commitments and maintains stakeholder trust. These factors often determine whether a deal creates long-term value or long-term problems.

Lesson for Founders: Execution can affect your reputation. Closing a major acquisition may grab headlines, but how you treat employees, customers, regulators and partners afterwards determines whether the deal is ultimately viewed as a success. Every promise made to regulators, employees, and stakeholders becomes part of your brand. Strong execution after a deal builds trust, while perceived failures can overshadow even the biggest acquisitions.

Other interesting stories

• Nigeria suspends third-party services for visa applicants in the US

• Kenya Tribunal rules AI works cannot be copyrighted

• Senate passes bill to digitise healthcare system

• Kenyan authorities order Uber and Bolt to raise fares by 50% following drivers’ protest

• Djamo targets Francophone Africa with $40m raise

• $1.44 billion raised in the first half of 2026 African Tech Funding

Did you know?

Africa’s biggest solar mini-grid operator, WeLight, plans to enter Nigeria, DR Congo with $650 million expansion

Opportunities

• Apply for Shell Assessed Internship Programme 2027

• Halliburton Energy Services Nigeria Limited Recruitment 2026

• Visa Incorporated Recruitment 2026

Join founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts staying ahead by subscribing to the Startup Graveyard Africa Newsletter. Don't miss next week's digest. See you then!

In this episode, we travel from South Africa to Lagos to unpack how a new pay-per-use battery rental model is declaring war on Nigeria’s multibillion-dollar generator culture—promising to slash daily energy expenses for small business owners and families by a staggering 70%.

Plus, we break down LemFi’s major strategic shift beyond remittances with its latest wealth management acquisition, M-Pesa’s live stablecoin trial in the DRC, and a hard look at the reality of automated compliance freezes in the African fintech space.

Episode Show Notes

The Big Story: Ditching the Generator Culture

The relentless surge in grid tariffs and petrol costs has officially pushed African households to a breaking point, but a new wave of localised energy infrastructure is fighting back. South African startup bPOWERd has officially expanded its pay-per-use solar battery rental network into Lagos. By partnering with local fuel stations to serve as distribution hubs, they provide a direct, modular alternative to loud, costly fossil-fuel generators.

Instead of burning thousands of Naira a day on fuel, users can rent pre-charged power packs that drop small-appliance running costs from ₦10,000 to just ₦3,000 daily. We dive into the brilliant logistics of scaling a battery swap network across West Africa and what this shift means for micro-merchants trying to stay alive in an inflationary economy.

Other Stories We Covered This Week

• Remittances Aren’t Enough: Moving well beyond simple cross-border cash transfers, LemFi has received UK regulatory approval to acquire investment platform Wealth8. By moving into asset management and offering micro-portfolios for as low as £8, LemFi is cementing its strategy to build a long-term financial powerhouse for the global diaspora.

• Plumbing the DRC: The digital dollar wars are hitting Central Africa. M-Pesa has joined forces with Visa and Onafriq to launch a live U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoin settlement pilot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, turning a highly dollarized region into the ultimate testing ground for crypto rail efficiency.

• AI on the Farm: Tunisia’s agritech startup RoboCare secured a fresh six-figure investment from 216 Capital to scale its machine-learning disease-detection software, aggressively training its algorithms to optimise for regional staple crops such as olive trees and cereals.

• The Compliance Lockdown: Following a wave of viral social media backlash over sudden account freezes, the CEO of Raenest stepped forward to clarify that a recent high-profile $9,700 account restriction was entirely due to an automated compliance review—admitting to support delays while highlighting the non-negotiable reality of global financial gatekeeping.

Join the Conversation

Nigeria’s generator culture has felt completely unbreakable for decades. Do you think a pay-per-use battery swap model can actually scale to the point of replacing the sound of generators in Lagos, or will infrastructure bottlenecks slow down the revolution?

Leave a comment below and let us know your thoughts!

Last week, Malawi invested in Chichewa AI to create a more inclusive tech experience; Paystack launched a support program for Nigerian SMEs; and Nigeria unveiled plans for a Pan-African payment card to enable seamless cross-border payments.

This week, investments and partnerships are still on the table. And when people partner, the first hurdle they must overcome is communication. Teamwork, they say, makes the dream work.

Check out our blog post for ways to foster effective communication while working remotely, and subscribe to the newsletter to stay updated.

Onto the stories!

Featured story

If you have a team across different time zones, then you understand that communication is the fuel that keeps the engine running. After compiling different experiences from product managers, developers and technical writers, we’ve come to the realisation that successful distributed teams rely on a mix of asynchronous communication, thorough documentation, project management tools and carefully planned live interactions.

Why it matters: With the increase of remote workers, managing different time zones has become a competitive necessity. The companies that thrive remotely are those with the clearest processes. By documenting decisions, creating a single source of truth, and balancing asynchronous work with scheduled real-time collaboration, teams reduce misunderstanding, improve productivity and ensure knowledge isn’t trapped in one person’s head

Lesson for Founders: Clarity is a productivity tool. Remote teams don’t fail because people are far apart– they fail because expectations are unclear. The best distributed teams overcommunicate goals, document decisions and provide enough context that teammates can make progress without waiting for a meeting or an immediate reply. Know that the clearer your communication, the faster your team can execute them independently.

Read our full breakdown: Communication Strategies for Managing Remote Teams

Top stories from around Africa

Novastar Ventures, Google unveil Applied AI Lab for African AI Startups

Nairobi-based venture capital firm Novastar Ventures has partnered with Google AI Futures Fund to launch the Google Africa Applied AI Lab, an initiative designed to support the next generation of African AI Startups and Researchers. The first cohort will comprise five to ten startups focused on solving real-world challenges in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and financial services.

Why it matters: For years, Africa has largely consumed AI technologies developed elsewhere. This initiative signals a shift towards building world-class AI solutions on the continent. By finally giving founders access to cutting-edge AI models, technical expertise, funding and support, the programme helps bridge one of Africa’s biggest innovation gaps: turning promising research into scalable business.

Lesson For Founders: Knowledge is Priceless. Many founders believe capital is the biggest barrier to growth. In reality, access to world-class expertise, technical mentorships and strategic networks can be just as transformative. The Google Africa Applied AI Lab doesn’t just offer funding- it gives founders access to Google’s entire support system. In a nutshell, don’t chase money alone. Seek partners that provide knowledge, credibility and network.

Catalyst Fund expands backing for Africa’s Climate Resilience Startups

Pan-African Venture fund and builder, Catalyst Fund, has hit the second close of its Climate Resilience Fund I, securing $30 million in commitments to back early-stage African startups building solutions for climate adaptation. Beyond the capital investments, founders are also set to receive hands-on venture-building support to help them scale.

Why it matters: Catalyst Fund’s latest raise represents a growing recognition that Africa must also invest in adapting to climate change. From drought-resistant agriculture and water management to clean energy and climate insurance, investors are increasingly backing startups that help communities become more resilient while building commercially viable businesses.

Lesson for Founders: Capital follows Conviction. Catalyst Fund didn’t just raise $30 million by simply talking about climate. They built a clear investment thesis around a specific problem: climate resilience in Africa. Investors are more likely to back founders who have a clear point of view about a problem. Instead of solving every problem, develop a strong conviction about one– one market, one customer, one trend– and build relentlessly around it.

M-Pesa pilots stablecoin payments with Visa and Onafriq in DRC

Vodacom’s M-Pesa is piloting stablecoin-based cross-border payments in the Democratic Republic of Congo in partnership with Visa and Onafriq. It is set up to test how digital currencies pegged to stable assets can make cross-border money transactions faster, cheaper and more efficient than traditional payment methods.

Why it matters: Cross-border payments in Africa are often slow, expensive and dependent on multiple intermediaries. By combining M-Pesa’s mobile money network, Visa’s global payment infrastructure, and Onafriq’s African payment rails, the partners are exploring a faster, lower-cost alternative for moving money across borders.

Lesson for Founders: Test emerging technology before placing a bet. Rather than launching a full-scale stablecoin product, M-Pesa is running a pilot to understand the technology, customer behaviour, and regulatory implications in a controlled environment. For founders, when adopting new technologies, validate assumptions through small experiments before making major investments.

Other interesting stories

• Court sets tougher test for layoffs, tightens redundancy rules

• Nigeria PCC probes Uber, Bolt over labour practices

• Zain Kuwait secures licence to operate mobile phone network in Syria

• Vodacom takes control of Safaricom after completing acquisition of additional stake

• Angola and AfDB Inaugurate Luanda Science and Technology Park

• ICASA lays out exactly what Starlink must do to operate in South Africa

Did you know?

MasterCard has launched an African Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence to help secure the continent’s digital future.

Opportunities

• Call for Applications: Wema Bank Hackaholics 7.0 for African Innovators and Startups

• Call for Applications: Biodun and Ibikunle Foundation SEEDINVEST Acceleration Program 2026

• Village Capital Awards $500K Grant To African Climate Startups

Join founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts staying ahead by subscribing to the Startup Graveyard Africa Newsletter. Don't miss next week's digest. See you then!

The big story: Is the Silicon Valley playbook right for African mobility?

We dive deep into why importing a Silicon Valley playbook fails in the African transport ecosystem, the hidden financial drain of ride-hailing subsidies, and how building for existing cultural behaviours is the key to mastering unit economics.

Key takeaways from this episode

• The Illusion of Disruption: You don’t change behaviour in Africa by telling people they’re doing it wrong; you change it by taking an existing, trusted informal behaviour (like neighbourhood carpooling) and building infrastructure that removes unspoken friction points—like the awkwardness of fuel costs.

• The Coordination Gap vs EV Hype: Millions of dollars are pouring into electric motorbikes and clean-engine technologies. However, thousands of EVs on the road won’t solve traffic congestion or empty seats. The real, underfunded opportunity is the coordination layer that connects existing abundance to the people who need it.

• Writing the Regulatory Playbook: Instead of waiting for boardroom-bound policymakers to pull the rug out from under them, G-Rani’s strategy is to proactively bring regulators to the table early, using real-world data to shape the framework for an entirely new mobility category.

Join the Conversation

We want to hear from you! Do you think investors are funding the right mobility solutions?

Leave a comment below, and let’s discuss. If you enjoyed this episode, feel free to share it with a friend or colleague in the ecosystem!

This week’s stories are a reminder that while execution matters, so does timing, distribution and understanding who you’re really building for. Stay plugged in to the SGA network by joining our WhatsApp channel.

On to the stories for the week!

Featured story

In 2014, Meditell, a Lagos-based health technology startup, was founded. The goal was to improve medication adherence for patients with chronic illnesses using SMS and voice reminders. Although the idea addressed a genuine healthcare problem, the company struggled to gain traction because the Nigerian healthcare ecosystem wasn’t ready.

Why it matters: Meditell’s story shows that just because a product is great doesn’t mean customers will engage with it. Sometimes the market lacks the right infrastructure, incentives, regulations or institutional readiness required for a solution to succeed.

Lesson for Founders: Sell to the decision-maker, not the user. Meditell patients needed the reminders, and the hospitals saw the value. But neither group controlled the budget. The real decision makers were the HMOs. A product can be loved by users and still fail if the person writing the cheque doesn’t see enough value. Always identify who has the incentive and authority to buy your product before investing heavily in scaling.

Read our full breakdown: Meditell: The Startup that Arrived Too Early

Top stories from around Africa

Nigeria pushes Pan-African payment card to reduce reliance on foreign currency

The Nigerian Federal government is backing the creation of a Pan-African payment card that would allow cross-border transactions across Africa to be settled directly in local currencies, removing the need to convert funds into foreign currency first. The proposal was considered as part of broader efforts to strengthen intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA).

Why it matters: If implemented, the proposal will significantly reduce the cost of doing business across Africa. One of the biggest barriers to intra-African trade is the cost and complexity of cross-border money transfers. By eliminating unnecessary dollar conversions, there would be reduced transaction fees, faster settlements and more affordable cross-border commerce.

Lesson for Founders: Reframe the normal. For years, Africans and African businesses have accepted multiple currency conversions, high fees and slow settlements as part of the online transaction process. Some of the biggest startup opportunities come from questioning processes that everyone else has normalised. If customers constantly complain, create workarounds or absorb unnecessary costs, there’s likely a business opportunity hiding there.

Paystack launches new program to assist Nigerian businesses

One of Africa’s leading payments technology companies, Paystack, has launched a Small Business Program aimed at helping Nigerian SMEs start, manage and grow their businesses beyond just accepting payments. It seeks to connect businesses with funding opportunities, a network and resources that support long-term growth.

Why it matters: For years, fintechs have been building better payment infrastructure. Today, payments alone are becoming commoditised. By helping merchants access software, logistics, financing, and operational tools, Paystack is embedding itself more deeply into its customers’ day-to-day operations.

Lesson for Founders: Win by helping your customers succeed. The most successful companies don’t just sell products– they invest in their client’s growth. Paystack understands this, and by giving merchants this opportunity, they end up creating value that extends beyond its core offering. As a founder, look for ways to improve your customers’ outcome and not just their experience with your product. When your customers become more successful because of your business, they stay longer, spend more and are likely to recommend you to others.

Malawi is investing in Chichewa AI to promote technological inclusivity

The Malawi government has launched the Chichewa AI Initiative, a national effort to develop high-quality AI language resources for Chichewa, one of the country’s most widely spoken languages. The initiative aims to create datasets that will power AI applications such as digital assistants, translation services, education tools, and other locally relevant AI solutions.

Why it matters: By developing Chichewa language resources, Malawi is ensuring that AI can understand local languages, cultures and contexts. This is a crucial step towards making AI more accessible, whether in education, healthcare, agriculture, government services or businesses, as AI is only as inclusive as the data it learns from.

Lesson for Founders: Data is a strategic asset. AI models learn from data. By investing in Chichewa’s datasets, Malawi is laying the foundation for future AI products and services. For founders, the takeaway is that proprietary data can become one of your strongest competitive advantages. Products can be copied, but high-quality datasets are much harder to replicate.

Other interesting stories

• PAYE Employees to File Tax Returns by April 30 Under New KRA Rules

• Vodacom bundles Amazon Prime across its post-paid base

• Swiss approval opens new growth path for Yellow Card in Africa

• Daya Raises $2.4 Million in Pre-Seed Funding to Simplify Cross-Border Payments

• Chad government pressures Moov Africa over deteriorating network quality

• South Africa’s Naspers launches free AI platform for businesses powered by Claude

Did you know?

Instagram has announced that they would now be exploring ways to offer longer form videos and content to its TV app available on Samsung TV.

Opportunities

• Google Mandiant, Newform & GPI Roles

• M-KOPA Jobs June 2026: Telesales & Customer Care

• Apply to Y Combinator Summer 2026

• Antler is offering up to $400,000 to founders

• AfriLabs Talent Accelerator Programme (TAP) 2026

• SheConnects Digital Accelerator Program 2026

Join founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts staying ahead by subscribing to the Startup Graveyard Africa Newsletter. Don't miss next week's digest. See you then!

Show Notes

The big story: The CBN drops the regulatory hammer

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dropped a regulatory hammer that will reshape the back-end infrastructure of Nigerian fintech...

Other stories we covered this week

• The Chimoney Resurrection: Four weeks ago, Chimoney announced a textbook, clean shutdown. Today, they are being acquired by CapitalSage Holdings. We look at how doing a shutdown “the right way” made them the perfect acquisition target.

• Kenya’s Hardware Tax Threat: New fiscal proposals in Kenya could dismantle local assembly plants for M-KOPA and Sun King. We discuss how taxing components could reverse the trend in smartphone penetration.

• E-Commerce Without the Wallets: A new Visa study in Egypt reveals a fascinating cultural paradox: consumers are rapidly adopting AI tools for shopping, yet a strict wall of distrust remains around automated payments.

Join the Conversation

We want to hear from you! How do you think fintechs are going to handle migrating live data rails to local servers over the next six months?

Leave a comment below, and let’s discuss. If you enjoyed this episode, feel free to share it with a friend or colleague in the ecosystem!

This week’s stories all point to one central theme: markets across Africa are maturing and reshaping in real time. From Pay-TV decline in Kenya to the rise of EV adoption in the transportation sector and deeper fintech infrastructure plays, old systems are giving way to new consumer and business behaviour.

And we bring you the live news on the go at SGA.

On to the stories of the week!

Featured story

When Flutterwave’s bank-transfer payment feature and Moniepoint’s Monnify structure entered the market, it shifted Nigerian commerce from unreliable card payments to bank transfers. That move changed how businesses and consumers transacted and helped create the payment rails that dominate today.

Why it matters: The 2015-16 class solved real problems around payment, savings, lending and merchant acceptance at a time when traditional institutions were failing to do so. They didn’t simply build fintech products. They became financial infrastructure and then institutions that look more like banks than startups. Today, fintech still attracts a significant share of startup funding across Africa.

Lesson for Founders: Infrastructure businesses compound quietly. For years, Moniepoint operated largely behind the scenes before becoming one of Africa’s most valuable fintech companies. Infrastructure products often generate greater long-term defensibility than consumer-facing products. Not every successful company needs consumer buzz.

Read our full breakdown: How the 2015/2016 Class Rewrote African Fintech

Top stories from around Africa

Pay-TV decline in Kenya sees Multichoice lose 58,000 subscribers

MultiChoice, Kenya’s largest pay TV provider, has recorded the highest losses amongst other major operators as the country’s pay TV market continues to shrink. Rising living costs and repeated subscription price increases have also made pay TV less attractive to its users, as a younger consumer base has now shifted to streaming platforms and other forms of social media.

Why it matters: It would be logical to say that consumer habits are changing permanently. People don’t want to pay for hundreds of channels when they only watch a handful for a limited time each day. Streaming gives viewers on-demand content, personalised recommendations, mobile access at a lower cost, and the freedom to log off and on without the ticking deadline of a subscription.

Lesson for Founders: Price increase is not always a growth strategy

Several reports link subscriber losses to persistent price hikes. Raising prices may increase revenue temporarily, but it can also accelerate customer churn if customers already perceive the alternative as better value. A takeaway strategy is to ensure customers understand a product’s value relative to alternatives before price hikes.

Toyota enters the EV market with a new all-electric SUV in Kenya

Toyota, through CFAO Mobility Kenya, has officially launched its first fully electric SUV in Kenya. The launch marks Toyota’s direct entry into Kenya’s rapidly growing electric vehicle market, where EV adoption has accelerated due to lower operating costs, improving charging infrastructure, and growing interest in cleaner transportation.

Why it matters: Kenya is becoming East Africa’s EV hub. Toyota’s decision to launch the bZ4X in Kenya highlights the country’s growing importance in Africa’s e-mobility ecosystem. This also means that consumers will benefit from more vehicle options, stronger dealer support and potentially better pricing over time.

Lesson For Founders: Distribution is just as important as the product. Toyota is launching strategically through CFAO Mobility, one of East Africa’s largest automotive distributors. It’s leveraging an existing sales, service and support network to enter the market from a position of strength. A strong distribution strategy can be a bigger competitive advantage than product features.

Launch Africa secures $2.5 million in investor returns from 11 startup exits

One of Africa’s most active early-stage venture capital firms, Launch Africa, has successfully returned $2.5 million to its investors after completing 11 startup exits across its portfolio. The exits include a mix of full and partial exits, secondary sales to other investors, trade sales and management buyouts. The returns represent about 7% of the fund’s paid-in capital, a significant milestone in African venture capital.

Why it matters: The African startup ecosystem has attracted billions of dollars in funding over the last decade, but many investors have questioned how and when they’d get their money back. One reason some global investors hesitate to invest in Africa is the uncertainty around exit opportunities. Launch Africa, returning actual cash to investors, demonstrates that African startup investment can produce liquidity, and not just gains.

Lesson For Founders: Diversification matters. Launch Africa invested across dozens of markets and sectors, rather than concentrating entirely on a few well-known ecosystems. This broad portfolio helped create multiple pathways to returns. For founders, it reinforces the importance of not depending on a single customer, market or revenue stream. Resilience comes from having multiple growth opportunities.

Other interesting stories

• M-Pesa, Airtel Money Hit Over 600K Mobile Money Agents in Kenya

• CBN orders banks, fintechs to store payment data locally

• Lesaka Pushes Bank Zero Acquisition Deadline to 2027 as Regulators Stall

• Nigeria Launches FreeTV With Over 100 Free Channels, Unveils New Era Of Digital Broadcasting

• Kenyan Court orders closure of AI-powered radiology firm for operating without approvals

• Ripple Flutterwave partnership puts RLUSD on $50B payment rails

Did you know?

$705M raised. 59 deals. A historic funding instrument inversion. This is the story of the African startup ecosystem of Q1 2026.

Opportunities

• Startup Graveyard Africa is hiring a Growth Partner & Head of Partnerships

• Apply to Y Combinator Summer 2026

• Antler is offering up to $400,000 to founders

• AfriLabs Talent Accelerator Programme (TAP) 2026

• SheConnects Digital Accelerator Program 2026

Join founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts staying ahead by subscribing to the Startup Graveyard Africa Newsletter. Don't miss next week's digest. See you then!

Other interesting stories in this episode:

• Flutterwave’s Quarter-Staff Promotion: Marking its 10th anniversary, Flutterwave promoted over 100 employees globally. Along with the titles, the fintech giant introduced global cost-of-living adjustments, tax support for Nigerian staff, and economic relief packages to stave off poaching from global tech firms.

• Interswitch Enters the Core Banking Race: The payment infrastructure giant has partnered with global banking software provider Temenos. The deal allows Interswitch to offer cloud-hosted and on-premise core banking, wealth management, and financial crime systems to banks in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d’Ivoire.

• Localised Voice AI Gets a Boost: AethexAI emerged from stealth with a $3 million pre-seed round led by 4DX Ventures. Instead of relying on Western LLMs that struggle with local dialects, latency, and accents, the startup built its own localised voice models (Kora 1) to automate call centres, debt collection, and KYC checks across Africa and the Middle East.

Connect with us!

Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

This week, we zeroed in on ownership and control and the thin line that makes the difference in any startup.

Remember that we have an active WhatsApp channel where you can stay connected to the SGA family.

On to the stories of the week!

Featured story

Between 2012 and 2022, startups across Africa successfully raised large amounts of funding, driven by global liquidity, aggressive growth investing, and “blitzscaling” expectations. Although it appeared to be a success story on the surface, it created several structural distortions that companies are still struggling to address today.

Why it matters: The boom created artificial growth and masked structural weaknesses such as low customer retention and unreliable infrastructure. When the capital was abundant, these weaknesses didn’t matter, but when capital tightened, only businesses with real unit economics survived comfortably.

Lesson for Founders: The real advantage is durability. Hype cycles make companies look successful temporarily. Durability enables them to survive regardless of market mood. The strongest companies emerging from the boom period all shared one trait: the ability to survive without fundraising. And that ability is proof of an already built structure.

Read our full breakdown: The Hidden Cost of the 2021-2022 Mega-Round Boom File

Top stories from around Africa

Starlink gains public support in Namibia despite licensing hurdle

Starlink has been receiving overwhelming public support in Namibia despite having its operating license application rejected by the country’s regulator, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia. After the rejection, hundreds of citizens and shareholders submitted requests asking the regulator to review its decision. Namibia rejected Starlink’s application because the company had failed to meet three key regulatory requirements. However, authorities have indicated that Starlink could reapply after it addresses those concerns.

Why it matters: One reason Starlink has gained support is that many Namibians still lack reliable broadband coverage, especially in rural areas. The volume of public support demonstrates how strongly consumers want better internet access. In markets where existing connectivity is unreliable or expensive, users are willing to publicly advocate for better and new entrants.

Lesson for Founders: Build for users, win regulators. A great product gets consumers to fight for you. A great business ensures regulators don’t have a reason to stop you. The Starlink Namibian experience reveals that distribution, demand, and technology can create momentum, but long-term success comes from local participation, stakeholder engagement, and aligning innovation with the rules of the market you’re entering.

Enza receives approval to offer digital payment solutions in Ghana

Payments infrastructure company, Enza, has received a Payment Service Provider (PSP) Enhanced License from the Bank of Ghana. The license allows Enza to work with banks, fintechs and other financial institutions, offering payment processing and related infrastructure services in one of Africa’s most developed digital finance markets.

Why it matters: The Bank of Ghana’s licensing framework is designed to promote safety, innovation, competition and financial inclusion. In African fintech, regulatory approval is increasingly becoming a competitive advantage. Receiving an Enhanced License signals regulatory confidence in Enza’s operations and compliance capabilities.

Lesson for Founders: Expansion starts with regulatory trust. Many founders think that expansion is primarily about identifying a large market and acquiring customers. In regulated industries, expansion begins way earlier, with building credibility among regulators. The Starlink-Namibian dispute shows what happens when consumer demand outruns regulatory approval. Enza does the opposite. The strongest companies don’t choose between winning consumers or regulators. They do both simultaneously.

Safari CEO appointment linked with Vodacom-Kenya agreement

A shareholder agreement linked to Vodacom’s proposed acquisition of the Kenyan Government’s 15% stake in Safari revealed that Vodacom’s ownership would rise to 55%, giving it majority control of East Africa’s largest telecom operator. Under the agreement, Safaricom’s board would have to select future CEO’s from a shortlist provided by Vodafone Kenya Limited, effectively giving Vodafone Kenya Limited significant influence over who leads Safaricom.

Why it matters: When ownership and control shift, so does influence over future investments, partnerships, hiring decisions and innovation priorities. Many see Safaricom as more than just a telecom company. It’s a critical national infrastructure, and control over it means influence over one of Africa’s most valuable fintech ecosystems.

Lesson for Founders: Negotiate control. A founder may own a large percentage of the company and still lose influence if investors control board appointments, executive hiring and strategic decisions. Ownership isn’t the main battlefield; control is. Watch out for every clause in every company agreement. The one you skim over today may determine who runs the company tomorrow.

Is your next Seed check a bridge to nowhere?

For over two years, we’ve documented the “how” and “why” behind Africa’s startup failures. Now, we’re giving you the engine to prevent them.

Introducing Grave Intel—the first Pre-Mortem tool built on 100+ historical failure points.

• Ghost Peer Matching: See which defunct startups your current deal most closely resembles.

• Naira Stress Tests: Simulate a 60% devaluation in real time.

• Macro thesis: Adjust sliders to see how shocks affect your startup’s survival probability.

[Join the Waitlist]

Other interesting stories

• MTN eyes Nigeria’s $236 billion credit shortfall as MoMo expands to lending

• Uber seeks courier licence in Kenya logistics expansion

• Nigerian Fintech LemFi Leads $289 Million African Startup Funding Wave

• Kenya becomes Amazon’s satellite Internet entry point in Africa

• Spiro appoints Anant Badjatya as group CEO following $215M funding boost

Did you know?

SpaceX soared 19% on Friday during its debut on Nasdaq, opening at $150 after the biggest initial public offering ever.

Opportunities

• Startup Graveyard Africa is hiring a Growth Partner & Head of Partnerships

• Apply to Y Combinator Summer 2026

• Antler is offering up to $400,000 to founders

• Bamboo is hiring several roles

• Call for Applications: Nirvana Academy Internship Programme 2026

Join founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts staying ahead by subscribing to the Startup Graveyard Africa Newsletter. Don't miss next week's digest. See you then!

We're back with compelling stories and headlines from all over Africa. Do leave us a comment to let us know you enjoy our content, or share this post with someone for free!

In case you missed it, we released our Q1 2026 report last week, which tells the story of how African startups fared in the first quarter and highlights trends to watch in the coming months. Grab your copy of the report: The State of Startup Survival in Africa 2026 (Q1 Report).

On to the stories of the week!

Top stories from around Africa

Chowdeck adds vendor badges weeks after Techpoint Africa’s investigation revealed onboarding gaps

Food delivery startup Chowdeck has introduced a new vendor badge system that shows customers whether a restaurant has been verified, is awaiting verification, or is just a shopper. These moves come weeks after a Techpoint Africa investigation revealed that a fake restaurant could be created on Chowdeck using false information and successfully fulfil an order before being flagged.

Why it matters: One investigation birthed a product change. This is a strong example of how public scrutiny can directly influence product development. It can expose blind spots that the internal team have overlooked because they are too close to the product. Rather than issuing a statement and moving on, Chowdeck changed the product experience itself by adding visible trust signals.

Lesson for Founders: Treat Criticism as free product research. The instinctive reaction to criticism is often to defend the company, the team or the product. But some of the most valuable insights about a business come from people pointing out what’s broken. The founders who grow the quickest are not the ones who avoid criticism but the ones who mine it for insight. Be like Chowdeck – listen and improve.

Spiro secures $215 million in funding to support expansion into Ethiopia and DRC

Spiro has just raised $215 million in fresh equity funding to expand its electric motorcycle and battery swapping business across Africa. This brings Spiro’s recent fundraising total to more than $365 million across multiple rounds, making it one of the most heavily funded clean mobility startups on the continent.

Why it matters: For the past few years, African startup funding has been dominated by asset-light models like fintech apps and marketplaces. These are attractive because they scale without heavy capital expenditure. But Spiro’s raise is different. The significance of the $215 million isn’t just size but confidence. It shows a shift in investor thinking that sees Africa not only as a software opportunity market but as an energy systems frontier. This is corroborated by the rise in cleantech investment documented in our Q1 2026 report.

Lesson for Founders: Capital follows Systems, not just Ideas. A raise like Spiro’s isn’t all about a good pitch. It’s about proving you’re building something systemic. Investors are far more willing to deploy large amounts of capital when they can see predictable demand, infrastructure, recurring usage, and clarity on scaling. If your business doesn’t get stronger as more people use it, scaling will always be expensive. If it does, capital will feel almost inevitable.

Interswitch, Telemenos partner to expand digital banking in Africa

Interswitch has entered a major partnership deal with global banking software company Telemenos to expand full-scale digital banking infrastructure services across Africa. Essentially, Interswitch is moving from a payments company to a banking technology infrastructure provider for banks.

Why it matters: Banks are no longer just buying tools. They are increasingly adopting platforms that bundle multiple banking functions together. This partnership provides access to digital banking interfaces, core banking systems, payment infrastructure, and compliance systems. It shows that African banking is no longer just existing at the surface level.

Lesson for Founders: The biggest opportunities are often in the middle. Most founders chase visible user problems, such as apps, interfaces, and the consumer experience. The real scale often lies in the middle layers that connect systems, power other businesses, and reduce operational friction. That’s where the Interswitch move comes to play. The deeper your system gets embedded into another organisation’s workflow, the harder it gets to replace you. When your product becomes a system that other businesses rely on, you stop competing on features and start competing on necessity.

Is your next Seed check a bridge to nowhere?

For over two years, we’ve documented the “how” and “why” behind Africa’s startup failures. Now, we’re giving you the engine to prevent them.

Introducing Grave Intel—the first Pre-Mortem tool built on 100+ historical failure points.

• Ghost Peer Matching: See which defunct startups your current deal most closely resembles.

• Naira Stress Tests: Simulate a 60% devaluation in real time.

• Macro thesis: Adjust sliders to see how shocks affect your startup’s survival probability.

[Join the Waitlist]

Other interesting stories

• Spectranet gains top spot as Nigerian ISP’s end 2025 with 325k users

• Bolt Food Partners With Quickmart to Offer 12,000+ Products in New Expansion

• South Africa gets Amazon Prime for less than $4 a month

• Uganda’s central bank caps cash withdrawals in digital payments push

• Nigerian startups receive $5 million boost from Cascador

• Mauritius Commercial Bank Announces $1 Billion Trade Finance Initiative for Africa

Did you know?

Orange and its partners are building a 20,000 km subsea cable through the Atlantic connecting Nigeria and several African countries to Europe.

Opportunities

• Female Founders Growth Programme

• Bamboo is hiring several roles

• Call for Applications: Nirvana Academy Internship Programme 2026

• Lafarge Africa Plc Recruitment 2026 Now Open

Join founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts staying ahead by subscribing to the Startup Graveyard Africa Newsletter. Don't miss next week's digest. See you then!

While the state argues this is a necessary defence against misinformation and “malinformation,” privacy advocates point out that using machine learning to parse public sentiment and track narratives online looks a lot like automated mass surveillance. We dive into the political fallout of this proposal, drawing parallels to the digital organisation that fueled the 2024 Finance Bill protests.

Other interesting stories in this episode:

• Kenya is proposing a 15% levy on foreign VC capital gains during startup exits. We discuss whether this will protect local wealth or simply cause foreign investors to route their capital elsewhere.

• In Nigeria, Airtel and Globacom have immediately resumed their lucrative airtime and data lending services after a court blocked the FCCPC’s strict consumer lending regulations.

• Following its infamous ChatGPT hallucination scandal, South Africa’s Department of Communications has officially delayed its Draft National AI Policy to 2027 to rebuild the framework from scratch.

• Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife has teamed up with Google to launch a “Magical Kenya” AI trip planner powered by Gemini, moving destination marketing from intuition to real-time data.

• South Africa’s Mia Healthcare has closed a $920,000 funding round, proving that specialised, tech-enabled health clinics are highly attractive to regional investors. • We look at Bloomberg’s newly released feature highlighting 25 African startups to watch, assessing who is actually positioned to scale in this tight macro environment.

Connect with us!

Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa

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It has been over a year since our last comprehensive release, the 2024 Startup Graveyard Report. During that hiatus, we watched the African technology ecosystem transition from a prolonged funding winter into a completely new operational epoch. The environment has stopped meeting fragile business models halfway.

Today, we are dropping our diagnostic mapping of this new reality: The State of Startup Survival in Africa 2026 (Q1 Report).

We’ve built this report to serve as an actionable toolkit for the current climate. Inside, we unpack the startups we lost, map the ascending sectors, and outline the exact survival playbook required to navigate Q2 and beyond.

On to the stories of the week!

Is your next Seed check a bridge to nowhere?

For over two years, we’ve documented the “how” and “why” behind Africa’s startup failures. Now, we’re giving you the engine to prevent them.

Introducing Grave Intel—the first Pre-Mortem tool built on 100+ historical failure points.

• Ghost Peer Matching: See which defunct startups your current deal most closely resembles.

• Naira Stress Tests: Simulate a 60% devaluation in real time.

• Macro thesis: Adjust sliders to see how shocks affect your startup's survival probability.

[Join the Waitlist]

Top stories from around Africa

NIBSS drags banks to court over alleged N13.66bn lost due to a glitch

The Nigeria Inter Bank Settlement System has taken several banks to court over an alleged 13.66 billion naira loss linked to a system glitch. According to NIBSS, a glitch in the Nigeria Instant Payment (NIP) platform caused a dry posting incident where thousands of customer accounts were credited without corresponding debits from the sending accounts.

Why it matters: What makes this remarkable is that, allegedly, no hacker was involved, no fraud ring was uncovered, and no customer intentionally initiated the issue. A technical failure alone allegedly led to a financial failure running into billions of naira and a lawsuit.

Lessons for Founders: Growth increases operational cost. As systems scale, small technical issues stop being bugs and start being financial incidents. Founders building fintechs or any other transaction-heavy product need to understand that scale not only increases revenue but also the blast radius of every mistake. A single glitch can ripple across multiple institutions instantly in a shared infrastructure environment. If your systems can scale, your security modes must scale with them.

Ethio Telecom lists on the Bourse, marking Ethiopia’s first IPO

Ethiopia’s state-owned telecom giant, Ethio Telecom, has officially listed on the newly launched Ethiopian Securities Exchange, marking the country’s first major IPO and a key milestone in its capital market reforms. The company’s public offering was part of a broader government effort to partially privatise major state assets and deepen domestic investment markets.

Why it matters: It signals Ethiopia’s shift towards privatisation and investor participation. It also highlights both opportunities and challenges in Ethiopia’s emerging capital market. Although the IPO initially aimed to raise about $255 million and was significantly undersubscribed, the listing is still being viewed as highly symbolic.

Lesson for Founders: Going big might send you home. Most of the time, building something big isn’t enough. You need an ecosystem ready to absorb it. Even with a strong asset, brand, or product, if investors or users don’t trust the system it sits in, adoption will be slow or uneven. We’ve said it a million times, but timing matters. Sometimes you’re not early or late with your product. You’re just early or late with the system that’s meant to support it.

Bank of Ghana suspends proposed fee for MTN MoMo-to-bank transfers

The Bank of Ghana has suspended MTN Ghana’s proposed 0.75% fee on transfers from MoMo wallets to bank accounts, which was scheduled to begin on June 1, 2026. The fee announcement came just a day earlier from the telecom network and would have charged users for moving money from their mobile money wallets into bank accounts, including personal-to-person transfers.

Why it matters: This shows how policy can move faster than public execution in financial ecosystems. MTN Ghana announced a pricing change, and before it could even take effect, the central bank suspended it. A sign that regulatory oversight is no longer reactive but proactive and immediate when consumer friction is detected.

Lesson for Founders: Permission stability. The MTN MoMo fee suspension shows that even well-planned monetisation strategies can be paused instantly when they clash with public interest or regulatory expectations. Distribution at scale comes with veto points. The more essential your product becomes, the more actors gain the power to influence or halt your decision. So try building something that can still move forward even when watched, questioned and tested in real time.

Other interesting stories

• Kenya to Charge VAT on Electric Vehicles in Tax Shift

• Meta adds paid tier for social media apps, eyes AI revenue

• Kenya’s $21m social media surveillance push signals Africa’s next digital control battle

• Airtel and Glo Restore Airtime Borrowing Services

• NITDA debunks association with online earning platform demanding payment

Did you know?

Zipline is scheduled to build 22 additional centres in Nigeria, bringing the total to up to 20,000 facilities and providing access to 100 million people.

Opportunities

• Apply for the Snapnet Graduate Trainee Program 2026

• CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: IITA Internship Program 2026

Join founders, investors, and tech enthusiasts staying ahead by subscribing to the Startup Graveyard Africa Newsletter. Don't miss next week's digest. See you then!

Other interesting stories in this episode:

• The 14-Day Monopoly Break: We take a retrospective look at 2019 and analyse how Flutterwave and Moniepoint moved with unprecedented speed to dismantle a deeply entrenched card monopoly in Nigeria in just two weeks.

• Tether’s Diaspora Bet: Stablecoin giant Tether is investing heavily in cross-border fintech LemFi, aiming to power up stablecoin-driven remittances and slash the high friction of sending money home across the diaspora.

• AI in the Skies: Kenya Airways enters the AI era by deploying Jupiter 5.0, a machine-learning pricing engine designed to analyse millions of real-time data points and dynamically adjust airfares to maximise seat occupancy.

Connect with us!

Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/