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Welcome to The Afro Pivot Point
Showing You What's Art and What's Not in African Tech
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It’s been an action-packed week in African tech! TikTok is ramping up safety measures with its first-ever Safety Advisory Council on the continent, while Tingo Group faces serious legal challenges. Chpter and Fido are making major money moves, and NALA is expanding into Uganda with a new license. Meanwhile, Airtel secures key telecom licences, Flutterwave welcomes a new CFO, and Lagos takes on land fraud with blockchain tech. Let’s jump right in — I hope your week has been just as inspiring as the stories we’re about to share!
What’s Art?
TikTok has rolled out its first-ever Safety Advisory Council for Africa. The initiative aims to protect its rapidly expanding African user base by tackling misinformation and safeguarding its youngest users from the dangers of the online world. This marks a significant step for TikTok in bolstering user safety across the continent.
What’s Not?
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered Dozy Mmobuosi, the CEO of Tingo Group, to pay over $250 million and barred him from serving as a director of any public company. The SEC claims that Tingo inflated its financial performance, and one of its subsidiaries, Tingo Mobile, falsely reported having $461.7 million in Nigerian bank accounts for 2022, while its actual balance was less than $50.
Major Bag Alert
Chpter, a Kenyan AI-powered conversational commerce platform, raised $1.2 million in a pre-seed round aimed at expanding product visibility and enhancing clients' marketing capabilities. The round was led by Ken Njoroge of PANI and included investors like Plesion Capital, Techstars, Norrsken, Renew Capital, and ViKtoria Ventures. Angel investors such as NALA Founder and CEO Benjamin Fernandes and Workpay Cofounders Paul Kimani and Jackson Kibigo also participated.
Ghanaian digital lender Fido raised $20 million in Series B funding, backed by BlueOrchard Finance Ltd and FMO Investment Management. An additional $10 million in debt financing came from Stanbic Bank Ghana and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). The funding will help Fido expand its financial services across Africa, offering solutions like small business loans, savings, and insurance.
Money Moves
Tanzania-based fintech NALA has received an IMTO (International Money Transfer Operator) licence from the Bank of Uganda. This allows NALA to integrate with mobile money services and offer more efficient, secure cross-border payments to individuals and businesses.
Three months after securing an operating licence, Starlink is now live in Zimbabwe. The service is available through local partner IMC Communications, with hardware priced at $350 and a $50 monthly subscription, and a mini package costing $200 with a $30 monthly subscription. For the first time on the continent, Starlink is charging in USD rather than local currency.
Airtel Nigeria has secured three new telecom licences from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). These include an Internet Service Provider (ISP) license, a National Long Distance license, and a Sales and Installation Major license, all awarded to its subsidiary Airtel Nigeria Telesonic Limited. The move is expected to boost Airtel’s revenue after the company reported a $13 million loss in H1 2024.
Uber is conducting a review of rising fuel prices in Nigeria, which recently hit ₦897 per litre. The increase follows months of fuel shortages, and Uber is considering initiatives to mitigate the impact on driver earnings.
Mastercard has teamed up with Smile ID, a leading African digital identity (KYC) provider, to streamline merchant onboarding in South Africa, Nigeria, and other parts of Africa. Through Mastercard’s Merchant Digital Onboarding Program (MDOP), this collaboration will allow third-party providers—such as banks and mobile operators—to ensure secure, automated verifications during the onboarding process.
And the winner is…
54 Collective, previously known as Founders Factory Africa, was awarded "Investor of the Year" at the Africa Fintech Summit in Nairobi. The collective’s commitment to supporting fintech innovation across Africa earned them this top honor.
New Kid on the Block
Flutterwave has appointed Mitesh Popat as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), following the departure of former CFO Oneal Bhambani nine months ago. This leadership change comes as Flutterwave continues to grow its influence in the African fintech ecosystem.
On Every Block
Kotani Pay CEO, Felix Macharia
Kotani Pay officially secured its Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license from South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), positioning it for further growth in the crypto space.
Binance is appealing to Nigerian authorities for the release of its executive, Tigran Gambaryan, who has been detained since February 2024. The company has yet to comment on the reasons behind his detention.
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued the country’s first crypto licenses to two home-grown exchanges, Busha and Quidax. This landmark move signals Nigeria’s growing openness to crypto regulation and innovation.
The Lagos State government, in collaboration with local tech firms, is rolling out a blockchain-based system to address corruption in its land registry. Over the next 18 months, the project will introduce a secure, transparent platform for recording land transactions, providing an immutable and tamper-proof solution to land fraud.
That’s a wrap for this week!
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