This Week in African Tech 🌍

Hey everyone, Darius here with your Sunday roundup.

This week, the relationship between tech innovators and regulators was front and center, with courts and central banks making moves that will reshape major markets. In Kenya, a landmark court ruling handed fintechs a major victory by exempting them from a key tax.

But in Ghana, the story was different, as the central bank suspended the licenses of major payment firms for compliance breaches.

But before we explore this dynamic, you should know about…

Tech Roundup

• A Kenyan High Court has ruled that fintech companies are exempt from paying value-added tax (VAT) on their payment services. The decision, which overturns a previous ruling that demanded $568,000 from the payments startup Pesapal, sets a new legal precedent. The court found that licensed fintechs provide services that are "functionally equivalent" to those offered by traditional banks and should therefore receive the same tax exemptions.

• Ghana is betting on a new strategy to challenge MTN's telecom dominance by merging two struggling providers, Telecel and AirtelTigo. The government hopes this consolidation, supported by a proposed $600 million investment, will create a stronger second player with a combined market share of about 26%—a move that could improve competition in a market where MTN currently holds a nearly 79% share.

• Tanzanian fintech NALA has expanded into Kenya through a partnership with Equity Bank and payment utility Pesalink. The collaboration will allow NALA to route international transfers through Pesalink’s instant payment network, enabling recipients to receive funds in real-time in mobile wallets or bank accounts. This partnership allows NALA to tap into Kenya's growing remittance market, which reached a record $4.94 billion in 2024.

• Licensed digital lenders in Kenya have disbursed 5.5 million loans worth $594 million in the last three years. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) recently licensed 27 additional providers, bringing the total number of approved firms to 153. This move comes as the CBK prepares to introduce new regulations to tighten oversight, which would require even smaller lenders to be registered.

• Moroccan superapp startup Ora Technologies has acquired Cathedis, a Casablanca-based last-mile delivery company, for an undisclosed sum. By bringing its logistics in-house, Ora aims to gain a competitive edge by controlling the entire e-commerce journey from payment to delivery. This acquisition is part of a growing trend in the Moroccan startup scene where well-funded local players are consolidating the market through strategic mergers and acquisitions.

• The Bank of Ghana has suspended the remittance licences of eight companies, including Flutterwave and Cellulant Ghana, for one month due to guideline breaches. The regulator's action is part of a broader crackdown on compliance failures and unauthorized foreign exchange activity. United Bank for Africa (UBA) Ghana, which served as the settlement bank for the affected companies, also had its foreign exchange trading license suspended for the same period.

Deal Roundup

• Koolboks, a cleantech startup, has secured $11 million in Series A funding to expand its solar-powered freezer business in Africa. The funding will support a new local assembly plant in Nigeria, which is expected to reduce costs for end-users by 15–20%. The company, which has already deployed over 10,000 solar freezers across 25 countries, provides a "cooling-as-a-service" model that includes flexible financing options to help small businesses, especially women-owned enterprises, maintain a steady income..

• South African edtech startup The Invigilator has raised $11 million in funding to scale its AI-powered assessment monitoring software worldwide. The platform, which helps schools and universities prevent cheating during remote exams, uses students' smartphones to monitor for suspicious activity, even in low-bandwidth environments. The new capital, led by investment firm Kaltroco, will be used to accelerate the company’s international expansion into North America, Europe, and Asia.

• Nigerian agritech company Babban Gona has secured $7.5 million in debt financing from British International Investment (BII) to expand its services to smallholder farmers. The company, which uses an AI-enabled franchise model to provide farmers with credit, training, and climate-smart farming solutions, aims to boost the incomes and yields of 140,000 farmers in northern Nigeria by 2029.

• MOPO, a UK-based clean energy company, has secured £5 million ($6.7 million) in funding from Norfund, the Norwegian government’s development finance institution. This investment will enable MOPO to expand its solar-powered battery rental service across Sub-Saharan Africa. The company's "pay-per-use" model, which has facilitated over 28 million battery rentals to date, is designed to provide a clean and affordable alternative to expensive and polluting petrol generators.

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Other Events and Opportunities

• The AfricArena Tour 2025 is coming to Nairobi for the Africa Climate Tech Week summit. The event will feature a pitch competition for over 20 ClimateTech startups, with winners securing a spot at the Grand Summit finale in Cape Town. The summit connects startups with a network of 100+ investors, VCs, and corporate partners from Africa, Europe, the US, and Asia. Get your tickets here.

• Applications are now open for the MEST Africa Challenge (MAC) 2025. This year, the competition is calling on fintech startups from Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and six other African nations that are building solutions in areas like digital payments and financial inclusion. The winner will receive a grand prize of $50,000 in equity funding, the opportunity to run a pilot project with Absa Bank, and a spot in the MEST Africa incubation portfolio. Apply by September 26.

• The Africa Money & DeFi Summit returns to Accra on September 24–25, bringing together 500+ fintech and Web3 leaders. Applications are open for its Investment Showcase, where selected African startups will pitch to investors for funding and partnerships.

And that's a wrap!

That’s it for this week. See you on Wednesday 😃 

Cheers,

The Tech Safari Team

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