This Week in African Tech 🌍

Hey hey, Darius here 👋🏼, good morning.

As we close out the year, every founder is hunting for proof points, and Chowdeck just delivered a monster one. After an incredible quarter, the company announced that its Black Friday sales hit ₦1.4 billion ($975,000) from 183,000 orders in just four days.

Also, Flutterwave’s Send App is solving a major pain point just in time for the holidays. They launched the Send App Travel Card, a physical Naira card that Nigerians in the diaspora can fund instantly from their foreign bank accounts (US, EU, UK).

But before we unpack the details…

Now…onto the roundup!

Tech Roundup

• Wise is officially on its way to South Africa. The UK fintech has secured conditional approval from the Reserve Bank to offer international money transfers, its first regulatory green light anywhere in Africa. For a country that moves money across borders every day, cheaper and clearer just got closer.
  

• Cloud distribution is getting an AI upgrade in Africa. Liquid C2 unveiled Liquid G, an AI-powered Google Cloud program designed to simplify how resellers buy, bill, and build on Google’s cloud stack. It’s a push to speed up adoption across the continent, and cut the usual complexity out of the process.

• Black Friday got a tasty twist in Nigeria: Chowdeck raked in ₦1.4B ($975,000) from 182,740 orders in four days. The Lagos-based platform smashed its internal targets with flash deals and free delivery vouchers, logging more than 727,000 kilometres. From 30,000 daily orders a few weeks ago to 40,000+ now, Chowdeck is showing that food delivery is big business.

• Zoho is having its fastest African growth spurt in Nigeria. Five years after launching during lockdown, the Indian SaaS company says customer acquisition is up 70% year over year, ahead of every other market on the continent. Naira pricing, free tiers, and local support helped it take on Microsoft, Google, and Amazon on the continent.

• Google.org is dropping ₦3 billion ($2.1 million) into Nigeria’s digital future. The funding will train AI talent and boost cybersecurity, backing the country’s push to create one million digital jobs. If it works, analysts say AI alone could unlock $15 billion for Nigeria by 2030.

• Capitec and Stitch are rolling out South Africa’s first Variable Recurring Payments (VRP). The new Capitec Pay VRP lets customers pre-approve future payments for subscriptions, groceries, streaming, and more, with a cap on how much can be charged per transaction. Merchants win too: faster collections, higher success rates, and fewer payment headaches.

• Vodafone is taking the reins at Safaricom. A $1.57 billion buy of a 15% government stake lifts Vodafone Kenya’s total holding to 55%, giving it majority control for the first time since Safaricom’s 2008 IPO. The deal also hands Kenya a rare cash windfall, with the government monetising future dividend rights for $309 million, while public investors keep a 25% slice. Safaricom stays listed, but Vodafone now calls the shots.

• After issuing 100 million cards across Africa, Verve is tapping into what’s next: contactless payments and tokenisation. The Interswitch-backed scheme is betting on faster tap-and-go transactions and tighter security as digital payments surge across Nigeria. From plastic to token, the homegrown card network is leveling up.

• Digital subscriptions in Zimbabwe are about to cost more. Starting January 1, 2026, a 15% withholding tax targets payments to foreign services without local presence. Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, and even ride-hailing apps like Bolt are on the hook. The aim is to create a fairer competition for local businesses and a fatter government revenue pot.

• South Africa is investigating Temu and Shein. The National Consumer Commission is reviewing both platforms for compliance with the Consumer Protection Act, zeroing in on product safety, marketing practices, and algorithm transparency.

• Nigeria’s telecoms are back in beast mode. The sector added ₦7.47 trillion ($5.16 billion) to GDP in Q3 2025, up 21.5% from last year, as rising data demand and a 50% tariff hike boosted revenue. MTN and Airtel together earned ₦5.16 trillion ($3.56 billion) in nine months. Telecoms may be small as a share of GDP (6.6%), but their impact is massive.

• Fraud victims in Nigeria are getting a faster lifeline. Under new CBN rules, customers must report fraud within 72 hours, and banks have 16 working days to investigate and refund victims. Fail to comply? The bank eats the loss, or shares it if no one’s at fault.

•  Electric bikes are on Uber’s radar in South Africa. The company is testing e-Moto options with local partners, aiming to make last-mile trips faster, cheaper, and cleaner. Safety, training, and battery infrastructure will guide how and where the service expands.

• Send by Flutterwave is giving Nigerians abroad a local spending lifeline this festive season. The new Send App Travel Card works like a domestic debit card, letting users pay at POS terminals, ATMs, and contactless, without worrying about cash or shaky exchange rates. Fund it from your US, EU, or UK card, pre-order it, and it can be delivered in 24 hours.

Deal Roundup

• Kenya’s insurtech mTek has been snapped up by Singapore’s unicorn bolttech, delivering a rare East African exit in a tough funding cycle. The paperless platform, serving 350,000+ customers and integrating with 45 insurers, gives bolttech a ready-made entry into the region. Investors, including Verod-Kepple Africa Ventures and Founders Factory Africa, see returns after backing the startup through multiple rounds.

• Rology, the AI-powered teleradiology platform from Egypt, secured new backing from global healthcare leaders to expand across MEA. Already serving 300+ hospitals in 13 countries, including recent entries into Saudi Arabia and Kenya, the startup promises faster, cheaper, and highly accurate diagnostics for underserved markets. The tech is FDA-cleared and has slashed reporting costs by up to 25%.

• Gigmile, the mobility fintech helping riders buy income-generating vehicles, closed a seed round with backing from ENZA Capital, Seedstars, and Norrsken Africa Fund. Its Gamma Mobility program covers everything from insurance to maintenance, and 1,500 riders now fully own their vehicles, part of 10,000 deployed across 13 cities.

• Five35 Ventures has announced a raise from the Mastercard Foundation’s Africa Growth Fund to expand its women-focused portfolio across Sub-Saharan Africa. The pan-African fund targets female-led startups in the tricky pre-seed-to-scale gap, offering capital, mentorship, and global networks. Since 2022, Five35’s 16 portfolio companies have generated 1,400+ jobs and raised $75 million in follow-on funding.

• Zazu, founded by ex-Solarisbank alumni, raised $1million pre-seed to launch a Mercury-style platform that merges banking with bookkeeping, payroll, and tax. Beta’s already live with 50 SMEs, and a waitlist of 1,000+ hints at how badly the continent’s “missing middle” needs this.

• South African biotech startup Immobazyme has secured an additional R25 million ($1.45 million) in growth capital, bringing its total funding to R50 million (approx. $2.9 million). The new funds will help scale biologics manufacturing locally, reducing Africa’s reliance on imported enzymes, growth factors, and therapeutics.

Events

• Algiers is hosting the African Startup Conference (ASC 2025), the continent’s largest gathering dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship. The December 6–8 event boasts eye-popping figures, including over 25,000 attendees and a war chest of 150+ investors looking for the next African unicorn. It serves as the ultimate venue where bold startups, visionary investors, and policymakers meet to shape the future of African tech. Learn more here.

• Silicon Xchange 2025 is set to connect Silicon Valley and Africa this December, bringing global AI architects and VCs to accelerate the continent's next tech leap. The event promises to unveil an exclusive, new AI-powered platform designed to activate talent and capital across the ecosystem. Get your tickets here.

Post of the Week

And that's a wrap!

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

Cheers,

The Tech Safari Team

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