This Week in African Tech 🌍

Hey hey, Darius here 👋🏼, good morning.

This week, Chowdeck reached 1 million orders in a single month. 

Which means somewhere in Lagos, Abuja, or Port Harcourt, someone's ordering jollof rice at a pace that would make economists nervous. This is one of my proudest investor moments as I personally have contributed 0.001% in orders to the one million. 😏

Meanwhile, Yellow Card made a bold, defining pivot: ditching its retail app to focus exclusively on enterprise clients. It's a clear signal that the market is mature enough for specialization, chasing the massive, urgent demand for regulated cross-border payment infrastructure.

But before we unpack the details…

Tech Roundup

• There’s a new captain at TymeBank. The South African digital bank has appointed long-time exec and founding member Cheslyn Jacobs as CEO, effective January 2026, with outgoing chief Karl Westvig staying on as advisor. Jacobs, who helped scale the bank to 11 million customers, is stepping in as TymeBank leans into innovation and a more intense fight for market share.

• Chowdeck has crossed 1 million orders in a single month, a first for the fast-growing delivery startup. The YC-backed company has jumped from roughly 30,000 to over 40,000 daily orders as it scales across Nigeria and into Ghana. It’s a sharp contrast to rivals like Jumia Food and Bolt Food, which exited the market under the weight of thin margins.

• MTN Rwanda has hit 8 million subscribers, with fintech leading the charge. Mobile Money users jumped to 5.8 million, while merchant adoption hit 578,000, driving record service revenue up 14.2% and EBITDA up 37%.

• Revolut is going north…literally. The fintech giant has named Yacine Faqir as Morocco CEO, signaling a push into North Africa’s digital banking scene. Faqir, ex-Mastercard VP for North-Francophone Africa, will steer Revolut’s expansion, aiming to boost fintech innovation, financial inclusion, and cross-border payments.

• Yellow Card is exiting retail to focus on enterprises. From January 2026, the stablecoin platform will serve businesses exclusively, citing soaring demand for regulated, cross-border payment infrastructure. Retail users get a December 31 deadline to withdraw funds, while Yellow Card leans into its $3B-a-year B2B ecosystem and partnerships spanning Africa, LATAM, and Asia.

• Mukuru and JUMO are giving South Africans fast access to credit. The new “Fast Loan” lets customers borrow R100–R8,000 ($5.78–$462.40) via WhatsApp, with instant payouts to a Mukuru card or cash at over 11,000 retail points. Transparent fees, capped penalties, and early repayment incentives aim to make borrowing fair,  while reporting to credit bureaus helps build financial profiles.

• Gaming is getting serious in South Africa, where esports revenue is on track to hit $29 million in 2025 and possibly $44 million by 2030. Prize pools, sponsorships, and pro contracts are turning hobbyists into earners, while schools and corporates build leagues that double as training grounds for future tech talent. With majors like CS:GO driving most of the winnings and local stars crossing into global competitions, the country’s esports scene is leveling up fast.

• Brazzaville, meet Gozem. The Super App that combines ride-hailing, delivery, and fintech has expanded its footprint across Central Africa. Residents can now hail standard or comfort taxis while “Champions”, the platform’s drivers, earn new income. With millions of trips completed, Gozem is steadily digitizing African cities, one ride at a time.

• Naspers has handed shareholders another R475.6 million ($27.5 million). The South African digital giant has been on a buyback spree since 2020, returning a total of R134.33 billion ($7.76 billion) while juggling its split and Tencent holdings. Even with shares up 50% year-to-date, investors are still cashing in on the group’s global footprint and growing AI bets.

• Safaricom’s profits are climbing fast. Half-year earnings jumped 52% to KES 42.8 billion ($331 million), boosted by M-PESA growth and a narrower KES 13.3 billion ($102.9 million) loss in Ethiopia. Service revenue rose 11%, and the mobile money giant now powers over 40% of Kenya’s digital payments. Ethiopia’s 11.1 million subscribers hint at the next growth frontier.

Deal Roundup

• KCB Group is taking a minority stake in Pesapal as Kenya’s biggest bank doubles down on digital payments. The deal follows KCB’s $15.4 million buyout of Riverbank Solutions earlier this year, signaling a shift from traditional lending toward platform-based finance. Pesapal, which processes payments for thousands of merchants across East Africa, gives KCB a deeper foothold in the SME and e-commerce economy.

• Nigerian public money is backing startups, and it’s picking Ventures Platform. VP Pan-African Fund II hit a $64 million first close, with the federal iDICE program alongside IFC, Standard Bank, and global investors. The fund will fuel pre-seed to Series A rounds, accelerate pan-African expansion, and push Nigeria’s tech and creative sectors into the spotlight.

• AXIAN Telecom is turning up the heat in East Africa. The Madagascar-based operator acquired Wananchi Group for $63 million, bringing Zuku and Simbanet under its wing. The move bolsters AXIAN’s 11-country footprint and signals a serious push to dominate broadband in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

• Standard Bank is putting R750 million ($43.34 million) behind clean energy in Africa. The investment goes to New GX Capital’s Airnergize platform, funding solar and battery projects for commercial and industrial customers across sub-Saharan Africa. With this move, Standard Bank doubles down on sustainable infrastructure while New GX pushes toward its R4-billion ($231.16 million) clean-tech target.

• French investor Stoa S.A.S. is buying into Kenya’s telecom backbone. Atlas Kenya, owner of over 450 towers serving Safaricom, Airtel, and Telkom, was snapped up for $27 million (Sh3.5 billion). The deal, greenlit by the Competition Authority, sets the stage for tower upgrades, expanded reach, and greener power for Kenya’s mobile networks.

• Anda has raised $3.4 million to bring order to Angola’s chaotic motorcycle taxi scene. The startup runs a “drive-to-own” model that helps riders finance bikes while getting insurance, training, and safety gear. It’s aiming at a massive, mostly informal market of 1.2 million riders (a $5 billion sector where most operators aren’t licensed or insured). The new capital helps Anda scale its fleet and platform as it tries to formalise one of Africa’s most overlooked mobility markets.

• Sawa Energy raised $ 2.9 million to help East African businesses ditch diesel. The Uganda-based startup finances solar and battery systems for commercial clients, offering long-term contracts at rates cheaper than the grid. The funding comes from ElectriFI, which says the deal should unlock more institutional capital and speed up deployments in Uganda and Rwanda.

• Kenya’s Farm to Feed has raised $1.5 million to turn odd-looking but perfectly edible crops into a scalable supply chain. The startup has already sold 2.1 million kilos of “rescue-grade” produce from 6,500 farmers, and the new capital will boost its digital backbone and regional expansion. With as much as 40% of African food going to waste, investors like Delta40 and Catalyst Fund see serious upside in giving rejected carrots a second shot.

• WildyNess, a Tunisian marketplace for sustainable travel, has raised a pre-seed round to bring its community-led experiences to more of the Middle East and North Africa. The startup curates trips co-created with local micro-businesses and has already moved over $300,000 in organic sales without spending on marketing.

Post of the Week

@techsafarihq

ChatGPT is now 75% cheaper in Nigeria, Kenya, India, and dozens of emerging markets. #chatgpt #techtok #fintechnews #openai

And that's a wrap!

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

Cheers,

The Tech Safari Team

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