This Week in African Tech 🌍

OPay gets the go-ahead to freeze accounts

Caleb Maru
July 14, 2024

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Let’s get into This Week in African Tech.

OPay, a Chinese-backed fintech, has got court approval to freeze customer accounts across 30 banks to recover ₦714 million erroneously credited during a system glitch. The glitch occurred between December 2023 and March 2024. They only got 10% back voluntarily and went to court to recoup the rest.
Moody’s has downgraded Kenya's financial rating after the recent protests forced the government to scrap a tax plan that would raise money. The agency is worried Kenya won't be able to pay its debts.
South Africa's public works department has lost $16 million in a decade to hackers. The new minister suspects insider involvement. Investigations reveal possible collusion between officials and criminals.
Okra, a Nigerian fintech known for its open banking APIs (not the crop), is expanding into cloud infrastructure to provide a cheaper alternative to foreign cloud providers in Nigeria. This comes as Okra shuts down some of its open banking products due to limited market opportunity.

Okra Co-Founders, Fara Ashiru Jituboh and David Peterside

Tanzania has announced the liquidation of defunct telecom provider Sasatel. The country’s regulatory agency says Sasatel cannot operate and settle debts.
Telecel offices in the Central African Republic have been closed by the Ministry of Finance because of unpaid taxes totalling $4.4 million, including a 7% tax on final calls introduced in 2023. This could impact Telecel's service quality and availability in the country.

Huawei plans to build a prototype smart village in Uganda with advanced technology solutions to support rural development and healthcare. President Museveni has shown interest in the project and asked for a comprehensive proposal.
Bard Santner, a Zimbabwean financial intermediary and advisory firm, has launched a new money transfer service called TX Money Transfer. They want to improve reliability, transparency, and efficiency in remittance by getting rid of hidden fees and reducing delays.

Tanzanian remittance startup NALA has raised $40 million to expand its services beyond money transfers and build a robust payments ecosystem in Africa. NALA will use the funds to invest in its B2B payment platform Rafiki and upgrade its infrastructure to serve global businesses.
Communication and Renewable Energy Infrastructure (CREI), an asset management company has secured $25 million to improve mobile connectivity in South Sudan. They will use the funds to install solar-powered telecom towers across the country, benefiting over 2 million people in a region.
BasiGo Rwanda has secured a $225,000 grant to expand its electric bus charging infrastructure in Kigali. The company will use the funds to build a new charging station and upgrade existing ones, building on its successful electric bus launch in Rwanda and recent Kenyan expansion.

NuRAN Wireless has secured a $5 million loan to expand its mobile network across Africa. The funding will be used to build new sites in Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with plans to also enter Ivory Coast and South Sudan by the end of the year.
Innovate Africa has launched a $2.5 million fund to invest in up to 20 early-stage African startups solving problems like insecurity, unemployment, and poverty. The fund will provide capital, mentorship, and resources to help startups grow and succeed.
TymeBank, a South African digital bank, has raised $77.8 million to expand its operations in South Africa, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia.

Servercore is hosting its second developer meetup themed “Saving on Cloud Costs” in Nairobi on the 18th of July. If you’re a developer, founder, or tech enthusiast, sign up for the event here to book your spot. The location will be shared upon registration.

Finnovex, the Leading Summit on Financial Services, Innovation and Excellence takes place at the Maslow Hotel Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa from the 22nd to the 23rd of July. Save your spot here.
The second Women Who Build Africa (WWBA) Assembly will take place in Nairobi, on the 5th-6th of September, with the full conference day on the 6th. The event is hosted in partnership with Delta40 and the African Fintech Summit. If you’re a startup and would like to participate in a workshop day, apply here.

And that's a wrap for this week!

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