Author: Insider Editor

A pan-African infrastructure and services group active in sectors including telecom and digital banking, has rebranded its fintech cluster. Formerly known as Axian Open Innovation & Fintech, it will now operate as AXIAN Digibank & Fintech, marking a clear shift from mobile-money operations to a full digital banking ecosystem serving individuals and businesses across the continent. The new cluster expands AXIAN’s mandate beyond simple payments, targeting the broader financial services that African individuals and SMEs increasingly need but cannot access through mobile money alone. According to the World Bank, banking access across Africa has grown in recent years, largely driven…

Millions of entrepreneurs and small business owners in Africa’s informal economy are shut out of traditional banking systems. Without collateral or formal credit histories, they face a $118 billion credit gap in Nigeria alone, forcing many to rely on predatory, short-term loans that trap them in cycles of debt. From the beginning, the co-founders of Credlock Africa had a clear vision to build a trusted, scalable credit infrastructure that turns everyday assets into collateral. Founded in Ilorin in January 2024, the startup focuses on micro-lending by transforming a borrower’s smartphone into a guarantee for credit. In less than two years,…

A coalition of the world’s major economies wrapped up its summit in Johannesburg, marking the first time the gathering has ever been hosted on African soil. Under the theme “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability,” the summit placed Africa at the centre of conversations about emerging technologies, data governance, and global cooperation. A key highlight of the Leaders’ Declaration is the launch of the AI for Africa Initiative, a new voluntary platform under the Africa–G20 cooperation framework. Its goal: expand African countries’ access to computing power, training opportunities, quality and representative datasets, and the infrastructure needed to build and deploy AI systems. The…

African small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have relied on retail apps like AliExpress and more. Recently Temu to source affordable goods from China without the cost of travelling. These platforms opened a window into China’s vast product market, but they were never built for businesses that need reliability, bulk pricing, custom orders, and direct factory relationships. That gap created the perfect runway for Midddleman, a Nigerian tradetech startup helping African businesses source directly from Chinese manufacturers offering cheaper prices, tighter quality control, and a smoother cross-border procurement process. The scale of the opportunity is massive. Nigeria–China bilateral trade stood at…

UK-based crypto firm Luno has introduced tokenised US stocks to its Nigerian users, just one month after rolling out the product in South Africa, where it has already attracted 10,000 users. The move signals Luno’s intent to deepen its presence in Africa’s investment space through tokenisation technology. Starting September 8, Nigerian users can invest in 60 tokenised US stocks and ETFs on the Luno app with as little as ₦100 ($0.07). This is made possible through a partnership with xStocks by Kraken, the tokenisation arm of the global crypto giant, and Backed Finance, a US-based issuer of tokenised real-world assets…

iXAfrica has secured $200 million in debt financing from Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), the investment banking arm of South Africa’s FirstRand Group, to scale up its Nairobi operations. The funds which will be disbursed in tranches will support an ambitious expansion of 20 megawatts (MW) of IT power, positioning iXAfrica as a leading data infrastructure provider in East Africa. A Strategic Expansion Earlier this year, iXAfrica unveiled plans to build NBOX1, a 2.25MW hyperscale data facility in Nairobi. With the new funding, the company will significantly boost the capacity of this site, ensuring it can keep pace with rising cloud…

Tanzanian fintech NALA has officially launched in Kenya, marking a significant expansion into one of Africa’s most vibrant remittance markets. The cross-border payments startup has entered the country through a partnership with Equity Bank and Kenya’s national interbank payment system, PesaLink, in a move designed to tap into the billions flowing into the economy from the diaspora. The partnership will see NALA route international remittances through PesaLink’s instant payment infrastructure, with Equity Bank handling settlements. For Kenyans, this translates into real-time receipt of funds sent from abroad directly into their bank accounts or mobile wallets. Riding on Kenya’s Remittance Boom…

InnovationHub Africa, the organizers of the prestigious Nigeria Innovation Summit (NIS), have announced the top agenda for the 10th edition of its annual event. The summit is an annual event that brings together critical stakeholders from different sectors of the economy to discuss ground-breaking ideas, trends, opportunities, and numerous verticals to accelerate innovation and solutions that solve unique challenges within Nigeria and the African continent at large. Disclosing the event’s agenda, Mr. Tony Ajah, the Programme Director of the summit, says, “The theme for this year’s event is “Sustainable Innovation”.As the world grapples with pressing challenges from climate change to social…

Uber Eats has introduced a new feature called “Live” that allows users to order food and drinks directly to their seats at select live event venues in South Africa, reshaping the way fans experience entertainment. With the new feature, attendees at concerts, sports matches, and other live events can open the Uber Eats app, browse food stalls available at the venue, place an order, and have their meal delivered straight to their seat, no queues, no missing the action. Uber Eats first piloted the feature at SunBet Arena in Pretoria during the Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoffs on June 13,…

Kenyan software startup Chpter has entered 11 new African markets through a strategic partnership with fintech giant Flutterwave, significantly widening access to its WhatsApp-based commerce tools for merchants across the continent. The expansion brings Chpter’s reach to 14 African countries, adding Ghana, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Malawi, and Zambia to its existing presence in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. Under the deal, Flutterwave will handle payment processing and settlement behind the scenes, enabling Chpter merchants to accept mobile money, card, and bank transfer payments in both local currencies and U.S. dollars. The move is…