Author: Insider Editor

South Africa’s e-hailing industry is at a crossroads. While Bolt and WANATU have secured their operator licences ahead of the March 11 deadline, thousands of drivers are still scrambling to get their permits, leaving many at risk of fines and potential street-level conflicts. Bolt confirmed it received its Certificate of Registration from the National Public Transport Regulator (NPTR) on February 27. “Receiving the Certificate of Registration from the NPTR is an important milestone not only for Bolt, but for the broader e-hailing industry, as it strengthens trust and enhances safety for both driver operators and passengers,” said Fikile Nzuza-Chunga, senior…

After more than a decade of trying to carve out a homegrown streaming service, Showmax is set to close. The African platform, run by MultiChoice Group now a subsidiary of French broadcaster Canal+ will be wound down in the coming months as part of a major cost-cutting and efficiency drive. The decision, approved by the Showmax board and communicated to subscribers on Thursday, comes in the wake of Canal+’s $3 billion acquisition of MultiChoice. While no final closure date has been announced, the company said legal processes related to the takeover are still being finalised. “This decision reflects our focus…

A Moroccan-Senegalese mobility startup Weego is building a multimodal transport platform, has raised $1.1 million in funding from Azur Innovation Fund, an early-stage venture capital firm. The capital will help the company expand across Moroccan cities, strengthen its business-focused transport solutions, and prepare for growth into Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Urban congestion remains one of the biggest economic challenges in Africa’s major cities. Casablanca, Morocco’s economic hub, ranks eighth among the continent’s most congested cities, according to Numbeo, which tracks commuting conditions and congestion worldwide. As Morocco works toward its 2030 development goals, transport efficiency is increasingly tied…

Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, developed with EssilorLuxottica, are marketed as AI-powered assistants capable of translating languages, describing surroundings, capturing hands-free photos and videos, and answering questions about what the user sees. But interviews with Sama employees and Meta staff revealed that much of the footage recorded through the glasses is sent thousands of kilometers to Kenya, where annotators review and label it to improve the AI’s performance. Several workers told the Swedish newspapers that they regularly encounter highly sensitive material, from everyday household scenes to intimate moments that users likely did not realize were being captured. Some footage reportedly included…

Airtel Nigeria’s financial arm, SmartCash Payment Service Bank (PSB), has hit nearly three million active users, a milestone the company says reflects customers who have transacted in the past 30 days a stricter standard than the six-month “active” metric used by many banks. Usage over longer 60- and 90-day windows is even higher, highlighting strong and growing engagement across the country. Since the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced PSBs in 2018, telecom-led fintechs have struggled to turn subscriber scale into meaningful financial traction. Airtel’s SmartCash generated just $6 million in revenue by December 2025, modest compared with market leaders like…

Kuda, a Nigerian neobank with over seven million customers, saw something others hadn’t: building its own CBA could make or break the bank. “It was one of the hardest and most daring decisions I’ve ever taken,” said Musty Mustapha, Kuda’s co-founder and CTO. “I knew I had to stake everything,my team, our investors, the board on this choice.” Banking itself hasn’t changed much over the decades: take deposits, guarantee access, lend to the economy. What has changed is the engine that powers it. A core banking application is that engine recording every deposit, loan, and transaction, updating accounts in real…

A Kenyan battery-as-a-service (BaaS) startup Arc Ride, has secured a $5 million (KES 645 million) commitment from the International Finance Corporation to support its regional expansion, reflecting growing investor interest in e-mobility and climate solutions in East Africa. The IFC backing comes ahead of Arc Ride’s planned Series A round, which the company intends to use to expand its battery-swapping infrastructure and deepen partnerships with local electric mobility operators across the region. “IFC proposes an equity investment of up to $5 million to support Arc Ride’s Series A financing round, which aims to scale network density and service capacity in…

Turning creativity into a sustainable career is rarely straightforward for writers across Africa. Challenges like payment processing hurdles, limited audience reach, and tools that don’t reflect local realities often make it difficult to grow. Iko Africa was created to remove those barriers. The platform provides a suite of products that let writers operate as creative entrepreneurs, giving them access to audience insights, community networks, and monetisation pathways tailored to Africa’s unique landscape. Since launching in 2023, Iko Africa has grown to support over 20,000 users. But the platform’s mission goes beyond numbers or social engagement; the real challenge for African…

South African non-profit focused on upskilling, has partnered with the International Association of Volunteer Effort and IBM SkillsBuild to roll out Phase Two of Reskilling Revolution Africa in South Africa. The initiative seeks to equip women and young people with future-ready skills as automation reshapes entry-level jobs across industries. Participants complete structured learning pathways on IBM’s free digital platform, earning globally recognised certificates in areas like digital literacy, AI, cybersecurity, entrepreneurship, and soft skills. The program combines online courses with mentorship, volunteering, and community projects to build practical experience. “At IBM, we believe that access to technology skills is a…

Conversation around innovation and regulation took centre stage on Saturday, February 28, at the Zikoko Citizen Townhall themed, “Who shapes the Nigerian life?” Held at Four Points by Sheraton Lagos, the event brought together founders, investors, and policy experts to unpack a pressing question: how do you build innovative businesses in an environment where the rules can change overnight? When Innovation Feels Like Disruption Speaking during a panel session titled “Innovation under pressure: How politics shapes what can be built in Nigeria,” Oswald Osaretin Guobadia, Managing Partner at DigitA, pushed back on the idea that innovation must always move faster…