Author: Insider Editor

Kenya’s government is once again seeking to give the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) sweeping access to personal and customer financial data just months after a similar move sparked public outcry and mass protests. In the proposed 2025 Finance Bill, the National Treasury is pushing to delete a legal safeguard—Section 59A(1B) of the Tax Procedures Act that currently prevents the KRA from demanding trade secrets or sensitive personal data held by businesses on behalf of their customers. The proposed change is straightforward but consequential: “Section 59A of the Tax Procedures Act is amended by deleting subsection (1B),” the draft bill reads.…

Nigerian fintech giant Moniepoint has received the green light from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to acquire a 78% stake in Sumac Microfinance Bank, marking a significant step in its push into East Africa’s tightly regulated banking sector. The move follows a failed bid to acquire local payments company KopoKopo just five months ago. While the deal still awaits final approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), it positions Moniepoint to tap into Kenya’s massive mobile payments market, which is valued at an estimated $67.3 billion (KES 8.7 trillion). By acquiring a licensed institution like Sumac, Moniepoint may…

When Caine Wanjau and Thuku wa Thuku co-founded DigiTax in 2022, they weren’t just launching another software company, they were responding to a continental shift. Across Africa, governments are tightening tax regulations, and businesses are scrambling to comply with a wave of new e-invoicing mandates. The Kenyan startup provides e-invoicing software that connects directly to tax authority systems, allowing businesses to issue compliant invoices digitally and in real time. With mandates like Kenya’s electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) and similar systems emerging across the continent, companies are under pressure to digitize or risk steep penalties. DigiTax positions itself as…

A payment infrastructure provider serving remittance companies and businesses FINCRA, has obtained a Third Party Payments Provider (TPPP) licence in South Africa. This licence enables Fincra to process key local payment methods including debit and credit card transactions, electronic funds transfers (EFTs), real-time clearing (RTC), and rapid payments. The licence supports Fincra’s goal to expand its cross-border payment infrastructure and deepen its presence across Africa through multiple payment channels. In South Africa, Fincra competes with fintech startups like Yoco, Ozow, and Peach Payments, offering similar payment services. “Securing the TPPP licence in South Africa is a major milestone toward building…

Africa Delivery Technologies Holding, the Dutch parent company of Nigerian last-mile delivery platform Kwik, was declared bankrupt and placed under administration by an Amsterdam court following a legal dispute with a former executive to whom the company owes about $50,000. Despite the bankruptcy filing, Kwik’s CEO, Romain Peroit-Lellig, insists the company is financially sound and that the ruling does not affect its Nigerian operations. Kwik currently serves over 300,000 merchants in Nigeria and recently secured $1 million in fresh funding. This case marks the second notable bankruptcy involving a Nigerian logistics startup this year. In January, Gokada, another last-mile delivery…

After nearly five years in limbo, 9mobile is finally set to roll out national roaming on MTN’s network in June, following formal approval from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The move will allow 9mobile subscribers to access calls, SMS, and data in areas where its network is weak or unavailable, by piggybacking on MTN’s expansive infrastructure. The national roaming journey began in August 2020 with a three-month pilot, but a full rollout was delayed until now. The heart of the deal lies in a spectrum-sharing and roaming agreement that gives 9mobile reach without the high cost of expanding its own…

Equity Group, Kenya’s second-largest bank by assets, has fired over 1,200 employees in a sweeping anti-fraud purge the biggest of its kind by a Kenyan bank in recent memory. The mass layoffs follow a months-long internal investigation into staff collusion with fraudsters that cost the bank more than $15.4 million (KES 2 billion) across two years. Some of the stolen funds were traced to offshore accounts, including high-profile transfers to Abu Dhabi. The probe uncovered widespread lapses across departments, with staff either facilitating or ignoring suspicious transactions involving customers. “This is the moment of reckoning,” CEO James Mwangi told Business…

Sycamore, a Nigerian digital lending platform, is raising ₦1 billion ($628,000) to wrap up a $1.5 million debt funding round just a week after securing ₦1.5 billion ($943,000) in debt from Cascador, a local entrepreneurship accelerator. The six-year-old startup plans to use the fresh capital to expand its loan book, as demand for credit from individuals and businesses continues to surge. Based in Lagos, Sycamore disbursed over $5.5 million in loans in 2024 alone and earned more than $3.5 million in revenue, with $1.5 million of that generated this year a 115% increase from 2023. The company currently serves 300,000…

The Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), a key initiative of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is set to launch the USPF Impact Alliance, a coalition designed to expand inclusive education and improve digital connectivity in Nigeria’s underserved and hard-to-reach areas. Since its inception in 2007, the USPF has been on a mission to bridge Nigeria’s digital divide. Over the years, it has invested in more than 2,500 educational projects, delivering over 100,000 computers and tailored connectivity solutions to schools nationwide. These efforts have enabled remote learning, increased school enrollment, and supported computer-based testing in some of the country’s most rural…

After years of building a vertically integrated supply chain from farms to delivery trucks. Kenyan B2B e-commerce company Twiga Foods is changing course. In a major strategic pivot, the company has acquired controlling stakes in three fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) distributors, Jumra, Sojpar, and Raisons to trim operational costs and unlock profitability in Kenya’s fragmented retail landscape. Twiga’s new approach marks a shift from owning infrastructure to outsourcing it. The startup, which launched in 2014, once aimed to transform Kenya’s informal retail sector by controlling nearly every link in the supply chain. But that capital-heavy model proved difficult to sustain.…