Author: Insider Editor

Kenya is moving to tighten its grip on offshore deal-making involving local companies, proposing a 15% capital gains tax on foreign exits that have traditionally slipped outside its tax net. Under the Finance Bill 2026 currently before Parliament, non-resident investors could be required to pay tax in Kenya when selling shares in companies whose value is derived from Kenyan assets or operations even if those transactions are executed entirely offshore. At the centre of the proposal is an amendment to the Income Tax Act that would make gains from “the alienation of shares by a non-resident person where the shares…

Talksign, a Nigeria- and UK-based artificial intelligence startup, has launched two new AI models designed to enable real-time communication between American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken or written language. The new systems Palm 1.0 and Echo 1.0 aim to close long-standing accessibility gaps by translating sign language into text or speech, and converting spoken or written language into lifelike sign language video. Palm 1.0 interprets ASL into text or speech with 84.2% semantic accuracy, while Echo 1.0 performs the reverse, generating photorealistic ASL video from text or voice input using real-time avatars. The launch, announced on May 20, builds on…

Lagos State is planning a major expansion of its digital backbone, targeting more than 250 megawatts (MW) of data centre capacity by 2030 as demand for cloud computing and artificial intelligence continues to surge across Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. The announcement was made by Olatubosun Alake, the Commissioner for Innovation, Science, and Technology, who said Lagos already accounts for nearly three-quarters of the country’s commercial data centre capacity. The state now wants to scale that footprint significantly over the next five years. “There are about 146 additional megawatt data centres planned in the pipeline,” Alake said at the launch of the…

GoTyme Bank, the South African digital lender backed by billionaire Patrice Motsepe, is rolling out a long-term employee ownership programme as competition for fintech talent intensifies across the country’s banking sector. The digital bank says the initiative will allow employees across the business to share in the company’s long-term growth, marking a shift in how African fintechs are approaching retention and incentives as they scale into more mature financial institutions. Speaking on Tuesday, GoTyme Bank CEO Cheslyn Jacobs said the programme is structured through a Long-Term Incentive Programme (LTIP), giving qualifying employees a stake in the value the company creates…

Africa Bitcoin Corporation has applied to move its listing from the Alternative Exchange (AltX) to the Main Board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, in a step that signals its growing ambitions across public markets in Africa and beyond. The transfer, approved by the JSE and set to take effect on Friday, May 22, will see all of the company’s share classes including ordinary shares and its A, B, and C preference shares shift to the Main Board under the exchange’s General Segment classification, the company said in a statement on Monday. As part of the transition, Questco Corporate Advisory Proprietary…

The operator of fast-food chains including Chicken Inn, Pizza Inn and Galitos, is seeing a sharp rise in food delivery demand across its markets, with Kenya emerging as a key driver of growth. The company said delivery orders in Kenya jumped 71% in the quarter ended March, reflecting how rapidly food delivery apps are reshaping the fast-food industry in major African cities. According to its latest trading update, Simbisa’s Kenyan operations now handle an average of about 6,000 deliveries per day. Delivery sales in some of its leading brands are approaching 30% of total revenue, underscoring the growing importance of…

uLesson is set for a major leadership transition as founder Sim Shagaya prepares to step down as Chief Executive Officer after eight years and move into the role of Executive Chairman. The company announced on Monday that Iheanyi Akwitti, currently Group Chief Academic Officer and Registrar, will take on the role of CEO-Designate from June 2026 before officially becoming Group CEO on January 1, 2027. The transition marks a planned leadership handover rather than an abrupt exit. Shagaya will remain CEO throughout the transition period, working closely with Akwitti on operations, governance, investor relations, partnerships, and broader stakeholder engagement. The…

Adan Abdulla Mohamed as appointed the new Commissioner General of the Kenya Revenue Authority, in a leadership change that comes as the government intensifies efforts to improve revenue collection amid mounting fiscal pressure. The appointment, announced by Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and effective immediately, was published in a government gazette on Monday. It formalises a key transition at Kenya’s tax agency at a time when the country is facing rising debt servicing costs, slower economic growth, and ongoing shortfalls in public revenue. Mohamed takes over from Humphrey Wattanga, who left the position in April after the KRA board opted…

IHS Towers is pulling back on infrastructure spending as rising operational costs across African markets force telecom operators to reassess how quickly they expand their networks. The shift could ultimately slow down improvements in network quality for millions of mobile and internet users across the continent. In its financial update on Tuesday, the tower company reported capital expenditure of $41.4 million for the first quarter of 2026, a 5.3% decline compared to the same period last year. The company said the drop reflects a “phasing” of discretionary spending,essentially delaying or spreading out non-essential expansion projects. At the same time, costs…

Chimoney, a Nigerian-founded fintech startup that built infrastructure for cross-border payments, has shut down operations after running into capital constraints that made it difficult to sustain its business. A Canada-based company confirmed it had stopped processing new transactions and integrations and had already begun refunding customer balances. “As of May 1, 2026, Chimoney has ceased all new transactions and integrations,” the company wrote. “No balance on file: No action needed on your end. This is our final operational email.” The shutdown means businesses that relied on Chimoney’s payment rails will now have to transition to alternative providers, highlighting a recurring…