Author: Insider Editor

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.…

For years, Nigerian fintechs have had a complicated relationship with cards. Early on, many leaned on foreign-issued options like Visa and Mastercard to attract users and promote online spending. But as the country’s economic conditions worsened and bank transfers surged in popularity, cards began to fall out of favour. To adapt, many fintechs abandoned international card schemes, opting instead for local alternatives or scrapped card offerings altogether to cut costs and adjust to changing customer behavior. At the heart of the issue is a delicate revenue model. Fintechs earn from cards via interchange fees: a small percentage charged on every…

While the government claims the move is intended to safeguard children’s mental health, it also raises concerns about increasing censorship.Tanzania has shut down more than 80,000 websites, social media accounts, blogs, and online platforms in what marks the country’s largest digital content purge to date. Deputy Minister for Information, Culture, Arts, and Sports, Hamis Mwijuma, told parliament on Monday that the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) had flagged 80,171 platforms for publishing content deemed harmful to children’s mental well-being. He was responding to a question from MP Ng’wasi Kamani about the government’s approach to controlling social media. This massive crackdown…

Kashifu Inuwa, the Director-General of Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), believes that Africa’s best opportunity in the global AI race lies not in competing with infrastructure giants, but in focusing on developing local talent and creating small language models (SLMs) tailored to the continent’s specific needs. According to Inuwa, small language models, which are lightweight and designed for African languages and offline environments, present a unique chance for Africa to bypass the heavy infrastructure required by larger AI models. This approach could help the continent leapfrog the technological barriers that have limited its participation in past global tech…

Lagos-based tech giant CWG Plc is eyeing fresh frontiers in East Africa and the Middle East after posting its first billion-naira profit in 13 years, a move that marks a new chapter for one of Nigeria’s oldest IT infrastructure firms. The company reported a staggering 428% year-on-year surge in profit to ₦3.04 billion ($1.89 million) in 2024, driven by a strong rebound in enterprise IT spending and the growing uptake of its proprietary software platforms across Nigeria and beyond. With operations already in Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and Cameroon, CWG is positioning itself as a pan-African tech enabler with global aspirations.…

Platos Health, a Lagos-based health-tech startup revolutionizing home-based preventive care, has secured $1.4 million in pre-seed funding to expand the reach of its AI-driven metabolic health platform, Platos Monitor, across Nigeria. The round was led by Google for Startups, with additional backing from Invest International and a network of angel investors affiliated with global tech giants including Google, Tesla, and Unicredit. The capital injection will support the nationwide rollout of the Platos Body Monitor, a medical-grade device designed to empower individuals to track and manage their health metrics from home. Founded in 2020 by Joseph Fakayode, Platos Health is focused…