Author: Insider Editor

For many speech recognition systems, that switch creates a problem. The English gets transcribed, while the Swahili disappears. For businesses relying on those transcripts, that can mean losing an important part of the conversation. Lagos-based voice technology startup Intron is trying to solve that problem with its latest AI models, Sahara v2.5. The new release adds code-switching support to 12 African languages, including Zulu, Hausa, Swahili and Luganda. Code-switching refers to moving between languages within the same conversation or even the same sentence. An AI that can handle three languages Sahara v2.5 also includes what Intron describes as the first…

Moniepoint is winding down the remittance business as it shifts its focus back to its core African markets. The Nigerian fintech unicorn said it made the decision after reviewing its portfolio and long-term priorities. “Moniepoint Inc., Africa’s all-in-one financial platform, today announced that MonieWorld, its UK-based remittance business, is undergoing a strategic transition as the Group refocuses its resources on building and scaling its core platform for African businesses,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The move marks a change in Moniepoint’s international expansion strategy. Instead of continuing to invest heavily in the UK, the company plans to…

Ventures Platform has closed its second institutional fund at $84 million, nearly twice the size of its first fund, as the African venture capital firm prepares to write bigger cheques into early-stage startups. The new fund, VP Pan-African Fund II, is just $23 million short of the total raised by all six African venture funds that closed in 2025. The fund has attracted four new institutional investors: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Norway’s development finance institution Norfund, Dutch family office Alphatron, and the Ashesi University Foundation. A group of new family offices has also joined the fund.…

Cascador, a Nigeria-focused platform for growth-stage founders, has partnered with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development through the Nigerian Youth Academy (NiYA) to support young entrepreneurs with business training, mentorship and access to funding. The partnership will run as the NiYA × Cascador Founders Programme, starting with a pilot cohort of 20 early-stage Nigerian founders. The four-week programme will focus on business fundamentals, investment readiness, pitch preparation and one-on-one mentorship. At the end of the programme, the eight top-performing founders will be eligible to receive up to ₦5 million each in non-dilutive funding from Cascador. They will also receive an…

The entertainment, media, technology, gaming and intellectual property company founded by Nigerian musician Mr Eazi, Choplife, has moved its operations to Itana, Nigeria’s first digital special economic zone. Choplife’s corporate and regulatory base changed due to this move. With the company pointing to Itana’s business-friendly regulatory environment and its potential to make cross-border operations easier as key reasons for the decision. Choplife is the latest company to join Itana, which now hosts about 50 businesses. The digital free zone has attracted companies looking to build from Nigeria while serving customers and markets around the world. Itana offers businesses access to…

Airtel Nigeria is closing in on 18,000 cell sites as the telecom operator steps up network expansion across the country, adding more than 1,000 sites a year and taking high-speed connectivity into more rural communities. The operator’s network now covers all 774 local government areas in Nigeria, putting Airtel among the companies making significant investments in the country’s digital infrastructure. More than 99 percent of Airtel’s sites are 4G-enabled, as the company continues to build new sites and upgrade existing ones to keep up with rising demand for mobile and data services. According to Airtel Africa’s latest annual report, its…

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has admitted three more virtual asset and digital investment companies into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), bringing the number of firms in the regulatory sandbox to 12 since July. The latest entrants are Pisi Payment Solutions, the parent company of Nigerian fintech YDPay; BC Access (Nigeria) Limited, the legal entity of Blockchain Africa, a subsidiary of global cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain; and Yellow Card, a stablecoin infrastructure company. The admissions give the companies Approval-in-Principle (AIP) status. This allows them to operate within the scope of the SEC’s sandbox while meeting the conditions and ongoing…

South Africa has already rejected more than 5,500 visa applications flagged for fraud as it rolls out a new digital immigration system that uses machine learning, biometrics and facial recognition to screen travellers before they reach the country’s borders. The Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to officially launch at OR Tambo International Airport on Wednesday, is at the centre of the Department of Home Affairs’ effort to overhaul how visitors apply for visas and pass through immigration. The system has processed more than 203,000 applications since May, according to Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber. Among…

Tennsa is developing AI tools designed to help businesses reduce the time spent managing day-to-day operations. Its first product, Tennsa OS, connects with the software businesses already use and brings information from those systems into one place. The platform is designed to identify issues that need attention, explain why they matter, and help businesses make decisions faster. The startup has received more than ZAR1 million (about $61,000) from Oakvale Invest, making Tennsa the investment firm’s first portfolio company. Rivar Maharaj, Tennsa’s founder, said the company wants to use AI to give business owners more time to focus on their work…

Africa50, the pan-African infrastructure investment platform, is bringing more funding into projects aimed at tackling the continent’s infrastructure and climate challenges. The organisation focuses on developing and financing infrastructure projects across Africa, working with governments and investors to turn projects that are still in the early stages into opportunities that can attract private capital. Africa50 currently has 38 shareholders, including 33 African countries, the African Development Bank, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), Bank Al-Maghrib, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), and the African Reinsurance Corporation. Its shareholder base has recently expanded to include two development finance institutions: Italy’s…