Author: Staff Writer

Deposit money banks (DMBs) are about to start the implementation of a new billing model for Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) transactions. According to notifications sent to customers by banks like UBA and FCMB, charges for USSD services will no longer be deducted from customer bank accounts. Instead, they will…

Nigerian-born fintech Moniepoint Inc. has received clearance from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) to acquire a 78% stake in Sumac Microfinance Bank, marking a significant move into East Africa’s highly regulated financial services space. The acquisition, however, remains subject to final approval by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).…

Neuralink Corp., the brain-computer interface startup co-founded by Elon Musk, has raised a staggering $650 million in Series E funding, marking a pivotal moment in its mission to revolutionize how the brain connects with machines. The raise, which reportedly gives the company a pre-money valuation of $9 billion, more than…

Pan-African telecoms operator AXIAN Telecom has acquired an 8% minority stake in Jumia Technologies AG, signaling a new chapter in the embattled e-commerce company’s turnaround journey. The acquisition, disclosed in a beneficial ownership filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), underscores AXIAN’s growing commitment to supporting Africa’s digital…

In his ongoing quest to reinvent the digital experience, Elon Musk has launched a new feature called XChat — an ambitious, security-focused messaging service designed to rival global giants like WhatsApp and Telegram. Introduced as part of the broader transformation of Twitter into the X platform, XChat is being positioned…

Equity Group has dismissed more than 1,200 employees as part of a sweeping effort to clamp down on internal fraud, CEO James Mwangi confirmed this week. The move, one of the most extensive in Kenya’s banking history, follows an internal investigation that uncovered widespread staff collusion with fraudsters, resulting in…

After an extraordinary $343 million surge in April, the African tech startup ecosystem continued to show strength in May 2025, raising over $225 million across sectors and geographies. While no nine-figure mega-rounds were announced, May was rich in mid-sized deals that signaled investor confidence in core markets like Egypt, Nigeria,…

At this year’s VivaTech conference in Paris, Nigeria’s Zeeh Africa has been named to the prestigious VivaTech 2025 Innovation of the Year shortlist, emerging as the only African startup among 30 global finalists. This recognition places Zeeh Africa on one of the world’s biggest stages for technology and innovation —…

In today’s digitized music world, streaming has become the primary way listeners consume music and artists share their work. With platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Boomplay, and Audiomack offering near-instant access to global audiences, the perception is that any artist, anywhere, can now earn a living through streaming. But as…

Francophone Africa is poised for a major leap in technological development with the launch of a $69 million DeepTech Innovation Fund, a bold initiative aimed at accelerating innovation in science and technology across the region. Spearheaded by the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) in partnership with the African Guarantee Fund…

Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla, has stepped down from his temporary role in the Trump administration, marking the end of a turbulent chapter in his brief foray into public service. Musk served as a special government employee tasked with leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE),…

SORA Technology Co. Ltd., a Japan-based frontier technology startup, has announced the successful first close of its late seed funding round, further cementing its position at the intersection of health innovation and climate resilience. The round attracted investments from notable institutional backers such as Nissay Capital’s Sustainability Challenge Fund, SMBC…

Sidi Ould Tah of Mauritania has been elected the next President of the African Development Bank Group following a vote by the Bank’s Board of Governors at the 2025 Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The announcement was made by Nialé Kaba, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Planning and Development and…

Telegram, the privacy-focused messaging platform with over 900 million users worldwide, has entered a transformative partnership with Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. Valued at $300 million in a mix of cash and equity, the deal aims to embed xAI’s Grok chatbot across Telegram’s vast app ecosystem, making artificial intelligence…

In a bold move to close Nigeria’s persistent digital divide, the Federal Government has launched a pilot digital village project in the Ibwa 2 community of Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), providing free internet access, digital healthcare, and remote learning opportunities. This initiative marks a significant milestone in the nation’s…

Twitch, the Amazon-owned livestreaming platform, has grown from a niche site for gamers into a cultural and commercial juggernaut in the global streaming landscape. Originally launched in 2011 as a spin-off of Justin.tv—a general-purpose live video platform founded in 2007—Twitch was created to focus solely on video game content. The…

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), one of Africa’s premier infrastructure finance institutions, has announced a €100 million investment to support the expansion of Mota-Engil Africa’s mining operations in Côte d’Ivoire and Mali. The five-year facility is set to finance equipment acquisition, inventory, and site infrastructure for three new gold mining projects,…

Airtel Nigeria has reported a major milestone in its fight against digital fraud, revealing that its recently launched AI-powered Spam Alert Service has identified more than 9.6 million spam messages within just two months of operation. Introduced on March 13, 2025, the system is part of the telecom giant’s broader…

Salesforce is returning to high-stakes dealmaking with a bold move to acquire data management leader Informatica in a deal valued at approximately $8 billion, signaling its most significant acquisition since purchasing Slack in 2021. As the artificial intelligence (AI) arms race accelerates in the enterprise tech sector, this acquisition positions…

COREangels MEA, in partnership with PTS Holdings and the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, has launched a $10 million investment fund to support early-stage innovation across the Middle East and Africa (MEA). At the centre of the initiative is a clear mission: to invest in purpose-driven tech…