Shein and Temu Ban: COSATU Wants Them Out of South Africa. Here Is What the Numbers Say
A Shein and Temu ban is now COSATU policy. The numbers behind the call: R7.3bn in 2024 sales, 37.1% of online clothing sales and 34,000 jobs said at risk.
Ecosystem
Spotify Audiobooks in Nigeria: ₦2,300 for 15 Hours, and What It Means for Local Authors
Spotify audiobooks are now live in Nigeria: Audiobooks+ costs ₦2,300 a month for 15 hours of listening, and local authors can upload their own titles.
Bard Santner wants to turn Zimbabwe’s diaspora remittances into a banking business
Financial advisory firm Bard Santner has secured a microfinance banking licence from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, aiming to convert cross-border diaspora remittance inflows into long-term savings and credit products. The strategic shift seeks to capture non-resident financial flows and build formal banking relationships with Zimbabweans abroad.
How curiosity took Victoria Abiodun from anatomy to crypto
Victoria Abiodun transitioned from studying anatomy to building Web3 startups and developer communities across Africa. Driven by curiosity during the pandemic lockdowns, she taught herself blockchain concepts, co-founded a Web3 gaming platform, and is now authoring a book to simplify decentralized technology.
AltSchool Africa CEO Change: Adewale Yusuf Steps Down, Co-Founder Akintunde Sultan Takes Over
AltSchool Africa CEO Adewale Yusuf is stepping down and co-founder Akintunde Sultan takes over as the edtech pivots to licensed degrees and an edX-style model.
Milken-Motsepe Prize: 10 African Circular Economy Startups Named Semi-Finalists for $2 Million
The Milken-Motsepe Prize in Circular Economy has named 10 semi-finalists from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Egypt and Nigeria. A $1 million grand prize is at stake.
How Five35 Ventures made 3.5 times its investment on Complete Farmer
Five35 Ventures made 3.5x and a 38% IRR selling its Complete Farmer stake in a secondary deal. Here is what the Ghanaian agritech exit says about African VC.
Inside Roqqu’s plan to tokenise Nigeria’s stock market
Cryptocurrency exchange Roqqu is preparing to tokenise shares listed on the Nigerian Exchange. By creating digital representations of real-world equity assets on blockchain infrastructure, the platform aims to enable fractional share ownership and expand retail investor participation across West Africa.
Vuyani Jarana: How a boy fascinated by radios became a champion of rural connectivity
Vuyani Jarana turned his childhood curiosity with radios into a career driving rural connectivity across South Africa. As former chief executive of Vodacom Business and South African Airways, and now leading Ilitha Telecommunications, he focuses on bringing affordable broadband to townships and rural areas.
Why an Ethiopian nurse swapped her scrubs for software
Former healthcare worker Betelhem Abebe transitioned from nursing to software development to build solutions for Ethiopia's health system. Her career shift highlights the growing trend of domain experts learning software development to address sectoral challenges.
Cracking the Nigerian syllabus: How Ex-UNILAG students engineered an exam cheat-code
Former University of Lagos students Dare Adeola and Olamide Onigbanjo built UniBeta AI to help students navigate complex academic syllabi. By leveraging artificial intelligence to process past questions and university course materials, the edtech startup offers personalized study paths for tertiary education.
Why cheaper fibre fees fail to spark Nigerian infrastructure investment
Lowering Right of Way charges reduces cable deployment expenses, but it does not make internet infrastructure projects automatically viable. In Nigeria, operator decisions to expand broadband footprint depend heavily on consumer market demand and commercial revenue potential rather than fee reductions alone.