For three years, FlexPay sold Kenyans a fintech fairy tale, offering a save-now-buy-later platform built on the promise that Kenyans did not need more debt, only more discipline, and that the company holding their money in the meantime could be trusted with it.

That promise collapsed on 1 September when detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations walked into Roysambu and walked out with two of Flexitech Group Limited’s own directors in handcuffs. Martin Kariuki Maina and Johnson Gituma Mwangi, the latter a co-founder and the company’s long-serving chief operating officer, are accused of stealing over KES 30 M (nearly a quarter of a million dollars) belonging to an unnamed major retail chain.

According to the DCI, the pair were acting as collection agents for the retailer, receiving funds from customers who had purchased and picked up goods from several branches. Instead of forwarding this money to the company, they allegedly diverted it for personal use.

FlexPay’s entire model relies on trust. The platform offers a digitised version of the old East African lay-by system, letting shoppers pay for a fridge or a school uniform in instalments and collect it once the balance is cleared. It identified as a payment facilitation and savings platform, not a lender. The company offers goal-based savings products and a group savings feature known as FlexPay Chama.

That framing did real work for FlexPay. It let the company sit outside the perimeter that usually catches deposit-takers and digital lenders in Kenya, even as its products did precisely what banks and saccos do: collect money from ordinary Kenyans and promise to give it back at a later date.

By September 2023 the company was telling TechCrunch it had signed more than 600 merchant partners and served over 200,000 customers, part of the pitch that carried it into TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield 200 and, later, into the second cohort of Safaricom’s Spark Accelerator in October 2025.

Long before the DCI arrived, customers were already expressing their frustrations. In July, one customer reached out to a Kenyan blogger, desperate for assistance after waiting six weeks for a KES 13 K (USD 100.00) refund. He had contacted the company repeatedly, but was continually met with promises that his refund was being processed without any clear timeline. By August, another customer shared a similar experience: KES 24.7 K (USD 190.00) had not been returned since July. Because of this delay, she was unable to send her child back to school.

These breakdowns in trust became evident through customer reviews on Google Play, especially leading up to mid-2026. Feedback consistently mentioned withdrawal requests taking much longer than anticipated, and customer support being noticeably lacking. One customer shared their experience of waiting for a KES 15 K (USD 115.00) refund from June, which still hadn’t arrived by July. According to FlexPay’s terms, refunds are supposed to be processed within 14 working days, yet many customers reported waiting for months without any resolution.

FlexPay is not the first Kenyan buy-now-pay-later alternative to run into trouble. The sector has seen some turbulence and also been under pressure over alleged predatory lending, fueling the push for regulation. But this case is less about aggressive lending practices or high interest rates, and more about a company that positioned itself as a trustworthy steward of customer savings, a platform that promised financial empowerment without debt, and whose founders now stand accused of simply taking money that was never theirs to keep.

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Uber officially shut down its ride-hailing operations in Nigeria today, September 2, ending a 12-year presence in Africa’s most populous nation. The company also exited Uganda on the same day, part of a global restructuring that will cut roughly 3,300 jobs, or about 10 percent of its workforce. In a statement, Uber said the decision followed “a thorough review of our business” and thanked Nigerians for trusting the platform since it launched in Lagos in 2014.

It is the latest in a pattern of retreat from African markets where the economics of ride-hailing have become increasingly untenable. In January, Uber shut down in Tanzania after nearly a decade, citing a regulatory environment that made profitability difficult. Last year, it closed operations in Côte d’Ivoire. The withdrawals come as Uber pivots aggressively toward autonomous vehicles, planning to invest more than USD 10 B in robotaxis and aiming to offer driverless rides in 15 cities by the end of 2026.

For Nigeria, the departure is a significant blow to a digital economy that had developed with the platform in an often fraught landscape. Uber estimated in 2023 that it generated an additional NGN 6.1 B (USD 9.6 M) in annual income for Nigerian drivers compared to traditional alternatives.

Yet drivers have long complained that the math does not work in their favour. They face rising fuel costs, vehicle maintenance expenses, and commissions as high as 25 to 30 percent. In March, hundreds of drivers in Lagos went on a three-day strike over low fares and high commissions, logging off platforms including Uber, Bolt, and inDrive. “Drivers operating on platforms such as Uber, Bolt, inDrive, and Lagride face rising operational costs, including high fuel prices and vehicle maintenance,” one union leader said at the time.

The tensions have fuelled a conversation about local alternatives. After the March strike, drivers began discussing the creation of homegrown apps to regain control over pricing and commissions. Those conversations now take on new urgency. Bolt, which has overtaken Uber as Nigeria’s most downloaded mobility app, remains the dominant player. InDrive and local platform Lagride also continue to operate. But Uber’s exit leaves a gap that’s now up for grabs.

Regulatory friction has also mounted. In August, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria suspended Uber and Bolt from operating at airports, causing fares to surge and passengers to face long delays. The ban was later partially resolved, but it underscored the uneasy relationship between global platforms and local authorities.

Uber says it remains committed to Sub-Saharan Africa and that the withdrawals from Nigeria and Uganda will not affect its operations elsewhere on the continent. But the company is also reducing fully remote roles to about 1 percent of its workforce and flattening its corporate structure. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has said the rapid expansion over the past five years created organisational complexity that slowed decision-making. The restructuring is meant to redirect resources toward areas with greater growth potential, including autonomous mobility.

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When Google started sending notifications to Kenyan YouTubers in late August asking for their KRA Personal Identification Numbers by October 1, the reaction was swift. Media personalities shared screenshots of said notification across social media, prompting heated discussions among followers. Actor and content creator Abel Mutua voiced what many were thinking: “You can tax us, but we don’t see where the money is going.”

The tax itself is not new. Kenya’s Finance Act 2023 introduced a 5% withholding tax on digital content monetisation for resident creators, down from an originally proposed 15%. At the time, it was framed as a concession. Kimani Kuria, who chaired the Finance and Planning Committee, said the reduction aligned digital creators with other professionals like lawyers and accountants who also attract a 5% withholding rate. The law took effect on July 1, 2023.

What changed is enforcement. For three years, the tax existed mostly on paper. Creators were expected to self-declare and settle at year-end, a system that relied heavily on voluntary compliance. Now Google is doing the deduction at source, automatically withholding 5% from monthly YouTube earnings before creators see the money. The first deduction applies to September 2026 earnings paid out in October. Creators who don’t submit a verified PIN by October 1 will have their payments held.

The Digital Content Creators Association of Kenya (DCCAK) has asked the National Treasury and KRA to suspend enforcement, calling the rollout an “ambush.” The association argues that creators have been given weeks to comply with an obligation that has existed in law since 2023, with no meaningful consultation on how it would be administered.

The deeper grievance is structural. The 5% is deducted from gross earnings, not net profit. A creator earning KES 100 K loses KES 5 K before accounting for internet data, cameras, editing software, studio hire, or crew payments. For small and emerging creators with thin, irregular margins, that deduction can make it harder to recover production costs. Established creators with predictable incomes may absorb it more easily, but the sector’s growth depends on the newcomers, not the few who have already made it.

There is also confusion about how the withheld amount interacts with annual income tax. KRA describes withholding tax as an advance credit against a creator’s final income tax liability, not a final tax. But DCCAK says creators haven’t received clear guidance on how that credit will appear on their KRA accounts, how to claim it, or how long refunds will take if the withheld amount exceeds what they ultimately owe. That uncertainty leaves creators guessing whether they’re paying 5% or possibly more.

Kenya’s approach puts it ahead of most African markets. Google does not withhold local tax from AdSense payments in Nigeria or South Africa, where creators are expected to declare platform income independently. Tanzania introduced a similar 5% withholding tax on digital content creators through its Finance Act 2024. Nigeria’s withholding tax regulations also apply a 5% rate to royalties paid to creators. But in those countries, enforcement remains patchy. Kenya is the first where a major platform is actively deducting at source.

Despite ongoing protests, the October 1 deadline stands for now, and creators who don’t comply won’t get paid. The tax is coming, whether they are ready or not.

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Airtel Africa’s mobile money business processed nearly USD 200 B in transactions over the past year as the telecoms operator expands financial services across 14 African countries, putting it on track for a London listing that analysts say could value the unit at up to USD 10 B.

The company’s Sustainability Report 2026, published on Wednesday, showed that Airtel Money’s transaction value climbed 44% to approximately USD 196 B in the financial year to March 31, driven by microloans, international transfers and merchant payments. The customer base grew 21% to 54.1 million users.

Chief Executive Sunil Taldar said expanding access to financial services and connectivity remains central to the company’s strategy. “Across Africa, access to connectivity, financial services and digital education is increasingly essential to economic opportunity,” he said in the report.

The growth positions Airtel Money for an initial public offering scheduled for the second half of 2026. Analysts at CLSA estimate the unit could raise between USD 1.5 B and USD 2 B at a valuation of up to USD 10 B, a fourfold increase from 2021, making it one of the largest fintech listings on a European exchange in recent years.

The mobile money business now has an EBITDA margin of 50.8%, above the broader Airtel Africa margin of 49.3%, and contributes 20% of the group’s regional revenue. However, penetration remains at only 29% of Airtel Africa’s 184 million mobile subscribers, with significant room for growth in Nigeria, where only 2.7 million customers currently use the service.

Airtel Africa has also expanded its digital infrastructure, with mobile network coverage reaching 81.9% of the population, including 73.1% in rural areas. Smartphone penetration rose to 49.5%, while data customers grew to 84.2 million.

The company’s agent network, which supports financial inclusion and local entrepreneurship, expanded by 39% to 2.4 million agents. Women account for 44.1% of Airtel Money customers, the report showed.

Beyond financial services, the Airtel Africa Foundation connected 3,043 schools to free internet through a partnership with UNICEF, up from 2,176 the previous year. The company also converted more than 950 network sites from off-grid to on-grid power, cutting diesel consumption by 9.1 million litres.

Feature Image Credits: Developing Telecoms

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South African small businesses are shifting from a survival mindset to more deliberate, disciplined growth strategies as economic conditions slowly improve, though lingering global uncertainties keep their optimism in check, a report released on Thursday shows.

The latest SME Pulse Report by SME funding startup, Lula, found that entrepreneurs are moving beyond short-term crisis management and focusing on operational optimisation after years of navigating power cuts, high inflation and steep interest rates.

“The story of SMEs in 2026 is no longer one of pure survival, but not yet one of full recovery either,” Lula Chief Executive Trevor Gosling said. “What we’re seeing instead is measured optimism. Businesses are becoming more deliberate about where they deploy capital, which opportunities they pursue, and how they protect cash flow.”

The report points to improving affordability for small businesses over the past 12 months, with easing inflation and greater energy stability restoring some predictability after prolonged pressure.

Business confidence has also improved. The RMB/BER Business Confidence Index rose to 47 in the first quarter of 2026, the highest level in nearly five years, building on gains in late 2025. Inflation has moderated from previous highs, and the South African Reserve Bank has begun cutting interest rates, with the prime lending rate at 10.25% by May 2026.

However, the report cautions that conditions remain fragile. Escalating conflict in the Middle East has driven up global oil prices, threatening to push inflation back up and delay or reverse further interest rate relief. Gosling said the external environment has already shifted rapidly since the report’s data was compiled earlier this year.

“SMEs are operating in a market that can change very quickly and often without warning,” he said. “Businesses cannot afford to become complacent.”

The report also noted a shift in how SME owners view funding. Many still rely on personal savings or credit, but there are growing signs that business funding is being seen less as a last resort and more as a strategic tool for growth. Some businesses are now using finance proactively to secure stock ahead of demand or expand operations rather than waiting for cash flow pressure to build.

“The future of SME finance will not simply be about access to capital,” Gosling said. “It will increasingly be about helping businesses make smarter decisions and giving them the confidence to act at the right time.”

South Africa’s SME sector faces a financing gap estimated at more than ZAR 350 B (USD 18 B), according to the OECD. The Lula report suggests businesses that embrace funding as a growth enabler rather than an emergency measure are better positioned to scale.

The report is based on Lula’s internal affordability, funding and operating environment data, alongside broader SME sentiment research conducted with News24.

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Nearly five years after its high-profile launch as Africa’s first central bank digital currency, Nigeria’s eNaira is being quietly repurposed. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has acknowledged in a new strategy document that adoption of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) has been slow, and is now repositioning it away from a consumer-facing payment tool toward a backend infrastructure for government disbursements and cross-border settlements.

The eNaira, launched in October 2021 to much fanfare, has struggled to gain traction. According to the CBN’s Payments System Vision (PSV) 2028 strategy, unveiled on June 1, the CBDC currently has “millions of wallets” but has processed only about NGN 22 B (USD 16 M) in transactions. This is a fraction of the nearly 1 quadrillion naira in total electronic payments processed in 2024, and well below the 300 million transactions the bank had envisioned for the digital currency by 2026.

In the PSV 2028 document, the CBN acknowledged that barriers to the eNaira’s success included “limited stakeholder engagement and buy-in” during its design and implementation. The bank conceded that adoption had been slow, with the CBDC offering little that existing bank apps, fintech wallets and mobile money platforms were not already providing more conveniently.

Rather than competing directly with these established platforms, the CBN now wants the eNaira to become part of the infrastructure that underpins Nigeria’s digital payments ecosystem. The strategy, which runs through 2028, places the CBDC alongside initiatives such as open banking, digital identity and cross-border payments frameworks.

The rethink comes amid a broader strategic shift at the CBN under Governor Olayemi Cardoso, who has prioritised stabilisation, trade facilitation and investor confidence.

The PSV 2028 framework, unveiled at a gathering of banking executives and fintech operators in Abuja on June 1, aims to position Nigeria among Africa’s leading payment ecosystems by promoting faster, safer digital transactions and strengthening cross-border payment systems under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

The path forward for the e-naira will focus on government-to-person (G2P) payments, such as welfare disbursements and subsidies, as well as cross-border settlements. “Routing every government payment through the eNaira is where the plan argues with itself,” noted one analysis of the strategy, pointing to the tension between the CBDC’s past failures and its future ambitions.

The repositioning reflects a quiet admission that Africa’s first CBDC experiment, once hailed as a landmark step toward a cashless economy, has fallen short of its original promise. Now, the CBN is betting that a more utilitarian role can salvage the project.

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Gregory Rockson, founder and chief executive of Ghanaian health technology firm mPharma, is stepping down after 11 years, the founder has revealed. He will transition to the role of Chairman of the board, while Chief Operating Officer Kwesi Arhin will be promoted to CEO, effective Sept. 1, 2025.

The leadership change at one of Africa’s most prominent healthtech startups follows a period of significant restructuring, including a major round of layoffs and a strategic shift toward operational efficiency and new markets.

Arhin, who joined mPharma in 2021 and most recently served as COO, will take the helm. His background in finance and global consulting is seen as aligning with the company’s renewed focus on a disciplined growth model.

The move is a common transition for venture-backed startups, where founders move to a strategic board role as the company matures.

The CEO change caps a volatile period for the company. In September 2023, mPharma laid off approximately 150 employees, which Rockson at the time linked to macroeconomic challenges and a severe devaluation of Nigeria’s currency.

Months later, in January 2024, the company secured USD 13.6 M in new funding from investors, including the Sanofi Global Health Unit Impact Fund.

That capital has supported a strategic pivot, including a recent push into Francophone Africa, where the company reported an annualised revenue run rate of USD 1.5 M within seven months.

Founded in 2014, mPharma manages a network of pharmacies and clinics to improve access to affordable medicine. It has raised over USD 65 M to date and operates in several African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya.

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Egypt’s Elmenus, an online food discovery platform, has appointed Walid El-Saadany as its new chief executive officer, replacing founder Amir Allam after more than a decade leading the company.

The announcement marks a leadership handover at a time when the food-tech platform is planning to expand across more cities and invest in new digital infrastructure.

El-Saadany, who will also join the board of directors, is expected to guide the company through a new phase focused on scaling operations, integrating artificial intelligence, and building closer relationships with restaurant partners.

He takes over from Amir Allam, who founded Elmenus in 2011 with USD 5 K and a small team, and built it into one of the country’s best-known platforms for food discovery and delivery. Allam will remain on the board and stay involved in the company’s strategic direction.

Allam, reflecting on the transition, said he felt the timing was right to step back from day-to-day leadership. “What began with a laptop and two people has become a household brand that has impacted millions of users, created jobs for tens of thousands,” he said. “It is now the right time to pass the baton as the company enters a new phase.”

The company says Elmenus now reaches over 8.5 million users annually and works with more than 12,000 restaurants across four cities, with 1,000 of those currently offering online ordering. It has raised USD 30 M in funding from regional and global investors, including Careem and Global Ventures.

El-Saadany enters the role with nearly two decades of experience in tech, logistics, and venture-backed startups. He previously led Otlob through two key acquisitions, first by Foodpanda and later by Delivery Hero, which eventually rebranded the platform as Talabat. His background is seen as a key asset as Elmenus looks to strengthen its operational structure and broaden its market reach.

At Elmenus, he is expected to focus on expanding the platform’s presence beyond Cairo, Alexandria, and Giza into underserved cities and towns, where Elmenus plans to onboard more than 4,000 new restaurants in the coming period.

As part of the strategy, Elmenus plans to roll out AI-driven features aimed at improving restaurant discovery, delivery times, and offering more personalised recommendations to users. These changes are aimed at increasing efficiency while helping restaurant partners manage operations, pricing, and customer engagement more effectively.

Part of the company’s roadmap also includes investment in local talent development and workforce training, with initiatives that include upskilling riders and developers, as well as supporting small restaurant operators and women-led kitchens.

The leadership shift comes as Egypt’s food delivery and digital payments markets continue to grow, driven by rising smartphone adoption, fintech expansion, and increased demand for convenience and local service. Elmenus is positioning itself to benefit from those trends by enhancing both its consumer experience and its back-end tools for restaurants.

El-Saadany is expected to focus on execution and scale, with an eye toward long-term stability in a competitive and fast-moving market.

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Nigeria’s bubbly fintech sector is under fresh scrutiny after the country’s anti-corruption agency uncovered a sprawling identity fraud scheme involving thousands of young Nigerians selling biometric data to digital finance platforms.

According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), over 12,000 individuals are allegedly harvesting and reselling critical identity information—including Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) and National Identification Numbers (NINs)—to fintech companies for as little as NGN 5 K (~USD 3.33) per identity.

The illicit trade, described by the EFCC as a “threat to national security,” exposes a troubling weakness in the Know Your Customer (KYC) processes meant to secure Nigeria’s digital financial systems.

In some cases, scammers reportedly pay victims between NGN 1.5 K and NGN 2 K to surrender personal data, including ID photos, address details, and national ID slips. These details are then used to open accounts linked to fraudulent investment schemes, or to launder money via cryptocurrency and microfinance channels.

The alleged fraudsters, often referred to as “Account Suppliers” or “KYC Groups,” have created a black market for verified identities, exploiting the very infrastructure designed to enhance trust and access in the country’s digital economy.

While the EFCC did not publicly name the fintech companies implicated in the ongoing investigation, it confirmed that arrests have been made and that recovery efforts are underway.

The fallout has also reached Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), which has moved to distance itself from the scandal. In a statement, NIMC’s spokesperson Kayode Adegoke denied institutional responsibility, stressing that the commission had repeatedly warned citizens against disclosing their NINs to unauthorised parties.

“The NIMC will not be held responsible for any personal information shared by an individual directly or by proxy for the purpose of financial gain,” the statement read. The agency encouraged the public to use its NINAuth mobile app to better control and protect their identity data.

Beyond the data-selling racket, the EFCC also flagged a parallel scheme involving malware and phishing. In one instance, victims were lured by a fake airline promo offering 50% off tickets in exchange for a NGN 500.00 “charity” donation. The scam prompted users to download a counterfeit app embedded with spyware capable of siphoning sensitive banking credentials.

Once accessed, victims’ funds were funneled into accounts, often opened with stolen identities, then converted to crypto to obscure the trail.

The revelations cast a shadow over Nigeria’s fintech boom, which has attracted billions in venture capital and positioned itself as a beacon of innovation and financial inclusion on the continent. The EFCC’s findings now raise urgent questions about compliance lapses and data protection standards in the sector.

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Ghana is taking decisive steps to bring cryptocurrency under official oversight, with plans to license and regulate digital asset platforms in a move that could reshape the country’s financial landscape.

The Bank of Ghana is finalising a regulatory framework expected to reach parliament by September, according to Governor Johnson Asiama. This development comes as millions of Ghanaians have already embraced cryptocurrencies for daily transactions and cross-border trade, despite operating in a legal gray area until now.

The push for regulation reflects both the growing influence of digital currencies in Ghana’s economy and the challenges they pose to traditional financial systems.

With an estimated 3 million Ghanaians (about 17% of the adult population) using virtual currencies, authorities are keen to bring these transactions into the formal financial sector. Recent data shows Ghana recorded USD 3 B in cryptocurrency transactions between July 2023 and June 2024, per Web3 Africa Group, though this pales in comparison to neighboring Nigeria’s USD 59 B volume during the same period.

Governor Asiama acknowledged the urgency of regulation, stating “We are actually late in the game.” Many economic activities involving cryptocurrency payments currently escape official records due to the lack of oversight, creating blind spots for monetary policymakers.

This gap has become particularly problematic given the Ghanaian cedi’s dramatic fluctuations – the currency gained 48% over the past year following a 25% drop in the previous 12 months. Such volatility complicates inflation management in a country heavily dependent on imports.

The proposed framework aims to strike a balance between harnessing cryptocurrency’s potential benefits and mitigating its risks. Officials hope regulation will help stabilise the local currency, attract strategic investment, and improve financial transparency while protecting consumers from fraud. Kwame Oppong, head of fintech and innovation at the central bank, emphasised the need for safeguards, noting “Our goal for this whole process is to put safe guards and rails around it.”

With inflation at 13.7% and policy interest rates at 28%, the stakes for getting this balance right couldn’t be higher for Ghana’s economic future. As Ghana joins a growing list of African nations establishing cryptocurrency regulations, the coming months will reveal how effectively the new framework can reconcile innovation with financial stability in one of West Africa’s most dynamic economies.

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