Author: Elan
Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has admitted three additional virtual asset service providers and digital investment platforms into its Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), expanding the regulatory sandbox to 12 firms since July. On Thursday, the SEC said it had admitted 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, the stablecoin infrastructure startup, into the programme. The approvals grant the firms Approval-in-Principle (AIP) status, allowing them to operate within the sandbox’s defined scope while remaining subject to ongoing regulatory…
After years of losing ground to Point-of-Sale (PoS) agents, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) are making a comeback as transaction volumes rise while PoS volumes decline. In the first quarter of 2026, Nigerians made 438.6 million ATM transactions, up 6.6% from the previous year, according to data released on Friday by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Transaction value grew 64.6% year-on-year to ₦26.3 trillion ($19.4 billion). PoS transaction volumes fell 19.9% year-on-year to 2.92 billion in Q1 2026, while transaction value fell 16.4% to ₦59.3 trillion ($43.7 billion). These changes could redraw Nigeria’s cash-access network. PoS agents spent years filling…
Microsoft is introducing a “link to location” feature in Word for Windows and macOS. The new option lets users create a link that points to a specific place in a document. When someone opens the link, they go straight to the intended section instead of scrolling to find it.Microsoft says this is especially helpful for long documents and for teams working together or giving feedback. The process uses the right-click menu and only takes a few steps.What Word’s Link to Location Feature DoesMicrosoft frames the feature around a common frustration in long documents. “If you work on long, complex documents,…
stormy skies Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema edged closer to securing a second term Monday as results came in from last week’s vote, marred by opposition arrests and a much-criticised suspension of vote counting. By AFP Zambian incumbent President and United Party for National Development (UPND) presidential candidate Hakainde Hichilema casts his ballot in Lusaka on 13 August 2026. © Gianluigi GUERCIA/AFP) Published on August 17, 2026 at 17:27 pm (GMT +1) Zambia President Hakainde Hichilema, 64, is seeking a final five-year term with the 13 August election seen as a high-stakes referendum on the management of the economy as copper…
Listen to this article Tokyo is redefining its engagement with Africa, transitioning from traditional aid-based approaches to strategic venture capital (VC) investments focused on long-term partnerships, innovation and capacity building. Several Japanese private companies are making Japan’s presence felt in Africa’s VC landscape, particularly in high-growth sectors such as fintech, climate tech and mobility. Growing demand for innovative, technology-driven solutions in Africa has drawn increasing interest from international investors. VC funding in Africa rose from over US$2 billion in 2019 to a peak of US$5.2 billion in 2022. Though investment declined to around US$3.6 billion in 2023, the continent’s start-up…
Ibrahim Sagna, executive chairman of investment firm Silverbacks HoldingsOur new book, How we made it in Africa II: Real stories of entrepreneurs turning opportunity into profit, is available here. The book was recently shortlisted for the Business Council for Africa (BCA) African Business Book of the Year Awards 2026.In a recent interview with How we made it in Africa, Ibrahim Sagna, executive chairman of investment firm Silverbacks Holdings, revealed the five things he looks for when investing in a company.1. Second-time founders. The firm has had the most success with people who are not running their first company. “We haven’t…
Africa’s Young Disruptors: Gambia’s climate activist advising the UN – African Business Africa’s Young Disruptors: Gambia’s climate activist advising the UN – African Business
In brief Gemini 3.7 Flash built a playable browser game from a single prompt in 2 minutes and 13 seconds, a task Gemini 3.6 Flash failed outright three weeks earlier. It failed our bridge logic puzzle with the same wrong answer as Claude Fable 5, and stopped short of actually calculating the math problem it correctly set up. The model runs at 75 cents per million input tokens through December 31, half of 3.6 Flash’s rate, before doubling to $1.50 on January 1. Google shipped Gemini 3.7 Flash on August 13, generally available in more than 160 countries on day…
MTN Nigeria has acknowledged that the daily data usage SMS report experienced a temporary glitch during the week, leading to incorrect figures for subscribers. The clarification comes amid ongoing outrage over data depletion claims. According to a newsletter update by the leading telecoms operator on Friday evening, the company explained that the temporary glitch caused the system to incorrectly display the figures. MTN noted that it calculated the data usage based on gigabytes (GB) instead of megabytes (MB). “Earlier this week, some subscribers noticed discrepancies in the data usage figures displayed in their SMS usage reports,” MTN said in the…
Similar to how practically everything in the world is getting more expensive with every passing day, the cost associated with being a student has risen too. Tuition has gotten more expensive, higher gas prices make commuting pricier, and even the little expenses you barely think about can add up surprisingly quickly over a semester. Then there are software subscriptions. Note-taking apps, AI platforms, coding tools, presentation software, and even the services you use to unwind after class all seem to want a monthly fee now. Add a few of them together, and you can easily end up spending far more…