Author: Elan

At a time when the African telecoms industry is experiencing growing adoption of smartphones and internet usage, data shows that the coexistence of 4G and 5G networks is essential. The truth is that although 5G adoption has increased recently, a large part of the population is connected via 4G. In fact, only 12% of the continent’s 416 million internet users are connected to 5G networks, further highlighting an infrastructure and coverage gap. A leading cause of this gap is cost and spread: it is one thing to buy a 5G-enabled smartphone; it is another to access guaranteed 5G connectivity. In…

I’ve covered routers and various networking matters here at How-To Geek quite extensively. You’ve seen me advocate for buying your own router and suggest ways to fix bottlenecks that break fiber internet connections. I’m no stranger to networking gear, and yet, my favorite purchase cost me all of $10. For those of us who don’t have a second Ethernet port or can’t be bothered to move their PC case around all the time in order to reach said port (read: me), an Ethernet to USB adapter can be a real lifesaver. No, I’m not joking. Here’s how I make use…

By Conrad Gallagher, CEO of Food Concepts360 In hospitality, the menu is often treated as a design exercise. In practice, it is closer to an operating system: it determines how a restaurant functions, how efficiently it runs, and ultimately whether it makes money. Restaurants tend to present menus as curated lists of dishes. This misses the point. The menu dictates kitchen design, staffing levels, procurement strategy, preparation workflows and service rhythm. In other words, it is not a reflection of the business — it is its blueprint. When the menu is poorly constructed, operational inefficiencies follow almost immediately: bottlenecks in…

** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **Swoop has raised $7.3 million in a funding round backed by Version One Ventures, Long Journey, Variant, Soma Capital and Dune.Swoop is building an app that combines payments and commerce services, including food delivery. The company launched in Eswatini in August 2025 and has reported more than 22,000 users in the country. The company has begun expanding into Lagos, Nigeria.Swoop is led by founder and CEO Aubrey Niederhoffer, who previously built an online community around GeoGuessr and later worked on a recruitment business connecting…

Speedinvest, the Vienna VC firm, opened its first dedicated MEA fund last week, anchored by EIB Global, Mubadala and Qatar Investment Authority EIB Global committed €40 million to a vehicle targeting €200 million, designed to back Series A and B startups across Africa and the Middle East The fund routes Gulf and European capital into African tech at a time when global MEA venture fundraising has slowed for two consecutive years Speedinvest GmbH, the Vienna-based venture-capital firm with about €1.4 billion in assets under management, launched its first flagship fund dedicated to the Middle East and…

Nigerian crypto startups built their businesses on facilitating the buying and selling of digital currencies for retail customers. Now, that may no longer be enough. The country is one of Africa’s largest crypto markets. Yet, at least two operators say competition is compressing margins. Costs do not fall with volume, and the customers driving the most revenue are hard to retain. Peer-to-peer (P2P) trading became a lifeline for Nigerian crypto users after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) barred banks from servicing crypto transactions in 2021. It forced local startups to find workarounds as global platforms like Paxful, a P2P…

Governments across Africa are beginning to adopt AI systems into public services without clear answers to a basic question: who controls these systems once they are in use? The risk is not theoretical. It is operational. A system may meet procurement requirements. It may come with documentation, assurances, and technical safeguards. But once it is deployed into a government workflow, the harder question is no longer whether it is compliant on paper. The question is whether the government can actually see it, control it, or stop it if conditions change. That is where AI governance starts to matter in practice.…

In a rush to embrace AI, the industry is redefining what it means to be a UX designer, blurring the line between design and engineering. Carrie Webster explores what’s gained, what’s lost, and why designers need to remain the guardians of the user experience.In early 2026, I noticed that the UX designer’s toolkit seemed to shift overnight. The industry standard “Should designers code?” debate was abruptly settled by the market, not through a consensus of our craft, but through the brute force of job requirements. If you browse LinkedIn today, you’ll notice a stark change: UX roles increasingly demand AI-augmented…

Johannesburg, South Africa** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **A MESSAGE FROM OUR SUPPORTERSStandard Bank backs Mulilo’s Mercury battery storage projectStandard Bank was appointed as co-mandated lead arranger, lender, co-hedging bank and account bank. Read moreHere are summaries of the five most widely read stories over the past week on Africa Private Equity News.1. South Africa: Investor consortium backs Vertice MedTechAmethis, Proparco, ccap.ai and management have completed their investment in Vertice MedTech Holdings. Founded in 2018 by a management group led by Hendri Pretorius, in partnership with Ethos Private Equity, Vertice…

“That we shall work towards fielding one Presidential Candidate for the 2027 elections, which shall be agreed and supported by all participating opposition parties to rescue our nation and her long suffering masses,” the communiqué states Nigeria’s major opposition parties agreed on Saturday to field a single candidate against President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election. The parties stated this in a communique released at the end of their conference in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital. Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn “That we shall work towards fielding one Presidential Candidate for the 2027 elections,…