Author: Elan

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Sixteen months ago, Nigeria handed its Securities and Exchange Commission the keys to crypto regulation. The Investments and Securities Act, 2025, was unambiguous about it: virtual assets were securities, and the SEC, not the CBN, was the apex regulator, full stop. Director-General Emomotimi Agama built out an entire onboarding pipeline around that mandate, the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, and exchanges and crypto protocols queued up to get licensed under it. On Friday, 17 July, President Bola Tinubu signed something that quietly complicates that picture. The Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, 2026, announced by presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga, sets…

MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, and Globacom all introduced data calculators to help customers estimate how much data they need based on their internet habits, rather than buying bundles blindly. However, the models of their data calculators differ significantly in design, setup, and operational mode. The introduction of data calculators follows complaints about data depletion. To provide clarity on how data usage really works, operators are using the platform to provide a clear view of data usage with respect to subscribers’ internet activity.  Besides their differences, all the mobile operators are aiming towards a common goal: Estimate a user’s monthly data…

Stephen Radochia / Android AuthorityGemini is the Swiss Army knife of the AI world. Backed by Google, it is available across platforms and deeply integrated into Android, letting it do things no other chatbot can do right now. And the pace at which Google has brought Gemini up to speed with its rivals is just remarkable. Having said that, it often feels like ChatGPT made the best of its first-mover advantage, maintaining its lead in overall usability and response quality even today.I jump between Gemini and ChatGPT throughout the day for different tasks, using each quite extensively. Despite having access…

The Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund has secured an additional $90 million in committed capital.** For the best experience, download the free Africa Private Equity News app Android | iOS **A MESSAGE FROM OUR SUPPORTERSPwC Deals supports Infra Impact Investment Managers on its investment in Cape Town BiogasInfra Impact Investment Managers acquired a minority stake in Cape Town Biogas from Metier Sustainable Capital Fund II, which remains the majority shareholder. PwC supported Infra Impact with financial due diligence, tax due diligence and indicative valuation services. Read moreHere are summaries of the five most widely read stories from the past week on…

Nairobi — Former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi has warned President William Ruto and leaders of the Broad-Based Government against dismissing Rigathi Gachagua’s growing political influence, arguing that the Ol Kalou by-election has demonstrated the former Deputy President’s strength in the Mt Kenya region. Havi’s remarks came after a section of UDA leaders celebrated the party’s overall performance in recent parliamentary and senatorial by-elections, despite losing the Ol Kalou parliamentary seat to the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP). According to Havi, comparing Gachagua’s influence in Mt Kenya with election outcomes in other regions misses the bigger…

Long before investors placed billion-dollar valuations on African startups, before global venture capital firms arrived in Lagos, Johannesburg, and Cairo, many of the continent’s most celebrated entrepreneurs were students sitting inside lecture halls, writing exams and building the foundations of ideas that would eventually transform industries.The founders behind companies such as Flutterwave, Interswitch and Moniepoint did not emerge from the same institution or a particular academic system.Their paths were diverse, stretching across African universities and some of the world’s most prestigious global institutions.These universities did not “create” unicorns, as entrepreneurship depends on far more than education, but their classrooms, networks…

Gabon’s outstanding public debt rose 23% year-on-year to 8,780.3 billion FCFA at the end of December 2025, driven by a sharp increase in domestic borrowing as the government shifted away from traditional external financing. According to the Directorate General of Debt, external debt stood at 4,127.6 billion FCFA, while domestic debt reached 4,652.7 billion FCFA. Total public debt increased by 1,647 billion FCFA from the end of 2024. While external debt declined by 40.9 billion FCFA, or 0.98%, domestic debt surged by 1,687.9 billion FCFA, up 57% from a year earlier. The regional financial market became the largest source of…

When MiniPay launched in 2023, it had a simple pitch: help users access and move stablecoins cheaply. Three years later, the Opera-backed stablecoin app has a new priority: making those stablecoin balances more useful. On Tuesday, the company launched a Visa debit card in partnership with payments giant Visa and Gnosis Pay, the stablecoin payments platform developed by blockchain company Gnosis, allowing users in emerging markets and Africa—where it operates in major markets such as Nigeria and Kenya—to spend stablecoin balances anywhere Visa is accepted. The move signals how the stablecoin market is evolving. After years spent helping users acquire,…

Hackers gained control of the official website of Kenyan President William Ruto (president.co.ke) on Saturday, July 18th, and defaced the president’s official website with demeaning messages. The unknown group responsible for the cyber attack targeted President Ruto, threatening to release ‘uncomfortable’ information if its ransom demand of 5 Bitcoins (approximately $317,215) wasn’t met. “This message is the third time for you; before we leak everything about you,” the message on the homepage reads. “Do a payment of 5 bitcoins to the Bitcoin wallet…. If you want peace before 6 o’clock this evening.”   The Kenyan government, through a response filed by…