Tech Tides Africa

Startup Graveyard Africa

The Tech Tides Africa Podcast brings you the week’s most important stories on startups, technology, and innovation in Africa. Listen in every Thursday by 10 AM (WAT). You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

  1. 3 days ago

    #49 Why Moove is betting on Robotaxis over drivers

    The vehicle-financing pioneer Moove made its mark by putting tens of thousands of human drivers on the road for platforms like Uber. However, managing gig drivers in emerging and frontier markets has proven increasingly complex—from fuel price spikes and offline payment diversions to default risks and labour disputes. To insulate its long-term unit economics, Moove is placing a strategic bet on autonomous vehicles and robotaxi fleet management, signalling a future where the platform finances and manages self-driving fleets rather than human operators. We unpack what this pivot means for gig economy workers and the evolution of ride-hailing infrastructure. Other interesting stories in this episode: The 17,000-Bike Divide: Spiro has scaled 22,000 electric bikes in Rwanda compared to only 5,000 in Nigeria. We break down how Rwanda’s aggressive national green policies and concentrated swap-station density outpaced Nigeria's fragmented state regulations and grid challenges. Ditching the Credit Bureau: With over 60% of Africans lacking formal credit histories, traditional lenders are abandoning rigid legacy scoring. Banks are partnering with fintechs to analyse airtime top-ups, mobile money flows, and utility payments to underwrite underserved consumers. Article referenced: https://startupgraveyard.africa/blog/addressing-burnout-culture-in-startup-life  Connect with us! Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

  2. 7 Aug

    #48 Why ₦2 Billion in sales couldn’t save GoLemon

    The "full-stack cost trap" claims another high-profile victim. GoLemon, the Lagos grocery delivery platform launched in 2024 by four former senior managers at Paystack, has officially stopped accepting orders and begun winding down. Despite moving over ₦2 billion ($1.4 million) in groceries, serving 40,000 registered users, and achieving profitable individual basket economics, the startup simply could not generate the high volume required to cover massive fixed overheads—warehouses, direct farmer sourcing, engineering, and fulfilment logistics. Following closures and pauses by Jumia Food, Bolt Food, FoodCourt, and Eden Life's consumer arm, GoLemon’s exit highlights a fundamental ecosystem shift: venture investors are fleeing capital-intensive, full-stack logistics models in favour of asset-light aggregators. Other interesting stories in this episode: Rentoza Enters Business Rescue 🇿🇦: South African tech-subscription platform Rentoza files for voluntary business rescue after burning through $7.3 million in funding, bogged down by unpaid customer balances, delayed audits, and an inability to secure fresh capital. Kenyan Court Strips Unlicensed Lenders 🇰🇪: A Nairobi court dismisses 139 debt recovery suits filed by unlicensed digital loan apps, ruling that non-compliant lenders operating without a Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) license cannot dignify illegal operations by using state courts to collect debts. MTN's 72% Fintech Slump 🇳🇬: MTN Nigeria’s Q2 2026 fintech revenue plummeted 72.4% (from ₦47.1 billion in Q1 to ₦13 billion in Q2) following the regulatory suspension of its XtraTime airtime lending service, while expected credit losses jumped 5x to ₦15.97 billion. Zap’s Super-App Evolution ⚡: Paystack’s consumer app, Zap, initially debuted with a minimalist "anti-super-app" stance focused strictly on fast bank transfers without bloat. Now, with the addition of bill payments, electricity, DSTV, and gaming top-ups, it is morphing into the multi-service experience it once contrasted itself against.

  3. 30 Jul

    #47 Morocco’s ORA scores $10 million without foreign VCs

    Cybersecurity risks reached the highest halls of power in Kenya when the official presidential portal was defaced by hackers who demanded a ransom of 5 Bitcoins under threat of leaking sensitive personal data. While the Ministry of Information, Communications, and the Digital Economy swiftly contained the incident and confirmed no government data was exfiltrated or lost, the high-profile breach highlights the urgent cyber vulnerabilities facing national digital infrastructure across the continent. We unpack how the breach unfolded and discuss what it takes to defend sovereign systems against extortion tactics. Other interesting stories in this episode: 100% Local Capital in Morocco: Super-app ORA Technologies expanded its Series A funding to $10 million, funded entirely by Moroccan investors, signalling growing domestic confidence in North Africa's tech ecosystem. FMO Backs M-KOPA Mobility: M-KOPA Kenya Mobility secured a $30 million green debt facility from Dutch development bank FMO to expand its pay-as-you-go e-motorbike financing model across East Africa. Venture Capital Flight to Quality: Startup funding across Africa holds steady entering H2 2026, but the data reveals a clear shift: investors are backing fewer, later-stage, and more established startups rather than spreading early-stage seed bets. Stablecoin Diaspora Rails: LemFi partners with BVNK to integrate stablecoin settlement infrastructure into its cross-border money transfer network, speeding up transaction times and cutting foreign exchange overhead for diaspora payments. Connect with us! Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

  4. 17 Jul

    #46 Why Kenya denied copyrights to AI creators

    The legal definition of creativity in East Africa has changed forever. In a high-stakes dispute involving an author who used AI tools to produce a series of commissioned books, Kenya’s Copyright Tribunal ruled that authorship is solely reserved for human beings. While the judgment doesn’t ban creators from using tools like ChatGPT or Midjourney, it establishes a strict legal precedent: purely machine-generated outputs lack legal personality, and anyone hoping to protect or commercialise AI-assisted content must now prove "sufficient human intervention" and keep meticulous records of their own input. We unpack what this means for publishers, musicians, and agencies across the continent. Other interesting stories in this episode: Nigeria's Responsible AI Leap: Overtaking regional giants like Kenya and Egypt, Nigeria has claimed the top spot in Africa on the Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI). The index singled out Nigeria as a global "Bright Spot" for combining massive technical talent programs (such as the 3MTT) with concrete child data protections. The Crypto Hack Paradox: H1 2026 saw a record 207 crypto hacks, yet total stolen funds dropped by 57% to $972 million. We look at the data to analyse whether smart contract auditing is improving or whether hackers are simply shifting to lower-value protocols. Rebuilding the Vaults: The rise of sophisticated, AI-driven phishing and automated exploits is forcing traditional African banks to abandon their old security playbooks and rebuild their cyber architecture from scratch to keep pace with algorithmic threats. Connect with us! Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

  5. 10 Jul

    #45 This startup is cutting Lagos power bills by 70%

    The race to build the ultimate financial "super-app" for the diaspora just got real. Following its acquisition of credit specialist Pillar last year, LemFi has received FCA approval to fully acquire UK-based investment platform Wealth8. By integrating cross-border wealth management alongside high-frequency remittances and savings, LemFi is moving to capture a massive market segment and address ethnic wealth inequalities head-on—allowing users to invest in portfolios for as low as £8. We dive into the brilliant unit economics of capturing migrant users at the border and gradually graduating them into high-margin wealth products. Other interesting stories in this episode: DRC Stablecoin Trial: Onafriq is moving cross-border settlements for M-Pesa, Airtel, and Orange wallets onto USDC rails via the US platform Conduit, setting up a live, high-stakes test for digital-dollar payments in a highly dollarized economy. The Generator War: South African startup bPOWERd expands to Lagos in partnership with Mobil stations, offering an alternative to loud, costly fossil-fuel generators with solar battery rentals that can slash small-appliance power costs from ₦10,000 to ₦3,000 a day. AI-Powered Harvests: Tunisia’s agritech startup RoboCare secures a six-figure investment from 216 Capital to scale its precision farming models across the Middle East and Africa, targeting regional staples like olive trees and cereals. The Compliance Lock: Raenest’s CEO speaks out following an internet uproar over a $9,700 account restriction, admitting to frustrating support delays but reinforcing that strict compliance reviews are the non-negotiable reality of global fintech operations today.

  6. 2 Jul

    #44 Inside the startup achieving growth with $0 paid marketing

    In this special episode of Tech Tides Africa, Karen and Kelvin are joined by Linnet Kitonga, the co-founder and CMO of G-Rani Mobility, a Kenyan carpooling platform that is turning one of the continent’s oldest informal commuting habits into structured, reliable digital infrastructure. We dive deep into why importing a Silicon Valley playbook fails in the African transport ecosystem, the hidden financial drain of ride-hailing subsidies, and how building for existing cultural behaviours is the key to mastering unit economics. Linnet also drops massive insights on navigating regulatory grey areas by building the playbook with regulators, and why investors are completely missing the boat by focusing solely on electric vehicles (EVs) while ignoring the crucial "coordination layer" that actually moves people. Key Takeaways From This Episode: The Illusion of Disruption: You don’t change behaviour in Africa by telling people they're doing it wrong; you change it by taking an existing, trusted informal behaviour (like neighbourhood carpooling) and building infrastructure that removes unspoken friction points—like the awkwardness of fuel costs. The Coordination Gap vs EV Hype: Millions of dollars are pouring into electric motorbikes and clean-engine technologies. However, thousands of EVs on the road won’t solve traffic congestion or empty seats. The real, underfunded opportunity is the coordination layer that connects existing abundance to the people who need it. Writing the Regulatory Playbook: Instead of waiting for boardroom-bound policymakers to pull the rug out from under them, G-Rani’s strategy is to proactively bring regulators to the table early, using real-world data to shape the framework for an entirely new mobility category. Redefining African Unit Economics: Giani boasts positive month-on-month growth with zero paid acquisition. Why? Because true sustainability means delivering real value from day one, without burning investor cash on temporary promo codes and subsidised rides. A Lesson for Female Founders: Navigating a male-dominated mobility space means dealing with a credibility double standard. Linnet shares a powerful reminder that women make it in this space not by shrinking, but by being so undeniably good that their work speaks louder than anyone’s assumptions.

  7. 25 Jun

    #43 Why Nigeria is forcing banks and fintechs to choose a side

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dropped a regulatory hammer that will reshape the back-end infrastructure of Nigeria's fintech sector. Under a newly issued circular, all deposit money banks, fintechs, and microfinance institutions have until January 1, 2027, to localise their data storage, meaning all payment transaction data generated within Nigeria must live on local servers. But that’s not all—the CBN is also enforcing strict market concentration caps. No single entity is allowed to control more than 25% of the consumer payments market while simultaneously controlling more than 15% of merchant acquiring (and vice versa). This is a direct shot at market monopolisation, effectively forcing giants to choose a lane. We dive into the massive compliance costs, the technical risks of migrating live data rails, and what this means for the global cloud hyperscalers currently hosting Africa’s biggest platforms. Other interesting stories in this episode: The Chimoney Resurrection: Four weeks ago, Chimoney announced a textbook, clean shutdown. Today, they are being acquired by CapitalSage Holdings. We look at how doing a shutdown "the right way"—and holding onto a hard-to-get Canadian Payment Service Provider (PSP) licence—made them the perfect acquisition target. Kenya’s Hardware Tax Threat: New fiscal proposals in Kenya could dismantle local assembly plants for M-KOPA and Sun King. We discuss how taxing components could reverse smartphone penetration and clean-energy progress. E-Commerce Without the Wallets: A new Visa study in Egypt reveals a fascinating cultural paradox: consumers are heavily adopting AI tools to personalise their shopping and find deals, but a strict wall of distrust remains when it comes to letting AI handle automated payments. Connect with us! Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

  8. 18 Jun

    #42 Paystack absorbs Brass as Flutterwave locks down its talent

    The era of hyper-independent, overlapping fintech apps is giving way to a massive wave of consolidation. Two years after a high-profile, Paystack-led consortium stepped in to save the digital business banking platform Brass from a severe liquidity crisis, the brand is officially being retired. Brass announced that its entire operations and customer base will be completely folded into Paystack Microfinance Bank before July 31, 2026. This transition marks the end of an era for a startup darling and highlights a broader macro trend: established payments giants are aggressively swallowing up niche players to build comprehensive, fully licensed banking ecosystems. We unpack what this means for SME banking and consumer trust in digital-first financial services. Other interesting stories in this episode: Flutterwave’s Quarter-Staff Promotion: Marking its 10th anniversary, Flutterwave promoted over 100 employees globally. Along with the titles, the fintech giant introduced global cost-of-living adjustments, tax support for Nigerian staff, and economic relief packages to stave off poaching from global tech firms. Interswitch Enters the Core Banking Race: The payment infrastructure giant has partnered with global banking software provider Temenos. The deal allows Interswitch to offer cloud-hosted and on-premise core banking, wealth management, and financial crime systems to banks in Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire. Localised Voice AI Gets a Boost: AethexAI emerged from stealth with a $3 million pre-seed round led by 4DX Ventures. Instead of relying on Western LLMs that struggle with local dialects, latency, and accents, the startup built its own localised voice models (Kora 1) to automate call centres, debt collection, and KYC checks across Africa and the Middle East. Connect with us! Twitter/X: https://x.com/techtidesafrica LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tech-tides-africa Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/techtidesafrica/

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About

The Tech Tides Africa Podcast brings you the week’s most important stories on startups, technology, and innovation in Africa. Listen in every Thursday by 10 AM (WAT). You can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack, or anywhere else you get your podcasts.

Information

  • Creator
    Startup Graveyard Africa
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Tech Tides Africa