On July 17, 2025, Washington passed a law that could shape Africa’s financial future. The GENIUS Act is the first national law in the US that deals with stablecoins. It says that issuers must keep dollar-for-dollar reserves, publish audits every month, and make sure that users have the first claim on assets in case of

Safaricom, Kenya’s biggest telco, will now allow M-PESA users to send up to KES 500,000 ($3,850) in a single transaction to any bank account through the new PesaLink mini app. ​​PesaLink, run by the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), connects local banks, allowing users to move money instantly between accounts. The update removes the need to

In a recent white paper, Standard Bank, South Africa’s biggest lender, called for mobile money to be integrated into traditional banking systems, a move it says could make payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible. For everyday customers, that would mean real-time transfers between mobile wallets and bank accounts, fewer costly intermediaries, and a financial ecosystem

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Nigeria’s smartphone market rebounded by 10% in Q2, 2025, after declining by 7% in Q1, 2025, according to Canalys, a global technology market analyst firm. This marks the fastest growth since Q1, 2024, reflecting how easing inflation, a stabilising naira, and aggressive device financing schemes are helping the country’s mobile economy recover from a bruising

It’s early morning in Accra, Ghana. Darlington Akogo stands at the edge of a 20-hectare cashew farm with a drone controller in hand and eyes fixed on the digital bird slicing across the sky, scouting for trouble. In a few minutes, the drone will send back megabytes of imagery—leaf textures, canopy health, chlorophyll patterns—looking for

Other “replacement therapies” are showing promise for healthy longevity. This week I’m writing from...

In August, the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) drew African attention for an unusual announcement: Japan proposed designating several of its domestic cities as “official hometowns” for Africans from Ghana, Nigeria, and Mozambique. The symbolic gesture is part of a broader push to deepen economic collaboration and cultural ties. Tokyo also made

Access Tech Innovation and Research Center, a Lagos-based non-profit focused on digital inclusion for blind individuals, has launched GiveTechToTheBlind, a new platform designed to connect blind people who need assistive technology with donors willing to fund these devices. The platform, launched on Tuesday, enables blind users to request assistive tech products from talking wrist watches to

Agentic AI is coming of age. And with it comes new opportunities in...

Every year, Zambia generates around 23,000 tonnes of electronic waste. Much of it ends up in open fires or unregulated dumpsites. As they burn, these fires release a poisonous mix of lead, mercury, and dioxins, contaminating the air, soil, and rivers. People who live close to these sites inhale toxic fumes that damage their lungs

Table of contents A few months ago, I was chatting with a South African colleague who had just bought shares in an international company on her phone. No broker, no long forms, no significant capital, just an app and R50 ($2.79).  She explained how apps like EasyEquities and SatrixNOW make investing feel as simple as