Africa Tech News

Amazon and SpaceX Accused of Trying to Demolish National Labor Law 

Amazon alleged in a legal filing published that the National Labor Relations Board is unconstitutional. SpaceX and companies that, like Amazon, have repeatedly faced lab

Partech Closes Its Second Africa Fund At $300M+ to Invest in Series C 

Partech has closed its second Africa fund, Partech Africa II, at $300 million+, just one year after reaching its first close. Partech Africa, which originally targeted €

Kenyan EV Startup Roam Secures $24m to Scale Production 

Roam, a Kenya-based electric vehicle company has raised $24 million in equity and debt to expand local manufacturing capabilities in Kenya, scale up production at its new

Starlink Importation, Use, and Resale a Criminal Offence in Botswana 

Botswana’s telecoms regulator has warned the public against the importation, use, and resale of Starlink devices in the country. The importation, use, and resale of Star

Flutterwave’s Disha Pauses All Activity

Disha announced the product will be paused indefinitely from March 31, 2024. Its 100,000 creators have until then to migrate their content and profiles to other platforms

Nigeran State to Use Tech to Track Kidnappers  

The country, in 2019, approved $433 million to bankroll a five-year project that would provide everyone with unique 11-digit identification numbers that would be register

Oregon Considers Right-to-RepairBill 

Oregon may soon become the latest state to pass right-to-repair legislation. Last month, Google lent its support in an open letter, calling Senate Bill 1596 “a compellin

Ethiopia Ban Importation of Non-electric Cars

Ethiopia is placing a ban on gasoline and diesel car imports, and express admission on electric vehicles. Transport Minister Alemu Sime, says prioritises both green ener

Kenya to Penalise Unregistered AI Firms with $6,250 Fine 

Kenya has proposed an AI and robotics law that includes fines of up to $6,250 for unlicensed businesses. The Kenya Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Society Bill 2023

Leatherback CEO Sues EFCC for Defamation 

Ibrahim Ibitade, CEO of Leatherback, a cross-border payments startup that operates in seven countries, has successfully cleared his name following an intense episode with

Flutterwave to Recover $24 Million Lost to Unauthorised POS Transactions 

African fintech giant Flutterwave is seeking to retrieve $24 million illegally transferred in October 2023 through a combination of a technical glitch and potentially fra

Bayobab Lands Two Subsea Cables in Nigeria and Ghana 

MTN-owned fibre solutions Bayobab announced that its subsea internet cable, 2Africa, has landed in Nigeria and Ghana. TechCabal reports that the cable was set to land in

Starlink Clamps Down on South African Resellers 

The Space X-owned service which kicked off in Nigeria has snaked its way across the continent, launching in Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia even eSwatini, all while avoiding South

Nigeria’s Central Bank Scraps Exchange Cap for International Money Transfer Operators   

The Central Bank of Nigeria eliminated the cap on exchange rates quoted by International Money Transfer Operators. CBN previously controlled the exchange rate at which I

EU’s AI Act Passes Last Big Hurdle to Adoption

The European Union’s AI Act, a risk-based plan for regulating applications of artificial intelligence, has passed what looks to be the final big hurdle standing in the wa

E-motorcycle Startup Cake Files for Bankruptcy 

CEO Stefan Ytterborn says Electric motorcycle startup Cake filed for bankruptcy February 1. The Swedish company was in the middle of a funding round, just prior to the f

Multichoice to Invest $89 Million in Showmax 

MultiChoice says it will make a new $89 million cash injection in Showmax, its streaming platform, by the close of March 2024. The latest development comes as Showmax gea

Botswana Rejects Starlink Satellite Internet Application  

Starlink has had its application to launch in Botswana rejected The low-orbit satellite service, owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, was denied its application to operate in th

Airtel Africa Reports a 99% Plunge in Profits in 2023 

Airtel Africa, a telecom company operating across 14 African countries faced headwinds from Nigeria’s naira devaluation and reported a loss after tax of $151 million in i

Spotify Calls Apple’s DMA Compliance Plan Extortion 

Spotify issued its response to Apple’s new DMA rules, calling the new fees imposed on developers extortion and Apple’s compliance plan a complete and total farce that dem