Author: John Nyabuto

Access Holdings Plc has reported audited results for the financial year ended December 31, 2025, which marks a significant turning point in its corporate journey as it shifts from a growth model defined by scale to one increasingly anchored on value creation, efficiency, and earnings quality. The Group delivered a resilient performance during the year, navigating a transitional operating environment while demonstrating the strength of its franchise and the robustness of the governance structures it has built over time. Profit before tax crossed the ₦1 trillion mark for the first time, rising to ₦1.01 trillion, a 16.2 per cent increase…

Bolt has invested R3 billion (€150 million) into South Africa over the past decade, underscoring the country’s importance as one of its largest and fastest-growing shared mobility markets globally and signalling further expansion through new funding and safety investments. Simo Kalajdzic, Senior Operations Manager at Bolt, said “South Africa has been one of Bolt’s most important markets globally over the past decade. Our R3 billion investment reflects not just our growth, but our belief in the role that platform-based mobility plays in driving economic participation. The milestone highlights both the scale of the business and its role in supporting economic…

Botswana has launched the Botswana Tech Fund (BTF), a £50 million venture fund aimed at supporting startups across Southern Africa. Launch Africa Ventures has been appointed as the investment advisor for Phase One of the fund, marking an expansion of its role beyond deploying its own capital into managing third-party investment mandates. The Botswana Tech Fund is designed to back startups from pre-seed through to growth stages. The fund targets total commitments of £50 million. This initial phase includes £1 million allocated to a pre-seed accelerator cohort. Startups in the accelerator programme will receive between £25,000 and £100,000 in funding,…

Young sustainability innovators have secured institutional backing from Strathmore University and Absa Kenya Foundation to scale their innovations beyond creations at the Grand Finale of the 2025/2026 #MyLittleBigThing Sustainability Innovation Challenge.  This collaboration will see them explore a structured program to enable the 16 finalists of the challenge become investor-ready by addressing critical administrative, legal, and intellectual property (IP) protection needs. Speaking during the finale, CEO of the National Youth Council (NYC), Gloria Wawira, emphasized that the future of the African continent rests on the shoulders of those who dare to innovate with purpose. “We are no longer in an era where youth…

NTT DATA has announced it has become the first network operator in Africa to establish active 400 Gbps peering at the Johannesburg Internet Exchange (JINX). Africa remains one of the fastest-growing digital markets globally, driven by increasing Internet penetration, expanding submarine cable capacity and the rapid adoption of digital services. In this context, continued investment in high-performance exchange infrastructure is essential to support economic growth, innovation, and digital inclusion on the continent. This milestone marks a significant advancement in both NTT DATA’s network capability and the broader evolution of Africa’s Internet peering ecosystem. It signals that South Africa’s Internet exchange…

Renew Capital has announced the launch of the Renew Venture Lab: The EmFi Series, a new program aimed at identifying and supporting African tech founders building the next generation of financial solutions across the continent. The program was unveiled during GITEX Africa. Applications are now open, with founders able to apply through the Venture Lab portal. Early consideration is available for submissions made by April 30. The EmFi Series has a strong focus on embedded finance. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) make up about 90% of all private sector businesses in Africa. Even with this said, most of them remain…

Kulipa, a Paris-based stablecoin card issuing infrastructure platform, has raised $6.2 million in seed funding. The company aims to connect blockchain settlement systems with the world of everyday financial transactions. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. The round was co-led by Flourish Ventures and 1kx. It also had additional participation from White Star Capital and Fabric Ventures. Kulipa is positioning itself as a solution to this problem. The company provides fintech platforms with the ability to issue globally accepted payment cards funded directly from stablecoin balances. Its infrastructure targets a wide…

Wingu Africa has launched a new private cloud platform, Wingu Cloud Exchange (WCX), in Ethiopia. The company is known for its carrier-neutral, Tier III-standard data centres across East Africa and says the new platform is designed to give Ethiopian businesses access to secure, scalable and locally compliant cloud services without relying heavily on international providers. WCX addresses one of Africa’s biggest cloud adoption challenges: where data is stored and how much it costs to manage it. By enabling organisations to keep their data within Ethiopia, WCX ensures compliance with local regulations while also reducing latency and improving performance for critical…

Paymentology has announced a new strategic partnership with South Africa’s digital-first bank Bank Zero.  The partnership positions Bank Zero as a gateway for fintechs, retailers, SMEs and digital platforms looking to launch financial services, while leveraging Paymentology’s global card issuing and processing infrastructure. This partnership makes it easier for businesses to roll out tailored financial products that would have previously involved heavy lifting, mostly associated with the banking infrastructure.  This includes faster onboarding for partners, scalable, cloud-native processing and improved customer experience through digital-first systems. Paymentology will provide the underlying infrastructure, while Bank Zero contributes its modern, app-driven banking framework…

Moroccan electric mobility startup GoSwap has secured its first seed funding round from Azur Innovation Fund. GoSwap is building a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) model designed to address two of the biggest barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption, high upfront costs and range anxiety. If you have a startup you want featured on TechArena, let us know through this contact form here. GoSwap makes it possible for users to buy a battery-free electric scooter and access power through GoSwap’s network of smart swapping stations. Riders can exchange depleted batteries for fully charged ones in under 10 seconds. This eliminates charging delays and downtime. The startup…