Renda Africa to convert one million African vehicles to CNG
Nigerian logistics startup, Renda Africa, is betting that compressed natural gas (CNG) will offer a cheaper and more practical path to cleaner transport in Africa than electric vehicles in the near term. Through its embedded finance platform, SCALE by Renda, the company plans to convert more than one million vehicles
Nonhlanhla Shembe on Why “Visibility is Currency” for Small Businesses
Small businesses are one of the backbones of South Africa’s economy, powering GDP growth and providing critical jobs. Yet many of them struggle, hampered by challenges like limited access to funding and, perhaps most critically, a lack of online visibility. If customers can’t find you, they can’t buy from you.
15 Best Online Trading Platforms in Kenya This Year
Online financial trading has gradually gaining popularity in Kenya. Investors in Kenya now access a variety of available online trading platforms covering stocks, forex, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies. The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has embraced e-trading, whereby people can buy and sell shares by using the apps/ websites of licensed brokers.
Today Africa Weekly: Tech news recap | September 1–7, 2025
Last week (September 1–7, 2025), the African tech ecosystem showed a familiar mix: steady venture activity, policy and infrastructure stories shaping the operating environment, and continued momentum in AI and crypto niches. Egypt led the biggest funding headlines: an Arabic-speech AI company closed a sizable Series A funding round, an
Step-by-step Guide to Scaling From Local to Regional Markets
Your business is thriving, customers recognize your brand, sales are steady, and you’ve become the go-to name in your niche. But then you start to wonder—what’s next? How can you grow beyond your local success? That’s where scaling from local to regional markets comes in. It’s not just about opening
50 Low-cost Business Ideas You Can Start in Africa Today
Starting a business in Africa can feel overwhelming if you don’t have access to big capital. But here’s the truth: some of the continent’s most successful entrepreneurs started with very little. According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), over 90% of businesses in Africa are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),
Safaricom is quietly adding utility services into M-PESA app
Safaricom is quietly changing how its customers use digital products by moving everyday services into its flagship M-PESA app, raising questions about the future of its long-running self-care platform, the mySafaricom app. This week, users began noticing that functions once exclusive to the mySafaricom app—such as airtime purchases and home
Customer Acquisition in Africa: Lessons from Early-stage Founders
Launching a startup is one thing; growing it is another. For founders in Africa, the biggest test is not just coming up with a great idea but convincing people to actually use it. This process—customer acquisition—is what transforms a vision into a viable business. Without customers, there is no revenue,
How African Founders Can Bootstrap a Startup with Less Than $10,000
Launching a startup with minimal cash sounds like a difficult task – especially in Africa, where investors and formal funding can be scarce. Yet many African entrepreneurs prove it’s possible every day. From a Kenyan app built on a shoestring to a Nigerian creator platform scaled by word-of-mouth, these founders
Kenya’s digital lenders disbursed $594 million since 2022
Kenya’s disbursed 5.5 million loans worth KES 76.8 billion ($594 million) in the past three years, underscoring the scale of an industry that only came under formal regulation in 2022. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) on Thursday cleared 27 additional providers, raising the number of licenced firms to 153. The first
