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
7 Things Silicon Valley Gets Wrong About African Entrepreneurs
For years, Africa has stood at the intersection of fascination and oversimplification in the global tech conversation. Silicon Valley, the world’s tech capital, has turned its gaze toward the continent with increasing intensity: venture capital trickles and surges, hackathons branded as “bridges,” evangelism around blockchain and Web3, and celebratory headlines
NALA expands into Kenya with Equity Bank, Pesalink partnership
Tanzanian fintech, NALA, expands into Kenya through a partnership with Equity Bank and payment utility Pesalink, targeting the country’s fast-growing remittance inflows while sidestepping the lengthy licensing process required of foreign entrants. The deal allows NALA, which provides cross-border payment services for consumers and businesses, to route diaspora transfers through
Kenya’s High Court exempts fintechs from VAT in landmark ruling
Kenya’s High Court exempts fintechs from VAT in a landmark ruling, overturning an earlier tribunal decision in a case pitting payments startup Pesapal against the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). Justice Rhoda Rutto found digital payment providers are “functionally equivalent” to banks, a blow to the tax authority. The court overturned
20 entrepreneurs advance to Africa’s Business Heroes 2025 Semi-Finals
20 entrepreneurs advance to Africa’s Business Heroes 2025 Semi-Finals of its annual prize competition, an initiative of Alibaba Philanthropy. The event will take place in Dakar, Senegal, on September 10–11, 2025, marking the first time the program is hosted in a Francophone country. Now in its seventh edition, ABH supports
