MTN's Back in the Streaming Business & more
The Africa B2B Tech Report, Africa-Middle East B2B tech news & insights for 9 June 2026.
Welcome to issue 46 of the Africa B2B Tech Report Daily. We bring you a daily digest of the news that matters to The Business of African Tech.
The Africa B2B Tech Report is published by BigFive Digital, an African tech media and events firm that produces the annual BigFive Summit in Cape Town. The report is produced and edited by Charles Laughlin, BigFive Digital’s Co-founder &Chief Content Officer. Charles is a globally experienced tech journalist, podcaster, & conference producer.
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Here are some recent stories that matter to The Business of African Tech.
MTN Group Revives Streaming Ambitions with “One TV”
MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecommunications provider, has launched MTN One TV, a pan-African streaming platform that marks its most ambitious media play yet. The rollout comes nearly a decade after its South Africa-focused FrontRow service failed to find traction.
FrontRow was launched in 2014 and shelved in 2017 after a rebranding to VU failed to rescue the initiative.
One TV aggregates live linear television, local content, and international programming under a single brand. Rather than deploying a rigid framework, MTN will tailor viewing models to individual market dynamics. Formats will span subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), advertising-supported video-on-demand (AVOD), free-to-view, and pay-per-view options.
The platform is bypassing traditional credit card barriers by integrating MTN’s massive fintech ecosystem—allowing its 307 million subscribers to pay via Mobile Money (MoMo) and airtime billing.
This ability to bypass the credit card barrier shows why telecoms are in a unique position to launch such a service. Now they just need to get the product right.
Interswitch transforms business model with Temenos deal
The Nigerian fintech unicorn Interswitch has announced a landmark partnership with Swiss banking technology firm Temenos that holds the promise to transform Interswitch from a transaction processor into a full-scale core banking technology services provider across Africa.
Under the agreement, Interswitch’s digital infrastructure division, Systegra, will integrate Temenos’ cloud-native composable banking platform into its technology stack.
This integration will allow Interswitch to deliver cloud-hosted and on-premises managed services—spanning core banking, digital engagement, payments, wealth management, and financial crime mitigation—directly to banks and financial institutions. The rollout will initially focus on key African markets, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Côte d’Ivoire.
This moves Interswitch beyond transaction processing and into direct competition for the underlying infrastructure of African finance. Mid-sized and smaller financial institutions across the continent face intense pressure to modernize legacy IT systems, but are frequently held back by the high capital expenditure and sheer technical complexity of full-scale platform upgrades.
By combining Temenos’ global core banking software with its own extensive regional footprint—which currently supports more than 300 institutions across 32 countries—Interswitch is positioning itself as an accessible, outsourced bridge to digital-first finance.
Ultimately, this collaboration highlights a broader trend across the African fintech ecosystem, where top-tier players are moving vertically up the value chain. By transitioning from a payment processor into a comprehensive Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider, Interswitch aims to control the foundational rails that will power the next generation of digital-first enterprise and consumer banking across the continent.
Uganda clamps down on cash with new central bank rules
Africa’s long campaign against cash continues with Uganda’s decision to place strict statutory limits on physical cash withdrawals and cheque transactions. These measures will take effect in January 2027.
Under the new Bank of Uganda guidelines, individuals will face a daily over-the-counter withdrawal cap of roughly $13,700 (UGX 50 million), while corporate entities will be restricted to $137,000 daily.
This regulatory clampdown follows an unprecedented surge in electronic money transaction values, which jumped 28% to hit a staggering $100.3 billion annually. This momentum is heavily driven by East Africa’s robust mobile money infrastructure.
According to the GSMA’s State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026, of the 347 million active monthly users across the entire African continent, East Africa accounts for more than half (193 million).
African governments have several incentives to reduce the use of cash and incentivize digital formats like mobile money. One is the anonymity of cash, which makes it difficult to collect taxes and fight financial crime.
Another reason is the cost of physically producing cash. Many African treasuries outsource this task to Europe. Kenya, for example, outsources its currency production to the German firm Giesecke+Devrient (G+D).
Spiro Taps New Group CEO After Historic $215M Raise
African electric mobility giant Spiro has appointed Anant Badjatya as its new Group CEO, fresh off a massive $215 million equity raise. Badjatya joins from India’s Indofast Energy, bringing deep expertise in managing large-scale battery-swapping networks.
Former CEO Kaushik Burman will now transition to lead the company’s mobility services business. This leadership restructuring separates Spiro’s rider-facing operations from its infrastructure and manufacturing goals.
Spiro is currently active in seven African markets with more than 100,000 electric motorcycles deployed. The company plans to leverage Badjatya’s scaling experience to expand its footprint further across the continent.
ICYMI: The BIG5D Podcast
Our most recent episodes of the BIG5D Podcast have brought you into the room at the 2026 BigFive Summit at Innovation City Cape Town, where the conversations about The Business of African Tech were smart, candid, and insightful.
Here is a rundown, in case you missed any of these great conversations. We have more great episodes coming soon.
E60: Women in Tech Leadership featuring Jill Curr & Laura Thomas
Episode 60 is a must-listen for female founders, of course, but also for anyone who wonders why such a small percentage of African venture funding goes to female founders. This episode is also for anyone who wants to understand how different entrepreneurship feels for women than it does for men.
The episode was recorded at the Summit as a panel discussion on Women in Tech Leadership. It features Jill Curr, one of the founders of MsFit Ventures, a debt fund backing “real economy” female entrepreneurs, and Laura Thomas, founder of edtech startup The Aligned Woman.
Yet some truths about running businesses are truly universal. As Laura says during the episode, the best test of whether you are a natural entrepreneur is “how insane you are”.