The Africa B2B Tech Report
Issue No. 114. Africa-Middle East B2B tech news & insights for 21 February 2026.
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Welcome to the Africa B2B Tech Report. We explore the business of African tech.
The Report is brought to you by Charles Laughlin, the Co-founder &Chief Content Officer of BigFive Digital, a media and events firm that hosts the annual BigFive Summit in Cape Town. Charles is an independent journalist, podcaster, and event producer.
The Business of African Tech Week in Review, 15-21 February 2026
This week, we curated a compelling collection of stories that we believe are worthy of your attention.
We have organized this week’s collection of stories into the following categories.
Digital Infrastructure & Sovereignty
This category covers the foundational “pipes” of the continent—data, internet access, and the platforms built upon them.
Microsoft’s AI Forecast: AI could add $136B to Africa’s economy if cross-border data flows are seamless.
Airtel & Starlink: A late-stage partnership to bridge rural internet gaps using direct-to-cell tech.
Maser Group’s $1.6B Bet: Massive investment in sustainable data centers and commercial farmland.
LekeeLekee Launch: Africa’s first homegrown global social platform aiming for data sovereignty.
TikTok Content Moderation: Over 580K videos removed in Kenya to combat misinformation.
Lagos as a Global Leader: Named the world’s fastest-growing tech hub of 2025 with a $15.3B ecosystem.
Fintech, Trade & Regulation
These stories highlight the shifting financial landscape, from the rise of credit to the tightening of government oversight.
The “Temu” Probes: Nigerian and South African regulators investigate the e-commerce giant for trade compliance.
BNPL Growth: Africa’s “Buy Now, Pay Later” market is projected to triple to $16.8B by 2031.
Uganda’s Cashless Hurdles: High costs and digital literacy remain roadblocks to a cash-free future.
Fintech M&A & Funding: AfricInvest moves for Vantage Payment; IFC targets $20M for Malawi SMEs.
Strategic Partnerships: Yango and Flutterwave join forces for secure Zambian food delivery payments.
Kenya’s Crypto “Fog”: Industry warnings that regulatory uncertainty could drive crypto innovators offshore.
Sustainable Mobility & Specialized Tech
This category focuses on physical innovation—how people move and how niche sectors like defense and betting are evolving.
Electric Vehicle (EV) Expansion: Arc Ride ($5M) and Skoot launch battery-swapping infrastructure in Kenya.
Green Hydrogen: A focus on the massive infrastructure and training needed to drive inclusive growth.
Defense-Tech Emergence: Flutterwave’s CEO backs Terra Industries in a $22M round for security tech.
Eden Life’s Pivot: Shifting from B2C home services to high-margin corporate catering for profitability.
E-commerce Logistics: Breadfast secures $50M to drive expansion across North and West Africa.
AI in Betting: Use of AI to personalize experiences and drive job growth in the sports betting sector.
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The following is a collection of stories that we have tracked over the past week that matter to the Business of African Tech. Click the headlines to view the original articles.
Microsoft says Africa’s AI opportunity hinges on seamless data flows
Microsoft reports that AI could add $136 billion to Africa’s economy, provided the continent overcomes data localization hurdles and improves infrastructure to enable seamless cross-border data flows.
UAE’s Maser Group to pour $1.6B in sustainable African data centers
Dubai-based Maser Group plans to invest $1.6 billion into Africa, focusing on developing sustainable data centers and expanding commercial farmland to enhance digital and food security.
Airtel in talks to bridge rural internet gaps via Starlink
airtel Africa is in late-stage talks with SpaceX to integrate Starlink’s direct-to-cell technology, aiming to bridge rural coverage gaps and improve internet speeds across 14 markets.
TikTok removed 580K Kenyan videos amid calls for tighter moderation
TikTok removed over 580,000 videos in Kenya during Q4 2025. The platform says the videos were removed to combat hate speech, misinformation, and harmful content. TikTok says 99.7% of the videos were taken down before they were reported by users.
Is Africa’s digital sovereignty on the line with LekeeLekee?
LekeeLekee launched as Africa’s first homegrown global social media platform, prioritizing data sovereignty, local monetization, and seamless connectivity to challenge Silicon Valley’s dominance.
Nigerian, South African regulators take aim at Temu
Nigeria and South Africa have launched regulatory probes into Temu, investigating the Chinese e-commerce giant for potential anti-competitive behavior and non-compliance with local trade laws.
Lagos was the world’s fastest-growing tech hub of 2025
Lagos emerged as the world’s fastest-growing tech hub in 2025. Boasting a $15.3 billion ecosystem and five unicorns, the city outpaced global rivals in innovation growth.
Report: Africa’s BNPL market to triple in next 5 years
Africa’s Buy Now, Pay Later market is projected to triple, reaching $16.8 billion by 2031, driven by increasing digital payment adoption and rising consumer demand.
Uganda’s transition to a cashless future faces roadblocks
Uganda’s cashless transition faces hurdles like high transaction costs and infrastructure gaps, necessitating improved digital literacy and policy reforms to overcome persistent cash-heavy consumer habits.
IFC targets loans to farms, women-owned businesses in Malawi
The IFC - International Finance Corporation launched a $10 million risk-sharing facility in Malawi to unlock $20 million in SME lending, specifically targeting women-owned businesses and the agricultural sector.
AfricInvest to acquire joint control in Morocco’s Vantage Payment
AfricInvest is moving to acquire joint control of VANTAGE PAYMENT SYSTEMS, aiming to strengthen the Moroccan fintech’s regional expansion and enhance digital payment solutions across Africa.
Yango, Flutterwave partner on Zambian food delivery
Yango partnered with Flutterwave in Zambia to enhance secure digital payments for food delivery, streamlining transactions for users and boosting the efficiency of local merchant settlements.
Is Kenya’s regulatory fog driving away crypto innovators?
Despite pioneering standalone crypto legislation, Kenya faces “regulatory fog” as stakeholders warn that uncertainty over taxation and licensing could drive digital finance innovation offshore.
Flutterwave CEO’s participation in Terra round shines light on African defense-tech
Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola joined a $22 million funding round for Nigerian defense-tech startup Terra Industries, supporting its expansion into high-risk security markets across Africa.
Kenyan mobility tech Arc Ride raises $5M Series A
Kenyan electric mobility startup ARC Ride has secured $5 million in Series A funding led by the IFC - International Finance Corporation to expand its battery-swapping infrastructure and electric fleetTikTok scrubs 580K videos in Kenya amid growing demands for content moderation.
Will Scoot’s electric 3-wheeler make mobility accessible in Kenya
Skoot Technology launched the Skoot e3W in Kenya, featuring SUN Mobility’s battery-swapping tech. The electric three-wheeler aims to reduce fuel costs and downtime for urban operators.
What is green hydrogen? And can it drive growth in Africa?
To deliver jobs, Africa’s green hydrogen sector requires massive infrastructure investment, targeted vocational training, local value chain integration, and strategic policy frameworks to ensure inclusive economic growth.
Egypt’s Breadfast lands $50M pre-Series C round
Egypt-based e-commerce platform Breadfast secured $50 million in pre-Series C funding to enhance its logistics, expand infrastructure, and drive expansion across North and West Africa.
Eden Life pauses consumer service to focus on corporate market
Nigerian startup Eden Life Inc has paused its consumer home services to prioritize high-margin corporate catering and industrial food operations, aiming for profitability by 2026.
AI is revolutionizing sports betting in Africa
AI is revolutionizing African sports betting by personalizing user experiences and optimizing mobile platforms, driving significant industry growth and creating thousands of new tech-related jobs.
Each issue of The Report features a chart or infographic that we believe tells an important story about the region’s B2B tech ecosystem.
A closer look at African climate tech funding
This week’s Data Dump comes courtesy of Max Cuvellier Giacomelli and Africa: The Big Deal. This graphic shows the progression of climate tech investment in Africa in recent years.
Sponsored Message
Top Tech Leaders to Headline the
2026 BigFive Summit in Cape Town
BigFive Digital (24-26 March) has landed two top African B2B tech builders and thought leaders for the 2026 BigFive Summit in Cape Town, with more announcements coming next week.
Rahul Jain, the Co-founder and CEO of Peach Payments, will join the Summit stage for an exclusive fireside chat to share his founder’s story and insights on African fintech.
Since co-founding Peach in 2012, Jain has helped transform the startup into a pan-African payments powerhouse. The company recently expanded into West Africa through the acquisition of Senegalese fintech PayDunya.
Jain is a leading voice on payment orchestration and scaling digital commerce in Africa. At the Summit, Rahul will share his insights on geographic expansion, building "100-year businesses" and navigating the continent’s evolving regulatory landscape. You won‘t want to miss this deep dive into the future of African fintech.
André de Wet, the co-founder and CEO of Flood, will take the stage at the 2026 BigFive Summit in Cape Town on March 25 to share why he believes 2026 will be "The Year of the Super App" in emerging markets.
At the Summit, de Wet will explore how super apps are unifying fragmented markets, bypassing device storage limits, and serving as the primary gateway for financial inclusion and informal trade across the continent.
Flood, founded in 2020, is on a mission to build the 'Shopify' for bricks-and-mortar retail.
The 2026 BigFive Summit in Cape Town is excited to welcome Featured Speaker Laura Thomas the founder of The Aligned Woman, an EdTech platform redefining how women learn, lead, and navigate work, life, health, and identity.
At the Summit, Laura will lead off a content block focused on women in leadership. Her talk will focus on "The Hidden Tax on Female Leadership".
"Research consistently shows that when women demonstrate the very traits associated with strong leadership - decisiveness, authority, ambition, and confidence, they are often perceived as less likeable," Laura told us in describing her talk.
"And unlike their male counterparts, likeability significantly influences how their competence is judged. This is the hidden tax."
Laura's talk will be followed by a panel discussion among women leaders in African tech.
Laura is also an award-winning brand strategist and is the founder and managing partner of Salt & Candy, a Cape Town-based brand communications agency.
The 2026 BigFive Summit also welcomes Imtiyaaz Riley, the founder and CEO of Cape Town-based mobility and payments company Loop, to our lineup of speakers.
Imtiyaaz will join a panel discussion on inclusive innovation in Africa. Imtiyaaz was born into a third-generation taxi family in Manenberg. He founded Loop in 2021 to tackle unsafe cash-based transport, unreliable scheduling, and financial exclusion.
Loop allows commuters to book via WhatsApp, pay using Chat-to-Pay or Tap-to-Phone, and even insure their belongings in transit.
Loop has garnered national and continental awards, including Social Enterprise of the Year (2024). Loop has also partnered with Visa to scale its digital payments ecosystem.
Brand your B2B business at the BigFive Summit
BigFive Summit sponsors receive a host of benefits, including branding, stage time (with shareable video content), exclusive event sponsorships within the Summit (dinners, giveaways, tea breaks, etc.), early and exclusive access to the Summit delegate list with contact details, curation of meetings, and much more.
Whatever your business stage or budget level, there is a sponsorship opportunity for you. Learn more in our sponsorship prospectus.
Want to get involved in this year’s event? Write to us at big5dtv@gmail.com.
Tickets are now available for the 2026 BigFive Summit, 24-26 March at Innovation City Cape Town. This year’s theme is “The Business of African Tech”.
Generous early bird rates (25%+ savings) are in place through February, so it pays to make an early decision to join one of the Continent’s best business and technology events.