TikTok is taking new steps to protect its growing African user base by launching its first-ever Safety Advisory Council on the continent. This move comes as the ByteDance-owned platform continues to surge in popularity, especially among Africa’s young and tech-savvy population. 

With smartphones becoming more accessible and internet use skyrocketing, Africa has become a key battleground for social media platforms. With growth comes responsibility, and TikTok is under pressure to address the spread of misinformation and protect its youngest users from online dangers. Governments across Africa are pushing for tighter control over digital spaces, which TikTok’s new council aims to ensure.

Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, TikTok’s Director of Government Relations & Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa, stressed the shared responsibility of making TikTok a safe space. 

The platform’s #SaferTogether campaign, which has already reached thousands in Kenya and Nigeria, is part of this effort, educating users on how to protect themselves online.

“This part of the campaign will speak directly to the TikTok community, to join us in making TikTok a safer space for all by ensuring they follow the Community Guidelines and use the safety features made available to them,” she said. 

“With the additional layer that the Safety Advisory Council presents, we believe that safety can be achieved, collectively.”

The new safety advisory council, unveiled in Nairobi, Kenya, last week brings together a diverse group of experts, including academics, digital rights advocates, and local content creators. These members will provide critical insights and guidance on how TikTok can navigate the unique challenges faced by African users. 

Among them, Professor Guy Berger from South Africa, known for his work on media freedom, brings critical insight into balancing content moderation with free expression. 

Dennis Coffie, a content creator from Ghana, offers a perspective rooted in the everyday realities of TikTok users, ensuring the platform stays in touch with its grassroots community.

Aisha Dabo from Senegal, who co-founded AfricTivistes, provides a strong voice for digital activism and justice, ensuring that TikTok’s policies protect and empower its users. 

Lillian Kariuki, who leads Kenya’s Watoto Watch Network, will focus on child safety, a pressing issue as younger users flock to the platform. The council also includes Nigerian expert Dr. Akinola Olojo, whose experience in countering violent extremism will help TikTok tackle the more dangerous content that can spread online. 

Ethiopian academic Prof. Medhane Tadesse brings a deep understanding of peace and security, adding another layer of expertise to the council. 

Berhan Taye, an Ethiopian researcher known for her work on digital rights, ensures that the council’s decisions respect users’ freedoms while keeping them safe.

TikTok’s popularity in Africa has skyrocketed, turning users like Kenya’s Azziad Nasenya into household names.

Her “Utawezana” dance challenge not only went viral but also opened doors to major brand partnerships, showcasing the platform’s power to transform lives. But with this fame comes the need for robust safety measures, especially as more young people seek to replicate such success. For many young Africans, content creation on platforms like TikTok isn’t just a hobby—it’s a livelihood. With traditional employment opportunities often limited, the ability to earn a living through social media has become increasingly important. 

TikTok, with its vast reach and engaging format, has become a significant platform for these digital entrepreneurs, making the work of the new Safety Advisory Council even more crucial.

Meanwhile, Africa is on the brink of a digital transformation and its fledgling e-economy is taking shape, driven by progressive policy reforms and the influx of budget-friendly smartphones. These developments rapidly increase internet access across the continent, setting the stage for nearly complete digital connectivity within just over a decade. 

This widespread smartphone penetration is empowering Africa’s youth, who are not only consuming content at unprecedented rates but also creating it, turning platforms like TikTok into major sources of employment and influence.

Lagos is gearing up to revamp its land registry using blockchain, a technology renowned for its ironclad security and transparency, a trend seen across Africa.

The digital ledger, which underpins cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, could soon become the backbone of land ownership in Africa’s largest city, ensuring every transaction is tamper-proof and fully traceable.

A consortium of local technology firms, partnering with the Lagos State government, is driving the ambitious upgrade, which will roll out in phases over the next 18 months.

Central to the upgrade is the tokenisation of real estate properties, which will convert physical assets into digital representations on the blockchain.

Innovation Village reported that these “digital twins” will store key information such as ownership details, title deeds, and complete transaction history.

The adoption of blockchain technology is expected to address deep-rooted issues in Lagos’s current land registry system, which has long been plagued by corruption, inefficiency, and opacity.

With blockchain, the government seeks to provide a secure, transparent platform where land transactions are permanently recorded and cannot be altered.

Lagos’s adoption of blockchain could significantly streamline land transactions, reducing the time and costs associated with verifying titles and completing deals.

This efficiency is expected to boost the property market, attracting both local and international investors who have been wary of fraud.

A secure, transparent system of land ownership could unlock substantial economic potential, particularly in unregistered or disputed properties.

This move by Lagos is part of a broader trend across Africa, where countries grappling with similar challenges in land administration are moving to electronic title deed systems.

For instance, in Kenya, the Lands Ministry began digitising records in 2018, initially sparking enthusiasm. However, progress has been slower than expected, with only about a third of Nairobi’s property records digitized so far. Despite this, momentum is building, with more counties, including Isiolo, adopting the system.

Ghana has also been working on digitising land records to improve transparency. The West African country’s pilot blockchain land registry, initiated in 2017, remains in the experimental phase but reflects a broader trend across the continent toward leveraging technology for better land management. Rwanda stands out, having titled all land parcels between 2011 and 2013, with 86% of titles including women.

By 2023, the small East African state completed the digitization of its national cadastre and registry, making it the only African country to achieve this milestone.

South Africa has explored blockchain for land registration but faces complex challenges due to historical land ownership issues.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s supply chains have faced uncertainties and even shortages of resources such as critical minerals and agricultural commodities. Multiple factors contribute to these circumstances, which are exacerbated by persistent global conflicts, low inventories, demand fluctuations, and rising costs. Reuters recently pointed out that global shortages in particular cause an average loss of $82 million annually to international companies. 

The African informal sector is perhaps the most vital player in global market supply. Approximately 70% of African economies are informal, encompassing everything from artisanal miners to gig workers and small-scale farmers. These entrepreneurs are often underbanked, unregulated, and lacking access to capital, but their involvement in global markets is key to unlocking current and future supply chain bottlenecks for a wide range of goods. A recent article in The Economist underscored the world’s reliance on small, artisanal miners for critical mineral supply chains. 

Critics often view the informal economy as a symptom of regulatory and economic failure, associating it with lower wages and lack of social security. However, this perspective overlooks the essential role the informal sector plays in alleviating unemployment, enhancing livelihoods, having local insights unavailable to larger, formalised firms and providing goods and services where formal businesses may not reach. Instead of sidelining these economic activities, we should focus on empowering and formalising them in a way that preserves their resilience and enables their contributions. 

Sabi is proud to bridge gaps and facilitate meaningful connections that create value across the e-commerce ecosystem. Our work has included enabling a distributor to sell FMCG goods to last-mile retailers, connecting a lithium refinery in Indiana with African minerals suppliers, and lining a Nigerian cocoa aggregator with European chocolate producers. 

Important work remains, however, in empowering and supporting the informal sector and involving them more deeply in e-commerce activities on the continent. 

As leaders, entrepreneurs, and global partners look to the future of supplying the world’s demand for African goods and commodities, here are concrete ways to achieve your goals by supporting the informal sector: 

Responsible engagement: Responsible engagement with the informal sector means creating pathways for formalisation that respect the uniqueness of these businesses while offering them the benefits of formal economic activity such as greater access to finance, protection under the law, and the ability to scale. Technology platforms like Sabi, which I co-founded, are already on this path. We enable informal and semi-formal businesses to access larger markets, improve their operations, and connect with necessary services and resources. Such enablement not only boosts their productivity but also integrates them into the global economy, making supply chains more robust and diverse. 

Empowerment: Empowering the informal economy can significantly address global supply chain vulnerabilities exposed by recent crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. By formalising small and informal businesses, we can diversify sources of production and distribution, reducing the strain on overburdened supply systems and creating more resilient economic structures. This diversification is essential not just for Africa but for the global economy, mitigating risks of shortages and fostering more stable supply flows. 

Aligning incentives: Sabi helps informal merchants and artisanal suppliers grow their businesses, but we also help them understand the needs of the global markets. For many large companies, traceability equals transparency and is a requirement to engage suppliers. For others, sustainable practices – such as ethical sourcing, community development, and training for small farmers – are key. Sabi’s partnership work in the Oyo State of Nigeria points to path-breaking work that provides small farmers with the tools and support they need to operate sustainably and profitably.  

Broadening access to finance: For small and medium-sized entrepreneurs in the informal sector, access to credit and financial services is often the biggest barrier to scaling operations. Extending access to credit through technology and fintech platforms can be a good place to start. Sabi Market offers an API through its fintech platform, Katsu, that can be tailored to individual companies and their needs.  

Africa’s informal economy is a testament to the continent’s entrepreneurial spirit and capacity for innovation. By embracing and responsibly empowering these informal sectors, we not only drive economic growth in Africa but also contribute to solving some of the world’s most pressing economic challenges. 

Let us recognise and harness this potential, not as a challenge to be managed, but as an opportunity to be celebrated and elevated. This is not just the path to economic recovery—it is the road to a thriving, inclusive economic future for Africa and beyond. 

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Ademola Adesina is the Co-Founder of Sabi, a company dedicated to transforming the African marketplace through innovation and technology. Sabi blends global reach with local insights to connect African markets with each other the rest of the world. 

As the world transitions into the information age, data-driven insights, automation, and data management are becoming increasingly vital for business survival. For retail businesses, whose success depends on maintaining a healthy customer base, data-rich loyalty programs are essential tools for achieving this goal.

In May 2024, the market research firm BrandMapp and consultancy Truth published their 2023/24 Loyalty Whitepaper, which revealed that 76% of South Africans now use a loyalty program in some form or another. The study also revealed that 30% of the respondents indicated they were using loyalty programmes more than the previous year, revealing that consumers were becoming more desperate for any discount or deal against the backdrop of rising cost of living. 

The demand by the consumer class for more financial relief from loyalty programmes is increasing and provides a golden opportunity for businesses that manage these data-heavy systems. As digital technology rapidly evolves, so is how companies—retail or not—manage their data and the systems they use to leverage it. 

Businesses are now seemingly rushing to integrate artificial intelligence into their operations to streamline business processes without pausing for thought on the current condition of their data management systems. Before one can even think of advancing their systems into the age of intelligence, one must adopt the principle of effective data management. If one were to simply skip this and input garbage data into their AI applications, garbage data is bound to be the product. 

This justifies the need for businesses that are heavily reliant on data to avoid scrambling to collect it on an ad-hoc basis. To leverage AI to its true potential, businesses need to begin with data warehousing. Without further delay. 

A data warehouse is a centralised depot that stores data from numerous sources in a single location, making it easily accessible and crucial in supporting business intelligence and analytics. To make this more relatable, imagine a big library with countless books, with each book representing a different type of data, such as sales, customer information, or website engagement. A data warehouse is like a catalogue that collects and organises all these books into one place, enabling the user to find specific information more easily, see relationships between different data points, and gain valuable insights. 

The work of a data warehouse is complemented by the functioning of a customer data platform (CDP), a software application that collects, unifies, and organises customer data with the primary purpose of providing a single, comprehensive view of each customer, allowing for personalised marketing, sales, and customer service. In simple terms, think of a CDP as a magic scrapbook that collects and combines all the relevant information about each customer from various sources. 

The data warehouse is the repository for all data, while the CDP uses this data to create a personalised view of each customer. But how does this practically work? 

As we progress further into the online shopping dynasty, the demand by customers for more personalisation in their online shopping experience is overwhelming. This requires businesses to have systems in place that can operate at scale. Picture a customer who purchases a Nikon camera online. With the help of data warehousing and CDP systems, an online store can catch their customer before checking out and provide various recommendations, in real-time, based on different data sets, such as a camera lens of the same brand of camera they picked, products within the same category as the camera they chose, or other products associated with other customers who demonstrated a similar purchasing behaviour. This experience can easily be replicated with loyalty programmes for customers still shopping at physical stores. 

Omnichannel experiences are also particularly important, and refer to integrated customer experiences across multiple channels and touchpoints, whether online or offline. The goal of an omnichannel approach is to provide a consistent and cohesive brand experience for customers, regardless of how or where they interact with a business. An example of an omnichannel experience in retail would include the process of a customer browsing for a product online, checking in-store availability, and then picking up their purchase at the physical store.

On top of personalisation and omnichannel experiences, data warehousing and CDP systems also help businesses satisfy another desire of today’s digital consumer: instant responses and feedback. If you can use these tools in a manner that leverages AI-based analytics, you can guarantee a rapid transformation that will make your company far more competitive in the South African (and even global) market. 

This is exactly what makes a retail giant like Shoprite so successful, especially when executed through its various loyalty programmes. With the right data management systems in place, aided by machine learning infrastructure, any business has the potential to build a data kingdom like Shoprite and retain customer loyalty through personalisation and instantaneous feedback. 

While these systems likely sound costly for the little guy, there is an opportunity to start by targeting low-hanging fruits at a reduced cost while gaining most of the benefit for your business. Working with local experts can help you learn about the easiest ways to get started on your data journey by building systems specifically catering to your needs.

Regardless, the goal of leveraging cloud technology, data warehousing, and CDPs is to achieve rapid business transformation, enabling your business to gain a competitive advantage, improve project timelines, secure funding, and strengthen stakeholder relationships.

In the age of intelligence, where data is the new currency, businesses that prioritise effective data management and leverage AI-driven insights will be the ones to reap the rewards of loyalty, retention and ultimately, reign supreme in the market.

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Stefan Gerber is the co-Founder of Tregter, a South African data-management agency.

Nigeria began its open banking journey in 2017, spearheaded by a coalition of industry stakeholders advocating for greater financial innovation and inclusion. This mirrored the UK’s pioneering efforts under the General Data Protection Regulation) GDPR and the Second Payment Services Directive (PSD2), which sought to establish open banking. 

In the UK, open banking was initially used as a regulatory tool by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to create a level playing field among the country’s nine largest banks. While open banking served as a remediation tool in the UK, it had the potential to be transformational in Nigeria. 

Recognising this, Adedeji Olowe and a group of industry experts founded Open Banking Nigeria on June 1, 2017, marking the beginning of open banking in Africa. Although this journey has taken seven years instead of the anticipated three, we are now approaching its completion. 

Along the way, many have asked, “Who are the stakeholders of Open Banking Nigeria?” and some are unclear on what open banking truly entails.

Open banking is an innovation with the potential to transform any region where it’s adopted. However, it comes with its complexities. If you ask twenty experts to define open banking, you’ll likely get twenty different answers. This diversity of perspectives is expected because open banking addresses different problems for different people.

Open banking in Nigeria marks a new era of innovation, empowering customers to grant fintechs and financial institutions access to their information. When the phrase “digital payment” is mentioned, many Nigerians often think “we have seen enough.” Yet, despite the advancement in digital payments, Nigeria has only just begun and barely scratched the surface.

To the matter at hand, who are the stakeholders driving these changes and making open banking a reality? We’ll dive deep into the different stakeholders, examining their contributions to open banking and understanding their roles and motivations.

Regulators

Regulation is the backbone of any successful open banking initiative. Even the UK—the pioneers of open banking—had to create a framework to guide its existence. Without regulation, open banking cannot function effectively anywhere.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the apex regulator of the Nigerian banking ecosystem and has been instrumental in shaping open banking in the country. The CBN formulated the open banking regulations and operational guidelines and continues to drive its implementation by collaborating with various stakeholders to standardise practices. While the CBN oversees the Open Banking Registry (OBR), it has delegated the responsibility for its implementation and operationalisation to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

National Data Protection Commission (NDPC)

The National Data Protection Commission (NDPC) is the primary regulator for data privacy in Nigeria with the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR). NDPR is the foundation on which open banking sits. The NDPR underpins the ability of end users to entrust API Consumers (AC) to have access to their data. They govern how data of every Nigerian is handled, shared and protected. And without them, open banking is bound to fall short and entwined with a ton of regulatory mishaps.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the regulatory body for the capital market in Nigeria and it provides guidance for open finance which may include the use of open banking as part of innovative transformation of the capital market. In the near future, SEC hopes to use open banking to champion open finance. Supported by influential figures such as Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and the late Herbert Wigwe alongside other prominent industry leaders, the SEC is diligently working to craft regulations and policies that will pave the way for a new era of open finance.

Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS)

The Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) is the shared services created by the CBN and commercial banks. It integrates all banks and CBN-regulated fintechs. NIBSS is a critical driver of open banking in Nigeria as they are mandated by the CBN to operate the Open Banking Registry (OBR) and the Open Banking Consent Management System (OBCMS) on behalf of the industry. 

OBCMS is a FAPI grade technology platform that end users use to provide consent to AC via their banks. The OBCMS is operated by NIBSS on behalf of the CBN and the Nigerian banks and uses the BVN to verify end users.

OBN ecosystem facilitators

The OBN ecosystem brings together the key forces behind Nigeria’s open banking revolution. From regulators and traditional banks to fintech innovators and end users.

Open Banking Nigeria

The Open Technology Foundation, better known as the Open Banking Nigeria (OBN), is the foremost entity for open banking in Nigeria. Founded in 2017, it is a non-profit organisation with membership from leading banks, fintechs, and global consultancy in Nigeria. The team kickstarted the open banking revolution in Nigeria and has worked with the CBN and other stakeholders to formulate operational guidelines. 

OBN is also responsible for driving industry advocacy, developing the API standards, documenting these standards, and developing an open source API gateway for the financial industry in Nigeria.Often mistaken for regulators due to their name and sometimes seen as a company because of their polished presentation. OBN actually represents a diverse network. It includes major fintechs across Africa and prominent Nigerian banks. To name just a few:  Sterling Bank, Fidelity Bank, FCMB, Sparkle Bank, KPMG, PwC, EY, Paystack, Flutterwave, OnePipe, Lendsqr, Moniepoint (formerly TeamApt) and a host of others. 

Traditional Banks (API Providers)

Traditional banks are pivotal players in the open banking ecosystem, often referred to as open banking API providers. They supply APIs that enable other financial institutions to access and integrate data. As regulated entities, these API Providers (APs) facilitate the flow of data and services to another participant. A provider is mostly a bank or any other entity whose customers share their data or grant access to their accounts to other participants. 

Banks are vying to take the lead in shaping the future of open banking across Africa. It’s no secret that banks stand to be among the biggest winners in this transformation as they hold the key to the coveted financial data that everyone needs to access. 

As one of the primary funders of the Open Banking Nigeria (OBN) initiative, Sterling Bank stands out as a key player in Nigeria’s Open Banking movement, with the CEO and Director playing an active part in propagating the gospel of open banking. Sparkle Bank also stands out as a major advocate for open banking, with CEO Uzoma Dozie leading the charge. Dozie, an ardent supporter of OBN, has a proven track record of transforming the financial sector through technology, notably during his tenure as CEO of the defunct Diamond Bank.

Fintechs (API Consumers)

Fintechs in this context are divided into two categories:  the licenced ones and those without a licence. 

The first  are referred to as API consumers and are uniquely authorised to connect and consume open banking APIs. As regulated entities, API consumers (AC) use API released by the providers to access data or service and use this to serve their customers. A typical AC would be a fintech such as a  Payment Solutions Service Provider (PSSP) or Switch that connects to an AP (a bank) to view customer data or transactions with consent.

Open banking in Nigeria boasts a diverse array of fintech partners, with nearly every key player in the sector involved. Some of these key players include: OnePipe, founded by Ope Adeoye, a trustee at OBN; Paystack, with Khadijah Abu also on OBN’s board of trustees; Mono, known for its experimentation with open banking in the form of open APIs; Lendsqr, waiting to utilise open banking to drive credit in Africa; Flutterwave, TeamApt, amongst others.

End users

End users are the customers of an API provider who wish for a third-party—an API Consumer or another customer of an AC—-to access their bank accounts for the purpose of data sharing or delegated and authorised transactions. 

There are several tiers of end users. On the grassroot level, every Nigerian with a bank account is an end user. On the national level, companies like Piggyvest, Bamboo and other financial institutions can use data to transform how they do business when open banking goes live. On an international scale, companies like Ceviant can also key into open banking to improve their treasury management. 

Other key advocates, industry associations and stakeholders

The open banking movement in Nigeria is also gaining momentum thanks to the dedicated efforts of numerous advocates and industry associations. Some other key stakeholders driving this initiative that we must not fail to mention include:

Committee of eBanking Heads in Nigeria (CeBIH)

CeBIH is a prominent association comprising the heads of e-banking in Nigerian banks. They work collaboratively to promote the adoption and integration of e-banking services including open banking. Their efforts are focused on creating a seamless digital banking experience for customers and fostering innovation within the banking sector.

West African Bankers Association (WABA)

WABA is a regional body representing banks and financial institutions across West Africa. They play an instrumental role in advocating for policies and frameworks that support open banking and financial inclusion. WABA’s involvement ensures that Nigeria’s open banking initiatives are aligned with regional standards and practices,  facilitating cross-border integration and collaboration

Fintech associations

Various fintech associations in Nigeria are actively involved in driving open banking. These associations bring together fintechs, startups, and innovators who are at the forefront of developing new technologies and solutions for the financial industry. Their contributions are vital in shaping the open banking ecosystem by introducing cutting-edge technologies and fostering collaboration between traditional banks and fintechs.

Open banking’s promising future 

The journey that began in 2017 is nearing a significant milestone, but it’s important to recognise that this is just the beginning. As the ecosystem matures and evolves, the continued cooperation and innovation from all stakeholders will be crucial in ensuring that open banking fulfills its potential in Nigeria and potentially serves as a model for other African nations. 

This ambitious initiative, inspired by global precedents and tailored to Nigeria’s unique needs, has involved a diverse range of stakeholders, each contributing to the evolving ecosystem. From the Central Bank’s regulatory framework and NIBSS’s technological infrastructure to the pioneering efforts of Open Banking Nigeria (OBN) and the collaborative spirit of fintechs and traditional banks, every player has had a major role in its continued success, and shaping the future of open banking.

The journey is far from over. With continued dedication and collective effort, the vision of a more accessible and dynamic financial ecosystem is within reach. 

—-

Adedeji Olowe is a Trustee of Open Banking Nigeria and an advocate of financial inclusion, consumer credit, and open APIs in Africa.
adedeji@openbanking.ng

Ope Adeoye is the founder of OnePipe and also a Trustee of Open Banking Nigeria
ope@openbanking.ng

The narrative surrounding Africa’s economic future often oscillates between extremes of optimism and scepticism. However, the reality on the ground tells a more nuanced story—one of resilience, ingenuity, and untapped potential. As we approach 2050, with projections of Africa’s GDP reaching $29 trillion, surpassing the current combined output of the US and Eurozone, the imperative to harness and scale indigenous innovation has never been more pressing.

There’s a pervasive belief that African companies can only thrive by focusing on markets outside the continent. This view is often reinforced by examples of fintech startups that have shifted their focus to diaspora remittance and subsequently raised significant investments. However, this notion overlooks Africa’s vast untapped consumer base and the influx of foreign businesses eager to enter the continent. 

It’s important to consider that many African startups often operate with significantly smaller capital injections than their global counterparts yet still make remarkable strides. The imbalance in investment size and the growing focus on diaspora markets skew the overall narrative. We must, therefore, acknowledge the role of local investors who provide a wealth of experience and support, offering a more accurate picture of the opportunities and realities of running a business in Africa.

It begs the question, why do more than 80% of African startups fail within their first few years? For those who have secured funding, this high failure rate can often be attributed only in small part to premature exposure to huge first cheques. This is in an ecosystem that also boasts of super brilliant African tech founders with impactful solutions. It’s telling for the future of an ecosystem when founders increasingly believe that instead of focusing on building a solid foundation for scalable growth, they ought to hack their way to venture backing instead. 

Our VC cap tables have the same startups, which indicates we are having the same conversations with the same founders and might be overlooking other innovative ventures that could thrive with proper foundational support. In the venture capital ecosystem, some founders are seen as “unbackable,” often due to riskiness, a perceived inability to provide a venture-scale return, and sometimes a lack of investment readiness.

In our young ecosystem, perhaps we’ve been too hasty in deciding, with only about a dozen years of data, what ventures really could be delivering venture-scale returns. Perhaps local ecosystem players at the earliest stages, such as angel investors, have been too risk averse and, therefore, have not sufficiently supported founders whose proposals do not mimic Silicon Valley pathways to success. 

There’s often talk of a need for a third force – a new group of support systems that can identify and nurture those overlooked ventures, helping them to be backable by addressing gaps in their business models and scaling strategies. I’d wager that we’ve got enough forces; we just need to mobilise the village a little better and a little earlier.

As an angel investor and a founder, I have had the opportunity to meet a steady stream of early-stage founders, many of whom are still under the radar but are tackling their communities’ challenges with fresh perspectives. These founders have the potential to generate outsized returns because they have already proven their value locally but need support to realise visions which can deliver impact and returns on a venture scale. 

Indeed, this is why Christian and I have launched the Innovate Africa Fund, not as a third force but to organise our activities as angel investors better and to mobilise the community of incredible investors and operators we have had the privilege of building and investing with into an early-stage fund that supports African founders in achieving product-market fit. Our approach is simple: find someone delivering a million pounds worth of impact with a fax machine and help them optimise their way towards the equivalent of a 3D printer so they can provide at least a billion pounds worth instead. 

We’re trying to galvanise existing players and hoping to bring new local actors into the fold who don’t necessarily revolve around the usual investment circles but are solving problems and creating innovations that deserve visibility and scaling. By improving the pipelines of companies supported and scaled through VC, we will see more startups making a difference across Africa.

Beyond providing capital, we have to roll up our sleeves and get involved as angels. Many founders could benefit from this level of engagement right now. Our mandate is to actively collaborate with founders, providing value-added services such as finance, governance, public relations, talent sourcing, and strategy guidance.

This hands-on approach allows founders to focus their energy on innovation and building transformative businesses that tackle complex challenges on the continent and generate value for all stakeholders, especially the community. I recall being part of a passive syndicated deal structure where a founder requested support with marketing, but the request went unattended for a month. This is less likely to happen within a dedicated angel investing framework, especially with early-stage startups that require steady attention, even less so with our fund. 

Angels have a superpower: the ability to provide capital and infrastructure with agility, ensuring founders are well-prepared to attract substantial investment without fear of failure. 

It becomes even more impactful when championed by homegrown entrepreneurs who understand the African context and share a profound vision for the Africa we want to see. To foster a more robust local investment ecosystem, we propose standardising and elevating angel investment practices, providing a framework for new and existing angel investors to engage confidently with startups directly and through hub networks. We want to be at the forefront of realising proposed tax incentives for local angel investors who support early-stage startups, encouraging more high-net-worth individuals to participate in the startup ecosystem.

Africa is a hotbed of innovation, defying expectations despite limited resources. With less than 30% internet penetration and a tiny slice of global investment, the continent has produced eight unicorns and five fastest-growing economies. The challenge on the continent has never been a lack of innovation; instead, it is scaling it.

To unlock Africa’s projected $29 trillion GDP in the next 25 years, we need to turn these innovative sparks into a full-fledged flame, and local angel investors are essential to this fire. Funds, like ourselves, provide the early nourishment needed for startups, preparing them for VC cheques at the ripe stage; we are laying the foundation for Africa’s economic future.

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Kristin is the Managing Partner at Innovate Africa Fund and Bold Angel Network. Her work empowers entrepreneurs and business teams to harness the power of data and technology. Kristin crafts innovative solutions that combine human operations, data analytics, and software to drive growth for SMEs and startups in sub-Saharan Africa.

The 2022 McKinsey Report revealed that the financial service market in Nigeria has a potential yearly growth of 10% and projected revenue of $230 billion by 2025. The Fintech sector in Nigeria contributes 33% of this market. However, the EFinA 2023 A2F Survey states that 28.9 million adults are financially excluded in Nigeria. This exclusion is significantly due to the limitations of KYC regulations from the financial institutions in Nigeria.

Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines are vital, multi-layered components of financial procedures in Nigeria. They are accompanied by sustained supervision of customers’ transactions and activities. These due diligence and identity checks operations are targeted to counter terrorist financing, money laundering, and other financial crimes in the country.

According to the World Bank Group’s 2018 ID4D Global Dataset, almost 1 billion people lack official distinct identities globally. This is common among people living in developing countries. Nearly 500 million people living in Sub-Saharan Africa lack legal identities. That is 46% of the entire African population. Of all developing economies across the world, sub-Saharan Africa ranks the lowest.

Amidst the Covid-19 crisis, FATF introduced regulations for digital identity for financial institutions to onboard users and offer financial services digitally. Gallup World Poll 2018 data revealed that mobile phone ownership among adults in emerging economies had increased to 83%. The 2022 McKinsey Report showed that one out of every 10 transactions in Africa are now digital. Consequently, fintech startups have become critical players in the African financial services sector. Digital financial services have brought about online KYC verification using integrated API systems to validate identity documents and authentic pictures uploaded or scanned by the user.  

Disrupt Africa’s Finnovating for Africa 2023 report estimated that there are 217 fintech companies in Nigeria. This figure speaks to the significance of identity verification in Nigeria’s financial service sector. Initiating KYC processes is essential but not without difficulties. It is challenging to match seamless onboarding with KYC regulatory compliance. ABBYY Survey 2022 Report revealed that 90% of organisations witnessed their customers switch to a rival fintech because of inefficient onboarding experience. McKinsey reported in a 2022 Survey that 40% of user onboarding time is allocated to KYC procedures.

The KYC regulatory framework is dynamic. Numerous KYC guidelines from different authorities must be adhered to, and they change often. Therefore, adapting to technology and dynamic guidelines is challenging. Incorporating KYC procedures with the current onboarding framework is usually challenging because various systems have different abilities, and data swap needs extra development inputs to function seamlessly without considerable alterations.

After verifying over 100 million identities in Africa in the past five years, Smile ID reports that 80% of fraud attacks in Africa are targeted at national ID documents. There is an absence of cross-border harmonisation. EY reported that the global cross-border payment industry was projected to be approximately $156 trillion in 2022. The need for clear regulations on regional transactions for tier 3 and tier 2 accounts hinders the positive effect of the system on Nigeria’s huge remitter society.

According to the LESG KYC Compliance survey, the average yearly spend on global KYC is US$48 million. Celent predicts that financial institutions worldwide will incur approximately $37.1 billion in 2021 on AML-KYC compliance operations and technology, aside from the cost due to increased customer churn and time investment. In June 2024, KYC regulations by the CBN requested compulsory physical address verification for fintech companies. This applies to every user and POS agent.

For a country with a rural population of over 101 million (according to the World Bank collection of development indicators), proof of address is still explicitly demanded as a KYC requirement for tier 1 accounts in Nigeria. Financial institutions still require specific utility bills (issued by electricity distribution companies) as proof of address for identity verification. This makes it difficult for fintech companies to onboard the unbanked in rural areas who use clan-based address systems instead of house numbers. Most of these rural dwellers are not served by electricity distribution companies.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission 2019 Q2 Report showed that 43% of those who have electricity do not have meters for proper bills. According to WASH 2021 Survey Findings, 33% of the Nigerian population does not have water delivered to them. More so, it is not easy to verify addresses in gated estates.

KYC compliance issues, such as a lack of scalable KYC solutions, make cost-effective compliance and holistic maintenance difficult for fintech companies. Traditional KYC procedures, paper-based documentation and manual data entry result in a higher probability of mistakes, inefficiencies and delays. Inaccurate and incomplete data, data privacy issues, and time-demanding and time-consuming KYC procedures significantly affect customer acquisition, experience and retention. 

The EFInA Access to Financial Services in Nigeria 2023 Report showed that approximately 6% of Nigerians are excluded from accessing financial services due to a lack of KYC identity documents. The financial exclusion rate in Nigeria is about 26%, while the rural exclusion rate is approximately 37% (A2F 2023 Survey Report). Some causes of financial exclusion include the NIN Barrier, BVN limitation and lack of access to KYC identity documents. Furthermore, tiered KYC excludes customers without high-value accounts from performing complete financial transactions. Only basic financial transactions are permitted on tier 1 accounts.

Drawing lessons from countries like Brazil, South Africa, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, Egypt, Tanzania, Uganda, Eswatini, and Gabon that have achieved impactful regulations, innovative solutions and effective KYC implementation for their financial institutions, Nigeria needs to introduce new policy innovations and review its existing regulatory Frameworks. To facilitate this, a bill that mandates the identity documentation and digital birth registration of every child between 0-5 years should be passed into law. Proof of Address and utility receipts for KYC verification may be made alternative or absolved for Tier 1 accounts that use clan-based address systems or are unserved by utility firms.

A collaborative effort by regulators, fintech innovators, policymakers, and agents is needed to enable fintechs to launch products within acceptable risk limits and improve their compliance programs to adhere to the new regulatory demands. There should be less focus on KYC processes and more on the corresponding results.  To establish a unified KYC database that mitigates system cost and silos in Nigeria, every existing database managed by private firms, international and government agencies should be harmonised regionally and locally. For instance, South Africa used a consultative approach between key stakeholders to achieve a flexible regulatory KYC framework.

AI may never replace or replicate the importance of agents in serving the underbanked and unbanked population in Nigeria. This is because of the direct interaction and human touch experience they offer Tier 1 customers. The 2024 GSMA Annual State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money revealed the significance of 500,000 agents at PalmPay in contributing hugely to financial inclusion in Nigeria. 

To further improve the accuracy of KYC verification, technological innovations such as machine learning, blockchain technology, iris identification technology, and AI-enabled conversational chatbots should be encouraged to make KYC verification accurate and authentic. Although there are proofs that show some weaknesses of these technologies, these innovations should not be discredited; instead, more advanced identity features should be innovated and layered. 

In conclusion, instead of using the copy-and-paste approach, global innovations should be imported and customised to suit Nigeria’s local context and socio-economic realities. Every successful KYC innovation and guidelines should be compliant, consistent, and conformable to various governmental policies and enterprises. They should be simple, budget-friendly, accessible, user-friendly, error-free, swift, and interoperable with other business technology software and AML and CFT tools. 

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Kingsley is a financial economist and business consultant in Nigeria. He is the Founding Partner of Kingsley Ndimele LLC.

Kehinde is a fintech product manager in the United Kingdom. He is the Founder of BlockMooreHQ Limited.

This week, Nigerians woke up to the news that gtbank.com was down. 

As an expert in the domain space for over 18 years, I deem it important to put some facts out there to inform the public on  the issue. I founded a leading domain registrar, Go54, formerly known as Whogohost that serves over 150,000 businesses and organizations in Nigeria with domain and hosting services including GTBank and now also manages a domain registry (.cv).

GTBank’s downtime has been chalked up to a failure to renew their domain name. Public WhoIs records dating as far back as 2021 refutes that. GTBank has been with the same registrar (Register.com) over the years and its nameservers remain the same in the records below from 2020 and 2024 (see updated date). Nothing has changed in the domain configurations.

The records further reveal that the GTBank.com domain was registered with Wild West Domains LLC as far back as 2011, then moved to Register.com in 2017. In the same year, they added a privacy service to shield the ownership of the domain. This is a common practice to protect personal privacy (I highly recommend this if your registrar offers it) and does not imply any wrongdoing or intent to cover up. This is why the domain contact shows up as PERFECT PRIVACY, LLC.

The real issue lies with the service itself. 

In my research, I was also able to pull all their historical A, MX and TXT records to see if anything had changed. The only change is the above, where a new A record has been added on 16th of August to point to servers at Confluence Networks. Domains typically use multiple A records to manage load balancing or redundancy. 

This suggests that there is an issue on the website they are trying to fix and this could be a data center issue, human error or something much more sinister like a DDOS attack (denial of service) or ransomware attack.

Several financial institutions have been hit in the past with the latter, and if history is anything to go by, the bank is probably doing what every bank is likely to do: keep the real issues to themselves. 

My experience in the domain space and the recent CrowdStrike issue have made me realise that sometimes technology and human error fail us and we need more or another technology to fix or prevent things. Though super useful and nearly indispensable, the internet is also becoming an increasingly dangerous place and we all need to be careful. 

Is the GTBank issue a case of incompetence? Unlikely. Incompetence is easy to fix: change records and deploy.  It’s #GTBankFail today and it might be another financial institution’s tomorrow. This is one truth about how technology can fail firms.

There’s a lot of things you, the average Dauda or Yemisi can’t control. But these you can do. Do not put your eggs in one basket. Your eggs are whatever account balance you have, be it ₦10,000 or ₦100 million. Have multiple bank accounts. Use two-factor authentication. Use different passwords  for your email and banking apps (even if you need to come up with a formula that only you know). Where possible, use passwordless logins.

Stay safe and informed.

As the digital payments landscape in Africa expands, the need for robust cybersecurity measures becomes increasingly urgent. Trust and security are foundational to financial services, and as cybercriminals continue to become more aggressive and sophisticated, addressing any vulnerabilities is critical to safeguarding the integrity of Africa’s digital financial ecosystem. In fact, Africa experienced the highest average number of cyberattacks per week per organisation in 2023, with a 23% increase compared to the previous year.

Africa’s digital financial ecosystem is still maturing. As digital payments become more integrated across countries and regions, and more interoperable across payment platforms, this increasingly complex environment can introduce new cybersecurity vulnerabilities. 

And, as in an interconnected landscape, a single weak link can jeopardise the entire network, the continent’s financial institutions, governments and decision-makers must come together to collectively work towards establishing and maintaining baseline security standards across the industry. This requires building meaningful partnerships with relevant stakeholders, substantial investment and greater harmonisation of regulations and policies across the continent.

The imperative for investment and standardised regulations

Several challenges hinder the attainment of robust cybersecurity in Africa. One of the primary issues is the lag in regulatory frameworks, while a lack of significant investment in security would lead to vulnerabilities within the continent’s financial sector being exploited.

Fortunately, investment in cybersecurity has seen a notable increase over the past five years, reflecting a growing recognition of its importance. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and sophisticated cyber threats has driven firms to allocate more resources to cybersecurity. Digital payment networks like Onafriq have strengthened their security posture by investing in intelligent tools that predict and proactively address potential threats.

Despite these advancements, there remains a disparity in investment levels across the continent. Ensuring that all financial institutions meet necessary security standards requires coordinated efforts and substantial capital. This includes investing in state-of-the-art technology and continuous monitoring systems to detect and prevent malicious activities.

Additionally, regulators play a crucial role in setting and enforcing security standards. And yet the pace of regulatory development often falls behind the speed of innovation in the fintech space. Harmonising regulations across different African countries is essential to create a consistent and secure environment for digital payments by adopting best practices and global standards. This is necessary to avoid fragmentation of the digital payments landscape, and effectively enforcing these standards is vital to maintaining a secure financial ecosystem. 

A need for cybersecurity skills and a security-first culture

A secure payments environment requires buy-in from every part of the ecosystem’s value chain, including the end user. Not only must financial institutions adopt a security-first approach, embedding robust security measures into every aspect of their operations, but educating users about security practices is just as crucial. 

As digital payments become more prevalent, financial institutions must design products with built-in security features and continuously educate users on safe practices. This includes secure PIN usage, recognising phishing attempts, and safeguarding personal information.

For example, Onafriq exemplifies this approach by ensuring that security is a priority from the design stage. By securing networks, protecting sensitive data, and conducting regular third-party audits, we have maintained a strong security record. This proactive stance is essential for preventing breaches and ensuring customer trust.

More than this, there is a growing need to build the cybersecurity capacity to sustain the digital payments landscape. Africa needs more skilled cybersecurity professionals, which hampers the ability to address emerging threats effectively. A cybersecurity assessment conducted by the African Union Commission and the United Nations Development Programme found that African countries had a cybersecurity competence of 0.21 out of 1, with more than 70% of African nations requiring additional cybersecurity infrastructure.

Financial institutions and governments must invest in training programs, internships, and continuous education to develop a skilled workforce capable of managing cybersecurity challenges. But, retaining talent within Africa also remains a significant issue. Many trained professionals seek opportunities abroad, exacerbating the skills gap. Addressing this requires creating conducive environments that offer competitive opportunities and career growth within the continent.

Cybersecurity is a cornerstone of Africa’s digital payments landscape. To achieve a secure and resilient financial sector, Africa must invest in robust cybersecurity infrastructure, foster regulatory harmonisation, and prioritise collaborative efforts among financial institutions. By addressing these challenges, Africa can build a secure digital payments ecosystem that supports economic growth and instils trust among users.

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Omotayo is the Group Chief Technology Officer at Onafriq. He has a distinguished career in fintech and a proven track record in driving technological transformation, leading Onafriq’s global expansion.

The lack of gender diversity in tech, especially in Africa, is a glaring issue that should no longer be ignored. As a woman who has spent years navigating this male-dominated industry, I can attest to the systemic barriers and unconscious biases that persist. The numbers speak volumes: only 30% of tech roles in Africa are occupied by women, with an abysmal 14% in software engineering and 25% in computer science-related roles. There needs to be more entry points for women, i.e. apprenticeships, as this inequality is unacceptable. According to the UN, it could take a staggering 140 years for women to achieve equal representation in leadership positions. This unsatisfactory reality demands immediate action to foster inclusive workplaces and dismantle systemic barriers. 

Being a woman in tech comes with degrees of significance: closing the gender gap, breaking barriers, opening doors for others, changing perceptions and driving innovation. Every woman in tech knows they play an overloaded part in a male-dominated industry. Where other sectors have seen dramatic shifts in gender equity, an industry I have always dreamed of being a part of lags behind.

To address this gap, we’ve seen women-led Initiatives like SheCodes and GirlsCode flourish, creating an entry-level talent pipeline into the industry. However, actual change requires a seismic shift in the industry’s culture and practices. Companies must take decisive action to nurture this talent and cultivate inclusive environments where women can truly thrive. This involves implementing concrete measures such as establishing mentorship programs, leadership development initiatives, and sponsorship opportunities specifically tailored to support women in tech. 

The tech industry continues to face challenges in ensuring equal opportunities, particularly in funding for women founders. Even with the progress, companies founded solely by women received only 2% of all VC investment in 2022. Despite these obstacles, I’ve witnessed the landscape evolving, especially post-COVID, with many women-led startups carving out spaces to thrive despite demonstrating resilience and innovation. For instance, the shift to remote work has allowed for more flexible schedules, enabling greater participation and leadership from women in tech. This progress highlights the potential for even more significant advancements in inclusivity moving forward.

Study after study confirms that diverse and inclusive companies outperform their homogeneous counterparts, underscoring the critical importance of women in decision-making, driving innovation and growth. At Deimos, we’re committed to catalysing change, seamlessly integrating our dedication to diversity into every aspect of our operations. Through intentional hiring practices and ongoing support, we actively foster an environment where women in tech not only thrive but lead. This commitment isn’t just a box to check; it’s woven into the fabric of our culture and practices, setting a potent example for the industry. 

While hiring qualified women should be the norm rather than an exception, achieving meaningful and sustainable change requires more than token efforts from all of us. It demands steadfast commitment and proactive measures to create inclusive environments where women can thrive and contribute fully to the organisation’s success. Initiatives like GirlsCode helped us equip the next generation of women with the tools, mentorship, and support necessary to excel, accelerating the journey towards gender parity. Even some of our products, like Salus, which I played a pivotal role in developing, embody our ethos of inclusivity – empowering developers from all backgrounds to create, manage, and deploy incredible applications fast and securely.

Early in my career, I grappled with challenges like imposter syndrome that women in tech face particularly acutely daily. This fueled my passion for empowering others and driving systemic change. While I’m encouraged by some of the progress in global gender equity, we cannot become complacent. Tech pioneers who want to create a better world must forge ahead, envisioning and actively building a future where diversity is celebrated as a competitive advantage, not an afterthought.

Our dedication to embracing diversity and fostering inclusion sets the stage for a more vibrant and equitable future in African tech. Looking back, I’m struck by the profound impact of creating spaces where every voice is valued, and each talent is nurtured. Empowering women isn’t merely a moral obligation—it’s a strategic imperative for driving innovation and fueling progress. With unwavering resolve, we must take the lead in ensuring that our strides today lay the foundation for a more inclusive tomorrow, benefiting us all. 

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June is a skilled Technical Product Owner at Deimos with over six years of experience, having worked with industry leaders like Mastercard Foundation, American Express, and Wikipedia.