Aderonke Hannah Ajibade, a young Nigerian woman living with disability, had just landed a remote call centre job. She spent her savings on data, set up her equipment, and prepared to start. The next day, she was fired.

The reason, she said in a tearful video posted online in late April, was the network. She was talking to a client when the connection began to fail. “They told me why they are discontinuing the contract because they could not hear me,” she said.

Ajibade, an amputee, had been hired for a role that promised flexibility and income. Instead, she got one day of work. Her video spread quickly. In the comments, one frustrated subscriber wrote: “Can we file a class action suit against these useless corporations? For the entirety of today, my internet has been so slow, the only time it works is when I downgrade to 3G. In mighty 2026?”

As it turned out, someone already had.

On Tuesday, May 19th, 2026, the Sagamu High Court in Ogun State did what Nigerian courts often do: it adjourned. The matter was a class action lawsuit against MTN Nigeria Communications Plc., filed exactly one year earlier by a law firm with a history of taking on big corporations.

The next hearing is now set for September 22, 2026. But behind this mundane procedural update lies one of the most consequential legal battles in Nigeria’s telecoms history; a fight that could force MTN to pay up to NGN 550 B (over USD 400 M) in damages and fundamentally reshape how telecom operators treat their 185 million subscribers in Nigeria.

The lawsuit, filed by Pekun Sowole & Co. on behalf of two lead claimants: an IT consultant, Mr Fatokunboh Fagun, and a former Senator, Rilwan Adesoji Akanbi, accuses MTN of persistently poor quality of service and systematic violations of subscriber data privacy, two sets of violations that most Nigerians with a SIM card know too well.

And, as it turns out, the unfolding legal battle is just as much about what’s in the lawsuit as what’s happened since it was filed.

From 80 mysterious applicants who suddenly appeared to opt out of the class action — all filing on the same day MTN submitted its legal papers — to compensation payments as low as NGN 20.00 (less than 2 cents) that only seemed to prove the plaintiffs’ point, the case has become a window into the extraordinary lengths to which Nigeria’s dominant telecom operator will go to protect its turf.

And with a 50% tariff hike now fully implemented, MTN’s profits are soaring even as service quality continues to frustrate millions.

The Human Cost

The lawsuit might still be wending its way through the courts, but the urgency behind it was perhaps never more painfully illustrated than that ordeal narrated by Ajibade, which went viral on social media.

“I have a bad news. I just lost my job. The job that I got yesterday, I lost it. Guess why?” she said in an emotional video. “I was already talking to a client… told me why they are discontinuing the contract because they could not hear me.”

“I’m living with one leg, and I’m still trying my best to make it,” she said, her voice breaking.

The video sparked a firestorm. One aggrieved subscriber, Nifemi, wrote: “I swear I had the same MTN issue this morning. Network was totally down for about 2 hours… Imagine if I was having an interview then.” Others shared similar stories. Abioye Benjamin lamented: “This is painful. I lost two jobs on the network and light too, so I can relate.”

Pekun Sowole, a partner at Pekun Sowole & Co., who has decided to take on MTN, says he wasn’t motivated by professional ambition.

“If you go on every WhatsApp group, what do people complain about in Nigeria today?” Sowole told WT in an interview. “They complain about the telephone connectivity. They complain about electricity.”

Sowole has form in mass litigation. He pioneered aviation disaster litigation in Nigeria, representing families in cases involving plane crashes. But this time, the grievance was more mundane and pervasive.

The lawsuit, filed in May 2025 and certified as a class action by Honourable Justice J. O. Jibodu on March 10, 2025, alleges that since approximately January 2019, MTN has consistently failed to provide reliable telecommunications services.

The Statement of Claim paints a picture that will be painfully familiar to anyone who has ever tried to make a call or browse the internet in Nigeria. Among complaints are frequent call drops at unsustainable rates, slow data speeds that make browsing “frustrating and irritating”, data that gets exhausted at “abnormally rapid rates”, and the curious phenomenon where subscribers are charged for calls that never connect.

But the lawsuit goes beyond service quality. It also alleges that MTN has systematically violated subscriber data privacy by sharing, selling, or otherwise disclosing personal information to third-party entities without explicit consent; a direct violation of Section 24 of the National Data Protection Act 2023.

“I receive messages on email, or WhatsApp from people you don’t even know, offering some kind of service or trying to sell something to you,” Sowole explained. “That’s an invasion of your privacy as contained in Section 24 of the Nigerian Data Protection Act 2023.”

MTN’s Response: “Sub Judice”

When reached for comment, an MTN Nigeria spokesperson acknowledged the lawsuit but declined to discuss its substance.

“I can confirm that we have been served, and have retained counsel to represent us in the matter,” the spokesperson told WT. “However, we cannot make any comments about the case because it is now Sub Judice, and it would be inappropriate to comment on a case before a court or judicial tribunal.”

The sub judice rule — Latin for “under judgment” — is a common law principle that prevents parties or their representatives from making public statements that might prejudice ongoing court proceedings. It is a standard response from corporate defendants facing high-stakes litigation, but it also means that MTN’s side of the story will not be heard outside the courtroom for now.

In the courtroom, however, MTN has already made its position clear. The company filed a Preliminary Objection arguing that the High Court lacks jurisdiction to hear the case; a legal gambit that, if successful, would kill the lawsuit without ever examining its merits.

The Curious Case of 80 Ghost Applicants

A remarkable event occurred on February 16, 2026. On that single day, 80 separate individuals filed applications seeking to opt out of the class action. Eight different law firms represented them, claiming their consent hadn’t been sought before being joined to the lawsuit. And they demanded costs ranging from NGN 8 M(~USD 6 K) to NGN 15 M (~USD 11 K) each for legal fees.

The same day, MTN filed its own Preliminary Objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction. The synchronisation was, to put it mildly, conspicuous.

“All these 80 different people, all these lawyers, and then MTN also… it was the same day that MTN filed its own objection. All of them 16th of February,” Sowole told WT. “There’s a concerted effort, a coordination by MTN. MTN is the one funding all these people.”

The argument for opting out, however, had a fundamental flaw. Under the class action procedure, once a court certifies a class action, it binds everyone, but only after the court orders a publication in newspapers giving people time to opt out. Sowole’s firm had done exactly that, publishing notices twice in Punch newspapers and giving subscribers the requisite time to exclude themselves.

“They slept on their rights,” Sowole said.

The response was swift. Sowole’s firm filed counter-affidavits seeking NGN 2 M (~USD 1.45 K) in costs from each applicant. “They now realise that they can’t afford to pay that kind of money,” Sowole said. “They won’t do it again.”

The opt-out applications stopped coming.

A Tussle Over Jurisdiction

The more substantial legal fight is over jurisdiction, and it reveals a bizarre situation where both the Federal High Court and the State High Court are being told they lack authority to hear the case.

MTN has argued that the State High Court lacks jurisdiction. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has made similar arguments. Yet the Federal High Court has recently ruled that it too lacks jurisdiction in these types of class actions.

“If you say that the Federal Court lacks jurisdiction, and you also go to the State High Court and say the State High Court also lacks jurisdiction, what you’re saying is that no court in Nigeria has jurisdiction in these kinds of cases,” Sowole said. “The Supreme Court has said that if a person has a cause of action, a court must be able to hear it.”

Sowole points to a recent Supreme Court decision involving MTN that was started in the Abuja High Court, not the Federal High Court, and resulted in damages awarded against the telecom giant.

“We’re saying that there’s a violation of constitutional provisions, which is outside the purview of the NCC,” he explained. “The State High Court has jurisdiction, not the Federal High Court.”

The jurisdictional battle is still unresolved. The case has been adjourned to September 22, 2026, for argument on the preliminary objections.

“Compensation” or “Salt to Injury”?

Even as the legal battle grinds on, the broader telecoms crisis has intensified to the point where even the regulator could no longer ignore it.

In April 2026, the NCC directed mobile network operators to compensate subscribers affected by poor service quality between November 2025 and January 2026. Subscribers of MTN Nigeria began receiving airtime credits. Some of the amounts were as low as NGN 20.00. Others received between NGN 284.00 (21 cents) and just over NGN 600.00 (44 cents).

The messages read: “Dear customer, you have been credited with compensation airtime for service quality issues (Nov 2025 – Jan 2026).”

For many Nigerians who had endured dropped calls, failed data connections, and business losses running into thousands or millions of naira, the compensation hardly amounts to anything.

The NCC framed the payments as regulatory compensation, not refunds. But the discrepancy between the scale of the problem and the paltry sums on offer only supported the argument at the heart of the class action that MTN has been allowed to profit from poor service for too long.

Profits Soaring While Service Stumbles

The financial numbers tell a story that MTN would probably prefer to keep separate from the service quality debate. In 2025, MTN Nigeria staged a remarkable financial comeback. After suffering a heavy loss the previous year, the company swung to a massive NGN 1.1 T (over USD 800 M) profit after tax. Service revenue jumped 55.1% to hit NGN 5.2 T.

Data revenue led the charge with a 74.5% surge, fintech income shot up 79.7%, and EBITDA more than doubled. The company even returned to paying dividends.

The momentum has continued into 2026. In the first quarter of 2026, MTN Nigeria’s revenue rose 42% year-on-year to NGN 1.50 T, and profit before tax increased 170 percent to NGN 546.4 B (~USD 398 M). All this while many subscribers struggle to make a simple phone call.

The 50% tariff hike approved in early 2025 has been a windfall for operators. One year later, the floor price of calls has been pushed to NGN 9.60 per minute from NGN 6.40, and the cost of 1GB of data has risen to NGN 431.25 from NGN 287.5.

MTN and Airtel together earned NGN 5.16 T (USD 3.63 B) in the first nine months of 2025, 50% higher than the same period in 2024, almost exactly mirroring the tariff increase percentage.

The promise attached to that tariff hike was improved service quality. A year on, the evidence suggests that the promise has not been kept.

The Telecommunications Crisis

The operators, for their part, point to external factors, such as infrastructure vandalism, diesel theft, security challenges, and the sheer scale of fibre cuts.

The scale of Nigeria’s telecoms problem is staggering, with reports of 19,000 fibre cuts between January and August 2025 alone. Nearly 6,000 fibre cuts were recorded in the first quarter of 2026, with about 40 cuts occurring daily on the critical Lagos-to-Kano corridor.

The results are seen in 1.62 million customer complaints recorded by MTN in 2025 across multiple service channels. Meanwhile, all major operators — MTN, Airtel, Glo and T2 — recorded negative net promoter scores in February 2026, meaning more customers are detractors than promoters.

Moreover, only about 300 new or upgraded telecom sites were deployed in 2025, despite operators having committed to about 12,000 upgrades in 2026. On its part, MTN Nigeria spent NGN 887 M on security in Q1 2026 alone, up from NGN 621 M in the same period last year; money spent guarding infrastructure instead of improving service

“If you have fibre cut as many as 40 times a day across the national network, there is no way that that will not impact the quality of service,” said Engr Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria.

But subscribers counter that they are paying more while receiving essentially the same — or worse — service. The 2026 Quality of Experience report from the NCC shows that dropped calls and one-way audio continue to plague what should be the “last mile” of connectivity.

Data Privacy Questions

The class action’s second prong, data privacy violations, touches on an issue that is increasingly becoming a legal frontier in Nigeria.

The National Data Protection Act 2023 was enacted to establish a comprehensive statutory framework for data protection. It mandates that data controllers process data in a “fair, lawful and transparent manner” and that data be collected for “specified, explicit, and legitimate purposes.”

The plaintiffs argue that MTN collected subscriber data for the purpose of providing telecommunications services, then turned around and shared that data with third parties without consent, a clear violation.

The claim is bolstered by recent legal developments. In 2025, a Federal High Court decision in Akosa v. Ecart Internet Service Ltd set a precedent on how the NDPA is enforced, particularly against unsolicited direct marketing.

The Nigeria Data Protection Commission has also become more active, launching sector-by-sector probes of potential data protection violations and even reaching a settlement with Meta over privacy breaches on its platforms.

If the class action succeeds on the data privacy front, it could open the floodgates for similar lawsuits against every company that has ever shared customer data without explicit consent, including, notably, the banks that Sowole’s firm is also pursuing.

What Happens If They Win?

The reliefs sought in the lawsuit are substantial:

• NGN 200 B in general damages for breach of contract, negligence, and violation of statutory duties
• NGN 100 B in special damages for quantifiable financial losses
• NGN 100 B in exemplary damages for continued violation of subscriber rights
• NGN 100 B in compensation for pain and suffering
• An order directing MTN to implement specific technical improvements within 90 days, with quarterly progress reports to the court
• Interest and costs of NGN 50 M

If successful, the total could reach NGN 550 B.

But the more significant question is how such a sum would be distributed to a subscriber base that has topped 94 million. Sowole’s firm has named the Attorney General of the Federation and the NCC as defendants precisely to ensure that any eventual payout reaches subscribers.

“We will have the AG’s office and NCC work out the distribution because they have the details of all the subscribers,” Sowole explained. “We want to ensure that all customers get paid.”

The model is similar to what Sowole’s firm is attempting with its separate class actions against six Nigerian banks over data privacy violations. These cases could serve as a template for consumer-driven mass litigation in Nigeria.

“They’re Scared”

The September 22 hearing will determine the immediate trajectory of the case. If the court rules against MTN’s preliminary objection, the case will proceed to a full hearing, a process that could take years, especially if appeals follow. But political intervention offers another path.

“If the Attorney General stands up to protect Nigerians and calls for a meeting, says ‘we believe this is a case that you should settle,’” Sowole suggested. “The federal government can step in and say these are foreign operators coming to Nigeria and milking us. We’re supporting these cases.”

Given the NCC’s new directive imposing automatic penalties for network failures, the political winds may be shifting. But whether that translates into pressure for an out-of-court settlement, and what such a settlement might look like, remains to be seen.

Sowole is taking the long view at the moment. “If they weren’t scared, they wouldn’t have gone to that extent to get 80 people to opt out,” he said. “They thought they could get millions of people to opt out. But we’re saying: yes, opt out, but you must pay us NGN 2 M naira per person, and the opt-out applications stopped.”

The class action offers the prospect of accountability to millions of Nigerians still struggling with dropped calls, disappearing data, and the quiet frustration of paying more for less; something that NGN 20.00 in “compensation” never could:

The next hearing is in September. But for a country that has lived with poor telecoms service for years, waiting a few more months is nothing new.

Walk into any modern manufacturing unit today, and the shift in how things operate is impossible to ignore. Machines do a lot more now; they talk, calculate, respond in real time, and production lines behave like synchronised systems.

That shift, quietly but decisively, is being powered by infrastructure decisions most people never see.

In 2026, the conversation around Industry 4.0 feels less theoretical, with the real question now being, “How efficiently do manufacturers digitise?” This is where HCI use cases for manufacturing become a practical discussion, and where providers like Sangfor have been steadily building relevance.

The Infrastructure Problem Nobody Talks About

Manufacturing innovation is generally framed around robotics, AI, or IoT. But whenever we scratch the surface, we see that legacy infrastructure struggles to keep up with the density and speed of modern data loads.

This is aggravated by systems that work in silos and allow latency to creep in.

Worse, with so many issues, maintenance becomes an operational burden.

The backend becomes more complicated with each new machine: traditional three-tier setups were never designed for this scale of convergence, and they fracture under pressure when real-time decision-making becomes unavoidable.

This gap explains why conversations around hyperconverged infrastructure keep surfacing as a necessity. To clarify, as compute, storage, and networking no longer operate independently, they converge into a single, software-defined layer.

Why Does HCI Make Sense in Manufacturing Environments?

Think about a factory floor that relies heavily on predictive maintenance: sensors constantly stream operational data from machines, which needs to be processed instantly to prevent failures. In such cases, a delay of even a few seconds can impact output, or worse, safety.

HCI simplifies that entire flow, as instead of routing data across fragmented systems, everything is processed within a unified framework. This leads to less latency, fewer failure points, and better scalability.

Some practical benefits tend to stand out, which are:

• Centralised management across distributed factory environments
• Faster deployment of new production applications
• Built-in redundancy for critical manufacturing operations
• Reduced dependency on specialised IT maintenance

These improvements directly translate into production uptime and cost moderation.

Real HCI Use Cases for Manufacturing that Teams Are Prioritising

This is where theory starts to transition into application.

When manufacturers evaluate HCI seriously, a few use cases repeatedly come up.

1. Smart Production Line Optimisation

Production lines today generate massive data streams. With HCI, that information can be processed closer to the source for immediate optimisation. So, instead of analysing performance later, adjustments happen in real time.

1. Edge Computing Integration

Factories rarely operate from a single location; multiple plants, warehouses, and edge nodes require synchronisation. HCI supports seamless edge deployments while maintaining central control. This means that manufacturers get consistency without sacrificing local responsiveness.

1. Disaster Recovery and Data Continuity

Downtime in manufacturing is not measured in hours but in financial impact per minute. To solve this, HCI creates built-in replication and recovery mechanisms that ensure operations bounce back quickly when disruptions occur.

1. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure for Factory Operations

Operators and engineers often need secure access to applications across locations, and HCI supports virtual environments that enable centralised, secure access. This reflects how HCI use cases for manufacturing are evolving; it’s less about infrastructure efficiency and more about operational resilience.

Why are manufacturers moving away from traditional infrastructure?

Manufacturers are moving away from traditional setups primarily due to scalability and speed limitations. With Sangfor solutions, HCI simplifies deployment and reduces system complexity, enabling manufacturers to respond faster to operational demands without redesigning their infrastructure.

The Role of Hypervisors in Modern Manufacturing IT

Another layer to this conversation that doesn’t get enough attention is virtualisation. More specifically, the ongoing debate around Type 1 vs Type 2 Hypervisor environments.

Type 1 hypervisors operate directly on hardware, making them better suited for mission-critical environments, whereas Type 2 hypervisors are more flexible but introduce an additional software layer that can increase latency.

Sangfor’s approach prioritises lean architecture and minimal overhead, aligning closely with the needs of high-performance manufacturing. After all, choosing the right hypervisor setup becomes part of a broader efficiency strategy rather than just a technical decision.

How does virtualisation impact factory performance?

Virtualisation improves flexibility, but poor implementation can slow systems down. Sangfor optimises this balance by integrating efficient hypervisor capabilities into its HCI platform. This enables manufacturers to maintain performance and scalability without trade-offs.

Industry Validation and Market Reality

When it comes to claims made by vendors holding up to real-world scrutiny and scenarios, nothing is more reassuring than great reviews on well-known peer-review platforms.

Date: May 13, 2026

Gartner and G2 are such platforms where users rate Sangfor highly for its HCI solution: 4.7 out of 5 on G2 and 4.8 out of 5 on Gartner for HCI implementations. This is a testament to operational outcomes across industries, which reduce uncertainty for those looking to invest in long-term infrastructure transitions.

An example of success was when Sangfor HCI was implemented to support PT JFE Steel Galvanising Indonesia’s Manufacturing Execution System, operating 24/7. Compute, storage, and networking were consolidated into a single platform for this, and the company achieved simplified infrastructure management.

What kind of results can manufacturers expect after adopting HCI?

Sangfor HCI solutions ensure that manufacturers experience improved uptime, faster deployment cycles, and simplified IT management. The overall production efficiency and reliability improve.

This is a Defining Year for HCI in Manufacturing

Smart manufacturing in 2026 is defined by ambition, and this depends heavily on how well underlying systems perform under pressure. With that, the rise of HCI applications in manufacturing reflects that manufacturers aren’t just adopting technology; they are choosing systems that enable them to recover more quickly and scale smarter.

Sangfor’s role in such a scenario feels less like that of a vendor and more like that of an enabler, as it quietly reshapes how infrastructure supports production.

Abraham, a construction worker in Ghana, had never held an insurance policy in his life. When a sudden illness landed him in hospital, he faced the difficult choice of missing work and losing income, or delaying treatment and risking his health.

What changed everything was a smartphone. When Abraham purchased his device through M-KOPA Ghana’s “More than a Phone” instalment plan in January 2025, he didn’t know it came bundled with hospital cash cover from Turaco. Months later, when sickness struck, the policy paid out, covering his hospital bills and providing daily cash to manage expenses during his recovery.

“I didn’t have an income during the days I was sick in the hospital. Because they covered my hospital bills, I had cash to take care of my daily expenses,” Abraham said, as detailed in M-KOPA Ghana’s latest impact report, released Wednesday.

Abraham is one of 556,000 Ghanaians who have accessed credit through M-KOPA since 2021, and part of a quiet revolution in how insurance reaches Africa’s low-income earners, according to the report, which found that 67% of insured customers accessed health coverage for the first time through M-KOPA’s partnership with Turaco.

For decades, selling insurance to Africa’s informal sector was considered a tough gig. Premiums were too high, distribution was too fragmented, and trust was virtually non-existent. Across the continent, insurance penetration remains at just 2.7% of GDP, which is less than half the global average of approximately 7%. In Ghana, where mobile technology now contributes GHC 94 B (~USD 8 B) to the economy, roughly 8% of GDP, millions remain locked out of formal protection.

M-KOPA is cracking the code by making insurance incidental. Individuals buy a smartphone on credit with the coverage baked in, eliminating the hurdle of shopping for a policy.

The January 2025 launch of “More than a Phone”, which bundles health insurance, affordable data, and device protection directly into every smartphone instalment, drove a fourfold surge in sales and expanded operations across all 16 regions of Ghana.

For many users, the services attached to the device now matter more than the device itself. Forty-four percent of customers accessed a formal product or service for the first time through M-KOPA, and 36% said their financed smartphone was the first phone they had ever owned.

“M-KOPA Ghana works to dismantle barriers to formal financial services, and this report shows what’s possible when Every Day Earners get access,” said Chioma D. Agogo, General Manager, M-KOPA Ghana.

“From first-time smartphone ownership to first-time health insurance, we’re proving that bundling meaningful services with connectivity changes what people can achieve.”

Forty-three percent of female customers said they chose an M-KOPA phone specifically for the health insurance, and 67% of insured customers now feel more confident handling health expenses, according to the report.

Before M-KOPA, 40% of insured customers relied on harmful coping mechanisms – borrowing money, selling assets, cutting back on food, or delaying treatment – to manage medical costs. Today, that vulnerability is being systematically dismantled, one smartphone at a time.

The model is now being replicated and scaled. Across M-KOPA’s five markets, the fintech is nearing 10 million customers and onboarding over 10,000 new users daily, according to a May 12 company announcement. Revenue grew more than 65% in 2024, with growth remaining profitable into 2025 and 2026.

A Kenyan High Court ruling that ordered Safaricom to pay KES 9.9 M (USD 76 K) for a massive data breach has effectively killed the “rogue employee” defence, placing corporate Africa on notice that constitutional privacy obligations cannot be outsourced or delegated.

In a judgment delivered on May 13, Justice Bahati Mwamuye of the Constitutional and Human Rights Division found that the telecoms giant violated the rights of 11 subscribers whose personal and financial data, including betting histories, M-Pesa transaction records and geolocation information, was extracted by employees and sold to betting companies including Odibets between 2018 and 2019.

The breach compromised information belonging to more than 11.5 million subscribers, making it one of the largest known violations of subscriber privacy on the African continent.

Safaricom’s defence rested on what had previously been a reliable corporate shield, claiming rogue employees acted outside their authority. The company argued that because the individuals—including a manager of networks and M-Pesa systems who designed a bespoke algorithm to mine subscriber data—acted without authorisation, the institution itself should not bear constitutional responsibility.

The court rejected that argument entirely.

“The breach happened because of systemic failures inside Safaricom’s own infrastructure, poor data governance, weak internal oversight, and inadequate security controls,” the judgment found. “The rogue Safaricom employee could only do what they did because the system made it possible. That is on the company.”

Justice Mwamuye went further, ruling that Article 31 of Kenya’s Constitution, the right to privacy, imposes a “positive and non-delegable duty” on data controllers.

The court also found violations of Article 28, the right to dignity, and Article 46 on consumer protection, significantly expanding the definition of harm in data breach cases.

Under the ruling, a person whose data leaks does not need to demonstrate financial loss to have a valid claim. Reputational damage and psychological harm are sufficient.

Each of the 11 petitioners was awarded KES 900 K in general damages, with interest accruing from the date of judgment until payment in full. Safaricom was also ordered to bear the full costs of the petition.

But the real significance lies in what comes next. The court’s reasoning applies to every bank, telco, insurer, health provider and government body sitting on large volumes of personal data across the continent.

“If a breach happens and you cannot show clear documentation of who had access to what, what monitoring was in place, and how quickly you would have caught unusual activity, you are exposed,” the judgment warned. “The rogue employee story will not save you.”

Observers say the ruling establishes a binding precedent that will shape data protection litigation across Kenya and beyond.

Safaricom, which has not yet indicated whether it will appeal, is now staring down the barrel of cascading litigation. The court’s findings, that employees extracted and trafficked subscriber data to named betting firms over a sustained period, have opened the door for millions more affected subscribers to seek redress.

Tether, the largest company in the digital asset industry and issuer of USD₮, the world’s most widely used stablecoin, today announced an investment in LemFi, a financial platform serving millions of people who live and work across borders.  This investment aims to promote financial inclusion and expand access to efficient, borderless financial systems, while accelerating the use of stablecoin-powered solutions in emerging markets. 

LemFi is one of the most trusted financial platforms, connecting communities across the UK, US, Canada, and Europe with family and loved ones in Africa and Asia. For millions of people living and working across borders, LemFi has become the financial home that traditional banks never provided. Its mission is to make financial services fair, simple, and accessible, which requires infrastructure built to go where traditional rails cannot. Stablecoins are central to making that possible.

Tether’s investment aims to support LemFi’s integration of USD₮ as a settlement layer across its key corridors, replacing multi-day SWIFT chains with near-instant, low-cost settlement across Africa and Asia. Tether will also help accelerate LemFi’s stablecoin infrastructure, which will progressively extend across its broader product suite, delivering more stable, transparent, and accessible financial services to customers on both sides of each corridor.

This investment aligns with Tether’s broader mission to bridge the gap between traditional finance and digital assets by offering a stable, liquid digital payment solution powered by blockchain technology. Through collaborations with platforms like LemFi that address real-world financial challenges, Tether continues to advance the global use of stablecoins, making them more practical and accessible.

“At Tether, our goal is to promote financial inclusion, and we are committed to working with platforms building scalable financial solutions that address the real needs of our 585 million users globally,” Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “Our investment in LemFi reflects our shared vision on how money moves across borders, prioritising speed, cost, and transparency. By supporting LemFi’s growth and innovation roadmap, we are helping bring the benefits of a stable digital asset to more people who rely on remittances in their daily lives.”

“Tether’s investment is a significant milestone for us at LemFi, but more importantly, it is a validation of the direction we are heading. We have always believed that the financial system should work equally well for everyone, regardless of where they live or where they are sending money. Integrating USD₮ into our infrastructure brings us closer to that reality, enabling faster, cheaper, and more reliable financial services for the millions of people who depend on us every day,” said Ridwan Olalere, LemFi’s CEO & Co-founder.

By combining Tether’s deep liquidity with LemFi’s established presence in emerging markets, the two companies are setting a new standard for faster, more inclusive remittances designed for today’s interconnected world.

A last-ditch bid to rescue the embattled Africa Founders Ventures (AFV), the non-profit parent of Mastercard Foundation-backed startup network 54 Collective, which controversially shut down last year, has been halted in its tracks. This ends an 18-month legal battle that exposed the fragility of philanthropy-backed tech machinery.

The High Court in Johannesburg ruled on May 12 that the provisional liquidation order granted in July 2025 is not appealable, and that the business rescue practitioner’s challenge had “no reasonable prospect of success.” The decision is final, leaving AFV’s assets to be wound down and distributed.

The case has been closely watched across Africa’s venture scene because AFV was not a typical failed startup. It was structured as a non-profit designed to recycle philanthropic capital into early-stage founders. It had deployed millions into hundreds of startups across the continent before the liquidation proceedings began in mid-2025.

The exact trigger for the winding-up application has never been publicly disclosed, but sources familiar with the matter have pointed to governance disputes and questionable use of donor funds. The court’s refusal to entertain further appeals suggests that whatever internal fractures existed were deemed irreparable by the bench.

The liquidation also raises questions about the Mastercard Foundation’s due diligence and post-investment oversight. The foundation, which has committed billions to African youth and entrepreneurship, has not commented on the ruling. AFV’s business rescue practitioner did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Legal analysts say the judgment sets a precedent that non-profit entities in South Africa are not immune to aggressive winding-up applications, and that mismanagement claims, even unproven, can stick if governance structures are weak.

For now, the 54 Collective brand has effectively ceased operations; its website is out of service. It’s understood that any remaining assets will be distributed according to the court’s order, with no further recourse for those who fought to keep the entity alive.

South African-born digital bank GoTyme has accelerated its timeline for a potential public listing, with executives now targeting a three-to-four-year window for an initial public offering that could value the Motsepe-backed fintech at as much as USD 15 B.

The shift in timeline marks a significant departure from the bank’s previous guidance of a listing sometime before 2030, Chief Executive Officer Cheslyn Jacobs said in recent remarks, as the lender adds about 450,000 new customers per month across its South African and Philippine operations.

GoTyme, valued at USD 1.5 B in a Series D round in December 2024 led by Brazil’s Nubank, now counts more than 21 million customers globally and describes itself as Africa’s first profitable standalone digital bank. The lender is majority-owned by Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital Investments and also counts Tencent Holdings among its backers.

“The last number was USD 1.5 B—10x it. It would be lovely to list at USD 15 B. Wouldn’t that be amazing?” Jacobs said, while declining to provide an updated valuation ahead of the bank posting what he called a record profit for the year through June.

The lender is taking preparatory steps well ahead of any IPO. This month, GoTyme extended share ownership to all 2,000 employees globally, with Jacobs saying the goal is for staff to “behave like owners” as the bank remains in a hyper-growth phase.

Still, Jacobs struck a cautious note on timing, saying the bank would move forward only when conditions are right. “What we’ve realised is you struggle to predict these things, so now we talk about being listing-ready from a timeline perspective in three to four years from now. But we’re only going to do it if it makes sense,” he said.

A potential listing on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange would add a major fintech name to an exchange that has seen renewed tech activity. Dubai-based Optasia raised USD 345 M in a November IPO that gave the AI-lending platform a USD 1.4 B market capitalisation, while the JSE’s primary markets head has flagged a robust pipeline of listings through 2026.

The bank’s Philippines business, operated through a joint venture with the Gokongwei Group, has been a primary driver of growth, with the lender recently surpassing 9 million users in the market and targeting 12 million by the end of the year.

Jacobs said GoTyme would consider a listing anywhere globally closer to when it reaches 50 million clients “with the right kind of valuation”.

Kenya has emerged as Africa’s most dynamic electric mobility market, attracting hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital and startup investment. Now, a sweeping tax proposal could undo much of that progress, exposing a troubling contradiction at the heart of the government’s green transport push.

The Finance Bill 2026 proposes extending the standard 16% value-added tax (VAT) to imported electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and electric bicycles, reversing tax breaks that have been central to the sector’s expansion. The move comes just months after a national e-mobility policy was launched with fanfare, promising expanded incentives and green number plates.

There are fears that the disconnect between policy rhetoric and fiscal reality could derail Kenya from being a continental leader where e-mobility companies have been known to draw the highest funding in Africa.

Kenya’s electric vehicle sector has grown at a blistering pace. Registered EVs surged from just 796 in 2022 to 24,754 by the end of 2025, a more than 3,000% increase over three years.

The government projects annual EV sales could reach 70,000 by 2030, supported by battery-swapping networks and expanding charging infrastructure. Electric two-wheelers, known as boda bodas, dominate the market with roughly 24,000 units in circulation, followed by a growing number of electric buses and cars.

Driving that growth has been a sustained influx of capital. In the past 15 months, development finance institutions and climate-tech funds have poured money into Kenya’s EV assemblers and mobility-focused venture firms.

Zeno, a Nairobi-based electric motorcycle startup, raised USD 25 M in Series A funding in March to expand production and its battery-swapping network across East Africa. Spiro, an electric bike operator active across seven African markets secured USD 50 M in debt financing from Afreximbank and other lenders, months after a USD 100 M facility, as it pushes to put 1 million e-bikes on Kenya’s roads; a plan Kenya’s president appeared to endorse.

The International Finance Corporation has also taken an equity stake in ARC Ride, another Nairobi-based electric motorcycle company, and BasiGo has expanded it electric bus fleet. Meanwhile, Roam and Ampersand have significantly expanded their operations in Kenya, with the former opening the region’s largest electric motorcycle assembly plant with the capacity to produce 50,000 electric bikes a year.

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Electric motorcycles have gained traction across Kenya primarily because of their economics. Riders can reduce daily fuel and maintenance costs by as much as 40% compared to petrol-powered alternatives. Battery-swapping stations have emerged as the critical backbone of this transition, allowing commercial riders to exchange depleted batteries in under a minute without costly charging delays.

Infrastructure has followed capital. Charging and battery-swapping stations grew from 117 in April 2024 to 300 by June 2025, according to the Electric Mobility Alliance of Kenya, though 90% remain concentrated in Nairobi. Kenya Power reported that EV charging consumed 8.43 million kilowatt-hours in 2025, a 188% increase from the previous year, with revenue from e-mobility customers more than tripling to KES 190.8 M.

The proposed VAT reversal appears driven by urgent fiscal pressures rather than any policy rethink on climate. Kenya’s public debt has climbed to 67.6% of GDP, with the International Monetary Fund projecting the ratio could reach 71.6% in 2026 and 72.4% in 2027.

Persistent fiscal deficits estimated at 6.4% of GDP in both 2025 and 2026 have left the Treasury scrambling for revenue. President William Ruto is in talks with the IMF for a new multibillion-shilling loan to address a projected KES 1.14 T (USD 8.8 B) budget deficit for the 2026-2027 financial year.

The Finance Bill does not provide specific reasons for removing VAT relief on EV imports, but broader amendments targeting digital services, software and virtual assets make clear that the government is widening its tax net.

A 2025 industry study concluded that “all or almost all inputs for EVs are imported,” leaving the sector vulnerable to currency fluctuations, freight expenses, and import taxes.

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Kenya’s lead is not guaranteed. A Berlin-based analysis by Agora Verkehrswende and the German development agency GIZ found that Ethiopia and Rwanda have overtaken Kenya in electric mobility adoption, backed by more decisive policy action and clearer incentives.

Ethiopia now has more than 115,000 EVs on its roads, about 8% of the national fleet, after banning new imports of petrol and diesel vehicles in 2024. Rwanda, while smaller, launched an e-mobility strategy in 2021 and has restricted registration of petrol-powered motorcycle taxis.

Generally, recent data suggest that the use of electric vehicles in Africa is surging, from 19,386 in 2024 to 44,358 in 2025 (over USD 200 M in shipments), as soaring prices and fuel shortages compel countries to opt for cleaner and cheaper transportation.

However, Kenya’s approach has been more fragmented, driven largely by private sector innovation while policy lagged. The national e-mobility policy was only finalised in February 2026 after years of delays.

The Finance Bill 2026 is still making its way through parliament, and industry groups are expected to lobby against the VAT provisions. But with the Treasury under intense pressure from creditors and the IMF, exemptions will be a hard sell.

The tax proposal, nevertheless, represents an existential moment for Kenya’s EV startups. The country’s renewable-rich grid – more than 90% of generation comes from geothermal, hydro, wind and solar – remains a unique advantage. Yet if imported batteries and vehicles become 16% more expensive, the economic case that convinced riders to switch begins to fray.

“What we are building is bigger than the next funding round,” said one Nairobi-based EV executive, who declined to be named while the bill is under consideration. “But if the government keeps moving the goalposts, investors will eventually notice.”

Africa’s largest e-commerce platform, Jumia, is aiming to hit profitability at the end of the year, aided by plans to cut 200 jobs, about 10% of its workforce, as the company deploys artificial intelligence to slash costs and drive top-line growth, Chief Executive Francis Dufay said.

The reductions, part of a multi-year restructuring that has already trimmed headcount by more than half from 4,318 employees at the end of 2022, will be powered by AI automation across logistics, customer service, finance, and marketing. Dufay said the company is now running AI-driven workflows across multiple functions.

“We are able to automate across our business and increase revenue, lower operational and fixed-cost base,” Dufay said in a Bloomberg TV interview. “The coming two quarters, we are going to save on about 10% of headcount, mainly driven by AI.”

The push follows stronger-than-expected first-quarter results. Revenue rose 39% year-on-year to USD 50.6 M, beating analyst forecasts of USD 47.36 M, while gross merchandise value climbed 31% to USD 211.2 M. Nigeria, the company’s largest market, posted a 42% increase in physical goods GMV.

The adjusted EBITDA loss narrowed 32% to USD 10.7 M, putting the company on track for its target of breaking even on an adjusted core earnings basis and achieving positive cash flow in the fourth quarter, followed by full-year profitability in 2027.

“We cannot charge incredible margins,” Dufay said, referring to Jumia’s customer base of consumers earning between USD 200.00 and USD 300.00 per month. “If we want to make money, we have to be extremely efficient, cheap, lean in everything we do.”

Dufay moved offices and top executives from Dubai to African operations, exited non-core businesses including food delivery. Jumia now operates in eight markets, down from 14, after exiting South Africa, Tunisia and most recently Algeria, which accounted for roughly 2% of 2025 GMV. The company’s workforce has already fallen 8% since December 2024 to about 1,980 employees as of March 2026.

Despite the conflict in the Middle East, which has driven up fuel prices and logistics costs, Dufay said Jumia would still reach profitability in coming months boosted by its AI push.

“We are seeing about 20% price increases in the lower-end smartphones,” Dufay said. “Still, consumer demand remains strong in our markets, with Nigeria growing over 40%.”

Jumia’s accumulated losses stood at USD 2.2 B as of December 2025. Baillie Gifford has exited its stake, and Rocket Internet, the German incubator that founded Jumia in 2012, has also walked away.

Dufay said Jumia is automating many manual tasks using AI tools that now take only weeks to develop. “It works just as well and is actually more scalable,” he said.

The CEO also noted the supervisory board has tied management incentives directly to achieving the Q4 2026 breakeven target.

The job cuts place Jumia among a growing list of African technology companies turning to AI-driven restructuring. Flutterwave cut roughly half its Kenya and South Africa staff in mid-2025, while Sabi shed 20% of its team before pivoting into commodities.

The CEO’s bet is that with revenue growing more than 30% every quarter and AI reducing fixed costs, Jumia can finally escape years of cash burn. “This business has changed,” Dufay said in February. “It’s clear in the numbers that profitability is within reach.