Morocco’s flag carrier, Royal Air Maroc, is embarking on a major expansion of its international flight network as it prepares for a pivotal World Cup year. The airline is advancing its long-term plan to position Casablanca as a global aviation hub connecting Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

From 2026, the airline has announced it will launch a new wave of direct routes across three continents, marking one of the most ambitious growth phases in its history. The expansion comes as global tourism demand continues to recover and as Morocco steps into the international spotlight ahead of major sporting events, including the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which the Kingdom will co-host with Spain and Portugal.

Royal Air Maroc Chief Executive Officer Hamid Addou said the upcoming route launches represent a defining moment in the airline’s development. Since 2023, the carrier has taken delivery of around ten additional aircraft, strengthened frequencies on several strategic destinations, and opened nearly twenty international routes.

In 2026, the airline plans to add at least ten more destinations, further reinforcing Morocco’s connectivity with key global cities while supporting tourism and economic growth.

Building Casablanca into a global hub

Casablanca sits at the center of Royal Air Maroc’s expansion strategy. By widening its route network and increasing capacity on existing services, the airline aims to strengthen Mohammed V International Airport’s role as a competitive hub for intercontinental traffic. Its geographic position allows the carrier to efficiently link Africa with Europe and the Americas, a role Royal Air Maroc intends to deepen as new routes and frequencies come online.

The expansion focuses on reinforcing medium-haul services across Europe and Africa while extending long-haul routes to high-potential markets.

A flagship example of this strategy is the launch of a nonstop Casablanca–Los Angeles service in June 2026. Operated by Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, the route will become the first direct air link between Africa and the U.S. West Coast, highlighting the airline’s growing transatlantic ambitions and Casablanca’s rising hub status.

Alongside new destinations, Royal Air Maroc is set to increase frequencies on several long-haul routes, particularly to the Americas and the Middle East. These capacity increases are designed to improve connectivity and offer smoother transfer options for passengers traveling through Casablanca.

Tourism boom and global positioning

The airline’s expansion aligns closely with Morocco’s tourism surge. The country welcomed a record 14.5 million visitors in 2023, surpassing pre-pandemic levels, and tourism continued to grow strongly in 2024, with arrivals exceeding 17 million, according to official figures. Tourism now contributes around 7% of Morocco’s GDP directly and supports millions of jobs across hospitality, transport, and services.

The timing of the network’s growth is also closely aligned with anticipated surges in global travel demand linked to major international events. The 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America is expected to drive increased transatlantic traffic, while preparations for the 2030 tournament are already shaping long-term aviation and tourism strategies in Morocco.

To support its growing network, the airline is introducing new long-haul aircraft with upgraded cabins, improved comfort, and enhanced onboard connectivity, aligning its product with international standards. These upgrades form part of a long-term plan to expand the fleet from around 60 aircraft today to as many as 200 by 2037.

As Morocco continues to strengthen its position on the global tourism and business map, Royal Air Maroc’s expansion underscores the airline’s evolving role as both a national carrier and a strategic economic tool. By deepening connectivity and scaling up its Casablanca hub, the airline is positioning itself at the center of Morocco’s rise as a global destination during a defining decade for the country.

Artificial intelligence could add USD 1 T to Africa’s economy by 2035, the African Development Bank (AfDB) estimates, but it warned the continent must urgently develop data infrastructure, skills, and regulation to capture the potential gains.

The projection, outlined in a new bank-commissioned report, equates to nearly a third of Africa’s current annual economic output. The benefits, however, are expected to be concentrated in a handful of sectors, including agriculture, retail, and manufacturing.

“The Bank is ready to release investment to support these actions,” said Nicholas Williams, an AfDB ICT operations manager. “We expect the private sector and the government to utilise this investment.”

The report, produced by consulting firm Bazara Tech, identified five key areas where AI could drive growth: agriculture, wholesale and retail, manufacturing, financial services, and healthcare. Together, these sectors could account for about USD 580 B of the projected USD 1 T gain.

Achieving this, the bank said, depends on improving five fundamental “enablers”: the availability of reliable data, sufficient computing power, a skilled workforce, trustworthy governance frameworks, and adequate capital.

“Africa’s challenge is no longer what to do; it is doing it on time,” said Ousmane Fall, the AfDB’s Director of Industrial and Trade Development.

The report asserts that reliable and interoperable data forms the foundation for AI insights, while scalable compute infrastructure ensures solutions can be deployed efficiently across the continent.

It notes that a skilled workforce is essential to develop, implement, and maintain AI systems, and trust—built through governance, and regulatory frameworks—underpins adoption. The report also notes that the enablers, together with adequate capital investment  to de-risk innovation and accelerate deployment,  would “foster a cycle of AI-driven growth.”

The AfDB, Africa’s premier development finance institution, proposed a three-phase roadmap from 2025 to 2035 to build the necessary infrastructure and regulations to support widespread AI adoption.

Africa’s logistics and supply chain sector is expanding rapidly, yet the continent continues to face persistent structural inefficiencies that undermine this growth. The broader African logistics industry is currently valued at an estimated USD 160 B, driven by rising trade volumes, rapid urbanisation, growing e-commerce activity, and significant infrastructure investments. Regional markets reflect similar momentum: West Africa’s logistics industry reached USD 45.7 B in 2024 and is projected to grow to USD 71.5 B by 2033; South Africa’s market stands at USD 64.09 B in 2025 and is expected to double to USD 113.70 B by 2035 nearly; and East Africa’s market is set to expand from USD 23.9 B in 2024 to USD 36.8 B by 2033. Weak supply chain visibility, fragmented market information, and slow procurement processes often mean that medicines, vaccines, and essential supplies fail to reach the people who need them on time. Despite the availability of capable logistics providers in many countries, health programmes, NGOs, and governments frequently struggle to identify and engage the right partners. This gap creates delays, increases transport costs, and limits the continent’s ability to respond quickly to emergencies.

In recent years, outbreaks, floods, and supply disruptions have exposed the fragility of existing systems. The challenge is not simply the absence of infrastructure but the absence of structured, transparent ways to find logistics partners and match them with operational needs. In this context, the emergence of the Logistics Marketplace—a platform funded by the Global Fund and in partnership with the Gates Foundation—signals an attempt to rethink how the continent connects logistics demand and supply. Scott Dubin, Supply Chain Private Sector Engagement Advisor at the Global Fund and the creator of the platform, outlines why the tool was needed and what it hopes to change.

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The Persistent Visibility Crisis in African Logistics

Africa has logistics capacity, but it is invisible. 

For years, organisations working in health and humanitarian supply chains have faced the same obstacle: logistics capacity exists, but no one has a clear way to find it. Dubin has seen this pattern repeat across multiple countries and programmes. Governments and NGOs often rely on personal networks, outdated spreadsheets, or expensive consultants simply to answer basic questions about who operates in a region or whether they have the right equipment and experience.

He recalls spending years “knocking on doors” across different states, calling contacts, compiling lists, and creating market maps that quickly became outdated. This inefficient approach creates delays during routine delivery and becomes even more problematic during emergencies, when quick mobilisation is critical. According to Dubin, the cost of continuing with the ad-hoc processes became too high: essential programmes were slowed down not because capacity was absent, but because it was hidden.

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Introducing the Logistics Marketplace

It reduces the friction that slows down health delivery by giving both sides a shared place to connect.

The Logistics Marketplace was designed as a simple, structured website where buyers and logistics providers can find each other. Providers create profiles detailing their fleet, warehouse space, cold-chain assets, licenses, and geographic coverage. Buyers—including governments, NGOs, manufacturers, distributors, and humanitarian programmes—also maintain profiles to ensure transparent communication.

For buyers, the platform replaces guesswork with structured search tools that filter providers by state, service type, or asset class. Opportunities can be posted in a standardised format, and all communication—from clarifications to document uploads—is centralised. For providers, the Marketplace serves as a visibility tool that allows them to compete more effectively, particularly in regions where they were previously overlooked.

Dubin describes it as a way to “replace friction, fragmentation, and invisible capacity with a single transparent interface.” By simplifying engagement, it reduces delays that traditionally slow down procurement and distribution.

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Addressing Costly Inefficiencies in African Transport

In many African markets, logistics is far more expensive than it needs to be.

What distinguishes the Logistics Marketplace from existing platforms is its purpose and design. It is not tied to a single organisation’s supply chain, nor does it operate as a commercial platform. Instead, it is intended as a public digital good accessible to ministries, implementing partners, and logistics companies of all sizes.

Dubin explains that most supply chain tools in Africa are built by private companies for their own operations, making them inaccessible to governments or smaller transporters. None provides a shared, structured view of logistics markets. The Marketplace fills this gap by creating a common space where buyers and providers can interact transparently, without financial or administrative barriers.

This neutrality, he notes, is essential for strengthening entire markets rather than isolated supply chains.

Transport costs across African health programmes can reach 30–40 cents per dollar of goods, significantly higher than in mature markets. Dubin argues that these costs are driven less by fuel or infrastructure costs and more by inefficiencies stemming from poor visibility and weak competition.

He identifies three recurring problems:

1. Delays in finding the right provider due to a lack of visibility.
   
2. Misalignment between buyer needs and provider capabilities, often caused by outdated information.
   
3. Administrative friction, with communication scattered across emails, messaging apps, and in-person meetings.
   

The Marketplace is designed to reduce these inefficiencies by giving buyers a clear view of real-time provider capability and centralising engagement. By improving competition and reducing discovery costs, the platform aims to lower transport costs and eliminate operational waste that weakens supply chains across the continent.

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Improving Cold Chain Reliability and Reducing Vaccine Wastage

The Marketplace makes a direct difference by helping buyers see which firms have the right cold chain assets.

WHO estimates that nearly 50% of vaccines are wasted due to supply chain failures. While not all of these failures are logistical, Dubin highlights areas where logistics plays a critical role—particularly in cold chain preservation.

He points out that wastage often occurs when buyers select providers without the right cold-chain capacity or when redistribution movements cannot be arranged in time to prevent expiry. The Marketplace reduces these risks by offering structured visibility into which providers can maintain specific temperature ranges and have relevant experience with vaccines.

While the system cannot fix upstream forecasting issues, Dubin believes it can strengthen the part of the chain where logistics matters most: matching the right provider to the right job at the right moment.

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Early Adoption Patterns and Country-Level Engagement

Interest is high—but onboarding requires presence.

Since its launch in July 2025, the Marketplace has attracted strong interest across countries. But Dubin says widespread adoption depends on in-country presence. In Nigeria, for example, the hiring of MEBS as the national partner rapidly accelerated uptake because it enabled direct engagement with both providers and buyers.

Organisations like VillageReach have also begun integrating the Marketplace into their work in Mozambique and the DRC, recognising its alignment with private-sector engagement efforts. Providers, meanwhile, have shown strong enthusiasm, especially when they see how visibility can translate into new operational opportunities.

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What the Next Five Years Could Unlock

The Marketplace will move from being a helpful tool to becoming part of Africa’s logistics infrastructure.

Looking ahead, Dubin sees the platform shaping logistics behaviour rather than simply improving visibility. As profiles become more consistent, it will enable better planning and reveal capacity gaps. Increased competition may also encourage companies to invest in management systems and service quality.

He also notes that the Marketplace could serve as a foundation for future digital services, such as analytics, standardised contracting frameworks, and performance dashboards. Most importantly, improved visibility and faster provider activation will strengthen Africa’s ability to respond to emergencies.

If adoption continues, the platform could help unlock a more connected and resilient logistics ecosystem—one capable of supporting both routine delivery and crisis response with greater speed and reliability.

LemFi, the leading financial platform building innovative international payment products and solutions, today announced the launch of Global Accounts, a financial solution designed for Africa’s thriving freelance and digital economy. Starting in Nigeria, the product allows customers to open and operate real USD & GBP accounts directly on their mobile phones, on the LemFi app.

Africa’s freelance market is booming. With a vibrant, tech-savvy population and expertise spanning software development, digital marketing and creative skills, the continent’s professionals are competing and contributing on a global scale. However, a critical barrier has held them back: receiving international payments is often costly, complicated and unreliable. Payment delays, sudden account freezes, and limited platform options have forced digital workers across the continent to navigate a maze of workarounds—from asking friends abroad for help to using multiple intermediaries that eat into their hard-earned income.

LemFi’s Global Accounts product changes this reality.

Ridwan Olalere, co-founder and CEO of LemFi, said, “African freelancers are world-class. With Global Accounts, we’re giving them what they’ve always deserved: direct access to the global financial system, no more asking friends abroad for help, no more feeling left out of global moments. Global Accounts gives you a financial identity that is as global as your ambitions.”

How LemFi Global Accounts Work

Customers can open USD and GBP accounts in minutes through the LemFi app. Each account comes with local account numbers, enabling them to receive payments directly from international clients and platforms as if they were physically present in those countries.

Their held funds can be topped up and converted at competitive rates with full transparency. Customers maintain complete control, whether withdrawing to local accounts, spending globally, or holding funds in foreign currency.

Built for Africa’s Digital Workforce

For freelancers and digital entrepreneurs:

1. Receive payments directly: Get paid by international clients
2. No more payment delays or complicated workarounds
3. Keep more of what you earn: transparent pricing means
4. Built by a team serving over 2 million global customers.

LemFi’s Global Accounts was built for the generation of African professionals who want to operate in the currencies of global commerce while staying firmly rooted at home. “This is about dignity and agency,” Olalere added. “They [African Professionals] shouldn’t have to deal with or apologise for payment complications. With Global Accounts, they can focus on their craft rather than payment logistics. They have global access and local roots.”

Available Now

LemFi Global Accounts are available immediately to customers in Nigeria through the LemFi mobile app. The product supports USD & GBP accounts, with additional currencies planned for future releases.

As 2025 winds down, we continue our deep dive into the defining moments that shaped Africa’s tech and business landscape. While Part 1 centered on shutdowns and the financial realities that pushed companies over the edge, Part 2 looks inward at the controversies, breakdowns, and public crises that forced the ecosystem to confront deeper issues.

Across the year, allegations of misconduct, governance failures, financial mismanagement, and even deepfake-driven fraud shook founders, investors, regulators, and customers. This is the timeline of the controversies that defined 2025.

1. 54 Collective Liquidation: The USD 689 K Rebrand That Ended a Venture King

The 2025 controversy cycle began with a deep fracture in the ecosystem’s investment infrastructure. 54 Collective (formerly Founders Factory Africa), which once received a major grant from the Mastercard Foundation, lost its funding amid a dramatic governance dispute.

The core issue revolved around the studio’s non-profit entity, Africa Founders Ventures (AFV), which allegedly used restricted charitable grant money to fund a high-profile, non-consented corporate rebrand at the cost of approximately USD 689 K.

A forensic review uncovered over 2,000 backdated journal entries and a significant USD 4.59 M transfer from the non-profit AFV to its for-profit sibling, Founders Factory Africa.

After the Mastercard Foundation terminated the grant in January 2025, AFV attempted to invoke “business rescue.” The failure of this last-ditch effort culminated in a court-ordered liquidation in July 2025, following a review of evidence of financial mismanagement and operational failures.

The message was brutal: in the new African tech reality, even non-profit ambition cannot excuse a lack of corporate rigor.

2. The CBEX Ponzi Collapse: When AI Collides With Old School Fraud to Create The Perfect Scam

On April 17, Africa witnessed one of the most shocking fraud collapses in recent history. CBEX—an AI-powered crypto trading and investment platform heavily promoted across social media—froze withdrawals, crashed its dashboards, and immediately revealed itself as a high-tech Ponzi scheme.

The mechanics of the fraud were disturbingly sophisticated. CBEX’s marketing machine built its user base through high-production deepfake videos of Elon Musk and Johann Rupert endorsing “automated trading systems”. These videos promised returns of over 100% monthly.

A single crowd-sourced investigation tallied USD 16.5 M in reported losses from 380 victims, and that was only a fraction of the platform’s user base. Some experts believe the total exposure could cross USD 100 M once all markets are accounted for. It was a chilling illustration of how AI tools can supercharge old-school fraud.

CBEX executives initially blamed “rogue marketers,” claiming their systems were hacked and that the deepfake ads were unauthorized. But the scale and consistency of the lead-generation funnel made it clear the deception was part of the company’s core acquisition strategy.

It later doubled down, resorting to a common re-scamming tactic, telling victims it had “compensated” the lost money but demanding a “verification” fee to unlock it. CBEX didn’t just steal money; it exposed how easily desperation and next-generation AI can collide to create the perfect financial crime.

3. Union54 & ChitChat: A Founders’ Feud Goes Viral

September brought a different kind of drama, one that highlighted how fragile early-stage partnerships can be in Africa’s fast-moving startup scene.

A dispute between co-founders from Zambian fintech Union54, which had pivoted to a social commerce app called ChitChat, erupted publicly, turning what should have been private legal disagreements into a social media spectacle.

Co-founder Patrick Sikalinda filed a high-stakes lawsuit in the country’s High Court on September 9, 2025. Sikalinda alleged he was illegally removed from the company and denied a 33% equity stake, seeking a total of USD 29.1 M in compensation based on an estimated USD 20 M company valuation. The company countered that Sikalinda was merely a “short-term subcontractor” removed for non-performance.

Both sides released detailed statements online. Screenshots of internal conversations leaked, legal threats were mentioned, the feud trended across X. Supporters and critics lined up on either side, transforming the dispute into a viral one.

This viral boardroom brawl was a stark reminder of something many founders learn too late: early-stage excitement often overshadows the need for formal agreements, clearly defined roles, and documented ownership structures.

4. Thepeer’s Breakdown: USD 1.2 M Missing and Fraud Allegations

The quiet 2024 shutdown of Nigerian fintech Thepeer was dramatically revived in late 2025 when co-founder Sultan Akintunde published a detailed public account of the company’s demise.

The company, once positioned as an infrastructure bridge between fintech wallets, found itself navigating accusations around missing funds, unclear processes, and governance failures.

Akintunde’s revelations alleged that the company’s failure stemmed from “fraudulent activities and missing money” rather than market challenges, claiming the shutdown itself was an “attempt to cover the missing money”.

Specific financial discrepancies were highlighted, including the expenditure of USD 50 K on car purchases for a company that generated less than USD 1 K in annual revenue. After investigating, Akintunde calculated that roughly USD 1.2 M had gone unaccounted for.

As the third-largest shareholder, he had formally requested an audit in March 2024, which he claims prompted the other co-founders to “rush and shut down the company”. He noted that while approximately USD 500 K was eventually explained, roughly USD 700 K remained a mystery, leaving investors demanding a formal audit despite the partial return of funds.

The takeaway was a harsh lesson for the ecosystem: operational discipline is just as important as innovation. And barely a week later, the ecosystem saw what governance strain looks like at a much bigger scale.

5. M-KOPA: A Corporate Power Struggle Goes Public

Early November brought one of the year’s most unexpected controversies when internal disagreements at M-KOPA spilled into public view.

That image cracked when reports revealed a tense power struggle between senior executives and board members. Disagreements over operational control, financial reporting, and strategic direction escalated beyond internal mediation and became public knowledge.

Co-founder and former CFO Chad Larson filed a formal complaint with the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on November 6, 2025, accusing the board and key investors of orchestrating a share buyback that “unfairly and deliberately exploits Kenyan employees”. Larson alleged the valuation used in the buyback was “artificially suppressed,” resulting in employees being offered a price representing a nearly 95% discount to the actual market value.

M-KOPA fired back, calling Larson’s claims a “campaign of misinformation” from an ex-employee who had worked for a competitor.

The saga transformed M-KOPA from an African success story into a complex case study on balancing corporate profit, local employee equity, and governance under a global spotlight.

6. Paystack Reputation Crisis: Co-Founder Olubi Fired Amid Misconduct Allegations

Paystack, a name synonymous with credibility in African fintech, was thrust into controversy after misconduct allegations involving co-founder and CTO Ezra Olubi surfaced online.

The crisis was fueled by allegations of inappropriate conduct with a subordinate, alongside the resurfacing of a cache of sexually explicit, decade-old messages from Olubi’s X (Twitter) account.

Paystack quickly suspended Olubi, but the situation escalated when they subsequently terminated Olubi’s employment on November 22, 2025, citing “significant negative reputational damage” before the formal investigation was concluded.

Olubi publicly disputed the termination, claiming it violated the terms of his suspension. Some legal experts were also in support, arguing that using a reputational-risk clause—typically intended to be forward-looking and address new conduct—to punish historic, decade-old behaviour that was public and discoverable even during the 2020 Stripe acquisition, stretched the contractual power of the company.

For Paystack, it was about perception, and all it wanted was to distance itself from all the drama. The crisis ignited intense public scrutiny, setting a critical precedent for accountability and corporate governance at senior leadership levels in the Nigerian tech

And just when it seemed the year had run out of scandal, December delivered the most staggering one yet.

7. Banxso Deepfake Trading Scandal

December delivered a scandal so large it crossed into mainstream national conversation. South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) issued a historic ZAR 2 B (~USD 118 M) penalty against Banxso, a trading platform whose collapse tied together two dangerous forces: deepfake-driven deception and systematic financial misconduct.

For years, Banxso had grown aggressively, sponsoring Bafana Bafana and aligning itself with UFC champion Dricus du Plessis to build legitimacy. But beneath the branding was a sophisticated but deeply unethical acquisition engine: deepfake videos of Elon Musk, Johann Rupert, and other business figures promoting automated trading systems like “Immediate Matrix.”

When the system buckled, victims across South Africa reported staggering losses. Some had lost life savings. Others attempted legal action. One investor, after losing half a million rand, filed a liquidation application against the company.

By August, the Western Cape High Court placed Banxso under provisional liquidation. In December, the FSCA delivered its final blow: a record-breaking penalty and 30-year industry bans for key executives.

The Banxso fallout was a final, damning portrait of 2025: the era of high-tech fraud had arrived, and regulators were finally responding with unprecedented force.

A Year of Controversy, Consequences, and Critical Lessons

Part 2 of the 2025 African Startup Review captures the year’s most provocative moments, moments that didn’t just make headlines but reshaped how founders, investors, regulators, and operators think about trust, governance, and transparency.

Across fintech, consumer finance, corporate governance, co-founder relations, ecosystem infrastructure, and investment networks, 2025 delivered a relentless series of controversies that forced uncomfortable but necessary conversations.

For many in South Africa, the promise arrived in a familiar, convincing form. A video of Elon Musk, or sometimes local billionaire Johann Rupert, appeared online endorsing a revolutionary new investment platform. The message was that advanced artificial intelligence could generate massive returns, turning a small deposit into life-changing wealth.

This was the gateway for hundreds of people to Banxso, an online trading platform that marketed itself as a democratising force in finance. Today, that gateway has slammed shut, sealed by a record ZAR 2 B (~USD 118 M) fine and a trail of devastation linking cutting-edge deepfake fraud to old-fashioned financial misconduct.

The Financial Sector Conduct Authority’s (FSCA)’s recently declared penalty against Banxso is the largest in South African regulatory history. It caps a catastrophic fall for a firm that, just a few years after its 2021 launch, had secured sponsorships with the national soccer team Bafana Bafana and UFC champion Dricus du Plessis to burnish its legitimacy.

The FSCA investigation found the company and its directors engaged in systematic abuse, involving misappropriating client funds, providing false information, and making unrealistic promises.

“The investigation found that Banxso and its key persons… misappropriated client funds, provided false and misleading information to clients and to the FSCA, promised clients unrealistic returns and failed to act in the best interests of its clients,” the regulator stated. The authority has now handed all evidence to the South African Police Service for a criminal investigation.

The Deepfake Pipeline

Central to Banxso’s rapid client acquisition was a network of deceptive social media and online advertisements. Investigations revealed a sophisticated lead-generation scheme. Deepfake videos of Musk, Rupert, and other tycoons promoted automated trading systems like “Immediate Matrix,” which promised monthly returns of over ZAR 300 K (~USD 17.7 K) from a ZAR 4.7 K (USD 277.79) deposit. Users who clicked were funneled directly to Banxso’s platforms, BanxsoX and AutoBanxso, to trade high-risk contracts for difference (CFDs).

Many victims reported being enrolled automatically, without clear consent. Banxso previously denied authorising these ads, even claiming its systems were hacked by a third party that inserted the leads. However, the sheer volume of victims pointed to a core business strategy. Over 380 people contacted one investigation, claiming combined losses of ZAR 280 M (~USD 16.5 M). In court papers, Banxso indicated it had around 7,000 customers, suggesting total losses could reach the billions.

One investor, who lost ZAR 500 K (~USD 29.5 K), reportedly took the drastic step of applying to court to have Banxso liquidated. Their experience was not unique. The Western Cape High Court placed Banxso under provisional liquidation in August 2025, with Judge Andre le Grange stating he was satisfied the company’s business model was itself illegal.

A Maximum Penalty

Beyond the ZAR 2 B administrative penalty on Banxso and directors Harel Adam Sekler and Warwick David Sneider, other key individuals faced massive fines. Former CEO Manuel de Andrade was fined ZAR 20 M, and others faced multi-million rand penalties. Crucially, Sekler, Sneider, De Andrade, and another key person, Mohammed Bux, were debarred from the financial services industry for 30 years each—the maximum sentence ever imposed by the FSCA.

In a simultaneous move, the regulator finalised the withdrawal of the financial services licence for Afrimarkets Capital, a platform linked to Banxso through common directorships and operating from the same Cape Town office. The FSCA found Afrimarkets guilty of near-identical misconduct. This action closed a loophole that appeared when, following initial negative reports about Banxso, a similar platform emerged under a different name.

In its response, Banxso stated it was exploring “all available mechanisms to address what we believe to be fundamental concerns with this outcome.” Afrimarkets similarly said it was “exploring all available legal options.”

The fallout continues. The FSCA has confirmed it is investigating two new platforms, Protea Markets and UMarketPro, following reports that they operate with a virtually identical model and employ many former Banxso and Afrimarkets staff. This suggests the regulatory crackdown, while historic, may be part of a longer game of whack-a-mole.

Meanwhile, resolution is far from over for the estimated thousands of clients. With Banxso under liquidation and a criminal probe underway, the path to recovering lost funds remains uncertain.

LemFi, the financial platform built for the underserved, has secured 14 new Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs) across the US, marking a major step in its mission to deliver safe, reliable and fully compliant financial services to immigrant communities.

The new licenses, which are for states including Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, Oregon, and Delaware, give LemFi the ability to move money for customers directly under state regulatory oversight, giving the company more control over how transfers are processed and enabling a smoother, more transparent experience. This will strengthen LemFi’s promise to operate with clarity, accountability and customer protection at the core of its US operations.

At a time when trust matters more than ever in fintech, securing the licenses puts LemFi in the same league as the financial industry’s most established players. Its expanding MTL portfolio means LemFi can deliver a smoother, more reliable experience while collaborating more closely with state regulators and financial partners nationwide.

The US is one of the most important financial markets in the world and represents a powerful opportunity for LemFi. Home to 52 million diasporans, they represent more than 15% of the national population and mean the US is the world’s largest remittance-sending country. An estimated $93 billion in remittances was sent from the US to their families and friends in other countries in 2023 alone. LemFi’s new MTL licenses mean it is poised to reach millions more, who are seeking trusted, regulated ways to support their families abroad and manage their finances at home, adding to its two million global customer base. 

This opportunity will only grow: global remittance flows rose 4.6% between 2023 and 2024 alone, with analysts forecasting the broader market could surpass $1.5 trillion by 2033 –  underscoring the scale and long-term growth potential of immigrant financial flows, and reinforcing the need for transparent, reliable, immigrant-first financial services.

A global vision for financial inclusion

The US MTLs join LemFi’s growing portfolio of international licenses, including:

1. An Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license in the UK (regulated by the FCA) and FCA credit license in the UK
2. A Payment Institution (PI) license in Ireland, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland
3. A Money Service Business (MSB) license in Canada, regulated by the Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).

LemFi has also established partnerships with GCash (Philippines), UBL (Pakistan), eSewa (Nepal), and ClearBank (UK), underscoring its collaborative approach to delivering trusted financial tools worldwide. 

Janine Ross, Group Head of Compliance at LemFi, said: “Obtaining our own licenses is about trust just as much as it is compliance. Our customers depend on us for security and transparency when moving their money, and these licenses demonstrate that we’re building a financial ecosystem with regulation and customer protection at its core. This milestone allows us to serve our U.S. customers with greater autonomy and confidence. It strengthens our infrastructure, speeds up processing, and ensures our users can send and manage funds under the highest regulatory standards.”

This latest announcement continues the expansion of LemFi’s global product range, part of its roadmap to provide a full suite of financial products tailored to the needs of the underserved. This includes LemFi Credit, designed to help immigrants who traditionally struggle to access and build credit do so while also benefiting from flexible payments. LemFi’s platform can do this by recognising international credit histories and employing alternative credit assessment methods. As well, its alternative credit scoring technology powers Send Now Pay Later (SNPL), designed to enable its customers to send money to their loved ones when they need to, and access credit safely and securely.

The Kenyan government is proceeding with a plan to split telecommunications giant Safaricom into three separate units, even as it finalises a transaction to reduce its stake and cede majority control to South Africa’s Vodacom Group.

Treasury Secretary John Mbadi stated the administration wants to carve East Africa’s biggest company into a mobile-phone tower operator, a financial technology firm, and a telecommunications company, Bloomberg reports. This corporate unbundling is being discussed in parallel with a separate, pending transaction where Vodacom will acquire an additional 20% stake in Safaricom.

The share acquisition will see Vodacom purchase a 15% stake from the Government of Kenya and a 5% stake from Vodafone for a total cash consideration of USD 2.4 B, giving it a 55% controlling share.

The deal includes an advance dividend payment from Vodacom to the Kenyan government of KES 40.2 B (~USD 311 M), which the South African firm expects to recoup through future Safaricom dividend flows within two to three years. Completion of the acquisition is expected in the first quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

The push for a split comes as Safaricom demonstrates robust financial performance. The company recently reported a 52.1% jump in group net income to KES 42.8 B (~USD 331 M) for the six months ending September 2025. Its M-PESA mobile money service, a central component of the proposed fintech unit, recorded a 14% year-on-year revenue growth in Kenya during the same period. The government’s assessment has found there would be “a huge benefit” from splitting the company, though a final plan requires cabinet approval.

Analysts and regulators have long discussed separating Safaricom’s operations, particularly the dominant M-PESA platform, which handles more than 90% of Kenya’s mobile money transactions. Proponents argue that a standalone M-PESA would fall under the direct supervision of the Central Bank of Kenya, potentially strengthening financial stability and regulatory oversight. Safaricom’s management has historically resisted a split, with CEO Peter Ndegwa arguing last year that spinning off M-PESA would not enhance shareholder value.

The proposed separation would see the telecom unit focus on voice and data, the tower business manage physical network infrastructure, and M-PESA operate as an independent financial services company. This structural change would represent a significant shift for a company that has become deeply integrated into Kenya’s economy and is also expanding aggressively in Ethiopia, where it recently reached 10 million customers despite continued hostilities.

Standard Chartered (StanChart) has finalised the divestment of its Cameroon business, successfully completing the handover of operations to Access Bank Cameroon. This move is consistent with StanChart’s broader global strategy, which was initiated in April 2022, with the announcement of the divestiture of its business from seven countries across Africa and the Middle East.

The countries StanChart has marked for divestment, besides Cameroon, are Angola, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Gambia, Lebanon, and Jordan. The migration of the Cameroon business marks the second concluded sale, with Jordan (which was sold to Arab Jordan Investment Bank) concluded in 2023.

The bank’s leadership emphasised that the core objective of the divestitures was to streamline their international footprint to better serve clients in countries where the impact would be maximised. Anna Asonganyi, CEO for Standard Chartered Cameroon, commented on the transition, noting that the priority throughout the process was to ensure a smooth transfer for both staff and clients. She expressed confidence that the high standards of service and support established by StanChart would continue under Access Bank’s management.

Kariuki Ngari, Managing Director and CEO for Standard Chartered Kenya, reiterated the strategic rationale, highlighting that the decision to sell the businesses in seven markets was fundamentally about driving efficiencies and scale. He also confirmed the two institutions successfully completed the integration of their banking operations, including branches, personnel, and client portfolios, into Access Bank’s existing infrastructure, over the course of two years.

Despite the physical exit from the onshore banking market, Ngari confirmed that StanChart will maintain a presence and continue to operate as a facilitator, acting as a crucial bridge for international capital flows into Cameroon.

In the interim, the StanChart is still waiting regulatory approvals to complete their divestitures in Gambia and Sierra Leone, where Access Bank will once again take over, and Zimbabwe, where First Capital Bank is set to become its new home.

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