Hujambo,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- Starlink to appeal Namibia licence rejection
- Nigerians to get paid for network issues
- Safaricom expands beyond M-PESA with new tools
Starlink to appeal Namibia licence rejection
Remember this? Starlink hits regulatory wall in Namibia
Well, Starlink isn’t backing down. After being blocked from operating in Namibia, the company says it will appeal the decision, insisting that “hope is not lost” as it pushes to overturn the rejection.
Here’s the situation: Namibia’s telecoms regulator denied Starlink both a licence and access to radio spectrum, effectively shutting it out of the market. The main issue? Ownership and compliance. Local laws require telecom companies to be at least 51% locally owned, but Starlink is fully foreign-owned, putting it in violation of the rules.
If you ask me, this is another roadblock for Starlink’s African expansion. The company has grown rapidly across the continent, but Namibia shows that growth isn’t guaranteed. Governments are becoming more cautious about foreign tech firms, especially regarding control, regulation, and the amount of value that stays within local economies.
Obviously, this is about access and control. Starlink promises fast Internet, especially in underserved and rural areas where traditional infrastructure struggles. Cases like this in Namibia and South Africa highlight a tension: how do countries expand connectivity without giving up regulatory control or sidelining local players? That balance affects pricing, access, and who ultimately benefits from digital infrastructure.
How we got here is a mix of rapid expansion and regulatory friction. Starlink launched in Africa in 2023 and quickly spread to over 20 countries, but it has repeatedly run into licensing issues, from South Africa to Namibia, often tied to local ownership laws and competition concerns. In Namibia specifically, regulators had already warned the company in 2024 over operating without proper licences before finally rejecting its application in 2026.
Victoria Fakiya – Senior Writer
Techpoint Digest
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Nigerians to get paid for network issues
Nigeria’s telecom regulator is changing the rules, and this time, it’s in favour of users. The Nigerian Communications Commission has ordered telcos to compensate subscribers for poor network service, instead of just paying fines behind the scenes.
Here’s what’s happening: If your network is bad — calls dropping, slow data, no signal — and it falls below the regulator’s standards, operators must now pay you back. The compensation will come as airtime credits, calculated based on how much you typically spend and whether you were in the affected area.
What this means is a shift in how the industry is regulated. Before now, telcos mostly paid fines when service quality dropped, but users didn’t directly benefit. Now, the burden shifts. If service fails, customers get compensated, not just the regulator.
This is a significant move because telecoms power almost everything, including business, communication, banking, and even content creation. When networks fail, productivity drops and people lose money. The NCC is basically saying users shouldn’t carry that loss alone anymore.
Zoom out, and this is part of a bigger push to clean up service quality in Nigeria’s telecom sector. The directive also puts pressure on tower companies to reinvest in infrastructure, meaning better networks could follow, at least in theory. For telcos, it raises the stakes: poor service won’t just attract fines, it’ll now cost them customers’ money directly.
Safaricom expands beyond M-PESA with new tools
Safaricom is no longer just selling airtime, data, and mobile money. It now wants to run your entire business. The telco has rolled out a suite of digital tools under its Safaricom Business brand, targeting everyone from small shops and schools to large enterprises.
Here’s what’s on offer: a bundle of tools covering five key areas — school management, retail POS systems, HR and payroll, business communications, and a locally built ERP system. Individually, none of these products is new. But together, Safaricom is packaging them as a one-stop shop for businesses that want to manage operations, payments, and customer interactions in one place.
What this means is a shift in strategy. Safaricom is moving beyond connectivity and payments, where M-PESA already dominates, into the day-to-day operations of businesses. Instead of just powering transactions, it now wants to sit at the centre of how businesses run, from salaries to stock to customer service.
This is critical because of competition and reach. Kenya already has strong local players in each of these categories, from school software to payroll tools and POS systems. But Safaricom’s advantage isn’t necessarily better software. It’s distribution. With tens of millions of users and deep integration with M-PESA, it can bundle, discount, and push adoption at a scale most startups can’t match.
Zoom out, and this could go two ways. On one hand, it could bring digital tools to thousands of small businesses that have never used them. On the other hand, it puts pressure on smaller tech companies already serving that market.
For businesses, the pitch is convenience: one provider, one system. But the trade-off is dependency. Either way, Safaricom is betting that the next phase of growth isn’t just in connecting people but in running the systems they rely on.
In case you missed it
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Opportunities
- Chess.com is looking to hire a Product Designer. Apply here.
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- ABDS 2026 will take place April 29–30, 2026, in Lagos, gathering founders, investors, developers, and policymakers shaping Africa’s blockchain and Web3 ecosystem. The summit focuses on industry insights, partnerships, and investment opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing crypto markets. Secure your pass or sponsorship here.
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Have a lovely Tuesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
