Namaste,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- Zedcrest completes Leatherback acquisition
- Court bars unlicensed lenders from suing borrowers in Kenya
- Amazon wants your phone to connect to satellites
Zedcrest completes Leatherback acquisition
After years of backing Leatherback, Zedcrest has finally decided to own it outright. The Nigerian financial services group has completed the full acquisition of Leatherback, the UK-based cross-border fintech it first invested in back in 2022, per Condia. Although the companies did not disclose the value of the deal, both say it marks the next phase of a relationship that has grown from investor and startup into parent company and subsidiary. Leatherback’s current leadership team will remain in place, while the company plans to establish new operational hubs in Kenya and Canada to oversee its East African and North American businesses.
The acquisition is significant because it reflects a growing trend in Africa’s fintech ecosystem: local financial institutions are no longer just funding startups; they’re buying them. Leatherback specialises in cross-border payments, multi-currency wallets and global business transactions, helping businesses and individuals move money across different countries. Bringing the company fully under Zedcrest’s umbrella strengthens the group’s cross-border financial services offering at a time when demand for international payments continues to rise across Africa.
In April 2022, Zedcrest led Leatherback’s $10 million pre-seed funding round, providing both capital and operational support as the fintech expanded into markets including South Africa, Egypt, Uganda, India and the UAE. But the journey wasn’t entirely smooth. Over the past two years, Leatherback went through leadership changes, regulatory scrutiny and a strategic shift away from retail customers towards enterprise remittance and payment infrastructure. Despite those challenges, Zedcrest continued backing the company, ultimately deciding to acquire it completely.
The acquisition also fits into Zedcrest’s wider expansion strategy. In 2024, the group acquired RMB Nigeria Stockbrokers, rebranding it as Zedcrest Securities, before strengthening its investment banking and wealth management businesses with new leadership appointments throughout 2026. Buying Leatherback extends that strategy beyond traditional financial services into fintech infrastructure, allowing Zedcrest to offer everything from investment services to cross-border payments under one group.
As venture funding becomes harder to secure, startups are increasingly looking towards strategic investors with deep pockets rather than relying solely on fundraising rounds. For Zedcrest, owning Leatherback isn’t just another acquisition; it’s a bet that the future of African finance will be built on seamless global payments, stronger institutional backing and technology that connects businesses across borders.
Court bars unlicensed lenders from suing borrowers in Kenya
A Kenyan court has handed borrowers a major victory and sent a warning to digital lenders operating outside the law. In a landmark ruling, the Nairobi Small Claims Court held that digital lenders without a licence from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) cannot use the courts to recover unpaid loans. The decision came after Tri-State Capital Limited and Mombo iCapital Limited filed separate suits seeking to recover KSh 500,000 and KSh 162,297 from borrowers but failed to prove they were licensed digital credit providers.
Victoria Fakiya – Senior Writer
Techpoint Digest
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The ruling is significant because it reinforces one simple principle: lenders must obey the law if they expect the law to protect them. Resident Magistrate Gladys Kiama ruled that before a court can enforce a loan agreement, the lender must first demonstrate it is legally authorised to offer digital credit in Kenya. Since the two firms couldn’t provide evidence of CBK licensing, the court struck out both cases without even considering whether the borrowers actually owed the money. It’s important to note that the judgement doesn’t wipe out the debts; it simply means unlicensed lenders can’t rely on the courts to enforce them.
The decision builds on reforms that have reshaped Kenya’s digital lending industry over the past few years. In 2021, Kenya amended the Central Bank of Kenya Act to bring non-deposit-taking digital lenders under the CBK’s supervision following widespread complaints about excessive interest rates, harassment, misuse of borrowers’ personal data and aggressive debt collection tactics. Since 2022, the central bank has been licensing digital credit providers, with dozens of firms either approved, rejected or forced to suspend operations while undergoing regulatory scrutiny.
The latest judgment also follows a broader trend in Kenya’s courts. In 2025, judges dismissed more than 130 debt recovery cases filed by unregistered lenders, signalling that courts were increasingly unwilling to help businesses operating outside the country’s regulatory framework. The new ruling strengthens that precedent and raises the stakes for any lender that has yet to regularise its operations with the central bank.
For Kenya’s booming digital lending sector, the message couldn’t be clearer. The days when loan apps could operate first and worry about regulation later are fading. As the CBK tightens oversight of one of Africa’s fastest-growing fintech markets, licensing is no longer just a regulatory box to tick; it’s becoming a prerequisite for doing business. For borrowers, the decision offers greater consumer protection. For lenders, it’s a reminder that compliance may now be just as important as capital.
Amazon wants your phone to connect to satellites
Amazon wants your smartphone to connect to satellites, even when there’s no mobile network in sight. The tech giant has unveiled plans for Amazon Leo Direct-to-Device (D2D), a new satellite network that will let ordinary mobile phones send messages, make calls, access data and contact emergency services without relying on traditional cell towers. The company filed its proposal with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week and says it wants to launch the service in 2028, putting it in direct competition with SpaceX’s Starlink, AST SpaceMobile and other players racing to eliminate mobile dead zones.
The announcement is significant because it could change what “no signal” means. Instead of losing connectivity in remote villages, mountains, oceans, or disaster-hit areas, phones would automatically communicate with satellites orbiting the Earth. Amazon says the service will work through partnerships with mobile network operators, allowing customers to stay connected using existing smartphones rather than buying specialised satellite devices. The company also plans to process signals in space, a move it says will improve performance and network reliability.
This didn’t happen overnight. The project builds on Amazon’s satellite Internet business, Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper), which has already launched nearly 400 broadband satellites and plans to begin Internet service later in 2026. In April 2026, Amazon also announced its $11.6 billion acquisition of Globalstar, giving it access to valuable satellite spectrum and paving the way for direct-to-device services. The company also struck a deal with Apple to power future satellite features on iPhones and Apple Watches, showing just how serious it is about the satellite communications market.
The new proposal would dramatically expand Amazon’s ambitions. The company wants permission to deploy 5,105 additional low-Earth orbit satellites, almost doubling the size of its planned constellation. That’s a massive step up from the original plan of about 3,200 satellites and underscores the growing battle to dominate space-based communications. However, Amazon still faces a major hurdle: getting enough rocket launches. Delays affecting launch providers, including Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance, have already slowed deployment of its existing broadband network.
Amazon isn’t the first company pursuing satellite-to-smartphone connectivity. SpaceX has led the direct-to-cell race through Starlink, partnering with T-Mobile in the US to enable ordinary smartphones to send text messages via satellite, with voice and data services expected to follow. Apple introduced Emergency SOS via satellite on newer iPhones in 2022 through Globalstar, while AST SpaceMobile has already demonstrated voice and video calls directly to unmodified smartphones from space. In other words, the race to eliminate mobile dead zones is already well underway, with Amazon joining a growing list of major players competing to shape the future of mobile connectivity.
In case you missed it
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What I’m watching
- Alain De Botton: Success Is Driven By Unhappiness | Why Are You More Successful Than Me?
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Opportunities
- Moniepoint is hiring for over 100 roles. Apply here.
- Follow Techpoint Africa’s WhatsApp channel to stay on top of the latest trends and news in the African tech space here.
Have a lovely Tuesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
