Namaste,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- MTN’s Irancell stake takes a hit
- Uber shuts down its flagship ride in SA
- Kenya tightens rules for cyber cafés
MTN’s Irancell stake takes a hit
MTN’s Iran problem has just shown up in its numbers, and it’s not because the company suddenly stopped making money. On August 11, 2026, MTN said it will take a significant impairment on its 49% stake in Irancell in its half-year results due to the worsening geopolitical and economic situation in Iran and the war there. The impairment is expected to contribute to a 20–30% drop in earnings per share, even though MTN’s underlying adjusted earnings per share are actually expected to rise 18–23%. MTN will publish its full interim results on August 24.
The confusing bit is that the impairment doesn’t mean MTN has suddenly lost a business that was sending it cash. In fact, MTN hasn’t been able to extract dividends or capital from Irancell since May 2018, when the US reimposed sanctions on Iran after withdrawing from the nuclear deal. MTN has described the investment as a “frozen asset” because money can’t freely move in or out. Irancell still made money — MTN says its share of the company’s 2025 earnings was about $136 million — but that money couldn’t be repatriated. So the latest write-down is more of an accounting acknowledgement that the stake has become even harder to realise than it was before.
This story is beyond MTN’s share price. Before the latest conflict, Iran accounted for roughly 4% of MTN’s net assets and 7% of adjusted headline earnings. That’s not enough to define the entire group, but it is big enough to affect reported results. More importantly, MTN is dealing with an asset it says it has wanted to exit since 2020, but sanctions have made both selling the shares and moving money out of Iran extremely difficult. The company has also repeatedly stressed that it does not control Irancell’s operations.
The problems became much more acute in January 2026. Iranian authorities removed Irancell CEO Alireza Rafiei after he reportedly delayed complying with a state-ordered communications shutdown during unrest. By March, MTN had pulled its three secondees out of Iran, while the conflict between Iran, Israel and the US further complicated the situation. The latest TechCentral report says control of Irancell moved further towards Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps after the January leadership change, adding another layer of geopolitical and reputational risk to an investment MTN has struggled to escape.
And there is still a legal cloud hanging over the investment. In August 2025, MTN disclosed that it was the subject of a US Department of Justice grand-jury investigation involving its former Afghanistan business and its Irancell stake. Separately, families of more than 500 American service members are pursuing an Anti-Terrorism Act case alleging that the Irancell investment benefited Iran’s Revolutionary Guard; allegations MTN denies. Turkish operator Turkcell is also pursuing a separate multibillion-dollar claim linked to how the original Iranian licence was obtained, which MTN also denies. So while MTN’s African operations may be performing strongly, Iran remains the legacy investment that the group cannot seem to sell, move or fully leave behind.
Uber shuts down its flagship ride in SA
Uber is saying goodbye to one of its most familiar products in South Africa. From September 1, 2026, UberX will be discontinued nationwide, after Uber first told Johannesburg users in May that the service would be phased out there. Uber says the move is about simplifying its product lineup and giving riders clearer choices. The everyday option that many users know, typically a Toyota Corolla-sized car carrying up to four people, will be replaced by a four-tier lineup: Uber Go, Comfort, Black, and Reserve.
Victoria Fakiya – Senior Writer
Techpoint Digest
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For riders, the biggest change is that Uber Go becomes the main budget option. Uber describes it as smaller cars at lower prices, while Comfort targets people who want newer cars, more space, and even a quiet-ride option. Black remains the premium choice, and Reserve is for trips booked up to 90 days ahead. So UberX isn’t disappearing because Uber is leaving South Africa; it is essentially reorganising how its services are packaged. The company says the new structure should make it easier for riders to understand what they are paying for and for drivers to know which vehicles qualify for each category.
But there’s a bigger story underneath the product shuffle. South Africa’s e-hailing market has become increasingly focused on affordability, with Uber and rivals such as Bolt fighting hard for price-sensitive customers. That competition has also raised concerns about a “race to the bottom”, where keeping fares low can put pressure on vehicle standards, driver quality and safety. Uber itself has faced criticism over declining service quality compared with its earlier years in South Africa, when it was particularly popular with middle-class and wealthier riders.
The latest move also follows some interesting experiments by Uber. In January 2025, the company began piloting Uber Moto in Johannesburg, its cheapest offering at the time, using motorcycles for rides. The service attracted criticism from road-safety experts who questioned issues including passenger stability and whether riders could be provided with properly fitted helmets. Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with mainstream e-hailing has created room for more specialised services, including platforms positioning themselves around safety for women, children and older passengers.
So, while the immediate story is simply that UberX is going away, the more interesting question is what Uber is trying to fix. The company is betting that a cleaner separation between cheap, everyday and premium rides will make its marketplace work better. And with South Africa also tightening regulation of the e-hailing sector around issues such as driver vetting, operating licences and passenger safety, Uber is operating in a market where price alone may no longer be enough to win riders. For users, September will bring a familiar question: will Uber Go actually feel like the UberX they are losing?
Kenya tightens rules for cyber cafés
Kenya is making the cyber café, one of those places that feels almost invisible until you need it a lot, more traceable. From August 14, 2026, cyber cafés will have to register every customer and record their name, ID number, the computer they used and when their session started and ended. They will also have to issue receipts and keep those records for at least three years. The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) says the idea is to close the identity gap that exists when someone goes online from a shared computer rather than their own phone or laptop.
The interesting part is that this doesn’t mean cyber cafés will be required to keep a complete history of everything customers browse. The new rules focus on establishing who used which machine and when. Cafés will also have to install software and network filters that can block illegal websites and scan traffic in real time for dangerous downloads. The CA can inspect the cafés’ premises, systems, equipment and records during audits or investigations. Operators that don’t comply could face a fine of 0.2% of annual turnover, with a minimum of KSh500,000, as well as possible suspension or closure.
Why does this matter? Because cyber cafés aren’t quite the Internet hubs they once were, but they’re still important in Kenya, particularly for people who need help with online government services, printing, scanning and other digital tasks. At the same time, the country is dealing with a much bigger cybersecurity problem. In the quarter ending March 2026, Kenya recorded 3.37 billion cyber-threat events, while mobile broadband subscriptions reached 52.9 million. Most of those threats were automated attempts against system vulnerabilities rather than confirmed criminal cases, but the scale shows why authorities are paying more attention to digital access points.
The rules have actually been brewing for a while. The CA began reviewing the regulatory framework in December 2024, proposing to move cyber cafés into a dedicated “internet cafe” licence category. The original proposal was considerably more intrusive: it included ideas such as mandatory CCTV and retaining customers’ full browsing histories alongside identity checks. Those requirements didn’t make it into the final framework, leaving the regulator with a system centred on customer identification and session records rather than recording everything someone does online.
There is, however, a new responsibility that comes with all this data collection: keeping the records safe. Cyber cafés will now hold customers’ names, identification numbers and usage times for three years, creating another pool of personal information that needs protecting. And that’s happening alongside a wider Kenyan cybersecurity push, including the establishment of a National Cybersecurity Agency and proposed changes to the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act. So the government’s argument is essentially about accountability, if something happens through a shared computer, there should be a way to establish who was using it. But the other side of the equation is whether small cyber cafés can securely manage all this new customer data.
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Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
