Grüezi,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- Crypto exchange Luno adds tokenised stock trading
- Do MNOs even rate MVNOs in Nigeria?
- Telecom Egypt to sell data hub stake to Helios
Crypto exchange Luno adds tokenised stock trading in Nigeria
Luno, a crypto exchange founded in Africa, has just opened a fresh chapter in Nigeria’s investment story. The company announced the launch of tokenised global stocks in the country, giving everyday Nigerians a chance to buy shares of over 60 companies and ETFs, directly in naira. No offshore accounts, no FX headaches, no waiting for Wall Street to open.
This move matters because while Nigeria’s financial inclusion rate has climbed to 74%, fewer than 5% of adults invest in the capital market. The barriers — foreign currency scarcity, complex onboarding, and high entry costs — have long kept global markets out of reach for most. By tokenising stocks, Luno is promising a simpler, more accessible way to invest.
It also sets Luno apart from fintech rivals like Bamboo and Risevest, which already give Nigerians dollar-denominated access to global equities, and Cowrywise, which recently integrated Nigerian stock investments. The difference here is that Luno is keeping everything local and crypto-flavoured — tokenised stocks backed 1:1 by actual shares held in custody with regulated partners like Kraken’s xStocks and Backed Finance.
For crypto users, this news could be huge. Given the volatility of digital currencies, the chance to balance portfolios with stocks like Apple, Tesla, or Nvidia — all without leaving the same Luno app — might be exactly what cautious investors need. Plus, fractional ownership means you don’t need deep pockets to get started.
Features like instant settlement, 24/5 trading (with plans for 24/7), and the ability to manage both crypto and equities on one platform add another layer of convenience. Luno is essentially betting that the same simplicity that brought millions into crypto will work for stocks, too.
The South African pilot suggests they may be right — more than 10,000 people jumped in within a month. If Nigeria follows suit, this could nudge a whole new wave of retail investors into the capital market, blurring the lines between crypto and traditional finance in a way Africa hasn’t quite seen before.
Do MNOs even rate MVNOs in Nigeria?
When Interswitch’s Systegra Technologies dropped ₦500 million in 2024 for a Tier 5 MVNO licence, it looked like Nigeria’s telecom space was finally heating up. But, nearly a year later, the silence is deafening. Like most of the 46 companies licensed so far, Systegra hasn’t made much noise.
To be fair, Systegra’s Tier 5 licence makes it a Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE), meaning it works behind the scenes to support MVNOs rather than face consumers directly. Still, the wider MVNO space in Nigeria seems stuck in neutral, and people are asking: what’s going on?
According to BusinessDay, only two players — Vitel Wireless and EmoSIM — are actually active out of the 48 companies licensed by the NCC. And even those still operating admit the odds are stacked against them. Vitel Wireless Chairman, Kenneth Nwabueze, told Techpoint Africa that the industry is struggling with a critical shortage of telecom talent. “Telecom in Nigeria has not really produced a lot of talent in terms of people that understand the business end to end,” he said.
For context, MVNOs are supposed to make mobile services cheaper and more accessible by buying capacity from giants like MTN and Airtel, then reselling it under their own brands. It’s a model that has worked abroad, where MVNOs lowered prices, introduced tailored services, and reached customers traditional networks ignored. Nigeria could use all of that, but so far, the promise hasn’t materialised.
In fact, experts predict more than half of the NCC-licensed MVNOs could collapse within the next five years. While talent gaps are a big part of the problem, other issues — from shaky technical setups to limited support from mobile network operators (MNOs) — make survival even harder.
Vitel Wireless insists it has a different playbook to stay alive, but whether the rest of the pack can keep up is another story. And that raises the bigger question: but MNOs don’t rate MVNOs, do they? Find out more in Bolu’s latest for Techpoint Africa.
Telecom Egypt to sell data hub stake to Helios
Telecom Egypt is making a big move to shore up its digital backbone. The company’s board has given the green light to sell a majority stake in its new data centre subsidiary to Africa-focused private equity giant Helios Investment Partners. The deal, worth up to $260 million, would hand Helios between 75% and 80% of the new unit that houses Telecom Egypt’s Regional Data Hub (RDH).
On the surface, it looks like just another big-ticket investment. But the timing says everything. Only two months ago, a fire ripped through the Ramses Central Exchange in Cairo, knocking out more than 40% of Egypt’s data traffic. The fallout was massive: mobile banking froze, point-of-sale machines failed, and the stock exchange had to halt trading. Overnight, Egypt’s fintech sector learned the hard way what overdependence on outdated infrastructure can cost.
The incident turned into a wake-up call for the entire economy. Internet monitoring group NetBlocks reported national connectivity plunged to just 62% of normal levels during the crisis. The message was clear: Egypt’s fast-growing digital economy is only as strong as its weakest link, and right now, that weak link is old, centralised systems that can’t handle the country’s new digital demands.
That’s where Helios steps in. Its investment will fuel the expansion of the RDH, a modern data centre campus built to deliver redundancy and resilience. The first phase, launched in 2021, sold out quickly and is certified by the Uptime Institute for its high reliability. The second phase, now in development, will be bigger, greener, and carry international sustainability credentials like LEED.
For Telecom Egypt, this partnership does two things at once: it brings in much-needed private capital to keep up with demand and taps into Helios’ track record of building digital platforms across Africa. For Helios, it’s a smart bet on Egypt, a country with a booming fintech scene and a newfound urgency to strengthen its digital foundations after July’s disaster.
The deal isn’t signed just yet, but all signs point to a turning point. If approved, it won’t just give Egypt new data centre capacity; it could reshape how the country approaches digital resilience in the wake of its most high-profile tech crisis in years.
In case you missed it
- South Africa’s ABSA doubles down on AWS to fuel cloud-native banking push
What I’m watching
- Nietzsche debates Jung on what makes life worth living
- The Money Expert: #1 Formula to Get RICH Off Your Normal Salary (It’s EASY!)
Opportunities
- Flutterwave is hiring for several roles. Apply here.
- Paystack is recruiting a performance marketing specialist in Nigeria. Apply here.
- Kuda is hiring for several roles. Apply here.
- Kuda Technologies is hiring a Legal Counsel. Apply here.
- FairMoney is looking for a Head of Business Banking Product. Apply here.
- Moove is recruiting a Customer Success Executive. Apply here.
- Ecobank Nigeria is hiring a Chief Information security officer. Apply here.
- The Institute of African and Diaspora Studies at the University of Lagos is looking for a Junior Research Fellow. Apply here.
- MTN Nigeria is hiring an Operational Risk Specialist. Apply here.
- Co-Creation HUB (CcHUB) Nigeria is looking for a Head of Communications. Apply here.
- Group Vivendi Africa is hiring an IT Manager. Apply here.
- Sun King is hiring across different states in Nigeria. Apply here.
- Businessfront, the parent company of Techpoint Africa, is looking for a Managing Editor (FMCG). Apply here.
- Africa’s venture scene takes the spotlight at the Lagos Venture Finance Summit on September 5th, 2025. Hosted by Vencapital, the Summit gathers top LPs, GPs, policymakers and ecosystem leaders for high-level conversations, networking and dealmaking. A must-attend for those shaping Africa’s next wave of venture capital. Register here.
- Paystack is hiring for several roles in Nigeria and South Africa. Apply here.
- Paga is recruiting for several positions. Apply here.
- Moniepoint is hiring for several positions. Apply here.
- Are you building a startup can feel isolating, but with Equity Merchants CommunityConnect, you can network with fellow founders, experts, and investors, gaining valuable insights and exclusive resources to help you grow your business. Click here to join.
- Help us make Techpoint better for you! Your feedback shapes what comes next (your responses may potentially save my job. A bit dramatic, but still). It will only take 30 seconds to tell us what works and what doesn’t. Fill it here.
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Have a lovely Tuesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
