Yassou,
Victoria from Techpoint Africa,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- Canal+ completes buyout as MultiChoice leaves JSE
- Starlink asks Namibians to back licence approval
- Ampersand bets big on shared battery swap future
Canal+ completes buyout as MultiChoice leaves JSE
MultiChoice is officially entering a new era. After years of trading on South Africa’s stock exchanges, the pay-TV giant is preparing to delist as Canal+ completes its full takeover. It’s one of the biggest shake-ups the country’s media landscape has seen in a long time and marks the end of MultiChoice as a locally listed heavyweight.
In a notice published on the Stock Exchange News Services (SENS), MultiChoice pointed shareholders back to Canal+’s October announcement, where the French group confirmed it would trigger its legal right to buy out every remaining MultiChoice share. That compulsory acquisition kicked in on December 5, wrapping up the final phase of a deal that has been building for years.
With that step done, the last piece of the puzzle was regulatory approval for the delisting. MultiChoice now says all necessary approvals have been secured from the JSE, A2X and the South African Reserve Bank. This clears the way for MultiChoice’s shares to be removed from both exchanges when trading opens today, December 10, 2025.
This closes a chapter that began in 2019 when MultiChoice listed on the JSE after being spun off from Naspers. Under Canal+, the combined group will now serve more than 40 million subscribers across about 70 countries, backed by roughly 17,000 employees. Canal+ has also promised to meet all conditions set by competition authorities and plans a secondary inward listing on the JSE within nine months of the delisting.
It’s a dramatic turn for a company that grew from M-Net in the 1980s into Africa’s biggest pay-TV brand through DStv and SuperSport. But the last decade hasn’t been kind. Streaming rivals, rising content costs, shifting viewing habits, and affordability challenges pushed MultiChoice into a decline. Between 2023 and 2025, it shed nearly three million linear subscribers and saw revenues slump, setting the stage for Canal+ to make its move. For Canal+, the acquisition is both a rescue and a chance to scale up in Africa’s fiercely competitive entertainment market.
Starlink asks Namibians to back licence approval
Starlink is making another push to enter Namibia, and this time it wants the public to help. The satellite internet company has called on Namibians to submit comments on its licence application and the proposed amendment to local telecom regulations that would allow it to finally begin operating legally in the country.
What’s on the table? Namibia’s telecom regulator, the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN), is considering tweaking a long-standing rule that requires local telecoms companies to be 51% locally owned. Relaxing that ownership requirement would clear the biggest hurdle standing between Starlink and its official launch. The regulator has already published Starlink’s licence application in the Government Gazette and opened a two-week window for public input, signalling that the approval process is now well underway.
This moment has been a long time coming. Last November, CRAN ordered Starlink to shut down for operating without a licence and even instructed authorities to seize Starlink equipment nationwide. The regulator told Namibians to stay away from the service until Musk’s company followed due process. Starlink has since submitted the proper telecommunications licence application, which CRAN has been reviewing for months.
If approved, Starlink could help fill Namibia’s stubborn connectivity gaps. While most Namibians have access to traditional mobile networks, the country’s vast farming regions, remote lodges, and sparsely populated areas remain difficult to serve. CRAN boss Emilia Nghikembua has openly said Namibia is looking to satellite systems to reach places where terrestrial networks simply cannot stretch.
Still, Starlink won’t be entering an empty field. MTC and Telecom Namibia currently dominate the market, and Paratus recently joined the race with its own 4G network launched in 2025. But with public comments now open and the licence process finally moving, Namibia might be closer than ever to seeing Starlink legally light up its skies.
Ampersand bets big on shared battery swap future
Ampersand Energy is making a bold play in Africa’s electric mobility space. The Rwanda- and Kenya-based startup has thrown open its battery swap network to global motorcycle manufacturers, signalling a shift from building bikes to powering the entire ecosystem. It’s a move that instantly changes the dynamics of East Africa’s fast-growing EV market.
The company, which launched its first electric motorcycle in 2019, has spent years building its own bikes, batteries, software and swap stations. That full-stack approach helped it avoid the reliability issues that plague many EV startups. Now, CEO Josh Whale says the next phase is opening that energy layer to other manufacturers that meet Ampersand’s standards. The first partner out the gate is Wylex Mobility, a major Asian EV manufacturer entering East Africa with Ampersand’s support.
What Ampersand is doing here is simple but significant. Instead of fighting over who builds the “best electric motorcycle,” it’s betting the real battle will be won on energy infrastructure. For riders, uptime and running costs determine whether they make money each day, not flashy hardware. A shared, dependable swap network solves the biggest headache — battery reliability — and gives manufacturers a plug-and-play foundation to compete on design, price and durability.
This approach also lines up with the size of Africa’s motorcycle market, where more than 27 million bikes operate across the continent. In Kenya alone, over two million petrol-powered bikes move passengers and goods every day. Ampersand says it already handles more than 20,000 swaps daily across Kenya and Rwanda, at about $2 per swap for 80 km of range. That cuts fuel costs by roughly 35 per cent, freeing up income for riders who typically spend over $1,000 a year on petrol.
Ampersand’s long-term vision is massive: 50 to 60 swap stations per city, each serving thousands of riders and supporting up to 150,000 bikes. Whale argues that the energy side of the market will dwarf motorcycle manufacturing, which is why he sees companies like Roam and Spiro not as rivals but as future partners.
The logic is clear: the more bike manufacturers join the network, the faster EV adoption accelerates. Every bike plugged into the system strengthens it, and Ampersand wants to be at the centre of that growth curve.
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Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
