Aloha,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- NGO wants courts to block Tanzania from cutting Internet
- Meet the startup making banking work in Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa
- NALA expands African footprint with new Ghana approval
NGO wants courts to block Tanzania from cutting Internet
Remember this? Internet blackout fuels anger in Tanzania’s capital
A Tanzanian civil society group is taking a stand against government Internet blackouts, asking the courts to rule that the state can’t simply pull the plug on online access whenever it sees fit.
The NGO argues that shutting down the Internet violates citizens’ rights and harms freedom of expression, access to information and everyday digital life. The case is now before the courts as the country wrestles with how to balance security concerns with digital freedoms.
The legal challenge comes after repeated incidents where authorities reportedly shut down or throttled online services during protests, exams, or politically sensitive moments, moves critics say are heavy-handed and unnecessary. The NGO’s lawyers argue that the state’s broad powers to disrupt internet access are too vague and open to abuse, and that citizens should be legally protected against blanket shutdowns. It’s a rare case that puts digital rights squarely in the spotlight.
For ordinary Tanzanians, an Internet shutdown isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a disruption to business, education, banking, communication and health services. In a country where mobile Internet plays a central role in daily life, cutting access can instantly paralyse commerce, stall payments, disconnect families, and silence digital voices. The NGO’s campaign taps into growing frustration over heavy-handed restrictions.
The case also echoes a wider trend across Africa and beyond, where governments have been criticised for using Internet shutdowns to control information flow during elections, protests or security operations. Rights groups say shutdowns undermine democratic norms, violate free-speech guarantees and erode trust in public institutions. The outcome of this challenge could set an important precedent for digital rights in Tanzania and the region.
Whatever the court decides, the debate highlights a bigger question for 21st-century governance: how to protect national security and public order without trampling on basic digital freedoms that citizens increasingly rely on for work, study and civic engagement.
Meet the startup making banking work in Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa
When Uthman Olagoke talks about Agentpesa, he lights up in a way that makes you instantly curious. The new startup is taking on one of Nigeria’s biggest financial headaches: banking apps that feel too complex, too English-heavy, and too unfriendly for everyday people. Agentpesa wants to flip that script completely by building a digital bank that speaks your language, literally.
In a space where most apps pack confusing menus and assume users are fluent in English, Agentpesa shows up with something different: a system intentionally designed for the market as it is, not as it’s imagined. Whether you’re Gen Z, a kiosk owner, a bus driver, or someone who never went to school, the idea is simple: banking should feel natural. “Banking should be made for everyone, whether you understand English or not,” Olagoke, the Digital and Brand Strategist, tells Techpoint Africa.
At its core, Agentpesa functions like a chat. No endless tabs. No technical jargon. Users simply type what they want to do — send money, check balance, pay a bill — and the AI takes it from there. If typing isn’t your thing, you can speak to the app in Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, or English. Building that multilingual AI wasn’t easy, especially with dialect variations, but the team pulled it off by training the system to understand blended linguistic patterns.
The startup also throws in something clever: a photo-to-pay feature. If you see someone’s bank details written on a wall, invoice, or shop counter, you can snap a picture and the AI instantly extracts every detail needed to complete the transfer. No typing, no guesswork, no stress.
Agentpesa is still young, but its ambition is loud, making digital banking feel like chatting with a friend. Want to dig deeper into how the team built this from the inside? Check out Sarah’s full breakdown for Techpoint Africa.
NALA expands African footprint with new Ghana approval
NALA has just secured another major regulatory win, this time from the Bank of Ghana. The approval gives the fast-growing fintech more room to deepen its presence in one of West Africa’s busiest remittance and payments markets. It also comes at a time when Ghana’s fintech sector is heating up, attracting both local innovation and big-name global players.
For NALA, this isn’t a one-off success. The startup has been quietly stacking licences across the US, UK, Europe, Africa and, more recently, Asia. This global regulatory footprint is part of its broader strategy to connect Africa to the world more seamlessly.
The company runs two key products: a consumer money transfer app that lets users send funds into African countries, and Rafiki, a B2B payments platform built for enterprises that want to move money into and out of African markets through a single API. With Ghana now officially on its list, both sides of the business get a new boost.
NALA says the approval will help it make international transfers to Ghana more transparent and reliable. Given the importance of Ghana’s diaspora remittances, anything that improves speed, clarity and trust in cross-border payments is likely to gain quick adoption.
Beyond Ghana, NALA is framing this as another step toward building a more connected African payments network. With regulators increasingly open to fintech innovation, the company sees an opportunity to position itself as one of the key infrastructure players shaping Africa’s financial future.
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Have a fun weekend!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
