你好,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- Paystack is no longer just a payments company
- From failed startups to Africa’s largest Web3 incubator
- Congo eyes new subsea cable to fix Internet disruptions
Congo eyes new subsea cable to fix Internet disruptions
If you live in the Republic of Congo and your Internet has felt painfully slow or completely unreliable lately, you’re not imagining it. The country has been grappling with repeated outages linked to faults on the West Africa Cable System (WACS), one of Africa’s major submarine Internet cables.
Now, the Congolese government says it’s exploring a backup plan. According to Benjamin Mouandza, a senior official at the country’s telecoms regulator, Congo could connect to an alternative submarine cable within the next three weeks if everything goes smoothly. Officials are also counting on the delayed Dow Africa cable to eventually strengthen connectivity.
What this means is simple: Congo wants to stop relying on a single cable for international Internet access. Tapping into another subsea cable would give telecom operators redundancy, helping reduce the impact of outages when WACS runs into trouble.
Why it matters is hard to overstate. Internet disruptions affect everything from mobile money and businesses to government services and everyday communication. Congo’s telecoms minister, Léon Juste Ibombo, has already asked operators to roll out emergency fixes and submit long-term technical solutions to prevent these recurring failures.
Congo has depended on WACS since 2012, and it’s not alone in feeling the pain. Neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo is also dealing with WACS-related disruptions, even as the cable operator itself has remained silent. What to watch now is whether Congo’s push for a second cable finally gives users the stable Internet they’ve been missing.
From failed startups to Africa’s largest Web3 incubator
Eric Annan bought bitcoin when it was just $350. Like many early adopters, he made a lot of money. Unlike most, however, he wasn’t drawn to trading or speculation. He was fascinated by the technology itself—and that curiosity would shape a winding entrepreneurial journey marked by bold bets, painful failures, and, eventually, Aya HQ.
After leaving Huawei to start a VoIP business, Annan moved to Nigeria chasing an opportunity, only for the business to collapse when dollar transaction regulations tightened in 2015. In 2016, crypto became his reset button. Deep study led him to build Digital Coding, one of Nigeria’s earliest crypto exchanges, where he made enough money to take a vacation to Seychelles.
That vacation sparked bigger questions. Why was Africa absent from conversations about the future of blockchain? Why were Africans mostly consumers, not builders?
Annan’s answer was KubitX, a startup that failed despite early promise and a signed deal with Interswitch. Losing everything taught him a crucial lesson: Africa’s biggest startup challenge isn’t funding—it’s psychology, trust, and collaboration.
Those lessons became the foundation of Aya HQ, now one of the world’s largest early-stage Web3 incubation programmes. This is the story of how losing crypto gains helped build something bigger.
Read the full story to see how it all came together.
Paystack is no longer just a payments company
Paystack is officially growing up, and it’s not just about payments anymore. A week after the company announced it’s acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank (MFB), the fintech is putting a new structure in place to support much bigger ambitions as it marks its 10th anniversary.
The company has launched a new holding company called The Stack Group (TSG), which will sit above Paystack and a set of related businesses, including Paystack Microfinance Bank, Zap, and a new venture studio called TSG Labs. Paystack says the move comes as it has now reached profitability, a major milestone for the Stripe-backed fintech.
What this really means is that Paystack is repositioning itself from being “just” a payments processor to becoming a broader financial and technology group. With TSG, the company wants to build deeper banking infrastructure, consumer finance products, and experiment with AI-led tool; some of which may go far beyond payments.
Why should you care? Because Paystack already serves more than 300,000 merchants in Nigeria alone, and owning more of the financial rails through its microfinance bank could help it move faster, reduce dependence on partner banks, and build more end-to-end products for African businesses. The addition of TSG Labs also signals that Paystack wants room to innovate with emerging tech without regulatory handcuffs.
For context, Paystack’s payment volumes have grown more than 12x since Stripe acquired the company for $200 million in 2020. It now operates in six African countries, with Egypt and Rwanda next in line. With TSG, Paystack is betting that the next decade of growth will come from banking, consumer finance, and AI, not payments alone.
In case you missed it
- Nigeria’s creator economy may finally be coming of age
What I’m watching
- The $1 Billion Coca-Cola Machine
- How To Fix Your Negative Patterns – Alain de Botton on Chris Williamson
Opportunities
- MTN Nigeria is hiring a Specialist – International Remittance (Product Manager). Apply here.
- Bamboo is hiring a quality assurance manager. Apply here.
- Paystack MFB is hiring for a few roles. Apply here.
- Attend your first tech event in January! Tech Revolution Conference, a two-day event to discuss everything tech, takes place at Landmark Event Centre, Lagos on January 30 and 31, 2026. Get your tickets here.
- Don’t miss the Cavista Technologies Hackathon happening between February 21 and 22. Register your team and go home with cash prizes here.
- Kuda is recruiting a Head of Product (Credit). Apply here.
- Jumia is looking for a Senior Key Account Manager. Apply here.
- MTN is hiring a Specialist, International Remittance (Product Manager). Apply here.
- Don’t Miss the Africa Business Convention (ABC) 2026. It’s Africa’s #1 Business Conference & Investment Expo. It’s between February 3 and 4. Book your seat today here.
- Moniepoint is hiring for over 100 roles. Apply here.
- We’re hosting a debate on AI in daily life. Join us to share your insights and perspectives.
- Techpoint Africa is creating a video series where people discuss and debate policies and current events. If you enjoy thoughtful conversations, fill out this form. 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.
- To pitch your startup or product to a live audience, check out this link.
- Have any fresh products you’d like us to start selling? Check out this link 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 wonderful Wednesday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
