Governance & Policy
Regulations, laws, directives and policies, that affect African startups, the financial sector, telecoms, cyber security, among others. It’s unpredictable nature either enables, stifles or is neutral on innovation
Top stories
South Africa’s Competition Commission is pushing Google, Meta, and YouTube to compensate local news publishers, proposing payments of up to $27 million annually.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has retained its benchmark lending rate at 27.5%, citing exchange rate stability and reduced inflation.
Nigeria targets 75% e-governance by 2027, tackling past failures with digital infrastructure, a unified service portal, and international collaborations.
Nigeria’s inflation fell to 24.48% in January 2025, the first decline in six months. Despite this, high food and energy costs persist.
Once finalised, NITDA’s data classification framework will require companies to store health, financial, and government data locally, opening up opportunities for local cloud providers.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has announced the implementation of new ATM transaction fees to take effect from March 1, 2025.
Mali has introduced telecom taxes to support security initiatives, levying charges on mobile calls and money transfers to raise $220 million for financing security.
Egypt’s inflation slowed for the fourth consecutive month to 24% in January 2025 amid economic pressures.
Nigeria has launched its first stablecoin, cNGN, to drive blockchain adoption and enhance financial inclusion. While this is promising, challenges such as regulation and the volatility of the naira remain.
Lagos State has collaborated with Huawei to implement Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), reinforcing its smart city ambitions.
NIBSS has upgraded the NQR payment system, offering instant payment processing, providing immediate settlement for merchants and consumers. The system now supports both Person-to-Person (P2P) and Entity-to-Person (E2P) payments
Despite soaring inflation and rising currency depreciation, Zimbabwe’s central bank maintains 35% interest rate.
Starlink has officially withdrawn from hearings on the regulation of satellite services in South Africa following Elon Musk’s “openly racist” comment on the country’s ownership laws.
Ugandan authorities have detained 9 officials from the Ministry of Finance in connection with a breach of the central bank’s electronic systems, resulting in the theft of approximately 62 billion shillings ($16.87 million).
The World Bank sees South Africa’s economy growing by 1.8% in 2025, 0.2% higher than its earlier projections, despite elevated levels of poverty and unemployment.
S&P Global has affirmed a positive credit outlook for nine major Nigeria banks in 2025 despite economic challenges hampering the sector’s performance.
Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved two major initiatives to accelerate digital transformation: the Nigeria Universal Communication Access Project and the National AI Trust.
In line with its broader objective of stabilising the FX market, Nigeria’s central bank has extended the deadline for BDCs to access foreign currencies from the official window until March 30.
Ghana recorded $196.7 billion from electronic money transfers in 2024 with total transactions reaching eight billion keeping it cashless drive on track.
With Nigeria’s GDP rebasing on the horizon, experts are turning their focus to the ICT and creative sectors as key drivers of the country’s economic growth.