Tech media entrepreneur/ founder of Big Tech This Week (@bigtechthisweek ), Fatu Ogwuche (@fatuogwuche ) is set to launch Africa’s biggest live technology show- Tech This Week, covering the biggest news in tech and business! African tech is shaping everyday life far beyond the tech ecosystem- sports, culture, and entertainment. Tech This Week will premiere on X, LinkedIn and YouTube today at 6pm WAT- from Lagos, the startup capital of the continent.

Adewale Yusuf is stepping back from daily management to join the board and spend more time with family in the US, with co-founder Akintunde Sultan taking over as CEO with immediate effect.  Under Yusuf's tenure, the platform grew from a coding bootcamp into an accredited institution training over 100,000 learners across 75+ countries. AltSchool is shifting focus to its "Degree" program- partnering with local and international universities to offer affordable, local-priced degree pathways in fields like cybersecurity and IT.

LemFi (@UseLemFi) just launched the biggest product expansion in its history, adding UK savings, credit and data eSIMs in 100+ destinations to its cross-border payments app. LemFi also rebuilt its app from the ground up and unveiled a new global brand, "Ambition has no passport". The move takes it beyond remittances and into a broader financial platform for its 2M+ customers. Co-founder, Ridwan Olalere said, "Our customers are building careers and businesses in one country while supporting people in another, and the financial system treats them as if they can only exist in one place at a time.” It’s UK first and other markets later. What's new for users: • Send money to 30+ countries, save, borrow and buy data from the same account. • UK folks can open an Instant Access Savings Account from £1 and earn a boosted 5% AER for the first six months, with no withdrawal penalties. • Thanks to Pillar, customers can use a revolving credit line as a virtual card on Apple Pay and Google Pay for both spending and sending, and check their Equifax credit score in the app for free • Travellers can buy eSIM data for 100+ destinations before they land, without swapping SIMs or paying roaming fees

ICYMI: Lagosians can now seamlessly book a ride via WhatsApp by sending a text to LincRide on WhatsApp at 0705 179 7935. Kr.One universal eSIM offers data coverage across more than 200 destinations, cutting international roaming costs by up to 75% compared to traditional telcos. Healthleap expanded its hospital screening platform beyond malnutrition. Sequoia Capital, First Round Capital, and Hummingbird Ventures backed the round to help grow Healthleap's engineering, sales, and product teams.

Pan-African fintech giant Onafriq is shutting down its Nigerian agent banking unit, Baxi, effective from October 16. The rising inflation, naira devaluation, and the surge of instant bank transfers reduced reliance on POS cash points, making offline agent banking unsustainable.  Baxi agents are being moved to alternative principal banks with a 30-day window to migrate their funds safely with full transition support.  Onafriq is not leaving Nigeria- it is refocusing on its high-margin cross-border payments network, Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) license, and card issuing infrastructure.

US climate fintech Nithio backed Nigerian EV company MAX, extending its Series B3 funding round to $29 million. Nithio’s fresh investment builds on MAX’s earlier $24 million raise, marking Nithio’s second major African e-mobility deal after backing Spiro. MAX drivers pay a flexible daily fee with zero money down- covering the electric vehicle, battery swaps, insurance, and maintenance.  MAX’s electric fleet and solar-powered battery swap stations cut daily energy, maintenance bills for drivers and with big plans to empower 250,000 drivers by 2027.

Africa growth-stage Venture Capital- Cascador and Sterling Bank launched a $200 million SME Credit Backstop Fund to help Nigerian startups and small businesses access bank loans. Traditional banks usually refuse startup loans because they seem too risky and demand heavy collateral. This fund steps in as a safety net to cover potential losses, giving banks the confidence to issue larger, longer-term credit. The program is built to support up to $1 billion in total lending capacity across participating partners, starting with up to $250,000 The fund uses AI checks and recommendations from trusted venture capital firms/studios to approve businesses for debt.

Nigerian contactless payment infrastructure provider, CashAfrica partnered with Chicken Republic to roll out tap-to-pay across all 350 outlets in Nigeria The tap-to-pay feature starts across 54 Chicken Republic locations in Lagos before expanding to all 296 remaining branches in 25 states.  Customers’ payments are completed under a minute on NFU-enabled POS terminals and pay absolutely nothing extra, while store owners cover a small transaction fee between 0.3% and 1.5%. CashAfrica is targeting high-frequency food purchases to push contactless payments mainstream in Nigeria within 8 months.

South African B2B lending startup Kuunda completed a $5 million secondary share sale led by venture firm E4E Africa. The $5M secondary sale provides an exit and returns capital to early backers, while allowing E4E Africa and existing investors like Seedstars Africa Ventures to increase their stakes.  Kuunda embeds credit tools into mobile money and POS platforms, disbursing over 870 million loans worth $4.4 billion to 14.6M merchants and consumers.  The B2B liquidity provider is currently active in 5 countries and preparing to launch in 7 more countries.

AI chatbot platform Character.ai officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware to execute an asset sale as a result of heavy legal, regulatory, and operational headwinds. Disney agreed to pay $20 million for a non-exclusive perpetual license to Character.ai’s IP and will provide transition services using former employees it hired.  Character.ai plans to keep its platform running with minimal disruption during the court process, but if no buyer agrees to keep running it long-term, the platform will be wound down completely by late 2026

Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC (NIBSS) launched Nigeria’s new National Payment Stack (NPS), partnering with US-based Transactility to power the country's next-gen instant payment infrastructure. NIBSS is using Transactility's flexible technology to build the system. This means Nigeria gets the keys to the source code, allowing local teams to upgrade and modify directly without total vendor reliance. The new system brings upgraded features, making it easier to send money bank-to-bank instantly, pay merchants using QR codes, use phone numbers instead of long account numbers, and handle bulk payments smoothly.  NIBSS aims to take charge of Nigeria's massive transaction volume, while building a faster and more independent financial future for the country.

Microsoft is shutting down its Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Nairobi. According to CIO reports, staff were notified to discuss exit and severance terms, with fewer than 10 non-engineering employees expected to remain. This closure comes after 7years the company pledged $100M+ investment in African tech talent and follows Microsoft shutting its sister engineering hub in Lagos in May 2024. Although, Microsoft hasn’t confirmed if the whole ADC is shutting down, but the decision comes amidst Microsoft's global workforce cuts, heavy AI capital investments, and power capacity delays surrounding its proposed $1B Olkaria data centre project in Kenya.

Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Founder and CEO of flutterwave has been named a member of the Silicon Valley & The World Advisory Board’s Founders Council alongside 50+ global tech leaders. Semafor launched a first-of-its-kind multi-year initiative- Silicon Valley & The World to connect the leaders building transformative technologies with the policymakers shaping their deployment. This initiative is co-chaired by prominent figures in the tech industry, including Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI; Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA; Divesh Makan, Partner at ICONIQ Capital; Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft; Ruth Porat, President and Chief Investment Officer of Alphabet and Google; and Lisa Su, Chair and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices. GB Agboola aims to bring an African perspective to Silicon Valley & The World and shaping the conversations driving the next generation of global technology.

ICYMI: The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is moving beyond SIM registration to track every mobile device connected to Nigerian networks and broad warning notices have already hit users of iPhones, Google Pixels, Tecno, Infinix, and Oukitel devices. South African travel tech giant LekkeSlaap currently lists 40,000 properties and served over 9million travelers, as it prepares to expand across Southern Africa. YoLa Fresh shuts down despite its strong traction and an 85% retention rate.