UphivaBETAR
Nigeria’s NCC Proposes 14-Day Notice Before SIM Deactivation — and a New Database to Kill Recycled-Number Fraud
Nigeria’s NCC is building TIRMS, a cross-sector database to track churned and recycled SIM numbers. A proposed rule requires 14-day pre-deactivation notice and gives the CBN and SEC real-time access.
Who Really Controls WAXAL? The AI Sovereignty Question Google’s African Dataset Doesn’t Answer
Google’s 21-language African speech dataset gave partner universities ownership of their data. What it didn’t give them was control of the infrastructure it runs on.
Nigeria NDPC March 31 Deadline: Major Businesses Must File Data Compliance Returns or Face N10M Fine
Every major business processing Nigerian personal data has 18 days to file its mandatory annual compliance audit return with the Nigeria Data Protection Commission. The deadline is non-negotiable. The precedent…
CBN Biometric Mandate: Nigerian Fintechs Must Rebuild Account Opening by July 1, 2026
On March 12, 2026, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a circular that will force every bank, neobank, digital lender, and payment service provider in the country to rearchitect its…
CBN Issues AI Baseline Standards for AML Compliance — Nigeria Fintech Has 18 Months
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s new circular mandates six specific AI capabilities for anti-money laundering compliance, with an 18-24 month implementation window for all Nigerian banks and fintechs.
Rwanda’s 1.5% Digital Services Tax Joins a Growing Continental Wave
Rwanda implements a 1.5% digital services tax for fiscal year 2026-27, joining a continental wave of African DST frameworks targeting foreign digital platforms.
Nigeria’s March 31 Data Compliance Deadline: What the NDPC CAR Audit Requires
Nigeria’s NDPC March 31 Compliance Audit Return deadline is weeks away. What companies processing Nigerian personal data must submit and the penalties for non-compliance.
CBN Mandates Liveness Checks for All Nigerian Bank Account Openings
Nigeria’s Central Bank has made biometric liveness detection mandatory for all bank and fintech account openings, effective immediately. What compliance teams must implement now.
South Africa Flips the VAT Switch on Digital Platform Operators — Effective April 1, 2026
From April 1, South Africa’s platform operators become default VAT collectors for electronic services. What changes, who is affected, and why SARS pushed for this.
Zimbabwe’s 15% Digital Services Tax Is the Steepest on the Continent
Zimbabwe’s 15% withholding tax on payments to non-resident digital service providers — active since January 1, 2026 — is the highest digital services tax rate on the African continent.