BETAR Newsroom

190 posts

Reporting on African technology, policy and capital.

Technology

COMESA Clears Vodacom’s Safaricom Stake Increase: What 55% Ownership Means for East Africa’s Telecoms Map

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa cleared Vodacom’s Safaricom stake purchase on March 3, 2026. No conditions were attached. The…

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Nigeria ISP Consolidation: The Legend-Spectranet Merger and the Broadband Endgame

5 minute read

Technology

Nigeria ISP Consolidation: The Legend-Spectranet Merger and the Broadband Endgame

BETAR Newsroom
March 29, 2026

Nigeria has 231 licensed internet service providers. Only 133 are still active. Spectranet, the largest among them by subscribers, has been losing…

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South Africa's Grid Has Held for 335 Days. Here Is Why — and What Could Break It

7 minute read

Energy & Climate

South Africa’s Grid Has Held for 335 Days. Here Is Why — and What Could Break It

BETAR Newsroom
March 28, 2026

South Africa achieved more than 335 consecutive days without loadshedding by March 2026. This is a genuine structural shift, not luck. But the coal fleet is aging, the just energy transition is underfunded, and Eskom’s debt has not gone away. The analysis behind the milestone.

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South Africa's Competition Regulator Is in Private Talks to Loosen Telecom M&A Rules. MTN Has Telkom in Its Sights

5 minute read

Technology

South Africa’s Competition Regulator Is in Private Talks to Loosen Telecom M&A Rules. MTN Has Telkom in Its Sights

BETAR Newsroom
March 28, 2026

South Africa’s Competition Commission is holding private talks with the telecoms industry about relaxing M&A rules to enable 5G and AI infrastructure investment at scale. MTN CEO Ralph Mupita is leading the push — and Telkom, Africa’s largest fibre operator, is back in the frame.

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Europe's New Bet on Africa: EIB Backs €200M Speedinvest Africa Fund

5 minute read

Business

Europe’s New Bet on Africa: EIB Backs €200M Speedinvest Africa Fund

BETAR Newsroom
March 28, 2026

When the European Investment Bank committed €40 million to Speedinvest’s new Africa-focused venture fund in mid-March, it did not make it onto the front…

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Paystack Acquires Ladder MFB + CBN N250M Fine: Two Chapters of the Same Regulatory Story

5 minute read

Business

Paystack Acquires Ladder MFB + CBN N250M Fine: Two Chapters of the Same Regulatory Story

BETAR Newsroom
March 28, 2026

Paystack was fined N250 million for operating Zap without a banking licence in April 2025. Eight months later it acquired Ladder Microfinance Bank. The timeline is not a coincidence — it is a strategy.

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Kenya Raises the Stablecoin Bar: KES 500M Capital Rule and the Nairobi Crypto Hub Play

4 minute read

Technology

Kenya Raises the Stablecoin Bar: KES 500M Capital Rule and the Nairobi Crypto Hub Play

BETAR Newsroom
March 28, 2026

Kenya’s National Treasury has published draft VASP regulations that set the continent’s steepest capital threshold for stablecoin issuers — KES 500…

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Egypt's 1GW Solar Race: The DFI Financing Architecture Behind Africa's Largest Renewable Projects

6 minute read

Energy & Climate

Egypt’s 1GW Solar Race: The DFI Financing Architecture Behind Africa’s Largest Renewable Projects

BETAR Newsroom
March 28, 2026

Egypt 1GW solar race 2026 — AMEA Power, Scatec, DFI financing structures, and what Egypt’s renewable pipeline means for North African energy transition.

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Zimbabwe COBE Act April 20 Countdown: Compliance Checklist for Digital Platforms, Fintechs, and Crypto Operators

5 minute read

Technology

Zimbabwe COBE Act April 20 Countdown: Compliance Checklist for Digital Platforms, Fintechs, and Crypto Operators

BETAR Newsroom
March 27, 2026

Zimbabwe’s Companies and Other Business Entities Act (COBE) re-registration deadline is April 20, 2026 — 24 days away. Every company operating in…

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Africa's Clean Energy Blind Spot: How Drought Is Destroying the Continent's Most Reliable Renewable

6 minute read

Energy & Climate

Africa’s Clean Energy Blind Spot: How Drought Is Destroying the Continent’s Most Reliable Renewable

BETAR Newsroom
March 27, 2026

Seven African countries generate more than 80% of their electricity from hydropower. As El Niño-driven droughts drain their reservoirs, the continent’s oldest and most dependable clean energy source is becoming its biggest liability — and climate finance is not designed to save it.

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BETAR Newsroom

COMESA Clears Vodacom’s Safaricom Stake Increase: What 55% Ownership Means for East Africa’s Telecoms Map

Nigeria ISP Consolidation: The Legend-Spectranet Merger and the Broadband Endgame

South Africa’s Grid Has Held for 335 Days. Here Is Why — and What Could Break It

South Africa’s Competition Regulator Is in Private Talks to Loosen Telecom M&A Rules. MTN Has Telkom in Its Sights

Europe’s New Bet on Africa: EIB Backs €200M Speedinvest Africa Fund

Paystack Acquires Ladder MFB + CBN N250M Fine: Two Chapters of the Same Regulatory Story

Kenya Raises the Stablecoin Bar: KES 500M Capital Rule and the Nairobi Crypto Hub Play

Egypt’s 1GW Solar Race: The DFI Financing Architecture Behind Africa’s Largest Renewable Projects

Zimbabwe COBE Act April 20 Countdown: Compliance Checklist for Digital Platforms, Fintechs, and Crypto Operators

Africa’s Clean Energy Blind Spot: How Drought Is Destroying the Continent’s Most Reliable Renewable

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