Policy & Regulation
The latest Policy & Regulation stories, scored against the thesis and threaded over time.
SARB's Activity Test: the bank-partnership workaround just got an expiry date
Right now, every South African fintech that wants to move money must partner with a licensed bank to do it legally. There is no standalone mobile money licence — so the bank sits in the middle, taking its cut and setting the terms.
Read the full story →Hot Storylines
What’s developing right now — ranked by recency, momentum, and importance.
- 1
Nigeria Advances Crypto Tax Framework, Traders Warn of Business Slowdown
Latest: SEC draft rules formalise the ₦2 billion minimum capital threshold, with industry warning the requirement could eliminate indigenous digital asset operators
- 2
Indonesian Hackers Take Over INEC Website 142 Days Before Nigeria's 2027 Elections
Latest: Nigerian Army's X account is compromised in a second military cyber breach, extending the pattern of digital infrastructure vulnerabilities in Nigeria's security establishment.
- 3
Kenya's 5% YouTube Withholding Tax Takes Effect in September
Latest: Kenyan digital creators mount organised public pushback against the 5% YouTube withholding tax ahead of its October implementation.
- 4
Ghana Policy Group Questions $1.7 Billion Loss From Domestic Gold Programme Against $2.62 Billion FDI Gain
Latest: APL formally demands a forensic audit of GoldBod, escalating the governance crisis after transparency reports were pulled from the website and payment delays to suppliers were reported.
- 5
Moody's Shifts to Positive Outlook on Nigeria, Affirms B3 Rating
Latest: Nigerian government formally endorses Moody's positive outlook as validation of its economic reform programme, amplifying the sovereign confidence signal
- 6
Kenya Among Eight Countries Set to Join Digital Cooperation Organization
Latest: Kenya's DCO membership bid receives formal council approval, moving the country beyond applicant status.
The feed
- 2026-09-02TakeUnverified — not yet reviewed
SARB Eyes Fintech Parity Rules
Right now, every South African fintech that wants to move money must partner with a licensed bank to do it legally. There is no standalone mobile money licence — so the bank sits in the middle,…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Kenya Creators Fight YouTube Tax
Kenyan YouTube creators are mounting organised resistance against a 5 percent withholding tax on their platform earnings, with the October rollout date now prompting public campaigns to halt…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Francophone Startup Barriers Mapped
A new analysis identifies OHADA corporate law constraints and foreign exchange barriers as the primary structural obstacles preventing startups in Francophone Africa from scaling across the region.…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Senegal's $2.2B IMF Deal
Senegal has secured a $2.2 billion IMF programme without requiring debt restructuring, a development analysts describe as a historically significant signal for the country's sovereign credit…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Mozambique Central Bank Orders Refunds
Mozambique's central bank has ordered commercial banks to repay approximately $1.15 million to customers, in a move that signals regulatory assertiveness on consumer protection in the country's…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Kenya Joins DCO Digital Body
Kenya has received council approval to join the Digital Cooperation Organization, advancing its bid to expand its digital economy diplomacy footprint at the international level. The formal approval…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Please Call Me's Black Rock Twist
The long-running South African legal saga over inventor Nkosana Makate's Please Call Me feature has gained a new dimension with reporting on an entity called Black Rock, raising fresh questions about…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Lagos Data Incentive for TV Measurement
Nigeria's federal government is launching a TV audience measurement initiative offering Lagos households 36GB of monthly mobile data in exchange for participation. The scheme is a novel policy…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Nigeria's N15.8T Subsidy Savings Gap
Nigeria's government is facing public accountability pressure to explain the deployment of N15.8 trillion in savings generated by the removal of the fuel subsidy. The question has direct implications…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Nigeria Constitution Review Stalls
Nigeria's National Assembly has stalled on a key constitutional review process, leaving multiple business and governance reforms in regulatory uncertainty. The delay maintains an unclear operating…
- 2026-09-02Unverified — not yet reviewed
Tanzania Influencer Sues Meta
A Tanzanian social media influencer has filed a lawsuit against Meta alleging that the company suspended their account at the direction of government authorities. The case raises…
- 2026-09-01TakeUnverified — not yet reviewed
Nigeria's Strict Crypto Cold-Storage Rule
Keeping four-fifths of customer assets offline — disconnected from any live system a hacker can reach — is genuinely how you stop an exchange collapse wiping out ordinary savers.
- 2026-09-01Unverified — not yet reviewed
SA Cracks Down on Finfluencers
South Africa's Financial Sector Conduct Authority is taking enforcement action against unlicensed financial influencers operating on social media, setting a regulatory precedent with direct…
- 2026-09-01Unverified — not yet reviewed
SA's Data Breach Crisis Deepens
South Africa's Information Regulator has raised concern about what it describes as an alarming rate of data breach notifications, with more than 8,000 breach reports filed with the office. The volume…
- 2026-09-01Unverified — not yet reviewed
African Credit Agency Debate Returns
An op-ed has reignited debate over the feasibility and political motivations behind establishing an African sovereign credit rating agency, framing it as a live pan-African finance policy question.…
- 2026-09-01Unverified — not yet reviewed
Nigeria's Digital Accessibility Gap
Reporting highlights a systemic gap between Nigeria's stated ambitions for assistive technology and the continued inaccessibility of existing digital platforms for users with disabilities. No…
- 2026-09-01Unverified — not yet reviewed
Kenya Joins Digital Cooperation Body
Kenya is among eight countries preparing to join the Digital Cooperation Organization, expanding its digital economy diplomacy footprint. Near-term tangible ecosystem impact from the membership has…
- 2026-09-01Unverified — not yet reviewed
EU Labels ChatGPT a Search Engine
The European Union has classified ChatGPT as a search engine under its new digital market rules, a regulatory decision that sets a precedent African AI policy discussions are expected to reference as…
- 2026-09-01Unverified — not yet reviewed
Nigeria Military X Account Hacked
Nigeria's Army has had its X (formerly Twitter) account compromised in what is described as a second military cyber breach in recent weeks. The incident reinforces concerns about the resilience of…
- 2026-09-01Unverified — not yet reviewed
FTC Sues Amazon Over Ad Pricing
The US Federal Trade Commission and a coalition of state attorneys general have filed a lawsuit alleging that Amazon manipulated billions of dollars in advertising pricing, a case that could…
- 2026-09-01Unverified — not yet reviewed
Nigeria's Growth-Hunger Tension
Analysis notes that Nigeria's fastest GDP growth in five years is being undermined politically and socially by a worsening hunger crisis, creating a tension between macro-economic data and lived…
- 2026-08-31Unverified — not yet reviewed
WAEMU Fintech-Banking Boundary Under Pressure
A new analysis asks whether WAEMU's monetary union regulator UMOA can continue to delay a structural policy response as telecoms operators and fintechs aggressively encroach on traditional banking…
- 2026-08-31Unverified — not yet reviewed
Burkina BCB Nationalisation Hits Arbitration
Burkina Faso's nationalisation of BCB has been challenged through international arbitration, exposing the state to cross-border legal liability. The case is being cited as a stark warning on…
- 2026-08-31Unverified — not yet reviewed
Moody's Backs Nigeria Reform Story
Nigeria's federal government has framed Moody's recent shift to a positive outlook on the country's B3 sovereign rating as explicit validation of its economic reform agenda. The official endorsement…