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Nigeria’s healthtech sector is built on a paradox: post-pandemic startup growth surged 195%, with 65 new startups entering the market between 2019 and 2025, yet capital is concentrated, and infrastructure is strained. This report maps where the sector actually stands.
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Companies
Yango wants to expand to ten more African countries
Image Source: Yango.
What do you do when you’ve built a super app that spans ride-hailing, food delivery, streaming, and financial services, and conquered the hearts and pockets of Africa’s francophone economy?
You ask for more.
On Tuesday, Bloomberg reported that Yango, the super app, is committing $150 million to expand across ten more African countries, including Namibia, Botswana, and Mozambique. Yango is targeting an aggressive 60% growth rate in 2026.
State of play: According to Yango, the “Big 4” African markets—Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Nigeria—are not on its radar yet. According to Bloomberg, it acknowledged the intense competition in those markets, chasing the same set of customers. The company said its target markets, with smaller urban centres and fewer major players in the verticals it plays in, offer a better chance for opportunity cost.
How it aims to build from scratch again: Yango prioritises working with local transport operators who manage their own fleets, rather than onboarding drivers directly. Unlike traditional ride-hailing models that rely heavily on passenger subsidies, this lowers operational costs; it helps Yango compete without burning cash trying to undercut rivals by offering driver incentives.
Between the lines: Yango currently operates in over 30 countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Zambia, and Angola, and plays the role of ecosystem enabler, deploying capital to startups like BuuPass. It is seeking to expand its dominance in Africa, building from sub-scale economies to a future that might actually include the Big 4 it is denying today.
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Fincra has officially secured its Enhanced Payment Service Provider licence. This regulatory milestone authorizes Fincra to directly collect, process, and settle payments in Ghanaian Cedis, offering a highly streamlined financial pipeline for businesses operating within the region. Start here.
Telecoms
Kenya’s High Court freezed Safaricom-Vodacom deal
Image Source: Vodacom
On Monday, a three-judge bench suspended the Kenyan government’s planned sale of a 15% stake in Safaricom to South Africa’s Vodacom Group, pending further determination.
The court issued a conservatory order blocking all parties from proceeding after three private citizens filed petitions raising public interest and constitutional concerns.
Catch up: In December 2025, the Kenyan government agreed to sell a 15% stake in Safaricom to Vodacom for KES 204.3 billion ($1.6 billion). Separately, Vodacom agreed to acquire Vodafone’s 12.5% stake in Vodafone Kenya, Safaricom’s parent company, which translates to an additional 5% stake in Safaricom. Both transactions are valued at $2.1 billion, or KES 34 ($0.26) per Safaricom share, and would give Vodacom a combined 55% stake in the telco, handing it a majority ownership status.
Between the lines: In March 2026, Kenya’s parliament committees had backed the deal, and President William Ruto had earmarked the proceeds for a new National Infrastructure Fund.
Why the court stepped in: Petitioners argued the share price was undervalued, with estimates placing Safaricom’s intrinsic value at R9.00 ($0.07) to R10.30 ($0.08) per share against the agreed R5.54 ($0.043)
They also argued the deal bypassed constitutional requirements for public participation and transparency in the disposal of public assets. The court agreed the concerns were worth hearing.
Vodacom’s position: The company said it respects the process and remains confident in the rationale of the deal. Its latest financials show why it wants in: Safaricom helped Vodacom post a net profit of R26.7 billion ($206 million) for the year ended March 2026, with Kenya and Egypt doing the heavy lifting as its South African business slowed.
What to watch: Whether Kenya’s government appeals, renegotiates the price, or watches the deal collapse entirely.
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E-commerce
Pick n Pay sells 12.5% of its shares in subsidiary, Boxer
A customer walks beneath the logo of South African supermarket operator Pick n Pay in Cape Town. Image Source: Reuters
There’s something a little dramatic about the younger brand in your portfolio being worth more than the company that created it, and then having to sell part of it to stay afloat. That is currently the reality of Pick n Pay and Boxer.
Pick n Pay, the South African supermarket chain, has raised R4.7 billion ($281 million) by selling 12.5% of its shares in Boxer, the company’s subsidiary, which operates discount supermarkets. The sell-down brings Pick n Pay’s holding to about 53%, still giving it a majority status; the capital raise will help it fund a turnaround strategy for its haemorrhaging business.
Why it matters: In 2025, Pick n Pay reported a loss before tax and capital items of R317 million ($18.31 million) in the first half of the year, and in February, it warned that it expects its headline loss per share for the 2026 financial year to worsen by over 20%. In 2024, the retailer was technically insolvent; its liabilities had become greater than its immediately available financial capacity.
How Boxer created a profitable vertical: The discount retailer has a market value of about R40.5 billion ($2.4 billion), more than double that of Pick n Pay. While Pick n Pay struggled, Boxer kept expanding into lower-cost retail, opening new stores. In 2025, it added 51 new stores, bringing its retail footprint to 576 stores.
It might not be just Pick n Pay: South African retailers seem to be pushing for survival in the businesses that started it all. On Monday, SPAR, Pick n Pay’s retail competitor, said it was selling its UK business to focus on South Africa, continuing its home run after exiting Switzerland and Poland in 2025. SPAR itself made a R5 billion ($299 million) net loss in its 2025 financial year.
The continuous scaleback and reprioritisation of parent companies signal that these retailers see these businesses as their beachheads. If it means they have to lose an arm to save the head, they seem glad to do so.
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Mobility
Toyota just launched its first electric vehicle in South Africa
Image source: Car Expert
The keyword is electric vehicles (EVs).
Every other day in South Africa, one automotive company—mostly Chinese brands—is announcing an entry into the market, pushing a new EV model, or building infrastructure.
This time around, a Japanese car company is making the headlines. Toyota, which has been manufacturing commercial EVs abroad since 1997, has finally debuted one in South Africa, one of its best-selling markets on the continent. Through its local subsidiary, Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM), it has assembled its first EV lineup, the bZ4X, a battery-electric vehicle priced from R1.18 million ($70,700).
South Africa is an important market for the company: In 1961, Toyota produced its first carin the country, a combustion engine Hilux manufactured through its local assembly operations. The company would go on to sell more flagships, such as the Corolla, marking its 100,000th sale in 1970. About three decades later, it began experimenting with EV production abroad, and after much building and perfecting, it has brought the same quality to South Africa.
State of play: The bZ4X, at that price, is likely targeting mid- to high-income earners who trust Toyota for its durability, resale value, brand familiarity, and after-sales support due to its local presence. But is that enough to help it draw buyers in a market where disposable income is not low, but other premium car-makers, like BYD’s Dolphin Surf and Geely’s E2, sell cheaper?
As of 2025, the average personal and household disposable incomes were R5.1 million ($305,000) and R50,900 ($3,063), respectively, making South Africa a relatively rich African country. That’s why most foreign brand-names in the EV market are flying in. And the country’s uptake for cars has historically been high: while South Africa was dethroned by Morocco last year, it still sold a record 590,000 new units.
Toyota’s competitor, Dongfeng, which entered South Africa in 2024, is chasing partnerships to scale. It signed a deal with ride-hailing platform Bolt to launch an EV fleet in Cape Town, managed by Indian fleet operator Yugo Rides. It will ride on Bolt’s driver density to grow its uptake in the country. Meanwhile, Toyota is trusting its brand strength to grow the bZ4X brand, which it has already begun prominently displaying in its local dealerships and website.
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CRYPTO TRACKER
The World Wide Web3
Source:
 Bitcoin |
77,121 |
+ 0.33% |
+ 3.77% |
| Ether |
$2,124 |
– 0.50% |
– 5.61% |
| Zest Protocol |
$0.1852 |
+ 146.23% |
+ 146.23% |
| Solana |
$84.68 |
– 0.52% |
– 0.88% |
* Data as of 06.50 AM WAT, May 20, 2026.
Opportunities
- The Stellar Development Foundation has launched its first accelerator programme targeting Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, partnering with blockchain venture firm CV Labs to back ten early-stage startups building payments infrastructure, tokenised assets, and decentralised finance applications. The 12-week programme, beginning August 2026, will run primarily remotely but includes an on-site component in Cape Town and concludes with a demo day at Stellar’s Meridian conference in Lisbon in October. Each selected startup can receive up to $150,000 in XLM, Stellar’s native token, in initial funding. Apply by July.
- The Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII), in partnership with MIT Solve, has launched the 2026 FII Innovators Pitch, inviting startups building with AI and frontier technologies to apply. The programme targets solutions across sustainability, healthcare, AI & robotics, and education. Selected startups will pitch live at the 10th Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this October (all expenses covered) and join the FII Ventures Programme, gaining access to investors, policymakers, and global partners to support their growth. Apply here.
Written by: Emmanuel Nwosu and Opeyemi Kareem
Edited by: Emmanuel Nwosu and Ganiu Oloruntade
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