The Open Africa Podcast

2025 in Review

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 31 Dec 2025 07:20:21 GMT

On this episode, Laolu, Furo, and Nosa do the usual Year in Review and make few predictions for 2026!

Thank you for loving the podcast all year long!

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Chowdeck is Selling Airtime too

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 13:08:35 GMT

On this episode, Laolu, Furo, and Nosa break down some recent and interesting moves in Africa’s fintech industry.

We explore LemFi’s FSCS-protected savings launch in the UK and what it means for retention beyond remittances. We also discuss Nomba’s remittance-first expansion into the DRC and Nigeria’s new National Payment Stack, built to modernise instant transfers and onboarding.

Finally, we unpack South Africa’s Discovery Bank adding crypto integration via Luno, Chowdeck’s new airtime feature, and Wave’s evolving journey from mobile money to full bank ambitions.

P.s: you’ll find a suprise if you listen to the end!

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On Media Reporting Standards and Remittances

Open Africa Podcast — Fri, 24 Oct 2025 06:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa are joined by Benjamin Dada of Condia! We break down the CBN’s new Agent Banking Guidelines — exploring tighter fraud controls, new cash limits, and exclusivity rules. We also discuss the ATM exposure draft, unpack media reporting standards in fintech, the $20B remittance market boom, and how startups like Lemfi are evolving with credit-based and stablecoin models.

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Kredete, Rulebase & News across Africa

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 06:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about recent developments across the continent! They start off by discussing Kredete’s recent $22 million series A funding raise, Rulebase raising $2.1 million to automate financial services compliance, new regulations for e-hailing services in South Africa, and other news.

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Chowdeck’s Raise, Nomba, Nedbank & iKhokha

Open Africa Podcast — Fri, 22 Aug 2025 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about Chowdeck’s growth and recent $9 million series A funding raise, Nedbank’s acquisition of iKhokha, and Nomba’s industry presence and new multi-currency wallet for businesses.

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The Food Episode

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 12:36:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa are joined by Osarumen Osamuyi from The Subtext!

They talk about the recent collapses of Vendease and Okra in the ecosystem, then take a closer look at Magic Beans, the first chapter of Foodpod – a limited series about Technology eating food in Africa – by Osarumen.

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Fincra’s Expansion, Palmpay’s plan to Raise, and Alleged Industry News

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:58:45 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about dLocal’s intention to acquire AZA Finance, Fincra’s Expansion to East Africa, Palmpay’s plan to Raise, and other alleged Industry news.

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The Rant about Bank Charges

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 07:20:39 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about Banks—how banks make money, how banks loan money, and what most Nigerians think about bank charges, while reading commentary from Twitter (X).

Read our substack about Bank Charges here

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Paystack’s Zap, Payhippo’s Pivot, and Premium Tiers for Neobanks

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 06:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about Paystack launching Zap, PayHippo’s recent $4 million raise, rebrand as Rivy and pivot to clean energy financing, alongside news of Nigerian neobanks like Kuda and Nomba launching premium tiers.

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The state of African Fintech – Funding Rounds, Shutdowns, and Industry News

Open Africa Podcast — Sat, 15 Mar 2025 09:10:00 GMT

Listen to the full episode now

The African fintech space is moving – in both good and wild ways. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen major fundraising wins, bold expansion plans, and a few head-scratching decisions. Let’s get into it.

* Cedar Money Raises $9.9M Seed FundingCedar Money is making moves, raising $9.9 million in seed funding led by QED. Their mission? Facilitating payments between emerging and developing markets. And while they’re still getting their infrastructure right, (they only just launched their mobile app) they’re clearly gaining traction. But here’s where it gets tricky: Cedar’s using stablecoins (or as they prefer, “digital assets”) to facilitate cross-border payments. It’s efficient, sure, but also a crowded space with competition like Waza playing in the same sandbox.

* Raenest Secures $11M Series A to Expand Beyond NigeriaRaenest is taking a different approach; they’re enabling gig workers and freelancers to receive payments from international clients. After raising $11 million in a Series A round (also led by QED), they’re eyeing expansion into Kenya, the US, and Egypt. This is a market with huge potential, especially with more African freelancers earning in foreign currency. But with established players like Grey and Cleva already in the space, Raenest will need a strong strategy to carve out its niche.

* Oze’s Quiet but Strategic Growth in GhanaGhanaian startup Oze is playing the long game. They’ve raised an undisclosed amount from Visa and DEG to build a lending management solution for small businesses. What makes Oze so different? They started with bookkeeping and evolved into lending, using the data they gather to offer more tailored financial products. In a market where SMEs often struggle to access credit due to limited data, this approach is really smart.

* Affinity Africa Banks $8M to Go BranchlessGhanaian startup Affinity Africa just raised $8 million to expand their branchless banking model. They’re offering digital banking services with some value-added twists (like interest-earning accounts) to compete with mobile money providers. But let’s be real: digital banking in mobile money-heavy markets is hard mode. Affinity will have to offer real incentives to convince people to move their cash from familiar mobile wallets into their accounts.

* The MTN Momo Reality CheckSpeaking of mobile money, MTN’s Momo service isn’t having the best time. Despite early hype, they’ve seen a 47% drop in active wallet users and a decline in both agents and merchants. Turns out, scaling financial services isn’t as easy as it looks –especially when your core mobile services still leave people frustrated. Banks may be slow, but at least they’ve got muscle, and Momo’s struggles show just how tough it is to challenge them.

* Vendease’s Scaling Struggles and LayoffsFood procurement startup Vendease raised $72 million since 2019; but they’re still cutting jobs, with 120 employees laid off in their latest round of restructuring. Why? Their buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) model hasn’t generated enough revenue, and the business itself is tough to scale in a market like Nigeria, where supply chains and logistics are notoriously fragmented.

* Edukoya’s Shutdown: When Good Metrics Aren’t EnoughDespite raising $3.5 million in pre-seed funding and serving over 80,000 students, EdTech platform Edukoya shut down and plans to return capital to investors. The numbers looked great on paper – “ millions of questions answered, thousands of live classes – “ but market readiness and infrastructure gaps made survival impossible. A rather harsh reminder that even when the demand exists, success depends on much more than user growth.

The Future of African Fintech: Cautious OptimismThe funding flowing into African fintech is exciting, but the ecosystem’s challenges are real. Between regulatory hurdles, infrastructure issues, and market fragmentation, even well-funded startups face an uphill climb.

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Funding Rounds, Shutdowns, and Industry News

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 06:30:00 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, 'Laolu, Nosa, and Furo talk about Cedar Money’s $9.9 million seed round, Ghana-based fintech Oze securing undisclosed funding from Visa and DEG, Edukoya’s shutdown as a result of macroeconomic challenges, Vendease’s second round of layoffs in five months, and other industry news across the continent.

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Cross Border Remittance & The LemFi Playbook

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 12:20:00 GMT

Welcome to our first explainer episode for 2025!

–

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about how cross border payments and remittances really work, LemFi’s expansion into Europe and why this is a good thing.

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The Open Africa Podcast: What's Going on at Bento?

Open Africa Podcast — Sun, 02 Feb 2025 13:32:21 GMT

Listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

On this episode of the podcast, 'Laolu, Nosa, and Furo talk about Moniepoint and Visa’s partnership, Accrue, SeamlessHR’s additional $9 million raise in series A extension, MoneyHash’s $5.2 million pre-series A raise, and what they think is really happening with Bento.

This week's episode cuts through the noise around several significant moves in African tech. Here's what the team unpacks:

1. Moniepoint's partnership with Visa has more layers than the press releases suggest. The hosts piece together what looks like a larger $200M+ raise being announced in strategic phases, while questioning the real impact of these big-name fintech partnerships.

2. Accrue's $1.5M seed round offers an interesting case study in pivot survival. Rising from Buycoin's retail exit, they've built a 200K+ customer base - though it took three years to land this funding. The trajectory raises questions about the evolution of crypto plays in African markets.

3. The Waza founders' new venture, Lync, is taking an unexpected approach to business banking. Their focus on proper business name registration for international transfers might seem minor, but the hosts break down why this could be a significant edge for companies handling cross-border transactions.

4. SeamlessHR secured $9M in what they're calling a Series A extension. The discussion around this raise opens up a broader conversation about the challenges of growing enterprise software companies in Africa.

5. The recent Bento controversy gets a different reading here. Instead of jumping on the Twitter headlines about tax issues, the hosts dig into the structural problems they've observed - from constant team turnover to fundamental gaps in product development processes.

The episode also includes an unexpected tangent about remittance patterns in Lagos that reveals some interesting gaps in the market. Worth a listen if you're interested in where the next wave of fintech opportunities might come from.

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The One where we talk about Bento

Open Africa Podcast — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 05:10:00 GMT

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Raises, Bankruptcy & 2025 Predictions

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, 'Laolu, Nosa, and Furo talk about the KPMG Customer finance report; what exactly investing in commodity looks like, LemFi’s $53 million raise as it expands remittance services into Europe, Gokada filing for bankruptcy, some predictions for 2025, alongside other industry news.

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Open Africa Year in Review 2024

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 05:30:57 GMT

…and it’s a wrap! Thank you for rocking with your favorite finance trio this year (and don’t worry, we tried not to make “doomy” predictions this time ;-) )

–

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa do a month by month recap of 2024 episodes. From raises to shutdowns to unicorns to migrations to fraud, this was the year it all happened.

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Moniepoint wants to be a Commercial Bank

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 17 Dec 2024 05:13:50 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about Moniepoint raising $110 million in their series C funding and achieving Unicorn status, their ambitious plans of becoming a commercial bank and the Access bank playbook. We also discuss the reoccurring fraud problems at First Bank alongside other industry news.

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Rise, Chipper, and US Dollar Woes

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 06:00:49 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about some developments in the ecosystem in recent weeks. They consider Rise’s acquisition of Hisa; a Kenyan investment startup, Chipper’s expansion and securing Ghana’s SEC license, Fincra receiving a Third Party Payment Provider (TPPP) licence in South Africa, and other industry news.

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The Open Africa Podcast: MTN MoMo Shake-up, Mercury's Nigerian Account Closures, and Banking Industry Updates

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 10:08:50 GMT

Listen now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

In this episode of The Open Africa Podcast, hosts Laolu, Nosa, and Furo discuss recent developments in the African fintech and banking sectors, including:

* Leadership changes at MTN MoMo

* Mercury Bank closing Nigerian accounts

* The Unity Bank and Providus Bank merger

* Fraud at First Bank of Nigeria

Key Takeaways:

* MTN MoMo leadership changes: The CEO and CCO of MTN's fintech subsidiary resigned, indicating potential challenges in the Payment Service Bank (PSB) model in Nigeria.

* Mercury Bank account closures: Mercury has closed accounts for businesses and individuals from Nigeria and 14 other African countries, highlighting the ongoing compliance challenges faced by Nigerian businesses in the global financial system.

* Unity Bank and Providus Bank merger: The merger appears to be more of an acquisition, with Providus Bank holding 80% ownership. This could be the first of many consolidations in the Nigerian banking sector.

* First Bank fraud case: A significant fraud case involving 40 billion naira over two years raises questions about internal controls and audit processes in Nigerian banks.

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MTN MoMo Reshuffle, Providus Merger, and First Bank Fraud

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 09 Sep 2024 06:00:18 GMT

We call this the episode that almost never was but thankfully we were able to salvage it (everybody, say thank you ‘Laolu!) and now you get to listen.

On this episode of the podcast, Nosa, Furo, and 'Laolu talked about some new people changes at MTN MoMo, USA Mercury Bank’s decision to close accounts linked to Nigeria and implications, the Unity and Providus Bank Merger, and the 44 billion naira reported fraud at Nigeria’s First Bank.

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Global Payments and Hackathon with tbDEX

Open Africa Podcast — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 20:24:56 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa have a guest! They are joined by Angie Jones, the Global Vice President of Developer Relations for tbd. This is Block’s new business unit focused on decentralized technologies to move money in a fast and compliant way.

They discuss tbd’s flagship protocol tbDEX, and the upcoming hackathon happening at the Africa Bitcoin Conference in December.

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Global Payments and a hackathon with tbDEX

Open Africa Podcast — Sat, 24 Aug 2024 09:04:22 GMT

They discuss tbd’s flagship protocol tbDEX, and the upcoming hackathon happening at the Africa Bitcoin Conference in December.

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Carbon, Cards, and Brass

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 09:10:52 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa do a deep dive into some not so exciting news in the Tech Ecosystem; Carbon shut down its debit card service over two years after launch, the reoccurring problems with Cards among Fintechs in Nigeria, Afrigo - the CBN’s Domestic Card Scheme, Prospa, and Brass’ acquisition by a Paystack-led consortium, amongst other industry news.

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CBN is cleaning up the Ecosystem

Open Africa Podcast — Sat, 01 Jun 2024 10:25:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa recount recent popping headlines in the Tech Ecosystem, Orca’s $550,000 pre-seed round led by Norrsken22, the Central Bank of Nigeria and new directives for Bureau De Change operators, Snitching-as-a-service, Google’s plan to build Umoja; the first-ever fibre-optic cable directly connecting Africa with Australia, BlackCopper’s 2 billion naira debt, amongst other industry news.

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The End of The Peer

Open Africa Podcast — Sun, 05 May 2024 06:32:11 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss YC’s list of best performing startups, the Peer’s shutdown, CBN’s directive for neobanks to temporarily halt onboarding of new accounts, and Chowdeck’s recent $2.5 million seed raise, among other industry news.

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CBN was right about Binance

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 13 Mar 2024 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa recount some activities of The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in recent weeks; new BDC regulations, revoking of 4,173 Bureau De Change licenses, Binance exiting Nigeria. Mara pausing operations, Bfree raising $3 million, Carbon acquiring Vella Finance, and other industry news.

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The Crypto Face Off Episode

Open Africa Podcast — Sat, 27 Jan 2024 04:59:34 GMT

Happy New Year, everyone!

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about some updates in the Cryptocurrency Industry; CNGN stable coin by the Africa Stablecoin Consortium and the unveiling of suspects connected to the ₦ 142.8 million Patricia hack. They all discuss Mastercard’s partnership with Jumia, Rova’s quarterly report, Yellowcard and Coinbase.

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Crypto is Open for Business in Nigeria

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 25 Dec 2023 07:37:23 GMT

Merry Christmas, everyone!🎄

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa look at some industry predictions made in January, if they came to pass, and attempt to make predictions for 2024. They also consider what exactly a layoff is, some industry news, and the CBN lifting the ban on Cryptocurrency.

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https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/the-incident

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Interswitch, Crowdyvest, and a December Round Up

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 05:00:37 GMT

We recorded this episode remotely so if the sound quality seems a little off, that's why, please bear with us.

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa do recap of some happenings in the industry, they talk about the CBN’s new requirements for Tier-1 bank accounts, Interswitch losing ₦30 billion to chargeback fraud and attempts at recovery, Crowdyvest owing customers and equity proposal, Patricia and tokens, and why we might need more regulation in the ecosystem.

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Dash is shutting down and how to raise money in the Nigerian capital market

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 04:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa have a guest! They are joined by Kenny Bayeroju; an investment and finance professional based in Nigeria. Together, they talk about Dash - a Ghanaian-based Fintech that shut down recently, how to raise money in the Nigerian capital market, and other significant industry news.

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The Float Incident and Monitoring Your CEO’s Social Media

Open Africa Podcast — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 09:10:48 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa share their thoughts on some industry news - ChipperCash's pivot into offering KYC services, Anchor raising $2.4 million in a seed round, Nestcoin raising $1.9 million to grow Onboard; “a secure self-custody wallet for managing digital assets with no middlemen”, and Swap by Flutterwave.

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Moniepoint is expanding

Open Africa Podcast — Sat, 26 Aug 2023 04:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss Moniepoint; evolution from B2B to B2C, expansion to Kenya and acquisition of Kopo Kopo, the limitations of innovation in Mobile Money markets, Bankly’s Microfinance Bank announcement, and Chipper Cash’s Forbes interview.

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The Ripple Effects of the [Unified] Exchange Rate

Open Africa Podcast — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 10:40:23 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa recap the events of the past month, discussing Bundle and Pillow in the retail crypto space, FX policies in Nigeria, GTBank’s new app rollout, and the purported CBN's social media for KYC requirement.

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The Card Business and eNaira

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 29 Jun 2023 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa take a deep dive on cards, shedding light on concepts like card types, card schemes, and the difficulties in running a successful card business. They also discuss the IMF report on eNaira, and highlight the challenges of the CBDC.

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Lazerpay, Eyowo, and navigating B2C

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 30 May 2023 05:00:11 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa weigh in on the latest happenings in the industry - Lazerpay and the media, technology journalism, the implications of a revoked banking license, and the woes of B2C companies in Nigeria.

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Retail Crypto Struggles in Nigeria

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 24 Apr 2023 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss the recent happenings in the Crypto space in Nigeria amongst several industry news - Paxful and Lazerpay’s shut down, workplace fraud, use cases of AI in Crypto, and what to expect from Moniepoint's investment in Payday.

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The Turmoils of African Tech Layoffs

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 16:19:46 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa consider the recent events in the African Tech Ecosystem - Alerzo's second round of layoffs in seven months and the shutting down of some of their warehouses, Chipper Cash's recent round of layoffs, Silicon Valley Bank's collapse and what it means for businesses.

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What is Tingo & How Nigerian bank transfers work

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 20 Feb 2023 02:30:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa set out to solve the mystery of An Agri-fintech company's existence, Dozy Mmobuosi's ongoing plan to purchase Sheffield United, the reality of Nigeria's new cashless policy and why Bank transfers fail.

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AI is coming for Our Jobs

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 07:00:00 GMT

Happy New Year!

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa attempt to make predictions for 2023, consider how AI might be coming after our jobs, and general industry happenings in recent times.

We love hearing your thoughts! Find us on Twitter and Instagram (@openafricapod) and tag us in your conversations.

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On Kora and what happened in Kenya

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 27 Dec 2022 08:00:13 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, ‘Laolu, Furo, and Nosa have a conversation with Dickson Nsofor – Founder and CEO of Kora.

They talk about his journey as a founder, recent industry news; raises, layoffs, and FTX, what Kora is building and what happened in Kenya.

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On Genti Media

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 31 Oct 2022 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa have guests; Ojiugo Uche and Ekemezie Uche - Co-founders Genti Media, an entertainment company promoting audio stories, audio books, and podcasts in indigenous African languages.

Together, they talk about recent industry news, leadership problems in the ecosystem, and what to expect from Genti Media.

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On Kuda and Fincra

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 03 Oct 2022 09:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa have a guest; Wole Ayodele - CEO Fincra, a fintech providing Fincra providing solutions that enable their clients accept payments securely and make payouts globally. Together, they talk about the recent news on Kuda MFB, and other happenings in the industry.

We love hearing your thoughts! Find us on Twitter and Instagram (@openafricapod) and tag us in your conversations.

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The “Redacted” Episode

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 06:14:04 GMT

* If you hear a number of blips - as you will - we had to filter this episode (quite heavily too) because we're really not trying to fight.. yet💀 *

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about some Fund raises in the Ecosystem - Now Now, Bitmama, Grey - Flutterwave's IPO, and news around founders' activities in recent times.

We love hearing your thoughts! Find us on Twitter and Instagram (@openafricapod) and tag us in your conversations.

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On Dodgy Marketing & Snitching-As-A-Service

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 15 Aug 2022 07:18:23 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about FinTech marketing on social media, some regulations, and why “Snitching-As-A-Service” just might be a viable business model.

We love hearing your thoughts! Find us on Twitter and Instagram (@openafricapod) and tag us in your conversations.

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On Cards, Fraud, and Regulatory troubles

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 04:49:55 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa bring us up to speed on some of the latest happenings in the Tech Ecosystem – Union 54, Flutterwave's recent incident in Kenya, fraud in the ecosystem, and regulatory troubles.

We love hearing your thoughts! Find us on Twitter and Instagram (@openafricapod) and tag us in your conversations.

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On BridgeCard and Open Banking

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 30 May 2022 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss some of the latest happenings in the Nigerian Tech Ecosystem – Interswitch's recent $110 million raise and their newly updated perks for employees of the company, BridgeCard - an app that allows you have all your cards in one place, and Open Banking.

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On Foreign Exchange

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 02 May 2022 05:00:57 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about Foreign Exchange – how it works, how people source FX as individuals and businesses in Nigeria, recent regulations and restrictions, and how the “black market” come to play.

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The “state of the industry” Episode

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 19:46:42 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss Moniepoint and Nomba, toxic workplaces, and the potential impact of MTNs PSB license.

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On B2B business and the disruption of the supply chain

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 05:27:42 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about some of the recent raises in the Ecosystem– BigCabal's $2.3 million seed funding, Dash's $32.8 million seed funding, Moove's $105 million series B funding – and finally take a deep dive into the B2B supply chain businesses in the African startup scene.

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On Earnipay, Reliance, and Flutterwave

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 06:00:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss some of the latest happenings in the Nigerian Tech Ecosystem – Earnipay's launch and what they do, Reliance's $40M raise led by General Atlantic, Flutterwave 3.0 and it's implications for the startup scene in Africa.

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On Web3

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 24 Jan 2022 05:00:02 GMT

On this episode, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa have Gbenga – big time fan of the podcast and blockchain engineer – to give insights on what exactly Web3 is, why it exists, and if we should be interested in it.

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On PSB license and the threat of MTN

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 04:00:16 GMT

On this episode of the podcast, 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa talk about the Payment Service Bank (PSB) License, how the license can be obtained and what the license does.

We also considered MTN's existing mobile money network in countries across Africa, how it works, and what an expansion would look like.

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On AML, CFT, and Security in Financial Services

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 06:49:01 GMT

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa, following the recent trends in the Finance and Technology industry talk about compliance and Risk management; what the Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) controls do, why they exist, and who they apply to.

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On Stitch, Mono, Brass, and Moove

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 01 Nov 2021 05:31:36 GMT

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa consider some of the recent raises by companies in the Ecosystem, what they do and the impact of these raises – Mono raising $15M, Stitch's $2M seed extension and expansion to Nigeria, Sparkle's seed round raise of $3.1M, Brass' $1.7M raise, Moove and MFS Africa.

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The “Garden of Eden” Episode

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 00:24:02 GMT

We apologize for this episode's quality. Something broke during recording and we didn't catch it until after. We thought about scrapping it several times, but it is such a fun and insightful conversation that we decided not to. Please bear with us.

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa have a conversation with Nadayar - CEO/Cofounder at Edenlife; a tech company in Lagos bringing the convenience of room service to homes.

They talk about the journey so far, why Edenlife is important, and biggest challenges.

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On YC's Summer 2021 cohort and OPay

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 08:30:51 GMT

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa (yes, it's just us today) discuss Some African startups that got into YC's Summer 2021 cohort, the new regulations by the CBN, and Opay's recent raise and becoming a unicorn.

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On Get Equity

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa are joined in the studio (actually, Zoom call) by Jude Dike and Temitope Ekundayo – CEO and Head of Growth at GetEquity; a private marketplace enabling retail purchase of equity.

They talk all about Tokenised Equity, creating an ecosystem around Venture Capital, their recent pre-seed fund raise, and challenges so far.

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On tix.africa

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 02 Aug 2021 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa are joined in the studio by Folayemi Agusto – Co-founder and CEO of tix.africa; a self-service ticketing platform for event creators.

They consider tix.africa's recent six-figure pre-seed round, the company's plans for expansion into Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, and Egypt in H2 of 2021, and Tix Pro; a subscription based service launched recently.

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On FairMoney, Cowry wise, Carbon, and TeamApt

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss notable events that happened in the Tech and Finance ecosystem this July – FairMoney raising 42 million dollars during their Series B raises, Cowrywise getting the SEC Fund/Portfolio Management license, Carbon's partnership with Visa and what it means for their customers, ULesson's physical centres launch, and TeamApt raising an undisclosed amount of money.

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On Payments

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 08:16:52 GMT

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss the payments business in Nigeria; players, licensing schemes, and attempt to contextualize common misconceptions about payments.

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On Telda, Chipper Cash, Paga, and CBN's digital currency

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 12:00:05 GMT

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss Telda; an Egyptian neobank that raised $5 million pre-seed funding, Chipper Cash's $100 million Series C raise, Paga's latest milestones; hitting 1 trillion Naira in 15 months, and the CBN's plan to launch their own digital currency.

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On SEC Sub Broker License, Abeg, and Paystack in SA

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 17 May 2021 05:00:43 GMT

On this episode Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss Buycoins' new app, the SEC Sub Broker Licence, Abeg becoming the Headline Sponsor for the Big Brother Naija show, and Paystack in South Africa.

—

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On Ingressive's role in the Tech Ecosystem, Fundraising, and Selection Process

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 11 May 2021 08:50:20 GMT

On this episode Laolu, Furo, and Nosa have guests!

They have a conversation with Vanessa (Head of communications) and Bisola (Analyst) from Ingressive Capital about the role of investors in the tech ecosystem, Ingressive's role, portfolio, fundraising and selection process.

—

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On Twitter in Ghana, AppZone's Series A, and the NIBBS and SEC regulatory directives

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 20 Apr 2021 05:00:24 GMT

On this episode Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss Twitter setting up an office in Ghana, AppZone's recent $10 million raise during their series A after 11 years and their plan to expand across more African countries, and what the NIBBS and SEC regulatory directives on BVN and foreign trading respectively mean.

—

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On Kuda, Jumia, and YC class of W2021

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 30 Mar 2021 15:19:30 GMT

On this episode Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss Kuda's recent $25 million raise and their plan to expand into England, Jumia's plan to raise $400 million, and Startups across Africa that got into YC's class of W2021.

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On Fibre, Rubies, and Finance Apps

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 10:10:43 GMT

On this episode Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss Fibre, the housing problem in Lagos, Rubies, and the top finance apps on the Android and iOS app stores in Nigeria and Kenya.

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On Cryptocurrency: Background and the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) Position

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 15 Feb 2021 06:49:51 GMT

We had some technical issues while recording, the audio quality is not our best work but the content is worth your time.

On this episode Laolu, Furo, Nosa discuss the activities around cryptocurrencies in Nigeria, the CBNs recent circular and press statement, why CBN may have fears and the impact on attracting investors within the Nigerian technology ecosystem.

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Industry Round Up and 2021 Predictions

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 19:37:02 GMT

On this episode, 'Furo, Nosa, and 'Laolu discuss Simple's closure, Chaka's tangle with the SEC, cryptocurrency, and make predictions for 2021

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2020 in Review: Products

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 05:30:48 GMT

On this episode Laolu, Furo, Nosa discuss some exciting products that have launched in Nigeria in 2020.

Paystack Storefront vs Flutterwave Store, Bento, Switch by Sterling and Brass and Propsa.

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On 2020 H2 Fundraising in the African Tech Ecosystem

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:46:37 GMT

On this episode Laolu, Furo, and Nosa discuss some significant fundraising efforts that have happened in H2 2020; Kudabank's $10 million raise, Paystack's $200 million acquisition, Credpal's $1.5 million raise, Autocheck's $3.4 million raise, and Chipper Cash's $30 million raise.

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On Mono, Patricia, and Prospa

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 01 Oct 2020 05:00:00 GMT

On this episode Laolu, Furo, Nosa discuss Monos fund raising, Patricia, Prospa's business banking proposition and Rwandas move away from ATMs to Agency Banking

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On Union54, Visas cryptocurrency play and trust in commerce

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 27 Aug 2020 05:50:38 GMT

On this episode we have a guest, Tomisin Adeshiyan Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer at Vesicash. We discussed Union54 and their ambitious goals for their platform across Africa, Visas move to incorporate cryptocurrency in their payment networks, the proposed CBN Tiering model for Fintechs and We spent time discussing the business of trust and the role of escrow services in the African commerce ecosystem.

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On Personal Finance Managers, Escrow Services and the CBN GSI Policy

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 12:50:09 GMT

On this episode we discuss startups in the Lagos technology ecosystem. Muney a personal financial management tool, Vesicash and Listbuy providing escrow services, the impact of the CBN GSI directive and the persistent FX scarcity in Nigeria.

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On Uber wallets in Africa, Snapchats new Features and Sexual Harassment in Tech

Open Africa Podcast — Sat, 20 Jun 2020 10:01:10 GMT

On the launch of Uber wallets in Nigeria powered by Flutterwave, Snapchats new Features, Piggyvest withdrawal penalty reduction and sexual harassment in the technology ecosystem.

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On Payment Methods for these times and a Pivoting Big Bank

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 21 May 2020 16:03:00 GMT

On this Episode, 'Furo, Nosa, and 'Laolu discuss payment options during a pandemic, what banks are doing wrong, and GTB's big plans for financial technology.

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The Many Faces of COVID 19: Pivots, Altruism, and the Future

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 28 Apr 2020 07:37:31 GMT

On this Episode we have our first guest Koromone who is a Branding and Communications Specialist. We discuss the on going impact of COVID-19 on Individuals and Businesses in Nigeria, the rapid rise and adoption of e-commerce and the corresponding rise in Fraud.

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On Insurance and Banking-As-A-Service

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 07 Apr 2020 13:36:00 GMT

On this episode, 'Furo, Nosa, and 'Laolu explore Banking-As-A-Service, CBN cashless policy, Sparkle, and the Insurance industry in Nigeria.

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COVID- 19 And Its Effect on Business

Open Africa Podcast — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 17:10:43 GMT

On this episode 'Furo, Nosa, and 'Laolu discuss the impact of COVID -19 on Nigerian economy and the opportunities for delivery based businesses, the future of work, and the future of businesses.

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On P2P Lending gone wrong and emerging startups in Lagos

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 03:00:44 GMT

On this episode Laolu, Nosa, and Furo discuss the failures of a peer-to-peer lending startup, Africa Fintech Foundry's newest cohort, and the stereotyping of African fintechs by foreign investors.

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On the Okada Ban in Lagos

Open Africa Podcast — Fri, 14 Feb 2020 08:23:20 GMT

On this episode, Furo, Laolu and Nosa discuss the effects of the Okada ban on Gokada, Max and Oride, question the decision of the Lagos State Government, and explore the verticals the affected startups can explore.

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On Partnerships between Tech Start ups and more established organisations

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 27 Jan 2020 03:00:59 GMT

On this Episode Furo, Laolu and Nosa discuss hypothetical partnerships between technology start ups and more established businesses. We also discuss startups that we have been eagerly awaiting.

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2019 in Review and Predictions for 2020

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 20 Jan 2020 05:05:44 GMT

On this Episode Laolu, Nosa and Furo discuss Tech fundraising in Africa in 2019, CBNs new fee structure for banks and predictions for the Tech landscape in 2020.

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On Jack's Visit To Nigeria, and Agritech Done Right

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 12 Dec 2019 05:45:08 GMT

On this episode Furo, 'Laolu and Nosa attempt to step away from financial services to discuss Jack Dorsey's visit to Nigeria, Twiga Foods, and epic startup pivots that annoy them.

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On Uber Money, Capitec Bank and Hot Takes.

Open Africa Podcast — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 08:17:30 GMT

On this episode 'Laolu, Furo and Nosa discuss Big Techs' foray into financial services, the evolution of Capitec Bank and a hot take by a Nigerian Tech leader.

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Nigerian Bank Charges, CBN Guide to Charges and other news

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 06:00:51 GMT

On this episode we discuss Nigerian Bank charges, BitPesa's rebranding and Bamboos launch.

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SME lending and the new wave of Fintechs

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 29 Oct 2019 06:00:39 GMT

On this episode we discuss, Access Bank’s Africa Strategy, SME lending in Nigeria and the rise of Fintechs providing Nigerians access to Foreign investment opportunities.

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Cross-border payments and PSB Licenses

Open Africa Podcast — Thu, 24 Oct 2019 12:25:24 GMT

On this episode, we talk about cross-border payments, FX, PSB licenses in Nigeria.

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Digital Lending

Open Africa Podcast — Tue, 22 Oct 2019 07:41:10 GMT

On Digital Lending. How Banks view loans and the role of alternative lenders in the market.

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The Open Africa Podcast EP 1

Open Africa Podcast — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 09:02:37 GMT

On this episode we discuss Opay, Sparkle and Digital Banks in Nigeria, as well as building products for the Nigerian market.

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