👨🏿‍🚀 Daily – Mawingu is winging a sale |

Kenya’s Mawingu Networks wasn’t always fibre and fixed wireless. It started as an underdog, using cheap, creative tech like old TV frequencies to beam internet to these communities. 

The company has spent the last decade doing what the big telecom operators wouldn’t: bringing internet access to rural communities. Soon, global backers like Microsoft and the US Development Finance Corporation, which loaned Mawingu over $4 million, saw potential and helped the company get started. 

Today, Mawingu is a much bigger player, and it’s trading some of its independence for scale.

Here’s the tea: South Africa’s Pembani Remgro Infrastructure Fund II (PRIF II), a private equity vehicle, wants a 35% controlling stake in the internet company. The deal is still pending approval from the Comesa Competition Commission (CCC). 

ICYMI: In 2024, Mawingu raised $15 million in debt funding to expand its fibre and wireless footprint in Kenya and acquire Habari, a Tanzanian internet service provider (ISP). This deal with PRIF II could mark a turning point for Mawingu.

Why does this matter? Because Mawingu is trying to amp up internet access. If it succeeds, the approach to internet expansion and rural access could change across Africa. This is more than a deal. It is a test of whether a small, purpose-driven company can win a game built for giants.

Mawingu’s rural-first approach could prove defensible or vulnerable. And with new owners and bigger expectations, there is more concern as to whether Mawingu can grow without losing sight of its mission.

Wabeh was supposed to make smartphone ownership painless, just a 30% deposit, a few installments, and a brand new phone is yours. The startup positioned itself as a friend to the everyday Kenyan consumers and small retailers, creating access to buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) for devices. But now, this bridge is cracking. 

Here’s what happened: In July, Wabeh, a Kenyan buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) startup, quietly paused operations with its vendor network, citing a need to “simplify” its operational model. Behind that PR lingo are growing customer defaults, cash flow strain, and no digital credit licence from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). 

The startup’s retail partners say repayment rates are collapsing. Like it is with BNPL businesses, the loan defaults are crippling the business; less than half of the devices financed on Wabeh get paid back. In a business where you pay for devices upfront with the hope that users return the favour, that can be a damning sentence.

Here’s what to know: Wabeh isn’t a lender, at least not on paper. But it operates as one—fronting cash to vendors, managing repayments, and locking phones when people fall behind. This sidesteps CBK’s regulations. Wabeh took on credit risk without the tools, capital, or protections lenders have. 

This worked while repayment was high and the market was wide open. Now, both are slipping. And with new rules—like the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024—that could place BNPL models under CBK’s purview, the company’s middle-ground model is running out of room.

Yet, loan default is not peculiar to Kenyan BNPL businesses like Wabeh. Across banking and micro-lending, the defaults are hitting new highs, and credit providers are in a race to plug the multiple leaks. Wabeh wants to pause, think, and try again.

2025 is the year when Nigerian banks are hungry for more. UBA, a tier-1 Nigerian lender, plans to raise ₦157 billion ($103 million) in fresh capital through a rights issue of 3.15 billion new shares to shareholders.

In essence, for every 13 shares an existing shareholder already owns, they have the right to buy one new share at ₦50 ($0.03) per share, compared to the market price of ₦50.50 ($0.03). This amounts to a discount of 50 kobo at the close of business on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. UBA’s shares closed at ₦46 ($0.03) per share on Thursday.

Why does this matter? UBA had previously raised ₦239 billion ($157 million) during a rights issue in November 2024. Nigeria’s Central Bank says commercial banks with international licences must raise their capital base to at least ₦500 billion ($328 million) before the March 2026 deadline. The apex bank periodically mandates recapitalisation efforts to ensure banks are capable of supporting the growth and development of the local economy. UBA, which operates in 24 African countries, is conducting a rights issue to raise new capital and meet the CBN’s capitalisation targets.

Zoom out: 2025 has been bullish for Nigerian bank stocks. Yesterday, GTCO became the first banking stock on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) to cross ₦100 Naira ($0.06) per share, just a week after listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Investors are clearly buying into this recapitalisation era. 

Big picture: Four banks have completed their recapitalisation drives: Access Bank, Zenith Bank, Lotus Bank, and EcoBank. For UBA, a second capital raise will inch it closer to the ₦500 billion ($328 million) goal. Smaller lenders unable to raise enough capital by the deadline will have to pursue mergers, acquisitions, or have their licences downgraded.

This week, Moroccan startup Ora Technologies raised $7.5 million in a Series A round led by Azur Innovation Management, with participation from local strategic investors. (Jul 15)

Here are the other deals for the week:

• Lagos-based credit recovery startup BFREE secured $3 million in debt funding from the Verdant Capital Hybrid Fund. (Jul 14)
• South African crypto payments solution provider MoneyBadger raised S$400,000 in a pre-seed round of funding. (July 17)
• Nigerian legal tech startup PocketLawyers secured an undisclosed investment from Nubia Capital to expand its AI-powered legal tools across Africa. (July 15)
• Cairo-based fintech startup PALM secured a seven-figure pre-seed funding led by 4DX Ventures, with participation from Plus VC and global angel investors. (July 15)

Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more funding announcements. Before you go, what are the three tiers that define Africa’s AI readiness on the global stage? Read here.