Elon Musk accuses South Africa of telecom “bribery”

Kamusta,

Victoria from Techpoint here,

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

• Elon Musk escalates fight over SA telecom laws
• Microdramas could change nollywood forever
• Ghana ditches telecom fines for towers
• Malawi looks to India for fintech boost

Elon Musk escalates fight over SA telecom laws

On April 12, 2026, Elon Musk jumped on X, setting the Internet on fire. The SpaceX CEO accused South Africa of blocking Starlink’s licence purely on racial grounds, claiming he was offered ways to bypass ownership rules through misrepresentation or even bribes, which he says he rejected “on principle.” He didn’t stop there, calling South African politicians “unashamedly racist” and urging a global boycott. As of now, the government hasn’t officially responded.

At the centre of all this is South Africa’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) policy, which requires foreign telecom companies to have at least 30% local Black ownership before getting licensed by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). That’s a problem for Starlink because SpaceX typically keeps full ownership of its operations globally. Instead of equity, the company proposed a workaround: a R500 million investment to connect 5,000 rural schools, potentially reaching over 2 million students.

But here’s where things get messy. Regulators have repeatedly pointed out that Starlink hasn’t actually submitted a licence application yet. So while Musk says the service is being “blocked,” the process hasn’t even formally started. That makes the whole situation less straightforward than it sounds, especially as the regulatory pathway itself is still being worked out.

Meanwhile, the demand is obvious. More than 18 million South Africans still lack high-speed Internet, and the government wants to connect 5.5 million more households by 2026. Starlink is already active in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda, making South Africa’s absence stand out even more. The irony (for fun)? Musk himself was born in Pretoria, yet his service is live across neighbouring countries while South Africa remains offline.

This standoff has been building for a while. Through 2025, there were attempts to find middle ground, including proposals to allow investment-based alternatives to ownership rules. Solly Malatsi even pushed for regulatory changes, but the process is slow and still ongoing. With telecom giants like MTN and Vodacom raising concerns, and political groups threatening legal action, this is far from over. What happens next won’t just affect Starlink, it’ll shape how global tech companies navigate Africa’s biggest markets.

Microdramas could change nollywood forever

If you’ve been on TikTok or Snapchat lately, you’ve probably seen them. Those dramatic, slightly over-the-top clips that end right when things get interesting, nudging you to download an app to keep watching. You might have laughed at how predictable they are and still downloaded the app anyway. That’s microdrama, and what looks like throwaway content is quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing segments in global entertainment.

Victoria Fakiya – Senior Writer

Techpoint Digest

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The numbers tell the real story. In China, microdrama revenue has exploded from $500 million in 2021 to about $7 billion in 2024, with projections pushing it past $16 billion by 2030. Outside China, the market is also picking up pace, crossing $1.4 billion globally, while the United States alone generated over $800 million last year. Platforms like DramaBox and ReelShort are already pulling in hundreds of millions. Now stack that against Nigeria’s Nollywood cinema revenue of roughly $10 million in 2025, and it’s clear: this isn’t a trend Nollywood can afford to ignore.

Interestingly, microdramas look a lot like what Nollywood has always done. Think fast production cycles, tight budgets, and emotionally charged storytelling. The difference is the format. Instead of slow builds, these stories move at breakneck speed, delivering twists every 60 to 90 seconds. That’s a creative shift, but not an impossible one. Nollywood already thrives on volume, mid-tier talent, and high-stakes narratives. If anything, microdramas might be a natural extension of an industry that has always been built on speed and adaptability.Then there’s the monetisation puzzle, and this is where things get really interesting. Microdrama platforms are proving that people will pay for short-form content, whether through subscriptions, pay-per-episode unlocks, or microtransactions. In China, nearly 60% of viewers pay. That’s a big deal for an industry like Nollywood that has struggled with piracy and inconsistent revenue streams. If the model translates locally, it could unlock a new income layer for filmmakers who are already shifting to platforms like YouTube. The opportunity is clear, but execution will matter. To see how this could play out, learn more in Chimgozirim’s latest for Techpoint Africa.

Ghana ditches telecom fines for towers

Ghana is switching things up in a big way. Instead of fining telcos for poor service, Communications Minister Samuel Nartey George has told operators to fix the problem directly. Following recent quality of service breaches, MTN Ghana and Telecel Ghana have been ordered to build a combined 1,150 new cell sites in 2026. The announcement came on April 12 during the launch of the One Million Coders Programme, with MTN committing to 800 sites at most and Telecel taking on 350.

It’s a clear shift in how the sector is being regulated. Previously, the National Communications Authority would fine operators for missing service benchmarks and keep the money. Now, that approach is being flipped. Instead of paying penalties, telcos are being pushed to invest directly in infrastructure, including towers, antennas, and network upgrades that people can actually feel in their day-to-day usage. On top of that, the acceptable service breach threshold has been tightened from 3% to just 1%, raising the pressure to deliver.

And honestly, the numbers show why this change was needed. Over the last decade, MTN Ghana averaged just over 200 new sites per year, and things got worse recently: only 30 sites in 2024 and 50 in 2025. For a country still dealing with connectivity gaps, especially outside major cities, that pace simply wasn’t cutting it. Now, with an 800-site commitment in a single year, the expectation is that network quality should improve noticeably if the rollout actually happens.

This didn’t come out of nowhere. Complaints about dropped calls, slow Internet, and patchy coverage have been building for years. While the regulator had been issuing fines, critics, including the minister himself, argued that it didn’t really solve the problem. Samuel Nartey George had already hinted earlier in 2026 that forcing infrastructure investment would be more effective. So when the latest round of breaches triggered fines, he stepped in and redirected the entire approach.

Zooming out, Ghana is tapping into a bigger debate across Africa: do fines actually improve telecom services, or just punish operators financially? Other countries have leaned heavily on penalties, like Nigeria’s massive fine against MTN Nigeria in 2015. But Ghana is trying something more practical, tying penalties directly to infrastructure. The real test now is simple: will these towers actually get built by year-end, or will this become another promise that fades quietly?

Malawi looks to India for fintech boost

Malawi may be on the verge of a major payments shift. On April 13, 2026, the country opened talks with India’s payments body to explore adopting the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the real-time system that powers billions of transactions daily. No deal has been signed yet, but the meeting in Lilongwe signals serious intent to plug into one of the world’s most advanced digital payment infrastructures.

If Malawi goes ahead, it won’t just be importing a product; it could be building its own version of UPI. India’s model typically helps countries create domestic, real-time payment rails that can later connect globally. With UPI already exported to more than 25 countries and handling a massive share of global digital transactions, the pitch is simple: faster payments, broader access, and a more connected financial system.

That matters because Malawi’s current system, while growing, isn’t fully working for everyone. Mobile money adoption is rising quickly, but usage is inconsistent. Many users sign up but don’t stay active, and rural areas remain underserved due to limited agent networks and patchy infrastructure. A more interoperable, reliable system could unlock everyday use cases, from paying for groceries to running small businesses, in a way current platforms haven’t fully achieved.

Getting here has been a slow journey. Malawi’s fintech ecosystem has long relied on siloed mobile money platforms like Airtel Money and TNM Mpamba, with limited interoperability between them. Financial inclusion has improved, but most transactions still revolve around basic cash-in and cash-out services. Meanwhile, India has been aggressively exporting UPI after proving its scale at home, where it processes billions of transactions monthly, making it an attractive model for countries trying to modernise payments.

This is also about influence. India is positioning UPI as digital infrastructure for the Global South, and Africa is a key part of that strategy. For Malawi, the opportunity is clear: leapfrog into a more open, interoperable payments system. But turning this conversation into reality will depend on regulation, political will, and execution. For now, one thing is certain: Malawi’s digital payments story just got a lot more interesting.

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Have a lovely Tuesday!

Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa