Nǐ hǎo,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- Fincra expands into Ghana’s payments market
- The rise of ghost restaurants in Lagos
- Nigeria’s telcos recover ₦2 trillion but services are still down
Fincra expands into Ghana’s payments market
Fincra just added another licence to its growing stack, and this one has been a long time coming. On May 6, 2026, Fincra announced it had secured an Enhanced Payment Service Provider (EPSP) licence from the Bank of Ghana, giving it direct, regulated access to Ghana’s financial system. It’s a meaningful step into one of West Africa’s most active digital payments markets, and it comes just two months after the company picked up a payment licence in Canada.
What the licence actually unlocks is where things get interesting. Fincra can now process payments locally across channels like MTN MoMo, Telecel, AirtelTigo, and bank transfers without needing an intermediary. It also means global remittance players can send money directly into Ghanaian bank accounts and mobile wallets through Fincra’s rails. On top of that, businesses can set up local cedi accounts for collections and reconciliation, all plugged into a single API. In short, fewer middlemen, faster movement, and tighter control.
The EPSP licence isn’t entry-level either; it’s one of the highest operational tiers in Ghana’s payments ecosystem. And that matters in a market that processed over GH₵1.9 trillion in mobile money transactions in 2023, with billions more flowing through informal cross-border trade. By plugging directly into that system, Fincra is positioning itself alongside bigger names like Flutterwave and Paystack, but doing it more quietly.
What’s more, and this fits neatly into Fincra’s core thesis, Africa doesn’t have a product problem in payments; it has an infrastructure problem. Most fintechs are strong on one side of a transaction corridor and rely on partners on the other. Fincra is trying to own both ends. With licences now spanning Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and Canada, it’s building a network that connects key corridors across Africa and into global remittance routes.
The company’s path here has been steady and largely under the radar. Founded in 2021 by Wole Ayodele and Gideon Orovwiroro, Fincra has taken a different route from most fintechs, raising just $120,000 from Techstars and leaning heavily on organic growth. Key milestones have come in sequence: a South Africa licence via Nedbank in 2024, a multicurrency API launch, the Canada approval in early 2026, and now Ghana. The pace is picking up, but the strategy hasn’t changed.
The bigger play here isn’t about consumers. It’s about who powers them. Fincra’s customers are fintechs, remittance companies, and global platforms that need reliable rails into African markets. Companies like Jiji and BetKing already run on its infrastructure, alongside cross-border players serving millions. If the bet pays off, Fincra becomes part of the invisible layer moving money across borders, the kind of infrastructure users don’t see but depend on every day.
Victoria Fakiya – Senior Writer
Techpoint Digest
Stop struggling to find your tech career path
Discover in-demand tech skills and build a standout portfolio in this FREE 5-day email course
The rise of ghost restaurants in Lagos
It started with a callout on social media and quickly turned into something bigger. In December 2025, a Lagos-based food vendor known as Corporate Ewa raised the alarm after spotting multiple fake versions of her business live on the Glovo app. The twist? She had never signed up. According to her, these accounts were lifting images straight from her official pages and posing as her brand to unsuspecting customers.
That post triggered an investigation by Techpoint Africa, aimed at testing how tightly food delivery platforms — Glovo and Chowdeck — actually vet the businesses they onboard. The approach was simple: create a fake restaurant, list it on platforms, and see how far it could go. The team impersonated a real Lagos-based restaurant, one with multiple known locations, and attempted to register it as a vendor.
The results were concerning. During the sign-up process on Glovo, for example, basic details like business name, address, tax ID, and banking information were required. But despite the real restaurant’s locations appearing as suggested options, the system still allowed the team to override those and input a completely unrelated address. There was no immediate verification to flag the mismatch between the brand name and the location being used.
From there, the fake store went live and even completed a successful order. That alone raises serious questions about how easily bad actors can impersonate legitimate businesses and exploit customers on these platforms. For the full investigation into Glovo and Chowdeck, how the process unfolded, and what it means for both vendors and users, check out Sarah’s latest for more.
Nigeria’s telcos recover ₦2 trillion, but services are still down
Nigeria’s airtime lending crisis just hit a number that’s hard to ignore, and it makes the whole situation a lot more real. In a matter of days, telecom operators including MTN Nigeria, Airtel Nigeria, Globacom, and 9mobile collectively recovered over ₦2 trillion from subscribers. This came after they suspended airtime and data lending services amid regulatory uncertainty, then moved quickly to claw back outstanding debt, leaving millions of users with restricted lines until they repaid what they owed.
That ₦2 trillion figure tells a bigger story. Airtime borrowing in Nigeria has always looked small on the surface — ₦200 here, ₦500 there — but at scale, it’s a massive informal credit system. Official estimates peg the market at over ₦400 billion annually, but the speed and size of this recovery suggest the real exposure runs much deeper. For many Nigerians, especially those in the informal economy, these micro-loans are a lifeline, used to stay connected for work, business, and daily communication. Now, with services still suspended, that lifeline is effectively on hold.
The legal situation isn’t helping. In late April, a Federal High Court in Abuja ordered telcos to restore services linked to Nairtime’s infrastructure, while a separate ruling in Lagos restrained the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission from enforcing parts of its lending regulations. Despite both rulings, services remain down. That leaves telcos stuck between compliance issues, court orders, and operational uncertainty, and users stuck without access.Zoom out, and this is really about a deeper structural issue. In Nigeria, telecom infrastructure and digital lending now run on the same rails — USSD codes, billing systems, and subscriber data. When regulators pull in different directions, the impact shows up immediately for users. The Nigerian Communications Commission, the FCCPC, and the courts are all involved, but there’s still no clear resolution. Until that happens, millions of Nigerians remain caught in the middle of a system they depend on but don’t control.
In case you missed it
What I’m watching
Opportunities
- Clarus Technologies, in partnership with Norrsken East Africa, has launched Scale Velocity, a go-to-market accelerator aimed at helping high-potential startups across East Africa refine growth, strengthen commercial systems, and scale faster. Applications for the first cohort are now open, and founders are encouraged to apply. Apply here.
- Moniepoint is recruiting for several roles. Apply here.
- Flutterwave is hiring for several roles in Nigeria, the UK, and the US. Apply here.
- ABDS 2026 will take place April 29–30, 2026, in Lagos, gathering founders, investors, developers, and policymakers shaping Africa’s blockchain and Web3 ecosystem. The summit focuses on industry insights, partnerships, and investment opportunities in one of the world’s fastest-growing crypto markets. Secure your pass or sponsorship here.
- As one of Techpoint Africa’s most engaged readers, you have a direct hand in shaping what we publish next. Take our quick, 3-minute survey to tell us the stories and features you value most. Your responses are anonymous, and your feedback will help guide our editorial focus in the months ahead. Fill the survey here.
- Moniepoint is hiring for over 100 roles. Apply here.
- Building a startup can feel isolating, but with Equity Merchants CommunityConnect? You can network with fellow founders, experts, and investors, gaining valuable insights and exclusive resources to help you grow your business. Click here to join.
- To pitch your startup or product to a live audience, check out this link.
- Follow Techpoint Africa’s WhatsApp channel to stay on top of the latest trends and news in the African tech space here.
Have a superb Thursday!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
