General News
Is Ethiopia Africa’s sleeping fintech giant?
By Yohannes Tsehai – Country Manager Onafriq Ethiopia
The fintech sector has been one of Africa’s biggest technology success stories. According to one report, the continent’s 678 fintech startups raised more than US$2.7 billion between 2021 and August 2023. Additionally, almost all of the continent’s unicorns (startups valued at more than US$1 billion) are in the fintech sector.
The majority of that success has, however, come from the continent’s three biggest startup markets: South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria. In fact, 68% of African fintech startups come from these “big three” markets. But things are steadily changing. More and more countries are realising the benefits that come with an active fintech ecosystem, with a growing number of entrepreneurs in those countries also looking to enter the space.
One such country is Ethiopia. Home to more than 120 million people (making it the second most populous country in Africa), the country has many of the right ingredients to become Africa’s next big fintech giant. In addition to the country’s population size, it’s home to large numbers of unbanked people. At the same time, the country continues to experience high economic growth and rapidly increasing connectivity levels. With those and other enabling factors in place, could Ethiopia be Africa’s next big fintech giant?
A changing landscape
A few years ago, that’s not a question many would have dared to ask. More recently, however, several things have changed, which suggests that Ethiopia is waking up to, and embracing its fintech potential.
Take telco licensing, for example. Ethiopia has previously been closed off, with only the state-owned Ethio telecom allowed to operate. But Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sees the liberalisation of the country’s telecommunications sector as key to its economic future. As such, the country has opened up to other operators. In October 2022, Safaricom became Ethiopia’s second official operator.
In the ensuing months, it has built up a 4 million-strong customer base and added 1.2 million users to its M-Pesa mobile money platform. Over time, those numbers will continue to grow. And while the bidding process for a third telco license has had to be put on ice for the moment, Ethiopia’s strong economic growth means that it’s only a matter of time before one is granted.
Those telcos will play a critical role in establishing an Ethiopian fintech ecosystem too. Right now, the country has a 53.5% mobile penetration rate but mobile connections grew by nearly 18% between 2022 and 2023. With 75% of the country’s population reportedly unbanked, increasing connectivity levels is one of the most powerful ways of giving people access to financial products, both from telcos and third parties, as demonstrated by Ethio telecom’s mobile money app Telebirr having 39.3 million customers.
Another significant move is the establishment of an Ethiopian stock exchange. The exchange, which is set to open in 2024 or 2025, is designed to be a source of funding for the small and medium-sized companies that form the backbone of the country’s economy. For local fintechs looking to raise the capital they need to expand at scale, it could prove critical.
Developing supportive policies
The Ethiopian government has also made significant strides when it comes to developing policies that encourage the growth of a fintech ecosystem. One of the most significant such policies is the National Financial Inclusion Strategy.
According to a research paper published by the GSMA, the aim is to increase financial inclusion from 46% to 70% of all adults by 2025. One of the key avenues it’s identified for doing so is by scaling digital payments through mobile money services. The country additionally aims to increase the use of digital payments from 20% of all adults in 2020 to 49% by 2025.
These policies could be dramatically transformative for both the Ethiopian economy and its people. According to the GSMA, mobile money services “could lift 700,000 people out of poverty, add US$5.3 billion to Ethiopia’s GDP, increase tax revenue by US$300 million and provide a cushion for the economic shocks experienced by almost 40% of Ethiopian households.”
There is, admittedly, a long way to go before mobile money can drive those advancements. GSMA figures show that just 4.2% of adult women and 5.1% of adult men had mobile money accounts in 2022. That said, those numbers are significantly higher than the 0.1% and 0.6% who had accounts in 2017. This suggests that, as much as there’s significant room for mobile money growth in Ethiopia, there’s a sizable and growing appetite too with increasingly accessible outlets.
Putting policy into practice
For policy to be effective, however, it has to be matched with practices that encourage the growth of fintech. Here, too, there are encouraging signs from Ethiopia.
The government has, for instance, used the mobile banking service HelloCash to digitise social protection payments under the flagship Productive Safety Net Programme (PNSP). Additionally, it’s increasingly accepting digital payments for public services such as utilities and has mandated digital-only payments for fuel purchases. The Ministry of Trade, meanwhile, has adopted Ethio’s Telebirr services and now allows traders to pay for services like commercial registration, trade licences and trade name-related service fee payments.
In conjunction with the adoption of mobile money by government departments, its growing use by private sector players such as mid-sized brands like supermarkets, petrol stations, and SMEs should help further drive their adoption.
Growth beyond mobile money
Of course, there are still other things that need to be put in place before Ethiopia really starts to achieve its fintech potential. Reliable interoperability, for example, remains a challenge, as does a shortage of access points and a lack of high-quality agent networks.
None of those challenges are, however, insurmountable. And, given the success that’s already accompanied the adoption of mobile money, overcoming them will help unlock other services that enable digital financial inclusion which have commenced (such as insurance, micro-financing, and savings products).
As more and more of those solutions fall into place, Ethiopia will be well on its way to unlocking its potential and becoming Africa’s next fintech giant.
Sophos, a global leader of innovative security solutions for defeating cyberattacks, today announced new findings from the Sophos State of Ransomware in Manufacturing and Production 2025 report.
Sophos
The study reveals that manufacturers are stopping more ransomware attacks before data can be encrypted; however, adversaries are increasingly stealing data and using extortion-only tactics to maintain pressure.
As a result, more than half of manufacturing organizations impacted by encryption paid the ransom despite progress in defensive measures. The report is based on an independent survey of 332 manufacturing organizations that were hit by ransomware in the last year.
The Sophos State of Ransomware in Manufacturing and Production report found:
● Encryption rates are falling, but adversaries are shifting tactics: 40% of attacks on manufacturers resulted in data encryption, the lowest level in five years and down from 74% last year. However, extortion only attacks surged to 10% from just 3% in 2024 as attackers increase reliance on data theft for leverage.
● Data theft remains a significant concern: 39% of manufacturers that experienced encryption also had data stolen, one of the highest rates across all surveyed sectors.
● More organizations are stopping attacks before encryption: 50% of manufacturing organizations stopped the attack before data could be encrypted, more than double last year’s 24%.
● Expertise shortfalls and inadequate protection fuel attacks: Lack of expertise was cited by 42.5% of organizations. Unknown security gaps were cited by 41.6%, and a lack of protection by 41%. Respondents identified an average of three internal factors that contributed to the attack.
● More than half of manufacturers with encrypted data paid the ransom: 51% of affected organizations paid the ransom. The median ransom paid was $1 million dollars, compared to a median demand of $1.2 million dollars.
● Recovery costs and timelines are improving: The average cost to recover from a ransomware attack, excluding ransom payment, declined by 24% to $1.3 million dollars. 58% of manufacturers fully recovered within one week, up from 44% last year.
● Ransomware incidents affect IT and security teams: 47% of manufacturers reported increased team stress after experiencing data encryption. 44% said pressure from senior leaders increased, and 27% reported leadership change as a result of the attack.
“Manufacturing depends on interconnected systems where even brief downtime can stop production and ripple across supply chains,” said Alexandra Rose, Director of Threat Research, Sophos Counter Threat Unit. “Attackers exploit this pressure: despite encryption rates falling to 40%, the median ransom paid still reached $1 million. While half of manufacturers stopped attacks before encryption, recovery costs average $1.3 million and leadership stress remains high. Layered defenses, continuous visibility, and well-rehearsed response plans are essential to reduce both operational impact and financial risk.”
What Sophos is Seeing in Manufacturing
Over the past twelve months, Sophos X-Ops has observed ransomware activity across leak sites and found that 99 distinct threat groups targeted manufacturing organizations.
The most prominent groups targeting manufacturing organizations based on leak site observations are GOLD SAHARA (Akira), GOLD FEATHER (Qilin) and GOLD ENCORE (PLAY). Reflecting the trends revealed in the report, in over half of the ransomware incidents that
Sophos Emergency Incident Response was brought in to remediate, attackers both stole and encrypted data, highlighting the use of double extortion tactics where data is held for ransom and threatened with release on a leak site.
Strengthening Defenses for the Long Term
Based on its experience protecting manufacturing organizations worldwide, Sophos recommends the following best practices to help businesses stay ahead of ransomware and other cyberthreats:
● Eliminate Root Causes: Take proactive steps to address common technical and operational weaknesses—such as exploited vulnerabilities—that adversaries frequently target. Solutions like Sophos Managed Risk can help organizations assess their exposure and reduce risk across their environments.
● Defend Every Endpoint: Ensure all endpoints, including servers, are protected with dedicated anti-ransomware defenses to prevent attacks from gaining a foothold.
● Plan and Prepare: Establish and routinely test a comprehensive incident response plan. Maintain reliable backups and practice data restoration regularly to minimize downtime in the event of an attack.
● Monitor Around the Clock: Continuous visibility is essential. Organizations without in-house resources can strengthen their resilience by partnering with a trusted Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provider.
Spotify
This year, Spotify is bringing back the fan-favourite features people already love, while adding new experiences that spotlight how listeners across Africa moved, prayed, worked, partied and rested with audio. Wrapped Party invites fans to dive into their stories with friends and family, and 50 fan destinations worldwide give listeners a place to come together, celebrate their year in music and feel part of something truly global.
From design to in-person experiences and data stories rooted in local listening, this is how the 2025 Wrapped campaign comes to life across Africa.
A modern visual mixtape for Africa
Before streaming, mixtapes and burned CDs were the original playlists: handpicked, decorated and passed between friends, cousins and neighbours as deeply personal gifts. The 2025 Wrapped design builds on that tradition, turning a year of listening into a bold, dynamic visual mixtape for more than 700 million fans around the world – including millions across Africa.
Every gradient and texture reflects that unpredictable mix of emotion and rhythm that makes listening so personal. With a reduced colour palette, bold imagery and a blend of analogue and digital aesthetics, 2025 becomes the most expressive and modern-feeling Wrapped yet. From amapiano dance circles in Johannesburg to late-night studio sessions in Lagos and road-trip singalongs in Nairobi, the look and feel of Wrapped mirrors how African fans actually experience music – loud, layered and full of feeling.
Immersive real-world experiences – and an amagwinya road trip
The Wrapped creative campaign is live in more than 30 markets globally as Spotify moves beyond traditional billboards to create immersive experiences that celebrate the artists who defined 2025. Across Africa, installations and pop-ups bring Wrapped digital storytelling into the real world with artist integrations, interactive photo moments and live performances for top listeners.
In South Africa, Wrapped quite literally hits the road. Inspired by the heartbreak of reaching the front of the line only to hear the gwinyas are finished – and the way Darwin Rev turned that moment into a national mood with Amagwinya Aphelile – the Where Are the Gwinyas? fan destination sends a Wrapped-branded amagwinya kombi on a multi-city road trip.
The truck travels through Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria, serving up gwinya with a Wrapped twist – from fish fillet to bunny-chow-inspired curry fillings and classic snoek, atchar and polony. At each stop, fans turn up their favourite Wrapped anthems, transforming the kombi from simple food truck into rolling street party.
“Wrapped has always been about reflecting fans’ stories back to them, and this year those stories from Sub-Saharan Africa are literally spilling into the streets. From the amagwinya road trip in South Africa to the data stories coming out of Nigeria and Kenya, we’re showing that the numbers behind Wrapped are really about how people here live, move and connect through music,” says Spotify’s Head of Marketing for Africa, Sithabile Kachisa.
How Africa listened in 2025
Wrapped is ultimately about turning listening data into stories fans can see themselves in – and nowhere is that more vivid than in Africa.
In South Africa, early mornings belonged to Ciza’s Isaka, with more than 46,000 fans pressing play at exactly 6:00 a.m., turning sunrise into a shared soundtrack. Mafikizolo’s Uyoncengwa Unyoko passed 14 million plays, proving some songs are built for repeat on both the dancefloor and in the taxi rank.
In Nigeria, Fido’s Joy is Coming found its way onto more than 700 playlists tagged as sad, as listeners reached for hope even when the mood was low. Davido’s With You amassed over 42 million streams, underlining the staying power of one of the country’s most beloved hitmakers.
In Kenya, Extra Pressure was added to fans’ gym playlists, turning workouts into high-stakes training montages, while Njerae’s Aki Sioni crossed 3.2 million streams, transforming vulnerability into a chart-ready strength.
Across the continent, these moments show how Wrapped transforms numbers into narratives. The stats reveal not just what Africa listened to in 2025, but how, when and why it mattered – from perfectly timed play buttons and weekday rituals to songs that travelled through communities as gifts, prayers, jokes and declarations. Wrapped gathers all of that energy and hands it back to fans as a story only they could have written.
Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has warned Nigerians against dealing with 15 unregistered entities using company names and registration numbers that are not in the commission’s records.
In a public notice signed by CAC Management, the commission said it had discovered the use of purported company names and RC numbers that are not registered with the CAC, urging the public to disregard them and verify all business information directly from its portal.
“The CAC remains committed to protecting the integrity of the Companies Register, upholding the law, and ensuring a safe and transparent business environment in Nigeria,” the CAC said.
According to the notice, the following are the entities not registered with the CAC:
Famas Services Nigeria Limited (RC: 216312)
Promo Dutch Investment Limited (RC: 396654)
Dialack Concept Nig. Ltd (RC: 297772)
Purpleheart Construction and Real Estate Mgt. Co. Ltd (RC: 1210548)
M/S Loktu Enterprises (BN: 373466)
Loktu Enterprises (BN: 400390)
Badatoyak Ltd (RC: 521322)
Johson Nats Limited (RC: 198492)
Peoples Club Nigeria International (CAC/IT/41191)
Jiba Enterprise (BN: 577523)
Civil Engineering Solutions Nigeria Limited (RC: 33001)
Gabdoff Hotel Ltd (RC: 112409)
Amoka Group (BN: 545221)
BEEC Nigeria Limited (RC: 30143)
- Adetunji (BN: 657466)
Explaining the reason for the commission’s publication, the statement noted that it aligns with its statutory role of maintaining an accurate and reliable companies register, protecting investors, and preventing fraudulent activities in the business environment.
The commission urged Nigerians to always confirm the status of any company or business name through its official portal.
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