👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Starlink gets comfy in Mozambique

MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecom operator, reported a 15.4% decline in its service revenue to R177.8 billion ($9.8 billion) in 2024, reversing the steady growth of previous years. The lowlight stayed with the Group’s largest market: MTN Nigeria. Once its top revenue generator out of 17 African markets, MTN Nigeria has lost its position for the first time since 2019, slipping behind the West and Central Africa (WECA) region and South Africa.

For years, MTN Nigeria contributed nearly half of the Group’s total revenue. But in 2024, foreign exchange losses and inflation have dragged it into a post-tax loss of over ₦400 billion ($266 million). The naira devaluation has made network equipment, loan repayments, and operating costs more expensive. 

While MTN Nigeria generated ₦3.3 trillion in service revenue, its value collapsed when converted to dollars ($2.2 billion). This decline comes notwithstanding MTN’s increased investment in infrastructure upgrades in Q4 2024, which likely shows that the company may not be reaping any returns for making investments in Nigeria. The slump could complicate the telecom operator’s plans to invest more money into upgrading its core network infrastructure planned for Q1 2025. 

Less funding for expansion and network upgrades could weaken MTN Nigeria’s position in the highly competitive market. As one of the consistent top revenue drivers for the business—save for one slump—it is unlikely that the Group company will deprioritise its Nigerian subsidiary where it controls more than half of the telecom market.

The approved telecom tariff hike in Nigeria is a strong positive for telecom companies like MTN Nigeria looking to recover losses in the market. With Nigeria’s growing data demand, the average revenue per user on data services could see strong growth, tipping the scales for MTN Nigeria. Again, compared to 2024, the naira has stabilised in recent months, which leads to stable operating margins for the company. We wager that MTN will want to wait out another quarter or two to see how its Nigerian business bounces back.

What was your first exposure to investing?

For most millennials, their first foray into investing was through piggy banks or the occasional advice from an older relative about ‘putting money where it will grow.’ For young Nigerians, it was likely through apps like Cowrywise, which made fixed-income investments—like treasury bills—more accessible.

For a long time, investing felt out of reach for everyday Nigerians. The options were limited—either you had enough wealth to work with firms like ARM, Stanbic IBTC, or FBNQuest, or you were left navigating complex investment processes on your own. Due to a lack of straightforward, beginner-friendly platforms, many Nigerians either kept their money in cash or turned to informal savings schemes with little to no returns.

That’s changing. Digital platforms like Rise, Bamboo, and Sycamore—which recently expanded into asset management—are making it easy for Nigerians to invest their money. Sycamore, which previously provided lending services to salaried employees and business owners, has acquired a fund manager licence from Nigeria’s Securities Exchange Commission (SEC). With it, the fintech will bridge the gap between high-net-worth investment firms and retail-focused fintechs by offering diversified portfolios in stocks, bonds, and money markets—accessible to freelancers, SMEs, and everyday investors.

Sycamore is betting that if it can turn borrowers into long-term investors, it will carve out a niche in Nigeria’s fast-evolving investment space.

TechCabal has the full story on Sycamore’s expansion.

Starlink, the satellite internet service provider (ISP) that is aggressively expanding into Africa, will launch its ground station in Mozambique by the end of March 2025.

The ground station acts like a direct bridge between Starlink satellites and local users, reducing lag and ensuring a more stable internet connection. It will also strengthen Starlink’s connectivity in remote areas of Mozambique, where traditional broadband options are limited.

Since Starlink entered into Africa in 2023, it has expanded rapidly, now operating in 18 countries—despite hitting regulatory roadblocks in Southern Africa—with two ground stations on the continent; one in Nigeria, the other in Kenya.

It appears Starlink is increasing the number of ground stations in regions where internet blackouts and slow speeds are common. In January 2025, it launched a ground station in Kenya after upscale areas like Nairobi experienced network instability in November 2024. Plans are also underway to build another ground station in Zambia this year, which will bring the total to four.

The ISP will have at least one ground station in three of the regions where it currently operates: Western Africa, Eastern Africa, and Southern Africa. Starlink does not operate in Africa’s north and central regions, making these areas a low priority. However, since the company doesn’t hold a licence in Southern Africa’s biggest market—South Africa—it is using this tactic to make connectivity stronger for its “illegal” roaming users there. While it previously stopped offering services to them, some have managed to reconnect by accessing roaming services in neighboring countries.

Starlink won’t mind as this temporarily solves its problem, but how long will this last? Either way, the ground station is a win for Africa—especially since Europe, with fewer countries and a smaller landmass, has at least 22 ground stations.

On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation slowed for the first time in 2025 since the Consumer Price index (CPI) rebase. Inflation slowed to 23.18% in February, down from 24.48% in January, thanks to cheaper fuel and a stable naira, according to new data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The key factors were diesel prices, which lowered by 33% to around ₦1,000 ($0.65)per litre, while petrol prices stayed put over ₦800 ($0.52) per litre, thanks to increased supply from the Dangote Refinery. This helped businesses and consumers breathe a little easier—at least for the moment. Food inflation also dipped slightly to 23.51% from 24.08% in January.

But this cooldown may not last. Analysts warn that inflation could pick up again by April, driven by broader economic pressures. While the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rebase offers better measurement, the real forces at play—global economic headwinds and structural inefficiencies—haven’t gone anywhere.

“Expect worse monthly numbers deep into 2025,” warns Basil Abia, co-founder of Veriv Africa, a Nigerian data research firm. He predicts an average inflation rate of 31% for the year, saying global economic pressures will be the main driver.

Meanwhile, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) held interest rates at 27.50% in February, citing exchange rate stability, cooling in fuel prices, and the CPI rebase. 

But with inflation likely to resume its climb, the CBN’s target may already be out of reach.