Leatherback stitches a new path

Cross-border payments startup Leatherback is trying to turn the page after a bruising 18 months marked by EFCC scrutiny and its founder's sudden resignation. 

After the company was cleared of any wrongdoing, it has now installed a new executive team: VP of Product Usman Amusat, Mayowa Afe-Ogundele as its new CTO, and Ochebhoya Ekpete as CEO. 

Leatherback is also betting that enterprise infrastructure, not consumer wallets, is the path forward. In conversations with TechCabal’s Muktar Oladunmade, the executives outlined a refocus from retail into financial plumbing, where it will use its multiple licenses, existing rails, and access to over 180 currencies to help connect African businesses to global commerce. 

Why it matters: Leatherback’s story echoes a broader fintech playbook: pivoting from consumer-facing apps to the more durable, higher-margin business of selling picks and shovels. By focusing on enterprise customers and positioning itself as a trusted backbone for cross-border payments, Leatherback hopes to emerge from its reset not just stable, but indispensable.

Leatherback’s leadership believes the pivot plays to its strengths: technical depth, regulatory preparedness, and the ability to scale across regions. Watch out for our article, which drops by noon today, to learn more about the company’s new direction and how its new team hopes to get it there.

Whether the new team can execute—and persuade banks, regulators, and enterprise clients to trust its rails—will determine if this reset sticks.

Lagos is putting money where its mouth is.

Lagos state is drafting a bill that would pull $20.26 million from its $1.35 billion annual budget to fuel startups, innovation hubs, accelerators, researchers, and maybe even that innovative idea that you’ve been cooking in secret. 

The proposed research and development innovation (RD&I) fund is larger than the state government’s previous investments.

Past attempts. Lagos did not just wake up and decide to fund innovation. The state had made attempts over the years. If you’ve never heard of the Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC) fund, it disbursed $330,000 to over 40 startups as of December 2024. 

For a state that attracted over $252 million in startup funding in 2024 alone, LASRIC was a decent start, but fragmented and too small to cover its 600 startups. This new bill sets up a heavyweight fund, with penalties for misuse by beneficiaries (yes, fines and even jail time).

The bill isn’t just about funding startups. It’s also sponsorship of doctoral and post-doctoral research, tax incentives, reimbursements of R&D costs, and dedicated support of up to 20% of the fund for women and youth-led initiatives. The draft bill states that Lagos is promising a steady 1.5% of its annual budget for innovation (which may eventually rise to 2%).

Here’s how Lagos stacks up: While Abuja rolled out the Startup Act, other states are tailoring theirs. Enugu is making intentional moves in innovation with its domestication of the Startup Act and the launch of a $10 million Startup Seed Fund. In Kwara, the state government is building the Ilorin ICT Innovation hub to put the state on the map in the tech ecosystem.

Let’s be honest: innovation funding is skewed in Nigeria. Lagos is the main stage, and other states are playing catch-up. With this bill, Lagos is only doubling down on that dominance.

Things are shifting excitingly in Africa's banking industry.

If somehow, you haven't been following the news, here are the top highlights:

• Nigeria’s banking sector is undergoing a recapitalisation exercise for commercial and microfinance lenders; the country has also announced capital pegs for insurers.
• Kenya lifted a 10-year moratorium for foreign banks to enter the country and operate under capital rules mirrored in Basel III.
• Ethiopia, for the first time in half a century, opened its doors to foreign banks with a maximum holding of 49%.

All these events have led to a crisscrossing trend where big banks are trying to expand their operations, open new revenue sources, and strengthen their balance sheets.

Nigeria's Zenith Bank wants to acquire a tier-2 Kenyan bank (hush hush) to enter East Africa. South Africa's FirstRand Bank wants to compete in the same market. Kenya's KCB and Equity Bank are splurging on Tanzania. And—don't hold your breath—KCB wants to expand into Ethiopia, possibly becoming the first foreign bank in the country.

Why does Ethiopia make sense for KCB? One-third of KCB’s profits (36.6%) already come from outside Kenya. Ethiopia, with 120 million people and a newly opened banking sector, offers the chance to stretch that growth further. 

The bank's remittance and cross-border payment services are also growing revenue drivers in East Africa. Ethiopia's diaspora, more than 2 million people abroad, makes this market look attractive. A successful entry would give KCB a first-mover advantage in the country.

Solly Malatsi, South Africa’s telecoms minister, said the government is considering a policy review that could allow satellite internet providers, such as Elon Musk’s Starlink, to expand into the country without giving up ownership stakes.

Catch up: Until now, Starlink has been locked out of South Africa because of strict Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) rules that force telecom operators to sell 30% of their equity to Black investors. Musk has repeatedly pushed back against the requirement, calling it discriminatory. 

Yet in July, Starlink softened its stance and said it was willing to comply with the law through a R2 billion ($113 million) pledge to local empowerment projects. 

Now the government is reviewing whether equity-equivalent programmes like that could be accepted instead of an ownership transfer. More than 19,000 public submissions are under review, with early signs pointing to support for change.

Between the lines: South Africa’s BEE scheme has long aimed to correct historic economic exclusion. Critics say rigid ownership rules can block investment in sectors where large foreign players dominate. Allowing satellite internet providers to comply differently signals a focus on access over formality. 

The upside is better broadband for rural South Africans, where only close to 23% of the country's population had home internet in 2024. The risk is that special rules for one sector could trigger complaints of double standards.

Zoom out: Approval of this policy tweak would clear the path for Starlink to begin service within months. South Africa wants universal broadband by 2030, and the door now looks more open than ever for Starlink to finally flick the switch.