Mobius revs back to life

Mobius Motors, once Kenya’s bet on homegrown SUVs, is back in business after Silver Box, a Middle East-based investment firm acquired 100% of the struggling automaker in an undisclosed deal. The automaker told TechCabal on Tuesday that the transaction cost information is not yet available.

Following the acquisition, Mobius has re-opened its Nairobi service centre. Production of the Mobius III is set to restart by July 2025, with a new model expected by December.

The acquisition follows a turbulent period for Mobius. Despite raising KES 5 billion ($38.5 million) from investors like Playfair Capital, Chandaria Industries, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, and PanAfrican Investment, the company failed to compete with Kenya’s dominant second-hand car market. 

Its business model that relied on pre-orders with refundable deposits didn’t generate enough demand. By August 2024, it was deep in debt, unable to pay suppliers and staff, and entered voluntary liquidation.

Silver Box's transaction comes after the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) approved the deal. CAK said the transaction fell below the KES 1 billion ($7.7 million) threshold that would have raised competition concerns and noted that salvaging the company would help secure jobs.

With new ownership comes a leadership change. John Kavila is now the Chief Operating Officer. CEO Nicholas Guibert, who led the company during its final years will leave the company post acquisition.

Mobius has built three SUV models: Mobius I, II, and III since launching in 2009 but never gained a strong foothold. The company’s Nairobi plant, which includes fabrication, assembly, and testing facilities, remains one of its biggest assets. The new owners could use it to continue Mobius’ original vision or pivot to assembling different models.

Lesotho has threatened to cut ties with Elon Musk's Starlink for failing to make any provision for black or local ownership for its planned entry into the Southern African country. It is asking for 30% ownership of Starlink for its Basotho people. 

While Starlink has applied for a licence to operate in Lesotho, this new challenge could throw a spanner in the works in the review process, yet this is not an isolated case. South Africa has also stalled its long-standing talks with Starlink due to the same issue: the lack of black ownership. Despite initial progress and a brief camaraderie between Musk and South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, negotiations have collapsed, with Musk taking to his social media platform, X, to criticise the country.

Only 2 of 5 Southern African countries—Eswatini and Botswana—have welcomed Starlink. While a 40% success rate looks encouraging, this region has given the ISP headaches over ownership issues. It raises questions about whether Southern African countries have a bone to pick with Starlink.

We cannot tell if the issue lies with the man or his technology, but we know one thing: beyond encouraging local participation, the black ownership caveat aims to prevent foreign entities from profiting without leaving an impact on local economies.

Foreign companies have historically complied with these rules through partnerships and community investments in the host country. Walmart entered South Africa by acquiring Massmart in 2011, committing to Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) through supplier development and job creation. Similarly, Amazon launched data centres in Cape Town in line with local regulations and partnering with South African companies. French streaming giant Canal+ plans to acquire MultiChoice by establishing a local middleman company to handle licencing and ownership transfers. 

Lesotho, too, embraces this ideology. In 1996, Vodacom, a South Africa-based telecom operator, expanded into the country by granting the Basotho people minority ownership (20%) in its local subsidiary.

However, Starlink seems to rely on its “better technology” pitch—a proposition that Southern African countries aren’t buying. With South Africa’s internet penetration at 74.7% and Lesotho’s at 47%, the issue isn’t broadband access but a demand for inclusivity. Until Starlink finds a workaround, entering these markets will remain a guessing game, even for Musk.

Beef stew has crossed many mountains and endured many storms over the years to remain a staple diet feature in most Nigerian homes, alongside its frequent companion, boiled rice. Colloquially, the beloved dish is called “white rice and stew.” However, beef stew may soon start disappearing from many homes—right under the sniffing noses we use to savour its aroma—no thanks to the cost-of-living crisis in the country. A PricePally report stated that it now costs more than double to prepare a pot of beef stew compared to a year ago.

Several factors are contributing to the sharp increase in the cost of essential stew ingredients like tomatoes, onions, and beef. These items have become significantly more expensive. A major issue with tomatoes is their high post-harvest loss due to inadequate infrastructure, particularly in transportation and storage. 

The extreme heat experienced in lorries traveling from northern to southern regions, especially to places like Lagos, causes many tomatoes to spoil. Without refrigerated transport, the risk of substantial post-harvest losses is very high. TechCabal detailed the current cost of preparing a pot of stew.

Food logistics in Nigeria heavily relies on road transportation, primarily using lorries and trucks, which are powered by diesel or fuel. Consequently, any increase in fuel prices directly impacts food prices. Furthermore, the frequent instances of bribery and unofficial taxation along these transportation routes add to the cost. It's not uncommon for transporters to spend between ₦100,000 ($65) and ₦150,000 ($98) on bribes along a single route. 

Investigative journalist, Isine Ibanga detailed how security operatives on travel routes force Nigerians to pay dearly on food. Additionally, local governments often impose taxes on food transporters, even when using federal roads. All of these factors contribute to increased food prices, ultimately placing the financial burden on consumers.

Nearly a year after issuing its first crypto licences, South Africa wants to force compliance for licenced crypto startups to report user information on their platforms before April 30. Crypto asset service providers (CASPs) will need to meet the rules under “Directive 9”—or risk getting fines.

The directive includes the “travel rule,” which demands that detailed client information—including full names, ID numbers, addresses, and wallet details—must accompany any crypto transfer over R5,000 ($275), whether local or cross-border. It’s the government’s attempt to curb money laundering and terrorism financing. 

This crackdown didn’t come out of nowhere. South Africa landed on the Financial Action Task Force’s Grey list in February 2023 for not doing enough to police financial crime. Now the government is trying to clean up its act—and crypto platforms are on the front line. CASPs will need to tighten customer verification, monitor transactions more closely, and flag suspicious activity. Failure to do so could lead to serious penalties under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA).

Taxation is part of this broader push to bring crypto into the regulatory fold. South Africa already taxes crypto gains under capital gains tax rules, but enforcement has been uneven. The difficulty in tracking decentralised transactions on the blockchain has been a major blocker for the country. While collecting the information of crypto holders from CASPs helps solve the problem, it is harder for decentralised trading platforms to do so, as they do not directly control user data. Unlike centralised exchanges, these platforms rely on smart contracts and third-party protocols, making it tough to enforce compliance. 

Several other African countries are considering taxing crypto, and South Africa’s approach could serve as a model—or a cautionary tale—depending on how it plays out. The challenge is balancing tough oversight with keeping the industry competitive.

But the road to compliance won’t be smooth. The travel rule raises tricky privacy issues, particularly under South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA), which restricts sharing personal data with countries lacking strong privacy laws. Platforms will have to figure out how to stay on the right side of both sets of rules without getting tangled up in legal contradictions.

With the clock ticking, CASPs are stuck in a pickle: tighten up compliance systems and adapt or risk getting fined—or worse, losing their licences. April is almost here.