MultiChoice, multistruggles

Someone needs to check on MultiChoice. The pay TV giant is going through it.

Imagine losing revenue and subscribers in one financial year, fighting tooth and nail against streaming giants, offering discounts to win back consumers, and still being forced to slash your prices by 30%. Madenning innit? That’s the fate of Multichoice Ghana.

Ghana's Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology, and Innovation has ordered Multichoice to reduce its subscription costs by 30%.

Why? Over the past five months, the value of the Ghanaian Cedi increased by 30%. Yet, the prices of DStv subscriptions have not reflected the positive change. Let’s just say the Ministry was not too happy about that. Therefore, they called for a 30% price slash by Multichoice, to match the cedi’s appreciation and pass on such appreciation benefits to consumers.

The ministry noted that feedback from public consultations indicated widespread dissatisfaction among users with DStv’s content, which many described as outdated except for Premier League football. Additionally, users felt that the current pricing was not justified.

ICYMI: Before the directive was issued, Multichoice Kenya had already started offering promotional discounts, including free upgrades to subscription packages and reducing the price of DStv decoders from $16.25 to $8.56.

On the other side of Africa: MultiChoice just increased the prices of DSTV and GOTV subscription packages in Kenya due to the country's operating environment. These new prices are to take effect by 1st August 2025. In contrast, Showmax prices were reduced to increase access to its streaming content. If you ask me, the company has accepted that streaming is the future, and it’s trying to gain as much ground (and as many screens) as it can.

None of this is happening in a vacuum. MultiChoice is dealing with regulatory pressure in many countries, fierce competition from global streamers, price-sensitive consumers, and even ongoing court battles. So yes, someone does need to check on MultiChoice, because Africa’s pay-TV giant is fighting for its future on every front.

Somewhere across Africa, people are probably hoping their governments would pull a Cameroon, because when telcos fumble, someone needs to hold them accountable.

Cameroon’s two main mobile network carriers, MTN Cameroon and Orange Cameroun, have been fined a combined $4.6 million by the country’s regulatory board for violating their coverage and quality of service obligations.

As is in the license, telcos are expected to meet minimum coverage thresholds, maintain service quality, and offer transparent pricing.

This sanction stems from investigations carried out by the regulator’s agents between April and May 2024. Their investigations revealed that network coverage was below the required thresholds in certain areas. Orange was found to have malfunctioning opt-out codes for value-added services and pricing irregularities. The company was fined $2.8 million in total, while MTN was fined $1.8 million.

This isn’t the first time telcos have been fined in Cameroon. In 2023, Orange, MTN, Nexttel, and Camtel were fined a combined $9.7 million for similar persistent network coverage failures.

While the crackdown on poor service might signal stricter oversight, it’s hard to ignore the timing, especially when the regulator announced in April that it was embarking on a debt recovery operation targeting the country’s mobile network operators to claim over $52 million in unpaid dues accumulated over the years.

With regulatory debt already piling up to $52 million, Cameroon is walking a tightrope. On one hand, it wants to enforce quality and pricing standards. On the other hand, the country is trying to get the same telcos to settle long-standing debts. The fines may look like a win for consumer protection, but they raise an uncomfortable question: Are regulators using new penalties to plug old financial holes?

Sparkle, a Nigerian neobank founded by ex-Diamond Bank CEO Uzoma Dozie, is eyeing a listing on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), per Business Day.

While the fintech has not revealed its plans around timing or how much it is looking to raise from the bourse, a listing like Sparkle will turn the debate again on the benefits of tech startups going public.

Sparkle likely wants to raise capital for expansion. The fintech wants to offer more SME loans, scale invoice financing, and grow its tech infrastructure and teams. However, there are questions whether the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) is a great place to source growth capital? 

In five years, Sparkle has raised $5.1 million in disclosed funding across two rounds. During its last funding round led by Leadway Assurance in 2021, the fintech raised capital from high net-worth individuals (HNWIs). Listing on the Nigerian stock exchange could provide exit for its early investors.But that comes with a trade-off. 

Going public means opening up to market scrutiny, quarterly expectations, and pressure to show a clear path to profitability. Unlike privately-backed fintechs, Sparkle won’t have the same room to experiment. This leaves a poser here: is Sparkle trying to move away from competing in the digital banking space? Is it trying to grow a physical presence and effectively become the “bank” it's been marketing itself all along as?

One might also wonder why Sparkle isn't trying to raise again from VCs or HNWIs. The fintech hasn’t raised a new VC round since 2021. If this IPO is driven by stalled fundraising or investor impatience, that’s a different story altogether.However, Dozie, who previously headed Diamond Bank, the commercial bank which merged with Access Bank in 2021, has experience operating companies on the stock exchange, so it's hard to doubt his acumen. 

Zoom out: A potential Sparkle listing could bring excitement for the fintech world. But for an early-stage digital bank, there's more to this deal than meets the eye.

US President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for his “reciprocal tariffs” to August 1, citing that several countries—18 according to several publications——several publications reported 18—are still trying to negotiate trade deals with the US.

What is this reciprocal tariff about? Recall that i In April, Trump announced that it was time for America to stop being the “sucker” in global trade. His plan: slap matching tariffs on countries that tax US exports more than the US taxes theirs. The original deadline for action was July 9. But that’s now been moved to August 1.

There’s also a new twist. Trump says a 10% import tax could hit countries backing the “anti-American policies” of BRICS—China, Russia, Brazil,South Africa and others. 

Here’s why it matters: A 10% import tax could hit African countries doing more business with China and Russia. Nigeria, now a BRICS partner, is deepening trade ties with both.This adds to the reciprocal tariff, making it even more expensive to export to the US. South Africa, a founding BRICS member, is still in talks to renew its trade deal with the US. Kenya isn’t in BRICS, but it’s also walking a tightrope—strengthening ties with China while trying to keep US market access.

The big picture: Trump insists the reciprocal tariffs are coming. But this is already the second deadline extension. With 18 countries still at the negotiation table, Trump may be biding his time. In the end, his “reciprocal tariffs” might only selectively apply to countries.

Yet, you can't bet against the tariffs. Trump recently passed the “big, beautiful bill” to the surprise of many who thought otherwise. Doubting Trump might not be great optics, but it’s not unreasonable to question his incentive behind the multiple delays.