Next Wave: 2024 in review

This marks our final edition of the Next Wave in 2024–and what a year it has been! Once again, it was a privilege to serve our readers from across the globe with insights on trends and events in Africa’s dynamic tech startup ecosystem. From our coverage this year, it’s clear that innovation has moved at an unprecedented pace–this has come with challenges for the industry.

From breakthroughs in fintech and climate tech to increasing cybersecurity challenges facing African banks, 2024 has been a year of great achievements and sobering lessons. It was a pleasure to send out a newsletter every Sunday that explored some of these issues in depth.

In this last edition, we have summarised the five most-read and thought-provoking Next Wave newsletters in 2024.

The future of fintech regulations

Before fintech can be effectively regulated, we need to understand its peculiarities, as distinct from those of traditional finance institutions. Regulators must understand the infrastructure fintechs operate on.

In a fintech company, innovation moves faster than regulations can keep up with, so regulation must be flexible enough to accommodate, or even preempt these changes.

A middle-ground approach to regulation can be considered instead of issuing outright bans or restrictions that hurt the fintech sector.

What’s the future of Kenyan fintechs?

Founders must present a compelling business model, with proof they can be profitable and acquire customers to receive investors’ backing. Smartphone-friendly technology alone is not enough to unseat Kenyan traditional banks and telcos, which have proven they can introduce some of the features that neobanks use to capture the market.

In a fintech company, innovation moves faster than regulations can keep up with, so regulation must be flexible enough to accommodate, or even preempt these changes.Traditional financial institutions have also proved they can pour millions and poach staff from fintechs’ ranks, moving with their ideas.

Showmax is promising, but it needs to fix a few technical basics

2024 shaped up to be a challenging year for streaming platforms in Africa after Showmax, the continent’s leading video-on-demand platform, revamped to become Showmax 2.0.

Its streaming technology received a boost and is now leveraging Peacock’s technology. The company has also set higher ambitions to reach 50 million subscribers within five years. However, has it set such a high target and neglected the basics?

Housing startups need to evolve

Despite claims that inflation and high interest rates affect real estate’s growth potential, the fact remains this: proptech has failed to evolve significantly. Many Nigerian proptechs established over seven years ago have been unable to transform real estate using technology. At best, these startups offere monthly rent payments and list properties for sale or rent online.

The future of housing, however, has three possible solutions: crowdsourcing of real estate projects, the use of tech-driven advancements in construction, and rent-to-own schemes that make real estate attractive to millennials and Gen Zs.

What is Africa’s place in the EU AI treaty?

What will be the place of Africa in AI technology? We all kicked off 2024 with the notion that this year would be the year most countries will pass AI regulations. By July, it was clear that wasn’t the case; nothing much had happened on the continent. This may be why the African voice is missing in the drafting of the EU AI Treaty.

The exclusion of Africa in the development of the treaty raises challenges for a continent burgeoning with innovation. Without Africa on the table, the new treaty risks worsening the data dependency that has plagued the continent in technological developments.

At Next Wave, we look forward to giving more thought-provoking insights to help you understand the current state and future of Africa’s tech and business climate. NextWave will be back in your inboxes by January 12.

Merry Christmas and Happy 2025!

Adonijah Ndege – Senior Reporter

Feel free to email adonijah[at]bigcabal.com, with your thoughts about this edition of NextWave. Or just click reply to share your thoughts and feedback.

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