Forbes Africa August - September 2025

Let me start with my favorite quote about journalism, one that has been embedded in my professional psyche since the day I started my career: “The first duty of the press is to obtain the earliest and most correct intelligence of the events of the time, and instantly, by disclosing them, to make them the common property of the nation.” Speed matters. As members of the press—the Fourth Estate—we play a critical role in shaping public understanding in real time. In my over two decades as a journalist, the role of gatekeeper is what I’ve embraced most: the sieve that filters out misinformation, upholds public trust, and ensures that truth and knowledge belong to everyone. In an age where AI-generated content floods the giant echo chambers of social media, and…

In 2023, Hollywood actor Idris Elba spoke to FORBES AFRICA about his plans to develop a smart city in his home country, Sierra Leone. He now has government approval for the eco-city island project. “This is more than a development project. It’s a platform for long-term investment, innovation, and inclusive growth,” said Elba, the Co-Founder of Sherbro Alliance Partners, following the green light from Sierra Leone to lead the regeneration of Sherbro Island into an eco-friendly “smart city”. Sierra Leone’s government has ratified a public-private partnership, established to lead the development of the island into a Special Economic Zone. According to Sherbro Alliance Partners, the initiative has received unanimous backing from the island’s Paramount Chiefs (traditional, nonpartisan leaders who also serve in the national Parliament) and the wider Bonthe community,…

[In-studio images] Art Direction: Manelisi Dabata Photography: Kelechi Amadi-Obi Photography Assistants: Chukwudi Ademu, Vincent Okoro, Kingsley Ugwukozor, Musa Alabi, Jesutofunmi Amokeoja, Anthony Ibuzo Stylist: Isaac Isiadinso (Kookavelli) Stylist's Assistant: Timilehin Oshinbanjo Outfits: VREEMD, RAEY, Soft aiv couture and Berluti Makeup & Hair: Oluwatoyin Eko Studio: 12 Temple, Lagos, Nigeria On a humid Monday morn ing in mid-July, light filters softly through the floor-to-ceiling windows of an apartment in Ikoyi, a neighborhood in Nigeria’s commercial capital of Lagos, and one teeming with the country's uber-rich. The studio lights are set and cameras perched on tripods as a stylist adjusts the collar of a traditional outfit worn by one of the fintech chief executives in the room– one whose particular focus is cryptocurrency. One by one, several tech entrepreneurs arrive. The cofounder…

It is no secret that when it comes to the fintech industry, West Africa is thriving at an almost unprecedented rate. However, this does not mean that the rest of Africa is not using technology to find financial solutions for the underbanked or unbanked. According to a 2022 McKinsey report, Africa’s fintech industry is coming of age. The report found that between 2020 and 2021, the number of tech startups in Africa tripled to around 5,200 companies. Just under half of these are fintechs–who have made it their business to disrupt and augment traditional financial services. Outside of West Africa, here are other notable fintechs: TymeBank South Africa Having gained unicorn status in 2024, TymeBank is valued at $1.5 billion. According to reports, TymeBank is South Africa’s first fully-digital bank…

2002 Mitchell Elegbe founds Interswitch, one of the pioneering fintech companies in the region, creating a unified electronic payment processing network across multiple banks and automated teller machines (ATMs) in Nigeria. 2009 Tayo Oviosu founds Paga, aiming to create financial access for all via basic phones in Nigeria. 2009 MTN launches Mobile Money in Ghana allowing unbanked individuals to conduct transactions directly from mobile phones. 2016 A tweet by Joshua Chibueze sparks the founding of PiggyVest (then PiggyBank.ng), automating savings via smartphone apps. 2019 Interswitch becomes West Africa’s first fintech unicorn with a $200 million Visa investment. 2020 Five-year-old Nigeria payment startup, Paystack is acquired by Stripe for $200 million, representing the country’s largest startup exit at the time. 2021 Nigeria’s Flutterwave becomes West Africa's second fintech unicorn after raising…

CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, VERTO Founded • 2017 Ola Oyetayo’s foray into fintech began, interestingly enough, because of his friends. It also began in London where he noted the ‘pain points’ that many of his Nigerian friends, who were entrepreneurs, had in making international payments back home. “At the time, I was working in financial services in London, and many of them were reaching out to see if I could help,” Oyetayo says. “I started an informal chat group on WhatsApp, where I matched friends who needed access to local Nigerian currency with those who wanted foreign exchange—and it sort of took off.” Given the significant number of Nigerians living in the U.K.— many of whom are, likely, entrepreneurs—Oyetayo identified a market in need of targeted solutions. According to the Office…