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What We Can Learn from Africa’s Small Business Success Stories
By Gerald Maithya, General Manager, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office
Africa is often hailed as the birthplace of some of the world’s most exciting tech startups. From Cape to Cairo, small businesses across the continent have become catalysts for change, helping to drive economic prosperity and leaving their mark on local society. In fact, it’s predicted that Africa’s digital economy, fueled by hundreds of active tech hubs, could contribute nearly $180 billion to the region’s growth by the mid-decade.
Gerald Maithya, General Manager, Microsoft Africa Transformation Office –
Having produced several industry shakers in the fintech space, it’s perhaps not surprising that the continent has become a very attractive option for startup investment. According to BCG, the rate of growth in the number of African startups receiving financial backing between 2015 and 2022 was nearly six times faster than the global average. And during the first nine months of 2023 alone, these tech ventures raised around $1.4 billion.
With SMEs already accounting for up to 90 percent of businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, much focus is placed on supporting this vital sector of the economy to reach the levels of success we’ve come to associate with Africa’s tenacious startup culture.
The question is – how do we empower the small business down the road to rise to the ranks of a Flutterwave in Nigeria or M-KOPA in Kenya?
The cloud effect
Much of the answer lies with providing these enterprises with the technology they need to drive operational efficiencies and scale their operations. Cloud technology, in the form of Microsoft Azure for example, has played an important part over the years in supporting Flutterwave’s core operations. Now as the company seeks to build on its success it is again looking to the expansion power of the cloud, building its next generation platform on Azure so that it can process high volume payments at scale, while also ensuring a seamless and secure payment experience for its clients.
Kenyan startup, M-KOPA, recently raised $250 million in debt equity. The company, which provides digital financial services to underbanked consumers, also relies heavily on the computing capacity of the cloud. In fact, its ability to process 500 payments per minute makes it possible for the startup to provide 3 million people across Africa with access to essential services such as solar power systems, digital loans, health insurance and smartphones.
Beyond fintech, small businesses are having a transformative impact on other key sectors such as healthcare. And as with Flutterwave and M-KOPA, many of these enterprises have something important in common – the backing of powerful technology.
In South Africa, Omnisient, is helping to elevate crucial decision-making across healthcare systems through a recent partnership with Altron HealthTech. The startup has created a platform that facilitates data collaboration across records and datasets and can securely match anonymised patient information in a safe environment for analysis. This allows Altron’s healthcare partners more insight into disease patterns and can improve treatments and medication efficacy. In the long term, Altron HealthTech hopes to use this information to support the healthcare industry in determining where new clinics, pharmacies and hospitals need to be built.
Another startup leaving its mark in the healthcare space, Zen Dawa, is helping to reimagine pharmaceutical operations across both rural and urban areas of East Africa by creating online access to pharmaceutical offerings as well as financing solutions for small businesses and pharmacy shops. By making use of Microsoft’s robust AI platform built on Azure, the startup is helping to contribute positively to the availability of essential medicines across East Africa.
There are still many questions to be answered, however, when it comes to drawing a larger number of the continent’s SMEs into the digital economy. Africa is still behind other regions in the world when it comes to digital infrastructure coverage, access, and quality. We are also still battling a shortage of skills and inadequate regulatory policy environments. In fact, with just 22 percent of the population online, Sub-Saharan Africa is still the world’s least connected region.
Supercharging Africa’s dynamic startup ecosystem
Addressing these issues will rely in no small part on the development of strategic alliances across both public and private sectors. These collaborations are pivotal to the development of comprehensive solutions to the multi-faceted challenges faced by small businesses in Africa. The FGN-ALAT digital Skillnovation Programme is a great example of this. A partnership between the Federal Government of Nigeria, Wema Bank, Get Funded Africa and Microsoft, the programme aims to train and equip one million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the country by the end of June 2024. Already 350, 000 MSMEs have been impacted.
Beyond skills, these businesses require business mentorship and access to market and finance opportunities – through effective collaboration the initiative aims to address all these needs in a holistic manner, facilitating opportunities, for example, to receive debt financing, equity investment and grants.
And by tapping into the distribution networks of multi-national corporations, the opportunity for strategic alliances to reach vast numbers of SMEs across the continent is significant. A recent partnership between Orange and Microsoft aims to accelerate the digitisation of small businesses in Africa by leveraging the telco’s formidable network to provide SMEs with access to Microsoft solutions such as Microsoft 365, Copilot, Azure, and Dynamics 365.
Similarly, the FAST Accelerator programme, which was launched together by Flapmax and Microsoft, helps startups scale rapidly and access new growth opportunities by bringing together cutting-edge technologies and business development strategies. Accelerators such as these with vast resources at their disposal are experiencing considerable success in helping startups like Zen Dawa to scale. In fact, with the support of the programme, the company now plans to dramatically extend the number of pharmacies it services from 520 to 10,000 by the end of the year.
The more Africa can produce successful collaborations such as these, the more we’ll start to see a greater number of small businesses emerge as powerful economic contributors. These strategic partnerships hold the key to unlocking immense potential across sectors, empowering entrepreneurial ventures to drive new digital solutions to long-standing challenges and creating a ripple effect that reverberates throughout the continent
Ola Olukoyede, executive chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has denied claims that he compelled Bayo Ojulari, group chief executive officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), to step down from his role.
Bayo Ojulari,
The allegations stemmed from an August 2, 2025, online publication which alleged that Olukoyede and Adeola Ajayi, director general, Department of State Services (DSS), pressured Ojulari into signing a resignation letter during a closed-door meeting in Abuja.
The report also suggested that Ojulari was interrogated over his purported links to Olatimbo Ayinde, British-Nigerian oil mogul, who is reportedly close to key figures in the present administration.
In a follow-up story, the news outlet further claimed Ojulari was later invited to the Presidential Villa, where First Lady Senator Remi Tinubu reportedly opposed his resignation.
Responding to the allegations, Dele Oyewale, spokesman, EFCC< issued a statement on Wednesday on behalf of the Commission, noting that Olukoyede, through his legal counsel Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), described the publications as defamatory and injurious to his integrity.
“The publications and the imputations conveyed by them are so damning and cannot be ignored or treated with levity,” the statement quoted.
Olukoyede denied any suggestion that he was acting at the behest of Ayinde or that his actions were influenced by external political figures.
A letter addressed to the editor of the publication, signed by Olumide-Fusika, reiterated the gravity of the claims and insisted on corrective measures.
“He, therefore, demanded that the medium acknowledge your wrongdoing, expressly admit that what you published and imputed against my client are false, apologise for it unreservedly and retract and pull down the stories from your newspaper website and social media handles,” the statement added.
Olukoyede said the story portrayed him as “someone that has betrayed and subverted public trust by submitting the authority of his public office and trust as Chairman of the EFCC to the dictates and directives of one Olatimbo Ayinde.”
Labelling the report as entirely fabricated, Olukoyede demanded an official apology and complete removal of the story from the outlet’s digital platforms within 48 hours.
PalmPay reinforced its commitment to data protection and youth empowerment with a ground-breaking partnership with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to launch the Youth Data Protection Awareness and Training (YDPAT) Program, which is targeted at equipping over 1,000,000 Nigerian youths digitally over 3 years.
The training program, commissioned last week at the Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua Centre in Abuja, will focus on providing youths with the right knowledge and skills required to navigate the digital landscape safely. With over 70% of the Nigerian population consisting of youths, this is an important move to foster trust, security and youth-focused innovation.
Speaking at the launch, the Honourable Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, commended PalmPay’s partnership in the actualisation of the program and described YDPAT as a bold step toward building a digitally literate and security-conscious generation.
In his words, “This is about building a privacy-first generation, one that is inclusive, future-facing, and globally competitive.” He also emphasised the low awareness of the Nigerian Data Protection Act (NDPA), 2023 and the critical shortage of certified Data Protection Officers (DPOs), despite over 500,000 data controllers operating in the country.
This position was equally supported by PalmPay’s Managing Director, Mr Chika Nwosu, who stated how data protection is as important as innovation in tech. He noted that PalmPay integrates privacy into every stage of its product development, ensuring that user information is safe.
Beyond ensuring data protection, PalmPay is committed to empowering young Nigerians with real opportunities for growth, with mentorship and internship placements for top-performing participants. It has led several youth-oriented initiatives, including the Purple Woman campaign, and Passing the Baton CSR for thousands of youths and women in urban and rural communities.
With a drive to achieve nationwide digital literacy, PalmPay is championing campaigns in Northern Nigeria, with more activations planned across various states.
Ekperikpe Ekpo, minister for State, Petroleum Resources (Gas), said it is working towards a renewed target of moving about five million homes to clean cooking by 2030.
Ekpo, made the declaration while delivering the ministerial address and remarks on Monday at the opening ceremony of the 48th Nigeria Annual International Conference & Exhibition (NAICE) 2025.
This year’s conference is themed ‘Building a Sustainable Energy Future: Leveraging Technology, Supply Chain, Human Resources, and Policy.’
He explained that the target can only be made possible through increased investment in gas infrastructure in critical projects such as the OB3 and AKK pipelines, progressing to deliver gas to markets nationwide; and promoting modular and scalable gas projects, including mini-LNG and CNG stations.
According to him, the government is also ramping up efforts to improve last-mile access and stimulate local economic activity and facilitate job creation through strategic public-private partnerships in the construction, logistics, and retail segments of the gas value chain.
“His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has placed gas at the heart of Nigeria’s energy strategy. His vision, aptly captured in the phrase “From Gas to Prosperity”, reflects our national ambition to utilise our abundant natural gas resources to fuel industrialisation, create jobs, and expand access to clean and affordable energy for all Nigerians.
“Over the past year, we have taken decisive steps in line with this vision. We have expanded gas supply for industrial use, prioritising gas availability for manufacturing hubs, power generation, and industrial corridors. As of today, I’ve been reassured that every gas offtaker currently receives the gas they require for their industrial processes; Rolled out the LPG Penetration Programme, distributing cylinders across the six geopolitical zones and empowering women and youth, promoting clean cooking.
“Under the Decade of Gas Initiative, we are also making meaningful strides to unlock value across the midstream and downstream sectors.
“Notably, we have facilitated the development of gas processing facilities and virtual pipeline systems, ensuring gas reaches off-grid and underserved communities, supported private sector investment in LPG and CNG infrastructure, including autogas stations, domestic cylinder manufacturing, and distribution networks, strengthened coordination via the Decade of Gas Secretariat, driving alignment and accountability across Ministries, Departments, and Agencies, Advanced the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP), converting waste to wealth while supporting environmental goals, secured presidential approvals to address legacy debts, incentivising upstream gas supply and stabilising the domestic market”, he said.
He also said the federal government has released much-needed financial support to project promoters via the Midstream Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF).
“All these efforts are anchored on a single, resolute belief, which is that Nigeria’s gas must work for Nigerians, not just as an export commodity, but as a foundation for inclusive growth, national development, and energy security.”
Speaking on the four pillars highlighted in the conference theme – technology, supply chain, human resources, and policy –- the Minister noted that each plays a vital role in shaping Nigeria’s energy future.
On technology, he said the adoption of digital solutions, automation, and data-driven tools across the gas value chain is essential.
“From reservoir monitoring to distribution analytics, emerging technologies can enhance efficiency, reduce emissions, and optimise delivery. The Ministry continues to collaborate with industry players to foster digital innovation,” he said.
He explained that a strong local supply chain is essential to sustaining the gas economy.
“Through the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), we are driving localisation of equipment manufacturing, pipe production, and other critical components to reduce import dependence and build national resilience.
“Our human capital remains our greatest asset. We are committed to nurturing a technically sound, diverse, and future-ready workforce through continuous training, strategic academic-industry partnerships, and deliberate youth and gender inclusion policies in the gas space.
“The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has provided a solid regulatory and fiscal foundation. We are implementing market-reflective gas pricing frameworks, encouraging deepwater gas development, and enforcing domestic supply obligations to drive investor confidence and sector expansion,” he noted.
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