BigFive Digital

25/06/2026

Can AI agents solve Africa’s agentic commerce trust barrier?

Paystack's introduction of Paystack Index, an experimental tool allowing users to authorize transactions via AI models like ChatGPT and Claude, marks a significant leap forward for conversational AI in Africa.

For the first time, users can command an LLM to purchase airtime, transfer funds, or buy groceries through Zap by Paystack.

But as agentic commerce moves from novelty to necessity, a critical bottleneck remains: Trust.

While AI can effortlessly fetch product recommendations or compare prices, allowing an autonomous agent to execute actual financial transactions requires a deep shift in consumer behavior. Users are understandably wary of giving an AI direct access to their wallets.

Paystack’s approach—bridging conversational AI with structured, human-in-the-loop authorization—is a vital first step in overcoming this friction. By keeping the consumer in ultimate control, we can begin building the trust framework needed to scale AI-driven commerce across the continent.

How do you see African consumers adapting to AI-managed wallets? Will trust frameworks like this be enough to trigger mass adoption?

👉 Read the full analysis in today’s edition of the Africa B2B Tech Report newsletter (free subscription):
https://ctlaughlin.substack.com/i/203499140/paystack-index-tackles-africas-ai-payments-trust-barrier

15/06/2026

African consumers love AI. Until it touches their money. 💸🤖

The numbers from Visa's latest Stay Secure 2026 report are out, and they expose a massive, fascinating paradox:

🇰🇪 In Kenya, 89% of shoppers happily use AI to compare prices and hunt down deals.

🇿🇦 In South Africa, 77% rely on AI for their pre-purchase research.

But the second you ask an African consumer to hit an AI-powered "Buy Now" button? Total radio silence.

Only 29% of Kenyans and a meager 23% of South Africans would trust an autonomous AI agent to handle the actual checkout. The moment money is involved, consumer confidence drives straight off a cliff.

Why the cold shoulder to AI at the point of sale?

Because the digital fraud environment on the continent is brutal.

In Kenya, 85% of people buy via social commerce, but a staggering 58% of scam victims got burned right there on social media.

Here is the kicker for banks, fintechs, and regulators: Consumers aren't blaming themselves.

Only 12% of Kenyans think fraud protection is an individual responsibility. Instead, they are pointing fingers directly at structural authorities—demanding that governments, payment infrastructure providers, and banks fix it.

The mandate for Africa's B2B tech sector, marketplaces, and payment aggregators is clear: Fancy, consumer-facing generative AI tools will get people browsing, but they won't drive conversions.

If you want to bridge the gap between AI discovery and real digital transactions, you need highly visible, secure-by-design infrastructure—like real-time bank notifications and unmistakable trust logos.

The race for agentic commerce in Africa is officially on, but the winners won't just have the smartest AI. They’ll have the most trusted security.

Read our full analysis on the AI Divide in the latest edition of the Africa B2B Tech Report newsletter. (Link in the comments 👇)

15/06/2026

Why do telecom giants keep trying to build "super apps" in Africa when the graveyard is already so full? 🪦📲

The latest heavyweight to step into the ring is MTN Group Fintech, striking a massive partnership with Ant International to turn its MoMo platform into a centralized operating system for digital finance, lifestyle, and B2B services, starting in Nigeria.

On paper, Africa is a playground for the super app model. Smartphone pe*******on is growing, but consumers suffer from high data costs, low storage, and fragmented local apps.

One low-data, single-download app that handles everything from messaging to payments sounds like a no-brainer.

Safaricom’s M-Pesa MyOneApp is already proving it can work in Kenya, and Orange’s "Max It" is picking up serious steam across West Africa.

But let’s be honest: Executing a super app on the continent is a regulatory and technical nightmare.

The Regulatory Trap: Operators have to play hopscotch across regional borders. They must navigate completely different laws for telecom, banking, and data privacy in each country.

The Informal Economy Reality Check: Turning a profit is incredibly difficult. If your app's design isn't perfectly tailored to handle the highly unpredictable cash flows of informal shopkeepers, users will open it once and delete it.

The Cybersecurity Bullseye: Centralizing a goldmine of consumer and financial data into a single interface gives hackers the ultimate target. A single platform breach wouldn't just cost money—it would obliterate any hard-won customer trust.

Is MTN’s partnership with Ant International a genuine game-changer for Pan-African digital commerce, or are they vastly underestimating the friction?

We break down the high-stakes battle for Africa's digital ecosystem in the Africa B2B Tech Report.

Read the full deep dive here: [Link in the comments 👇]

25/05/2026

As one of our guests, MsFiT Ventures Co-founder Jill Curr, points out, “female-led businesses are 70% less likely to default on debt than their male peers and offer 35% higher returns. And in South Africa, single women are actually the largest buyers of homes.”

The episode was recorded as a panel discussion on Women in Tech Leadership at the March BigFive Summit in Cape Town.

In this excerpt from our conversation with Jill and startup founder Laura Thomas (The Aligned Woman), Jill shares why she believes so firmly in the investability of female founders. And also why she believes a much larger share of Africa’s 245 million SMEs deserve funding.

Jill notes that venture capital in Africa has, over the decade-plus of its existence, funded perhaps 5,000 companies. She calls this at best a “rounding error” of the need for funding among African businesses, including the female-led African SMEs that MsFit is focused on, which account for a large share of those 245 million SMEs.

Most estimates place Africa’s SME funding gap at well over $300 billion. This is driven by the inability of most small businesses to access traditional credit, particularly the very small and micro-businesses that make up the largest share of the 245 million.

According to the International Finance Corp., citing 2021 stats, “Women own over 40% of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.”

MsFit Ventures is a debt fund, not a venture firm. The company has set out to provide flexible loans to 20 female-led SMEs to prove its thesis that backing women will deliver solid returns.

“What we're really trying to prove with our portfolio is that we're trying to reduce this risk premium that SMEs seem to get,” Jill says. “And specifically female-led SMEs.”

MsFit favors tech-enabled “real economy” businesses over tech startups. So far, the fund has invested in an events business as well as several small manufacturing firms. No fintechs yet. For now, MsFit is leaving fintech investing to others.

Listen to the episode on our Substack, or follow The BIG5D Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

https://open.substack.com/pub/ctlaughlin/p/the-big5d-podcast-ep-60-women-in?r=9bedt&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

19/05/2026

Our latest podcast episode explores the challenges that female founders face in Africa.

Originally recorded at the 2026 BigFive Summit in Cape Town, this conversation cuts to the core of what makes the hill steeper for female entrepreneurs. Not just in Africa, but everywhere.

Consider this quote from a segment on why female founders face a tougher task in convincing male investors to back them.

"For a female entrepreneur, they get asked, 'How are you going to be able to make this happen?' Not, 'What are you going to do once you've succeeded?' Which is often what they're asking their male counterparts."

Listen on our Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/ctlaughlin/p/the-big5d-podcast-ep-60-women-in?r=9bedt&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

19/05/2026

We have dropped a new podcast today, sharing a conversation about the struggles women face in The Business of African Tech. The episode was originally recorded at the 2026 BigFive Summit in Cape Town.

Here is a short excerpt on what it's like to pitch investors as a female founder vs. the experience of a male founder.

You can find the full episode on our Substack: https://open.substack.com/pub/ctlaughlin/p/the-big5d-podcast-ep-60-women-in?r=9bedt&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web

Or watch it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BWdEvxgksu8?si=G22olHiqOyFFFvWt

24/12/2025

Wishing the best for the Holiday Season to all our friends in Africa, the Middle East, and all over the world.

29/11/2025

Please enjoy our weekly roundup of news that matters to The Business of African tech on Substack.

This week, we learned about everything from the advancement of drone deliveries to AI infrastructure development in Africa.

Please subscribe for free.

Issue No. 103. Africa-Middle East B2B tech news & insights for 29 November 2025.