📱5% Telecoms Excise Duty Scrapped

Plus: ⚖️ Google to pay $30m in Children’s YouTube Lawsuit

Innovation Village
August 21, 2025

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Today’s Menu ☕️

📱5% Telecoms Excise Duty Officially Scrapped by NCC
🛒 Shoprite Checkers pilots high-tech ‘Xpress Trolley’ to revolutionize in-store shopping experience
💸 SEFAA secures $10 million investment to expand support for agri-SMEs across Africa
🚗 Bolt introduces dash cam app in Kenya to address safety concerns and rebuild trust
🍕 The Domino’s Secret: Why Your Best Business Idea Might Be Born at Your 9-to-5
🏦 EBRD to launch operations in Nigeria in 2025, signaling major boost for tech sector

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📰NEWS

5% Telecoms Excise Duty Officially Scrapped by NCC

President Bola Tinubu has permanently abolished the 5% excise duty on telecommunications services, a controversial levy first introduced under the 2020 Finance Act. The move is expected to ease financial pressure on over 220 million telecom users while boosting innovation and investment in Nigeria’s fast-growing digital economy.

Industry stakeholders, who had long resisted the duty, welcomed the decision as a pro-people reform that strengthens affordability and digital inclusion. To ensure consumers feel the impact, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is rolling out new regulatory measures—from a public map of network performance to quarterly service quality reports.…continue reading

🛒BUSINESS

Shoprite Checkers pilots high-tech ‘Xpress Trolley’ to revolutionize in-store shopping experience

South Africa’s largest grocery retailer, Shoprite Checkers, is reimagining in-store shopping with the launch of its Xpress Trolley, a smart cart that lets customers scan, bag, and pay as they shop—skipping long checkout queues entirely.

Powered by Shoprite’s innovation arm, ShopriteX, the trolley features a built-in touchscreen that tracks spending in real time, offers personalized promotions, and even helps shoppers navigate the store. Payments are processed directly via the Checkers Sixty60 profile, with customers exiting through a dedicated gate after receiving a receipt.

The pilot begins in two Western Cape stores—Checkers Hyper Brackenfell and Checkers Constantia—where 10 smart trolleys will be introduced at each location…continue reading

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💸INVESTMENT

SEFAA secures $10 million investment to expand support for agri-SMEs across Africa

The Social Enterprise Fund for Agriculture in Africa (SEFAA), managed by Sahel Capital, has received a $10 million investment from the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund, administered by MEDA Mauritius. The funding will expand SEFAA’s ability to finance agri-SMEs—businesses that are critical to Africa’s food systems yet often excluded from traditional lending.

Since its launch in 2021, SEFAA has supported 18 companies across seven African countries, processing 33 financing facilities to date. With this new backing, the fund aims to deepen its impact by catalyzing job creation, strengthening agricultural value chains, and fostering resilience—especially for women and youth entrepreneurs.....continue reading

🚗TRANSPORTATION

Bolt introduces dash cam app in Kenya to address safety concerns and rebuild trust

Bolt has rolled out a new in-app dash cam feature in Kenya, allowing drivers to use their smartphones to record trips for added security. The footage, stored securely within the app, can be accessed in cases of disputes, harassment, or emergencies—providing a cost-effective alternative to traditional dash cams.

The move follows a wave of safety concerns in Kenya, where Bolt has faced criticism over incidents of harassment, theft, and assault involving both drivers and passengers. It also builds on earlier initiatives such as the SOS emergency button and FamilyProfile for trip tracking and spending controls.

With competitors like Uber testing audio and video recording features, Bolt’s push for safety is also about staying ahead in Africa’s fast-evolving ride-hailing market. Kenya, one of its most active markets, is central to this strategy....…continue reading

👨🏽BUSINESS

The Domino’s Secret: Why Your Best Business Idea Might Be Born at Your 9-to-5

Balancing a full-time job with building a side business can be tough—but it also unlocks something powerful: intrapreneurship. This mindset turns everyday employees into innovators who think and act like owners. It’s about spotting problems, seizing opportunities, and driving change from within an organization.

The story of Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza, illustrates this well. Long before he bought his first pizzeria, Monaghan was already practicing intrapreneurship as a newspaper delivery worker—finding new ways to delight customers, learning business fundamentals, and treating his job as a training ground. That experience became the foundation of a billion-dollar empire.

Today, the same principle applies. Whether it’s streamlining delivery routes or rethinking customer experiences, employees who embrace intrapreneurship transform not only their companies but also themselves. Your current role isn’t just a job—it can be the classroom where you learn the skills, resilience, and vision to build whatever comes next....…continue reading