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🤖 Cassava & AXON Unveil Africa’s First OaaS

🤖 Cassava & AXON Unveil Africa’s First OaaS

Plus: 💰Trove Brings UCML Operations In-House

Innovation Village
January 29, 2026

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Good Morning Valued Subscribers👋

High-profile disputes are increasingly testing the boundaries between online commentary, reputation, and the law in Nigeria. Ezra Olubi’s ₦140 million case has now pulled a familiar question back into focus: where does free expression end, and where does legal liability begin?

The conversation around a so-called “David Hundeyin Defense” reflects a growing pattern in public-interest disputes, where journalists, commentators, and defendants argue that their statements were made in the service of public accountability rather than personal malice. Whether that reasoning holds up in court is a different matter entirely. In this case, the legal viability of such a defense could help shape how future defamation and reputational claims involving public figures, tech founders, and media voices are argued in Nigeria’s courts.

Let’s dive in.👇

Today’s Menu ☕️

🤖 Cassava, AXON Launch Africa’s First OaaS Platform
⚖️ Olubi Hits Hundeyin With ₦140m Defamation Notice
💰 Trove Acquires UCML, Goes Fully In-House
📶Kenya Defers Vodacom–Safaricom Deal Review to Regional Regulators
👤 Dangote Appoints MTN CEO to Fertilizer Board Ahead of IPO

🤖ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Cassava, AXON Launch Africa’s First OaaS Platform

Cassava Technologies has partnered with AXON Networks to launch Africa’s first AI-first Operator-as-a-Service (OaaS) platform, enabling on-demand deployment and management of network services without traditional hardware-heavy infrastructure. The platform combines Cassava’s 110,000km pan-African fibre network with AXON’s AI-driven digital twin technology to design, optimise, and reconfigure networks in near real time, cutting deployment times and costs. Announced at the Counder Conference 2026, the initiative is positioned as foundational infrastructure for Africa’s digital and AI economy, supporting telecom operators, enterprises, and service providers with scalable, software-defined connectivity......….continue reading

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⚖️LEGAL

Olubi Hits Hundeyin With ₦140m Defamation Notice

Paystack co-founder and former CTO Ezra Olubi has issued a ₦140 million pre-action defamation notice to investigative journalist David Hundeyin over tweets published in December 2025. The posts compared Olubi to U.S. music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs and included allegations of moral misconduct, substance abuse, and abusive behaviour, which Olubi’s lawyers describe as false, malicious, and damaging to his reputation.

The dispute comes shortly after Olubi’s controversial exit from Paystack in November 2025, following public scrutiny and internal investigations. Olubi is demanding that Hundeyin delete the posts, issue a public retraction and apology, commit to refraining from further defamatory statements, and pay ₦140 million in damages within seven days, or face a lawsuit at the Lagos State High Court.......….continue reading

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💰ACQUISITIONS

Trove Acquires UCML, Goes Fully In-House

Trove Finance has acquired UCML Securities Limited and rebranded it as Innova Securities Limited, marking a strategic shift to a fully vertically integrated brokerage model. The move gives Trove direct control over trade execution, compliance, and governance, ending its reliance on third-party broker-dealers.

Founded in 2018, Trove enables Nigerians to invest in local and international equities. By owning a licensed broker-dealer, the fintech aims to improve execution speed, strengthen regulatory oversight, and enhance user experience. Existing users will be migrated gradually to Innova Securities, while new users will be onboarded directly.....….continue reading

Tony Elumelu Foundation - $5,000 seed capital plus training
She Leads Africa Accelerator - Business support for women-led startups
Cherie Blair Foundation Tech Programme
SEED Awards - Sustainable development enterprises
Women's Entrepreneurship Day Organization
African Management Institute | Learning Solutions for African Entrepreneurs

📶TELECOMS

Kenya Defers Vodacom–Safaricom Deal Review to Regional Regulators

Kenya’s Competition Authority (CAK) has withdrawn from conducting a full local review of Vodacom Group’s plan to increase its stake in Safaricom from 35% to 55%, deferring oversight to regional regulators. The KSh 272 billion ($1.6bn) deal will instead be assessed by the East African Community Competition Authority (EACCA) and the COMESA Competition Commission, as both companies operate across multiple member states.

Vodacom plans to acquire 15% of Safaricom from the Kenyan government and 5% from Vodafone. If approved, Vodacom would become the controlling shareholder, while Kenya retains a 20% stake. CAK will still provide input but says regional review avoids duplicated oversight. The deal is among the first major tests of the EAC Competition Act and is expected to face close scrutiny due to Safaricom’s dominance, particularly via M-Pesa.................…continue reading

👤APPOINTMENTS

Dangote Appoints MTN CEO to Fertilizer Board Ahead of IPO

Dangote Industries has appointed MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita to the board of Dangote Fertilizer as the company prepares for a planned IPO on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The move strengthens the subsidiary’s leadership ahead of expansion, with Mupita bringing deep capital markets experience, including leading MTN Nigeria’s 2019 listing.

Dangote Fertilizer currently produces about 3 million tonnes of urea annually and aims to become the world’s largest fertilizer producer by 2028, supported by plans to expand its Lagos plant and build a new facility in Ethiopia. The appointment aligns with Dangote’s broader strategy to scale its industrial businesses and tap public markets......…continue reading