Happy midweek.

Standard Chartered Kenya is set to become a tenant in its own headquarters. Business Daily reported that the lender is working through bids to sell the Westlands property while leasing back the space it still needs, another sign that many banks are deciding they do not need to own as much real estate as they once did.

Let’s look at the key events across African tech yesterday.

Become smarter about tech and commerce in Francophone Africa, and the policies shaping them. Read our newsletter here first or subscribe below.

Layoffs at Luno

Airtel Money Kenya appoints acting MD

Sport powers DStv comeback

Kenya drafts labour policy around AI

World Wide Web3

Opportunities

Layoffs

UK-headquartered crypto firm Luno cuts global workforce by 20%

There was a time when crypto exchanges were focused on getting everyone to buy Bitcoin. Luno is still very much in the retail trading business, but it is trying to build additional revenue streams beyond individual crypto traders; its staff are the price to pay for that restructuring.

What happened? Luno, the UK-headquartered crypto firm operating a regional base in South Africa, is cutting 20% of its global workforce as it reorganises the company. According to local publication TechCentral, part of Luno’s South African team was affected.

Why now? The company said it is restructuring after investing heavily in automation, and wants to build products and infrastructure for banks and other large businesses.

Explain like I’m five: Luno makes money every time people buy or sell crypto on its platform. When Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are rising, excitement pulls more people into the market and trading volumes climb, but when prices fall, most people fold their hands. So, no trading.

Luno pointed to that as its reason for the cuts. Bitcoin slipped below $59,000 in June, its lowest level since September 2024, while Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Dogecoin all posted steeper weekly declines. Those price drops tend to reduce trading activity, making it harder for exchanges that depend on transactions.

Not the first time: In 2023, after Bitcoin crashed from nearly $69,000 to below $17,000, the company cut 35% of its workforce during the crypto winter. This time might be different, though. The 2023 layoffs were about surviving a market crash, while the 2026 layoffs are about changing the business itself.

Fincra now issues dedicated GHS virtual accounts to enable businesses to collect payments. See how Fincra GHS virtual accounts work.

Fintech

Airtel Money Kenya replaces former managing director

Airtel Money Kenya, the mobile money challenger to Safaricom’s M-PESA, is undergoing an important leadership transition as the broader Airtel Money business, which operates in 14 African markets, prepares for its anticipated London public listing this year.

The mobile money operator, owned by the telco Airtel, has appointed Bonke Michael as its acting managing director, three days after former boss Anne Kinuthia-Otieno resigned from the role.

What happened? Airtel Money Kenya has promoted Michael to acting managing director after nearly a decade at the company. The appointment comes as Airtel Money prepares for an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) later this year.

Between the lines: Under Anne Kinuthia-Otieno, the company’s total income rose to KES 1.68 billion ($12 million) in 2025 from KES 1.09 billion ($8.4 million) a year earlier, while profit after tax nearly doubled to KES 143 million ($1.1 million). Michael will now have to prove those gains were not a one-off and keep Airtel Money growing as it heads towards a London IPO.

The bigger picture: This appointment says as much about Airtel’s IPO strategy. When Kinuthia-Otieno took over in 2021, Airtel Money controlled just 3.1% of Kenya’s mobile money market. By March 2026, that figure grew to 10.9%, while market leader M-PESA’s share fell from 96.8% to 89.1%. Kenya now has 53.4 million active mobile money subscriptions.

Zoom out: Airtel Money Kenya likely also chose a veteran in the role because, with its upcoming IPO plans, it needs someone with institutional memory who can help steer the process in the near term. The mobile money operator is seeking a $10 billion valuation, hoping to convince global investors that it is building an investable business. Winning investor confidence will be Michael’s biggest test in the role.

Transaction Guard lets you set single, daily, or monthly transaction limits. Whenever a transaction exceeds your chosen limit, facial verification is required before it can be completed, helping to prevent unauthorised transfers. With PalmPay, you stay in control. Learn more.

Streaming

Canal+ is fixing MultiChoice with DStv Stream and sport

If you paid for a DStv subscription in the last ten months, congratulations, you are part of the company’s growth numbers. Ten months after taking over MultiChoice, Canal+, the French media giant, has posted numbers that suggest its turnaround is working. Subscriber acquisition across MultiChoice markets rose 40% year-on-year, while adjusted operating profit surged 160% to €143 million ($162 million). In South Africa, June recorded the strongest month for new subscriber acquisitions in a decade.

What’s happening? This is not just a story of cheaper decoders. Canal+ has been pushing DStv Stream, a version of the service that needs no satellite dish, just an internet connection and a subscription. The company also slashed decoder prices for new subscribers by up to 40%, removing a major barrier to entry in African pay-TV. It also expanded its physical sales network by more than 15% since March, betting that in many markets, people still sign up for TV in a shop, not on a website.

What else? On content, the French owner is doubling down on live sport: MultiChoice’s one category that still commands reliable paying audiences. It has locked in long-term rights to South Africa’s Premier Soccer League and the 2027 Men’s and 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cups. In April, it discontinued Showmax as a standalone business, folding its streaming ambitions into a simpler portfolio.

Zoom out: Financially, the Canal+ acquisition is paying off. The company has achieved roughly half of its €250 million ($284 million) annual synergy target — the cost savings and revenue boosts expected from combining the two businesses — with MultiChoice operations contributing €120 million ($136 million) in profit improvements during the first half. For now, though, Canal+ is not trying to reinvent pay-TV as a streaming clone. It is making satellite cheaper to access, offering a no-hardware streaming option for those who want it, and betting that live sport will keep both audiences paying.

Zoho is built for Nigerian businesses with local pricing that makes sense. No dollar stress. No conversion chaos. Just tools for Sales, Finance, Marketing, HR, Support and more — all in one place. Learn more.

AI

Kenya’s AI policy takes on the challenges facing the invisible workforce behind global AI

Kenya has published a draft national AI policy, open for public consultation until August 4, that proposes formal labour protections for the people behind the algorithms: content moderators, data annotators and AI quality evaluators.

What happened? The draft policy, released on July 21, comes after years of documented exploitation in the sector, including the long-running controversies around content moderation work in Kenya, where companies such as Sama have faced allegations and legal challenges related to working conditions, psychological harm and labour practices.

Workers employed by outsourcing firms serving the likes of OpenAI and Meta have reportedly earned between $1.46 and $3.74 an hour, a fraction of the $21 to $27 paid for similar roles in the US. The proposed policy seeks to change that by introducing a Fair Pay Reference Framework that benchmarks wages against international rates and would force employers to disclose pay structures.

Explain like I’m new here: The policy would guarantee written contracts, mental health support and grievance mechanisms for AI value-chain workers. It also proposes duty-of-care obligations requiring companies to limit exposure to disturbing material and provide psychological support.

What else? The rule applies to local AI companies and international firms using Kenyan workers through outsourcing partners. The policy also wants data labelling recognised as formal skilled work within Kenya’s national qualifications framework, not gig work to be discarded.

Zoom out: The move builds on recent pushback in the courtroom. The Court of Appeal rejected Meta’s argument that Kenyan courts lacked jurisdiction over content moderator disputes, and a separate ruling ordered Meta to provide medical and psychological support to moderators and annotators.

If adopted, Kenya would become one of the first African jurisdictions to formally regulate the human layer critical to AI’s growth, signalling that global tech firms can no longer treat the continent’s workers as invisible inputs.

The theme for this year’s Naira Life Conference by Zikoko is “All About Wealth.” Join 2,000+ in Lagos on August 22 for a day of practical money conversations and workshops designed to move you from simply earning an income to building lasting wealth. Get 15% off early bird tickets.

CRYPTO TRACKER

The World Wide Web3

Source:

Coin Name

Current Value

Day

Month

• 0.73%

• 7.20%

• 1.14%

• 21.96%

• 19.02%

– 7.43%

• 0.09%

• 2.91%

• Data as of 06.37 AM WAT, July 29, 2026.

Opportunities

Building an off-grid energy solution? All On is offering up to $1 million in blended finance through its Off-Grid Challenge 2026 to support innovative energy access projects. Applications close July 31, 2026. Apply here.

Founders Fund Africa, the investment platform backed by Chocolate City Music Group, has opened applications for its 2026 Creative Economy Accelerator Programme. The programme is open to African startups building in music, film and media, design and creative tech. Selected startups will receive between $20,000 and $50,000 in funding and support. Applications close on August 28. Apply here.

Cape Verde got the world’s attention. Francophone African tech still needs it.

Airtel Money wants a $1 billion IPO. Can London deliver?

Hugging Face has a deepfake nudes problem

Written by: Opeyemi Kareem and Zia Yusuf

Edited by: Emmanuel Nwosu & Ganiu Oloruntade

Sign up for our insightful newsletters on the business and economy of tech in Africa.

The Next Wave: futuristic analysis of the business of tech in Africa.

Francophone Weekly by TechCabal: insider insights and analysis of Francophone’s tech ecosystem

P:S If you’re often missing TC Daily in your inbox, check your Promotions folder and move any edition of TC Daily from “Promotions” to your “Main” or “Primary” folder and TC Daily will always come to you.