Published by TechCabal on July 24, 2026.

Quick Fire: Zubair Timilehin on Building Bitoshi

Zubair Habib Timilehin is the founder and chief executive officer of Bitoshi, a fintech startup developing infrastructure intended to make digital assets and stablecoins practical for everyday payments across Africa. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, often by tracking a fiat currency, and they are increasingly discussed in African fintech because cross-border payments, remittances, and merchant settlement can remain costly or fragmented. Under his leadership, Bitoshi has grown to nearly 100,000 users, offering financial tools that connect traditional finance with blockchain technology and enable individuals and businesses to transact in Africa’s digital economy.

Asked to explain his work to a five-year-old, Timilehin compared financial technology to two toys: one that is fun but requires a large instruction manual before use, and another that is simple enough to pick up and begin using immediately.

“My job is to help build money tools that feel like the second toy,” he said. “I want people to be able to send, save, and use their money—whether it’s cash or digital—without needing to think about the technology behind it. If we’ve done our job well, people won’t think about how it works; they’ll simply know it works.”

On the challenges of founding a company in the digital asset sector, Timilehin said the industry’s pace of change is one of the hardest parts to manage. New blockchain networks, technical upgrades, security standards, and infrastructure continue to emerge, meaning teams must constantly learn and adapt. He said practices considered industry standards a year earlier may no longer be the best approach today.

He added that trust is an even larger challenge. Digital assets have been associated with scams and bad actors over the years, requiring legitimate companies to work harder to earn customer trust and maintain regulatory compliance.

“You’re not just building a great product,” he said. “You’re building a secure, compliant, and trustworthy business in an industry that’s still maturing. That’s a challenge most people outside the space don’t fully appreciate.”

Timilehin said Bitoshi’s growth to nearly 100,000 users has been driven mainly by word of mouth. The company did not set out to build a product people would talk about, he said, but instead focused on reducing the complication and fragmentation involved in cryptocurrency transactions. By solving a real problem and providing a seamless user experience, users began recommending Bitoshi to friends, family, and colleagues. He described that organic advocacy as the company’s most important growth driver.

Asked what warning label he would attach to being a crypto startup founder, he replied: “Don’t get too comfortable. Expect the best, but always prepare for the worst.”

Mr Price Takes Control of NKD’s European Operations

South African retailer Mr Price has taken control of NKD, the German retail company it agreed to acquire in 2025, expanding its operations across Europe. The acquisition adds 2,156 stores in seven European countries to Mr Price’s portfolio. Those stores had been operated by NKD under its parent company, Pegasus Holding Group, which was also included in the transaction.

Mr Price announced the R9.6 billion ($569 million) acquisition in December 2025. It became the owner of NKD in March 2026 after receiving approvals from the South African Reserve Bank and European regulators. NKD has since become part of the Mr Price Group.

In the first quarter of 2026, Mr Price’s sales increased 45.3% to R13.1 billion ($776 million). NKD contributed R3.8 billion ($225 million) in cash sales, helping offset a slower 3.2% sales increase in Mr Price’s South African business. TechCabal cited a Mr Price regulatory filing available through the JSE SENS system:

The transaction reflects a broader pattern among South African retailers, which have searched for growth opportunities outside their core clothing and grocery businesses. Companies such as Shoprite, Pepkor, Pick n Pay, Woolworths, and SPAR have tested adjacent businesses including telecoms through mobile virtual network operators, mobile phones, and smaller banking services.

Another recurring strategy has been geographic expansion. While Shoprite and SPAR have withdrawn from some foreign markets, Mr Price is seeking growth in Europe’s retail economy. Europe offers a more predictable consumer environment than South Africa has provided in recent years. Euro area growth has remained modest, but inflation has eased from the highs that followed the 2021-2022 energy crisis, and unemployment has stayed relatively low. Those conditions can make inventory planning, pricing, and margin management easier for value retailers.

South Africa, by contrast, has faced uneven growth rates, high unemployment, elevated borrowing costs, and electricity shortages that have weighed on household spending. In that context, NKD gives Mr Price exposure to a market outside its slower-growing home base.

For Mr Price, the financial rationale is becoming clearer. While its South African sales rose only 3.2%, the inclusion of NKD lifted group-level growth sharply. The acquisition functions as a hedge against stagnation in its domestic market. Unlike some previous international expansions by South African retailers that ended in retreat, Mr Price is betting that demand for value retail extends across markets.

Airtel Money Targets a London Stock Market Listing

Airtel Money, the mobile money business of Airtel Africa operating in 14 countries, is again preparing for a public listing after delaying its initial plan earlier in 2026. The company had originally planned to list in the first half of 2026 but paused the process in May.

An initial public offering is the first sale of shares by a private company to public investors, allowing the public to own part of the business. Airtel Money delayed its IPO after citing unfavourable market conditions and geopolitical shocks, especially the conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, which pushed oil prices higher and disrupted supply chains. Reuters reported on the delay in May:

Companies often postpone IPOs during volatile markets because a weak debut can reduce the amount of capital raised. Several companies, including Digi and Turkish Airlines, delayed IPO plans as investors became more cautious. TechCabal cited Reuters reporting on global IPO delays linked to Middle East tensions:

Airtel Money has selected the London Stock Exchange for the planned listing. London is already home to several companies with African roots, including Airtel Africa, Seplat Energy, and Helios Towers. The London IPO market has also shown early signs of recovery. In the first half of 2026, seven IPOs raised £577 million ($656 million), roughly a threefold increase in proceeds from the previous year, according to EY:

Airtel has not confirmed the valuation of the listing, how much it intends to raise, how many shares it plans to sell, or the exact listing date. Estimates cited in the source suggest the IPO could value Airtel Money at about $10 billion and raise around $1.5 billion, but those figures remain unconfirmed.

The company has confirmed continued growth in the business. Airtel Money serves 56.5 million customers and generated $404 million in revenue in the second quarter of 2026. The proposed listing will require the company to present its African mobile money growth story to global investors at a time when mobile money operators are increasingly being assessed as standalone payments businesses rather than only as extensions of telecom networks.

Funding Tracker

Mylerz, an Egyptian logistics startup, raised $2 million in debt and equity funding. The round was led by Lorax Capital Partners, with participation from Fawry and existing investors. The deal was reported on July 21.

Reme-D, an Egyptian healthtech startup, raised $1.45 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by Anara Impact Capital. Global Innovation Fund, Africa Health Ventures, and several other investors also participated. The deal was reported on July 20.

TechCabal also referred readers to its State of Tech in Africa Review for the first half of 2026: https://insights.techcabal.com/state-of-tech-in-africa-h1-2026-recap-is-consolidation-the-new-growth-story/.

Crypto Tracker

TechCabal’s World Wide Web3 tracker listed day and month movements as of 06:35 AM WAT on July 24, 2026. The source table did not display coin names or current values in the extracted text, but it recorded the following day and month changes: -0.71% and +3.88%; -2.45% and +12.40%; -2.50% and +0.42%; and -2.43% and +8.37%.

Job Openings

TechCabal listed several job openings for the week and referred readers to its job board for more opportunities.

• ARM — Funding Accounting Officer — Lagos, Nigeria:
• Scouthappy — Growth Product Manager — Remote, Nigeria:
• Chowdeck — Junior Accounting Associate, Senior Mobile Engineer, Customer Support Representative, Inventory Manager, DevOps Engineer, and multiple roles — Hybrid in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Ibadan, Nigeria:
• Binance — General Manager, West Africa — Remote, Africa:
• Pesa — Brand and Content Specialist — Remote, Nigeria:

The original edition was written by Opeyemi Kareem and Zia Yusuf, and edited by Emmanuel Nwosu and Ganiu Oloruntade.