Damilola Ayeni

Why new Unilever-Google partnership is dangerous for startups

As Unilever builds a "digital backbone" with Google Cloud, it is constructing a barrier that could make smaller competitors functionally invisible to the AI assistants of tomorrow.

Talksign-1: A Nigerian is racing Google to build AI for deaf communication

A little-known project is building a foundational AI model that understands sign language and enables seamless communication for millions of deaf people.

The $6.2 billion tug-of-war: Whose win is MTN’s IHS acquisition?

While MTN frames the move as a strategic necessity to stabilise costs, local tech leaders and federal regulators are raising a red flag.

Dear founder, Eden Life just exposed you

The next time a founder announces funding rounds and expansion, I hope the media finds the devil in the detail before shouting “growth!”

Does Nigeria need 500 fintechs?

If the United States currently sustains over 13,100 fintechs, is Nigeria’s 500-strong army an excess?

Inside the Temu–Jumia battle for Africa’s digital market

Temu was winning the price war, but the battle for the African consumer was far from over.

Kenya’s most powerful fintech is under siege—and fighting back

The regulator needs Safaricom to succeed to keep the economy moving, yet they are terrified of its power.

African startups have a number problem

If African startups want credibility, the ecosystem must learn to respect numbers as instruments of interpretation. Consistency is not negotiable

Conflicting public numbers cloud Moniepoint’s growth story

As public metrics disagree, questions emerge about how fast and how far Moniepoint is really growing.

WAXAL to help AI speak vernacular: what does it mean for Africa?

With WAXAL, Google may have powered a fundamental shift in the relationship between 1.4 billion Africans and the machines they use every day.

How Kenya killed climate tech giant KOKO — and why

Despite signing a framework agreement with KOKO in 2024, the government ultimately withheld the LoA, sending a promising climate tech company into the grave.

How tithes and offerings became an ₦8 trillion use case on Moniepoint

The data shows that religious giving is increasingly processed through fintech infrastructure, and Moniepoint has effectively become a conduit for one of Nigeria’s largest, least-examined financial flows.