We have prepared context and insights about this week’s leading news. The stories are:
- Airtel Africa records $376 million profit in H1 2025
- Ghana wants everyone on .gh domain
- Kenya’s gig economy gets a tax wake-up call
Airtel Africa records $376 million profit in H1 2025
Airtel Africa’s books have maintained a steady run of profitability. The telco reported a $376 million profit after tax for the first half of 2025, a massive jump from last year’s $79 million. The major reason? A $90 million foreign exchange gain, thanks to a slightly better-behaved naira and a stronger Central African franc.
Nigeria, Airtel’s biggest playground (and biggest headache), finally threw the company a bone after last year’s naira-induced losses. Add that to solid growth across data and mobile money, and Airtel’s financials are finally smiling again. Revenue rose 24.5% in constant currency, with data up 37% and mobile money surging 30%.
The company’s total customer base hit 173.8 million, while mobile money users jumped 20% ahead of its planned 2026 listing. Still, Airtel Nigeria’s mobile money game is lagging, with just 2 million users, compared to 38.9 million in East Africa.
Meanwhile, Airtel is building big things. The company’s new 44MW data centre, Nxtra, in Nairobi’s Tatu City, is set to become East Africa’s largest. It’s expected to go live in early 2027, ready to host the continent’s next wave of cloud and AI workloads.
Click to Read More Ghana wants everyone on .gh domain
Ghana wants everyone doing business in the country to start flying the digital flag, literally. Under a new bill, companies might soon be forced to swap their .com and .net for a proudly local .gh domain. Basically: if you’re doing business in Ghana, your URL better say so too.
The proposed Ghana Domain Name Registry Act (2025) would require every business registered or operating in the country to use a .gh domain for any public-facing website or platform. Those who don’t comply within six months risk heavy fines and blocked websites.
The bill, open for public comment until November 7, also establishes a new Domain Name Registry to manage all .gh domains. The registry would have sweeping powers: from suspending licences to asking Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to cut off defaulting businesses. Directors could be fined up to 5,000 penalty units, while companies could pay between 1,000 and 10,000 penalty units per year of non-compliance.
Still, there are a few escape routes. Businesses hosted abroad or targeting non-Ghanaian audiences can apply for exemptions. But they’ll have to prove their case fast before the domain police come knocking.
Kenya’s gig economy gets a tax wake-up call
A recent High Court ruling has thrown Kenya’s gig economy into a spin. The court decided that Sendy, the logistics startup that went under two years ago, wasn’t just a middleman connecting drivers and customers. It was a full-blown service provider. The verdict? Sendy owes the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) KES 82.2 million ($635,000) in VAT.
Justice Helene Namisi said Sendy controlled “essential elements” of delivery: setting terms, authorising drivers, and collecting payments in its own name. Translation: you can’t claim to be a platform when you run the show.
The bigger story, though, is what this means for everyone else. By treating Sendy as a principal, the court has handed the KRA a green light to go after other platforms like Uber, Bolt, Glovo, Jumia, and Little Cab. Under this interpretation, VAT applies to the entire customer payment, not just the commission slice. That could make operating costs jump, and prices too.
With Kenya’s e-commerce sector expected to hit KES 145.8 billion ($900 million) this year, the decision might be the start of a major shake-up for digital businesses that have long called themselves “tech platforms.” The taxman, it seems, isn’t buying that label anymore.
By the Numbers
85%
About 85% of Nigeria’s retail crypto investors, mostly students and entrepreneurs, earn below ₦250,000 ($160) per month, according to The State of Crypto Adoption in Nigeria 2025 report.
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