Welcome to March! 
Fourteen years after acquiring Skype, Microsoft has announced it will discontinue the video-calling platform in May. The company is shifting its focus to Microsoft Teams, its in-house platform. Since launching in 2017, Teams has grown from just 2 million users to an impressive 320 million daily active users. The 2020 lockdown was a turning point for video-conferencing platforms like Teams and Zoom, as Skype faded into the background, becoming a relic of a bygone internet age.
In other news, Nigeria’s food delivery industry is cooking up new players unafraid to go where big names like Chowdeck and Glovo will not: hyperlocal. We covered ten exciting startups that are jazzing up the food delivery industry.
Telecoms
MTN receives $21.2 million in owed debts from banks
Nigerian banks and telecom operators may not see eye to eye on the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) charges, which have kept both parties locked in a disagreement for years, but MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest operator, will take any progress it can get.
After years of stalled payments and regulatory interventions, MTN Nigeria has clawed back ₦32 billion ($21.2 million) from banks, a partial recovery of the ₦74 billion ($49.3 million) owed in USSD service charges.
The intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the communications regulator, appears to be paying off—at least partially. In December 2024, the regulators ordered banks to pay 85% of their ₦250 billion ($166.3 million) debt to telcos before year-end or face fines and service restrictions. The crackdown forced banks to act, but not quickly enough for MTN, which still classifies the unpaid sum as “receivables” pending settlement in 2025.
The recovered funds offer a much-needed cash flow boost, but they do little to offset MTN Nigeria’s deeper financial troubles. In 2024, the company reported an after-tax loss of ₦400.44 billion ($266.5 million)—nearly three times its ₦137.02 billion ($91.2 million) loss in 2023. The sharp decline stems from the naira’s depreciation, soaring tower lease costs, and mounting foreign currency obligations. Even with a 35.9% rise in service revenue to ₦3.3 trillion ($2.2 billion)—a record-breaking number for the operator—MTN Nigeria is still bleeding losses.
The question on everyone’s minds seems to be whether the recently approved hike in telecom tariffs could help MTN strengthen its revenue streams. The telecom operator now charges higher for voice, data, and SMS services. This could help cushion the impact of rising operational costs and stabilise its financial books.
As regulatory pressure continues to drive USSD debt repayment, banks are slowly settling their dues, while the telecom industry closely monitors the pace of compliance.
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Telecoms
ISPs affected in the Kenya Power, Nairobi county squabble
Blowbacks are a popular feature in disagreements. When two important parties clash, one of them is bound to suffer—or worse, an entirely unrelated group gets caught in the crossfire. Last week, Nairobi County officials and Kenya Power turned their dispute into a messy battle—one that featured a lot of sewage, garbage, and now, severed internet cables.
Kenya Power claims the county government owes it $23.1 million (KES 3 billion) in unpaid electricity bills, while Nairobi officials counter that the utility giant has been dodging wayleave fees for years. It resulted in a cat-and-dog fight that saw county workers cut fibre optic cables carrying internet for thousands of Kenyan homes, businesses, and schools.
The losers in this spat are not the warring factions but Kenya’s tech-driven economy and the affected citizens who depend on a stable internet. The Technology Service Providers Association of Kenya (TESPOK) has slammed the county’s actions, warning of the disruption’s ripple effects across hospitals, financial institutions, and essential services. Kenyan internet service providers (ISPs) are already counting losses running into millions of Kenyan Shillings, according to TESPOK.
Fixing severed fibre optic cables would require the affected ISPs to retrieve the broken cables and fix new ones. This could cost anywhere between KES5,500 ($42) to KES11,000 ($86) per kilometre—an expense the organisation deems would have been unnecessary.
TESPOK insists that Kenya Power’s agreements with service providers protect ISPs from unlawful disconnections, making the county government’s move both reckless and costly. It is now demanding full accountability and compensation for businesses and consumers affected by the blackout.
With the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) calling for a ceasefire, one thing is clear—this battle of unpaid bills has escalated beyond power lines and bureaucratic paperwork. If Nairobi’s leaders and Kenya Power don’t find common ground soon, the digital backbone of the city could take even more hits, leaving everyone else to pay the price.
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Economy
Kenya’s inflation rises, but risks remain
Kenya’s inflation accelerated to a five-month high of 3.5% in February, up from 3.3% in January, driven by rising food and energy prices, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Despite the increase, inflation remains below the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) 5% midpoint target for the ninth consecutive month.
On a monthly basis, inflation rose 0.3% as the overall consumer price index increased from 142.68 in January to 143.12 in February. Core inflation, which excludes volatile items like food and fuel, remained stable at 2%, signaling weak demand-driven price pressures. However, non-core inflation surged to 8.2% from 7.1% in January, reflecting higher food prices—especially vegetables—due to seasonal factors.
While inflation remains relatively low, the outlook could shift due to tax changes reinstated in December. The government reintroduced several tax measures that had been scrapped following anti-government protests, including an increase in the railway development levy from 1.5% to 2% and a change in the tax status of agricultural additives. These adjustments could lead to higher production costs for manufacturers and farmers, potentially pushing prices higher in the coming months.
With food prices already driving inflation higher, additional cost pressures from taxation could make essentials more expensive for consumers. While inflation remains within CBK’s target range, policymakers may need to monitor how these fiscal measures impact price stability, especially if supply chain disruptions or external shocks further strain the economy.
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CRYPTO TRACKER
The World Wide Web3
Source:
|
Coin Name |
Current Value |
Day |
Month |
|---|---|---|---|
 Bitcoin |
$93,009 |
+ 8.46% |
– 9.13% |
| Ether |
$2,451 |
+ 10.14% |
– 25.73% |
| Ripple |
$2.82 |
+ 25.63% |
– 7.54% |
| Solana |
$170.06 |
+ 18.63% |
– 25.70% |
* Data as of 06.15 AM WAT, March 3, 2025.
Events
- GITEX AFRICA 3rd edition is NOW OPEN for registration. Africa’s largest tech and start-up event will be held from 14-16 April 2025 in Marrakech, Morocco. Attend to see the leading brands in tech, and the most innovative startups, and network with tech leaders, investors, speakers and government delegations from across Africa and across the globe. Register here.
Written by: Emmanuel Nwosu and Faith Omoniyi
Edited by: Olumuyiwa Olowogboyega
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