Real Economy - African Tech Roundup

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Real Economy

A collection of 8 posts

OP-ED - Reading Aboyeji's big week: making sense of Africa's competing investment theories

Venture Capital

OP-ED - Reading Aboyeji's big week: making sense of Africa's competing investment theories

When the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) backs two very different fund managers in the same announcement, and a new philanthropic venture-builder launches with an ambitious manifesto within a fortnight, the question isn't necessarily which intervention is right.

The Trajectory Africa Distilled #04: Cross-Border Payments—Stablecoins vs. Instant Payment Systems

The Trajectory Africa Distilled

The Trajectory Africa Distilled #04: Cross-Border Payments—Stablecoins vs. Instant Payment Systems

Instant payment systems like the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) offer a state-sanctioned alternative to stablecoins, but face structural constraints that are ultimately political, not technical. Tayo Akinyemi works through the trade-offs.

The Trajectory Africa Distilled #03: The Infrastructure Behind Productive Lending

The Trajectory Africa Distilled #03: The Infrastructure Behind Productive Lending

Open banking regulation, fragmented data, and punishing cash reserve ratios explain why creditworthy borrowers and affordable capital so rarely find each other in African markets.

OP-ED - What really happens between "send" and "received"

Market Intelligence

OP-ED - What really happens between "send" and "received"

A Nigerian software engineer on currency volatility, rate buffers, and why transparency beats the "zero fees" promise every time.

OP-ED - When the crowd becomes the mob: prediction markets and the price of 'truth'

Digital Economy

OP-ED - When the crowd becomes the mob: prediction markets and the price of 'truth'

A journalist threatened over a betting market. Insider trading on military strikes. Billions wagered on geopolitical chaos. The question must be asked: are prediction markets indispensable truth machines or sophisticated casinos with geopolitical consequences.

OP-ED - My former teacher wants to put a conscience in AI. I have thoughts.

Digital Transformation

OP-ED - My former teacher wants to put a conscience in AI. I have thoughts.

Smart legal contracts might be AI's best guardrail. But the system they're designed to protect was never neutral to begin with.

The Trajectory Africa Distilled #02: Infrastructure-building Opportunities in Fintech

The Trajectory Africa Distilled #02: Infrastructure-building Opportunities in Fintech

Trade credit, stablecoins, neobanks — where the smart money is heading next.

POD - Impact theatre check: Balloon Ventures' contrarian sensibilities to SME financing in East Africa

Impact Investing

POD - Impact theatre check: Balloon Ventures' contrarian sensibilities to SME financing in East Africa

Joshua Bicknell, co-founder of Balloon Ventures, discusses how the financial institution is challenging conventional investor logic by backing "boring businesses" to create sustainable employment in East Africa.