From Regulation to Revolution: The Emerging Policies Driving Africa’s 2025 Tech Boom
Here's what you need to know! 🤭🤭
Happy weekend, Dear Innovator 👊
Big changes are coming to Africa’s tech scene. In Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa and other African countries, governments are rolling out policies which may be a sign that new tech opportunities are on the horizon 😉
Today, we’re taking a closer look at:
Nigeria and Kenya’s new digital taxation
The AI and data governance policies set to keep innovation ethical
New moves to regulate online content and more!
Scroll to see exactly how these shifts could change the game for tech in Africa 👇
Digital Taxation: New Rules on Digital Assets And Others
What’s Happening? 🤷
In Nigeria and Kenya, the government have introduced rules to ensure that digital companies contribute their fair share to public revenues. These rules don’t just target traditional profits—they also cover revenue from digital assets, AI-driven services, and data monetisation.
Specifically, in Nigeria, the Finance Act 2023 introduced a 10% capital gains tax on the disposal of digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, effective from September 2023. Plans for broader tax laws covering cryptocurrency transactions were announced in August 2024 but were not implemented by the end of the year.
In Kenya, the 1.5% Digital Services Tax on digital marketplaces was replaced in December 2024 with the ‘Significant Economic Presence Tax’, targeting non-residents earning through digital platforms. Kenya also introduced a 3% tax on cryptocurrency transfers in 2023.
2. AI and Data Governance
What’s New?
As AI becomes a daily reality, governments around the world are setting detailed rules to ensure its ethical use while pushing for innovation, and African governments aren’t any different. The AU’s Continental AI Strategy (adopted in July 2024) guides several African nations, but so far the progress varies across the continent.
To start with, Kenya’s Data Protection Act, 2019 already includes rules on data privacy, cross-border data transfers, and data localisation. Their National AI Strategy (2025–2030), which was launched in January 2025, goes further to emphasize ethical data usage and plans for secure data practices.
South Africa released a draft of their National AI Policy Framework in August 2024, which sets out broad goals for ethical AI use, including transparency and accountability. In Nigeria, there’s also been ongoing work on the National AI Strategy which highlights data governance
3. How About Digital Infrastructure and Connectivity?
South Africa has made strides in expanding broadband connectivity. Policies such as the 2022 spectrum auction have enabled the deployment of 5G and aimed to reduce the digital divide in the country, particularly in rural areas.
Kenya has also seen significant investments in fiber-optic networks, supported by government initiatives like the ‘Digital Superhighway Project’, which plans to lay 100,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cable to expand coverage nationwide. The Kenya Digital Economy Acceleration Project (KDEAP), backed by a $390 million World Bank investment, also seeks to expand high-speed internet access and mobilise private capital for broadband infrastructure.
Kenya’s ICT sector has attracted significant investment, with the digital economy expected to contribute up to 9.24% of GDP in 2025. Big-tech companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS) have chosen Kenya for regional development and data centers, indicating a favourable investment climate.
Across Africa, partnerships between governments and private sector players like Google, Meta, and multinational telecom giants (MTN, Orange, Vodafone) are driving infrastructure development. For example, Google’s $1 billion commitment in 2022 to Africa’s digital transformation includes undersea cables like Umoja, which connects Kenya to Australia via several African countries, aiming to improve internet access and reduce costs.
Have you seen this??
Kenyan Innovators have done a BIG thing in healthcare using AI. Sweeeet! 😍
4. Content Regulation and Digital Sovereignty: Aligning Global Platforms with Local Values
African governments are increasingly seeking to regulate digital content and assert digital sovereignty, driven by a mix of protecting national values and ensuring security.
In Nigeria, digital content regulation is governed by the Nigeria Data Protection Act (NDPA) 2023 and the NITDA Code of Practice for Interactive Computer Service Platforms (2022). The NITDA Code emphasizes co-regulation, requiring platforms to moderate harmful content and conduct risk assessments.
In Egypt, digital policy efforts focus on AI regulation, data protection, and digital sovereignty, with initiatives like the launch of its second AI strategy in 2025.
The broader trend of aligning global platforms with local values is real, as seen in efforts by Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa and other African nations, to set benchmarks in data governance and online platform regulation. The African Union is also working to harmonise policies under frameworks like the AfCFTA and Smart Africa Alliance, emphasizing data sovereignty and cross-border digital trade.
5. E-commerce and Financial Services
What’s New?
Digital payments and online financial services are reshaping everyday commerce, particularly in regions like Kenya, where traditional banking has been less accessible.
With only 44% of Kenyan adults holding bank accounts, mobile money services like M-Pesa have become the dominant financial tool, with 80% of adults using them for money transfers and transactions reaching KES 790 billion ($6 billion) by February 2024.
Kenya’s National Payments Strategy (2022–2025) is the cornerstone of their payments evolution, aiming to create a secure, fast, efficient, and collaborative payments system that creates room for financial inclusion and innovation. One of their key focus is achieving full interoperability between mobile money platforms like M-Pesa, Airtel Money, and others, enabling users to transfer funds seamlessly across different services.
So far, significant progress has been made allowing customers to pay merchants regardless of their network, and M-Pesa’s integration with PesaLink in January 2025, which simplifies transactions between mobile wallets and bank accounts. However, it currently relies on industry-led initiatives and collaboration rather than strict regulatory mandates. Nevertheless, these efforts are steadily advancing Kenya’s financial inclusion goals, setting a benchmark for digital payment systems across Africa.
Why Should Any Of This Matter To You? 🫵
(This is a TL/DR )
As an African tech innovator, you need to be informed and actually care about the policy changes that are occurring in the ecosystem because they’re reshaping your playground and the rules that you can play by.
From new taxes like Nigeria’s 10% crypto levy to Kenya’s AI strategies, these initiatives demand compliance but are also avenues to spark innovation opportunities. Enhanced connectivity, like South Africa’s 5G efforts, serves to boosts reach and also invites competition. The content and digital payments laws also do the same.
These shifts signal Africa’s digital boom to the rest of the world and as an innovator, it should be your call adapt to lead, not just survive. The world’s watching; will you shape the future or simply follow along?