👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Layoffs at eBee

It’s been a rough year for Kenya’s eBee Africa. From the sudden exit of its CEO and co-founder in March 2025, to a wounding tax dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over the classification of imported electric bicycles a month later. 

The latest? Mass layoffs across all departments. By July, most of the employees who survived the swinging axe left on their own, leaving the company running on a skeleton crew.

Why the job cuts? eBee blamed falling revenues, high operating costs, and the unsustainable nature of employee wages. The company also said it was restructuring its business model to adopt a leaner operation structure.

It wasn’t always this way. When eBee entered the Kenyan market, it became the poster child for Kenya’s green mobility future. It rolled out fleets with Jumia, Glovo, and Bolt, expanded to Uganda and Rwanda by mid-2024, and even promised to put a million electric bicycles on African roads by 2030. For a while, it looked like the dream was catching on.

Why it matters: Kenya’s e-mobility sector is at a crossroads. Riders with limited purchasing power are opting for cheaper, second-hand motorbikes, leaving higher-priced electric bicycles struggling to find a market.

Although eBee says it remains operational, if adoption crumbles under the weight of cost and demand barriers, electric mobility options risk stalling before they ever get into gear.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), has injected ₦365.85 billion ($236 million) into GTBank, its commercial bank subsidiary, to help meet Nigeria’s Central Bank capital requirements. The fresh capital allows GTBank to maintain its international licence and expand lending, grow its branch network, and improve its technology infrastructure. 

Catch up:  In March 2024, the CBN turned up the heat on lenders. It ordered banks to raise fresh capital to cushion the effects of the naira’s devaluation and persistent inflation. The new rule set a minimum capital base of ₦500 billion ($325 million) for international banks like GTBank, or risk losing their licences.

State of play: GTBank’s parent company, GTCO, has cleared the bar. The group raised ₦504 billion ($327 million) after issuing nearly 7 billion new shares. Its recapitalisation rolled out in two phases: a domestic public offering in 2024, and a $105 million London Stock Exchange listing this year. The proceeds allowed GTCO to buy into GTBank’s rights issue, pushing its capital above the CBN threshold.

Zoom out: GTCO isn’t alone. At least eight other Nigerian banks have already met the CBN’s recapitalisation target ahead of the March 2026 deadline. Those that fall short may have to merge or face licence downgrades. The CBN says it’s all part of its broader goal to build a “more resilient banking system.”

The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has partnered with Paystack to roll out prepaid tap-and-pay cards at the Lagos and Abuja international airport gates. Drivers can now tap a card on entry and exit, with nationwide rollout planned across FAAN-managed airports by the end of 2025.

Why now? The move is part of FAAN MD Olubunmi Kuku’s modernisation push to digitise FAAN’s operations and boost non-flight revenues (which currently make up 8% of its income). FAAN wants to use these cards to improve digital services and diversify income streams.

Paystack’s infrastructure handles fee calculations and encrypted transactions, improving cash-collection efficiency, especially during high-traffic periods. For FAAN, it’s both a tech upgrade and a way to grow revenue streams.

Bigger picture:  The collaboration builds on Nigeria’s broader push towards cashless transport payments. In 2020, the Lagos state government partnered with YC-backed Tap-and-Pay Technologies to launch Cowry cards for public transport. The real test now is whether airport drivers will quickly adopt FAAN’s tap-and-pay system to support its modernisation drive and revenue goals.

The US made the first move. In July, Washington scrapped the duty-free allowance for international parcels under $800, forcing postal operators to collect and pay American duties before sending out packages.

South Africa has now responded. The Post Office (SAPO) has suspended all outbound parcels containing goods to the U.S. until a new system is in place. Parcels stuck at the Post Office’s Germiston International Mail Centre are now being returned to the senders. Only letters, documents, and military mail are still moving.

SAPO’s shaky ground. The suspension comes as SAPO struggles to survive. Years of mounting losses and a decline in revenue from over $305 million in 2019 to just over $90 million in 2024 have left the state-owned company under business rescue. Taxpayers have already spent over $11 million on bailouts. Even with government injections and debt write-offs, SAPO is struggling to stay afloat.

For many South Africans, the impact may seem small. The Post Office has been in decline for years, with private couriers such as Aramex, City Logistics (Pty) Ltd., and United Parcel Service of America, Inc. (UPS) carrying the bulk of South Africa’s Courier, Express, and Parcel (CEP) market, valued at $223.6 million.

SAPO’s new rules may look like a practical response to the US’s new regulations. But for an institution already on its last legs, cutting services risks eroding what little relevance it still holds.