TowerCo reportedly accused of a takeover plot in Uganda

Annyeonghaseyo,

Victoria from Techpoint here,

Here’s what I’ve got for you today:

TowerCo reportedly accused of takeover plot in Uganda
Uber drivers made ₦6.1B extra in 2023, report says
Starlink swallows 22% of Zim’s Internet in just one quarter

TowerCo reportedly accused of a takeover plot in Uganda

Billionaire Hassanein Hiridjee, Chairman of Axian Telecom, is at the heart of a power struggle shaping Africa’s digital economy, per Condia. His company, TowerCo of Africa, is embroiled in a messy shareholder dispute in Uganda. At the same time, he’s joined the Supervisory Board of Jumia — Africa’s leading eCommerce platform — amid growing whispers of a potential takeover.

In Uganda, Hiridjee’s tower business is reportedly accused of orchestrating a fraudulent takeover of Ubuntu Towers, a local telecoms infrastructure firm founded in 2019 by Geoffrey Donnels Oketayot, Ronald Onzia, and George Arthur Ssamula. The startup was created to challenge the dominance of multinationals like American Tower Corporation and Helios Towers by offering cheaper, more locally focused services. But now, court battles over alleged undervaluation, shareholder oppression, and injunctions have thrown TowerCo into the spotlight.

Ubuntu Towers rebranded as TowerCo Uganda in 2023, with TowerCo of Africa holding a 90% stake. What was once billed as a homegrown alternative is now mired in legal wrangling that could reshape how much control local players actually retain in Uganda’s telecom sector.

At the same time, Hiridjee is making moves in the eCommerce space. Through Axian Telecom, he now holds over 8% of Jumia’s outstanding shares. In August 2025, Axian even pushed for a board seat for Hiridjee, signalling a deeper play for influence inside the NYSE-listed company.

Reports suggest Axian has already raised $600 million for acquisitions, fuelling speculation about a possible takeover that could see Jumia delisted from Wall Street and pulled firmly under Axian’s control. For Jumia, that could mean fresh capital and stronger telecom synergies, but it also raises old questions about foreign dominance in Africa’s startup scene.

The battle in Uganda’s tower industry and Jumia’s boardroom point to one strategy: Hiridjee wants to control both the infrastructure and the platforms that power Africa’s digital future. Whether African regulators and entrepreneurs welcome or resist that vision is the next big question. Or what do you think?

Uber drivers made ₦6.1B extra in 2023, report says

A ride-hailing driver — Source: Supplied

Uber says its Nigerian drivers made an extra ₦6.1 billion ($9.6 million) in 2023 compared to what they might have earned elsewhere. The claim comes from a new economic impact report the company commissioned as it marked 10 years in the country.

But while Uber is quick to highlight boosted incomes, drivers are still grumbling about the same old issues: low pay, high commissions, and harsh working conditions that have fuelled repeated protests and strikes.

Uber entered Nigeria in 2014, starting in Lagos before expanding to nine other cities including Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Ibadan. Today, it offers eight ride options from the standard UberX to Uber Moto and Uber Package.

The report, compiled by UK consultancy Public First, estimates that Uber contributed ₦34 billion ($53.6 million) to Nigeria’s economy last year — roughly 0.01% of GDP. It also says the app pumped ₦930 million into the nightlife economy and ₦5.4 billion into tourism by linking visitors to local spots.

Still, the company didn’t say how many drivers these numbers represent or what the average driver actually takes home. And on the ground, Nigerian drivers say the math doesn’t add up when rising costs, fuel prices, and Uber’s cut of their fares are factored in.

Uber insists it’s more than just a transport service. “From drivers who value the flexibility of earning on their own terms, to women who feel safer getting home at night, to local businesses reaching more customers, Uber is proud to be part of Nigeria’s growth story,” said Deepesh Thomas, the company’s Sub-Saharan Africa GM. Drivers, however, say the “growth story” is still leaving them behind.

Starlink swallows 22% of Zim’s Internet in just one quarter

Starlink’s footprint in Zimbabwe just got a whole lot clearer. The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe’s (POTRAZ) Q2 2025 telecoms report confirms what many suspected — the satellite Internet service is here, and it’s already reshaping the market.

Starlink officially launched in the country in September 2024, and its impact is now starting to show. The numbers say it all. VSAT subscriptions, the category Starlink falls under, jumped nearly 30% in one quarter, from 30,907 in Q1 to 40,146 in Q2. More striking is what those 40k dishes are doing: they chewed through 83.9 petabytes of data, accounting for 22.5% of the country’s fixed Internet traffic. Only Liquid is ahead with 62.4%.

That growth has come at a cost to traditional providers. Leased lines, once the go-to for businesses, have almost collapsed, plunging from nearly 3,000 subscriptions to just 65. Fibre also slipped, with active subscriptions dropping by more than 2,000.

The appeal of Starlink is clear. Despite the upfront hardware cost, it offers flat monthly fees, easy self-installation, reliable speeds, and nationwide coverage. For SMEs, NGOs, and even farms far from Harare, it’s the first time reliable internet has been within reach without begging an ISP for months.

Winners are obvious: households and businesses that can afford the kit, plus the countless TikTok creators no longer roaming the city hunting for upload speeds. Losers are equally clear: leased line providers, and increasingly, fibre sellers outside major urban zones.

For now, Starlink is still out of reach for many ordinary households, but its impact is already undeniable. 40,000 users moving nearly a quarter of Zimbabwe’s Internet traffic in just one quarter is staggering. The next big question? Whether Q3 will show Starlink eating an even bigger slice of the pie.

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