Techpoint Africa highlights key developments across the continent, focusing on strategic investments in telecommunications, innovative solutions in agricultural supply chains, and significant strides in local defence production. This edition covers MTN's substantial infrastructure investment in Ghana, Cubeseed Africa's efforts to restructure Nigeria's poultry sector, and Terra Industries' pivotal role in Nigeria's defence manufacturing ambitions.

MTN is making a substantial commitment to solidify its market dominance in Ghana, with an announced plan to invest $1.1 billion into its Ghanaian operations over the next three years. This marks MTN’s largest infrastructure commitment in the country to date, signifying an "accelerated" push to enhance its network capabilities. The investment is earmarked for major network upgrades, including the construction of at least 500 new sites by the close of 2026. This represents a significant increase compared to the 25–30 sites built in 2024 and 50 projected for 2025, underscoring the strategic importance Ghana holds for the telecom giant. Despite holding a formidable 73.9% market share with 30.2 million subscribers as of H1 2025, MTN is proactively addressing potential competition. A planned merger between Telecel and AT Ghana, bolstered by a $600 million government investment over four years, could create a stronger combined second player with a 26.1% market share. MTN's $1.1 billion investment is thus a strategic response aimed at reinforcing its dominance by rapidly expanding infrastructure, rolling out 5G spectrum, and improving rural broadband coverage. Beyond network expansion, MTN is also collaborating with the Bank of Ghana to combat mobile money scams and investing in digital skills for young Ghanaians, further widening its competitive moat.

In Nigeria, the poultry industry faces significant challenges despite a massive annual consumption of about 1.5 million tonnes of poultry meat, equating to roughly one billion birds. Local farmers currently meet only about 30% of this demand, leading to an estimated ₦600 billion in lost sales. The root causes are multifaceted, including high input costs, volatile pricing, and a broken supply chain heavily reliant on inefficient middlemen. Mbanefo Chinonleyum, founder of Cubeseed Africa, experienced these issues firsthand as a poultry farmer. He identified middlemen as the primary disruptors, dictating prices, delaying payments, and squeezing farmers' margins, which often prevents farmers from initiating new production cycles. Cubeseed Africa offers a solution through a marketplace app that directly connects poultry farmers with bulk buyers like restaurants and hotels. This platform provides location-based recommendations, facilitates quick sourcing, and includes a pre-order feature to help buyers hedge against future price hikes. Critically, payments are managed through an escrow system, enhancing trust and reducing financial risks for both parties. By cutting out inefficient intermediaries and streamlining transactions, Cubeseed Africa aims to bring much-needed structure and efficiency to Nigeria's fragmented poultry supply chain.

Nigeria is also making a significant push towards bolstering its local defence production capabilities through a joint-venture agreement between the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) and Terra Industries. This partnership is viewed as a crucial step towards reducing reliance on imported weapons and fostering sovereign defence manufacturing. Under the agreement, DICON and Terra will collaborate on manufacturing, technology transfer, and supply-chain integration, with the explicit goal of transitioning from assembling imported components to designing and deploying advanced defence systems domestically. Terra is expected to transfer vital technical know-how, thereby deeper integrating Nigeria into global defence manufacturing supply chains. Major General B.I. Alaya, DICON’s Director-General, hailed the agreement as transformational, potentially positioning Nigeria as a regional hub for advanced defence innovation. The timing of this partnership is notable, as Terra has rapidly emerged as one of Africa’s most well-funded seed-stage startups, securing $34 million in total funding from prominent Silicon Valley investors like 8VC and Lux Capital. This significant foreign backing has sparked discussions about the role of global capital in African defence technology. However, by anchoring its operations within Nigeria’s state defence apparatus through the DICON partnership, Terra strengthens its local credibility while leveraging global investment to scale. This collaboration signals a potential paradigm shift towards defence manufacturing driven more from within Africa, with profound implications for national security, economic sovereignty, and regional cooperation.