This week in tech was a lot. Let's get into it.
Good morning. Five things happened this week that are worth your attention. Let’s go quickly.
WhatsApp finally lets iPad users sign up without a phone.
After launching on iPad last year, WhatsApp has now made it possible to create an account directly on iPad without needing to link a phone first. It still needs a number and OTP to register, but once that’s done, the iPad account stands alone. For anyone who works primarily on a tablet, this is long overdue.
Samsung released new foldables. They cost more than ever.
The Galaxy Z Fold8 starts at $1,899, about ₦2.94 million. The Ultra is $2,099. The Flip8 is $1,199. All powered by Google’s Gemini AI, all more expensive than last year because chip costs keep rising. Apple is expected to release its first foldable iPhone later this year. Samsung is clearly not waiting around.
M-KOPA hit 10 million customers. Nigeria is its fastest growing market ever.
It took M-KOPA eight years to reach its first million customers after launching in 2012. The next nine million came in just six years. Nigeria became the fastest market in the company’s history to cross one million customers. The product, smartphone financing for everyday earners who can’t access formal credit, is clearly hitting something real.
PiggyVest made CNBC’s global fintech list for the third year in a row.
Not once. Not twice. Three consecutive years on CNBC’s World’s Top Fintech Companies list, the only African company in the Wealth Technology category alongside Robinhood and Wealthsimple. That is not luck. That is a sustained product.
Jack Dorsey wants to replace Slack and GitHub with one app.
Block announced Buzz, a workspace platform that puts humans and AI agents in the same conversations, combines chat, code repositories, and project management into one tool, and runs on a decentralised open-source protocol. Dorsey is running it internally at Block first. Whether it actually threatens Slack or is just his latest ideological project is the real question. But it is worth watching.
🤝 Collab Corner — TechUnwind came to Lagos. Abuja is next.
Last Saturday, Lagos’ tech community put the laptops away for one day at TechUnwind: The Lagos Tech Owambe Edition, and by every account, the room felt different from every other industry event on the calendar.
Curated by YellowLyfe HQ, the day brought together founders, developers, designers, creators, and students for live band performances, DJ sets, cultural dance, games, a Best Dressed competition, food, and the kind of conversations that only happen when nobody is trying to pitch anything.
“We wanted to create the kind of space where you can meet someone you’ve admired online, bump into an old colleague, dance with people you’ve just met, and leave feeling lighter than when you arrived,” said Seyi Olaniyan, Founder of YellowLyfe HQ.
TechUnwind is heading to Abuja in September. If you missed Lagos, don’t miss the next one.
📩 theunwindfest@gmail.com · @TechUnwindNG