Brands/Products
Buy Now Pay Later Isn’t Just About Increasing Retail Sales, it’s Also a Form of Financial Inclusion
By Eric Muli
It’s no secret that there’s still a long way to go when it comes to achieving true financial inclusion in Africa. As recently as 2021, 45% of people in sub-Saharan Africa didn’t have access to a formal bank account.
That doesn’t just make it difficult for them to save effectively, but also to access formal lines of credit.
The thing is, when most people talk about financial exclusion and the proposed solutions to it, they tend to focus on the “big” economic movers that come with financial inclusion.
A lot of attention, for example, is given to affordable home and vehicle financing and business and education loans. That’s understandable too: those are all vital tools in helping people advance economically.
But financial inclusion can’t be limited to those big-ticket items. It must also cover many of the day-to-day purchases that people in other markets take for granted. We cannot, after all, talk about real financial inclusion if someone can access a business loan but still has to approach informal lenders to pay for their child’s school uniforms and stationery.
It’s why the rise of “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services in Africa is so important. These services allow people to purchase items and choose to pay for them over a specified period, typically in instalments with low interest rates.
Unlike lay-by offerings, people are allowed to take possession of their goods immediately. While these offerings are most visible online, they’re increasingly common in physical retail spaces too.
A personal journey
There are many examples of how BNPL can empower ordinary Africans by enhancing their purchasing power. Maybe it’s someone needing to buy a new suit for a job interview, a promising athlete needing a new pair of running spikes as they look to secure a university scholarship, or someone needing to buy a laptop to start their side hustle.
Sometimes (as I discovered myself when I returned to Kenya in 2017 after studying in the USA), it’s just about staying connected. As I trawled the malls of Nairobi looking to buy a phone (something few of us can live without), I realised that very few stores had the option to pay off a device in instalments. It came as a stark contrast to the US, where instalment plans are available almost everywhere.
But it was also a lightbulb moment that inspired the founding of Lipa Later. I realised how effective BNPL could be in the Kenyan and broader African contexts, particularly if it was adapted to the way Africans shop.
That vision was further crystallised in the early days of the business when my co-founder Michael Maina spent hours walking around malls, speaking to shoppers. Many, he found out, wanted a specific phone that was just out of reach but which they could easily pay off over a few months.
BNPL for predominantly offline markets
While many of us are familiar with BNPL in e-commerce contexts, we knew that launching an e-commerce-only BNPL product would have limited efficacy in an African context. Even in a country as renowned for embracing technology as Kenya, online made up just 4% of all retail sales in 2021 (the most recent year for which I could find figures).
But getting physical retailers on board with the concept wasn’t always easy. In the early days especially, there were a lot more noes than yeses. Nonetheless, we persisted because we knew that, implemented correctly, the BNPL solution we were building could be a “lifeline for a lifetime” for both our retailer and consumer customers.
As a result, today, we have a BNPL offering that works as effectively in offline physical retail settings as it does online. And because we’ve taken an attitude that everything about Lipa Later, from the name (Lipa is Swahili for “pay”) to the technology, should be tailored for Africa, we’ve been able to expand beyond Kenya into Uganda and Rwanda.
We also welcome the growing competition in the African BNPL space, not only because it’s pushed us to keep improving our own offering (a partnership with Mastercard means that we’ll soon be rolling out the first buy now, pay later card in Africa, for example) but also because it’ll help advance financial inclusion across Africa.
An increasingly important financial inclusion tool
While BNPL can’t eliminate debt entirely, it can make a dent in it, and with nearly 60% of Kenyans living in debt and similarly high numbers across many countries on the continent, its role will only become increasingly important.
Without having to resort to expensive informal lenders, customers can save more of their money or use it on things that improve their lives, rather than simply servicing debt. As operators become mature and innovative (rewarding the best-paying customers with even lower interest rates, for example), its value will keep growing
But consumers aren’t the only ones who benefit from this expanded financial inclusion. Retailers also benefit from increased customer bases. Those increased sales, in turn, can lead to expansion and even contribute to national economic growth.
So, as important as more traditional forms of financial inclusion are, it’s important to remember that consumer spending power is a critical component of financial inclusion, too. Tailored effectively to African realities, there are few more powerful instruments for improving that spending power than BNPL.
Eric Muli is the Founder and CEO of Lipa Later
By Adedapo Adesanya
Canal+, which now owns MultiChoice, a pay-TV firm, has announced its decision to discontinue the streaming service, Showmax.
The company said the Showmax board has made the decision to discontinue the service in the near future.
“This decision reflects our focus on strengthening our overall digital offering and ensuring long-term sustainability in an increasingly competitive streaming environment.
“Importantly, at the moment, there will be no interruption to your current service. You can continue streaming as usual, and no action is required from you at this time,” it said.
It added that it will share further details in the future, including timelines and any future steps, should they be required.
MultiChoice launched Showmax across Africa 10 years ago in August 2015 to compete with the advent of streamers like Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon’s Prime Video, Disney+ and others, which all became available on the continent and started biting into MultiChoice’s legacy pay-TV subscriber base on DStv and GOtv.
However, it soon faced some challenges and couldn’t hit its target.
In February 2024, MultiChoice, in partnership with Comcast’s NBCUniversal, relaunched Showmax, utilising the technology behind the Peacock streaming service.
The investment, which was pegged at over $300 million, still did not bear the expected fruit, with other streaming giants seeing growth over the years.
With Canal+’s takeover and its aggressive cost-cutting moves, it was no doubt that Showmax got the axe.
Regardless, it said, “Streaming remains central to our strategy. We will continue to invest in premium content, technology innovation and partnerships to deliver the best possible entertainment experience to our customers.”
Canal+ is looking to cut a combined €400 million by 2030, which will affect content.
NBCUniversal has a 30 per cent stake in Showmax as a joint venture. In its last annual results before the Canal+ takeover, MultiChoice revealed that Showmax’s trading losses had worsened by 88 per cent while revenue significantly declined.
According to the company, “The decision to axe Showmax was made by the Showmax board and reflects the continued focus of MultiChoice, a Canal+ company, on financial discipline and investment optimisation, in an increasingly competitive and capital-intensive global streaming environment.”
Since Canal+, as part of its agreement to take over MultiChoice, isn’t allowed to get rid of any staff for a period of three years, MultiChoice won’t let any Showmax staff go but will reassign them to other positions within the broader company.
MultiChoice has already started to quietly rebrand Showmax Originals as Africa Magic, M-Net, kykNET and Mzansi Magic Originals, with original series that will transition to these various DStv linear TV channels on the MultiChoice pay-TV platform.
Showmax’s closure comes two years after Amazon MGM Studios shocked Nigeria and South Africa’s creative community in January 2024 when it announced that it would stop commissioning any new local original content in Africa, and also ended already-existing development deals with a dozen production companies.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Marketing Manager of a leading bleach brand in Nigeria, Hypo Bleach, Mr Adebayo Adeyemo, has condemned the presentation of the brand as a beverage for trends, jokes, or views by influencers and bloggers.
In a statement, Mr Adeyemo said Hypo Bleach was formulated to “remove stains, whiten your white fabric, deodorise and kill 99.9 per cent of germs” and not produced as a “drink.”
“We have observed people seeming to have fun creating and sharing videos and AI-generated images designed to make Hypo look like a beverage.
“Your health and safety are serious business. We want to be unambiguous: those images are fabricated, that framing is false, and anyone encouraging others to consume Hypo, even as a joke, even for views, is putting lives at risk. It is not something to consume for the sake of trends,” the Marketing Manager stated.
He further said, “To every influencer, blogger, and content creator. Your reach is real; so is your responsibility. A trend that ends in ill-health is not a trend worth starting.”
“To every young Nigerian seeing this content, you do not have to prove anything to anyone. Not online. Not offline. Not ever. If someone is pressuring you to try this, that is not a dare. That is harm.
|If you or someone you know is struggling emotionally or feeling pressure they cannot handle, please reach out to someone you trust.
A guardian. A counsellor. A healthcare professional. Asking for help is not a weakness; it is a strength.
“Also, we urge people to prioritise their mental health. Evaluate the quality of your conversations with people. Should you notice inconsistencies in their thinking, encourage them to seek professional help. Depression is real and should be treated with utmost concern. Let’s keep social media fun, but safe,” Mr Adeyemo added.
By Dipo Olowookere
A conference designed to examine how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fundamentally reshaping crisis communication, institutional response systems, governance frameworks, and reputational risk management is slated to take place on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, in Lagos, at 10 am.
The event, planned by a renowned Public Relations (PR) firm, CMC Connect LLP, is themed Crisis Management in the AI Milieu: New Threats, Smarter Responses.
It is an offshoot of the company’s flagship industry initiative, Crisis Management Advocacy Month, scheduled to be held throughout March 2026.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Mr Bosun Tijani, is expected to deliver the keynote address, while the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris Malagi, is the Special Guest of Honour.
Earlier in the month, the Vice President for Corporate Communications and CSR at Airtel Africa, Mr Emeka Oparah, will headline a closed-door media workshop convened exclusively for senior media executives in Lagos.
The 2026 edition will also feature strategic collaborations with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) through its Monthly PR Clinics in both the Lagos and Abuja Chapters, where the Senior Corporate Communications Analyst at CMC Connect LLP, Ms Affiong Edet, will deliver a thematic presentation aligned with this year’s focus.
The initiative will also partner with the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Legal Practice through its weekly webinar series to interrogate the intersection of AI, Crisis Management, and the Law.
“Artificial Intelligence has fundamentally altered the crisis landscape. Crisis Management Advocacy Month 2026 is intentionally designed to convene cross-sector leaders to interrogate emerging risks, strengthen institutional preparedness, and promote smarter, ethical response architectures in an AI-driven environment,” the Project Coordinator, Ms Bright Emmanuel Okon, commented.
Also, the Lead Partner of CMC Connect LLP, Mr Yomi Badejo-Okunsanya, said, “In today’s digital ecosystem, crises evolve at unprecedented speed. Institutions must move beyond reactive communication toward intelligent crisis architecture. Crisis Management Advocacy Month represents our commitment to advancing national and institutional resilience in the age of AI.”
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