👨🏿‍🚀TechCabal Daily – Nigeria’s Bold Move to Win Over Remote Workers!

Remote workers based in Nigeria will face new tax regulations starting January 2026. Individuals employed by foreign companies-ranging from software engineers to marketing professionals-must now register with the Nigerian tax authorities and submit local tax filings.

What if they don’t comply? The consequences are severe: fines up to ₦1 million ($672), imprisonment for up to three years, or both. The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) intends to monitor real-time payment data to enforce these rules.

Why is this significant? Historically, many Nigerian remote workers have operated outside the formal tax system. For example, a freelancer earning $2,000 monthly currently pays roughly 23% in taxes, which could substantially reduce their take-home pay.

Context: Nigeria joins countries like Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana in tightening tax compliance for remote workers earning foreign income. This initiative aligns with Nigeria’s goal to raise its tax-to-GDP ratio to 18% by 2027, targeting foreign currency earners as a key revenue source. The critical question remains whether these measures will ultimately benefit Nigerian workers.

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has identified mobile money transfer fees as a barrier to financial inclusion and innovation. Currently averaging $0.18 per transaction in 2024, the CBK’s 2025-2028 National Financial Inclusion Strategy targets a reduction to $0.078 by 2028.

What’s driving this move? Despite mobile money’s widespread adoption in Kenya-processing $67.3 billion in 2024-growth has plateaued. High fees discourage users from exploring services beyond basic transfers and exclude low-income populations from digital finance. The regulator believes lowering fees will stimulate innovation and broaden access.

Historical context: In 2020, major operators like Safaricom’s M-PESA temporarily waived fees on transfers below $7.73 (KES 1,000) to boost digital payments, but fees were reinstated two years later.

Implications: Mobile money is a major revenue source for telecom companies; for instance, M-PESA generated $1.2 billion for Safaricom in 2024. Reducing fees may impact profits but will provide users with more affordable access to digital financial services.

Broader view: While cheaper transfers could enhance financial inclusion, it remains to be seen if this will attract more low-income users or primarily affect telecom operators’ earnings.

In the past year, Telkom Kenya has seen a dramatic 40% drop in its subscriber base, pushing it down to fourth place behind competitors like Safaricom and Airtel. Equity Bank’s mobile operator, Equitel, which operates on Airtel’s network, now holds third place with 1.5 million users, while Safaricom and Airtel continue to dominate the top two spots.

What triggered this decline? The downturn began in 2023 when American Tower Corporation (ATC) shut down nearly 900 of Telkom’s cell towers due to $55 million in unpaid lease fees. This led to network disruptions, prompting customers to switch to providers with more reliable coverage.

Why is this important? A shrinking customer base reduces revenue, limiting Telkom’s ability to invest in network improvements or repay debts. Falling to fourth place diminishes its chances of attracting investors or funding for 4G and 5G upgrades, leaving the company’s infrastructure vulnerable and its future uncertain.

Broader perspective: Telkom still controls valuable assets like 4,000 km of fiber and data centers, but recovery seems challenging. Its situation resembles Nigeria’s T2 (formerly 9mobile), which defaulted on $1.2 billion in loans in 2017 and has yet to regain its market position. Both cases highlight how financial troubles can rapidly erode subscriber loyalty. The key question is how Telkom will strategize its comeback.

Egypt has achieved a historic high in remittance inflows, with funds from its diaspora more than doubling over the past decade. In the 2024/2025 fiscal year, remittances reached $36.5 billion, up from $17.1 billion in 2015/2016. July alone recorded $3.8 billion, the highest monthly total ever.

What factors contributed to this surge? The Central Bank of Egypt’s cautious monetary policies, including balanced interest rates and stable foreign exchange management, have bolstered confidence among Egyptians abroad, assuring them their money retains value upon transfer.

Additionally, the expansion of digital remittance platforms and fintech innovations has simplified cross-border payments, channeling more funds through formal systems.

What does this imply? Egypt’s booming remittance market is attracting fintech startups like LemFi, eager to capture a share of these flows. The growing market promises increased competition and innovation, benefiting consumers and challenging local players to adapt.

Coin Name	Current Value	Day	Month
Bitcoin	$114,577	+2.05%	+4.93%
Ether	$4,192	+1.72%	−6.92%
XRP	$2.88	+0.76%	+1.25%
Solana	$210.58	+0.17%	+3.03%

* Data accurate as of 6:00 AM WAT, September 30, 2025.