Ghana is preparing to tax foreign digital service providers — a move that could bring significant new VAT revenue into government coffers. The development is one of several major financial and telecom shifts reshaping African markets this week.
Ghana Eyes VAT from Foreign Digital Platforms
The Ghanaian government is pushing to enforce value-added tax obligations on foreign companies delivering digital services to consumers in the country. This targets global platforms — streaming services, app stores, cloud tools — that collect payments from Ghanaian users without remitting local taxes.
The move aligns Ghana with a broader trend across African countries tightening the rules around digital services taxation, as governments look to close revenue gaps opened by the rapid growth of cross-border online commerce. It is a significant policy signal: Ghana does not intend to leave money on the table as its digital economy grows.
Exact implementation timelines and the list of targeted platforms have not yet been publicly confirmed, but the intention from Accra is clear.
Banque du Caire Could Lift IPO Stake to 45%
In Egypt, Banque du Caire — one of the country's state-owned commercial banks — is considering increasing the size of its planned initial public offering to as much as 45%. That would make it one of the larger public share sales by an Egyptian financial institution in recent memory.
The potential expansion of the IPO stake signals growing appetite from investors for Egyptian banking assets, even as the country navigates a challenging macroeconomic environment. If the offering proceeds at the higher end, it could draw substantial interest from both regional and international institutional buyers.
Vodacom Holds Its Safaricom Stake — For Now
South African telecoms giant Vodacom has confirmed it is maintaining its stake in Kenya's Safaricom, at least for the time being. The decision ends — temporarily, at least — speculation that Vodacom might trim its position in the East African telco, which operates the dominant M-Pesa mobile money platform.
Safaricom remains one of the most strategically valuable telecom assets on the continent. Its M-Pesa network processes billions in transactions annually and is deeply embedded in Kenya's financial infrastructure. Vodacom's decision to hold suggests it still sees long-term value in that relationship, even amid broader portfolio pressures.
Unbranded ATMs Raise Concerns in South Africa
South Africa is also grappling with a separate but notable issue: the spread of unbranded ATMs. These machines, which operate without the clear identification of a known financial institution, have raised questions around consumer protection and the risk of fraud.
Unbranded ATMs are not a new phenomenon in South Africa, but their prevalence continues to concern regulators and banking industry observers. Without clear institutional branding, consumers have limited recourse if something goes wrong during a transaction.
A Busy Week for African Finance
Taken together, these developments reflect the pace at which African financial markets are moving — from governments asserting tax authority over global tech companies, to state banks seeking fresh capital, to telecoms giants defending strategic investments.
For Ghana specifically, the VAT push on foreign digital services is a concrete step toward ensuring that the country's growing appetite for digital products actually translates into domestic fiscal gains. How quickly regulators can operationalise the framework will be the real test.