Archive · April 2026
The 17 archive entries on developments from April 2026.
The Central Bank of Kenya advertised senior and managerial roles for virtual asset licensing and compliance functions in late April 2026, applications closing 18 May, before the VASP Regulations had even been finalised.
The National Treasury published the Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations 2026 for public comment in April 2026, replacing the Exchange Control Regulations of 1961 and bringing crypto assets formally inside South Africa's capital flow framework for the first time.
The NDPC confirmed on 17 April 2026 that it is investigating a reported breach of the Corporate Affairs Commission's database under section 46(3) of the NDPA 2023, alongside a coordinated Federal Government cybersecurity response.
On 16 April 2026 the NDPC issued a data protection advisory directing all controllers and processors, government ministries included, to strengthen technical and organisational measures against escalating cyber threats: certified data protection officers, regular data protection impact assessments, multi-factor authentication and NDPA 2023-grade security controls.
The FSCA published a supervisory update on crypto asset service provider licensing on 15 April 2026, reporting 30 supervisory inspections of CASPs conducted between April 2025 and March 2026 under the Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act.
In a determination dated 14 April 2026 (Peter Macharia Waithira v LOLC MFB), Data Commissioner Immaculate Kassait held LOLC Kenya Microfinance Bank liable for publishing a former employee's image and personal details in public notices on its social media platforms without consent or lawful basis, ordered deletion within 14 days, and recommended the bank's directors for criminal prosecution for obstruction after the lender failed to cooperate with the investigation, with fines up to KES 5 million or two years' imprisonment on conviction.
SEC Nigeria issued a rules exposure draft on 14 April 2026 setting a minimum paid-up share capital of N7.5 billion for Free Trade Zone Entities seeking to offer or issue shares on the Nigerian capital market, with a two-week comment window through the Rules Committee.
The website of Senegal's Commission des Données Personnelles returned on 12 April 2026 after an outage that began on 26 February, 45 days during which the authority had no working web presence.
The FSCA imposed a R350,000 administrative penalty on Thembnkululeko Construction (Pty) Ltd, a registered financial services provider (FSP 53486), for regulatory violations, announced 10 April 2026.
Public participation on the Draft Virtual Asset Service Providers Regulations 2026 closed on 10 April 2026, keeping Kenya on track to operationalise VASP licensing in 2026.
South Africa's National Treasury confirmed it will amend the Exchange Control Regulations to govern transfers of cryptocurrency to non-residents, per an April 2026 analysis published on Polity.
Africoin, a Rwanda-headquartered platform tokenising real-world assets (cocoa, coffee, gold, silver and verified carbon credits on Ethereum), was admitted to Ghana's SEC Virtual Asset Sandbox on 8 April 2026, among the first participants under the VASP Act 2025 (Act 1154).
The Central Bank of Nigeria granted Flutterwave a national microfinance banking licence in early April 2026, clearing one of Africa's largest payments processors to take deposits, lend and run accounts, with its SendApp remittance product (over one million users) as the consumer foundation.
Ripple published research on 6 April 2026 identifying eight African nations advancing crypto regulation, placing South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya in the lead, with Ghana introducing initial compliance measures and Botswana, Namibia, Seychelles and Ethiopia at earlier stages.
Kenya's ODPC opened a suo moto investigation into Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses in April 2026, after a direct appeal filed 6 March 2026 raised the devices' embedded recording capabilities.
The Central Bank of Nigeria inaugurated a Payments Service Providers Committee in Lagos on 2 April 2026, seating the CBN, commercial banks, mobile money operators and fintechs at one table, with a new Payments System Vision promised within a month.
On 1 April 2026 the NDPC served a Notice of Investigation over a data protection compliance failure linked to a cybersecurity incident, with the Federal Government simultaneously moving to strengthen national cybersecurity.
Enforcement decisions, new laws and regulatory movement across African jurisdictions, in one brief. Free, and built to be forwarded to the colleague who needs it.
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