--- title: TCS | Norrsken22’s Lexi Novitske on how China is winning... description: A podcast interview with Norrsken22 general partner Lexi Novitske explores how Chinese companies have steadily built dominance in African tech, moving from... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/tcs-norrsken22-s-lexi-novitske-on-how-china-is-winning-african-tech-ovcpyghwg twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: TCS | Norrsken22’s Lexi Novitske on how China is winning African tech | daily.dev og:description: A podcast interview with Norrsken22 general partner Lexi Novitske explores how Chinese companies have steadily built dominance in African tech, moving from... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/tcs-norrsken22-s-lexi-novitske-on-how-china-is-winning-african-tech-ovcpyghwg og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/OvcPyghWg.png og:image:alt: TCS | Norrsken22’s Lexi Novitske on how China is winning African tech og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # TCS | Norrsken22’s Lexi Novitske on how China is winning African tech **[TechCentral](https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A podcast interview with Norrsken22 general partner Lexi Novitske explores how Chinese companies have steadily built dominance in African tech, moving from phones and telecoms to fintech and now AI models like Alibaba's Qwen, which African start-ups increasingly favor for being cheaper and more accessible. Novitske argues American investors pulling back from Africa risk losing both a young digital market and data access. The conversation also covers Nigeria's evolving start-up scene, regulatory and talent challenges facing founders, how Chinese-backed OPay and PalmPay captured Nigerian fintech through sustained losses, why Egypt and South Africa currently offer the best opportunities, and what Optasia's oversubscribed JSE listing signals for African fintech exits heading to New York, London and Hong Kong instead of Johannesburg. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why are African startups building on Chinese AI models like Qwen instead of US models? African startups increasingly favor Chinese AI models such as Alibaba's Qwen because they are cheaper and more available than US alternatives. This shift follows a pattern where Chinese companies first won African markets in phones and telecoms, then fintech, and now AI infrastructure, raising concerns that the US risks losing access to a young, digital-first market and its data. _Founders weighing AI model costs and access across markets can follow this debate on daily.dev._ ### How did Chinese-backed OPay and PalmPay come to dominate Nigerian fintech? OPay and PalmPay, both Chinese-backed, won Nigerian fintech by absorbing years of financial losses to out-compete rivals and capture market share, a strategy that has since made Nigerian regulators uneasy about the companies' influence and sustainability. This approach mirrors how Chinese firms built market position in African telecoms before expanding into financial technology. _Anyone tracking fintech competition in emerging markets can follow stories like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Africa’s start-ups are building on Chinese AI](https://daily.dev/posts/africa-s-start-ups-are-building-on-chinese-ai-mujf3lfts) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [These two founders left Goldman and Meta to build voice AI for markets everyone else overlooked](https://daily.dev/posts/these-two-founders-left-goldman-and-meta-to-build-voice-ai-for-markets-everyone-else-overlooked-zlyeqoch6) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Chinese profits rose 25.7%. The CSI 300 fell 9% and the Star 50 fell 29%](https://daily.dev/posts/chinese-profits-rose-25-7-the-csi-300-fell-9-and-the-star-50-fell-29--mli6gogwu) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [TCS\+ \| Flipping the narrative on AI in the Global South](https://daily.dev/posts/tcs-flipping-the-narrative-on-ai-in-the-global-south-yzimz0mf2) · TechCentral · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#ai](https://daily.dev/tags/ai), [#venture-capital](https://daily.dev/tags/venture-capital), [#fintech](https://daily.dev/tags/fintech), [#alibaba](https://daily.dev/tags/alibaba) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/tcs-norrsken22-s-lexi-novitske-on-how-china-is-winning-african-tech-ovcpyghwg) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"TCS | Norrsken22’s Lexi Novitske on how China is winning African tech","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/tcs-norrsken22-s-lexi-novitske-on-how-china-is-winning-african-tech-ovcpyghwg","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/tcs-norrsken22-s-lexi-novitske-on-how-china-is-winning-african-tech-ovcpyghwg"},"datePublished":"2026-10-01T13:40:59.434Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T13:41:26.429Z","description":"A podcast interview with Norrsken22 general partner Lexi Novitske explores how Chinese companies have steadily built dominance in African tech, moving from...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/397b0169f373e8fc907651edb9ffb43f?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/397b0169f373e8fc907651edb9ffb43f?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"TechCentral","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TechCentral","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--RsqLDZrL--/f_auto/v1717745297/logos/techcentral","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/tcs-norrsken22-s-lexi-novitske-on-how-china-is-winning-african-tech-ovcpyghwg","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"ai,venture-capital,fintech,alibaba","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"TechCentral","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/techcentral"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"TCS | Norrsken22’s Lexi Novitske on how China is winning African tech"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/tcs-norrsken22-s-lexi-novitske-on-how-china-is-winning-african-tech-ovcpyghwg#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Why are African startups building on Chinese AI models like Qwen instead of US models?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"African startups increasingly favor Chinese AI models such as Alibaba's Qwen because they are cheaper and more available than US alternatives. This shift follows a pattern where Chinese companies first won African markets in phones and telecoms, then fintech, and now AI infrastructure, raising concerns that the US risks losing access to a young, digital-first market and its data. Founders weighing AI model costs and access across markets can follow this debate on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How did Chinese-backed OPay and PalmPay come to dominate Nigerian fintech?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"OPay and PalmPay, both Chinese-backed, won Nigerian fintech by absorbing years of financial losses to out-compete rivals and capture market share, a strategy that has since made Nigerian regulators uneasy about the companies' influence and sustainability. This approach mirrors how Chinese firms built market position in African telecoms before expanding into financial technology. Anyone tracking fintech competition in emerging markets can follow stories like this on daily.dev."}}]} ```