Coursera to Merge with Udemy in $2.5bn All-Stock Deal, Marking a Turning Point for Online Education

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December 17, 2025

Coursera and Udemy on Wednesday announced a landmark merger agreement valued at about $2.5 billion, bringing together two of the world’s most prominent online learning platforms at a time of rapid technological change and mounting investor pressure.

Under the terms of the deal, Coursera will acquire Udemy in an all-stock transaction, creating a combined company with a broad reach across individual learners, enterprises, and professional instructors. The companies said the merger is expected to close in the second half of next year, subject to regulatory approvals and shareholder consent.

The agreement comes against a challenging backdrop for both firms. Despite posting revenue growth in the third quarter of 2025, Coursera and Udemy have struggled to convince investors of their long-term growth narratives. Their shares have trended lower over the past year, reflecting concerns about slowing user growth, rising competition, and questions over how quickly online education platforms can translate engagement into sustained profitability.

By combining forces, the two companies are betting that scale, complementary strengths, and a more aggressive push into artificial intelligence can help reverse that skepticism.

Udemy CEO Hugo Sarrazin framed the deal as a way to unlock shareholder value while strengthening the platforms’ offerings.

“Through this combination with Coursera, we will create meaningful benefits for our learners, enterprise customers, and instructors, while delivering significant value to our shareholders, who will participate in the substantial upside potential of the combined company,” he said.

Coursera and Udemy have historically served overlapping but distinct segments of the market. Coursera has built its reputation around university partnerships, professional certificates, and degree-linked programs, while Udemy has focused more heavily on a marketplace model driven by individual instructors and enterprise training for businesses. Executives say the merger will allow the combined company to offer a more comprehensive learning ecosystem, spanning academic credentials, workforce reskilling, and on-demand professional training.

Artificial intelligence sits at the center of the strategic rationale. Both companies have moved quickly this year to embed AI into their platforms, positioning it as a tool to personalize learning, shorten course formats, and better align content with evolving job requirements. Sarrazin said the merger would accelerate the rollout of AI-powered products, as the online learning market expands alongside the adoption of AI across industries.

Coursera recently announced an integration with OpenAI’s ChatGPT app ecosystem and a content partnership with Anthropic, signaling its intent to stay close to the cutting edge of generative AI. Udemy, meanwhile, rolled out a new “AI-powered microlearning experience” earlier this week, designed to deliver shorter, more targeted lessons tailored to learners’ schedules and skill gaps.

The companies also see the deal as a way to address a structural shift in the labor market. As AI reshapes workflows, demand for continuous reskilling has intensified. Job postings requiring AI-related skills have surged in recent years, and surveys suggest a growing share of employers now view AI literacy as a baseline requirement rather than a niche qualification.

“We’re at a pivotal moment in which AI is rapidly redefining the skills required for every job across every industry,” Coursera CEO Greg Hart said. “Organizations and individuals around the world need a platform that is as agile as the new and emerging skills learners must master.”

Still, the merger faces hurdles. Regulatory scrutiny is likely, given the scale of the combined platform and its influence over a fast-growing segment of digital education. Investors will also be watching closely for details on cost synergies, integration risks, and whether the deal can deliver the growth and margin expansion that both companies have struggled to achieve on their own.

Overall, the agreement signals consolidation in an industry that boomed during the pandemic but has since entered a more demanding phase. With AI transforming both how people learn and what they need to learn, Coursera and Udemy are betting that size, technology, and a unified strategy will be enough to regain momentum and restore confidence in the future of online education.

“Too Late to Return”: PayPal’s Africa Wallet Ambitions Rekindle Old Wounds Among Nigerian Users, Face Backlash

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Ojukwu Emmanuel

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December 17, 2025

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Nigerians have expressed strong criticism over PayPal’s proposed expansion into Africa following reports that the global payments giant is in talks with African fintech companies to launch a cross-border digital wallet platform in 2026.

The planned platform, known as PayPal World, is designed to enable interoperability between global and local digital wallets. Through this system, users would be able to make cross-border payments or shop internationally using a PayPal button connected to their local digital wallets, without the need to open a traditional PayPal account.

Despite the promise of seamless global payments, the announcement has reopened long-standing frustrations among Nigerians, many of whom argue that PayPal’s re-entry comes far too late. Many point to years of restrictions that limited economic opportunities for freelancers, remote workers, and digital entrepreneurs, forcing them to seek alternatives.

Background Story

In the early 2000s, around 2004, PayPal placed heavy restrictions on several sub-Saharan African countries, including Nigeria. While the company did not completely ban Nigerian users, it prevented them from receiving payments, citing high fraud risks linked to stolen credit cards and online scams originating from the region.

At the time, Nigerians could send money through PayPal but were largely unable to withdraw funds to local bank accounts. Although PayPal described the restrictions as temporary, the ban persisted for nearly two decades.

In 2014/2025, PayPal briefly allowed some inflow capabilities, but full merchant functionality remained unavailable, leaving many users excluded from the global digital economy.

Public Reaction in Nigeria

Following news of PayPal’s renewed interest in Africa, Nigerian users across social media have expressed anger and disappointment, describing the move as opportunistic amid new tax regulations.

Many recalled losing access to foreign jobs, freelance gigs, surveys, and remote work opportunities because PayPal was often the only payment option available on global platforms.

Several commentators emphasized that Nigerians were forced to adapt during PayPal’s absence, leading to the rise of homegrown fintech solutions such as Cleva, Raenest, Grey Finance, and others. These platforms now serve thousands of freelancers and businesses, reducing dependence on international payment providers.

Others argued that PayPal underestimated Africa’s growing youth population and tech ecosystem and is only now attempting to tap into a market it previously ignored.

Check out some reactions on X,

@Technical Ben wrote,

“PayPal thinks they’re smart reopening Nigeria. Nigerians survived without them. We lost foreign jobs and gigs for years because of their restrictions, so we adapted. We built alternatives. We moved on. Now they’ve checked Africa’s youth stats and realized how much money they left on the table. Too late mate we have moved on.”

@Ede Ifeanyinchuku wrote,

“Africa has the largest youth population and an exploding tech ecosystem, I guess they are just waking up to that reality and want to get their own slice of the pie. I would argue that they will have a hard time competing with entrenched local players as well as the cultural nuances of winning trust in the African market.”

@Kami_iyo wrote,

“I lost a lot of transcription, survey, and some online jobs because PayPal is the only payment method and now they want to come back like nothing happened, that will never happen we will boycott them. I was in serious financial strain and had these opportunities I couldn’t touch”

@haroldsphinx wrote,

“If Nigerians have any sense of self-worth, they should actually boycott PayPal, there’s absolutely nothing in this life that can make me use PayPal again. This is when we should double down on supporting our own products that have solved that problem for us now”.

@Ossynoya wrote,

“PayPal will burn actually, they are one of the only global payment platforms that totally exclude Africans and Nigerians especially. And they literally gave the most stupid excuse for doing it. Now they want to stroll into the African market like nothing happened.”

@AbiodunØx wrote,

“I guess PayPal won’t fly in this part of the world. They went too far with the exclusionary policy [their excuse was lame]. The most annoying thing was when they only allowed us to send money and not receive it.”

@doctorwalesmd wrote,

“Grey Finance didn’t come this far for people like me to switch to PayPal if they ever decide to unblock services for Africans. They should kindly stay blocked. For me, they are no longer relevant here.”

A Changed Market Landscape

Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem has evolved significantly since PayPal first imposed restrictions. In 2025, the country hosts over 200 fintech startups processing an estimated $100 billion in transactions annually, according to central banking data. This growth has been driven largely by youth-led innovation, increased digital adoption, and solutions tailored to local needs.

As a result, PayPal is no longer entering an underserved market but one dominated by well-established local players with strong user loyalty and deep cultural understanding.

Outlook

PayPal’s planned expansion into Africa signals recognition of the continent’s economic potential, particularly its youthful population and fast-growing digital economy.

While PayPal World may offer technical advantages in cross-border interoperability, success in Nigeria will depend on more than infrastructure. Rebuilding trust, addressing historical grievances, and demonstrating long-term commitment to local markets will be critical. Without these, PayPal risks struggling against entrenched local fintech platforms that have already earned the confidence of Nigerian users.

Ultimately, PayPal’s return may reshape competition in Africa’s payments space, but in Nigeria, the battle will be as much about credibility and timing as it is about technology.

Cyber Threats Intensify Across Africa, as Nigeria’s Digital Adoption Drives 4,200 Weekly Attacks

By

Ojukwu Emmanuel

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December 17, 2025

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As Africa enters a critical phase of digital transformation, technology is driving unprecedented growth, connectivity, and innovation across the continent.

However, this rapid digital expansion has also significantly widened the cyber threat landscape, exposing organizations and governments to increasingly sophisticated attacks

In a report titled “2025 African Perspectives on Cyber Security” by Check Point, cyber attacks across Africa are becoming faster, more targeted, and increasingly powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Check Point noted that Africa’s digital growth continues to outpace security maturity creating opportunity for identity-led intrusions. Across Africa, organizations are operating under sustained and elevated cyber pressure. Over the past six months, on average an organization has faced 3,153 attack attempts per week, compared with 1,963 globally.

Information disclosure remains the most common exploit class in the region, impacting 77% of organizations. Email remains the dominant delivery vector, accounting for 80% of malicious files.

In Nigeria, organizations now record an average of 4,200 attack attempts per week, more than double the global average, confirming that adversaries are scaling fast as digital transformation itself. The financial sector remains the epicentre of these threats.

Phishing and business e-mail compromise persist as dominant entry points, proving that awareness training is just as vital as technology. Beyond finance, energy, and healthcare operators are integrating IoT and cloud-based systems, creating efficiencies but also new vulnerabilities.

Nigeria’s threat picture aligns with global shifts. Nation-state operators leverage AI-assisted disinformation, disruptive malware, and hacktivism to weaken trust and set conditions for access. Ransomware affiliates emphasize data-leak extortion over encryption and infostealers have surged, harvesting browser and VPN tokens to feed initial access brokers.

Government entities remain high-value targets for both state-aligned and financially motivated actors. Higher education and research institutions face consistent pressure from infostealers and botnet-delivered leaders that harvest credentials and tokens, with targeted data-leak extortion following mailbox compromise. Common gaps include SSO/email misconfigurations, exposed tokens, and over-permissive data shares that increase lateral movement risk across academic platforms.

On the other hand, Banks, insurers, and payment providers draw persistent attention from organised cybercrime. Infostealers that capture VPN/session tokens remain a primary on-ramp while credential stuffing and API abuse target consumer portals. Telcos face sustained risk-across customer-facing portals and management planes. Identity misuse and exposed APIs drive incidents, while ransomware crews lean on data-leak extortion and pervasive infostealer infections siphon tokens from BYOD/VPN contexts.

Encouragingly, Nigeria’s cybersecurity maturity is rising. Organizations are deploying layered prevention-first architectures across perimeter, endpoint, and cloud environments.

Elsewhere on the continent, South Africa remains one of the most targeted markets in Africa, facing a complex mix of legacy vulnerabilities, rapid digital adoption, and an expanding threat surface that mirrors its economic growth. Check Point reveals that South African entities face thousands of attacks weekly with phishing, data exfiltration, and DDoS activity dominating the threat spectrum.

In Kenya, the East African country faced 3,758 attacks per week on average, compared with 1,963 globally. The most common vulnerability exploit type in the country, is information disclosure, impacting 77% of the organizations. The country’s embrace of mobile banking, fintech innovation, and digital government has accelerated national growth, but has also expanded cyber attacks.

As Africa’s leading markets continue to face escalating and sophisticated cyber pressure, the continent’s resilience lies in the strength of its partnerships. Stronger public–private partnerships, cross-border intelligence sharing, workforce training, and identity-centric security strategieswill be critical.

As digital transformation accelerates, aligning cybersecurity maturity with innovation will determine whether Africa can sustain growth while safeguarding trust in its digital future.

Trump Chief of Staff Susie Wiles Offers Rare, Candid Assessment of Elon Musk and His Turbulent DOGE Role

By

Samuel Nwite

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December 17, 2025

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One of President Donald Trump’s closest aides has offered an unusually frank window into Elon Musk’s brief but disruptive presence inside the White House, lifting the curtain on internal tensions, clashing management styles, and unease over the rapid dismantling of a major U.S. government agency.

In a series of interviews published Tuesday by Vanity Fair, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles spoke at length about Musk’s time as the de facto leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), his personality, and his role in the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“The challenge with Elon is keeping up with him,” Wiles told the magazine.

She described Musk as an “odd, odd duck,” adding that his unconventional habits — including sleeping in a sleeping bag inside an office building adjacent to the White House — were part of a broader pattern that came with working alongside someone she repeatedly described as a genius operating at extreme speed.

Wiles also made remarks about Musk’s reported drug use that quickly became one of the most contentious aspects of the interview. She referred to Musk as an “avowed ketamine” user and, when asked about a meme he reposted and later deleted — one that compared public sector workers to mass murderers under the dictatorships of Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Zedong — she responded: “I think that’s when he’s microdosing.”

Musk has publicly rejected claims that he is currently using ketamine. In June, he wrote on X that he was “NOT taking drugs,” saying he had been prescribed ketamine “a few years ago” but had not taken it since. When asked for comment following the Vanity Fair publication, a spokesperson for Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI, responded tersely: “Legacy Media Lies.”

The remarks soon triggered a second round of controversy. In an interview published Monday by The New York Times, Wiles denied having commented on Musk’s drug use at all, saying she “wouldn’t have said it and I wouldn’t know.” The Times reported that journalist Chris Whipple, who conducted the interviews for Vanity Fair, later played a recording for the paper in which Wiles could be heard making the statements.

Beyond Musk’s personal behavior, Wiles also addressed what she described as her initial shock over the dismantling of USAID, one of the most dramatic policy moves associated with Musk’s tenure.

“I was initially aghast,” she told Vanity Fair. She said that her understanding, shared by many who have worked in or studied government, was that USAID “do very good work.” While she acknowledged long-standing concerns about inefficiencies within the agency, Wiles said the execution of its shutdown crossed lines.

“That’s not the way I would do it,” she said, adding that she explicitly told Musk that “you can’t just lock people out of their offices.”

Wiles framed the episode as a clash of philosophies rather than a personal feud. She said Musk’s approach was rooted in urgency and disruption, likening it to the mindset required to build rockets and push technological boundaries.

“Elon’s attitude is you have to get it done fast,” she said. “If you’re an incrementalist, you just won’t get your rocket to the moon.” That mindset, she added, inevitably leads to collateral damage. “With that attitude, you’re going to break some china.”

At the same time, Wiles made clear she did not believe the existing USAID structure was defensible in its entirety.

“No rational person could think the USAID process was a good one. Nobody,” she said, signaling agreement with the goal of reform even as she questioned the method.

Musk ultimately exited the White House in the spring after a falling-out with Trump over the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” While tensions between the two men were widely reported at the time, their relationship has appeared to stabilize in recent months.

Following the publication of the Vanity Fair story, Wiles pushed back publicly. Writing on X on Tuesday morning, she described the article as a “disingenuously framed hit piece,” saying “significant context was disregarded” to create what she called an “overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative” about Trump and his administration.

The White House quickly moved to close ranks around Wiles. Asked about her comments, the administration shared a statement from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressing firm support.

“Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has helped President Trump achieve the most successful first 11 months in office of any President in American history,” Leavitt said. “President Trump has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie. The entire Administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her.”

Taken together, the interviews offer one of the clearest accounts yet of how Musk’s fast-moving, Silicon Valley style collided with the realities of governing, and how even Trump’s most trusted aides struggled to manage the consequences of speed, scale, and disruption at the highest levels of power.

Next Tekedia Capital Portfolio Business Update – Feb 28, 2026

By

Ndubuisi Ekekwe

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December 17, 2025

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Hello,
Greetings. Our next portfolio business update is scheduled as follows:
Date: Saturday, Feb 28, 2026
Time: 4-6pm WAT
Zoom link will be sent later.

If you are not in the WhatsApp Group, please read this note published here for context ahead of the session. Note that you can schedule anytime with the provided Zoom for update; no need to wait for the Group scheduled session.

Tekedia Team

Coursera to Merge with Udemy in $2.5bn All-Stock Deal, Marking a Turning Point for Online Education

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