News & Views

Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

Africa Tech Perspectives
3/22/2023

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

M-Pesa Africa invests $2M in Shared Service Operations Centre

Paula Gilbert
3/22/2023

M-Pesa Africa has launched a Shared Service Operations Centre (SSOC) in Nairobi to support operations in Kenya and five other African markets.

MTN, Microsoft trial 5G in cloud

Connecting Africa News
3/20/2023

MTN Group has conducted a proof-of-concept deployment for a 5G standalone core using cloud computing platform Microsoft Azure.

Omdia View: February 2023

Connecting Africa News
3/17/2023

In February 2023 key events in the Middle East and Africa included a major Internet project for Africa's underserved by Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Microsoft as well as a 5G launch in Tanzania – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

South Africa's Rain to move beyond data into mobile voice

Paula Gilbert
3/17/2023

Data-only network Rain is looking to launch a full mobile service this year, expanding its offering to include voice services.

Podcast: What's the Story? African tech startups score $3.3B in funding

Connecting Africa Video
3/17/2023

Connecting Africa's Paula Gilbert joins this Light Reading podcast to explain why the fintech sector is bringing in the most funding, which countries are leading the way for most funding and what these trends mean for the continent as a whole.

Nigeria launches $618M fund for young tech entrepreneurs

Paula Gilbert
3/16/2023

The African Development Bank, Nigeria's government and other partners have launched a new $618 million fund aimed at supporting tech and creative sectors for the youth in Nigeria.

MTN SA sells device insurance business to Santam

Paula Gilbert
3/16/2023

MTN South Africa is selling its device insurance book, worth $21.7 million in annual gross written premium value, to insurance company Santam.

GSMA backs African climate resilience startups

Connecting Africa News
3/16/2023

GSMA opens applications for grants backing projects that use mobile and digital technology to improve climate resilience and help with adaptation in selected regions, including Africa.

Egypt's Flat6Labs launching $95M seed fund for African startups

Paula Gilbert
3/15/2023

Middle East and North Africa seed investor, Flat6Labs, is expanding its investment focus to West and East Africa with a new $95 million seed fund aimed at investing in 160 tech startups over the next five years.

Seacom now live on Google's Equiano subsea cable

Matshepo Sehloho
3/15/2023

Telecommunications services provider Seacom has announced that it is live on Equiano, the Google-backed subsea cable.

BFS to manage Burkina Faso's fiber route

Matshepo Sehloho
3/14/2023

Burkina Faso has contracted Bridge Fiber Solutions (BFS), a subsidiary of Telecel Faso SA, to manage and operate its 3,000km national fiber optic backbone network.

SA power cuts knock $38M off MTN Group earnings

Paula Gilbert
3/13/2023

Extensive power cuts in South Africa impacted MTN Group's earnings by R695 million ($38 million) as the operator plans to ramp up installation of more power backups for towers across the country.

Zambia's active mobile subscriptions drop by 2%

Matshepo Sehloho
3/13/2023

The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has released a report that shows active mobile phone subscriptions have fallen by 2% to 19.8 million at the end of 2022 from 20.2 million in 2021.

Telkom SA partners with Clikatell to launch Chat 2 Pay

Matshepo Sehloho
3/10/2023

Chat Commerce company Clickatell has launched its Chat 2 Pay feature for South African telecommunication company Telkom.

Online shopping growing in South Africa – World Wide Worx, Mastercard

Paula Gilbert
3/10/2023

There was a 40% increase in the total number of people shopping online in South Africa between 2021 and 2021 according to a new study by World Wide Worx and Mastercard.

Orange, OneWeb ink deal to connect Africa's underserved

Matshepo Sehloho
3/9/2023

Pan-African telecoms operator Orange has partnered with UK-based LEO satellite company OneWeb to use its burgeoning constellation to provide fronthaul and backhaul connectivity to the telco's African customers.

Vodacom has the fastest 5G network in South Africa – Opensignal

Paula Gilbert
3/9/2023

Vodacom has the fastest 5G download speed in South Africa, topping the 200 Mbit/s mark, according to a new report from mobile analytics company Opensignal.

African telcos, vendors make deals at MWC 2023

Paula Gilbert
3/8/2023

The 2023 Mobile World Congress saw several deals made between Africa telecoms operators and global vendors like Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei for rollout of 4G and 5G across Africa.

Kenyan enterprises lag in leadership gender parity – IBM

Matshepo Sehloho
3/8/2023

Tech giant IBM has released a report claiming that Kenyan organizations are lagging when it comes to female representation, with only 11% of C-suite jobs held by women, while 41% of junior professional/specialist roles are filled by women.

Challenges and opportunities for women's tech careers

Africa Tech Perspectives
3/8/2023

A new survey reveals that COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis, skills shortages and a lack of mentorship have negatively affected women's career development over the past two years.

Massive BCS fiber route & Orange digital center coming to DRC

Matshepo Sehloho
3/7/2023

Telecoms company Bandwidth and Cloud Services (BCS) has signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank to build a 1,200km fiber network in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Orange has also launched its 15th African digital center in the country.

Connecting Africa Podcast: S2 Ep. 5 – Next-gen funerals

Paula Gilbert
3/7/2023

The Connecting Africa Podcast team speaks to South African startup Sendoff's co-founder Zolani Matebese about how the company is digitizing funerals and become Africa's 'Uber for funerals'.

Hot startup of the month: Egypt's Plstka

Matshepo Sehloho
3/6/2023

Egyptian startup Plstka is helping companies and consumers in the Delta region exchange their recyclable trash for discounts and coupons for everyday services like food, healthcare, and transportation.

MTN revenue growth continues in Uganda, Rwanda

Paula Gilbert
3/6/2023

MTN has once again seen double-digit service revenue growth in its operations in the East African countries of Uganda and Rwanda.

Algeria's best and worst operators – according to Opensignal

Paula Gilbert
3/3/2023

A new Mobile Network Experience Report from Opensignal ranks Algeria's three networks when it comes to mobile upload and download speeds, 4G coverage and quality of experience.

MultiChoice, Comcast to create Africa-wide streaming platform

Paula Gilbert
3/2/2023

Africa's biggest TV operator, MultiChoice, is partnering with global broadcasters Sky and Comcast's NBCUniversal to create a pan-African streaming service based on MultiChoice's Showmax platform.

Blackouts, high inflation force SA telcos to hike prices

Matshepo Sehloho
3/1/2023

Telecoms operators MTN and Telkom have announced price increases caused by South Africa's struggling economy as well as ongoing power blackouts.

MTN Ghana grows subscribers despite SIM registration impact

Paula Gilbert
3/1/2023

MTN Ghana grew mobile subscribers by 12.8% in 2022, to 28.6 million, despite having to cut over 5 million users in December who did not re-register their SIM cards under national rules.

Ghana to deactivate unregistered SIMs from March 10

Matshepo Sehloho
2/28/2023

Ghana's National Communications Authority (NCA) will begin disconnecting SIM cards with incomplete registrations from March 10, 2023.

Sonatel Group profit rises by 10% in 2022

Matshepo Sehloho
2/28/2023

Orange subsidiary Sonatel Group recorded a consolidated net profit of 279 billion CFA francs (US$450 million) at the end of the 2022 financial year despite tough competition.

Internet Solutions, Q-KON Africa launch satellite broadband for Mozambique

Connecting Africa News
2/27/2023

Dimension Data subsidiary, Internet Solutions, is partnering with Q-KON Africa to bring OneWeb LEO satellite service to the Mozambican market, to compete with Elon Musk's Starlink.

Airtel Uganda upgrades core network to be 5G ready

Matshepo Sehloho
2/24/2023

Airtel Uganda has completed an upgrade of its core network to pave the way for 5G services.

Five sustainable startups to watch in 2023

Matshepo Sehloho
2/24/2023

Connecting Africa has compiled a list of five sustainable startups that are making innovative impacts in the lives of the communities they serve.

KaiOS ramps up device affordability efforts in Africa

Paula Gilbert
2/24/2023

KaiOS Technologies plans to scale up the migration of African 2G users onto 3G or 4G smart feature phones using a number of innovative financing solutions.

SA's Blue Label Telecoms seeks control of Cell C

Paula Gilbert
2/23/2023

South Africa's Blue Label Telecoms is looking to take over control of mobile operator, Cell C, which it owns almost 50% of already.

Namibia kicks off spectrum auction

Matshepo Sehloho
2/22/2023

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has commenced an auctioning process for radio frequency spectrum in the 700MHz and 800MHz bands.

Vodafone sells out of Ghana

Paula Gilbert
2/21/2023

Vodafone has completed the sale of its 70% shareholding in Vodafone Ghana to Telecel Group.

Bolt to invest $530M in Africa

Matshepo Sehloho
2/21/2023

Ride-sharing platform Bolt has announced that it will be investing €500 million (US$530 million) in its operations on the African continent over the next two years.

SA networks given deadline for 4G/5G completion

Paula Gilbert
2/20/2023

South Africa's Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says that telecoms operators have five years to complete the rollout of 4G and 5G networks in the country – including to all rural areas.

MTN, Airtel sign roaming deal in Congo

Matshepo Sehloho
2/20/2023

Congo's Regulatory Agency for Electronic Communications and Post (ARPCE) has announced that mobile operators MTN and Airtel have signed a roaming deal in the country.

MTN to invest $1B in Ghana

Matshepo Sehloho
2/17/2023

Mobile operator MTN has committed to investing US$1 billion in Ghana over the next five years after the Ghanaian government exempted the telco from US$773 million in tax claims.

Ericsson, Tigo to launch 5G in Tanzania

Matshepo Sehloho
2/16/2023

Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson has entered a partnership with Tigo Tanzania to launch 5G services and upgrade the operator's existing 4G network.

Survey: Opportunities for Women in Tech

Africa Tech Perspectives
2/15/2023

Take our new survey for women across Asia, Europe and Africa looking at the biggest challenges and opportunities for women-led enterprises and trends in tech careers for women.

2Africa reaches the shores of Madagascar

Paula Gilbert
2/15/2023

The 2Africa subsea cable system has made another step forward, this time landing in the island nation of Madagascar as it works its way up Africa's East Coast.

Innovative tech contributes to fatality-free mines

Matshepo Sehloho
2/15/2023

Industry experts spoke about the role technology plays in reducing fatalities in the mining industry as part of a panel discussion in Johannesburg, hosted by Spanish technology company Torsa.

Telkom SA shedding 15% of workforce

Paula Gilbert
2/15/2023

South African telecoms operator Telkom is joining the global layoff trend, announcing plans to shed up to 15% of its workforce as part of a group restructuring.

Axian Group launches investment unit to fund African tech startups

Connecting Africa News
2/14/2023

Madagascar-based Axian Group has announced a new investment arm, Axian Investment, aimed at funding Africa's fledgling technology startups.

Orange opens Digital Center in Sierra Leone

Matshepo Sehloho
2/13/2023

Pan-African operator Orange and the German Development Cooperation have opened an Orange Digital Center in Sierra Leone's capital city Freetown, making it the 14th center of its kind across the Middle East and Africa.

North African telcos boost network experience in 2022 – Opensignal

Paula Gilbert
2/13/2023

Operators in Morocco and Egypt have recorded major improvements in network experience during 2022 according to new data from Opensignal.

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Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

Video

Podcast: What's the Story? African tech startups score $3.3B in funding

More Innovation hub

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Africa Tech Perspectives

Story

Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

New survey reveals a lack of access to investors, reliance on international VCs and global recession trends as the biggest barriers for East African tech startups to access funds.

Story

Challenges and opportunities for women's tech careers

A new survey reveals that COVID-19, the cost-of-living crisis, skills shortages and a lack of mentorship have negatively affected women's career development over the past two years.

Story

Survey: Opportunities for Women in Tech

Take our new survey for women across Asia, Europe and Africa looking at the biggest challenges and opportunities for women-led enterprises and trends in tech careers for women.

More AfricaCom perspectives

Guest Perspectives

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Omdia View: July 2022

By Omdia Analysts

Kenya and Zambia move towards 5G with new spectrum allocations while Tunisie Telecom plans to shut down its 3G network - that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Omdia View: June 2022

By Omdia Analysts

5G was the major news trend across Africa in June, as Orange became the first operator to launch 5G in Réunion and operators in Senegal accelerated their 5G plans despite spectrum delays.

More Guest Perspectives