News & Views

Content posted in November 2021

Connecting Africa Podcast: S1 Ep. 9 – Tackling the digital divide

Paula Gilbert
11/30/2021

In the season finale of the Connecting Africa Podcast, the hosts share their insights on Africa's digital divide and what needs to be done to shrink the gap.

Youth-centric MVNO BeMobile launches

Connecting Africa News
11/29/2021

A new digital mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) BeMobile has launched, aimed at the emerging African youth market.

SA digital migration on track for March 2022

Paula Gilbert
11/25/2021

South Africa's Communications Minister has committed to completing the country's digital migration by the end of March 2022.

MTN reduces Nigerian shareholding

Paula Gilbert
11/24/2021

MTN Group has received approval to sell 575 million ordinary shares in MTN Nigeria, part of plans to reduce its shareholding in the country.

Connecting Africa Podcast: S1 Ep. 8 – Edtech for the future of work

Paula Gilbert
11/23/2021

This week we are joined by Eyitayo Ogunmola, CEO of Utiva, which is a startup offering technology skills training to prepare young people for the the future of work.

Airtel launches Africa developer portal

Connecting Africa News
11/22/2021

Airtel Money has launched the Airtel Africa Developer Portal which will let businesses and app developers integrate remote payments with Airtel Money wallets.

Hot startup of the month: Malawi's Converged Technology Networks

Tom Jackson
11/19/2021

Startup Converged Technology Networks is focused on addressing the unmet demand for residential broadband Internet access in Malawi.

MTN continues Middle East departure with Yemen exit

Paula Gilbert
11/18/2021

MTN has exited its operation in Yemen, transferring its majority shareholding to Emerald International Investment, as it moves forward with plans to get out of the Middle East.

Omdia View: October 2021

Guest Perspectives
11/18/2021

Across the Middle East and Africa, regulators are beginning to facilitate spectrum allocation to operators in the region for the deployment of new and innovative technology.

MTN to sell SA towers to IHS

Paula Gilbert
11/17/2021

MTN is selling over 5,700 towers in South Africa to IHS Towers for R6.4 billion (US$413 million).

ZTE to pay SA authorities R5M for 'cartel conduct'

Connecting Africa News
11/17/2021

China's ZTE has agreed to pay South African authorities R5 million (US$321,300) in a settlement deal over collusion allegations in SA.

Connecting Africa Podcast: S1 Ep. 7 – Coding for diversity

Paula Gilbert
11/16/2021

Baratang Miya, founder and CEO of GirlHYPE, joins the podcast to talk about diversity and inclusion in tech and shares her fascinating and unique story with us.

Vodacom customers grow as new service offerings deliver

Paula Gilbert
11/15/2021

The Vodacom group now has almost 130 million customers across six markets in Africa and is seeing good growth from its 'new service offerings' like financial and digital services, which are diversifying revenue streams.

SA regulator offers 'provisional spectrum' ahead of 2022 auction

Paula Gilbert
11/12/2021

SA telecoms regulator ICASA has announced it will allocate provisional spectrum from December as previous temporary spectrum licenses expire at the end of November.

M-Pesa remains apple of Safaricom's eye

Paula Gilbert
11/11/2021

M-Pesa remains a cash cow for Kenya's Safaricom with M-Pesa revenue growing 45.8% year-on-year for the first six months of the financial year.

Vodacom strikes major fiber deal with CIVH in SA

Paula Gilbert
11/10/2021

Vodacom is doing a major fiber deal in SA with Vumatel and DFA's parent company CIVH, worth about $875 million.

Vodacom swoops in with $2.7B offer for Vodafone Egypt

Paula Gilbert
11/10/2021

Vodacom is buying parent company Vodafone's 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt in a deal worth US$2.7 billion, after a previous deal with STC fell through.

Connecting Africa Podcast: S1 Ep. 6 – Rise of the super app

Paula Gilbert
11/9/2021

This week the team discusses the rising trend of super apps in Africa with Gozem Co-Founder Raphael Dana, who gives us the backstory to the platform, which has become an integrated app for on-demand transportation, delivery and cashless payment solutions.

Telkom SA's mobile business shines, while enterprise struggles

Paula Gilbert
11/9/2021

Telkom South Africa's mobile customers now top 16 million but the group's enterprise segment BCX struggled under pandemic pressure in the first half of the financial year.

MTN & Airtel inch closer to banking licenses in Nigeria

Paula Gilbert
11/8/2021

Airtel Africa and MTN have received 'approval in principle' from the Central Bank of Nigeria to operate payment service banks – a step forward for their fintech plans.

Telkom SA roaming on MTN again

Paula Gilbert
11/5/2021

Telkom South Africa is back roaming on the MTN network almost three years after calling off its previous agreement and switching to Vodacom.

MTN Group keeps growth going in Q3

Paula Gilbert
11/4/2021

The MTN Group had a strong third quarter with good momentum in major markets of Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa.

Nigerian SIM rules keep biting into MTN subs

Paula Gilbert
11/3/2021

Nigeria's SIM card registration regulations continue to hamper subscriber growth for local telcos, with MTN Nigeria losing 7.5 million users over the past year.

Connecting Africa Podcast: S1 Ep. 5 – AI vs. humanity

Paula Gilbert
11/2/2021

This week, Tunisian startup InstaDeep's Co-Founder Zohra Slim joined the podcast and shared the human story behind the successful AI startup and how you maintain startup culture even when your company grows.

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VC investment into South African ICT startups rises

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Connecting Africa Podcast: S3 Ep. 4 – Africa's future as a tech talent powerhouse

In this episode, Utiva CEO Eyitayo Ogunmola returns to the podcast to talk about Africa's opportunity to become a tech talent powerhouse. The discussion covers upskilling African talent for the global job market and how outsourcing local tech professionals can provide opportunities for the youth, with a focus on growing female talent.

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Leadership Lessons: Networking towards career advancement

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Leadership Lessons: The importance of mentorship for career growth

By Nollie Maoto

Nollie Maoto, First Rand Group's compliance chief data and analytics officer and Africa Tech Festival Leadership Council member, reflects on the importance of mentorship for career growth for African women in data analytics.

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