News & Views

Content posted in February 2020

Blue Label turns the corner after Cell C write-off

Paula Gilbert
2/28/2020

Blue Label Telecoms is back in the black after two tough years, including writing off its investment in troubled mobile operator Cell C.

Bank cards still beat mobile payments in Africa

Paula Gilbert
2/28/2020

A new research report from Omdia and OpenWay has found that consumer demand for debit and credit cards still outweighs that for mobile money, according to African banks.

Safaricom pens cloud deal with AWS

Paula Gilbert
2/27/2020

Safaricom will become both a customer and a reseller of Amazon Web Services cloud services in East Africa.

MTN Uganda expands MoMo reach with Vodacom partnership

Connecting Africa News
2/26/2020

MTN Uganda is opening up its Mobile Money ecosystem even further, adding Vodacom Tanzania to the list of telecom partners that customers can transact with in East Africa.

East Africa Com Interview: Anne Wangalachi on how tech is transforming agriculture

Africa Tech Perspectives
2/25/2020

Anne Wangalachi, an agribusiness specialist at the World Bank Group, spoke to Connecting Africa about technology can transform agriculture in East Africa.

Econet throws hat in ring for Ethiopia license – report

Paula Gilbert
2/25/2020

Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa's company is reportedly looking into a telecom license in Ethiopia.

Hot startup of the month: IoT-enabled refrigeration company Gricd

Connecting Africa News
2/24/2020

Nigerian startup Gricd builds solar-powered, IoT-enabled mobile refrigeration boxes to transport and store food and medication.

Kenya's Safaricom looks to Huawei for 5G

Connecting Africa News
2/21/2020

Safaricom is considering using Huawei equipment for its 5G network rollout.

Lycamobile partners with Tunisian postal service

Connecting Africa News
2/21/2020

MVNO Lycamobile has announced a strategic partnership with Tunisia's state-owned postal and banking service operator, La Poste.

Vodacom facing trouble in Lesotho

Paula Gilbert
2/20/2020

The Lesotho Communications Authority is not happy with Vodacom and has fined it $549,000 – and is threatening to revoke its license.

East Africa Com Interview: GlobalX's Sylvia Mukasa on women in tech

Africa Tech Perspectives
2/19/2020

GlobalX Investments CEO, Sylvia Mukasa, talks to Connecting Africa about the skills gap in east Africa and what can be done to help women in the region succeed in the tech industry.

Etisalat tests open RAN in Africa through Parallel Wireless

Paula Gilbert
2/19/2020

Telecoms giant Etisalat is set to trial open RAN solutions across its markets in Africa using technology from Parallel Wireless.

Internet Solutions taps Liquid Telecom for 5G capacity

Connecting Africa News
2/18/2020

Liquid Telecom will provide Internet Solutions with wholesale 5G connectivity in South Africa.

Malawi investors snap up Airtel stock

Connecting Africa News
2/17/2020

Airtel Malawi will list 20% of its shares on local stock exchange following an oversubscribed offer.

Africa remains growth driver for Orange

Paula Gilbert
2/13/2020

Orange CEO Stéphane Richard says that once again in 2019, the Africa & Middle East region was a main growth driver for the Group.

MWC 2020 officially canceled

Paula Gilbert
2/13/2020

The GSMA has pulled the plug on this year's Mobile World Congress due to the impact of reactions to the coronavirus outbreak.

MTN expects big earnings jump

Paula Gilbert
2/12/2020

MTN expects its headline earnings per share for the 2019 financial year to be as much as 50% higher than the year before.

Connecting Africa joins MWC exodus

Paula Gilbert
2/12/2020

Connecting Africa believes it will be easier and more efficient to report on the industry's developments without traveling to Barcelona.

How the digital healthcare revolution will be realized

Africa Tech Perspectives
2/12/2020

Frank Hester, founder and CEO of healthcare technology company TPP, believes the healthcare industry is not embracing technology as it should, but that the digital revolution is coming.

Vodacom to take over Vodafone Ghana

Paula Gilbert
2/11/2020

The management of Vodafone Ghana will soon transfer from Vodafone Europe to South African subsidiary, Vodacom.

Ethiopian EdTech startup Gebeya scores $2M investment

Connecting Africa News
2/10/2020

Ethiopia's Gebeya has raised $2 million from Orange Digital Ventures, Partech and Consonance Investment Managers.

Women in Tech Interview: Vodacom financial services chief Mariam Cassim

Paula Gilbert
2/10/2020

Mariam Cassim spoke to Connecting Africa about how she turned Vodacom's financial services division into a profit maker in just three years, as well as the trials and tribulations of being a successful working mom.

Airtel & Telkom Kenya appeal merger conditions – report

Connecting Africa News
2/6/2020

Airtel and Telkom Kenya are reportedly appealing the merger conditions set by the Competition Authority of Kenya last year.

World Bank pushes for telecoms investment in Africa

Connecting Africa News
2/5/2020

The World Bank is lobbying to get more investment for Africa's telecoms industry through the next phase of its African Regulatory Watch Initiative.

Vodacom to launch 5G services in SA in 2020

Paula Gilbert
2/4/2020

Vodacom says it expects to be able to launch 5G services in South Africa this year, with the help of a recent roaming agreement with Liquid Telecom.

Vodacom reports strong end to 2019

Paula Gilbert
2/4/2020

Mobile operator giant's quarterly revenues grow 6.6% year-on-year in the final three months of 2019.

SA operators given more time to cut data prices

Paula Gilbert
2/3/2020

South Africa's Competition Commission has given mobile operators a one-month extension on a demand to drop data prices.

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Hot startup of the month: Rwanda's Smart Ikigega

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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.

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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.

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