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News & Views

Content posted in March 2021
Hot startup of the month: Nigeria's OnePipe
  • Tom Jackson
This month's hot startup is Nigeria's OnePipe, which is aggregating APIs from banks and fintechs into a standardized gateway that is easy to integrate and makes partnerships seamless.
Safaricom brings 5G to Kenya
  • Paula Gilbert
Safaricom has activated 5G service in Nairobi, Kisumu, Kisii and Kakamega, with plans to expand to 150 sites across nine Kenyan towns over the next 12 months.
Telkom Kenya cleared of ethics allegations
  • Connecting Africa News
Kenya's Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has called off an investigation into operator Telkom Kenya, which derailed its planned merger with Airtel.
Rain planning 5G ramp-up in SA
  • Paula Gilbert
South African data-only network Rain plans to roll out 2,000 5G towers across the country over the next few years.
MTN sees more room to grow fintech and mobile money
  • Paula Gilbert
Despite mobile money's strides in recent years there is still a lot of room for growth, with stats from MTN showing many African countries still having fairly low mobile money penetration rates.
SA regulator to fight spectrum auction ban
  • Paula Gilbert
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa says it will appeal a recent court ruling that has halted this month's spectrum auction.
Ghanaian startups get boost from Catalyst Fund
  • Connecting Africa News
Ghanaian digital commerce startups Boost Ghana and KudiGo are the first two out of six startups to join the Catalyst Fund Inclusive Digital Commerce Accelerator.
Only 20% of Ethiopians are online
  • Paula Gilbert
DataReportal's Digital 2021 report on Ethiopia shows that 20.6% of the population has access to the Internet, 38.5% have a mobile phone and 5.8% use social media.
MTN gets more spectrum in Nigeria
  • Paula Gilbert
MTN Nigeria has acquired additional 10MHz spectrum in the 800MHz band, saying the acquisition will significantly improve customer experience in the West African nation.
Omdia View: February 2021
  • Guest Perspectives
Omdia's analysts provide context and analysis on the biggest stories making headlines in Africa during February 2021.
Uncertain times see MTN suspend dividend
  • Paula Gilbert
MTN Group service revenue grew by almost 20% in 2020, but it decided to suspend its final dividend for the year due to continued uncertainties in the market.
SA spectrum auction on ice, again
  • Paula Gilbert
South Africa's operators will not be getting 4G and 5G spectrum anytime soon after Telkom won a court interdict to stop ICASA's auction process, scheduled to kick off at the end of this month.
Google pledges $25M to empower women and girls
  • Paula Gilbert
Google will give $25 million in funding to non-profits and social enterprises that are working to advance the economic empowerment of women and girls, calling on African organizations to apply.
SA Info Regulator questions WhatsApp's privacy policies
  • Paula Gilbert
South Africa's Information Regulator has raised concerns about WhatsApp and Facebook's data sharing practices and said that African users are receiving significantly lower privacy protection than users in Europe.
Bolt raises $24M for emerging markets expansion
  • Paula Gilbert
Ride-hailing platform Bolt has received a €20 million ($23.9 million) investment from the IFC to expand its services in emerging economies in Africa and Eastern Europe.
Liquid Telecom raises $840M financing package
  • Connecting Africa News
Liquid Telecom has raised a bond and loan financing package worth US$840 million to help fund its growth strategy and refinance some existing debt.
MTN to fight Syrian court ruling
  • Paula Gilbert
MTN has vowed to fight a court ruling in Syria that has put its business there under judicial guardianship and says it is still in discussions to sell its 75% stake in the Syrian business.


Innovation hub

Story

Omdia View: February 2024

Highlights in February 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included 5G launches in Senegal and 5G trials in Egypt as well as Kenya's first 5G MVNO. Airtel also launched a new wholesale connectivity business while MTN and Huawei are planning a joint Innovation Technology Lab in South Africa – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Key adoption areas for machine learning in Africa

ICT analyst Francis Hook identifies some of the key sectors that could be positively impacted by machine learning, including education, government services, healthcare and climate tech.

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Latest video

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Upcoming events

Africa Tech Festival 2024
November 11-14, 2024
Cape Town, South Africa
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Sponsored video

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Industry announcements

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Africa Tech Perspectives

Story

Uber's Marjorie Saint-Lot on inclusion and sustainability in Africa

Uber's Country Manager for Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Marjorie Saint-Lot, shares how the ride-hailing company is approaching public-private partnerships, environmentally friendly initiatives and gender inclusion in Africa.

Story

The 100 most influential African leaders in 2023

A new report from Africa Tech Festival and Connecting Africa puts a spotlight on the top 100 African leaders in the telecoms and technology sector in 2023.

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.

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Partner perspectives

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Guest Perspectives

Story

Omdia View: January 2024

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in January 2024 in the Middle East and Africa included a $200 million fintech deal between MTN and Mastercard as well as 5G network trials by Telecom Egypt – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

Story

Omdia View: September 2023

By Omdia Analysts

Highlights in September 2023 in the Middle East and Africa included more 5G spectrum licenses, vendor and operator strategies, and partnerships – that and more in this month's Omdia View.

More Guest Perspectives

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