News & Views

Content posted in May 2020

KaiOS and FISE launch a 4G phone that takes your temperature

Connecting Africa News
5/29/2020

KaiOS Technologies and FISE are launching the world's first 4G phone with an integrated infrared thermometer.

Vodacom zero-rating what3words to help South Africans in emergencies

Paula Gilbert
5/28/2020

Vodacom is zero-rating the what3words 'find me' website in South Africa to help emergency services locate people even if they don't have an official address.

Bolt gets $110M boost for African and European expansion

Connecting Africa News
5/27/2020

Ride-hailing platform Bolt has raised $110 million to fund its growth and development strategy.

Hot startup of the month: Nigeria's Crop2Cash

Tom Jackson
5/26/2020

Crop2Cash is addressing financing gaps for Nigerian farmers by making formal financing a transparent process and helping responsible farmers get access to capital.

Ethiopia telecoms liberalization moves forward despite COVID-19

Paula Gilbert
5/25/2020

Ethiopia's communications regulator is going ahead with plans to issue two new telecoms licenses in the country, despite the current COVID-19 crisis.

Vodacom is 'decoupling' its SA business and hiring a new MD

Connecting Africa News
5/22/2020

Vodacom has announced a major restructuring with the South African business being 'decoupled' to become a standalone entity.

Vodacom plots fintech path with nano-loans

Paula Gilbert
5/21/2020

Vodacom wants to extend successes with its nano-lending products in Kenya and Tanzania to its other markets.

COVID-19 boosts META cloud spend

Connecting Africa News
5/20/2020

Public cloud is proving to be an exception to the COVID-19 slowdown rule, with IDC predicting higher spending in META following the outbreak.

EXCLUSIVE: MTN Zambia and Vanu to provide off-grid connectivity

Paula Gilbert
5/19/2020

Vanu has been selected by MTN to extend mobile connectivity to Zambia's off-grid communities.

African smartphone users could help find COVID-19 treatment while sleeping

Paula Gilbert
5/18/2020

Smartphone users in Ghana, Lesotho and South Africa can now help scientists speed up COVID-19 research by letting the DreamLab app run on their smartphones while they sleep.

5G in Africa is inevitable, but not imminent – GSMA

Paula Gilbert
5/15/2020

GSMA Africa Head, Akinwale Goodluck, believes Africa needs to get a few more things right before 5G can significantly roll out on the continent.

New '2Africa' mega subsea cable announced

Connecting Africa News
5/14/2020

The new 2Africa cable will be one of the world's largest subsea cable projects, connecting 23 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

MTN cuts spending plans as COVID-19 crisis bites

Paula Gilbert
5/14/2020

MTN has revised down its capex plans for 2020, from about $1.5 billion to $1.1 billion, as the coronavirus pandemic spreads uncertainty throughout African markets.

Loon brings balloon-powered Internet to Mozambique

Paula Gilbert
5/13/2020

Alphabet's balloon Internet project, Loon, has partnered with operator Vodacom to bring Internet connectivity to Mozambique's hard-to-reach areas.

Vodafone Egypt rakes in revenue ahead of sale

Paula Gilbert
5/12/2020

Vodafone Egypt saw a major revenue spike in the past financial year, while its parent group goes ahead with a planned sale to Saudi Telecom.

African operations boost Vodacom revenue

Paula Gilbert
5/11/2020

Vodacom's operations outside of SA continued to show strong growth over the past financial year, while the domestic market recovered in the second half.

DFA granted a license in Zimbabwe

Connecting Africa News
5/8/2020

South African-based DFA has been granted an Internet Access Provider Class B license in Zimbabwe.

Telkom SA delays retrenchments, postpones results due to COVID-19

Paula Gilbert
5/6/2020

Telkom South Africa is postponing the planned shedding of around 3,000 jobs and pushing back its full-year results publication due to COVID-19.

MTN Ghana boasts double-digit Q1 growth

Paula Gilbert
5/5/2020

MTN Ghana saw Q1 service revenue jump 20%, buoyed by double-digit growth in its voice, data and Mobile Money revenue.

Vodacom launches 5G in South Africa

Paula Gilbert
5/4/2020

Vodacom has launched a live 5G network in three South African cities, supporting both mobile and fixed wireless services.

View Content by Month

[close this box]

Latest resources

More Information resources

Innovation hub

Story

Hot startup of the month: Rwanda's Smart Ikigega

This month's hot startup, Smart Ikigega, wants to revolutionize the rural agricultural trade ecosystem in Rwanda by helping farmers access finance and harvest insurance.

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.

More Innovation hub

All polls

Latest video

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

Story

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