News & Views

Content posted in May 2023

Women spend less on mobile services than men – GSMA

Paula Gilbert
5/31/2023

Female mobile phone owners in sub-Saharan Africa spend 32% less on mobile services than men, and women in the region are 36% less likely to use mobile Internet – according to the GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report 2023.

Cameroonian telcos fined $9.8M for poor network quality

Matshepo Sehloho
5/31/2023

Cameroon's Telecommunications Regulatory Board (ART) has fined four mobile operators XAF6 billion (US$9.8 million) for poor network quality.

5G spectrum sale begins in Uganda

Matshepo Sehloho
5/30/2023

The Uganda Communication Commission (UCC) is inviting applicants for its planned sale of 5G spectrum.

Namibia to auction 5G spectrum

Matshepo Sehloho
5/29/2023

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has announced it will auction 5G spectrum in October 2023.

SA's MultiChoice to launch pan-African payment platform

Paula Gilbert
5/29/2023

South Africa's MultiChoice Group is developing an integrated payment platform for Africa in a joint venture with UK-based fintech company Rapyd and private equity firm General Catalyst.

Opensignal: SA networks have worst 4G signal strength at night

Paula Gilbert
5/26/2023

South African operators use less spectrum and carrier bands at night, while the 4G signal strength is also the weakest at night, according to a new report from Opensignal.

Avanti finishes phase two of satellite gateway project in Senegal

Matshepo Sehloho
5/26/2023

Avanti Communications has completed the second phase of its project to build a new HYLAS 4 satellite gateway station in Dakar, Senegal.

Hot startup of the month: Pan-African fintech KamaPay

Matshepo Sehloho
5/26/2023

This month's hot startup is pan-African fintech KamaPay, which helps individuals and businesses make cross-border payments on the continent.

Afretec awards $3.3M in grants to African research teams

Paula Gilbert
5/25/2023

The African Engineering and Technology Network (Afretec) has awarded grants worth $300,000 each to 11 university research teams across Africa to advance digital technologies.

Telekom Networks Malawi pilots 5G

Matshepo Sehloho
5/24/2023

Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM) is the first mobile operator in the country to make 5G services available on a pilot basis.

Interview: Airtel Business Africa's Luc Serviant on agritech trends

Connecting Africa Video
5/24/2023

Airtel Business Africa's Group Enterprise Director, Luc Serviant, joined Connecting Africa for a video interview in Nairobi, Kenya, to talk about agritech trends in Africa and how operators are partnering with startups to help the agricultural value chain to flourish.

EU, Germany and Estonia launch Digital Transformation Centre in Kenya

Matshepo Sehloho
5/23/2023

The European Union (EU), Germany and Estonia have launched a Digital Transformation Centre (DTC) in Kenya to strengthen the country's digital economy.

Digital banking group Tyme raises another $77.8M

Paula Gilbert
5/23/2023

Tyme has raised another US$77.8 million in a pre-series C capital raise, securing two new international investors, while South African flagship TymeBank's customers have reached 7 million.

Angola Cables, Orange ink infrastructure network deal

Matshepo Sehloho
5/22/2023

An infrastructure sharing agreement on the West African Djoliba Network gives Angola Cables and telco Orange the option to extend their global connectivity.

Africa Data Centres, LINX partner for African digital growth

Connecting Africa News
5/22/2023

Africa Data Centres (ADC) has formed a strategic partnership with the London Internet Exchange (LINX) to explore opportunities in current and new markets across Africa.

MTN Cameroon mobile money unit gets PSP license

Matshepo Sehloho
5/19/2023

MTN Cameroon's fintech subsidiary Mobile Money Corporation (MMC) has been granted a Payment Services Provider (PSP) license.

Vodacom outlines fiber ambitions as it awaits approval of MAZIV deal

Paula Gilbert
5/19/2023

Vodacom has ambitions to increase its fiber reach across Africa, especially in underserved areas, and is awaiting competition approval on a deal with South African fiber company MAZIV to make that a reality.

Interview: TESPOK's Fiona Asonga on digital telco strategies in East Africa

Connecting Africa Video
5/18/2023

Fiona Asonga, CEO of the Technology Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK), joined Connecting Africa Editor Paula Gilbert at East Africa Com in Nairobi, Kenya, to talk about digital strategies that telecoms operators and service providers are implementing in East Africa.

Zimbabwe places Telecel under corporate rescue

Matshepo Sehloho
5/18/2023

Zimbabwean state-owned mobile operator Telecel has been placed under corporate rescue to avoid its liquidation.

Crypto enthusiasts react to Binance expansion in West Africa

Connecting Africa News
5/18/2023

Binance's peer-to-peer platform has recently expanded its reach in West Africa and local crypto enthusiasts have mixed feelings about the cryptocurrency exchange's growth in Africa.

Connecting Africa Podcast: S2 Ep. 7 – Gender-lens investing

Paula Gilbert
5/17/2023

In this episode, the Connecting Africa Podcast team speaks to Eloho Omame, co-founder of FirstCheck Africa, an early-stage VC firm investing in tech startups founded or co-founded by women.

MTN's Bayobab inks $320M African fiber deal

Matshepo Sehloho
5/16/2023

MTN Group's Bayobab has partnered with infrastructure investment agency Africa50 to build R6 billion (US$320 million) terrestrial fiber cable in Africa.

Vodafone job cuts won't impact Africa

Paula Gilbert
5/16/2023

Vodafone's plans to cut 11,000 jobs over three years will not impact Vodacom's operations in Africa, only Vodafone operations in Europe, a spokesperson confirmed.

Vodacom reports revenue growth despite headwinds

Paula Gilbert
5/15/2023

Vodacom Group reported strong financial growth for the year, despite facing headwinds from power supply issues in South Africa, startup costs in Ethiopia, supply chain challenges and higher interest and inflation rates.

Egypt sells 9.5% stake of Telecom Egypt

Matshepo Sehloho
5/15/2023

The Egyptian government has sold a 9.5% stake in state-run Telecom Egypt for 3.75 billion Egyptian pounds (US$121.6 million).

MTN in talks to sell three West African operations to Axian Telecom

Paula Gilbert
5/12/2023

MTN Group is considering an offer from Axian Telecom to buy MTN's operations in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry and Liberia.

Airtel, MTN renew 3G spectrum licenses in Nigeria

Matshepo Sehloho
5/12/2023

Airtel Nigeria and MTN Nigeria have confirmed that they will renew their 2100MHz spectrum licenses in the West African nation for a further 15 years.

Safaricom granted mobile money license in Ethiopia

Paula Gilbert
5/11/2023

Kenya's Safaricom has been granted the license to operate its mobile money service M-Pesa in its new territory of Ethiopia, as the Ethiopian rollout costs put strain on group earnings.

ThinkWiFi, Mawingu to connect Kenya's underserved

Matshepo Sehloho
5/11/2023

Free Wi-Fi service provider ThinkWiFi and Internet service provider Mawingu have launched the first outdoor Telecom Infra Project (TIP) OpenWiFi network in Kenya.

MTN expands in Nigeria and Rwanda, battles outages in Sudan and Cameroon

Matshepo Sehloho
5/10/2023

Pan-African operator MTN has announced that it will be launching its own 4G network in Rwanda, expanding 5G in Nigeria, and managing network issues in Sudan and Cameroon.

Senegal to allocate 5G licenses to telcos

Paula Gilbert
5/10/2023

Senegal's telecommunications regulator, ARTP, has announced that it will allocate 5G licenses to telecom operators by the end of July 2023.

IBM, NASA using AI to answer climate change questions

Paula Gilbert
5/9/2023

A collaboration between IBM and NASA aims to use artificial intelligence to answer some of the most pertinent questions regarding climate change and its impact on Africa and the rest of the planet.

SA's Rain expands into mobile voice services

Matshepo Sehloho
5/8/2023

South African data-only operator Rain is expanding to become a "full mobile network operator" and will now also supply mobile voice services.

Agritech's role in mitigating climate risk in Africa

Connecting Africa News
5/8/2023

Agritech is gaining traction across Africa as a means of promoting food security, protecting farmer incomes, and supporting the sustainable development of a rapidly expanding continent.

Vodacom launches 5G services in Mozambique

Matshepo Sehloho
5/5/2023

Vodacom Mozambique has become the first mobile operator to launch commercial 5G services in the country.

Côte d'Ivoire to launch first observation satellite

Matshepo Sehloho
5/4/2023

Côte d'Ivoire's Minister of Scientific Research Adama Diawara said the country's first observation satellite, the Yam-Sat CI 01, should be in space by August this year.

Microsoft appoints Lillian Barnard as African president

Matshepo Sehloho
5/3/2023

Microsoft has announced the appointment of Lillian Barnard as President of Microsoft Africa.

Ghana to block unregistered SIMs on May 31

Matshepo Sehloho
5/2/2023

The Ghanaian National Communications Authority (NCA) has set May 31 as the deadline to block unregistered SIM cards.

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US-Kenya tech exchange aims to bridge digital gap, boost STEM education

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Connecting Africa Correspondent Eden Harris investigates the USAID Edtech Africa initiative which aims to enhance tech education in Kenya and the US and teach the skills needed to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the digital age.