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News & Views

Content posted in September 2021
2Africa subsea cable to connect to South Asia
  • Paula Gilbert
The 2Africa subsea cable system has announced yet another addition which will stretch to India, Pakistan and the Arabian Gulf making the cable the longest in the world.
Customer experience is telco's next 'battleground'
  • Paula Gilbert
South African social data and insights company BrandsEye thinks its unique blend of AI and human intelligence could help Africa's telcos face a battleground around customer service.
Chipper Cash launches in SA
  • Paula Gilbert
African fintech startup, Chipper Cash, has made South Africa its seventh African country, with more expansions planned soon.
Kenyans can get Netflix for free
  • Paula Gilbert
Streaming giant, Netflix, looks set on gaining new customers in Kenya, announcing it will offer a free version in the country.
Vodafone, ITU drive smartphone adoption
  • Connecting Africa News
Vodafone and the International Telecommunication Union are launching an initiative aimed at connecting 3.4 billion people to the Internet through a smartphone by 2030.
Virgin Mobile SA closes after 15 years
  • Paula Gilbert
Cell C is switching off services for Virgin Mobile SA today, following the MVNO's announced plans to close up shop in SA after 15 years.
Omdia View: August 2021
  • Guest Perspectives
Omdia's analysts provide context and analysis about MTN's decision to exit Syria and not bid again for an Ethiopian license, as well as 5G news from Mauritius, Ghana, Mayotte and Reunion.
Liquid, Project Taara beam broadband across Congo River
  • Paula Gilbert
Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Alphabet's Project Taara have found a way to bridge a particularly stubborn connectivity gap between Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo and Kinshasa in the DRC.
North Africa has world's slowest Internet
  • Paula Gilbert
New data from Cable.co.uk shows North Africa has the world's slowest broadband speed on average, with sub-Saharan Africa in second-worst place.
MTN plans $35M investment in KZN following SA riots
  • Paula Gilbert
MTN SA will invest over $35 million on network upgrades in KwaZulu-Natal with 30% going toward replacing stolen and vandalized network infrastructure following civil unrest and looting in July.
SA operators will have to wait until 2022 for spectrum
  • Paula Gilbert
South Africa's telcos are not getting more high-demand radio frequency spectrum anytime soon, after settlement talks between the regulator and some operators failed to reach an agreement this week.
M-Pesa tops 50M users
  • Connecting Africa News
Mobile money pioneer reaches a major milestone of 50 million monthly active customers, doubling users over the past five years.
Africa Data Centres planning major expansion
  • Connecting Africa News
Africa Data Centres is planning to build ten hyperscale data centers in ten African countries over the next two years, spending over US$500 million.
Safaricom begins hiring in Ethiopia
  • Paula Gilbert
Safaricom plans to recruit 1,000 employees for its new Ethiopian business by June next year and is also launching a three-year graduate program in the country.


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Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

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Podcast: What's the Story? African tech startups score $3.3B in funding

Connecting Africa's Paula Gilbert joins this Light Reading podcast to explain why the fintech sector is bringing in the most funding, which countries are leading the way for most funding and what these trends mean for the continent as a whole.

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Deep dive into East Africa's tech startup ecosystem

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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.

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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.

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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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