News & Views

Content posted in September 2022

SA's Vumatel, DFA announced as MAZIV companies

Matshepo Sehloho
9/30/2022

Remgro-owned Community Investment Ventures Holdings (CIVH) unveiled MAZIV as the parent company identity for its two South African fiber providers, Vumatel and DFA.

Safaricom cuts M-Pesa's Fuliza daily charges by up to 50%

Matshepo Sehloho
9/29/2022

Kenyan operator Safaricom has announced it will cut daily charges for M-Pesa's overdraft service Fuliza from October 1, 2022.

Renewable energy key for data center growth – Raxio

Paula Gilbert
9/28/2022

Raxio Group CTO, Rob Saunders, talks to Connecting Africa about the growing demand for renewable energy sources to power Africa's data centers.

ITU plans to bridge smartphone access gap

Matshepo Sehloho
9/28/2022

The ITU and UNESCO's Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development have published a report that proposes solutions to the global lack of Internet access.

Microsoft, AfDB partner to drive youth entrepreneurship in Africa

Matshepo Sehloho
9/27/2022

Microsoft has expanded its partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to develop youth entrepreneurship, create jobs and scale impact in Africa through digital inclusion.

SA bank Capitec launches MVNO with data that never expires

Paula Gilbert
9/26/2022

South African bank, Capitec, has launched its own mobile virtual network operator service, called Capitec Connect, promising mobile data prices that are considerably less than its competitors and data that doesn't expire.

MultiChoice acquires emergency-assist app Namola

Matshepo Sehloho
9/26/2022

South African pay-tv operator, MultiChoice, is expanding beyond video entertainment by buying emergency-assistance app Namola.

BCX, Alibaba Cloud sign distribution deal for SA

Matshepo Sehloho
9/23/2022

Telkom SA's IT integration business, BCX, has partnered with Alibaba Cloud to allow it to distribute products and services in South Africa.

Tanzania scraps mobile money tax

Matshepo Sehloho
9/22/2022

Tanzanians will from October 1, 2022 no longer pay mobile money transfer levy.

SA's Cell C eyes stabilization as it finally concludes recapitalization

Paula Gilbert
9/22/2022

South African mobile operator, Cell C, has finally concluded a recapitalization deal which has been three years in the making and which will reduce its debt and help stabilize the company.

SA regulator extends spectrum feedback deadline

Matshepo Sehloho
9/21/2022

South African regulator ICASA has extended the deadline for public comment on the second phase of the country's spectrum licensing process to September 30, 2022.

Hot startup of the month: South Africa's Zoie Health

Matshepo Sehloho
9/21/2022

This month's hot startup is South African digital women's health clinic Zoie Health – a digital app that focuses on family planning, fertility and maternity care.

MTN Nigeria launches commercial 5G

Paula Gilbert
9/20/2022

MTN Nigeria has officially launched its commercial 5G network, after testing the technology across seven cities last month.

Orange Côte d'Ivoire launches 5G lab in Abidjan

Matshepo Sehloho
9/20/2022

Pan-African telecoms operator, Orange, has launched a 5G lab in Côte d'Ivoire in anticipation of its 5G network rollout in 2023.

Smart Africa brings digital skills academy to Côte d'Ivoire

Connecting Africa News
9/19/2022

The Smart Africa Digital Academy has launched a digital skills development initiative in Côte d'Ivoire.

Majority of Kenya's mobile lenders are unlicensed

Matshepo Sehloho
9/19/2022

The Central Bank of Kenya has approved only 10 Digital Credit Providers out of the 288 applications it has received since March this year.

Liquid, Eutelsat to connect SMEs in East Africa

Matshepo Sehloho
9/16/2022

Liquid Intelligent Technologies and Eutelsat Communications have signed an agreement to provide high-speed Internet to small businesses in Uganda, South Sudan and the eastern regions of the DRC.

Raxio begins construction on new data center in DRC

Matshepo Sehloho
9/15/2022

Raxio Group has started constructing the first Tier III carrier-neutral data center in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital city Kinshasa

Nigeria leads African tech startup funding, fintech dominates

Paula Gilbert
9/15/2022

Nigeria has received the most tech startup funding in Africa over the last eight years, and fintech companies are the main driver, according to a new report from Disrupt Africa.

3G sunset too soon for SA, operators say

Paula Gilbert
9/14/2022

A 2025 deadline set by South Africa's government to shut down 3G networks is too soon for some local operators who think more discussions are needed between the public and private sector.

Orange, Cellulant expand mobile payments in Botswana

Matshepo Sehloho
9/13/2022

Orange Money in Botswana has teamed up with payments company Cellulant to enable card-to-wallet transfers from eight banks in Botswana.

Africa Data Centres and Nigeria's IXPN join forces

Connecting Africa News
9/13/2022

Africa Data Centres is teaming up with Nigeria's biggest Internet exchange point IXPN in a deal that will see better connectivity and lower bandwidth costs for Nigerians.

SA government proposes spectrum trading & sharing

Paula Gilbert
9/12/2022

The South African government is proposing spectrum trading and even "subletting" as options to better manage the country's spectrum resources and help SMMEs join the telecoms sector.

Nigerian watchdogs partner against infrastructure vandalism

Matshepo Sehloho
9/12/2022

The Nigerian Communications Commission has partnered with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps to fight the scourge of infrastructure vandalism in the local telecoms industry.

TikTok pilots 50 free Wi-Fi hotspots in SA

Matshepo Sehloho
9/9/2022

Short-video social media platform, TikTok, has partnered with Wi-Fi provider ThinkWiFi to pilot 50 free Wi-Fi hotspots in disadvantaged communities in South Africa.

Should SA switch off 2G & 3G?

Paula Gilbert
9/8/2022

Plans for South Africa to shut down its 2G and 3G networks over the next three years have met with mixed reactions from local analysts.

Nigeria suspends new 5% excise duty on telecoms

Matshepo Sehloho
9/8/2022

The Nigerian government has suspended its plans to impose a 5% excise duty on telecommunications services.

Uber expands into more African cities, beefs up security

Matshepo Sehloho
9/7/2022

Uber Sub-Saharan Africa is expanding into eight more cities across Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana, and has introduced various safety features and other new products.

SA telcos use fintech to tap into lending market

Paula Gilbert
9/6/2022

Growing fintech trends have seen several South African telecoms operators launching lending solutions that range from nano loans to large cash advanced for small business owners.

Uber SA adds audio-recording safety feature

Matshepo Sehloho
9/6/2022

Ride-sharing platform Uber has launched an audio recording feature in South Africa allowing riders and drivers to record trips in case of emergencies.

Ghana imposes sanctions on unregistered SIM cards

Matshepo Sehloho
9/5/2022

Ghana's National Communications Authority (NCA) has imposed punitive measures on subscribers who have not registered their SIM cards.

MTN slashes millions of dollars off foreign debt

Connecting Africa News
9/5/2022

Pan-African operator MTN Group has settled U$300 million worth of Eurobonds that were only due in 2024, helping to deleverage its balance sheet.

Vodacom launches first 5G service in Tanzania

Paula Gilbert
9/2/2022

Vodacom Tanzania has become the first mobile operator to launch 5G in the East African nation.

MTN Nigeria signs BSS tech deal with Tecnotree

Matshepo Sehloho
9/2/2022

MTN Nigeria has signed a deal with Finnish global provider of digital transformation solutions Tecnotree for the deployment of 5G-ready digital BSS solutions.

Amazon opens new office in Johannesburg as cloud demand grows

Matshepo Sehloho
9/1/2022

Amazon's cloud computing arm Amazon Web Services (AWS) has opened a new office in the city of Johannesburg in South Africa to support growing customer demand.

SA's Cell C has a new CFO

Paula Gilbert
9/1/2022

South African operator Cell C's CFO Zaf Mahomed has resigned and is being replaced by Lerato Pule.

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Airtel Africa unveils $500K fellowship program in Tanzania

Pan-African operator Airtel Africa has launched its 'Airtel Africa Fellowship Program' for undergraduate students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras in Zanzibar, Tanzania.

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Google to open AI hub in Zambia, Malawi plans Smart Village Initiative

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Women in Tech: Spotlight on digital skills with Kreative Campus' Keitesi Aisha

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

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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.

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Omdia View: August 2024

By Omdia Analysts

August 2024's telecom highlights in the Middle East and Africa included a satellite deal between Eutelsat Group and Bayobab, the sale of MTN Guinea-Bissau to Telecel, and the sale of a 60% stake in Uganda's Utel to Rowad Capital Commercial.

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Understanding African fintech startup failures

By Chiti Mbizule Mutati

Connecting Africa correspondent Chiti Mbizule Mutati investigates the reasons behind the high failure rate of African fintech startups, citing the importance of funding, policy and regulation in the sector.

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