News & Views

Content posted in September 2024

Elon Musk hosts African leaders while Starlink faces challenges in Kenya

Matshepo Sehloho
9/30/2024

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite Internet service is making waves across Africa, while it navigates competitive dynamics with local telecom companies. He recently engaged with various African leaders.

Mastercard, Amazon partner to digitize payments acceptance in MEA

Paula Gilbert
9/30/2024

Mastercard and Amazon Payment Services have signed a multi-year commercial partnership agreement to digitize payment acceptance for merchants in 40 markets in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), including Egypt and South Africa.

Five edtech trends on the rise

Matshepo Sehloho
9/27/2024

Connecting Africa has compiled a list of five edtech trends that are shaping and influencing the African education sector.

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

Guest Perspectives
9/27/2024

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.

KaiOS, Mastercard partner to enable digital payments for SMEs

Paula Gilbert
9/26/2024

KaiOS Technologies and Mastercard are joining forces to enable small businesses in Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria to accept digital payments using KaiOS devices and Mastercard payment technology.

Hot startup of the month: South Africa's feePerks

Matshepo Sehloho
9/26/2024

Connecting Africa's hot startup of the month is South Africa's feePerks, an edtech social media platform for schools to share unlimited updates with parents.

Raxio opens data center in Côte d'Ivoire

Paula Gilbert
9/25/2024

Data center operator Raxio Group has launched a new data center in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, making it the group's fifth data center in Africa.

Ooredoo secures $549M for MENA data center, AI expansion

Matshepo Sehloho
9/25/2024

Qatar-based Ooredoo Group has signed a US$549 million financing deal to fund the acceleration of its artificial intelligence (AI) and data center businesses in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Egyptian edtech startup Farid bags $250K pre-seed funding

Matshepo Sehloho
9/23/2024

Egyptian edtech startup Farid has received US$250,000 pre-seed funding from Amal bint Abdulaziz Al-Ajlan, a Saudi Arabian entrepreneur.

Nokia, iSAT Africa to expand Liberia's rural connectivity

Matshepo Sehloho
9/20/2024

Nokia and iSAT Africa have partnered to improve rural connectivity in Liberia.

ST Digital enters DRC market through partnership with OADC

Matshepo Sehloho
9/19/2024

ST Digital has partnered with OADC Texaf to enter the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) market.

Vodacom SA launches $14 cloud-based phone

Connecting Africa News
9/18/2024

Vodacom South Africa has introduced a $14 cloud-based mobile phone in an attempt to provide a more cost-effective option for local users and accelerate the migration of legacy 2G and 3G customers to 4G.

Nigerian telco body seeks SIM registration extension

Matshepo Sehloho
9/18/2024

Nigeria's telecom association, NATCOMS, has requested a two-week extension on the country's SIM registration deadline, moving it from September 14 to September 30, 2024, as telcos work toward disconnecting unregistered SIMs.

South Africa's ARC invests $16.75M into Rain, TymeBank

Paula Gilbert
9/17/2024

African Rainbow Capital has invested an additional R126 million (US$7.15 million) into South African mobile network Rain and R169 million ($9.6 million) into digital bank TymeBank.

South Africa's president holds talks with Starlink

Matshepo Sehloho
9/17/2024

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is in talks with Starlink's founder, Elon Musk, about introducing the satellite Internet service in the country.

South Africa intensifies rollout of EV charging stations

Guest Perspectives
9/16/2024

South Africa is intensifying the rollout of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations, with state-owned power utility Eskom now joining the framework.

Exclusive: Vodacom launches first MVNO, in-house MVNE service

Paula Gilbert
9/13/2024

Vodacom has officially activated its first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in South Africa – Mr Price Mobile – and has created its own mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) platform. Shenge Buthelezi, managing executive of wholesale at Vodacom South Africa, shared the news exclusively with Connecting Africa.

Liquid upgrades Kenya-Uganda fiber route

Matshepo Sehloho
9/12/2024

Pan-African digital infrastructure provider, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has upgraded its 1,300km fiber route that connects Kenya's east coast city of Mombasa to Busia on the Ugandan border.

Airtel Africa unveils $500K fellowship program in Tanzania

Matshepo Sehloho
9/12/2024

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.

Omdia View: August 2024

Guest Perspectives
9/12/2024

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.

Cell C plans to claw back market share in South Africa

Paula Gilbert
9/11/2024

Cell C CEO Jorge Mendes sat down with Connecting Africa to talk about the company's turnaround strategy and his plans to grow the embattled mobile operator's market share in South Africa through new pricing and product strategies and by changing perceptions about poor network quality.

SA financial services execs look to AI for real-time insights

Connecting Africa News
9/10/2024

A new research report from ActiveOps suggests that South African financial services companies are behind the curve when it comes to AI implementation and the majority are using old data to drive business insights which is inhibiting their potential.

GSMA appoints Vivek Badrinath as new director general

Connecting Africa News
9/9/2024

The GSM Association (GSMA) has announced the appointment of Vivek Badrinath as its new director general, replacing Mats Granryd who plans to step down from the role next year.

Starlink beams into Zimbabwean market

Matshepo Sehloho
9/9/2024

SpaceX's satellite Internet service, Starlink, has launched in Zimbabwe.

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

Matshepo Sehloho
9/6/2024

Tech giant Google is partnering with Zambia's government to set up an Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence at the University of Zambia. At the same time, Malawi's government has announced plans to launch a Smart Village Initiative in partnership with Huawei.

MTN board backs CEO Ralph Mupita amid favoritism allegations

Paula Gilbert
9/6/2024

Pan-African operator MTN Group has come out in support of Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita after favoritism allegations surfaced in the media. MTN said that an independent investigation into an anonymous complaint found no evidence of improper conduct.

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

Africa Tech Perspectives
9/5/2024

Kreative Campus' operations and finance lead, Keitesi Aisha, talks to Connecting Africa as part of our Women in Tech series about how skills development can make Africa's tech ecosystem more inclusive.

Sierra Leone signs $50M SMART Project deal with China

Matshepo Sehloho
9/5/2024

To help fund the SMART Sierra Leone Project, Sierra Leone's government has signed a US$50 million agreement with China National Technical Import & Export Corporation.

SA Tribunal gives Telkom go-ahead for Swiftnet sale

Matshepo Sehloho
9/4/2024

South Africa's Competition Tribunal has accepted a recommendation by the Competition Commission that Telkom be allowed to sell its masts and towers business, Swiftnet.

Mauritius offers free mobile Internet to youth

Matshepo Sehloho
9/3/2024

The Mauritian government has introduced a new program offering free mobile Internet to citizens aged 18 to 25.

ISPA calls for 'light-touch' regulation for South African MVNOs

Paula Gilbert
9/3/2024

South Africa's Internet Service Providers' Association (ISPA) believes that mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) would benefit from appropriate, light-touch regulation to support competition in the local mobile data market.

Nigeria sets final SIM registration deadline

Matshepo Sehloho
9/2/2024

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that September 14, 2024, will be the final deadline for all mobile users to register their SIM cards.

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Ivorian fintech takes Ecobank Challenge top prize

Pan-African banking group Ecobank has announced Côte d'Ivoire's Daba Finance as the winner of its flagship Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2024, walking away with the US$50,000 grand prize.

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Elon Musk hosts African leaders while Starlink faces challenges in Kenya

Elon Musk's Starlink satellite Internet service is making waves across Africa, while it navigates competitive dynamics with local telecom companies. He recently engaged with various African leaders.

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