Content tagged with Digital Inclusion

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Africa faces increased cyberthreats, security skills gap – Cisco

Paula Gilbert
7/26/2024

A new whitepaper from Cisco, Access Partnership and the University of Pretoria shows that Africa faces escalating cyberattacks alongside a severe shortage of cybersecurity professionals.

Ghana's regulator addresses mobile data cost complaints

Matshepo Sehloho
7/23/2024

Ghana's National Communications Authority (NCA) has responded after a public outcry over high Internet and mobile data prices as well as MTN Ghana being declared a Significant Market Power (SMP).

Connecting Africa Podcast: S3 Ep. 4 – Africa's future as a tech talent powerhouse

Paula Gilbert
7/22/2024

In this episode, Utiva CEO Eyitayo Ogunmola returns to the podcast to talk about Africa's opportunity to become a tech talent powerhouse. The discussion covers upskilling African talent for the global job market and how outsourcing local tech professionals can provide opportunities for the youth, with a focus on growing female talent.

Leadership Lessons: Networking towards career advancement

Guest Perspectives
7/19/2024

Nollie Maoto, First Rand Group's compliance chief data and analytics officer and Africa Tech Festival Leadership Council member, reflects on the importance of networking for career growth especially for African women in data analytics.

Vodacom Tanzania unveils Digital Accelerator Program winners

Matshepo Sehloho
7/19/2024

Mobile operator Vodacom Tanzania has announced the season three winners of its Digital Accelerator Program.

Competition expected in South Africa's growing MVNO market

Paula Gilbert
7/18/2024

A battle in South Africa's mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) market is heating up as more local mobile network operators (MNOs) plan partnerships with MVNOs, challenging a market that has for many years been dominated by Cell C-enabled MVNOs.

NuRAN, MTN Benin sign 200-site NaaS agreement

Matshepo Sehloho
7/18/2024

Canadian telecoms infrastructure provider NuRAN Wireless and telecom operator MTN Benin have signed a 200-site Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) agreement.

WiDEF offers enterprises support to close digital gender divide

Paula Gilbert
7/17/2024

The Women in the Digital Economy Fund (WiDEF) is offering private sector enterprises technical assistance worth up to US$150,000 to help close the digital gender divide.

Orange Burkina Faso, Vox Solutions ink A2P SMS & voice gateway deal

Matshepo Sehloho
7/17/2024

Pan-African operator Orange's Burkinabé unit has chosen Vox Solutions as the international application-to-person (A2P) voice and SMS gateway for traffic into its network.

AI's potential in African agriculture, energy and climate action – GSMA

Paula Gilbert
7/16/2024

A new GSMA report examines the huge potential for artificial intelligence to support Africa's socio-economic growth in areas including agriculture, energy and climate action.

Liquid C2 expands Cloudmania into Egypt

Matshepo Sehloho
7/16/2024

Liquid C2, the cloud computing arm of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has expanded its cloud distribution business, Cloudmania, into Egypt.

KaiOS targets merchant market for growth, digital inclusion

Paula Gilbert
7/15/2024

KaiOS Technologies, the creator of a mobile operating system for smart feature phones, is piloting affordable merchant payment terminals - which look like feature phones - in Africa to help underserved merchants and transport providers accept digital payments solutions.

Telecom Egypt partners with Nokia to deploy 5G

Matshepo Sehloho
7/15/2024

Telecom Egypt and Nokia have partnered to bring fifth-generation (5G) technology to Egypt.

Ilara Health aims to improve quality of care in Kenya

Matshepo Sehloho
7/12/2024

Kenyan healthtech startup Ilara Health aspires to improve the quality of care in the country's clinics by providing equipment financing and digitizing facilities with its software.

Leadership Lessons: The importance of mentorship for career growth

Guest Perspectives
7/12/2024

Nollie Maoto, First Rand Group's compliance chief data and analytics officer and Africa Tech Festival Leadership Council member, reflects on the importance of mentorship for career growth for African women in data analytics.

Safaricom surpasses Airtel in Kenyan 5G sites

Paula Gilbert
7/11/2024

Kenyan operator Safaricom has now overtaken Airtel Kenya in the number of active 5G sites it has in the East African country.

Global coalition promises more affordable smartphones for Africa

Paula Gilbert
7/10/2024

The GSMA, World Bank, African mobile operators and other global institutions have announced a new coalition to improve handset affordability for lower-income populations, focusing on sub-Saharan Africa.

Tanzanian fintech Nala secures $40M Series A funding

Matshepo Sehloho
7/10/2024

Tanzanian payments company Nala has raised US$40 million in Series A funding to be used for its global expansion plans and enhancing its payment systems on the continent.

South Sudan unveils approved Starlink tariffs

Matshepo Sehloho
7/9/2024

South Sudan's National Communications Authority (NCA) has released approved tariffs for SpaceX's satellite Internet service, Starlink.

Google Translate adds 25+ African languages

Paula Gilbert
7/5/2024

Google Translate is using artificial intelligence (AI) to add 110 new languages to its translation service and about a quarter of the new languages come from Africa.

SA retailer Shoprite launches wholesale e-commerce platform

Matshepo Sehloho
7/4/2024

South African retailer Shoprite Holdings has launched an online bulk shopping and delivery service for small businesses, including informal stores like spaza shops.

PAIX Data Centres adds capacity in Ghana

Paula Gilbert
7/3/2024

PAIX Data Centres is expanding its facility in Accra, Ghana, and Africa50 has invested over $30 million in growth equity to support the company's expansion plans in Africa.

Orange opens digital center in Guinea-Bissau

Matshepo Sehloho
7/3/2024

Pan-African operator Orange has opened an Orange Digital Center (ODC) in Guinea-Bissau.

Tunisia calls for tenders to provide 5G

Matshepo Sehloho
7/2/2024

The Tunisian Ministry of Communication Technologies has called for tenders to award 5G operating licenses in the North African country.

Solly Malatsi appointed as South Africa's new communications minister

Matshepo Sehloho
7/1/2024

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Solly Malatsi as the country's minister of communications and digital technologies.

Starlink beams into Madagascar

Matshepo Sehloho
7/1/2024

SpaceX's satellite Internet service, Starlink, has launched its high-speed, low-latency Internet service in Madagascar.

MWC Shanghai 2024: Huawei to train 150,000 African youth

Paula Gilbert
7/1/2024

Huawei has committed to providing digital skills training for 150,000 young people in sub-Saharan Africa over the next three years, it announced at MWC Shanghai 2024 in China.

Hot startup of the month: Kenya's TIBU Health

Matshepo Sehloho
6/28/2024

Connecting Africa's hot startup is Kenya's TIBU Health, an omnichannel healthtech company providing healthcare services where people live, work and click.

Three healthtech trends to watch in 2024

Matshepo Sehloho
6/27/2024

Connecting Africa has compiled a list of three healthtech trends that are providing innovative solutions to the problems faced by the African healthcare system.

No intentions to shut down Internet – Kenyan regulator

Matshepo Sehloho
6/25/2024

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has pledged not to shut down the Internet amid protests in the East African country.

New develoPPP Ventures funding program for SA startups

Industry Announcements
6/21/2024

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has launched develoPPP Ventures, a new funding scheme offering up to €100,000 (US$106,950) for successful startups in South Africa.

Breega launches $75M African VC fund

Paula Gilbert
6/20/2024

Anglo-French VC firm Breega has launched a $75 million African investment fund aimed at early-stage startups across the continent.

Momentum Multiply app rewards users for being healthy

Matshepo Sehloho
6/20/2024

Panelists at a Momentum Multiply media roundtable advocated for health-tracking mobile technology that rewards users for living a healthy lifestyle.

Omdia View: May 2024

Guest Perspectives
6/19/2024

May 2024's telecoms highlights in the Middle East and Africa included African 5G subscriptions surpassing 5 million, growth from SpaceX's satellite Internet service Starlink, and a major fiber partnership in the Middle East and North Africa.

Kenya allocates $125.3M toward ICT sector

Matshepo Sehloho
6/18/2024

The Kenyan government has allocated $125.3 million to support several information and communication technology (ICT) initiatives for the 2024/2025 financial year.

Africa can leverage GenAI for economic growth – Microsoft

Matshepo Sehloho
6/14/2024

A whitepaper on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and the future of work has found that the African continent, with its young population, can leverage AI to drive economic growth.

Safaricom Ethiopia opens operations in Tigray

Matshepo Sehloho
6/13/2024

Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia has launched commercial operations in the Tigray region.

Sparkle to provide Equiano capacity to Namibia

Matshepo Sehloho
6/13/2024

Telecom Namibia has signed an agreement with Telecom Italia's international infrastructure unit, Sparkle, to provide capacity on the Equiano subsea cable.

Amazon optimistic about South African e-commerce growth

Paula Gilbert
6/12/2024

Robert Koen, Amazon managing director for sub-Saharan Africa, spoke to Connecting Africa about the company's growth strategy in South Africa and how it is tackling competition in the market.

SpaceX's Starlink goes live in Sierra Leone

Matshepo Sehloho
6/12/2024

SpaceX's satellite Internet service, Starlink, has launched in Sierra Leone, making it the 100th country globally to go live with Elon Musk's broadband service.

Nigeria's ThriveAgric partners with Visa to expand into Kenya

Connecting Africa News
6/11/2024

Nigerian Agritech startup ThriveAgric is partnering with Visa to support its expansion into Kenya as it launches more hubs to support up to 10,000 local farmers.

Bayobab to deploy fiber in South Sudan

Matshepo Sehloho
6/11/2024

Bayobab, a digital connectivity solutions company, has announced plans to build a fiber optic cable network across South Sudan.

Connecting Africa Podcast: S3 Ep. 3 – Unleashing the power of data

Paula Gilbert
6/10/2024

In this Connecting Africa Podcast episode, we speak to Reza du Plooy, director and co-owner of data analytics consultancy Datalab, about the role data analytics plays in the success of African businesses and the unique challenges the continent faces.

AfDB, Intel to train millions in AI skills

Matshepo Sehloho
6/10/2024

The African Development Bank (AfDB) and tech firm Intel have partnered to equip 3 million Africans and 30,000 government officials with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) skills.

ACT speaks out against SA's 2G, 3G shutdown deadlines

Paula Gilbert
6/7/2024

South Africa's Association of Comms and Technology (ACT) is not in favor of new deadlines issued by the government for the sunset of 2G and 3G networks, calling rather for an industry-led approach to phase the technologies out.

Mastercard invests $2M to support African content creators

Matshepo Sehloho
6/7/2024

Mastercard has announced a US$2.04 million investment in partnership with African influencer marketing platform Wowzi and Masria Digital Payments (MDP).

NuRAN, MTN ink NaaS agreement in Africa

Matshepo Sehloho
6/7/2024

Canadian telecoms infrastructure provider NuRAN Wireless and pan-African telecoms operator MTN Group have signed a five-year network-as-a-service (NaaS) agreement for the deployment of 250 sites on the African continent.

Liquid C2 becomes Africa's first Google Cloud Interconnect provider

Paula Gilbert
6/6/2024

Liquid C2, the cloud computing arm of Liquid Intelligent Technologies, has announced that it has become the first Google Cloud Interconnect provider in Africa, expanding its previous deals with Google Cloud in the region.

Vodafone Egypt to deploy Ericsson's triple-band mobile radio unit

Matshepo Sehloho
6/4/2024

Swedish ICT company Ericsson has announced that Vodafone Egypt has become the first mobile operator to deploy its triple-band mobile radio unit, which supports both FDD and TDD spectrum.

The state of digital transformation in African banks

Paula Gilbert
6/3/2024

The 2024 African Banking Digital Transformation Report has found that 60% of African banks have now digitally transformed most of their operations, while 76% of banks in Africa rank digital transformation as either their top priority or among the top three.

Gitex Africa 2024: Companies sign deals to transform Africa

Matshepo Sehloho
5/31/2024

Connecting Africa has compiled a list of significant announcements and deals signed at Gitex Africa 2024, which took place this week in Marrakech, Morocco.

Q&A: GSMA's Claire Sibthorpe on closing the mobile gender gap

Paula Gilbert
5/31/2024

Claire Sibthorpe, head of digital inclusion at the GSMA, spoke to Connecting Africa about the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024, discussing what the numbers mean, the barriers keeping women offline and the outlook going forward.

Starlink gets approval to beam into Botswana

Matshepo Sehloho
5/30/2024

Botswana has granted SpaceX's satellite Internet unit, Starlink, an operating license, after Zimbabwe granted it a license last week.

Raxio launches data center in Mozambique

Paula Gilbert
5/28/2024

With Raxio opening a new data center in Mozambique, Group CEO Robert Mullins spoke to Connecting Africa about the Maputo facility and the group's expansion plans across Africa, including launches in Côte d'Ivoire, DRC and Angola later this year.

Five mobility startups to watch in 2024

Matshepo Sehloho
5/28/2024

Connecting Africa has compiled a list of five mobility startups that are making a difference in the communities they serve.

Zimbabwe approves Starlink licensing

Matshepo Sehloho
5/27/2024

Zimbabwe's telecom regulator has approved the licensing of Elon Musk's Starlink, allowing the satellite unit of SpaceX to operate in the southern African country.

Orange Ventures, Digital Africa promise more funding for startups

Connecting Africa News
5/24/2024

Orange Ventures and Digital Africa are teaming up to invest more in tech startups in Africa and the Middle East through Digital Africa's Fuzé program and the Orange Digital Center network.

Google to build Umoja cable to connect Africa to Australia

Matshepo Sehloho
5/24/2024

Tech giant Google is building a new undersea fiber optic cable that will connect Africa to Australia.

Hot startup of the month: Rwanda's Ampersand

Matshepo Sehloho
5/22/2024

Connecting Africa's hot startup this month is Rwanda's Ampersand, which designs, builds, and manufactures electric motorcycles and battery packs for motorcycle taxis.

Microsoft South Africa pledges $71.6M for SMMEs, skills development

Paula Gilbert
5/22/2024

Microsoft has pledged to invest more than R1.3 billion (US$71.6 million) in South Africa to support small businesses, create jobs, invest in youth skills development and ready the country for AI transformation.

Liquid launches LEO satellite services via Eutelsat

Paula Gilbert
5/21/2024

Liquid Intelligent Technologies has signed a distribution partner agreement with Eutelsat Group that will see low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services rolled out in Africa.

BII expands telecom infrastructure in Senegal, Tanzania

Matshepo Sehloho
5/21/2024

British International Investment (BII) has signed financing agreements to support both Senegal and Tanzania's telecommunication infrastructure plans.

Visa shortlists fintech startups for accelerator program

Paula Gilbert
5/20/2024

Payments giant Visa has announced the 18 startups from sub-Saharan Africa that were shortlisted for the second cohort of its Africa Fintech Accelerator program.

Pyypl plots African fintech growth

Paula Gilbert
5/17/2024

Blockchain financial services and remittances company Pyypl is rapidly growing its operations across the Middle East and Africa with ambitions to triple its monthly active user base by the end of 2025.

Mobile gender gap narrows slightly in sub-Saharan Africa: GSMA

Paula Gilbert
5/15/2024

Over 200 million women were still not using the mobile Internet in sub-Saharan Africa in 2023, according to the Mobile Gender Gap Report 2024 from the GSMA, but the mobile gender gap did narrow for the first time in five years.

Zimbabwe to allow mobile money agents to operate again

Matshepo Sehloho
5/15/2024

Zimbabwe has reportedly announced that it would allow mobile money agents to operate in the country again to boost the use of its new gold-backed currency.

Leveraging agritech to build resilience against climate change

Guest Perspectives
5/14/2024

ICT analyst Francis Hook discusses agritech in Africa and how the agricultural sector is using technology to build resilience against the negative effects of climate change and to ensure food security.

Tanzania bans unlicensed digital lenders

Matshepo Sehloho
5/14/2024

The Bank of Tanzania has announced that it will no longer allow unlicensed digital lenders to operate in the East African country.

Egypt, Ethiopia impact Vodacom earnings

Paula Gilbert
5/13/2024

Vodacom Group reported strong revenue growth in the past financial year, boosted by the addition of Vodafone Egypt, but earnings were pulled down by startup costs in Ethiopia, higher finance and energy costs, and inflationary pressure.

Another subsea cable fail impacts East Africa's Internet

Matshepo Sehloho
5/13/2024

Internet connectivity in several East African countries has been disrupted after two subsea cables connecting Southern and East Africa went down, slowing connections and causing widespread outages.

Angola Cables, Camtel partner for cross-border connectivity

Matshepo Sehloho
5/10/2024

Angola Cables and Camtel, Cameroon's incumbent telecommunications operator, have partnered to expand digital and connectivity services in Cameroon and the West Africa region.

Botswana could get Starlink services

Matshepo Sehloho
5/9/2024

Botswana could soon get Starlink services, after the country's President Mokgweetsi Masisi met with SpaceX executives who expressed an interest in obtaining an operating license in the country.

SA online retail topped $3.8B in 2023, growing 29%

Paula Gilbert
5/8/2024

Online retail sales in South Africa reached R71 billion (US$3.8 billion) in 2023, making up more than 6% of total retail in the country, according to research by World Wide Worx, with online retail sales forecast to make up 10% of the market by the end of 2025.

Libya's Almadar Aljadid partners with WideBot to deploy AI chatbot

Matshepo Sehloho
5/8/2024

Libyan telecom company Almadar Aljadid has partnered with Egypt-based AI developer WideBot to implement a conversational AI chatbot platform to enhance its customer service.

India partners with Ghana, Namibia towards instant payment systems

Matshepo Sehloho
5/6/2024

India has partnered with Ghana's government and Bank of Namibia to link its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) to allow users to make instant, low-cost fund transfers.

AI startups dominate Qualcomm Make in Africa 2024 shortlist

Paula Gilbert
5/3/2024

Qualcomm has announced the shortlisted startups for its Make in Africa 2024 mentorship program, and six out of the ten are related to AI.

Egypt to launch its first digital bank

Matshepo Sehloho
5/3/2024

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has granted Misr Digital Innovation (MDI) preliminary approval to launch the country's first digital bank.

Google opens applications for its Africa startup accelerator

Matshepo Sehloho
4/30/2024

Google has officially opened applications for its Google for Startups Accelerator Africa program's eighth cohort.

Cameroon seizes Starlink kits at the border – reports

Matshepo Sehloho
4/29/2024

Cameroonian authorities have reportedly enforced a ban on the importation of SpaceX's satellite Internet service Starlink kits into the Central African country.

Interview: Deborah Asmah from Npontu Technologies on e-governance

Connecting Africa Video
4/26/2024

Deborah Asmah from Npontu Technologies spoke to Connecting Africa's Associate Editor Matshepo Sehloho at the Africa eGovernance Conference (AfreGov) in Kigali, Rwanda, about the importance of e-governance on the African continent.

Madica funds three African startups

Matshepo Sehloho
4/26/2024

Madica, an Africa-focused pre-seed investment program, has selected three African startups as its first portfolio companies to receive investment funding.

Ghana's NCA approves Starlink's application for broadband services

Matshepo Sehloho
4/26/2024

The National Communications Authority (NCA) has approved the application of Space X Starlink to offer satellite broadband services in Ghana.

Interview: AFF Director Munyi Nthigah on digital financial inclusion

Connecting Africa Video
4/25/2024

Africa Fintech Festival (AFF) 2024 Festival Director Munyi Nthigah spoke to Connecting Africa Associate Editor Matshepo Sehloho at the Africa eGovernance Conference (AfreGov) in Kigali, Rwanda, about the importance of financial inclusion on the African continent.

Hot startup of the month: Kenya's Ketha Africa

Matshepo Sehloho
4/24/2024

Connecting Africa's hot startup this month is Ketha Africa, a Kenya-based agrifin platform that seeks to automate agriculture ecosystems by connecting the value chain actors and providing a robust network to ensure the security of transactions.

Ethiopia's ECA cuts mobile termination rates

Matshepo Sehloho
4/23/2024

The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) has cut mobile termination rates (MTR) for the next five years to encourage more competition in the nation's telecommunications industry.

Nigeria launches own LLM, Kenya accelerates fiber rollout

Matshepo Sehloho
4/22/2024

Nigeria's Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy has launched the country's first multilingual large language model (LLM), while Kenya speeds up its fiber rollout.

Omdia View: March 2024

Guest Perspectives
4/19/2024

The failure of four out of the five submarine cables deployed on the western shore of Africa in March 2024 led to a massive Internet outage across several countries. The outage fueled demand for satellite broadband, with SpaceX's Starlink becoming increasingly popular - that and more 5G and streaming news in the latest Omdia View.

Canal+ edges closer to MultiChoice takeover

Matshepo Sehloho
4/19/2024

French pay-TV company Canal+ is edging closer to fully acquiring South African pay-TV and streaming company MultiChoice Group by increasing its stake to 40.83%.

AMN's Starlink cellular backhaul connectivity is live in Nigeria

Matshepo Sehloho
4/19/2024

Africa Mobile Networks Group (AMN) announced that its first basestation in Nigeria connecting to SpaceX’s Starlink constellation is now live.

Four agritech startups to watch in 2024

Matshepo Sehloho
4/18/2024

Connecting Africa has compiled a list of four agritech startups that are making a difference in the communities they serve.

Orange, EU and GIZ launch digital transformation project in Côte d'Ivoire

Matshepo Sehloho
4/17/2024

Orange, the European Union and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) have launched the 'DigiGreen & Agri' project toward digital transformation in Côte d'Ivoire.

Paratus express route from Johannesburg to Europe goes live

Matshepo Sehloho
4/16/2024

Connectivity solutions provider Paratus Group has launched what it calls the fastest 'fiber express route' from Johannesburg, South Africa, to Europe, making use of Google's Equiano undersea cable infrastructure.

Mastercard, Onafriq partner to bring secure payments for SMEs

Matshepo Sehloho
4/15/2024

Global payments firm Mastercard and pan-African payments company Onafriq have partnered to bring secure payments to consumers and small and medium enterprises (SME) across the continent.

Canal+ buys more MultiChoice Group shares

Matshepo Sehloho
4/12/2024

French pay-TV company Canal+ has increased its current stake in South African pay-TV and streaming company MultiChoice Group to 40%.

I&M offers free mobile money transfers to SMEs in Kenya

Matshepo Sehloho
4/11/2024

Pan-African banking group I&M is offering free M-Pesa and Airtel Money transfers to solo business owners.

SA regulator publishes draft plans for radio frequency spectrum

Matshepo Sehloho
4/10/2024

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has published a draft radio frequency migration plan (RFMP) and a draft International Mobile Telecommunication roadmap (IMT-R) for public consultation.

Ericsson, Orange Egypt sign digital transformation deal

Matshepo Sehloho
4/9/2024

Ericsson and Orange Egypt have signed a multi-year deal to collaborate on accelerating the telco's bid to build a resilient architecture across its network.

Canal+ makes formal offer to buy MultiChoice Group

Matshepo Sehloho
4/8/2024

French pay-TV company Canal+ has made an all-cash mandatory offer to buy all shares it does not already own of South African pay-TV and streaming company MultiChoice Group for R125 (US$6.70) per share.

Connecting Africa Podcast: S3 Ep. 2 – Nigeria's king of micro-payments

Paula Gilbert
4/5/2024

On this episode, we speak to Touch and Pay Technologies Co-Founder and Chief Growth Officer Michael Oluwole about how the startup is digitizing and processing micro-transactions in Nigeria's transport sector and his aspirations to grow the service across the continent.

Ghana, Benin to implement free roaming initiative

Matshepo Sehloho
4/5/2024

Benin and Ghana's free-roaming initiative, aimed at reducing communication costs for their citizens traveling between the two countries, will go into effect on July 1, 2024.

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VC investment into South African ICT startups rises

Venture capital (VC) investment for startups in South Africa reached $178.8 million in 2023, with investments in the ICT sector almost doubling compared to 2022, according to a new report from SAVCA and VS Nova.