Mauritius emerged the most innovative African country in a recent ranking. The island nation placed 52nd among 132 countries globally. Mauritius, unlike most African countries, has a high human development score. Its economy has grown robustly in the last half a century, especially on financial services, tourism and information technology. It was followed by South…
Kenyan insurance technology company, Lami Technologies and Sendy Limited, a tech-logistics company, has announced a partnership that will enable transporters in Kenya to access simple, hassle-free, and affordable insurance products customised on a per-trip basis. The transport sector is a core part of Kenya’s economic strategy. Most transporters move commodities, goods, and cargo across the country without business-specific…
The Federal Government has approved the deployment of a new 5G network in Nigeria. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) announced the approval after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja. Following the approval, the Minister has directed the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to commence immediate implementation of the plan…
From being conspicuous by its absence from the local tech startup investment scene for so long, Naspers – one of the largest technology investors in the world – is now making up for lost time in its home market of South Africa. Naspers announced the launch of its ZAR1.4 billion (US$96 million) Foundry fund, an investment vehicle aiming…
South African agri-fintech startup HelloChoice has secured investment from Standard Bank as it looks to solidify its position as the leading digital fresh produce and agricultural marketplace. Launched in 2018 by Grant Jacobs and Graeme Jarvie with the goal of modernising the traditional farm produce buying and selling process, HelloChoice is a fresh produce trading platform that…
In a bid to encourage innovation, develop the entrepreneurship mindset and deepen technical expertise among youths in Nigeria, the Nigeria Fintech Week has announced it will be holding a National Innovation Challenge alongside the 2021 edition of the conference. The National Innovation Challenge, which is open to tertiary institutions across the country, is aimed at…
If you think your business is more susceptible to a cyberattack now hybrid working is the norm, you’re not alone. A new report from security operations firm Arctic Wolf found that two-thirds (67%) of businesses in the UK feel the same way, with ransomware being identified as the biggest worry. A significant minority of the respondents (40%) said they…
African fintech, Chipper has now launched its money transfer and cross-border payment services in South Africa. South Africans can now enjoy free unlimited instant domestic money transfers, invest in cryptocurrencies, and buy and send airtime and data to loved ones. This was contained in a statement made available on Thursday. The South African launch brings…
Growing up, I never had much contact with deaf people. Of course, that is to be expected as I didn’t know any deaf people. In later years, I would come to — unconsciously — associate being deaf with being poor. Why? I only saw deaf people while travelling through Nigerian roads to or from school…
LG Electronics, the Korean tech giant that once was a leading player in mobile phones but is now winding down that business, is making an acquisition that points to its ambitions in another, emerging area: next-generation automotive hardware and services. Today the company announced that it will be snapping up Cybellum, an Israeli automotive cybersecurity specialist that detects…
Paystack, the African fintech company that powers and processes payments for businesses, today announced that it is launching Pay with Apple Pay on its platform. The company, in a statement, called the integration “the fastest, secure way for Nigerian businesses to accept international payments.” Apple Pay, Apple’s mobile payments and digital wallet service, provides users…
Twitter has announced plans to release new updates that would prevent tweets from disappearing while the users are reading them. Many Twitter users have earlier complained that tweets will sometimes disappear from their view when the user switches back to the Twitter app or desktop website and start reading a Tweet. The timeline is said…
Apapa, the Lagos town that hosts Nigeria’s largest and busiest port, is synonymous with gridlock. Roads leading into the port are lined by scores of trucks waiting days or weeks to be allowed into terminals where they load containers for transfer to warehouses. Most drivers, customs agents, and terminal operators trudging along at Apapa and other African…
WhatsApp just keep pulling clear of the competition in the world of messaging applications, as the app owned by Facebook keeps on striving for perfection. With more than two billion users, WhatsApp are looking to make their app as perfect as they possibly can and their latest update is sure to please the masses. Voice…
API fintech startups are thriving in Africa’s tech ecosystem as they build the infrastructure to facilitate payments, banking, e-commerce, and insurance. By creating the technical foundations, they are allowing businesses to focus on serving their customers rather than work on a non-core business of building tech. An API, or application programming interface, is a group…
Safaricom has announced that it will increase its 5G sites by 200 by the end of 2021, and launch a commercialised version of its 5G services in 2022. Kenya’s leading telco launched 5G technology for the first time in the country in March, starting with 15 sites. Now the telco says it wants to take…
Africa Data Centres, the only pan-African network of interconnected, carrier-and cloud-neutral data centres on the continent, has completed its new Johannesburg data centre, based in its Midrand Campus, which, the company says, is one of the largest in Africa. This state-of-the-art facility, designed with the latest global standards is the ideal location for technology companies…
Egyptian startup Shiphaly, a platform connecting shoppers and travellers, has raised an undisclosed six-figure seed funding round from angel investors to help it build on its steady growth. Launched in October 2019, Shiphaly is a mobile app and marketplace connecting shoppers who want to buy products from abroad with travellers who can buy and deliver the products…
Apple’s latest major software update — packed with features to help people better focus, connect with others on FaceTime and keep track of medical records, including vaccine status and test results — is now available for download. Although it’s not a massive design overhaul, many of changes coming to iOS 15 reflect how our needs have changed…
Now that Microsoft lets you ditch your passwords for Outlook.com, Xbox Live and other online accounts, you might want to consider taking the jump. Dumping your logins can improve security and convenience. Ditching your password can improve security, if only because it means you don’t have to rely on your memory to get into your accounts. We…
It’s a doozy of a digital spying case. Security researchers have found evidence of attempted or successful installations of Pegasus, software made by Israel-based cybersecurity company NSO Group, on 37 phones of activists, journalists and businesspeople. The targets appear to have been targets of secret surveillance by software that’s intended to help governments pursue criminals and…
Bitcoin mining produces electronic waste (e-waste) annually comparable to the small IT equipment waste of a place like the Netherlands, research shows. Miners of the cryptocurrency each year produce 30,700 tonnes of e-waste, Alex de Vries and Christian Stoll estimate. That averages 272g (9.5oz) per transaction, they say. By comparison, an iPhone 13 weighs 173g…
Africa’s transport and logistics start-ups are on track to raise more growth funds this year, in deals that could help ignite intra-Africa trade. Since the outbreak of the Covid-19, there has been a rising shift towards tech-enabled transportation across the continent to overcome movement restrictions, improve efficiencies and grow food chain resilience. The wider growth of…
Orange Middle East and Africa has partnered Ericsson as a strategic partner for its pan-African Orange Money service, tapping Ericsson’s Wallet Platform to accelerate financial inclusion for its customers across fourteen African countries. Ericsson’s Mobile Financial Services solution is financial services platform built on the latest security technologies and open architecture framework principles. Orange Money has…
COVID-19 and its resulting worldwide pandemic have resulted in a fifth of Nigeria’s workforce losing their jobs, according to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics. The job cuts followed significant disruptions to supply chains, continuing supply and demand shocks, and a drop in consumer confidence, the agency said in a statement, seen by Bloomberg, citing a study…
IBM today announced that 6 major financial institutions across Africa have selected the technology corporation for hybrid cloud and AI capabilities to promote digital innovation and continue developing digital-first solutions. COVID-19 continues to accelerate the already rapid changes that were happening across the financial services sector in Africa, fast-tracking the adoption of digital technologies to…
There is no doubt that the pandemic has accelerated most digitalisation trends, compressing what was expected to take years into months. And this has been applauded by the technology industry and business alike, with, for instance, even the most cloud-skeptical CEO appreciating technology’s ability to ensure business continuity as we rapidly shifted to a distributed…
South African fintech startups have been invited to apply for the ZAR1.5 million (US$100,000) AlphaCode Incubate programme, which aims to identify, partner with and grow innovative entrepreneurs in financial services and related industries. The AlphaCode Incubate programme is open to entrepreneurs with early-stage fintech or related sector startups, or even ideas for one. Innovative business concepts led…
Egyptian social commerce startup Brimore has raised funding from e-payments solutions and banking services provider Fawry, the North African country’s first startup “unicorn”, as part of its upcoming Series A round. Founded in 2017, Brimore has built a platform that leverages the power of individual social networks to enable broad, cost-effective market access. It enables manufacturers to…
Ugandan startup gnuGrid has increased the size of its seed funding round to US$612,500 as it pivots its product offering to move into the fintech space. Launched in 2019 by David Opio and James Dailey, gnuGrid built Solar Sentra, which aimed to streamline and automate the highly fragmented solar industry in Uganda and beyond by using AI-optimised…