President Goodluck Jonathan had on August 28, 2014, heralded the official launch of the eID card pilot scheme. As part of the pilot phase, the Nigeria Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has started to issue identity cards with MasterCards’s electronic functionality to 13 million Nigerians. This initiative is the largest rollout of a biometric-based verification card…
Facebook has joined several organisations that have been fighting Ebola.After Mark Zuckerberg donated $25 Million to help fight ebola See his latest effort in mobilizing the world to support this cause,in his words: I want to make sure Facebook does its part to help fight Ebola. So today, we’re announcing three things: – We’re…
The increase in the mobile penetration in Nigeria and the rest of Africa has brought with it several challenges and opportunities for smart minds.One of such is repairing of mobile devices and gadgets in Nigeria.There is huge opportunity in having a good and well organized repair shops where customers can easily and conveniently have…
A New program aimed at helping companies grow their businesses with Red Hat’s Platform-as-a-Service The world’s leading provider of open source solutions, today announced the launch of the OpenShift Startup Program. This free program uses OpenShift Online, Red Hat’s public cloud application and development platform, to help start-ups build and grow their businesses….
Girls in Tech-a global non-profit focused on the engagement, education and empowerment of influential women in technology and entrepreneurship keeps off in Nigeria today with its official launch. The organisation is focused on the promotion, growth and success of entrepreneurial and innovative women in the technology space. Created in February 2007, Girls in Tech was founded…
Several technology focused businesses are leveraging the increased penetration of mobiles in Nigeria and the positive economic outlook of Nigeria to launch their businesses.We learnt that MoboFree is planning to set up an office in Lagos. MoboFree, a social marketplace in Nigeria and Africa is set to launch its local presence in Lagos, Nigeria as…
The Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University has opened its annual call for fellowship applications. This opportunity is for those who wish to spend the 2015-2016 academic year in residence in Cambridge, MA as part of Berkman’s community of pioneers, and who seek to deeply engage in…
The Telecommunications/ICT4D Laboratory (T/ICT4D) of the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP, Trieste, Italy) is organizing a Workshop on Scientific Applications for the Internet of Things (IoT) to be held at the ICTP, Trieste, Italy, from 16 to 27 March 2015. This Workshop is co-sponsored by the International Telecommunications Union, Telecommunication Development…
With the growing successes of the Social Media Week Lagos events in Nigeria and its great impact on technology development and engagement in Nigeria,the 2015 Social Media Week Lagos will focus on the theme:Upwardly Mobile:The Rise of A Connected Africa.According to the organizers,the SMW Lagos 2015 theme sets the stage for thought-provoking and…
As part of the 3rd annual Google for Entrepreneurs Week, Startup Grind Lagos and Google for Entrepenuers are excited to host the 1st Google for Entrepreneurs Week Africa Series for founders.Google for Entrepreneurs Week is an annual week celebrating entrepreneurs and the anniversary of the Google for Entrepreneurs team. Googlers from around the world…
Samsung still leads with 45% of the Smartphone Market share in Middle East and Africa The Middle East and Africa (MEA) handset market grew to its largest size in ten quarters in Q2 2014, expanding 27% year on year to total 64 million units. The latest insights from global advisory and consulting services firm…
GE created the Garages program in 2012 to reinvigorate America’s interest in invention, innovation, and manufacturing. In 2014, Garages went global with three weeks of workshops amidst a fully equipped fab lab in Lagos, Nigeria, at GE’s regional headquarters. On October 27th, 2014, GE will expand on past successes by evolving the program into…
Few months ago we reported of the newly opened incubator in Rwanda called think.Today think announced its first group of companies selected for support. The four selected teams represent innovative, digital, private sector solutions that demonstrate the potential to scale across Africa.They were chosen from more than 150 applications from across the…
International Telecommunications Union(ITU) in partnership with the IEEE Internet of Things(IoT) Initiative through the Young Innovators Challenge 2014,are looking for the best ideas for new businesses and innovations that can take advantage of the potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) to be used for social good and thus improve lives of people…
Samsung Xpress M2020W Wireless Printer now Available in Nigeria. Samsung Electronics, a global giant in digital media and convergence technologies, has announced the availability of Samsung Xpress M2020W; a mono laser printers that can print from mobile devices, in the Nigerian market. Samsung Xpress M2020W Printer prints from…
Red Hat, Inc.the world’s leading provider of open source solutions,yesterday announced nominations are open for the ninth annual Red Hat Innovation Awards, which will be presented during Red Hat Summit 2015, June 23-26, 2015, in Boston. “We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to highlight our customers and the ways they’re solving their business…
Are you leading a project or an enterprise that is benefiting developing communities? Are you passionate about making the world a better place? Do you have the ambition to make your project/enterprise financially sustainable? Take the next step by applying to the SE Outreach Accelerator! The SE Outreach Accelerator is an exciting 8 week…
Washington, D.C ‘s 1776, the global incubator and investment fund, recently announced Challenge Cup 2015, an annual world-wide competition that spans 16 cities in 11 countries to identify the most promising startups with the best ideas to solve the world’s biggest challenges. The competition kicks off in two U.S. cities — Washington, D.C., on October 21…
Spurred by increased infrastructural investments, improved connectivity and affordability, positive government interventions, and the spread of mobility, the African digital media landscape is rapidly evolving, according to global IT market intelligence firm International Data Corporation (IDC). Referencing its ‘Assessment and Outlook of the Digital Media Ecosystem in Africa’ report, IDC today said the future…
As nations, governments, institutions and organizations around the world are promoting and developing their entrepreneurship ecosystem, it has become obvious that entrepreneurship now holds the key to sustainable economic development in today’s world. It can simply be put that the future of Nigeria’s growth lies majorly on how well and fast Nigeria’s entrepreneurship…
By Richard Chowning (@TheAfricaMentor) I have just returned from the Startup Africa’s 11th Annual Africa Entrepreneurship Conference and Awards Gala which took place on September 27th in Wilmington, Delaware. I was honored by the organizers to be on a panel “How Africa’s Start-ups are Using Lean Startup Principles” It was a gathering primarily…
Aflix,a mobile online video streaming app which launched in Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana last month has expanded its operations by unveiling the Hollywood mobile streaming service in thirty other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The new territories include: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde,Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Others include: Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho,…
In a bid to improve the online experience and deliver better services to its fashion consumers, Traclist, a fast growing fashion e-commerce platform has upgraded to a more trendy and simplified portal. The refreshed platform is a marketplace designed and crafted to provide seamless connections between fashion merchants and online buyers of local…
Editor’s Note: As several efforts are constantly needed to combat the spread of Ebola in West Africa,the Innovative Technologies for Development Foundation Nigeria has launched this App to help educate more people and also prevent the spread of this deadly scourge. Akinmade Akintoye, CTO of CloudWare Technologies contributes this article: The visit of…
Cloud computing is an umbrella term used to describe a group of technologies. Unlike previous computer technologies that relied on decentralized, essentially independent computers and software, cloud computing unifies resources through web-based applications and tools, storing data and software alike in a remote server. Cloud computing potentially allows computers or smartphones to be…
Venture capital firm TLcom Capital recently announced the sale of virtual identity solutions provider for mobile operators Movirtu to global mobile communications leader Blackberry, in TLcom’s second profitable exit in Africa this year. The sale sees TLcom achieve a cash on cash return in excess of two times its initial investment in Movirtu made…
EDITOR’S NOTE; Adebayo Sanni, who is the Country Director Nigeria at Oracle Corporation ,in this article looks at how the cloud debate is set to evolve with a focus on delivering business advantage. To date the real meat and potatoes of the cloud – the transformational cost and performance benefits it brings to…
Lack of Power is a major challenge to the growth of businesses and to the survival of a people in Africa especially Nigeria-one of the largest countries and economy in Africa.The Power Africa initaitive being facilitated by the US Government is an initiative to double the number of people with access to power…
Six of the ten fastest growing world economies are African, and the International Data Corporation (IDC) expects overall IT spending in Africa to total $33.4 billion over the next five years. In fact, according to the IDC one third of all Kenyan enterprises view the implementation and expansion of cloud capabilities as a key…
Labour and employment in Nigeria maybe facing its toughest challenge yet soon. This is in-line with a World Bank warning. The world is facing a global jobs crisis that is hurting the chances of reigniting economic growth, and there is no magic bullet to solve the problem, the World Bank warned on Tuesday. In a…