Zoom has joined a counter-terrorism organization formed by major US tech companies such as Meta, formerly known as Facebook, and Microsoft, the group announced on Wednesday. The Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT) is an independent organization whose members share information on their websites to combat terrorism and violent extremism. Zoom, whose usage skyrocketed…
The Adaptation SME Accelerator Project (ASAP), a program for SMEs and startups scaling market-based and contextualized solutions to critical climate adaptation and resilience challenges, is now accepting applications in Africa and Asia. ASAP, which is led by Village Capital and The Lightsmith Group, will help 16 SMEs and startups scale climate adaptation and resilience solutions…
In the next three months, 2,400 Nigerian girls will be equipped with basic information and communications technology (ICT) skills thanks to a grant from the United Kingdom government, which will be administered by Cybersafe Foundation through the DigiGirls Digital Empowerment program. Confidence Staveley, Founder, Cybersafe Foundation, said at the program’s opening ceremony in Lagos that…
Founder Institute, a pre-seed accelerator, has opened applications for its South Africa program, which is looking for ambitious entrepreneurs to help build a sustainable future through technology. The Founder Institute, founded in 2009 by Adeo Ressi and Jonathan Greechan and based in Palo Alto, California, connects startups with experts who share equity in their success,…
Ogow Health, a Somalian e-health startup, is improving care pathways, access to patient data, reporting, and public health information for major interventions like maternal health and immunizations through app and web-based tools that are now affecting thousands of patients. ogow health creates digital health solutions that empower and equip healthcare providers, caregivers, and governments in…
The Financial Times and Seedstars have announced the startups that have advanced to the final round of the FTxSDG Challenge, with the winners receiving US$500,000 in funding and growth support. According to Disrupt Africa, the Financial Times and Seedstars partnered in September to launch the FTxSDG Challenge, which aims to find impact-driven entrepreneurs and ventures…
Networks Unlimited, a subsidiary of Exclusive Networks, has continued its end-of-year tradition of assisting the students and parents of Nokuphila School in Tembisa, Midrand. According to Managing Director Anton Jacobsz, the school is a beneficiary of the non-profit educational organization The Love Trust, which is Networks Unlimited’s 53 percent broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) partner….
MTN and MAFAB COMMUNICATIONS emerged as the winners of the Federal Government’s 5G spectrum auction held yesterday at the Transcorp Hotel in Abuja. A mock auction was held at the same location to prepare participants for the main event, which was a success. Using the Ascending Clock Auction System, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) auctioned…
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year” for 2021, a year in which his electric car company became the most valuable carmaker in the world and his rocket company soar to the edge of space with an all-civilian crew. Musk is also the founder and CEO of SpaceX,…
East African neighbors Kenya and Tanzania, as well as Namibia and Egypt, are also strong performers. According to the African Development Bank’s 2021 Electricity Regulatory Index, Uganda’s electricity sector is the best regulated in Africa for the fourth year in a row. East African neighbors Kenya and Tanzania, as well as Namibia and Egypt, are…
As the internet makes it easier to become our own boss, society is witnessing a seismic shift: entrepreneurship is becoming more viable for more people in more forms. People want a stake in their work, whether they are freelancers or small-business owners, now more than ever. As a result, the self-starter qualities that we see…
Nokia, in collaboration with UN Women, has launched a financial independence training program for survivors of gender-based violence in South Africa. The announcement is timed to coincide with the United Nations’ 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence this year (GBV). The six-week training program will be led by Nokia volunteers in collaboration with UN…
HorizonPay, a fast-growing fintech company specializing in digital payment solutions commemorates two years of success and growth, recognising key staff members who have been instrumental in driving business transformation and positioning of the company as a key player in the Nigerian fintech industry. The milestone event which held in Lagos, Nigeria was a momentous occasion…
Despite the continent’s technologically savvy population, financial exclusion remains a problem. However, the challenge of regulatory influence and industry acclimatisation came with the launch of fintech startups. In 2018, a financial expert and tech investor thought it was difficult for fintech startups to integrate with banks — a necessary partnership for the former to successfully…
Africa is the world’s most censored region, with ten countries shutting down social media this year. According to cybersecurity firm Surfshark, social media censorship cases worldwide decreased by 35% this year, from 29 in 2020 to 19 in 2021. Despite a significant decrease in cases, internet outages impacted approximately a quarter of a billion people….
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has approved a legislative reform that will allow the central bank to supervise digital lenders and rein in lenders who violate customer privacy. In a statement, President Uhuru Kenyatta said he had signed the Central Bank of Kenya (Amendment) Bill into law. “The amended Central Bank Act, 2021, empowers the Central…
Amazon has announced the closure of Alexa.com, its website ranking tool that has been in operation for the past 25 years. The service, which offered a paid subscription with SEO research and analysis tools, will discontinue providing website statistics and rankings next year. According to Amazon, after Alexa Internet is decommissioned, the service’s API will…
According to The Information, Apple CEO Tim Cook signed an agreement with Chinese officials worth approximately $275 billion to avert threats that would have hampered the company’s devices and services in the country. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. The five-year agreement was reached during Cook’s visits to China…
Mastercard has reaffirmed its commitment to the UAE and the region by expanding its regional footprint and announcing a series of leadership changes designed to advance the company’s presence and operations while building on its 35-year growth and innovation journey. Mastercard has been at the forefront of digital transformation and payment technology innovation during this…
Flat6Labs, a Cairo-based accelerator program that provides companies with access to funding, mentorship, and other benefits, has introduced nine startups at its most recent demo day. The Flat6Labs Cairo programme, which was launched in 2011 as the first office of the Flat6Labs MENA regional startup accelerator, provides startups with cash funding of up to EGP1.5…
Laurin Nabuko Hainy is the co-founder and CEO of FairMoney MFB, Nigeria’s largest digital bank. FairMoney recently announced at its inaugural Investors’ Conference in Lagos that they have disbursed over N71 billion in loans so far in 2021, more than doubling the amount in 2020, in order to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria. Laurin discusses…
President Hakainde Hichilema declared a “new dawn” for Zambia in his inauguration speech on August 24, 2021. It is critical that this transformation extend to the realm of the internet. According to recent Freedom House and Paradigm Initiative research, digital rights in Zambia suffered under former President Edgar Lungu. Zambians witnessed this during the August…
Mastercard and Meta are collaborating to support the digitization and growth of SMEs in the MEA (Middle East and Africa) region by hosting a training webinar with industry experts and a masterclass on how to manage uncertainty with renowned author and academic Nathan Furr, Associate Professor of Strategy at INSEAD. SMEs face numerous challenges, including…
The winners of the third edition of the African App Launchpad Cup, aimed at supporting African tech startups in the field of digital applications and game development, have been announced by Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA). ITIDA, the executive arm of Egypt’s Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MCIT), founded to spearhead the…
Twitter co-founder and CEO Jack Dorsey stepped down earlier this week. He named CTO Parag Agrawal as the company’s new CEO, effective immediately. According to an internal email obtained by The Washington Post, Agrawal, who joined Twitter as an engineer in 2011, has already announced a major reorganization of the company. Twitter also confirmed the…
In September 2021, EMURGO announced the establishment of a $100 million Cardano investment vehicle comprised of two separate entities, EMURGO Africa and EMURGO Ventures, to invest in early startup and growth stage companies focused on developing socially impactful Cardano-powered solutions. The investment thesis of EMURGO Africa is to support the development of three hundred regional…
Apple has announced the top apps and games that have helped consumers tap into their passions, explore creative outlets, connect with new people and experiences, and simply have fun for the 2021 App Store Award winners. The winners this year are global developers whose apps and games were chosen by Apple’s worldwide App Store editorial…
Norrsken Foundation, a Swedish coworking space and investment fund, announced the opening of its first entrepreneurship hub outside of Scandinavia in Rwanda in 2019. The center, which is located in Kigali, has finally opened to the region, though it is being done in two stages. The first event, held yesterday, will host 250 entrepreneurs. The…
Microsoft has adopted a new aggressive strategy to discourage users from downloading Google’s Chrome Web browser. When users try to download Chrome using Microsoft Edge, the Redmond-based company now displays prompts that discourage them from downloading and installing Google’s Web browser. The prompts are available for both Windows 10 and Windows 11, though only a…
Timnit Gebru, one of the leaders of Google’s ethics in AI team and a leading expert in the field, was fired almost exactly one year ago after sending a concerned email to her team. She has now established her own research institute, DAIR, focusing on the topics she felt were being neglected at Google. According…