Due to strong opposition from the US government, lawmakers, and parents, Meta (formerly Facebook), Instagram’s parent company, was forced to halt development of Instagram for Kids for children aged 13 and under in September 2021. The argument was based on leaked information indicating that Instagram is contributing to the rising rates of anxiety and depression…
Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has stated that he will pay more than $11 billion in taxes this year. Following Time magazine’s designation of Musk as “person of the year,” Democratic U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren took to Twitter earlier this week to suggest that Musk pay taxes and stop…
General Motors, Alphabet’s Google, and its self-driving auto-technology company Waymo joined the list of companies that will no longer attend the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in person early next month due to rising COVID-19 infections on Thursday. GM CEO Mary Barra was scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the annual conference on January 5,…
Titan Trust Bank Limited (TTB), one of Nigeria’s fastest-growing and most customer-focused financial service providers, has purchased Union Bank of Nigeria Plc. Union Global Partners Limited, Atlas Mara Limited, and other majority shareholders agreed to sell their 88.39 percent stake in Union Bank to Titan Trust Bank. In a notification to the Nigerian Exchange Limited…
The Federal Government of Nigeria has replaced the outdated National Identification Number, NIN slip, and polycarbonate card with a suite of digital tokens. According to TechEconomy.ng, the Digital Token was created to replace the 11-digit NIN for all purposes. According to the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the card ID is no longer required with…
Smart Applications International, Africa’s leading high–tech technology solutions provider, has joined forces with the Kenya Healthcare Federation (KHF), the Health Sector Board of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA), to promote strategic Public–Private Partnerships aimed at achieving national healthcare access. The collaboration will allow the Kenya Healthcare Federation to have an automated system powered by…
TikTok is truly unstoppable: the video-sharing platform has surpassed Google to become the most popular website in the world, according to Cloudflare’s 2021 Year in Review internet traffic rankings. TikTok made Cloudflare’s top ten list last year, ranking seventh in popularity behind Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Netflix, and Amazon’s.coms. Aside from TikTok’s surge to the…
Fifteen startups have progressed to the second stage of the E-Track Programme, which is run by UCT GSB Solution Space in collaboration with ayoba. The E-track Program is a three-stage venture acceleration program aimed at high-impact individuals, aspiring entrepreneurs, and experienced founders. The first phase is Venture Launch, which focuses on validating the venture concept;…
Nigeria has moved one step closer to enacting its Nigeria Startup Bill (NSB), which aims to strengthen the country’s technology ecosystem and enable the sector. President Muhammadu Buhari has worked with the Presidency and leaders in the Nigerian technology industry on the bill, which has now been approved by the Federal Executive Council and is…
2016 is the year. Idris Marcial Monthe recently completed the Abidjan Founders Institute. Monthe was feeling quite confident after an incredible three months of learning from the best. With little to no experience in the financial sector, he and Daniel Dindji had just launched their payment gateway, CinetPay, in the same year. They met at…
In a tweet exchange with Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B, former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stated that he believes Bitcoin will eventually replace the US dollar. Cardi B asked on Twitter if cryptocurrency would eventually replace the US dollar, to which Dorsey replied, “Yes, Bitcoin will.” Dorsey, who now leads Block (formerly Square), a digital payments…
According to two people familiar with the situation and emails obtained by Reuters, California’s civil rights regulator is looking into Google’s treatment of Black female employees following allegations of harassment and discrimination. According to the documents and sources, attorneys and analysts at the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) have repeatedly interviewed several…
The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a $170 million loan to Nigeria to fund a digital and creative industries initiative. The Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises Program (i-DICE) is a Nigerian government initiative that promotes investment in the digital and creative industries. It is part of Nigeria’s efforts to…
Duhqa, a Kenyan retail-tech startup, was named one of six global winners of the FTxSDG Challenge, which means it could receive 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 developing innovative solutions…
According to LinkedIn, the platform has 800 million members in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. It’s a place for decision-makers, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and employers to connect, collaborate, recruit, and share their thought leadership in a specific industry or area of expertise. But did you know that when someone conducts an online search for…
App for trading global shares in Nigeria Trove has won the fourth edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge, taking home a US$15,000 prize and a place in the bank’s Fintech Challenge Fellowship program. Each year, the Ecobank Group hosts its Fintech Challenge, with the five finalists of this year’s edition chosen from over 890 entrants…
Tingg, the all-in-one super payments app, was named ‘Overall Mobile App of the Year’ in Kenya at the inaugural Mobile App Summit and Awards, which took place on Friday, October 10th, at a prestigious gala dinner. At the event, held at the Pride Inn Westlands Banquette Centre, they also won the ‘Mobile App of the…
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…