GoDaddy

Cybersecurity: GoDaddy’s September Breach Exposed Up to 1.2 Million Customers’ Data

GoDaddy has disclosed that the domain registrar experienced a security breach that allowed attackers access to the data of over 1 million active and inactive Managed WordPress users. Demetrius Comes, GoDaddy’s chief information security officer, stated in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the company discovered suspicious activity in its Managed…

data privacy

6 Nigerian agencies have joined forces to combat data privacy violations by money lending fintechs.

On May 15, 2021, I received a message from a lending company informing me that Mrs. X, whom I met during my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in 2020, had not repaid a loan they had taken. I was supposed to be listed as an emergency contact. I was told not to believe this person…

L-r: Professor Mohammad Bello Abubakar, managing director/CEO at GBB with Ms. Tabod Jacqueline Mejand, the Country’s inspector general for the Cameroonian Ministry of Public Service & Administrative Reforms

Cameroon sends a delegation to the GBB in an attempt to emulate Nigeria’s e-Government success story.

A delegation from Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms recently visited Nigeria to inspect the depth of E-government implementation in Nigeria, which was developed and implemented with the assistance of the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and to tour the level of infrastructure invested in achieving the heights Nigeria has achieved thus far….

LEAP
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LEAP will bring together the brightest minds in technology to address global challenges.

17th November 2021: In February 2022, Saudi Arabia will host the largest technology event ever launched, LEAP, bringing together the global technology community under one roof to tackle the world’s most pressing socio-cultural challenges. LEAP, which will take place in Riyadh from the 1st to the 3rd of February 2022, is set to become a…

With 700 portraits, this NFT artist captured the global lockdown

With 700 portraits, this NFT artist captured the global lockdown

The doors to the exhibition halls of Gallery B57 are open a few streets away from Eko Atlantic City, revealing a black and white portrait of Instagram Influencer, Sanchan. During the global lockdown last year, Ade Adekola, a Nigerian-born international visual artist, put out an open call on Instagram for people interested in having their…

Consumers
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South African Consumers Are Concerned About Empty Shelves This Festive Season

With the holiday season quickly approaching, South Africans and consumers worldwide may find fewer gift options on store shelves as a result of product shortages and delays caused by pandemic-related closures of ports and factories. According to a new global Oracle retail consumer research study, more shoppers are concerned that supply chain and delivery delays…

Instagram
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Instagram Under Probe by US State Attorney Generals Over Its impact on Children

A group of state attorneys general is investigating Instagram and its effects on children and young adults, alleging that its parent company Facebook — now known as Meta Platforms — ignored internal research about the physical and mental health risks it posed to young people. A bipartisan coalition of attorneys general from California, Florida, Kentucky,…

What is the next frontier for African edtech startups in terms of technology, funding, and learning models?
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What is the next frontier for African edtech startups in terms of technology, funding, and learning models?

“Something good is a frontier; something better is also a frontier and something excellent is just another frontier! You can always go beyond these frontiers! And so what is excellent? Just a frontier!” — Mehmet Murat ildan “There exist limitless opportunities in every industry. Where there is an open mind, there will always be a…

agriculture

AfDB approves $150m to support agriculture in Africa

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) has approved a $150 million facility for ETC Group Limited to address the company’s working capital needs and to develop its agriculture value chain, which will benefit smallholder farmers. The AfDB stated that the investment would take the form of a trade and agri-finance package, including a $75 million…

MTN Group

MTN Group Exits Yemen Leaving Behind Millions of Subscribers

MTN Group announced today that it is ceasing operations in Yemen, in the Middle East. The company has been steadily withdrawing from its Middle Eastern operations, having left Syria in August due to “intolerable” operating conditions. MTN is also in talks to sell its operations in Afghanistan. MTN’s exit from Yemen, according to the company,…

NCC

NCC plans to bolster special numbering service segment of the telecommunication sector

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is taking a decisive regulatory move to ensure sustainability, profitability and fair competition in the Special Numbering Service (SNS) segment of the nation’s telecommunications sector. This move informed the decision of the Commission to hold a Stakeholders’ Forum on the ‘Determination of Call Termination Rate for Special Numbering Service Providers in Nigeria. ‘ The…

enaira and IMF
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5 observations on Nigeria’s Central Bank Digital Currency eNaira by IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a statement regarding its observation on eNaira, the new digital currency of Nigeria’s central bank (CBDC). The IMF, in the statement, said: “The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officially launched the ‘eNaira’, a central bank digital currency (CBDC), on October 25, 2021. This is the second CBDC fully…

Microsoft

Microsoft Names Director of New Office for “African Transformation”

Microsoft, the global tech giant, is establishing the Africa Transformation Office as part of doubling its investment on the continent, as well as an effort to continue to enable “African-led for Africa” ??digital transformation. The company has also announced that the Africa Transformation Office (ATO) will be led by new Managing Director (MD) Wael Elkabbany….

Tech

The struggle of lower class Nigerians who wants into Breaking into tech

It had been three days since the lights went out on the off campus streets of the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA). Exams were approaching, and students trooped out of their lodgings to find public places—barbing salons, electronics and grocery stores, eateries—to charge their phones and laptops. In a corner, at one such place,…

Healthcare

What’s Next for Online Healthcare in Africa?

When it comes to technology and digital life, the pandemic has been the ultimate accelerant of increased online behaviour. When our movements were physically restricted, we turned to our devices to find digital solutions that enable us to continue with our lives. People have excelled by working, attending school, and even socialising online; but the…

Smart City

New Partnership Brings Fibre to Thousands in Namibia’s First Smart City

Paratus Namibia and Ongos Connect have signed a commercial connectivity agreement, confirming that Paratus will be the technology/infrastructure partner to bring fibre connectivity to over 11,000 new residents in Ongos Valley, Namibia’s first smart city development. The agreement is the conclusion of a two-year planning process during which time Paratus has been working on building…

South Africa

3 Distinct Industries that are Kick-Starting Job Creation in South Africa

There is absolutely no doubt that South Africa is in the midst of a major unemployment crisis. The latest stats show that the official unemployment rate is 34.4%, a record high. The expanded unemployment figure, which includes discouraged job seekers, sits at an even more alarming 44.4%. Such high levels of unemployment are unsustainable and need to…

Ecobank Fintech Challenge
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Ecobank Group Announces the Top Five Finalists for the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2021

The finalists for the 2021 Ecobank Fintech Challenge have been announced by the Ecobank Group. The fourth edition of the challenge is meant to assist Fintechs with Africa-focused products in partnering with Africa’s biggest pan-African group to bring breakthrough financial services to Africans. Five finalists were chosen from diverse African countries for this year’s final….

Nigeria Business Forum
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Ugwuanyi woos investors at German-Nigeria Business Forum

Governor Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State delivered a keynote address at the 9th German – Nigerian Business Forum (#9thGNBF). The 3-days hybrid event (onsite and online) held in Lagos last week attracted experts from technology, agriculture, finance, construction and other sectors from both countries. The German-Nigeria Business Forum was organized by the Delegation of German Industry…

ID Africa ICCO

ID Africa CEO, Femi Falodun joins PR professionals at ICCO Global Summit

The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) has announced Femi Falodun, the CEO of Marketing, Media and Technology company, ID Africa, as a speaker at the ICCO Global Summit which holds on November 17 and 18, 2021. Femi Falodun will speak on a panel that will examine trends, opportunities and challenges in the African PR and Communications…

climate change

COP26: UK stakes £165m funding to progress gender equality while tackling climate change

During COP26 Gender Day on Tuesday, the UK announced £165 million to tackle climate change while addressing the inequalities that make women and girls more vulnerable to climate change and empowering them to take climate action. Around the world, the UN has found that women are more vulnerable to the effects of this than men,…

Snapchat

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat Join World Leaders to Issue Global Call to Protect Children Online

Internet giants, including social media apps Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, joined several world leaders to issue a global call to better protect children online at a Paris summit on Thursday. The call, initiated by France and the UN child protection agency UNICEF, acknowledges that “in the digital environment, children can come across harmful and violent…

Green ICT
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Ericsson wins ‘Green ICT Champion’ at Africa Tech Festival 2021

Ericsson has been awarded the Green ICT Champion of the Year Award 2021 at the Africa Tech Festival for its Breaking the Energy Curve initiative. The 14th edition of the Awards acknowledges and recognizes innovations and innovators who are enabling transformation, inclusivity, and digital democracy across the African continent. The Green ICT Champion of the Year…

Startups Accelerator Africa
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Google for Startups Accelerator Africa opens the latest application

Applications are now open for the latest Google for Startups Accelerator Africa, a three-month programme designed to help startups scale across the continent. Launched in 2017, the Google for Startups Accelerator Africa programme has so far supported 82 startups from 17 African countries, which between them have raised more than US$117 million in funding and…

Cyberthreats
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31.5 Million Cyberthreats Targeted SA Users in the First Half of 2021

The increase in cyberthreats recorded by global internet security firm Kaspersky in the first half of this year across South Africa amounted to 31.5 million. “Threats can be categorised as criminal (80% of attacks), targeted (19.9%), and advanced (0.01%). The advanced grouping is significantly more sophisticated and feature increased investment from attack groups. Unfortunately, both…

Electoral Act

Nigerian Senate passes amended Electoral Act with e-transmission of results into law

The Senate has passed the harmonized Electoral Act Amendment Bill which includes approval for the electronic transmission of election results. The Senate had set up a 7-man conference committee to meet with members of the House of Representatives Conference Committee to harmonise the differences in the Senate and House versions of the Electoral Act Amendment…

AfriTECH2021 AfriTECH

GBB, Zoho, Digital Encode, Cloudflex among AfriTECH2021 Award Winners

Africa Tech Alliance Forum (AfriTECH) organisers have recognized outstanding organizations for driving creative, innovative solutions and products to enhance Africa’s digital economy. The eight (8) award winners across different categories were honoured at Africa Tech Alliance Forum 2021 (AfriTECH2021), held in Lagos. The hybrid Forum provided opportunity for inter-sectorial cross-fertilization of ideas on economic impacts…

KIFC,Kigali International Financial Centre

KIFC has launched the Virunga Africa Fund I, a $250 million pan-African investment fund

Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) has announced the launch of a $250 million Virunga Africa Fund I, which would invest in important industries driving economic and social transformation in Africa. In order to drive economic and social transformation throughout Africa, this fund makes investments in critical industries. Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and the Rwanda Social…

NCC
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NCC targets revenue of N632 billion for 2022 fiscal year

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has disclosed that its revenue target for the 2022 fiscal year stands at N632.39 billion Prof. Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, made this known during the budget defence before the National Assembly Joint Committee on Communications in Abuja. Danbatta explained that the revenue targets would also be made…