All about Tech.
Largest-Ever Data Centre Expansion in Africa to Cost $500M Across 10 Countries Written by Luis Monzon Africa Data Centres, one of the continent’s leading carrier-neutral co-location data centre providers, has announced plans to build large hyperscale data centres throughout Africa, including the North African countries of Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. According to a statement today released…
How Digitisation Can Lead to Real Change in Africa’s Competition Laws Written by Luis Monzon Digitisation has ushered in an era of hyper-connectivity, marked by disruptive digital platforms that operate on a global scale. A recent Baker McKenzie report – Competition in the Digital Economy – an African Perspective – shows that, in Africa, this dynamic evolution…
Nigeria’s Ustacky is getting Africans career market-ready with tech-focused digital micro-degrees Written by TOM JACKSON Nigerian ed-tech startup Ustacky is teaching Africans industry-relevant IT skills and providing them with micro-degrees at an affordable price to make them job-ready. Launched in 2019, Ustacky delivers training in programming through its website and mobile app using high-quality instructor-led video courses…
Rwanda’s new SIM registration, Somalia’s Trade Information Portal, Cellulant’s partnership with GAINDE 2000 Written by Victoria Fakiya Rwanda’s new SIM registration directives What’s the news? Telecom operators will implement new SIM card registration procedures. The Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), Rwanda’s telecom regulator, claims it will help reduce fraud. According to RURA, anyone who wants to get…
Make accessibility part of your startup’s products and culture from day one Written by Joe Devon The world of accessibility has experienced a tipping point thanks to the pandemic, which drove people of all abilities to do more tasks and shopping online. For the last year, the digital world was the only place brands could…
Barbershop technology startup theCut sharpens its platform with new $4.5M round Written by Christine Hall TheCut, a technology platform designed to handle back-end operations for barbers, raised $4.5 million in new funding. Nextgen Venture Partners led the round and was joined by Elevate Ventures, Singh Capital and Leadout Capital. The latest funding gives theCut $5.35…
4 Ways Haller Farmers App Helps Fight East African Climate Change Written by Luis Monzon Africa is warming much faster than the global average, according to the IGAD Climate Predication and Application Centre (ICPAC). Major cities in East Africa have witnessed increased temperatures that almost double the 1.1-degree warming average that the rest of the globe…
Absa Launches Search for Digital Partners Across Africa By Luis Monzon Absa Group, one of the largest financial service providers in Africa, is strengthening efforts to grow its digital partnerships ecosystem across the continent with the appointment of HYBR and SystemicLogic, which will help Absa identify potential collaboration partners. “We believe in the substantial mutual…
The eighth natural wonder of the world is getting a partnership with TikTok Written by Conrad Onyango Kenya is turning to a global youth audience to showcase the eighth natural wonder of the world—the great wildebeest migration—as Africa goes all out to ramp up international tourism numbers. The east African country’s tourism board on Aug. 24 announced…
WhatsApp Patches Vulnerability in Image Filter Function That Could Have Led to Data Exposure Written by Jagmeet Singh WhatsApp brought the patch in February and added two new checks in place to restrict memory access. WhatsApp has patched a vulnerability that could allow an attacker to read sensitive information from the app’s memory, including private…
Property (Proptech) technology to disrupt Africa’s real estate sector – Analysts Written by Yinka Okeowo While the real estate sector increasingly values data as the new gold; the analysis and usability of the data is what will set apart industry leaders from their peers. Africa’s Property Technology (Proptech) sector is ramping up and is a key component…
You’ll soon be able to use the Google Assistant without saying ‘Hey, Google’ Written by BABU MOHAN There’s currently no word on when the features will begin rolling out to users. Google announced a bunch of new features coming to the Google Assistant with Android 12 at I/O 2021 — including shortcut expansions. A teardown of the latest Google…
Kenya’s MotiSure launches API-powered insurtech platform Written by TOM JACKSON Kenyan startup MotiSure has launched an API-powered insurtech platform that provides personal accident cover for commuters and riders through embedding insurance in tickets and other points of sale within mobility. MotiSure was co-founded this year by Joel Macharia, Jane Njau and Thuita Wachira after they sampled…
Tanzania: Govt Allocates 43bn/ – for Innovation Hubs THE government has reiterated its commitment to giving more attention to technology and innovations through the Higher Education for Economic Transformation (HEET), with allocation of 43bn/- for setting up new incubators and hubs. Opening the training on importance of technology and innovation for community development officers from…
Ethiopia: Innovation – Here’s What Cardano (ADA) Has Been Up to With the Ethiopia Project By Ana Grabundzija Charles Hoskinson, the founder of the Cardano (ADA) protocol and Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK) CEO revealed the company’s progress in Ethiopia, where one of the world’s biggest blockchain projects keeps unraveling. The blockchain research and engineering…
Zimbabwe: Agritech Innovation Can Bring Youths Back Written By Adesuwa Ifedi The pandemic disrupted supply chains, upending many farmers’ precarious livelihoods that are already being hit hard by the climate crisis in new and unsettling ways. It’s easy to think that we are on an unalterable path toward a crisis of food security in Africa…
Which social media platforms, services do Internet users have most privacy concerns about? Written By Yinka Okeowo Kaspersky analysed anonymised data, voluntarily provided by Privacy Checker, a website that contains helpful advice on privacy settings for various Internet services and platforms. The results reflect which services and platforms’ Internet users have the most privacy concerns about. The data…
MTN Ghana plans to launch 5G next year in the country MTN will be the first operator in the region to introduce 5G if it succeeds to launch ahead of other big telcos in Ghana. MTN Ghana’s CEO, Selorm Adavehoh, has stated that the company expects to be able to introduce 5G services in the…
5 Top Instant Loan Apps in Nigeria Written By Luis Monzon It has never been easier to secure a loan for personal or business purposes. Modern, smartphone-based apps and platforms have made the process more seamless than ever. If you have a phone, an internet connection and a bank account, chances are there’s a platform that…
Windows 11 Release Date Set for October 5, No Android Apps Support at Launch By Jagmeet Singh New eligible devices will receive Windows 11 free upgrade first. Windows 11 release date is set for October 5, Microsoft on Tuesday announced — a couple of months after unveiling the new operating system. The software giant said that…
4 Fastest Mobile Internet Operators in Nigeria Ranked Written by Luis Monzon Internet and connectivity speed tester Ookla last month released its market analysis for Nigeria, ranking the country’s fastest mobile internet operators. The analysis only takes into account top mobile operators in the country, ones which account for 3% or more of total test…
How Smartphones Are Being Used to Test for Malaria in Uganda Witten by Luis Monzon The University of Glasgow has been working with the Vector Control Division of the Uganda Ministry of Health – collaborating for several years on new ways to achieve vital recommendations from the World Health Organisation (WHO) outlined in a 2018 report on controlling malaria,…
e4 launches Girls in STEM programme Written By Yinka Okeowo Fintech specialist e4 has announced its ‘Girls in STEM’ programme to provide girls in underprivileged areas with the support they need to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) post matric. Cognisant of the gender imbalance present in the science and technology industries…
Arab Bank launches fintech-focused accelerator in Egypt Written By TOM JACKSON Arab Bank has launched its fintech-focused corporate accelerator programme “AB Accelerator” in Egypt, following its successful rollout in Jordan in 2018. The launch of this programme in Egypt comes as part of the bank’s strategic efforts to foster and support innovation in the fintech…
TikTok owner ByteDance buys a top virtual reality hardware startup Written by Lucas Matney TikTok parent company ByteDance seems to be looking to one-up Facebook anywhere it can. After taking over the mantle of the most downloaded social media app in the world with TikTok, ByteDance is coming for Facebook’s moonshot, buying up its own virtual…
Understanding the value and impact of Emerging Technologies Emerging technologies are those technologies that are at the beginning stages of development or are in their early stages, where they are beginning to emerge into popularity from obscurity. Emerging technologies are a class of new technological innovations that are being developed or will be developed over the…
This nasty new email scam tricks victims into calling the fraudsters Written by Sead Fadilpaši? No, you didn’t order three new iPhones Experts from security firm Kaspersky have warned of new waves of vishing (voice phishing) scams making the rounds that target users with extravagant purchase demands. The company says that as-yet-unknown criminals are impersonating well-known hardware…
Controversial WhatsApp Terms of Service Could Be Optional Soon Written by Furqan Shahid Remember the controversial terms of service that WhatsApp introduced earlier this year? For those who do not remember, the terms of service would mandate users to share their data with Facebook. Not accepting would have resulted in the functionality of the app being crippled, and…
Windows 11 shouldn’t run on older PCs – but Microsoft won’t stop you from trying By John Loeffler When Microsoft announced its minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11 back in June, many were upset by the fact that only AMD Zen 2 and Intel eighth-gen processors or later would be supported. After an outcry, Microsoft hasn’t…
Work from Home Increased Worldwide Phishing Attacks Written By George Dascalu Palo Alto Network’s Unit 42 cybersecurity team reveals alarming findings about the new work-from-home environment. Over the course of September 2019 to April 2021, Palo Alto Network’s Unit 42 monitored firewall traffic and phishing sites detected by URL filters. The number of new phishing pages per week…