Author: Akin Naphtal

Cross Switch, a leading provider of innovative digital payment solutions, has achieved a major milestone in its African expansion by securing a Third-Party Payment Processor (TPPP) licence in South Africa, granted by the Payments Association of South Africa (PASA) and sponsored by Absa. The newly acquired licence positions Cross Switch as a key player in South Africa’s payments ecosystem, enabling the company to independently onboard merchants, fintechs, and non-profits. This development follows the firm’s recent certification as a Visa Payment Facilitator (PayFac), further enhancing its capabilities and reach. “This is a vital step in expanding our network and strengthening our…

MTN Group has unveiled a strategic leadership reshuffle across its East African operations, appointing new chief executives for its Rwanda and South Sudan subsidiaries. The changes are part of the Group’s Ambition 2025 strategy, aimed at accelerating growth across its fintech, digital, and enterprise platforms throughout the continent. Mapula Bodibe, the outgoing CEO of MTN Rwanda, has been appointed to lead MTN South Sudan. Since assuming her role in Rwanda in 2022, Bodibe has spearheaded key initiatives including the launch of MTN’s proprietary 4G network, a government-backed low-cost smartphone project called Ikosora, and a significant network upgrade in Kigali in…

Digital Realty, a global leader in cloud- and carrier-neutral data centers, has expanded its ServiceFabric® interconnection platform to Nigeria, deploying it at its LOS1 and LOS2 facilities in Lagos to deliver low-latency, high-performance connectivity for regional and global enterprises. This strategic expansion reinforces Digital Realty’s commitment to enabling seamless global interconnectivity for businesses, providing enterprise customers in Nigeria with the ability to connect whenever, wherever, and to whoever they need to. The presence of ServiceFabric® in Lagos will support the growing demand for hybrid IT and multi-cloud connectivity, empowering businesses with a secure, software-defined interconnection platform. As part of Digital…

Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company PJSC (du) has announced a landmark AED 2 billion ($544.54 million) partnership with Microsoft to develop a new hyperscale data centre in the United Arab Emirates, marking a major step forward in the country’s digital transformation agenda. The facility, which will be built and operated by du, will have Microsoft as its anchor tenant. The data centre’s capacity will be rolled out in phases, according to a statement released during Dubai AI Week. Hyperscale data centres are large-scale facilities designed to provide robust data storage and cloud computing solutions for enterprise customers—an area of growing demand…

Yesh Surjoodeen, Managing Director for Southern and Central Africa at HP, has raised alarm over the increasing threat of AI-powered cyberattacks targeting Nigerian businesses. In a recent opinion piece, Surjoodeen urged companies to adopt smarter device security measures and cultivate a strong culture of cybersecurity awareness to stay ahead of rapidly evolving threats. With Nigeria ranked the 13th most vulnerable country to cyberattacks globally, business leaders are being urged to match the pace of cybercriminals leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) for increasingly sophisticated attacks. “The race is on between Nigerian hackers using AI to attack and Nigerian businesses using AI to…

Orange France has announced a major partnership with Ericsson to modernise its mobile network infrastructure, aiming to significantly enhance network performance while reducing environmental impact. Under the renewed four-year agreement, Ericsson will deploy its advanced radio solutions across 60% of France, covering major urban centres including Paris, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille, Strasbourg, and Montpellier. The upgrade is set to improve uplink performance—crucial for enabling next-generation 5G applications—and deliver a more seamless user experience. “This partnership takes a dual approach to improving mobile service performance for our customers while also reducing our energy consumption,” said Jean-François Fallacher, CEO of Orange France. “It…

Google has appointed Kate Alessi as its new Managing Director for the United Kingdom, marking a significant leadership shift at a time of both global opportunity and scrutiny for the tech giant. Alessi will officially assume her role in June, succeeding Debbie Weinstein, who was promoted in December 2024 to lead Google’s operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. In her new position, Alessi will oversee the company’s UK operations, including its 7,000 employees, the majority of whom will be based at Google’s soon-to-open King’s Cross headquarters. Her appointment follows a turbulent period for Google, as two recent U.S.…

Safaricom has announced a significant $300 million (KSh40 billion) upgrade to M-PESA, Africa’s most successful mobile money platform, marking a bold move towards enhancing service reliability, security, and innovation. The investment, which heralds the arrival of M-PESA 2.0, was revealed by Safaricom Group CEO Peter Ndegwa last week. Speaking during the announcement, Ndegwa described the upgrade as “the next big leap” aimed at boosting the platform’s stability, processing capacity, and customer experience. “By the time it’s fully rolled out, there will be zero downtime for customers. Safety and security are always our top priority,” Ndegwa affirmed. He further emphasised Safaricom’s…

According to Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI and cofounder of Google DeepMind, the future of work will involve a deep, interactive partnership between humans and artificial intelligence, AI In a recent episode of the Big Technology Podcast, Suleyman described a future where managing AI agents becomes a central part of daily professional life. “I do think your day-to-day workflow just isn’t going to look like this in 10 or 15 years’ time,” he said. “It’s going to be much more about you managing your AI agent, asking it to go do things, checking in on its quality, getting feedback,…

In a significant development aimed at enhancing digital communication experiences, MTN Group has partnered with Meta to improve the quality and reliability of voice and video calls on real-time calling applications such as WhatsApp across 12 African markets. The strategic collaboration leverages application-aware networks and network-aware applications to create a seamless and high-quality user experience. The initiative optimizes the interaction between MTN’s mobile networks and real-time calling apps, ensuring efficient traffic delivery and enhanced call performance. Nigeria Leads with First DeploymentThe enhancements were first rolled out in Nigeria, where MTN and Meta teams have been working since MWC 2024 to…