Author: Akin Naphtal

EMURGO Africa, the investment and commercial arm of Cardano in Africa, has announced the establishment of EMURGO Labs, a dedicated development entity aimed at fostering the growth of emerging Web3 technologies. Focusing on leveraging the transformative potential of the Cardano blockchain, EMURGO Labs seeks to lead digital transformation across borders and support both established and emerging Web2 and Web3 organisations. EMURGO Labs aims to serve as a central hub for nurturing the growth of Web2 and Web3 ventures throughout the region, offering comprehensive support services, strategic partnerships, and industry-leading expertise. CEO of EMURGO Labs, Ahmed M. Amer, believes the launch…

Facebook parent company, Meta, has warned Oculus users that failure to migrate their accounts to Meta by 29th March, 2024, will result in permanent deletion of their Oculus accounts, along with associated data, apps, achievements, friends list in-app purchases, and more. Oculus was a virtual reality company founded in 2012 by Palmer Luckey, who created the Oculus Rift VR headset, an immersive technology. In 2014, Meta bought Oculus for $2 billion and rebranded Luckey’s design into the Meta Quest series. Meta’s gradual phasing out of Oculus accounts began in 2020 when the company mandated new users to sign up with…

Microsoft’s latest update for Windows 11 has introduced support that enables USB4 connections to be hosted at speeds of 80Gbps, also known as USB4 2.0, as part of the company’s efforts to enhance connectivity. The update, rolled out with OS builds 22621.3235 and 22631.3235, is set to be automatically delivered to users this week, promising a boost in data transfer rates for compatible devices. While the USB4 2.0 specification was finalised in late 2022, the adoption of products supporting 80Gbps connections has been relatively slow. The original USB4 variant, capable of reaching 40Gbps, has only recently begun to see widespread…

MainOne, an Equinix Company, has announced its role in landing the first and only submarine cable system in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, in a collaboration aimed at boosting broadband connectivity and economic development in the country’s South-South, South-East, and North-Central regions. Spanning 45,000km in length, the 2Africa submarine cable project is poised to become one of the world’s largest subsea cable projects. It will interconnect Europe, Asia, and Africa, boasting a design capacity of up to 180Tbps. 2Africa’s significance lies in its ability to address critical internet needs and enhance reliability across vast expanses of Africa, helping advance 4G, 5G,…

The African Union (AU) has hosted a Technical Workshop to develop its Digital One Health platform, held in Naivasha, Kenya, as part of Africa’s efforts to strengthen health governance and management. Held from February 26th to 28th, 2024, the event was executed under the African Union One Health Data Alliance Africa Project, funded by BMZ and supported by GIZ. The Project falls under the jurisdiction of the Animal Health Unit at AU-IBAR. The workshop saw key stakeholders across Africa meeting to help propel the Digital One Health platform’s development. Participants included members of the AU One Health Technical Working Group,…

The World Bank has partnered with Smart Africa to expand the Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA) initiative from a national to a regional focus, as part of the Western Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (WARDIP), supported by a $20 million grant over five years. The initiative aims to advance regional integration of digital markets by empowering policymakers and regulators with the knowledge to harness the potential of green and inclusive digital transformation. Through SADA, a new generation of decision-makers across Africa will be equipped with innovative approaches to policy and regulation, contributing to the establishment of a Single Digital Market…

In its audited 2023 Financial Report released on Wednesday, 28th February, MTN Ghana revealed that it made a profit of GH¢3.98 billion cedis in 2023, while also declaring a dividend of GH¢0.175 per share. Despite a slight dip in the company’s share price on the Ghana Stock Exchange, closing at GH¢1.39, MTN Ghana remained focused on delivering value to its stakeholders. The telco’s financial performance was driven by a 34.6% year-on-year growth in service revenue, fuelled by strong increases in voice, data, and Mobile Money usage. This growth translated into a 39.4% year-on-year increase in profit after tax, reaching GH¢4.0…

Equitel, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) under Finserve, has rolled out its 5G services in over 370 locations across Kenya after partnering with Airtel Kenya, which acts as the host mobile network operator. The new Equitel 5G service is now accessible in key towns including Mombasa, Nakuru, Nairobi, Athi River, Kisumu, Kakamega, Siaya, Eldoret, and Bungoma, among others. Plans are underway to extend coverage to densely populated areas such as residential neighbourhoods, shopping centres, and central business districts in collaboration with Airtel. To enjoy Equitel’s 5G services, customers must possess a 5G-capable device supported by a 4G LTE SIM…

Nigerian architect Olajumoke Adenowo has joined Flutterwave as an independent non-executive member of its global board of directors, as the company seeks to drive its international expansion strategy. Founded in 2016, Flutterwave has rapidly expanded and now has a presence in about 30 African countries, and has recently gained a foothold in India, offering its remittance services to Asia’s second-biggest economy. Adenowo is Flutterwave’s first independent non-executive board member. Armed with over 35 years experience in architecture, she will help the startup strengthen its pan-African and global positioning, the company revealed on Monday, 26th February. Speaking on the appointment, Flutterwave’s…

Google DeepMind CEO, Demis Hassabis, has announced that Google will be reintroducing its AI-powered image generation tool in the coming weeks, following its suspension last week due to inaccuracies in historical depictions. The decision to pause the tool, which leverages Google’s Gemini AI models, came after users flagged instances of historical images being inaccurately generated. While Google initially offered image generation capabilities through Gemini AI earlier this month, concerns over the accuracy of historical depictions prompted the temporary suspension of the feature. “We have taken the feature offline while we fix that. We are hoping to have that back online…