Author: Akin Naphtal

The Africa Digital Economy Awards (ADEA), Africa’s biggest technology awards, marks its 10th anniversary in 2025, celebrating a decade of honoring the visionaries and organizations driving Africa’s digital transformation. Launched in the mid-2010s, ADEA has become the continent’s premier platform recognizing excellence across fintech, healthtech, edtech, infrastructure, and more. Now in its 10th year, ADEA will honour Africa’s digital champions, innovators, creativity, and inventions across multiple areas of an ever-evolving sector. This milestone edition introduces a special category – the Top 50 Digital Economy Leaders in Africa – spotlighting individuals shaping the continent’s digital future. This year’s event will be…

Sonatel Group, a subsidiary of global telecommunications giant Orange, has appointed Brelotte Ba as its new Chief Executive Officer. Ba succeeds Sékou Drame, who has led the company since 2018 and will conclude his tenure on July 31, 2025. The Senegalese national telecom announced that Ba, with 24 years of telecommunications experience, will steer the company toward maintaining its leadership in Africa’s digital economy and advancing digital transformation across the continent. His appointment follows a distinguished tenure as Deputy Managing Director of Orange Middle East and Africa since 2022. A graduate engineer from Ecole Polytechnique de Paris and Ecole Nationale…

MTN Group has achieved a significant milestone in its Ambition 2025 strategy, with MTN Uganda shareholders overwhelmingly approving the structural separation of MTN Mobile Money (U) Limited from its GSM operations. The decision, backed by a 99.9% vote at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on July 22, 2025, aligns with MTN’s vision of delivering “leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress.” The separation of MTN’s fintech and Mobile Money (MoMo) businesses from its traditional GSM operations aims to boost scale, efficiency, and customer service delivery. MTN Uganda is the first of the group’s listed subsidiaries to secure shareholder approval for this…

Safaricom PLC, Kenya’s leading telecommunications provider, announced today that it has surpassed 50 million customers on its mobile network, marking a historic milestone in its 25-year journey. The company expressed profound gratitude to its customers, attributing this achievement to the trust, loyalty, and partnership of the Kenyan people. From its launch in 2000 with just 17,000 customers, Safaricom has grown into a cornerstone of Kenya’s digital landscape, reflecting the nation’s spirit of innovation and resilience. As the company approaches its silver jubilee in October 2025, CEO Peter Ndegwa reaffirmed Safaricom’s commitment to driving progress and creating transformative solutions for its…

In a significant step toward advancing Kenya’s digital landscape, iXAfrica Data Centres, East Africa’s premier hyperscale, AI-ready data centre, has partnered with TouchNet to launch the Zadara AI Sovereign Cloud. This enterprise-grade cloud computing solution, locally hosted at iXAfrica’s Nairobi One (NBOX1) campus, marks a pioneering milestone as the first of its kind in Kenya, following successful deployments across other African markets. The Zadara AI Sovereign Cloud offers a robust suite of services, including computing, networking, storage, and GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), all fortified by world-class security, performance, and compliance standards. Hosted within iXAfrica’s state-of-the-art, carrier-neutral infrastructure and managed by a Kenyan…

Oklo Inc., a pioneer in advanced nuclear technology, and Vertiv, a global leader in critical digital infrastructure, have announced a groundbreaking collaboration to develop tailored power and thermal management solutions for hyperscale and colocation data centers. The partnership leverages steam and electricity from Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse to drive Vertiv’s cutting-edge cooling systems, aiming to meet the surging energy demands of AI and high-performance computing. The initiative, set to kick off with a pilot demonstration at Oklo’s initial Aurora powerhouse, focuses on co-optimizing power generation and cooling to enhance energy efficiency. By integrating heat from Oklo’s onsite nuclear power plants with…

Orange Africa and Middle East (OMEA) has solidified its position as a key driver of digital transformation in the region, reporting a 28% surge in its fiber optic internet subscriber base to 1.4 million by the end of 2024, according to the company’s 2024 Corporate Responsibility Report. Operating in 17 countries, including 16 in Africa, Orange now provides fiber internet services in ten markets, fueled by a $1.4 billion investment in network infrastructure last year. The company’s aggressive push into fixed and mobile networks, including next-generation technologies, has connected 4.9 million homes with fiber optics across the region by December…

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and expanding its 5G network to meet soaring data demand, marking a significant step in its shift toward a digital services-led model. Company Secretary Tatenda Ngowe highlighted the mobile operator’s progress for the quarter ending May 31, noting that Econet leveraged its upgraded network infrastructure, financial platforms, and AI-driven solutions to enhance operational efficiency. “AI-based applications are now central to our processes, enabling us to deeply understand customer needs and usage patterns, which allows us to deliver hyper-personalized services,” Ngowe said. ALSO READ: ATLAS EDGE UNVEILS STATE-OF-THE-ART DATA CENTER IN STUTTGART The…

AtlasEdge has unveiled its newest state-of-the-art data centre in Stuttgart, Germany, marking the completion of the first phase of an ambitious project set to deliver 10,000m² of space and 20MW of power. This launch strengthens AtlasEdge’s footprint in Germany, bringing its total to eight operational data centres across the country. The Stuttgart facility, constructed using innovative sustainable modular methods, optimizes resource use and operates entirely on renewable energy. Designed to meet the stringent requirements of the German Energy Efficiency Act (Energieeffizienzgesetz), the centre sets a new benchmark for energy-efficient digital infrastructure. ALSO READ: LINX FORGES PARTNERSHIPS TO BOOST GLOBAL CONNECTIVITY…

e& and 4iG Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore working together on key digital infrastructure projects. The MoU calls for future collaboration on building and operating advanced digital networks and data systems, which includes joint projects like subsea and land-based cables, data centres, and other efforts to improve digital links between the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe. Plans also involve developing a data centre in Albania to support undersea traffic and possibly expanding digital infrastructure in Hungary through e& PPF Telecom. Additionally, the partnership will also look at building subsea cable systems connecting the three…