Author: Akin Naphtal

Woven Finance, the fintech startup founded by Trium, a venture group by Coronation Group, is discontinuing its service, according to an email shared with customers recently. The fintech which was fully licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2022, and has a Payment Solutions Service Provider (PSSP) license, will transfer its services to Hydrogen, a fintech company owned and run by Access Bank. Also, becoming part of Hydrogen will help Access Bank compete with GTCO’s fintech, Squad. Hydrogen is been led and managed by Kemi Okusanya, a former General Manager at Visa West Africa. Following the email sent…

To deepen its fintech operations in Africa, MTN Group has entered a strategic partnership with Swedish technology firm, Ericsson. With a focus on providing mobile banking services and financially empowering millions of African citizens, the partnership aimed to increase financial inclusion from first-time consumers to high-end enterprise applications by leveraging MTN’s Mobile Money (MoMo) service on the Ericsson Wallet Platform. The agreement was inked during a visit by senior MTN Group officials to Ericsson’s Group Headquarters in Kista, Sweden, where the two businesses addressed major strategic priorities and future collaboration. According to the report, it reads that Ericsson Wallet Platform…

The 2020s have been good years for smartphone lovers, for gone are the days when affordable or budget phones meant laggy software, poor cameras and storage. Many budget devices today even match or surpass the performance of flagship devices of old, which brings us to the 2022 Google Pixel 6a. The Pixel 6a falls in the market segment that caters for people who seek a device that won’t break their wallet, but which also comes with decent specs. Developed as an affordable sidekick to the larger and more powerful flagship Google Pixel 6, the Pixel 6a cuts a few corners…

Facebook parent company, Meta Platforms, is set to implement tighter content controls for teenagers on Instagram and Facebook, in response to global regulatory pressure to safeguard children from harmful content on its platforms. In a blog post on 9th January, Meta revealed that all teenage users would be automatically placed in the most restrictive content control settings on both apps. Additionally, Instagram would limit additional search terms, making it more challenging for teenagers to encounter sensitive content related to issues such as suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders through features like Search and Explore. The company noted that these measures, set…

Batelco, part of the Beyon Group, is pleased to announce the formalization of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ericsson, a world leader in communications technology, to expand its sustainability initiatives and circular economy practices. The MoU was signed by Beyon Chief Communications & Sustainability Officer Shaikh Bader bin Rashid Al Khalifa and Vice President and Head of Gulf Council Countries at Ericsson Middle East and Africa, Nicolas Blixell. As part of the collaboration, both Batelco and Ericsson will work together on introducing programmes that support sustainability initiatives. In addition, Batelco will have access to Ericsson’s vast expertise and global…

The Africa Stablecoin Consortium has officially introduced Compliant Nigerian Naira StableCoin, cNGN, a revolutionary financial tool designed to establish a seamless bridge between the Nigerian Naira and the global market. Key Features of cNGN: Advantages of cNGN: The launch of cNGN represents a significant step in the evolution of stablecoins, introducing a compliant and transformative financial instrument that opens up unprecedented opportunities for financial transactions and global connectivity.

Nigerian fintech startup, Cleva has announced it has raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to improve international payments across Africa. According to the company’s website, these products will enable users to send USD internationally and create professional invoices, putting them in a competitive remittance market that already includes platforms like Flutterwave’s Send, Chipper Cash, Lemfi, and Afriex. The company is headed by Tolu Alabi (CEO) and Philip Abel (CTO) who founded the fintech in 2023 to offer US-based accounts to people and companies in Africa so they could receive US dollars. Cleva allows users to open USD accounts by providing…

US tech giant, Intel, announced its entry into the automotive semiconductor market, unveiling plans to launch automotive versions of its latest AI-enabled chips, which will pit Intel against industry giants Qualcomm and Nvidia in the race to power the future brains of automobiles. As part of its automotive push, Intel also revealed its acquisition of French startup Silicon Mobility, known for designing system-on-a-chip technology and software for controlling electric vehicle motors and onboard charging systems. While the purchase price remains undisclosed, Silicon Mobility is controlled by venture funds, Cipio Partners and Capital-E. Chinese automaker Zeekr is set to be the…

Tesla has launched the revamped version of its popular Model 3 sedan in North America, maintaining existing price points for the vehicle, as reported on the company’s website and a post on the platform X. Notably, the electric car manufacturer has removed the “performance” variant, which is the most expensive Model 3 version, from its North American websites. The current listings feature the rear-wheel-drive and long-range variants. The Model 3’s rear-wheel-drive variant is priced at $38,990, while the long-range variant comes in at $45,990. Tesla has also upgraded the range of the long-range variant to 341 miles, an improvement from…

ChatGPT parent company, OpenAI, is facing a class-action lawsuit alleging copyright infringement by two authors, Nicholas Basbanes and Nicholas Gage, claiming that OpenAI trained ChatGPT with their books without approval, making billions in the process. Seeking redress, the authors are requesting the courts to halt OpenAI’s use of their works without permission and are seeking approximately $2.5 million in damages. This lawsuit follows a similar legal action initiated four months ago by author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, George R.R. Martin, and 16 other authors, including best seller, John Grisham and Jodi Picoult, who accused OpenAI…