Author: Akin Naphtal

The Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB)has officially relaunched its GCB Mobile App, aligning with the digitisation drive that Ghana currently advocates, and helping the country’s banking sector evolve. Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Ernest Addison, attended the ceremony, held Thursday, 14th December, and spoke on the importance of banks investing in and enhancing their cybersecurity infrastructure to fortify resilience against cyber-attacks in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. Noting that the rise of digital technologies has increased cyber-attacks and breaches, the Governor warned that if not adequately managed, these breaches could negatively impact technological advancements in the banking industry.…

Telkom has announced plans to launch electric vehicles in a recent statement after the South African Minister of Trade, Industry, and Competition unveiled the government’s plans to launch its first EV in 2026. With plans to launch more in 2024, the telco has unveiled six EVs, known as Telkom T-Connect vans, which are still in the proof-of-concept stage. According to the announcement, it is locally manufactured by South African company MellowVans. The vans will offer digital services to beachfronts, office parks, gated communities, and events in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape. Even though the South African telco is the…

Basic internet access is the gateway to the digital world, creating opportunities to transform individuals’ lives, companies’ prospects, and society’s sustainability.In the telco industry, the major obstacles to ubiquitous broadband access are well understood: they range from gaps in coverage to expensive handsets to data unaffordability, to low levels of digital literacy. In the past few years, there has been notable progress to address these barriers to internet access for all. For example, the GSMA says the coverage gap in sub-Saharan Africa narrowed to 17% in 2022 from 50% in 2014. This is no doubt encouraging, except if you are…

Rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) could create new risks for the U.S. financial system if the technology is not properly supervised, a panel of regulators warned in a recent statement. The Financial Stability Oversight Council, which comprises top financial regulators and is chaired by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, flagged the risks posed by AI for the first time in its annual financial stability report. While the group said AI could spur innovation or efficiencies at financial firms like banks, the rapidly advancing technology requires vigilance from both the companies and their watchdogs. “AI can introduce certain risks, including safety…

Copia Global, the leading ecommerce/fintech platform for African mass market consumers, and Visa, a global leader in digital payments, have joined forces to enhance financial inclusion to middle to low-income consumers in Kenya. The 5-year partnership enhances Copia’s digital capabilities and expands Visa’s reach to the final global frontier. The partnership between Copia and Visa will include a digital wallet that brings together shopping and financial services into one user-friendly platform. The Copia super-app enables consumers to not only shop and pay but also to save and borrow. Customers will be able to fund their digital wallets, shop for household…

Huawei revealed its latest tablets, laptops, and earbuds at the Huawei Innovative Product Launch event themed “Creation of Beauty” in Dubai. Among the new devices launched at the event were the HUAWEI FreeClip — a pair of fashionable earbuds with an open ear design, the HUAWEI MatePad Pro 13.2″ — Huawei’s largest tablet to date, a refreshed lineup of the MateBook D 16 laptops, and the PaperMatte Edition of the popular MatePad Air. This latest product launch follows in the footsteps of the “Fashion Forward” event in October, which saw the unveiling of a new lineup of wearable products. “Technology…

WhatsApp is introducing a new feature that allows users to pin messages at the top of their group chats for up to 30 days. The feature, which is already available on Facebook Messenger, is being rolled out to WhatsApp users gradually. To use the feature, users can long-press a message and select “pin,” with the default duration set at seven days but adjustable to 24 hours or 30 days. The pin message feature is seen as a solution to the challenge of coordinating plans in busy group chats and preventing important information from being overlooked. Meta, the parent company of…

Apple’s stock reached a new record high close on Wednesday, with the surge being fueled by the US Federal Reserve’s indication of lower borrowing costs in 2024. Apple’s stock rose by 1.7% to finish the day at $197.96 per share, surpassing its previous record high close of $196.45 on July 31. Although it fell just short of its intraday record of $198.23 on July 19, the company now boasts a market capitalization of $3.08 trillion. The Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady resulted in a surge in US stocks, with 17 out of 19 officials projecting a lower…

Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), is expected to face a significant decline in ad sales for 2023, with projections estimating a drop to approximately $2.5 billion, according to a report by Bloomberg News. The decline in ad revenue follows a controversy last month when Musk, who took over the platform in October 2022, endorsed a post on X that claimed Jewish people were promoting hatred against white individuals. In response to the incident, several companies, including Comcast and Walt Disney, suspended their advertisements on the platform. Head of business operations at X, Joe Benarroch, responded to the Bloomberg report, stating…

In response to new EU tech regulations, Google, Meta Platforms, Qualcomm, Lynx, and others, have formed the Coalition for Open Digital Ecosystems (CODE), in an active step to potentially influence future legislation while aligning with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). CODE expressed its mission to advance open platforms and systems, highlighting the potential benefits for growth and innovation in Europe. The coalition plans to engage with academics, policymakers, and other companies to explore and implement digital openness within the framework of the DMA and future EU regulatory developments. Under the DMA, gatekeepers, which are large tech companies controlling access…