Author: Akin Naphtal

Multichoice’s streaming platform, Showmax, has delayed Showmax 2.0’s launch from November 2023 to February 2024, but promises new shows and films from global production companies including NBC and Paramount, with a streaming engine powered by Peacock. The delay also comes with details about reorganized subscription tiers, addressing customer complaints following the discontinuation of Showmax Pro. Showmax 2.0 introduces three plans: While the revamped platform brings new subscription options, certain limitations from the existing Showmax platform will persist: Despite these limitations, Showmax’s popularity has continued to grow in Africa, currently boasting 1.8 million subscribers as of 2022, with a significant majority…

Nigeria’s Federal Government has joined forces with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to offer paid internships to 3,000 participants enrolled in the 3 million Technical Training (3MTT) initiative. The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, officially announced the partnership, setting the launch of the program’s inaugural cohort on 15th November 2023. Despite one million applications, the first phase of the 3MTT program, which aims to train three million Nigerians within the next four years, will start with an initial figure of 30,000. Notifications for the selected participants are expected to be sent out soon. Dr.…

London internet exchange, LINX, has recently announced a new strategic partnership with IXAfrica, a Nairobi-based data centre provider, to launch a new interconnection hub for Kenya and East Africa. The new hub, named LINX Nairobi, will be LINX’s first physical presence in Africa, and the first interconnected, multi-site internet exchange point (IXP) in the region. LINX Nairobi aims to provide the region with future-proof interconnection solutions for global networks, with the ability to scale alongside Kenya’s fast-growing digital landscape. The new hub will offer resilience for networks peering there, and will also enable low latency routes to and from Europe,…

The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, launched the re/Start initiative at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (GI-KACE) with the support of the World Bank to train 10,000 young people and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in Digital Skills to help them harness the limitless potential of emerging technologies and digital skills. Speaking at the launch in Accra, the Director-General of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT (GI-KACE), Dr. Collins Yeboah-Afari, disclosed that the re/Start initiative is an AWS digital skills programme, a collaboration between the Smart Africa Digital Academy…

The Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in collaboration with stFoundation), have launched a digital skills training programme for visually impaired teachers in Ghana. The programme, which is part of the Digital Transformation Centres (DTC) project, aims to equip the teachers with the knowledge and skills to train other visually impaired persons in their communities on how to use computers and the internet. The project, called “Introduction to Computer Basics for the Visually Impaired (ICBVI)”, aims to teach both sighted and visually-impaired teachers how to train visually impaired students in the basic skills…

German automaker, Mercedes-Benz is set to deploy 127 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in South Africa (SA), investing $2.13 million in the initiative, as SA witnesses a growing demand for electric vehicles. The country currently boasts over 400 public and private charging stations, with plans underway to significantly increase this number. Other electric vehicle manufacturers, distributors, and charging network managers have announced their intentions to install additional stations, aiming to bring the total to 700 in 2024. This surge in electric vehicle adoption in South Africa is surprising given the nation’s persistent energy challenges. Since 2007, South Africa has…

Yellow Card has become the first fintech in Africa to launch PayPal USD (PYUSD), This new stablecoin from PayPal, issued by Paxos, will open new horizons for digital financial transactions between Africa and the United States. Crypto adoption in Africa is booming – according to a report by Chainalysis, between 2020 and 2021 the crypto market on the continent grew by over 1200% (to $106 billion). Nigeria, Morocco and Kenya rank in the global top 20 for crypto adoption. A large part of the reason for this growth can be attributed to stablecoins, which have gained popularity with both beginners…

Kenyan e-commerce startup, Copia Global, has embarked on a campaign to drive increased sales through its mobile app after securing $107 million in venture funding across seven funding rounds. The company, known for its extensive network of 50,000 agents facilitating order collection and delivery, aims to capitalize on the rising smartphone ownership among low- and medium-income Kenyans. Copia Global’s CEO, Tim Steel, noted that during the startup’s origins, customers predominantly lacked internet access, but that has changed, reflecting the company’s shift from an offline to an online experience. Now, with a significant portion of its two million customers owning smartphones,…

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation, in collaboration with the School of Continuing and Distance Education at the University of Ghana’s College of Education, officially inaugurated the 75th Annual New Year School Conference today. This year’s theme, “Nurturing Resilience: Adopting Technology and Embracing Humanism for Sustainable Development,” aims to foster an environment conducive to the rapid growth of digital entrepreneurship in Ghana. During her keynote speech at the event, Mrs. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful (MP), the Sector Minister, announced the creation of the Digital Youth Village (DYV). This initiative is intended to bolster digital entrepreneurship among the nation’s youth. The DYV is…

African technology and broadband company, CSquared, has announced that it has raised $25 million (about R468 million) in new funding from investors including a fund managed by Convergence Partners, a pan-African digital infrastructure investor. The funding will be used to support CSquared’s growth and expansion plans in new and existing markets across the continent. CSquared was founded in 2011 as a project within Google, with the aim of building metropolitan fiber optic networks that would be leased by mobile network operators and internet service providers on a wholesale model, and as a neutral operator of shared infrastructure. The project was…