Author: Akin Naphtal

Amid South Africa’s power crisis, online food ordering and delivery platform, Uber Eats, has partnered mobile rental network, Adoozy Power to enable South Africans rent power banks and have them delivered to their doorstep. The partnership was facilitated by Uber Direct, the last-mile white-label delivery solution for Uber Eats. The power bank-renting process is a stopgap solution the company believes will make the power issues a bit more bearable for SA citizens. The “Adoozy Collect” in-app feature, allows consumers who need to charge their smartphones, and other devices, to place an order. The company says once an order is made,…

Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki, was recently the target of impersonation by cyber fraudsters who used deepfakes of him to place video calls to European capitals, seeking to arrange meetings with foreign leaders. The AUC has since revealed that the cyber criminals also pretended to be the organisation’s deputy chief of staff, faking email addresses, in their bid to arrange calls between foreign leaders and the chairperson. The motive behind the impersonations is still unclear, but the AU has described their fake emails as “phishing,” indicating that they might have intended to steal digital identities to…

Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has informed its customers that, starting from 1st December, it will no longer accept payments via cheques. This decision comes on the back of the announcement made by Bank of Botswana and Bankers Association of Botswana on the discontinuation of cheques as mode of payment in Botswana on the January 1st, 2023. Following this announcement, BTC has availed various alternative digital payment channels to allow for ease of payment directly into customer’s accounts. According to the Corporation customers are now able to pay their BTC invoices from the following platforms; 1. BTC Website 2. BTC Mobile…

The Acting Director for Capacity Building and Awareness Creation at the Cyber Security Authority (CSA), Alex Oppong has urged Ghanaians to strengthen their technical skills to meet the worldwide surge in demand for cybersecurity experts. Addressing attendees during the concluding session of a three-day cybersecurity workshop in Accra, Oppong highlighted the vast opportunities in the cybersecurity sector. “Currently, there’s a gap of four million cyber security professionals globally. With our enhanced skills, Ghanaians can tap into these vast opportunities,” he remarked. The seminar, themed “Building a Secure Digital Future,” trained 200 participants and was a collaboration between Slamm Foundation and…

Dr. Aminu Maida, the dynamic and visionary leader is set to revolutionize the Nigerian communications landscape as the new CEO of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC). Dr. Maida was born in Katsina State in 1979. Maida’s journey to the top has been nothing short of extraordinary. He obtained his MEng in Information Engineering from Imperial College, London, and a PhD in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from the prestigious University of Bath, UK. Maida’s academic prowess is matched only by his practical accomplishments. His career history reads like a roadmap to success, with notable positions at leading companies such as Ubiquisys…

Ghana’s Ministry of Communication and Digitilisation and the Cyber Security Authority of Ghana will host the inaugural edition of the Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building (GC3B) in partnership with the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise, the World Bank, the CyberPeace Institute, and the World Economic Forum in Ghana. Scheduled from November 29th to 30th in Accra, Ghana, this year’s conference, themed “Cyber Resilience for Development” aims to enhance the capacity and cooperation of various stakeholders in the field of cyber security and development while it focuses on four pillars, including cyber resilience for development, collaboration to secure the digital…

MTN South Africa (SA) has announced a partnership with SME financing fintech, Payabill, to help the telecommunications service with its MTN Xlerator enterprise supplier development programme, which launched in September. Having noticed how vital SMEs are, MTN’s Xlerator ESD programme seeks to double the number of SMEs on its supplier database and provide them with business strategy and skills development, and improved funding access. MTN Xlerator is eligible for SMEs that are at least six months old, have over 51% black ownership, generate under R500m annual turnover, and whose key management staff comprise of blacks. Managing cash flow has proven…

Microsoft has partnered with Nigerian fintech startup, Flutterwave, as the latter aims to build its next-generation platform on Microsoft Azure, to accelerate payment innovation in Africa, and drive the growth of small businesses across the continent. Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, described the partnership as a coming together of visionaries and go-getters. He highlighted that the five-year partnership will go beyond just transactions, and would bring transformation to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) sector. While SMEs help drive Africa’s progress and development, they face significant challenges, especially when starting out. Research from the African Union Development Agency…

Amsterdam automobile company, Stellantis N.V., has announced that it will introduce reimagined Commercial Vehicles from multiple brands that form the heart of its global, multi-brand business strategy on Monday, October 23, at 3 pm Central European Summer Time (CEST) / 9 a.m. EDT. The Head of Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Jean-Philippe Imparato, and Senior Vice President of Commercial Vehicles Business Unit, Xavier Peugeot, will be joined by CEOs from the Citroën, FIAT, Opel, Peugeot, Ram and Vauxhall brands for key product unveilings. The Stellantis Commercial Vehicles unit is one of seven accretive business units outlined in the company’s Dare Forward…

Indian insurtech startup, Onsurity, has raised $24 million in a funding round led by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). The Series B round also saw participation from existing investors, Nexus Venture Partners, and Quona Capital. With the funding, Onsurity, which offers monthly subscription-based insurance solutions to micro, small and medium enterprises, startups and growing businesses, has raised $40 million in total. India has over 63 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), covering close to 400 million employees and supporting 675 million families. However, traditional players predominantly offer motor, retail health and large corporate insurance programs to cater…