Author: Akin Naphtal

The importance of 5G to Africa’s business success was underlined this week at the 2023 Africa 5G Summit (run as part of the sixth Southern Africa Mobile Broadband [MBB] VIP Salon). The summit was hosted by Huawei and took place during AfricaCom, the continent’s largest technology conference. It brought together industry leaders, regional government regulators, and representatives from industry organisations to share their 5G development strategies and industry experience. The theme of this year’s summit was “5G Lights Up Africa Together Towards Business Success”. Among the topics discussed were how operators in Southern Africa can continuously build value-added networks for…

Payments infrastructure company Stitch today announced into the market the launch of a new payment method: Pay with crypto – the most comprehensive of its kind available in South Africa. With this method, businesses can allow a growing set of customers that wish to buy goods and services using crypto to do so directly, and get settled in ZAR. Cryptocurrency adoption continues to grow in South Africa. A study from Binance indicates that around 7.7 million South Africans own cryptocurrency today, often purchased using popular exchanges such as Binance and VALR. Globally, interest in using crypto to pay for goods…

Meta’s AI chatbot has finally landed on WhatsApp, offering a range of services from customer support to appointment scheduling. In addition, WhatsApp is introducing a new feature to simplify access to status updates. Meta has been developing its AI model for an extended period. With the AI race heating up, with Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI introducing new features to their AI chatbots and integrating their AI into other services, Meta has finally decided to leverage AI power in its products, including Facebook, Instagram, and even its instant messaging app WhatsApp. During the Meta Connect 2023 event which was held recently,…

With nearly 20 years of experience in the telecom and fintech sectors working across multiple African countries, Patrick Attoungbre has charted himself an enviable career from a logistics manager to heading MTN Fintech Côte d’Ivoire as Chief Executive Officer. At the beginning of November 2023, Patrick Attoungbre took over the helms of affairs at Fintech Côte d’Ivoire a subsidiary of MTN Group that offers digital financial services in the country. Prior to his appointment, he served as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) for MTN Côte d’Ivoire for over three years from April 2020 until November 2023. During Patrick’s tenure as Chief…

Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, says there is potential for the creation of thousands of jobs through innovative initiatives, such as a certified installer/maintenance program for Starlink. The minister discussed this during a meeting with Ryan Goodnight, Senior Director of Global Licensing and Activation at SpaceX. The two met on the sidelines of the ongoing International Telecommunication Union-World Radio Communication Conference in Dubai. Dr. Tijani stated that Nigeria has become Starlink’s largest market in Africa, highlighting the country’s growing demand for the service. The discussion centred around connecting unserved and underserved Nigerians, exploring avenues…

Two National Communications Authority (NCA) engineers, Messrs Peter Djakwah and Ransford Odoom, have been appointed Vice Chairs for the International Telecommunications Union Radiocommunications Study Group (ITU-R SG) at the ongoing World Radiocommunications Conference 2023 (WRC-23) in Dubai. Their appointments follow the submission of eligible applicants for the roles by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation (MoCD) and the NCA, and is set to last for the 2024-2027 Study period. Following consistent efforts and contributions at the group, Peter Djakwah, will serve as Vice Chair of Study Group 6 to work on the development of ITU-R Recommendations, Reports and Handbooks on…

Nigerian digital publishing and bookselling platform, Okada Books, has revealed its decision to shut down on 30th November, with its CEO and founder, Okechukwu Ofili, citing macroeconomic challenges as the primary reason for the decision. Launched in 2013, Okada Books aimed to simplify book distribution and sales in Nigeria, particularly addressing the challenges faced by local writers in securing publishing contracts or affording self-publishing. The platform allowed authors to easily self-publish their works and connect with readers who were willing to pay for their content. Available on Android, the Okada Books platform facilitated direct sharing between authors and readers, with…

President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame has praised MTN Rwanda for its partnership with the government and the people of Rwanda and its contribution to the digital and financial inclusion of the country. Speaking at the celebration of the 25th anniversary of MTN Rwanda, President Kagame said “Who else would have found it easy to invest in a country that had just emerged from our tragic history, as we know it? We took risks, both of us, you took a risk with us, and we took a risk with you, but here, 25 years later I think we can say we…

Established nearly three decades ago, MTN Ghana has steadily risen to position itself among the most reliable telecommunications companies in the country. Some Ghanaians would rank MTN Ghana as the best telecommunications company in Ghana, due to their experiences with the company. MTN Ghana, by dint of hard work and consistent reliable performance, has amassed a large following, surpassing its competitors in subscriber count. An NCA 2022 report showed that Telco achieved 63% of the mobile voice share market, 72% for mobile data, and 78% of the 4G operator’s market share. It remains the telecom market leader in Ghana While…

In an initiative aimed at strengthening disaster management capabilities, the governments of Ghana and India have embarked on a collaborative knowledge exchange and technology transfer program. Led by Ghana’s Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ms. Ama Pomaa-Boateng, a 17-member delegation has embarked on an eight-day mission in India, focusing on Early Warning Systems for Emergency Preparedness and Response.The mission, scheduled from November 15th to 24th, 2023, is being hosted by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.Objectives and ImpactMs. Pomaa-Boateng emphasized that the collaborative effort aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 17…