Author: Akin Naphtal

MTN Group has announced the promotion of Marina Madale to Group Executive: Sustainability & Shared Value, effective 1 September 2023. Prior to this, Marina served as the General Manager: Sustainability and Shared Value, MTN Group. In her new role, she will be responsible for setting the strategic direction for the management of Sustainability and Shared Value and the work of our foundations across MTN Group markets. Marina has a wealth of experience across multiple sectors globally, including oil & gas, energy, banking, and property development across multiple countries such as Qatar, Mozambique, Botswana, Gabon, South Africa, and Australia. She played…

Young, female and breaking barriers in ICT Today’s blend of young women is breaking barriers. They are not holding back on taking up careers in industries and fields that are traditionally male-dominated. In technology, in particular, many young women are blazing the trail set alight by global tech leaders like former META COO and author of the book Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg. This is despite the fact that women make up less than 28% of the global technology workforce and just 17% of CEOs. While the stats may not reflect the strides women are making in tech, the sector is…

Ellies Holdings has been given the green light by the Competition Commission to buy Bundu Power, a deal that Ellies has described as critical to its turnaround plans. The JSE-listed company said in February that it had agreed to buy 100% of Bundu Power, a company founded in 2005 that specialises in alternative power solutions, for a maximum R202.6-million. Ellies said at the time that it was buying Bundu Power, whose companies include Magetz Electrical and Power On Wheels, from owners Heidi, Nicholas and Suzanne von Broembsen, and Colin Sykes. Bundu Power focuses on the distribution and rental of generators…

At this year’s Hot Chips event, Intel has taken the stage to offer an in-depth preview of its forthcoming Intel Xeon product lineup, ushering in a new era for the renowned processor series with a groundbreaking platform architecture. The platform marks a significant advancement for Intel Xeon as it introduces two distinct architectures, namely the Efficient-core (E-core) and Performance-core (P-core) architectures, with the codenames Sierra Forest and Granite Rapids, respectively. These groundbreaking products are poised to revolutionize the landscape of critical workloads, including artificial intelligence. The introduction of Intel Xeon processors with E-cores (Sierra Forest) signifies a pivotal shift towards…

Merkle, dentsu’s leading customer experience management (CXM) company, has created the UK’s largest Google Technology Practice by integrating Google Marketing Platform and Google Cloud Platform teams across the dentsu group. This launch addresses the pressing need for seamless integration of capabilities in digital analytics, ad tech, data engineering, AI, and data strategy, fulfilling marketers’ evolving demands for comprehensive customer experience solutions, and privacy-centric measurement. The new practice will also see the launch of Accelerator, a new leading technology built natively in the Google environment. Accelerator will deliver unparalleled time-to-value by automating configuration, deployment and activation of advanced marketing analytics solutions.…

Digital lending in Kenya has grown over the years. Digital lenders offer loans to Kenyans primarily via mobile apps and USSD codes. The quick loans mostly with zero collateral have proved profitable and successful for the digital lending entities. For example, Safaricom indicated that that the government’s credit facility Hustler Fund had brought back 2 million users to M-Pesa. Recently, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) disclosed data showing the market share for the various digital lenders. M-Shwari, an NCBA Kenya and Safaricom product accessible via Mpesa takes the lead with 34%. Fuliza, another credit facility under Safaricom comes in…

Vodacom Western Cape plans to invest R570 million this financial year into the region’s network as part of the company’s commitment to building an inclusive digital society. Of this investment, R470 million is allocated to improve the quality, capacity and reach of the broadband network infrastructure in urban and rural areas. This network investment will continue to focus on further expansion of the 5G footprint, ongoing modernisation of the existing network infrastructure, and upgrading of base station sites with more LTE capacity throughout the province. This will provide an improved data experience for our consumers and ideal connectivity for businesses…

In a bid to further catalyze digital transformation and bolster economic expansion, the Federal Government of Nigeria has secured access to a substantial financial loan of approximately $500m in funding to initiate a local funding programme to boost innovation and entrepreneurship within the country’s digital economy sector. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, made this announcement during a gathering hosted in Abuja recently in partnership with the World Bank. According to Tijani, the initiative is strategically aimed at propelling innovation and entrepreneurship within Nigeria’s burgeoning digital sector. He added that the ministry would be collaborating with the…

MTN South Africa’s business activities in 2021, which include capital infrastructure investments, operating expenses, and tax revenue contribution to the country, contributed to GDP and have been pivotal in driving economic growth. “These contributions resulted in the creation of approximately 146 487 direct, indirect, and induced jobs across the ICT value chain and other sectors,” according to KPMG study published last week. The recent True Value assessment, conducted by KPMG, underscores MTN’s commitment to our nation. According to the report, the measurable Social Value of Jobs stood at an encouraging R1.9 billion, which refers to quantified impact of jobs created…

Iveda, the global solution for cloud-based AI video and sensor technologies, has announced a new partnership with The Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) to support and scale smart city developments in Egypt. Granted with a security certification from the Egyptian Military Intelligence, Iveda has clearance to participate in any projects within the country. Through this collaboration, Iveda and AOI will effectively bring new innovative technologies to the Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions (EMEA), satisfying local government and industrial contract needs. Iveda’s global IoT and AI technology and application expertise, coupled with AOI’s large regional demand for innovation, will be…