Author: Akin Naphtal

Nokia and Eastlink have joined forces to establish a multi-year strategic access network partnership in a significant move aimed at advancing mobile network capabilities. This collaboration is poised to revolutionize Eastlink’s mobile network, with the integration of Nokia’s AirScale portfolio, including the pivotal 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) technology. The collaboration is set to usher in an era of swifter speeds, heightened performance, and an augmented network capacity for Eastlink’s users. The heart of this collaboration lies in Nokia’s pioneering AirScale 5G portfolio, which encompasses baseband, remote radio heads, and massive MIMO antennas. This ensemble enables extensive 5G capacity, expansive…

In a startling turn of events, startup funding in North America is stumbling, gasping for breath after an exuberant run. How far down? For the second quarter of 2023, investors put $31.8 billion into seed- through growth-stage rounds for U.S. and Canadian startups, according to preliminary Crunchbase data. That’s the lowest quarterly total in more than three years. In a recent report, it was quoted that venture capital funding of start-ups has plunged by more than 50 per cent in the past 12 months, and without the Microsoft transaction with OpenAI, the first quarter of 2023 would have been the…

Safaricom has launched its mobile money service, M-PESA, in Ethiopia. This move comes three months after obtaining a Payment Instrument Issuer Licence from the National Bank of Ethiopia. The three months saw M-PESA complete a demanding three-month pilot and testing phase, complete technical readiness, secure significant bank partnerships, and hire, train, and onboard M-PESA agents. A report in July stated that Safaricom would roll out M-PESA in Ethiopia by September 2023 to help increase revenue from its Ethiopian operations and support its goal of turning a profit by 2027. The cost of launching operations in Ethiopia caused Safaricom’s core earnings…

MTN South Africa is targeting 99% network availability during stage-6 load shedding, Ralph Mupita, CEO of parent MTN Group, said this week. Mupita, speaking to journalists at a press conference following publication of the group’s results for the six months to end-June 2023, said the mobile operator has invested billions of rand into making its network more reliable during Eskom’s regular power cuts that have been bedeviling the economy for more than a decade. Load shedding has intensified dramatically in the past year, making it difficult for mobile operators – including MTN South Africa and its rivals, Vodacom South Africa…

Wema Bank and payment platform, Enza Group, are partnering to provide secure and reliable payment options at a reduced cost for businesses. The partnership would equally boost e-commerce enormously. While announcing the strategic partnership through a statement released by the group, the payment platform said the collaboration would leverage its payment solution to expand Wema’s e-commerce payment capabilities. It added that the partnership would improve the quality of service to merchants, enhance payment security, increase service reliability, and significantly reduce operating costs through transaction optimisation. Speaking on the partnership, Wema Bank’s Executive Director of Retail and Digital Business, Tunde Mabawonku,…

In what has been described as a noteworthy development for the marketing communications ecosystem, Olumide Balogun, a seasoned professional in the space, has been elevated to the position of Director, West Africa at Google. In his new position, Olumide who assumed the role this month, is expected to steer the growth and expansion of Google’s footprint across West Africa, in addition to other strategic responsibilities. Olumide took over the reins of the leadership position for West Africa, succeeding Juliet Ehimuan, who has left the services of the American multinational technology giant known for its contributions in artificial intelligence, online advertising,…

Bosun Tijani, the tech entrepreneur and co-founder of CcHub, has been selected as Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy. As a tech expert, his appointment is expected to bring valuable experience to the industry. The appointment also requires more than a tech startup, which may be quite challenging for him. Tijani’s experience as a tech expert cuts across academics and industry. He transformed CcHub from a local tech space to a pan-African tech incubator that is empowering youths across the continent. He also spearheads milestone events with the likes of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg in Nigeria. However,…

OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT have acquired Global Illumination, a digital-product company based in New York with the entire team joining OpenAI to work on core products including ChatGPT. Announcing the acquisition, OpenAI said in a blog post, “The team Global Illumination previously designed and built products early on at Instagram and Facebook and have also made significant contributions at YouTube, Google, Pixar, Riot Games, and other notable companies.” It further adds, “We’re very excited for the impact they’ll have here at OpenAI.” According to OpenAI, Global Illumination leverages AI to build creative tools, infrastructure, and digital experiences. Global Illumination…

Vivo Mobile SA has introduced its latest mid-range model, the Vivo Y36, in the South African market. The phone, which made its global debut in May, is the new addition to the Chinese smartphone brand’s Y series. It is targeted at those seeking a combination of style, functionality and performance at a reasonable price, according to the company. The device is available from Vodacom, MTN and Telkom, and across retailers, with a starting price of R6 999. The handset comes in three variants: 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM and 256GB 8GB. “The Vivo Y offers significant advancements in response…

South Africans are increasingly turning to WhatsApp for calling as the mobile operators struggle with load shedding. More and more South Africans, especially those connected via fixed broadband connections, are turning to WhatsApp for calling as the mobile operators struggle with network quality amid intense load shedding. During power outages, WhatsApp and other voice-over-internet apps often offer superior voice quality than regulator mobile calls as users can route the call over Wi-Fi and fibre. Although there was already a move to using WhatsApp for voice calls, load shedding has accelerated the trend, experts said. This is having a direct negative…