Author: Akin Naphtal

Orange Africa and Middle East (OMEA) and Eutelsat have announced a strategic partnership aimed at bridging the digital divide in Africa and the Middle East through satellite connectivity. The initiative seeks to bring broadband access to remote and underserved areas, reinforcing digital inclusion across the region. As part of this multi-year agreement, Orange will leverage the EUTELSAT KONNECT satellite, which offers advanced broadband technology, to provide reliable and affordable internet access. The initial deployment will focus on Jordan, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with plans to expand coverage to additional countries over time. By integrating Orange’s…

Network International, a leading digital commerce enabler in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), has partnered with Airtel Money, Airtel Africa’s mobile money platform, to roll out digital payment solutions across key African markets. Uganda is the first country to go live under the pan-African payment processing partnership, with further activations planned across Africa and Francophone countries in 2025. Under this collaboration, Network International will provide expertise and support for transaction processing, card management, fraud prevention, API sandbox services, reconciliation and settlement, and online access for Airtel Money users. Commenting on the initiative, Dr. Reda Helal, Group Managing Director –…

In the telecommunications sector, Stephen Blewett, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, is one of the prominent leaders who exhibits foresight and transformational leadership. A seasoned executive with a sterling career spanning over 20 years, Blewett embodies the essence of innovation, resilience, and business excellence. Before his tenure at MTN Ghana, he served as Operations Executive for MTN Markets, overseeing operations in Côte d’Ivoire, and as a Non-Executive Director for MTN WECA, contributing to the growth of markets across Liberia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Benin, and Congo Brazzaville. His exceptional leadership at MTN Cameroon saw the company achieve profitability…

MTN Ghana has recorded a crucial financial performance in the 2024 fiscal year, with service revenue surging by 34.5% to GHS 17.9 billion ($1.1 billion), surpassing its medium-term targets. The company’s strong growth was driven by substantial increases in data and mobile money (MoMo) revenues, despite macroeconomic challenges and a slight decline in voice revenue. A key driver of this performance was data revenue, which soared by 53.8% year-on-year to GHS 9.0 billion ($581 million). This growth was attributed to a 13.7% rise in active data subscribers, reaching 17.5 million, and a 19.0% increase in average megabytes consumed per user.…

Bayobab, a leading connectivity and infrastructure provider in Africa, has signed a five-year strategic agreement with Infobip to enhance its SMS delivery and security solutions across the continent. The partnership will see Bayobab leverage Infobip’s Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) Customer Modules and Routing management for campaign management, APIs, analytics, and SMS delivery. Additionally, Bayobab, a subsidiary of MTN Group, will utilize Infobip’s security solutions, including firewall protection, to safeguard its mobile subscribers. According to Infobip, the agreement streamlines SMS connectivity for Bayobab while reducing administrative costs. Traditionally, brands had to establish individual connections with each MTN Group Mobile…

IHS Rwanda, a subsidiary of IHS Holding Limited, has partnered with the Ministry of ICT and Innovation (MINICT) to launch the Digital Talent Program (DTP), a key component of the Government of Rwanda’s One Million Coders (OMC) initiative. The program was officially launched on February 26 at Club Rafiki in the Nyarugenge District. DTP is a youth-focused training initiative aimed at developing a digitally skilled workforce to meet the demands of Rwanda’s evolving digital economy. The initiative aligns with the One Million Coders program and contributes to the government’s goal of equipping 1,000,000 Rwandans with essential digital skills, while training…

Teraco, a Digital Realty Company and provider of interconnection platforms and vendor-neutral colocation data centers, today announced that it has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with South African-based integrated energy aggregator NOA to supply wind-powered renewable energy to Teraco’s data centers. Teraco, which announced late last year that it had commenced construction on its own 120MW solar PV plant in the Free State, has signed this PPA to complement its renewable energy program with wind power. The agreement provides Teraco and NOA with the flexibility to grow renewable energy offtake as both companies evolve to meet increasing demand. Wind…

MTN Group Fintech has named Network International as its official payment processing partner, a move set to enhance digital financial services across Africa. The collaboration strengthens Network International’s presence in the region, expanding its portfolio of issuer processing services. With operations in over 50 countries and partnerships with more than 250 financial institutions, the company aims to leverage its expertise to support MTN Fintech’s growing mobile financial services ecosystem. MTN Group, which serves over 288 million customers across 14 African markets, confirmed that the partnership will facilitate the rollout of card issuance products in key markets. Rwanda has already gone…

Digital Realty the world’s largest provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center solutions, has announced the appointment of Paula Cogan as Managing Director, Head of EMEA, effective March 17, 2025. In her new role, Cogan will lead the company’s EMEA team, driving the expansion of its regional data center platform and enhancing the value of PlatformDIGITAL™, the world’s largest global data exchange hub. Cogan brings over two decades of experience in European telecommunications and infrastructure. Before joining Digital Realty, she served as CEO of euNetworks, a leading bandwidth infrastructure company. She has also held executive roles at Colt Technology Services…

Ericsson has announced significant changes to its Executive Team and Market Area structure, set to take effect on March 15, 2025. The restructuring aims to enhance operational efficiency and strengthen the company’s market leadership. Leadership ChangesPer Narvinger, currently Head of Business Area Cloud Software and Services, has been appointed Executive Vice President and the new Head of Business Area Networks. Narvinger, who has been with Ericsson since 1997, joined the Executive Team in 2022 and has played a key role in driving the company’s cloud and software strategy. Replacing Narvinger as Head of Business Area Cloud Software and Services is…