Author: Akin Naphtal

OpenAI creator company of the chatbot, ChatGPT, has announced ChatGPT plus, a subscription plan for the generative AI service at $20/month. According to the report, subscribed users to the ChatGPTplus service will have continued access to the chatbot even during peak times – when it is usually inaccessible for some users. They’d also enjoy a “faster response time” and “priority access to new features and improvements.”This is a reduction from the company’s initial plan to launch the Plus version at $42 per month, making it accessible and affordable to a broader range of people including students. READ ALSO:BDR Group Acquires…

BDR Group has announced that it has completed 100% acquisition of 3C Technology, an Essex-based reseller and service provider. 3C Technology was founded in 1991, with a head office in Colchester and a regional office in Hemel Hempstead. It sells IT support, cloud, security, data and voice services to SME and public sector customers across the UK. READ ALSO:IBM Collaborates with NASA to Research Impact of Climate Change with AI Mizuho Bank Modernizes Core Banking Operations with Oracle Microsoft Signs Strategic Partnership with Qcells to Foster Solar Power Economy The company has partnerships with vendors including Microsoft, HP, VMware, Sophos…

New IBM Foundation Model Technology Leverages NASA Earth Science Data for Geospatial Intelligence IBM and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center recently announce a collaboration to use IBM’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology to discover new insights in NASA’s massive trove of Earth and geospatial science data. The joint work will apply AI foundation model technology to NASA’s Earth-observing satellite data for the first time. Foundation models are types of AI models that are trained on a broad set of unlabeled data, can be used for different tasks, and can apply information about one situation to another. These models have rapidly advanced…

After a successful implementation in New York, the Japanese banking giant continues its phased roll-out of Oracle’s banking solutions Mizuho Bank, Ltd., the integrated retail and corporate banking unit of Mizuho Financial Group and one of Japan’s largest financial services institutions, is modernizing its legacy banking system for international operations with Oracle. Over the coming years, Mizuho will implement Oracle’s banking solutions to support critical functions, including direct deposit accounts and liquidity management, at its operations in major overseas offices. The roll-out began with the successful replacement of Mizuho’s legacy banking system at its New York offices. “When considering replacing…

In an effort to diversify the global energy supply chain and reduce carbon emissions, Qcells, a global solar leader investing in building a U.S. solar supply chain, and Microsoft Corp., a global technology company with a commitment to be carbon negative by 2030, are partnering to enable a strong supply chain for new renewable electricity capacity projected to require at least 2.5 gigawatts of solar panels and related services — equivalent to powering over 400,000 homes. Qcells, owned by Hanwha Solutions headquartered in Seoul, will work with Microsoft to develop solar projects as well as provide panels and engineering, procurement…

Interswitch Group, one of Africa’s leading financial technology and integrated payments solution providers has announced receipt of a Payments Service Holding Company (PSHC) License issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).This follows an earlier announcement by the CBN regarding new licensing categories for participants in the Nigerian Payments System. By virtue of this development, which was formally communicated recently by the apex bank, Interswitch essentially becomes one of the inaugural licensees by the CBN in this category. According to the regulator, the PSHC regulation requires companies with existing or prospective operations across multiple license categories to set up a…

Ankur Ghosh, Founder & CEO, SSV Capital Ltd discusses how fintech is disrupting traditional finance and attracting interest from both investors and the millennial generation. Fintech is becoming a huge part of the financial industry. Fintech companies are not traditional banks, but they provide many of the same services as well as other services which support and enhance traditional financial services. Fintech companies are innovating faster than banks, and their popularity is growing rapidly among millennials—who are more tech-savvy than previous generations. Fintech combines Finance and Tech in one industry Fintech is a combination of financial and tech in one…

Africa’s leading payments technology company, Flutterwave, has announced its plan to revamp its retail product Barter. This product provides customers with money transfer and virtual card services. On January 31, 2023, Flutterwave informed customers via email of its decision to rebuild the platform to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The company said it intends to provide a better customer experience with its product team working on a new version. The new platform aims to address customer issues by targeting specific problems through the decoupling of existing services. READ ALSO:MTN Group CEO says Africa Needs Modern, Harmonised Regulations for Universal Broadband Coverage…

MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita has called for the modernisation and harmonisation of regulatory frameworks across Africa as well as the collective effort of all stakeholders to ensure that the continent can deliver universal broadband coverage by 2030. “The regulatory frameworks for Africa’s telecommunications industry do not reflect our current advancement. They are still positioned for the era of voice,” he said at the Africa Prosperity Dialogue held at Peduase in the Eastern Region of Ghana over the weekend. The event was attended by several distinguished African leaders including the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and…

Flutterwave’s CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, has said to maintain momentum and continue making meaningful contributions to the growth of national economies, fintech companies must understand that processing payment is just the starting point. He said fintech operators must create add-on values for individuals and businesses to maximize the potential of digital technology beyond sending and receiving money. Agboola said this while speaking to a group of MBA students at the Harvard Business School (HBS) on January 24, 2023. Agboola said lack of trust from potential customers, partners, and government officials, fragmented payments across the continent, and non-availability of local talent, especially…