Author: Akin Naphtal

Chipmaker MediaTek has announced its commitment to driving increased 5G adoption in Africa. In a recent chat, Rami Osman, the company’s Director, Corporate Sales and Marketing MEA said the company will continue local testing to make 5G a reality. Across Africa, the adoption of these networks has been slow with a number of telcos citing the high prices of 5G devices and regulation as the reason behind this. MediaTek says it will continue to bring devices that are ready to meet customer expectations. The Dimensity 5G family for example is expected to power high-end smartphones launching in Kenya this year…

A report released by pan-African publication and research firm Disrupt Africa has pointed out fintech as the most vibrant subsector within the Kenyan startup ecosystem. The report dubbed The Kenyan Startup Ecosystem Report 2022, says that fintech is leading in terms of levels of activity. Out of the 308 companies that the report tracked, 93 of them were within the fintech space, representing 30.2%. Agri-tech and e-health subsectors come in second at 10.1% per cent of Kenyan startups while e-commerce and retail-tech, recruitment and HR, and ed-tech coming in third, fourth and fifth respectively. “Kenya has an extremely varied range…

Tech giant Google has announced it will introduce a 16% Value Added Tax (VAT) on some of its goods and services sold in Kenya from February 1, 2023. This follows the introduction of a new levy by the Kenyan government through the Digital Marketplace Supply (Amendment) Regulation, 2022. Several international tech companies including Spotify and Netflix have also indicated that they will include the levy in their products and services beginning next month. This automatically raises the cost of these products and services, as the companies seek to collect the levy on behalf of the Kenyan government. Google has already…

Microsoft is in talks to invest US$10-billion into OpenAI, the owner of ChatGPT, which will value the San Francisco-based firm at $29-billion, Semafor reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The funding includes other venture firms and deal documents were sent to prospective investors in recent weeks, with the aim to close the round by the end of 2022, the report said. Microsoft declined to comment, while OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment. OpenAI was founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk and investor Sam AltmanThis follows a Wall Street Journal report that said OpenAI…

Tanzanian fintech startup NALA has officially launched in the European Union (EU), adding 19 new countries to its list of send countries and aiding its mission of connecting Africans globally. NALA is an African payments company and money transfer app that enables users to make secure and reliable payments from Europe, the UK and US to Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Ghana in seconds. The company has now launched in the EU by adding 19 new Eurozone nations to its list of send markets. After expanding from the UK to the US earlier this year, NALA has grown rapidly via…

After several years of development, Apple’s first major step into the metaverse—a high-end, mixed-reality headset—will reportedly be unveiled to the world for the first time this spring. According to recent report, the tech giant is likely to show off its hybrid headset in the coming months, ahead of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which typically takes place in June. Some third-party developers are reportedly already building apps for the device, which may be called the Reality Pro. After the spring announcement, the combined augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headset will reportedly be released later this year, alongside…

The global economic slowdown trend could continue in 2023, even leading to a mild recession. Particularly, the United States is at an increased risk of recession because of a delayed effect of the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate hikes and other tightening monetary policies, increased downward pressures on demand in its labor market, and an insufficient consumption momentum. The continued impact of the energy crisis, declining external demand, and tighter monetary policies could lead even the European economy to stagnate in 2023. READ ALSO: Meta Launches Live Roll-Out of VRS System to Mitigate Unintended Bias in Ad Exposure Orange Signs…

After developing the system in partnership with the Department of Justice for more than a year, Meta has now released the first stage of live deployment for its Variance Reduction System (VRS) for housing ads, which is designed to reduce bias, and increase the equitable distribution of ads across Meta’s apps. As explained in this overview, Meta’s VRS system measures the actual audience reach for each ad, and ensures a broader spread of exposure, based on various audience factors. As explained by Meta: “The VRS uses new machine learning technology in ad delivery so that the actual audience that sees…

One of the world’s leading multi-service telecommunications groups, recently announced the signature of a memorandum of agreement with Reservoir Sun, a leading player in self-supply solar electricity systems for companies and local government, to set up a photovoltaic power station in Bercenay-en-Othe (Aube).The station is due to go online in 2025. The project’s first major milestone is the environmental impact analysis. To fulfill its environmental commitments, Orange is increasingly turning to renewable sources of energy and wishes to accelerate this transition by making the most of solar energy on its tertiary and technical sites. The Group will therefore deploy its…

Orange and the Canal+ Group recently announced the signature of a memorandum of understanding anticipating the acquisition by the Canal+ Group of all capital held by Orange in the OCS pay TV package and in Orange Studio, the film and series co-production subsidiary. The Canal+ Group will become the sole shareholder of the two companies following this transaction. The quality of OCS service and content – currently distributed by all ISPs as well as within Canal+ cinema series offers is recognized by both industry professionals and consumers. Orange Studio has more than 200 co-productions to its credit as well as…