Author: Akin Naphtal

IBM Australia and the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) have agreed on a five-year, $725 million, whole-of-government agreement, which is an extension of the initial agreement established in 2018. The agreement is intended to facilitate government organisations with more straightforward and economical access to IBM’s offerings, which comprise of hardware, software, cloud solutions, and other professional technology services. Government organisations can ask for cost estimates for IBM goods and services through the government hardware, software, cloud, and online stores along with gaining access to IBM’s sustainability software suite, as part of a pilot program. READ ALSO: Google Plans to Charge 16%…

Samsung Electronics has announced that the company has reached a significant milestone in its journey to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or the Global Goals, with a contribution of more than $10 million to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The funds were generated through the Samsung Global Goals app and will help UNDP promote resilience and accelerate progress around the world. Established by the United Nations in 2015, the Global Goals provide a shared blueprint of ambitious milestones for a more equitable, just and sustainable world by 2030. The 17 Global Goals promote collaboration and collective action to…

Dr Keabetswe Modimoeng has been appointed as Corporate Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Group Executive for MultiChoice Africa with effect from January 2023. Dr Modimoeng is the former executive chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and has previously held a corporate communications role at Anglo American (Kumba Iron Ore) and served as corporate citizenship manager for Samsung Electronics (Africa). Fhulu Badugela, MultiChoice Africa Holdings CEO, said, “Kea is a seasoned leader with over 15 years’ experience in corporate communications, stakeholder relations, government, and regulatory affairs. He will play a key role in helping us to navigate the…

The Ghana-based Jetstream Africa, an e-logistics platform for Africa’s exporters and importers, has raised US$13 million in a combination of debt and equity financing to help it expand. Jetstream Africa is an e-logistics company founded in Tema, Ghana and operating across 14 African countries. Its core product, pre-financed logistics, enables businesses to rapidly book and monitor door-to-door logistics, financing, insurance and other trade support services online. The startup raised a US$3 million seed round in 2021 and has now progressed to Series A with a US$13 million investment. New investors include French development institution Proparco through the Digital Africa Bridge…

No doubt, startups in Africa have gulped multimillion dollars in investment deals. Across the continent, several venture capital (VC) firms have created special funding kitties focusing on women-led tech startups. There are also several investment vehicles that only fund women-led enterprises across the continent. A report released by The Big Deal, a research firm tracking startups across the continent has revealed that African startups active on the continent and led by women raised $203.2 million in 2022. Though still a significant amount, it is 58% less than what enterprises of this sort mobilised in 2021. The report further notes that…

London-based AI company InstaDeep has entered into an agreement to be acquired by the German tech firm BioNTech in a £562m deal. Founded in 2015, InstaDeep has become one of Britain’s most promising tech firms, scoring major money deals for its Series A and Series B funding rounds, including a $100m investment in January 2022 that saw participation from Google, as well as BioNTech. READ ALSO: MediaTek Reiterate Commitment to Increasing 5G Adoption in Africa with Affordable Chipsets Report Shows Fintech is the Most Vibrant Sector in Kenya Google Plans to Charge 16% VAT on Taxable Goods and Services In…

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…