Author: Akin Naphtal

The government of Rwanda secured €37 million (approx. Rwf41 billion) loan from the French Development Agency (AFD) to transform more public services digitally and develop the country’s drone industry. The related agreement is also complemented with a €1.2 million grant to mobilize French expertise in project implementation. Providing quality services and customer care across public and private sectors has been of priority as outlined under the economic transformation pillar of the National Strategy for Transformation (NST1), the medium term national strategy (2017 – 2024). But more needs to be done in terms of necessary infrastructure. READ ALSO: Apple to prioritise…

Apple is reportedly prioritising development of its operating system for AR/VR headset. Focus on the development of “xrOS” for the headset has come at the cost of engineering resources being diverted from working on features for iOS 17 and macOS 14, a report by Mark Gurman from Bloomberg said. While features for the next generation of Apple OS releases are not known, Gurman indicates that there may not be major changes due to the Cupertino-based company’s focus on getting “xrOS” ready in time for its planned product launch later this year. Separately, work on new augmented reality features for the…

Petnow Inc. announced that it is presenting the world’s first cat biometric recognition service added to the Petnow app at CES 2023. The AI-driven app that automatically scans unique identifiers of dogs called “nose prints” has been honored with the Best of Innovation at CES 2022, and the company has attracted worldwide recognition and has been featured on BBC and CBS. Dr. Jesse Joonho Lim, the founder of Petnow Inc. said, “The company is adding cat biometric recognition to the current app to support the most raised pet animals around the globe, and the app will help more pet households…

Ericsson believes that sub-Saharan Africa’s (SSA’s) 5G subscriptions will grow from just 7 million in 2022 to 150 million by the end of 2028, making up about 14% of total connections in the region in five years’ time. That’s according to the newest version of the Ericsson Mobility Report, published recently. The telecom equipment maker said that global 5G subscriptions remain on track to top 1 billion by the end of this year and 5 billion by the end of 2028, despite current and developing economic challenges in many parts of the world. At the moment, 4G represents 29% of…

IPv6 is the first and might be the last upgrade of the global network in the coming decades. The development of IPv6 and IPv6 derivative and convergence technology standards will meet the objective requirements of the continuous expansion of the future network, facilitate the digital transformation in multiple fields, and become a new track of global digital technology innovation. In light of this, the “Global IPv6 Development and Standard Evolution Symposium and the Release Ceremony of the 2022 IPv6 Support White Paper”, held by the IPv6 Forum and the China Future Internet Engineering Center (CFIEC). READ ALSO: 5G will bring…

5G will contribute $26 billion to Africa’s economy by 2030, according to a recent report from the GSMA titled 5G Africa: realising the potential. 5G-related activities have begun to pick up across Africa, including spectrum auctions, pilots and commercial trials, as well as efforts to develop locally relevant 5G use cases, the report found. This means 5G will account for 20% of mobile connections in Africa by 2030. The GSMA believes that retail, manufacturing and agriculture are among the sectors that will see the most impact. “5G in Africa is a matter of when, not if. The decision on when…

German companies want to boost their activities in Africa this year, especially in areas such as green hydrogen and liquefied natural gas, with 43% planning to increase investment in the continent, a survey seen by Reuters showed. The poll of members of the German-African Business Association also showed that a further 39% of the association’s members aim to keep their spending levels in Africa stable. “The majority of companies want to expand their activities in the coming year,” association head, Christoph Kannegiesser said. “It makes sense, because the continent is still on a growth trajectory.” German companies invested about €1.6bn…

As part of its strategic drive to support financial institutions, agricultural and technology companies, Mastercard and US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) have teamed up to grow their presence in Africa through Mastercard Community Pass – a programme that addresses unreliable connectivity, low smartphone ownership and lack of consistent identification or credentials in rural communities on the African continent. The collaboration was announced at the US Africa Leaders Summit. To this end, the DFC has pledged to support potential investments of up to $50m in organisations within the Community Pass network which includes Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique and Mauritania, as…

Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy announced in a memo that just over 18,000 roles will be terminated at the company. Several teams are impacted; however, the majority of role eliminations are in the Amazon Stores and PXT organisations, he said. The eliminations come after Amazon announced big job cuts at the end of 2022. Jobs were cut across its Devices and Books businesses, and there was a voluntary reduction offer for some employees in its People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) organisation. “S-team and I are deeply aware that these role eliminations are difficult for people, and we don’t take these decisions…

Fast internet throughout South Africa is key to many benefits, including the ability to work remotely in remote areas, increased access to education and technology, and more. Increased bandwidth speeds are essential, as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) takes us into a more connected and digitised future. Fast connectivity has become a basic need, and the adoption of 5G is critical given the faster bandwidth and lower latency it offers. However, there are complexities, pros and cons, and some concerns about health issues related to radio frequency radiation in this context. Here is an overview of the pros, cons and…