Author: Akin Naphtal

Smartphone users are being encouraged to download Vodafone Foundation’s award-winning DreamLab app, to help scientists at Imperial College London to help speed up climate research and create the world’s largest public database of synthetic tropical cyclones. This ‘virtual supercomputer’ will help the scientists to model the impact of climate change on cyclones and extreme weather. DreamLab-powered research has already contributed to COVID-19 research with Imperial College London scientists and cancer research with the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. As climate change intensifies, powerful cyclones are becoming more commonplace, impacting millions of people and causing billions of dollars in damage each year. However, there are…

The Africa Digital Economy Forum has announced the first-ever Digital Economy Awareness Month (DEAM) slated for November across the globe. The novel Digital Economy Awareness Month (DEAM) slated for the month of November themed Digital Economy: The New Norm is an initiative aimed at deepening digitization advocacy and its benefits to the global economy while also encouraging early understanding and participation among youth. DEAM 2022 is all about sharing stories about how digital technology is changing our lifestyle, businesses and family togetherness, it is to encourage and embrace the use of technologies for fairer and a better future. The need…

Sanlam and MTN Group have announced that their strategic alliance to market and distribute insurance and investment products across Africa has reached a significant milestone with the fulfilment of the regulatory, competition and other requirements. The effective date of the transaction is 31 October 2022. The strategic alliance will be implemented through MTN Group’s InsurTech platform aYo Holdings (aYo) and each partner will hold 50% of aYo. Through aYo, the alliance will continue to build and develop digital insurance and investment offerings that provide people across Africa with easier access to Sanlam’s products, particularly those people who have typically been…

Communications service providers attending AfricaCom 2022 can discover how to enhance and monetize real-world consumer experiences like a safari at Kruger National Park and diving with sharks off Mossel Bay, thanks to an augmented reality (AR)-powered demonstration created by Amdocs, a leading provider of software and services to communications and media companies globally. Amdocs is launching Experience Africa at AfricaCom (Cape Town, 8-10 November) to highlight how telcos can acquire new customers by selling interactive packages that go beyond connectivity. Delegates are encouraged to visit the Amdocs booth (C73) to try the demonstration. As part of the demonstration, CSPs can offer their…

On the side-lines of MWC Africa, Smart Africa and MTN have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance digital skills in Africa in an effort to develop capacity for Africans to utilise ICTs and be fully empowered participants of an ICT-driven economy and society. The partnership establishes a digital skills ecosystem between the Smart Africa Digital Academy (SADA) and MTN Skills Academy to advance digital literacy, digital and financial skills training, and digital competencies. It seeks to unlock socioeconomic development by leveraging the power of technology to empower youth and women, and drive social inclusion for all, particularly differently abled…

Ericsson reiterates commitment to drive sustainable growth in Africa at this year’s AfricaTech Festival. Taking place from November 7 to November 11, 2022, AfricaTech Festival 2022 aims at uniting business and technology to create a better, more inclusive digital world​. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) plays an essential role in Africa’s digitalization journey and economic sustainability. As part of its keynotes and speaker sessions, Ericsson will cover topics such as enabling sustainable growth in Africa with the help of ICT, empowering people through digital inclusion, and industrial growth through digitalization ​and sustainability. Ericsson’s demos will focus on key topics to…

EE, part of the BT Group, is deploying Ericsson’s latest ultra-lightweight radio technology to deliver improved 5G energy efficiency and network performance across the UK. With up to 40 percent less weight (14kg) and volume (25 litres) than the previous generation of radio, Ericsson’s AIR 3268 is the lightest and smallest Massive MIMO radio in the industry and is also the most energy efficient radio of this type deployed in Europe. Field measurements in active deployment have shown a reduction of up to 40 percent in energy usage, helping to deliver improved energy efficiency and contributing to wider sustainability goals.…

e& (formerly known as Etisalat Group) was welcomed by Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) at the Ericsson Imagine Studio in Kista, Sweden. Led by Hatem Dowidar, Group Chief Executive Officer of e&, the delegation was welcomed by Börje Ekholm, Ericsson Chief Executive Officer, Fadi Pharaon, President of Ericsson Middle East and Africa, and other senior representatives from Ericsson. During the two-day tour at the Ericsson Imagine Studio, Ericsson presented several demos and innovative use cases involving products, solutions and visionary scenarios of the future of digital technology. e&’s senior management also experienced Ericsson’s digital experience ’Imagine Possible’, to explore the potential and power…

Businesses today are operating in an increasingly digital world. To keep up, they need to adapt and innovate fast but, for many, their legacy networks are holding them back. Despite the pandemic speeding up digitalisation, organisation’s networks have remained largely traditional. As hybrid working and technologies like the cloud, virtual reality and augmented reality become common place, the volume of data networks need to manage is increasing, which means that the infrastructure needs to change. WAN-ting more from your network A Wide Area Network (WAN) can connect offices, applications, cloud storage and data centres together across a large geographical area.…

Vodafone is planning on lighting up Europe with an advertising campaign that will leverage the superior photographic capabilities of the new iPhone 14 to capture nature at its finest, highlighting Vodafone’s use of 100% renewable electricity in its European networks, as well as its device trade-in and recycling programmes to help protect the natural world. The campaign will comprise television, outdoor, print, digital executions and in-store retail executions running in 12 of Vodafone’s European markets. It is intended to drive preference for Vodafone as a sustainable brand of choice, underlining the company’s commitment to renewable energy and the creation of a…