Author: Akin Naphtal

MTN Nigeria has traded a total volume of 191 million shares in 21,340 deal valued at N 43.7 billion, with an average of 3.03 million traded shares per session over the past three months (Mar 23 – Jun 24, 2022). It was discovered that a volume high of 22.8 million was achieved on April 13th, and a low of 149,497 on April 25th, for the same period. Recall, the company listed its public offer price at about N169/share when it made the offer public in December attracting over 126,000 Nigerians. The closure of its Series 1 offer for sales of…

Kenyan fintech startup Kyanda, a money transfer app that aims to help users make all sorts of transactions at as low a cost as possible, has launched operations in South Africa. Launched in February 2020 by Collins Kathuli, Kyanda allows users to make cheap and fast money transfers, purchase airtime, and pay bills, among other things. The startup has processed over three million transactions since its formation, and Kathuli told Disrupt Africa its goal is to build a payment ecosystem that serves both Kenya and Africa as a whole. With over US$10 billion being moved within South Africa each year,…

MTN Group Chairman Mcebisi Jonas and President and CEO Ralph Mupita have met with Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy Prof Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) to discuss developments in the telecoms sector in Nigeria, including the country’s progress in updating subscribers’ SIM registration records with national identification numbers (NINs). In the meeting – held on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda on Thursday – the Honourable Minister said that a total of almost 85 million NINs have been registered across the industry so far, adding that they will serve as the foundation…

Egyptian fintech startup Lucky has secured final approval from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to launch the “Lucky One” card for all its customers. Founded in 2018 by Momtaz Moussa and Ayman Essawy, Lucky offers users access to a growing range of easy-to-use credit products, discounts, and cashback rewards, which can be used in person and virtually with over 20,000 local and global brands. The startup has grown rapidly since inception, and now has the largest merchant network in Egypt as well as over eight million registered users. It has seen 250 per cent year-on-year growth in gross merchandise…

Nigerian HealthTech startup HealthTracka has raised US$1.5 million in funding to expand into Kenya and Ghana in the coming months. Founded in May 2021, Healthtracka started with a B2C focus, where users book their lab tests on the website, have their samples collected at home and get digital results, with the cost of tests also covering a doctor’s review of results. Since then, its services have been extended to B2B2C, by offering API infrastructure for tele-health service providers, hospitals, and pharmacies, empowering them to provide at-home blood testing for their patients. The startup’s US$1.5 million funding round comes from Ingressive…

MTN Ghana will suspend pilot testing of its 5G piloting in Ghana this year to a later date. At a conference last year, MTN Ghana CEO Selorm Adadevoh announced plans for the company to pilot 5G in Ghana before the end of 2022. According to a report from a virtual Stakeholder and Media Forum, the MTN Ghana CEO stated that 5G piloting will no longer be feasible because the industry is not ready to roll out 5G licenses this year. He declined to give a future date for when 5G would be rolled out. The company announced plans for its…

Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Umar Danbatta, on Thursday, disclosed that the launching of the fifth-generation technology (5G) would take place in August this year. Mr Danbatta made this known to reporters at the 90th edition of Telecom Consumer Parliament hosted by the Consumer Affairs Bureau of the Commission in Lagos. “The Commission has set out the regulatory instruments needed for fast deployment of the new versatile technology for the benefit of the consumers and the stakeholders,” said Mr Dambatta. The NCC boss further urged all stakeholders to support the 5G project in Nigeria to ensure…

The Management of the Nigerian Communications Commission has appointed Reuben Muoka, an innovative journalist and consummate public relations practitioner, as its new Director of Public Affairs (DPA). Reuben Muoka takes over from Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, who has assumed duties as the Director of Special Duties Department of the Commission. The new NCC’s spokesman was recently promoted a substantive director, alongside Ismail Adedigba, now Director of Research and Development (R&D); and Gwa-Tobi Mohammed, who has also assumed duties as Director/Secretary to the Board of the Commission. Muoka was in 2021, appointed to head the Special Duties Department, which superintends the International…

Industry collaboration is very essential to a successful deployment of 5G Services in Nigeria, so says the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, who in Lagos earlier today, urged industry stakeholders to stand with the Commission to explore the prospects and potentials of the new technology, which is enormous. Prof. Danbatta, who spoke at the 90th Edition of the Telecom Consumer Parliament (TCP) hosted by the Consumer Affairs Bureau of the Commission, said the policy framework for the deployment has come into place and will facilitate deployment of services by the recent…

The Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has said that building an advanced mechanism for a secured cyberspace, is one of the government top priority in order to provide enabling environment for the socio-economic growth of the country. Prof. Pantami who was represented by the Director General of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, stated this at the Cyber Secure Conference 2022 organised by Nigeria Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria, (CSEAN) with the theme: Cyber Security an Imperative for Tackling Security Challenges in Nigeria. He noted that Computer is gradually integrating…