Author: Akin Naphtal

In furtherance to transforming the country into a knowledge-based and IT-driven economy in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), is introducing the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Support Scheme (TIES) to provide opportunity and build capacity of both Hub Managers and Technology startups to ensure massive creation of entrepreneurs and jobs within the ecosystem. The Director-General NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, explained the purpose of during a webinar session with stakeholders and members of the TIES Scheme, noting that the idea was conceptualised during the COVID-19 pandemic to assist industry partners…

[Essen, Germany, June 20, 2022] currently, Huawei’s new-generation APM5950 cabinet won the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2022, a prestigious industrial design award, in the award ceremony for the Red Dot Design Award in Essen, Germany. The cabinet was chosen for its simplified design and innovative intelligent linkage between site and base station equipment. This award represents the industry’s recognition of APM5950’s industrial design and engineering capability and Huawei products’ industry-leading advantages. Simplified design: The APM5950 cabinet is simplified in appearance, installation, and maintenance, which makes it a perfect combination of function and industrial designs. Its high-efficiency modules can increase…

Kenyan insurtech startup mTek has secured US$3 million in funding from the Mauritius-based Finclusion Group to help it expand across the East Africa region. Launched in 2020, mTek is a digital platform that provides an entirely paperless ecosystem for the insurance industry, and allows customers to purchase insurance directly from the insurer, compare insurance policies and file claims through their smart devices. The startup has now secured investment from Africa-focused fintech platform Finclusion Group, to date totaling US$3 million, through both debt and equity. The funding will be used to accelerate mTek’s growth in the Kenyan marketplace through continual improvements…

Nigerian investtech startup GetEquity has expanded to Kenya as it looks to connect more African startups with funding opportunities. Founded in 2020 by Jude Dike and William Okafor, GetEquity is a fundraising and venture portfolio management company that aims to reduce friction between founders and the funding they need by giving them access to a wide range of funding options. Startups can list themselves on the GetEquity platform and market to institutional investors and public users. GetEquity enables anyone to buy equity in a listed startup for as little as US$10. The startup launched in 2021 after raising a six-figure…

Africa-focused tech magazine, TechBerg has unveiled Yewande Akomolafe-Kalu, the Head of Storytelling and Branding at Flutterwave as its Woman in Tech Wednesday (WTW). WTW, one of the most high-profile tech personality ratings is a weekly review and rating of female tech personalities in Africa. It’s a special publication based on critical analysis and facts in the tech ecosystem. Yewande Akomolafe-Kalu is a Branding, Storytelling and Marketing Specialist with over 5 years of experience helping brands develop, grow, and market their services and products globally. Her expertise includes brand and marketing strategy, campaign strategy, monitoring and analysis, content and digital marketing,…

Kenya’s controversial ICT Practitioners Bill has been returned to parliament after President Uhuru Kenyatta declined to assent to it and make it law. The Bill included several stringent measures to regulate ICT practitioners and relevant compliance, including that all ICT practitioners must have a university degree, have at least three years’ experience and must pay an annual fee. The ICT Ministry’s Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru posted a tweet on Tuesday evening: “President Kenyatta declined three parliamentary bills among them the Information Communication Technology Practitioners Bill; Insurance Professionals Registration Bill of 2020; and Higher Education Loans Bill of 2020, all sent…

A digital asset marketplace has been unveiled in Ghana to complement efforts at driving a cash-lite economy. Currently operational in Nigeria, Glover App, has launched its presence on the Ghanaian market via its brand campaign themed “One App Many Possibilities”. It is one of the fastest-growing gift card companies in West Africa which seeks to improve the gift card shopping experience and the gifting culture on the continent and the world at large. According to the organisers, the mission of Glover is to create a new asset class of Africans who are empowered with the financial freedom they need to…

Ghana-based banking association GhIPSS has rolled out a bank-wide mobile money service to individuals and businesses. The GhanaPay service, which operates like already existing mobile money services, with additional banking services, is opened to everyone with access to a mobile phone (including a yam phone) with or without a traditional bank account. GhanaPay can be used to send and receive money to and from mobile networks and bank accounts. It can also be used to cash in and cash out, buy airtime, data, and also pay for goods and services through a GhQR merchant. The banking association’s representatives stated that…

Hubtel Limited , an indigenous Ghanaian technology company, has distanced itself from a fraudulent service being offered by some individuals. Hubtel published a statement on Monday, June 20, 2022, unequivocally denying any association with the fraudulent ‘Hubtel Data Service.’ “Hubtel has received information that people purporting to be linked with the company are marketing a service called “Hubtel Data Services.” We wish to categorically disclaim that the persons behind this unauthorized service are illegally impersonating Hubtel and using a variation of the Hubtel logo to build familiarity to mislead our customers and the general unsuspecting public. We would like to…

Huawei’s number of 5G Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) continues to rank No. 1 in the world, according to Clarivate, a leading global IP consultancy, and analytics firm. Clarivate’s latest report “Demystifying the 5G standard-essential patent landscape: Phase 3” conducted a systematic study on 5G patents. The report shows that Huawei still ranked No. 1 with a patent family of 6,566 and the fastest growth rate. SEPs are common in the telecommunications field. No company can avoid 5G SEPs if they want to design products that comply with 5G standards. For five straight years, Huawei has ranked No. 1 worldwide in…