Author: Akin Naphtal

Half of Namibia’s population does not have access to the internet due to lack of mobile phone network infrastructure – and where there is access, signals are poor. This is according to Peya Mushelenga, Minister at the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT). He urged the ICT industry to double up on efforts to roll out telecommunication towers across the country so that even people in rural areas can be connected to mobile communication – which falls is in line with the government’s broadband policy to provide at least 95% broadband coverage by 2024. By the end of this…

EcoCash pens deal to enable PayPal service in cash-strapped Zimbabwe Zimbabweans are now able to use PayPal’s Xoom for remittances after mobile money platform, EcoCash inked a partnership with global payment network Thunes to facilitate payments utilising the global remittance platform. EcoCash confirmed the new development this week and a spokesperson for the company said: “Leveraging our Hub partnership with Thunes, we are excited to add Xoom, a PayPal money transfer service, to our growing number of remittance partners to Zimbabwe.” PayPal’s availability in the Southern African country comes a week after World Remit terminated direct remittances into Zimbabwean bank…

Malian insurtech startup OKO has raised a US$500,000 seed extension round to help it expand to Ivory Coast and work towards a Series A. Founded in 2017, OKO develops affordable mobile-based crop insurance products to provide smallholder farmers with the financial security they need, regardless of unstable climate trends. The startup operates in Mali and Uganda and has so far brought insurance to more than 15,000 farmers. OKO saw an impressive 6x growth in the number of paying customers from 2020 to 2021 and is continuing to expand its reach in 2022, with new crops covered, and new partnerships signed…

The African Export-Import Bank has created a payment solution platform, Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, to facilitate instant cross-border payments in local African currencies. This is expected to save African traders about $5bn annually in currency convertibility. The announcement was contained in a statement by Mike Oghalu, the CEO, PAPPS, while speaking at the post-annual general meeting of the International Chamber for Commerce of Nigeria in Lagos. According to Oghalu, “Intra-Africa trade is by far the lowest intra-continental trade globally standing at 15-17per cent.” A statement by Oghalu explained that most of the cross-border payment transactions originating from African banks…

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…