Author: Akin Naphtal

Pan-African banking group, Ecobank Group, has launched the fifth edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge and encourages African Fintech entrepreneurs to enter the competition. Fintechs that are aligned with the Bank’s strategic objectives stand a chance to win an overall cash prize of US$50,000 for the top winner and the opportunity to partner and scale their solutions across Ecobank’s 33 African markets. Fintech companies and developers originating from any of Africa’s 54 countries, as well as global Africa-centered Fintechs, are eligible to enter the Fintech Challenge by visiting: https://bit.ly/3KnrDz2. Applications can be made until the 16 September 2022. Ecobank believes…

Visa, the world leader in digital payments, has announced the appointment of Salima Gutieva as Vice President and Country Manager for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Salima replaces Shahebaz Khan who has been appointed as Senior Vice-President, Head of New Payment Flows for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA). In her new role as a Country Manager for UAE, Salima will be based in Dubai and will be responsible for market strategy and supporting clients and governement partners in the UAE in meeting growing demand for seamless, secure digital payments. Salima Gutieva has 16 years of experience…

Mastercard has recently signed an agreement with Binance to support crypto payments for more than 90 million stores in Argentina as a first step to facilitating the use of digital assets for day-to-day transactions. Earlier this month, the New York-based payment processing company announced the official launch of the “Binance Card” in the South American country and called the instrument a “bridge between cryptocurrencies and everyday purchases”. To support the rollout in Argentina, Mastercard is working with a local company called Credencial Payments which will be in charge of issuing the card for Argentinians who hold a valid national identification.…

As part of its commitment to give Nigerians easy access to insurance products, the Nigerian subsidiary of Old Mutual Limited (OML), has launched a bespoke online platform for brokers, one of the most critical stakeholder groups in the onboarding of insurance customers. Olalekan Oyinlade, the Managing Director, Old Mutual Nigeria, speaking on the production said the innovative digital platform would ensure online service delivery to the insurance brokers adding that it was seamless and convenient, thereby engendering a rich engagement experience for their customers. According to Oyinlade, with the platform, brokers can market Old Mutual’s Life Insurance policies, such as…

MTN Nigeria on Thursday kicked off an open 5G pilot in the lead-up to its highly anticipated commercial launch. The Company, which intends to launch 5G services in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, and Maiduguri, is testing the next-generation network infrastructure. Customers with certain enabled devices will be allowed to connect with and try out the new service where coverage is available. To access the 5G network and enjoy its benefits, customers will need compatible devices, such as routers and mobile phones, which can be pre-ordered from designated MTN walk-in stores and online via the MTN Nigeria website…

One of the world’s largest manufacturers of consumer and professional electronic products, SONY, has raised the price of PlayStation 5 due to global economic challenges it is experiencing. President & CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Jim Ryan confirmed this in a blog post, “We’re seeing high global inflation rates, as well as adverse currency trends, impacting consumers and creating pressure on many industries. Based on these challenging economic conditions, SIE has made the difficult decision to increase the recommended retail price (RRP) of PlayStation 5”, he said. He added that the hike in price affects markets in Europe, Middle East,…

Africa Data Centres, a business of Cassava Technologies, is executing an ambitious plan to build datacentres in ten of Africa’s largest economic capitals – and has drawn US$83-million, the first tranche of a US$300-million investment from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) approved in 2021. Africa Data Centres plans to use the capital to build datacentres in Abidjan, Accra, Cairo, Casablanca and Lagos, adding to the company’s existing DFC-eligible African countries. Tesh Durvasula, CEO of Africa Data Centres, said, “The increasing demand for cloud and other digital technologies on the continent has directly increased the demand for African data…

Cisco, a network equipment manufacturer, has named Sarah Rae Murphy as part of its board of Directors. The said appointment took effect from yesterday August 24, 2022, increasing the board’s number to twelve. Sarah Rae Murphy has served in various executive positions at United Airlines, a stint that lasted 16 years. The most recent position at United Airlines was as the Senior Vice President (SVP) for Global Sourcing and Chief Procurement Officer. She also forms part of the board for Novus Media, a marketing and advertising company that offers media-related solutions. She was under the Crain’s Chicago Business 40Under40 for…

Highly rated tech magazine, TechBerg has unveiled Gwynne Shotwell, the President and Chief Executive Officer of SpaceX 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 across the globe. It’s a special publication based on critical analysis and facts in the tech space. Gwynne Shotwell is businesswoman and an engineer. She has worked in both space systems, engineering and project management and was the director of the space systems division at Microcosm Inc. Her tech journey began during her encounter at a panel…

Paysend, the UK-based FinTech which has over 7m customers, has partnered with Currencycloud, the experts in simplifying business in a multi-currency world, to expand the capabilities of Paysend Business, its new digital end-to-end payments solution created to help small to medium enterprises (SMEs) take control of their financial health and accelerate their growth. The newly launched Business product is integral to the company’s goal of making money movement around the world easier for SMEs. Paysend Business removes the complexities SMEs face when making international payments, giving them access to a suite of international payment options, including SWIFT, local payment rails…