Author: Akin Naphtal

In Nigeria, banking isn’t ubiquitous. Although the number of active bank accounts has been steadily increasing, a study by EFInA on trends in access to financial services released last year shows that many gaps remain. For instance, more than 42 million adults live in rural areas that lack basic banking services and over 60% of rural communities surveyed didn’t have a bank branch, mobile money agent, or ATM. While there are several conversations and efforts aimed at banking the unbanked, not enough is said about Nigerians that are underbanked. That is, those who have access to one financial product but…

Airtel Nigeria has announced a partnership with Spotify to provide music lovers across Nigeria with daily complimentary data to access songs on the Spotify platform. Under the partnership, Airtel +54 million customers who purchase weekly and monthly data bundles will get bonus data to enjoy Spotify with its over 70 million songs, including local favourites and Premium content without worrying about additional data costs. Spotify launched in the country early last year opening up its platform with 381M Monthly active users and 172 million premium subscribers worldwide. The Nigerian audience will enjoy the content loved by millions of teeming consumers.…

Bantu Blockchain Foundation has expanded its footprint in blockchain technology to Ghana, noting that considering the rate of adoption of blockchain, Africa can benefit from the use of blockchain technology to facilitate cross-border transactions, which will help reduce the high cost of remittances, enable access to financial services, ensure privacy, create jobs, unlock liquid from illiquid assets, improve the business environment and foster healthy competition. Mr. Ernest Mbenkum, the founder and Chief Executive Officer, Bantu Blockchain Foundation, at the launch of its first brand Influencers at the Bantu Xpansion programme in Lagos, said the overall aim of the initiative is…

According to a directive from the Data Protection Commission in collaboration with the Public Procurement Authority, businesses without data protection license may not be able to bid for government contracts. The Data Protection Act mandates all firms to obtain data protection license before beginning operations. Speaking at a press conference on the Data Protection Week, the Executive Director of the Data Protection Commission, Patricia Adusei Poku, said the new order has become necessary to protect clients and the general public from data abuse, since the country is embarking on many digital initiatives. According to her, obtaining a license from the…

Towards setting a high standard for its technological operations, Ghana is set to develop a regulatory framework that will guide the use of artificial intelligence in the country. After a short address to climax the data protection week celebration in Accra, the Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaa Boateng, explained that such a regulation is critical for the country. The data protection week is marked every last week of January to create awareness of the need to protect critical information In Ghana, the Data Protection Commission has been given the mandate to ensure that the privacy of the…

Egyptian-American cloud security startup Magalix has been acquired by Weaveworks Limited, a GitOps company with headquarters in London and San Francisco. Founded in 2017 by Egyptian-American entrepreneurs Ahmed F. Mohamed and Ahmed Badran, and headquartered in the US with its R&D engineering team in Egypt, Magalix built a platform that enables organisations to embed security and compliance using DevOps methodologies. Security and compliance policies are “codified” and built into the system according to company- and sector-mandated “playbooks” and “recipes”. Magalix has completed multiple rounds of investments, totalling US$4.2 million, with its Egyptian investors including Endure Capital and Egypt Ventures. It…

Nigerian startup Bamboo, a brokerage app that lets Africans buy and trade US stocks in real-time, has raised a US$15 million Series A funding round to accelerate its growth, move into new markets and launch more products. Launched in January 2020, Bamboo is an investment platform that unlocks global markets for Africans by providing real-time access to dollar-denominated assets via its platform. Users can fund with their dollar or local currency balance almost instantly and start investing in stocks. So far, Bamboo has gained over 300,000 accounts in Nigeria. Meanwhile, an API solution allows asset managers, fintech companies and other…

As part of their multi-year collaboration to transform commerce, supply chains and logistics, FedEx Corp. and Microsoft Corp have unveiled a cross-platform “logistics as a service” for retailers, merchants and brands. The companies share a vision for reimagining commerce experiences for businesses so they can offer their consumers more integrated ways to shop, and faster, more efficient deliveries. In today’s world of just-in-time supply chains, global trade and accelerated e-commerce growth, speed, flexibility and visibility are critical. Customer needs and expectations have shifted across every industry. Together, FedEx and Microsoft said they are using tools like artificial intelligence and machine…

By Amit Singh, Solution Architect at AlphaCodes Modern enterprises are increasingly leveraging big data to achieve faster and better business decision making power, and as well as to gain useful insights that can drive efficiency and improve the overall customer journey. Big data is essentially a combination of structured and unstructured data that is huge in volume and grows exponentially with time. The three aspects critical to big data are the volume of information, Velocity – the speed at which this data is created and collected, as well as the scope – or variety – of this information. By harnessing…

OZÉ, a Ghanaian fintech startup that provides MSMEs with digital recordkeeping tools integrated with financial products, has raised a US$3 million pre-Series A funding round to extend the platform’s capabilities and improve access to low-cost funding. Speedinvest, Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund, Savannah Fund, and other angels “experienced in managing and investing in global fintech” participated in the investment round, which was led by Speedinvest. To help small businesses keep track of their sales, expenses, payables, and receivables, OZÉ was first launched as a beta version in 2018. “The digitization of business has seen a significant transition in the recent decade.…