Author: Akin Naphtal

Tunisian fintech startup Paymee has secured a six-figure US dollar round of funding as it looks to accelerate its product development and grow its enterprise offering. Founded in 2020 by Marwen Aamou, Paymee delivers innovative payment technologies that help merchants increase their revenues by accepting digital payments. The startup offers online payment acceptance solutions through cards, while its solution can be easily integrated into any website or mobile application. The startup saw significant growth in 2021 and is planning further expansion in 2022 after raising funding from P1 Ventures, a venture capital firm specialised in early-stage African fintech that has…

MTN Ghana is urging all customers who are yet to register their SIM cards to make use of its dedicated MTN SIM Registration Web Portal to complete their registration ahead of the 31stJuly 2022 deadline. The SIM Registration Web Portal URL is: https://simregistrationportal.mtn.com.gh. The portal can be found on the MTN website. The SIM Registration Web Portal will enable customers to link their Ghana cards to their SIM card(s) before visiting the service center or any authorized agent point for the biometric capture. The portal provides customers with a web version of the USSD process (*404#) for the linking of…

Huawei, a technology company, has announced a competition that will see developers worldwide put their skills to the test with the launch of the Huawei Global App Innovation Contest (Apps UP) 2022. Registrations are now open globally and this year’s theme is, #TogetherWeInnovate, and Apps UP has set aside a significant cash prize pool of over US$1 million to encourage submissions that bring global users a seamless, digital, and innovative experience. In the 2022 edition of the competition, special awards have been introduced for competition regions, including the Best Arabic App in the Middle East & Africa region. With over…

MTN is confident that Safaricom’s Sylvia Mulinge, who the operator recently recruited as CEO of its Uganda operations, will help grow regional business and help it sustain its position as Africa’s largest mobile network operator. During her time at Safaricom, Mulinge was acknowledged for her contribution to the company’s strong market position, based on sales, earnings and market value. She was also instrumental in establishing the company’s enterprise and fixed data silos. Peter Ndegwa, Safaricom’s CEO, commented on Mulinge’s departure: “A champion of digital transformation, Sylvia is a purpose-led and impact-driven business leader. She has lived the Safaricom Purpose of…

Nigeria-based auto-tech company Autochek has announced the acquisition of CoinAfrique, the leading platform for classified adverts in French-speaking Africa, to accelerate penetration of its auto-financing services into Francophone Africa. Autochek aims to build digital solutions that will enhance and enable a seamless and safe automotive commerce experience across Africa. The company uses technology to transform the automotive buying and selling experience for African consumers, by creating a single marketplace for consumers’ automotive needs, from sourcing and financing to after sales support and warranties. Acquisitions have been central to the startup’s speedy expansion strategy. Autochek launched in September 2020 having acquired…

Ghana’s fight against cybercrimes will be ineffective without the collaboration of respective organizations and various sectors of the economy. This is according to the Acting Director General for the Cyber Security Authority, Dr. Albert Antwi Boasiako. Speaking at a workshop to validate the Child Online Protection framework, he explained that various sectors and organizations would have to identify their roles to consolidate the efforts of his outfit to help in cyber security development in Ghana. He maintained that, the overuse of technology and unsupervised access to the internet may cause many negative effects on social skills, mental and physical development…

Vodafone, in collaboration with Vodacom, Vantage Towers and Tomorrow Street, has launched a global competition inviting organisations to submit innovative solutions to the challenge of generating renewable power directly at mobile phone sites. The ‘Renewable Power Challenge’ seeks new or better ways of powering sites in rural or remote areas without access to power grids, or where there are frequent power outages, while avoiding the use of fossil fuels on-site. Organisations looking to apply should register for an account and submit their proposal through the Vodacom-owned platform here: https://renewablepowerchallenge.vodacom.co.za/ Shortlisted companies will have the opportunity to showcase their solution to…

Google Analytics has been banned in several European countries, with Italy being the latest. Since December 2021, four European countries have banned Google Analytics. It started with Austria declaring the service illegal in December 2021. France and Holland quickly followed months later in February 2022. Now Italy has joined the fray. The Italian data protection authority found that a local web publisher’s use of Google Analytics violated General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules. Reasons To understand why these countries are banning Google Analytics, it’s important to understand what kind of data it collects. Every time you visit a website, any…

Airtel Africa has added banking services to its portfolio of Smartcash Payment Service Bank services in Nigeria, building on a domestic remittance-based set-up launched in May as it seeks to enhance financial inclusion in the country. At a launch event in Lagos, Airtel detailed the bank will now provide services including international remittance alongside issuing debit and prepaid cards. It stated Smartcash Payment Service Bank aims to bridge the urban-rural financial divide in Nigeria, the operator’s largest market in Africa. Airtel Africa CEO Segun Ogunsanya remarked the launch will bring “millions of people” into the “financial community”, along with delivering…

Ghana’s Finance Ministry has disclosed that government will not terminate the 1.5% levy on electronic transactions, despite its application to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for economic assistance. This was contained in a statement from the Ministry on Tuesday, addressing key questions regarding government’s ongoing engagement with the Fund. Regarding the controversial levy, the Ministry explained that government will add the proceeds from the levy to the support from the IMF to salvage the economy. Addressing the question of whether the levy will be scrapped, the Ministry said, “NO. The IMF lending to Ghana will be for balance of payments…