Author: Akin Naphtal

Vodafone Deutschland and sports streamer DAZN have revealed they are jointly testing the transmission of German Bundesliga football games using 5G. Most recently, 5G-based transmission technology was used in February in the match between FC Bayern Munich and SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Both companies had previously used 5G at other Bundesliga games to transmit images and sound from field reporters and cameramen from inside the stadium. According to the pair, the use of 5G in TV shortens the path that live images take before they reach television viewers. Cameras can be connected to a 5G-enabled router in order to transmit recordings…

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Fintech Conference has named Kenyan startup Money254 as the grand prize winner of its 2022 Fintech Startup Pitch Competition. Launched in April 2021, Money254 is a financial services comparison platform, making it easier for users to find, compare and apply for financial products that match both their needs and eligibility. By combining independent financial product research with partnerships across leading institutions, Money254 users are able to search and apply for financial products such as personal loans, business loans, and savings accounts from a variety of leading banks, microfinance institutions, and digital apps – all…

Egyptian fitness app Welnes has closed a US$300,000 seed funding round to expand its team and prepare for GCC expansion by 2023. Launched in 2020 by Amr Saleh and Amr Diab, Welnes is a community app that helps users reach their weight-loss and lifestyle goals by providing them with customised nutrition and workout plans. The programmes are served in a group setting, while the app also features a robust gamification model that keeps users motivated and committed. To date, Welnes has helped over 15,000 users who have uploaded 500,000 meal pictures and made over five million likes. The startup’s US$300,000…

Google has announced two new tools for businesses that operate extensive delivery fleets: the Last Mile Fleet Solution and the Cloud Fleet Routing API. The new Last Mile Fleet Solution, which is part of the Google Maps platform, puts an emphasis on optimizing every step of the last-mile delivery process from ordering to delivery. As the name implies, the new Routing API, which is part of Google Cloud, focuses on route planning across fleets of delivery vehicles. The Last Mile Fleet Solution is now in public preview. The Cloud Fleet Routing API will become generally available in the second quarter of the…

Deep-seated anxieties currently cloud the length and breadth of Nigeria’s information and communications technology sector over the proposed National Information and Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Bill 2021. Since last year when the news broke out about the contentious bill, stakeholders, operators, startups, among others, have raised the alarm at different fora over some of the provisions in the proposed bill, which they described as ambiguous, overlapping and overbearing and could cause deep frictions within the ICT/telecoms ecosystem. They submitted that the bill requires further consultation before it should become an Act. Industry analysts noted that the NITDA Bill 2021 arrogates…

African startups raised between $4 billion to $5 billion in 2021, according to various reports. For years, tech publications run by local digital media startups have worked hard behind the scenes in placing African startups at the faces of global investors, shaping the narrative of African tech and its build-up to an inflection point last year. However, for all their effort and importance to the tech ecosystem, raising significant venture capital seemed elusive to startups in Africa’s digital media landscape that rely on grants and personal funding to scale. But today’s news shows some promise as Big Cabal Media (BCM) — the Nigeria-based media…

Products and services that benefit life on Earth put a new spin on technology developed for space. This includes inventions at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA engineers and scientists often develop new technology during the course of their mission work. And while the origin of the technology is often to help explore the solar system and beyond, NASA’s Technology Transfer program is bringing them back down to Earth by licensing them to companies and entrepreneurs. The licensees then create new products and services, called “spinoffs” that benefit the economy, protect the environment, and even save lives. There are…

At MWC 2022 Barcelona, Safaricom, Close the Gap and Huawei received the Global Mobile GLOMO Award in recognition of the TECH4ALL DigiTruck project’s outstanding contribution to the UN’s sustainable development goals. The DigiTruck project was launched in Kenya for the first time in 2019. It was launched by Huawei in collaboration with international NGO Close the Gap, Kenya’s Ministry for ICT, Computer for Schools Kenya, GSMA and operator Safaricom. The project aims to bring digital technology to resource-poor regions and enable people to receive quality education and improve their lives. By the end of 2020, the project had provided services…

A digital Iron Curtain may be descending on Russia, as President Vladimir Putin struggles to control the narrative about his war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has already moved to block Facebook and Twitter, and its latest step in that direction came Friday as the government announced plans to block Instagram in the country, as well. But despite Putin’s efforts to clamp down on social media and information within his borders, a growing number of Russian internet users appear determined to access outside sources and circumvent the Kremlin’s restrictions. To defeat Russia’s internet censorship, many are turning to specialized circumvention technology that’s been…

Meta is facing prosecution in South Africa, after the country’s competition regulator, the Competition Commission found as uncompetitive its intention to block the government’s startup GovChat and #LetsTalk from using its WhatsApp Business API. The watchdog, which has been investigating claims of unfair conduct against the startup since March 2021, referred Meta (formerly Facebook) for the prosecution to the Competition Tribunal, which adjudicates complaints of restrictive practices and abuse of dominance. In its referral, the regulator recommends that Meta is made to pay the “maximum penalty” – a fine of 10% of the US company’s local turnover. The commission alleges…