Author: Akin Naphtal

YouTube has ramped up its efforts to combat mobile ad blockers, warning users accessing videos through third-party ad blocking apps that they may experience buffering issues or encounter an error message stating that the content they seek is unavailable. Last year, YouTube initiated a global campaign urging users to either allow ads while watching videos or upgrade to its ad-free subscription service, YouTube Premium. The online video platform also began disabling videos for users employing ad blocking extensions. According to The Verge, YouTube stated that its policies prohibit “third-party apps from turning off ads because that prevents the creator from…

One of the most important ways a fintech can listen to its customers is to gauge how they engage with its products. All around the world businesses are pulling out the stops to achieve growth in what can best be described as challenging economic conditions. Africa is no exception. The continent has long been recognised for its immense potential, and as such businesses across sectors are investing heavily into the continent. Advancements in technology make serving the unbanked and underserved populations in Africa more viable than ever before. However, that does not mean growth comes easily. It is a hyper…

Cellulant, a pioneering force in payments in Africa, is proud to announce the appointment of several leading executives from esteemed global payment companies into its management team, marking a significant step in its growth plans. Bolstering its leadership team with top-tier talent in technology, compliance, finance and audit, underscores Cellulant’s commitment to operational excellence and growing its service offerings to enterprise businesses. Andy O’Sullivan, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), joins Cellulant on the back of a distinguished two-decade career in technology leadership in payment companies in the EMEA. His expertise lies in leading high-performing multicultural technology teams to scale agile delivery,…

Artificial intelligence (AI) startup and ChatGPT creator, OpenAI, has signalled its intent to tap into Japan’s growing AI market by inaugurating its first office in Tokyo, which also stands as OpenAI’s first office in Asia. In a video message, OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, expressed his optimism about the venture, stating, “this is just the first step in what I hope will be a long-term partnership with the people of Japan, government leaders, businesses, and research institutions.” The move aligns with OpenAI’s intents to diversify its revenue streams globally, leveraging the success of its ChatGPT generative AI chatbot, which launched in…

Apple has faced a setback in the first quarter of 2024 with its smartphone shipments falling by approximately 10%, according to data from research firm IDC, highlighting increased competition from Android smartphone makers vying for the top spot in the market. The US tech giant’s Global smartphone shipments, however, saw a 7.8% increase to 289.4 million units during January-March. Meanwhile, Samsung has overtaken Apple for the spot of top phone maker with a 20.8% market share. Apple currently stands with a 17.3% market share. The decline in iPhone shipments is surprising given Apple’s strong performance in the December quarter when…

Eco-friendly energy solutions provider, EcoFlow, has unveiled the RIVER 2 Pro and DELTA 2 Max power stations in South Africa, promising upgraded capacity and faster charging to cater for the country’s rising energy needs amid stage 6 loadshedding. B2C Sales Director at EcoFlow South Africa, Bradley Chetty, highlighted the significance of these releases in addressing the growing challenges posed by loadshedding. He remarked, “as loadshedding continues to grow, the EcoFlow RIVER 2 Pro and DELTA 2 Max ensure our consumers have access to a simple, flexible, and reliable energy source wherever and whenever they should need it.” The RIVER 2…

Chinese tech giant Huawei has begun allowing customers to register their interest in an upcoming smartphone model it has yet to disclose, sparking rumours that the company may be on the verge of releasing the latest iteration of its P series phones. The move follows Huawei’s re-entry into the premium smartphone market last year with its Mate 60 series, a launch hailed by state media as a significant achievement amid US sanctions. Notably, the resurgence of Huawei’s flagship Mate series has been linked to a decline in iPhone sales in China. Speculation has been rife in recent months regarding the…

Facebook and Instagram parent company, Meta Platforms, has revealed that it would be testing new features aimed at protecting teenagers on Instagram from harmful and sexual content, and potential scammers. The tech giant made this decision due to growing pressure over concerns regarding the addictive nature of its apps and their impact on the mental health of young users. One of the key features Meta plans to implement is blurring messages containing nudity in Instagram’s direct messages. This protection mechanism will utilise on-device machine learning to analyse images and determine if they contain nudity. Importantly, this feature will be enabled…

Wireless infrastructure provider, American Tower, and ProFuturo, the technology-enabled education innovation program of Fundación Telefónica and Fundación “la Caixa”, have partnered to bring educational innovation and technology to underserved communities, starting with 44 schools across Africa and Latin America. The Managing Director of ProFuturo, Magdalena Brier, and Rodrigo Jimenez Castellanos, Group Head of Public Affairs, Communications and Sustainability of American Tower for EMEA and LatAm, formalised this partnership. ProFuturo and American Tower share a vision of leveraging technology to improve educational outcomes, bridge the digital divide, and improve the quality of life for individuals in marginalised communities. Through this partnership,…

IDEMIA Smart Identity has announced a renewal of its collaboration with Nigeria’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), to upgrade the country’s biometric identification system, to enable it to accommodate 250 million records. The project, supported by the World Bank’s ID4D initiative, shows the efforts Nigeria is making to establish a robust and reliable civil database. With each citizen’s identity set to remain unique within the system, the initiative aligns with the United Nations’ (UN) sustainable development goals, specifically targeting universal legal identity by 2030. On February 28, 2024, IDEMIA Smart Identity and NIMC formalised their commitment to enhancing Nigeria’s biometric…