Thursday, March 28

Tech & Business

MTN
  • MTN is divesting its stakes in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry to Telecel.
  • The telco giant will now shift more focus on rising markets Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Cote d’Ivoire.
  • With the exception of Cameroon, these three markets account for a combined 18.6% of the Group’s revenue.

South African tech heavyweight MTN has unveiled a key shift in its market strategy involving the divesture of its stakes in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea-Conakry businesses to Telecel.

This move is poised to mark a strategic change in bolstering MTN’s presence in Africa in what is perceived as stronger markets within the West and Central Africa region.

The agreement, which was sealed in December 2023, sees MTN ceding control to Telecel, a telco with a notable footprint in the African Telecommunications business. While the financial disclosures of the deal remain unclear, MTN has informed its stakeholders that further details will be published in the coming …

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African foodtech startups
  • Foodtech startups are leading a movement that aims to enhance food security and transform African agriculture into a model of economic viability and sustainability.
  • Nile, a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace seeks to modernise agricultural trade by enabling direct connections between farmers and buyers.
  • Another entity, Sand to Green, employs advanced agroforestry practices and technology to transform arid desert lands into fertile agricultural zones.

In the face of a future where 140 million people in Africa confront acute food insecurity, the emergence of foodtech startups across the continent is starting a new phase in agricultural practices and food production.

Armed with innovative technologies and visionary approaches, these startups are leading a movement that aims to enhance food security and transform African agriculture into a model of economic viability and sustainability.

A trio of visionaries from Amazon, JP Morgan and Luno have established a digital insurance platform Nile, a business-to-business (B2B) marketplace that …

Hormuud Telecom
  • Hormuud Telecom has launched the 5G network across Somalia, enhancing the speed of internet and communication.
  • This marks a significant leap towards a digitally inclusive society with reliable internet connectivity in the country.
  • A 5G networks is set to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and revolutionize public services such as healthcare and education.

Hormuud Telecom has unveiled its 5G network, marking a historic moment for its main market Somalia, which now enters into the elite group of African nations such as Kenya and Ethiopia that have embraced this cutting-edge technology.

Hormuud Telecom 5G signal is now present across 30 cities and towns, promising to revolutionize the speed of the internet and communication and transform Somalia’s digital economy.

Enhancing Communication with 5G Technology

The introduction of the 5G network by Hormuud Telecom signifies a monumental leap in improving internet connectivity’s speed and reliability across Somalia. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, along …

With all of its diplomatic and economic might in the region, Kenya's election has far-reaching ramifications for East Africa's development and growth.. www.theexchange.africa
  • These AWS Local Zones deliver single-digit millisecond latency performance at the edge of the cloud to hundreds of millions of people globally
  • Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) has revealed plans to launch an AWS Local Zone in Nairobi, Kenya
  • This year, Amazon plans to launch an additional 32 AWS Local Zones in 26 countries globally reaching millions of users

Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) has revealed plans to launch an AWS Local Zone in Nairobi, Kenya.

The company infrastructure will join 16 existing AWS Local Zones across the US. This year, Amazon plans to launch an additional 32 AWS Local Zones in 26 countries globally reaching millions of users.

AWS is setting up an AWS Local Zone in Kenya to capitalize on the growing popularity of cloud computing.

Read: Google positions itself to reap from Africa’s explosive internet market

Why Cloud computing in Africa?

The question one would ask is …

Crypto trading addiction threatens crypto adoption in Africa. www.theexchange.africa
  • Treatment centres worldwide are now considering cryptocurrency trading as an addiction, with some asking for as high as US$90,000 to treat the “ailment”
  • There are more than 12,000 cryptocurrencies. At the end of 2021, the market was adding about 1,000 new cryptocurrencies every month
  • According to Jan Gerber, a clinic owner, inquiries about crypto-related issues have increased by 300 per cent between 2018 and 2021

One would be tempted to ask, how is crypto trading addictive, and if it is, how much would it cost to treat a crypto addiction? Treatment centres worldwide are now considering cryptocurrency trading as an addiction, with some asking for as high as US$90,000 to treat the “ailment”.

A report by Bloomberg revealed that many people are considering crypto trading addictive and are seeking medical help for it. Crypto addicts have gone as far as comparing their addiction to drugs and gambling.

How is

Warning to African crypto traders: Fraudsters exploit over US$1.6 billion worth of crypto in 2022. www.theexchange.africa

CertiK, a blockchain security firm, reports that the amount exploited in the first four months of 2022 surpasses the total amount stolen in 2021 (US$1.3 billion) and 2020 (US$516 million) combined. The month of March alone beats 2020 by US$203.2 million.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) space has been stained with hackers, exploiters and scammers. Over US$1.6 billion worth of crypto has been stolen from users in the first quarter of 2022, the highest ever recorded.

CertiK revealed the statistics on May 2; the month of March recorded the highest stolen value of US$719.2 million.…

A previous conference for African Insurtech sector. The Insurtech boom is deepening insurance uptake in Africa. www.theexchange.africa

Kenya-based Pula is another distinguished insurtech making waves in the continent. It provides small scale farmers with agricultural insurance and digital products, to help mitigate the risk of enduring extreme conditions; assisting small-scale holder farmers to navigate climate risks, improve their farming techniques and boost their revenues. Since its inception in 2015, Pula has impacted 4.3 million farmers across 13 African markets.  

Furthermore, the firm has managed to raise a total of US$6million from global venture capital backers for Africa and Asia expansion. Pula won the ‘Insurtech of the year’ award at the African Insurance Awards. Its growth has enabled it to partner with the World Food Programme, to insure 3.5 million farmers across 10 African countries. 

Into the bargain, Kenya’s Lami Technologies is another acclaimed insurtech company that recently received US$1.8 million pre-seed; with the round led by Accion Venture Lab, AAIC, Future Africa, among others. The company projects…

The race of cryptocurrencies to gain popularity in Africa. www.theexchange.africa

The race to adopt cryptocurrencies is hitting new ceilings in Africa as their popularity increases, despite hostile policies from several governments in the continent.

One of the main reasons investors across the globe are seeking to diversify traditional assets in Africa into cryptos is to counter rising fiat inflation, with a majority of crypto investors and traders believing that crypto coins and tokens are safer and more secure than traditional investments such as gold, oil, stocks, liquid cash and real estate.

The roles that these cryptos and alternative coins play in society are not well defined, but they have a vivid description as each day passes as to which purposes they serve.…

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digital court 255x143 1
  • Zimbabwe to introduce electronic courts early next month, with all the partners trained and geared to embrace the development.
  • President Emmerson Mnangagwa is to officially commission the newly-established Commercial Court division of the High Court the same week.
  • The theme for 2022, as announced by Chief Justice Luke Malaba is Use of Technology to Enhance Efficiency and the Rule of Law in the Judiciary.

Zimbabwe is set to introduce electronic courts (e-courts) starting May 1, 2022. E-courts will be introduced in line with new technologies and the need for efficiency in the delivery of justice with consistency and collective effort by all justice delivery players. The key advantages include bringing in a justice serving mechanism that is transparent, efficient, affordable, time-saving, protects the interests of witnesses, reduces the backlog of pending cases, and most importantly reduces the number of unscrupulous activities. The announcement was made through Statutory Instrument (SI) 78, …

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