Friday, March 29

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 …

Screenshot 2022 03 16 at 16.13.16

Digital disinformation is becoming an increasingly common feature of Africa’s political landscape.

Africa’s technological space has grown exponentially over the past decade, largely driven by the increased access to mobile devices and internet.

The number of mobile phone users in Africa, 650 million, outnumbers the population of the United States or Europe.

How Africans are using mobile phones

Mobile phone use has increased exponentially as more people in African countries own a cell phone than clean water, a bank account or power.

Communication, radio listening, money transfers, online purchasing, and social media networking are all done via mobile phones in Africa. Many of the disparities between urban and rural areas, as well as the wealthiest and poorest, have been reduced or eliminated.

Similarly, internet prices are coming down while speeds are going up.

With high internet speeds, it is easy for anyone looking, or even sometimes not looking to stumble

60cf8ce9dee7a66476e985c9 africa
  • A sense of well-being encompasses a wide range of factors, including access to education and employment, as well as the lack of armed combat or threats
  • Digitization has provided a cheap, secure source of finance to populations in need and improved government transparency in countries where graft and corruption are a huge concern.
  • Technological change has also resulted in increased productivity which has in turn improved African’s standards of living

 

When we think about the quality of life, the first thing that comes to mind is the degree to which an individual is healthy, comfortable, and able to participate in or enjoy life events.

A sense of well-being encompasses a wide range of factors, including access to education and employment, as well as the lack of armed combat or threats.

It is also relative, subjective and has intangible components, such as spiritual beliefs and a sense of belonging.

Rapid

African governments postponing an inevitable crypto world. www.theexchange.africa
  • Africans, starting from governments, startups, non-governmental organizations, and generally all the people in the continent, are losing much more for failing to adapt to the advancements in the digital world
  • Artists ranging from painters, drawers, actors, musicians, sculptors and writers can now sell their pieces of art across the world as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)
  • Every day, new games are launching on the metaverse and you can buy an altcoin in a game and earn real money from it!
  • bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are a store of value and could be a haven asset in times of turmoil, playing the same role as gold

Several African governments have stood firm against cryptocurrencies even as blockchain technology takes over the currency markets. It appears that the dice on the shift to cryptos is already cast. The possibilities enabled by these cryptocurrencies make the switch imminent.

The biggest hindrances to the success of…

Breaking the Bias: Women inclusion key to unlocking profits in Africa’s e-commerce. www.theexchange.africa
  • E-commerce is a key component of the fourth industrial revolution and Africa is poised to become the world’s next big online retail frontier
  • Significant players like Konga, Jumia and Takealot are putting the continent on the global map, attracting pools of investors,
  • Statistics indicate that there are about 264 e-commerce start-ups that are operational across the continent, active in at least 23 countries; with a potential to create an estimated 3 million jobs by 2025

The rapid mushrooming and proliferation of E-Commerce Startups in Africa is a distinct bellwether that the industry is steadily flourishing like a green bay tree; making for a powerful development driver in the African economy.
E-commerce is a key component of the fourth industrial revolution and Africa is poised to become the world’s next big online retail frontier; with markets swiftly moving to embrace this revolution in full throttle, looking to build on the momentum…

DPO Group new partnerships to ease digital payments in Africa. www.theexchange.africa

The licensing follows a solid end to 2021, which saw DPO partner with a global leader in travel technology, Amadeus. Customers can now accept local payments, including via mobile money and card payments, allowing international airlines to operate locally and African airlines to expand globally. As a result of the partnership, DPO is connected to multiple regional and international airlines via Amadeus’s airline passenger system.

DPO Group plans to Further extend its growth in 2022, targeting new product innovation and territory launches.

The increased partnerships momentum follows the 2021 landmark acquisition by Network International, a globally renowned facilitator of e-commerce in the Middle East and Africa region.…

African governments, Google addressing cyber insecurity in Africa. www.theexchange.africa

Google users in Africa are increasing exponentially. According to Statcounter, Google takes up 96.55 per cent of all the people using search engines in the continent.

To protect their users against cybercrime, Google has announced that it is buying the prominent cybersecurity firm, Mandiant in a deal that values the business at US$5.4 billion.

The deal is expected to complete late this year, and it comes at a time when the Russian-Ukrainian war has aroused a lot of concerns about the rising cyber threats. Google will acquire Mandiant at US$23 a share to represent a 57 per cent premium to the firm’s share price.…

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