Nigeria – Africa Tech Digest

8Jun

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Nigeria, West Africa

New innovation centre launched in Lagos

Governor of Lagos state, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has unveiled the Eko Innovation Centre, a tech hub that is private sector-driven. The initiative was developed to strategically increase entrepreneurial and technological capacity across the state. Speaking during the launch of the centre located at Ikoyi, Sanwo-Olu, who would be sworn in today as Governor of Lagos State, said the location of the innovation centre used to be one of his campaign offices. “It used to be a place where I had lots of young people who used to spend long nights to develop a lot of concepts around my manifesto. “So, we said to ourselves, what is the best thing we can use this place for and so we decided to turn it into a tech hub, where people can come here to develop ideas. “So, it is for Lagosians t...

Nigeria ends 2018 with 172m subscribers, 31.5% broadband penetration

20Jan

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Nigeria, West Africa

Nigeria ends 2018 with 172m subscribers, 31.5% broadband penetration

Nigeria’s telecommunications sector ended the year 2018 with 172 million subscribers, with teledensity rising to 123.4 per cent from 105 per cent in January 2018. Telephone density or teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every hundred individuals living within an area. It varies widely across the nations and also between urban and rural areas within a country. Subscribers’ statistics released yesterday by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that service providers including MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9Mobile, among others got 25.5 million new subscribers in the course of the year. In the same vein, broadband penetration in Nigeria rose from 30.9 per cent in November to 31.5 per cent as at December 31. Broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission, wh...

Zimbabwe’s internet blackout shows how powerless major telcos are against governments

19Jan

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Central Africa, East Africa, Nigeria, Southern Africa, Tech Policy, West Africa

Zimbabwe’s internet blackout shows how powerless major telcos are against governments

Internet access was restored in Zimbabwe late on Wednesday, but on Thursday WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter remained inaccessible. More than 600 people were arrested this week as police armed with AK-47 rifles rounded up protestors, according to the Associated Press. At least six people were killed when the military was deployed to quell protests against high fuel prices on Monday. Amnesty International reported eight deaths, while the Association of Doctors for Human Rights reported treated 68 cases of gunshot wounds and more than 100 other cases of assaults. A tense calm returned on Thursday. Zimbabweans were protesting a fuel hike that would see the price of petrol and diesel rise by 150%in a country that already had fuel shortages. Amid the violent crackdown on pro...

Internet Switched Back On Again In Zimbabwe After A Total Blackout For The Second Time In A Week

18Jan

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Central Africa, East Africa, Nigeria, Southern Africa, Tech Policy, West Africa

Internet Switched Back On Again In Zimbabwe After A Total Blackout For The Second Time In A Week

The Zimbabwean story continues to be crazier at every turn. Around mid day on Tuesday the government ordered internet service providers to block all citizens from the internet. The nation was switched back on yesterday after 30 hours of darkness. When we thought that it was all done, the government issued another directive at Nicodemus time last night around 10 pm instructing total shut down again. Zimbabwe woke up to no internet today and Econet subscribers had the following message in their SMS inbox: At 22:05 17/01/19, we were served with another directive for total shutdown of the internet until further notice. Our lawyers advised we are required to comply with the directive pending the Courts decision on its legality. The earlier directives are already the subject of a pendin...

5 Nigerian startups you should pay attention to in 2018

29Dec

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

List & Guides, Nigeria, Start-ups

5 Nigerian startups you should pay attention to in 2018

This past year wrapped up with several notable events surrounding the Nigerian tech scene. While some events provoked watery eyes, such as the passing on of young talents, there was also a lot to rejoice over. More local startups caught the attention of foreign investors, and the tech scene is decentralising from Lagos and emerging in other states. Furthermore, Nigerian startups have shown doggedness in their quest to solve problems in the country as more keep springing almost on a daily basis. There’s a chance that these only signal the beginning of brighter and more achievements in the new year. While we await more, here are 5 Nigerian startups you shouldn’t take your eyes off as 2018 creeps in. Monapay Monapay, a fintech startup, launched in 2017 intends to go...