Technology – Page 3 – Africa Tech Digest

Largest-Ever Data Centre Expansion in Africa to Cost $500M Across 10 Countries

4Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, North Africa, Telecommunications

Largest-Ever Data Centre Expansion in Africa to Cost $500M Across 10 Countries

Africa Data Centres, one of the continent’s leading carrier-neutral co-location data centre providers, has announced plans to build large hyperscale data centres throughout Africa, including the North African countries of Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. According to a statement today released from Africa Data Centres, the project will involve building 10 hyperscale data centres, in 10 countries, over the next two years – at a cost of more than $500-million. It is being funded through new equity and facilities from leading development finance institutions and multilateral organisations. Africa Data Centres CEO, Stephane Duproz, explains that the finance for the roll-out has been provided by equity and loans to Africa Data Centres’ parent company, Liquid Intelligent Technologies, to fully...

Vodacom SA Launches 5G in Northern Cape with ICASA’s Temporary Spectrum

3Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

5G, Mobile, Southern Africa, Telecommunications

Vodacom SA Launches 5G in Northern Cape with ICASA’s Temporary Spectrum

Vodacom Central Region has become the first network provider to launch a 5G mobile network in Kimberly, Northern Cape province of South Africa. The new 5G network supports both mobile and fixed wireless access services. Customers of the carrier with 5G enabled devices, and within a 5G coverage area, are now able to access the new 5G network in Northern Cape province. In May 2020, Vodacom switched on South Africa’s first live 5G mobile network in three cities – Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town. This network supports both mobile and fixed wireless services and is currently available in Free State, Gauteng, Western Cape, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu Natal provinces. Continue reading

Building Shopify for Africa: Nigeria’s Bumpa plans to digitise thousands of African businesses

3Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, ecommerce, Nigeria, Start-ups

Building Shopify for Africa: Nigeria’s Bumpa plans to digitise thousands of African businesses

Nigerian eCommerce startup, Bumpa, has raised a $200,000 pre-seed to digitise thousands of African businesses on its platform. Greencap Equity, HoaQ club, Rizq Investment Group, Microtraction, DFS Lab, Aidi Ventures, Prosper Otemuyiwa, Oo Nwoye, Perfect Makanju, Whogohost’s venture arm, and a few other angel investors took part in the round. Bumpa, formerly known as SalesCabal, was relaunched in February 2021 by Kelvin Umechukwu (CEO) and Adetunji Opayele (CTO). The company helps retailers manage and grow their businesses using their smartphones. Continue reading

Huawei Nova 8 and Nova Y60 Now Available in South Africa

1Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Gadgets, Mobile, Southern Africa, Telecommunications

Huawei Nova 8 and Nova Y60 Now Available in South Africa

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Huawei has officially launched two new smartphones today in South Africa – the Huawei Nova 8 and the Nova Y60. The devices are being marketed to, as the company puts it, “Gen-Zers.” Huawei Nova 8 In terms of battery, the Huawei Nova 8 comes with 66W Huawei SuperCharge support, which ensures users won’t have to charge the device too frequently. “Your phone can also be charged to 60% in just 15 minutes and 100% in 35 minutes, so even if you had forgotten to charge it earlier, you can still charge up while you’re busy getting ready to meet up with the gang,” Huawei writes in a statement about the launch of the devices. Continue reading

Vodacom Partners With Trend Micro Expanding its Cybersecurity Offerings

30Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Cybersecurity, Telecommunications

Vodacom Partners With Trend Micro Expanding its Cybersecurity Offerings

Vodacom Business has announced a partnership with IT security firm Trend Micro. The partnership will see Vodacom Business’ security solutions expanded to offer Trend Micro’s Worry-Free Services. “When combined with vulnerabilities from organisations shifting rapidly to digitalisation and remote working within the pandemic environment, cybersecurity failure is one of the top risks for businesses around the world in 2021, according to The World Economic Forum,” Vodacom Business says in a statement. This suite of protection services not only encompasses multiple endpoints, such as laptops, desktops, mobile devices and servers but includes web browsing, email and cloud collaboration. Continue reading

Apple’s New iPhone 13 Reported to Feature Satellite Connectivity

30Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Gadgets, Mobile, Telecommunications

Apple’s New iPhone 13 Reported to Feature Satellite Connectivity

New reports are indicating that Apple’s upcoming iPhone 13 will feature satellite communication connectivity in an aspect that will allow users to make calls and send texts in areas with little to no cellular coverage. The iPhone 13 has been the subject of much speculation and conversation has been forming around a series of alleged leaks of the forthcoming handset. According to a recent note seen by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 13 will be coming to market with new hardware that will tap low orbit satellites, allowing the iPhone 13 to remain connected even in areas without internet or mobile coverage. The iPhone 13 is expected to make use of the Qualcomm X60 baseband chip, which reportedly supports satellite communications. If this proves to be the case and the device s...

Top 4 Most Trending Stories – Week in Review

28Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Africans in Tech, Telecommunications

Digital transformation depends on diversity

Across industries, businesses are now tech and data companies. The sooner they grasp and live that, the quicker they will meet their customer needs and expectations, create more business value and grow. It is increasingly important to reimagine business and use digital technologies to create new business processes, cultures, customer experiences and opportunities. One of the myths about digital transformation is that it’s all about harnessing technology. It’s not. To succeed, digital transformation inherently requires and relies on diversity. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the result of human intelligence, enabled by its vast talents and also susceptible to its limitations. Therefore, it is imperative for organizations and teams to make diversity a priority and think about it beyon...

Infobip to Power Expresso Senegal Customer Communication with Whatsapp

8Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Mobile, Telecommunications, West Africa

Infobip to Power Expresso Senegal Customer Communication with Whatsapp

DAKAR, Senegal, August 5, 2021/APO Group/ -- Global leader in business communications services Infobip (www.Infobip.com) announced today it will provide WhatsApp customer communication services and its Conversations CPaaS-based contact center solution to leading Senegal mobile operator Expresso. Mobile operators worldwide are increasingly adopting cloud-based customer communication solutions, in no small part driven by the COVID-19 pandemic which stressed the need to make remote services available to subscribers. As one of the most popular messaging apps in the world, WhatsApp is widely used to connect brands and mobile users, and Infobip has been a launch partner of WhatsApp business messaging. Continue reading (Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Infobip)

The impact of Covid-19 on Africa’s tech health sector

8Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Health Tech, Trends

The impact of Covid-19 on Africa’s tech health sector

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the growth of the Africa tech health sector with many companies in the space seeing an the increase in digital adoption. With many countries having to shut down due to lockdowns and curfews as a result of covid-19, the impact on movement seemed to present an opportunity for businesses in the tech health space. Continue reading (Photo credit: Unsplash)