Author: Staff Writer

Airtel Nigeria has announced to the rollout of a new broadband value plan as part of its moves to extend broadband connectivity in homes and offices across the country. In a statement provided on Sunday, the telco said the launch of the new home offering rides on its expansive and…

The Next Einstein Forum (NEF) today announced its third Class of NEF Fellows, 25 strong scientists, all under 42 years, whose research and innovations are contributing to solve Africa’s and the world’s most pressing challenges. “I am excited to announce the 3rd class of NEF Fellows for two reasons. The…

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has hinted in the introduction of 5% tax for online purchases. According to the Chairman of the revenue service, Mr Tunde Fowler in an interview with newsmen in Abuja, FIRS will ask banks from next year, to charge customers five per cent Value Added Tax…

Team HIVE from University of Ibadan in Nigeria beat four other finalists to  win N1 million as first prize in the recently concluded Professor Ayodele Awojobi Design Competition (PAADC) PAADC, now in its third edition, is an initiative of the University of Lagos Engineering Society. It is designed to spark ingenuity…

On his second attempt, Frenchman Franky Zapata finally succeeded in crossing the English Channel on his designed jet-powered hoverboard. He took off from Sangatte in northern France and it took him just over 20 minutes to make the 22-mile (35 km) trip He achieved this feat on Sunday August 4 after…

South African logistics startup, Cloudline, has been announced as one of the ten winning startups in the 2019 MassChallenge Israel. Founded in 2017 by Harvard graduate Spencer Horne, Cloudline uses autonomous airships to transport goods. Cloudline will participate in the MassChallenge Israel US Roadshow, a curated business trip and introduction to the…

After a complex three year process, Standard Chartered Bank has completed the sale of the majority of its private equity investment portfolio to Affirma Capital backed by Intermediate Capital Group’s Strategic Equity funds. In 2016 the bank decided to reduce its balance sheet exposure to Principal Finance by streamlining it over…

Chinese owned by Nigerian based payment solutions provider, GONA, has announced the completion of millions of dollars in Pre-A round of financing. Though the amount was not disclosed, the funds will be used for product technology upgrades and team building, so says Liu Xiaojun, founder and CEO of GONA. As reported…

If you did not know, Mark Zuckerberg now wants you to know that Facebook owns Instagram and WhatsApp. He is doing this by rebranding the apps to “Instagram from Facebook” and “WhatsApp from Facebook.” This was reported by The Information and Facebook has confirmed directly. “We want to be clearer about the…

Google has unveiled two features we should be expecting on the Pixel 4 ahead of its October launch. The two features are Motion Sense and face unlock – helping you to get things done without having to touch it. The tech giant actually dropped a blog post to explain the…

Your professional development is hugely important, and if you’re career-driven and focused, then making your way through the ranks and reaching the top spots is going to be firmly on your mind. Your career is central to how you live your life, and job satisfaction can have an enormous impact…

The Founder and Executive Director of Ventures Platform Hub, Kola Aina is stepping down from the helm of affairs and moving to the board of the company. He will continue to provide leadership to the overarching goals of Ventures Platform Hub while leading VP Fund’s investment efforts. Mimshach Obioha has…

Kenya-based Direct Payment Online (DPO) Group has announced the acquisition of South Africa payments processing service, PayFast. This is the the fifth company the group has acquired since its inception in 2006.“PayFast is a natural fit for DPO Group and this deal strategically follows our acquisitions of PayGate, VCS, Paythru and…

You may say Uh! What does this mean? Let me break it down for you. Currently WhatsApp only allows you to use one single account on a single device. If you want to use the same account on another phone, you’ll be prompted to log out of the the first…

The 12 startups from the Africa region in the 2019 MIT Inclusive Innovation Challenge (IIC) have been announced. Globally 60 startups have emerged from the five regions – US & Canada, Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa. The IIC is MIT’s premier future of work prize, awarding $1.6 million annually to…

Somtel, a leading telecommunications company from East Africa, and Kirusa, a global leader in communication solutions over data networks, today announced the launch of Somtel ReachMe, the first-ever unlimited calling package to Somalia, making it easy and affordable for Somalians living abroad to stay in touch with their friends and…

Ride hailing giant, Uber, has let go of 400 employees in the Marketing team as it tries to cut costs and streamline its operations after its initial public offering in May. The news of the layoffs was first reported by The New York Times. As at March 31, 2019, Uber’s public…

Flutterwave has partnered with Alipay to enable all its merchants access to over 1 billion Alipay users. The San Francisco and Lagos-based fintech  startup has integrated the Alipay platform such that Flutterwave merchants can accept or install Alipay as a payment type to accept payments from its billion users. Flutterwave currently has more than…

Oppo has tweeted images of new smartphone display design of what it calls “Waterfall Screen” technology. This presupposes that it could be unveiling a new smartphone soon with this feature. The tweet says “Taking borderless smartphone innovation to new heights, we are thrilled to you a first look at “Waterfall…

eCommerce giant, Jumia, has entered an agreement with Vivo Energy, the pan-African retailer and distributor of Shell and Engen-branded fuels and lubricants to use its stations as pick up and drop off points for customers. Jumia customers would be able to collect or return online orders made on Jumia’s digital platform.…