Author: Staff Writer

OLX, Nigeria’s number one online classified, won the award for best classified ads website of the year at the sophomore edition of the Nigeria Technology Awards (N.i.T.A) which held on Saturday, November 26, 2016 in Lagos. While receiving the award on behalf of the company, Goodluck Ikporo, Business Operations &…

International mobile phone brand, TECNO Mobile has partnered with English Premier League’s Manchester City Football Club in a global multi-year relationship. As the Official Tablet and Handset Partner of Manchester City Football Club, TECNO Mobile will work with the Club to grow their strategic marketing and advertising campaigns across the…

The CEO of eTranzact International PLC, Mr Valentine Obi believes that the implementation of Enhanced Strong Authentication system (ESA) which, in addition to the Applock technology, will significantly help reduce cybercrime and fraud in POS, Mobile and web transactions. This in turn can translate to a savings of over 200 billion Naira…

Bharti Airtel has announced that it has acquired Econet’s 4.2% stake in its Nigerian operating entity. According to Bharti Airtel; “Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV through its wholly-owned subsidiary, has completed the acquisition of Econet Wireless Limited’s entire 4.2 per cent shareholding in Airtel Nigeria.” “As a result, Airtel’s overall…

The government of Zimbabwe has completed the acquisition of Telecel shares from Vimplecom and Global Telecom. The government said in July 2015 that it had the agreement of VimpelCom to take over Telecel, but it was unable to provide the agreed $40 million. In a communique published by TechZim, the CEO,…

The Nigerian Communications Commission has suspended the planned increase of data tariffs. The telecoms regulatory body said the suspension was to allow for further consultation.  This is however not unconnected to the public outcry against the increase. The Senate also issued an order to halt the increment. https://twitter.com/NgComCommission/status/803959502055899136 In a…

Societe Generale announces that it has signed a merchant acquiring partnership with American Express in eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa where the Bank operates. These countries include Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Madagascar and Senegal. The agreement involves both online sales and POS payments through electronic payment terminals. This…

In the Rocket Internet Q3 results published today, Jumia recorded a 40% increase in gross margin despite a decrease in net revenue and cost of goods sold. It posted a gross profit of 21.8 million Euros compared to 18.3 million Euros last year. However net revenue decreased to 54.4 million…

Samsung’s commitment to producing innovative, life-changing products and services will be on display in its new campaign tagged, “Open Your Mind.” Samsung Electronics West Africa stated that the campaign will demonstrate Samsung’s commitment to innovation, quality and service to its consumers. The campaign will also serve as a reminder to…

Applications have opened for the Barclays Accelerator programme, powered by Techstars, an initiative aimed at uncovering the next M-Pesa or Paypal by working with exceptional fintech entrepreneurs innovating Africa’s financial services industry. This collaboration between Barclays Africa and Techstars offers a game-changing opportunity to 10 qualifying fintech startups, which will…

LeapFrog Investments has acquired a majority stake in for $22 million thereby giving East Africa-focused private equity firm Catalyst Principal Partners a full exit from the firm which it first backed in 2014. Goodlife plans to use LeapFrog’s investment to expand its network from nineteen locations to more than one hundred stores…

Yasmin Bello-Osagie, Co-founder She Leads Africa features in new Microsoft Windows 10 ad about the “Lenovo Yoga” Lenovo Yoga is a range of laptop and tablet computer products from Lenovo, named for their ability to assume multiple form factors due to a hinged screen. She talks about how technology helps SLA…

Today in history marks the day when the first commercial instant camera, Polaroid Land camera Model 95 went on sale at the Jordan Marsh department store in Boston – 28 November 1948 The camera was an instant hit – it produced sepia toned photographs in about one minute. It was easy to use and the…

European Investment Bank (EIB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have partnered with the European Commission to launch a new platform, Boost Africa Initiative, to support innovation and entrepreneurship across Africa. Boost Africa will contribute to fostering the development of an efficient entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa by supporting the earliest and riskier stages…

Naspers’ half year results show an increase of 16% year on year to US$6.8bn. Excluding acquisitions, disposals and currency movements, revenue growth was 27%. Businesses outside South Africa contributed 80% of revenues, up from 75% a year ago. Core headline earnings grew 31% to US$914m. “We experienced a satisfactory first six…

Safaricom has announced that it will be recruiting 40 female university students out of the earmarked 62 interns under its internship program by January 2017. This is in an attempt to woo more women to the technology field and it is under the Women In Technology initiative. The other 22 interns…

Hotels.ng, Nigeria’s leading hotel booking company has launched a free product – spots.ng. It suggests interesting spots and fascinating tourist attractions in Nigeria to users based on their preferred travel location while providing information such as directions, a list of discounted and nearby hotels, safety ratings, and reviews. Mark Essien,…

GE launches its first ever permanent ‘garages’ installation in Lagos, Nigeria The GE Lagos garage supports Government’s localization, skills development and job creation efforts in Nigeria The Lagos Garages space features advanced manufacturing innovations like 3D printers, laser cutters and CNC mills, encouraging entrepreneurial growth and building a skilled workforce…

Do you know that you can now watch a video on Whatsapp without downloading it first? Hitherto, you would have to download the video before you can actually watch it on your device. Now you can stream while you download if you want. Whatsapp is rolling out this feature on…

Fresh Direct emerged as the winner of the2016 She Leads Africa Demo Day held last week in Lagos. The Demo Day was the closing ceremony to the 6 month She Leads Africa Accelerator entrepreneurship development program. Five out of ten companies the SLA Accelerator worked with, were able to pitch their businesses on…