Author: Staff Writer

An eSIM (embedded SIM) is a tiny, rewritable chip built into your phone, tablet, or smartwatch that replaces the plastic SIM card. Instead of inserting a card, you download a mobile plan as a secure “profile” (usually by scanning a QR code). You can store multiple profiles, switch lines in…

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Dr. Shimon Sakaguchi for discoveries that revealed how the immune system applies “brakes” to stop itself from attacking the body. Their work established the biology of regulatory T cells (T-regs) and…

Xiaomi has officially launched two new smartphones in Nigeria—the budget-friendly Redmi 15 and the flagship-class Xiaomi 15T—as part of a dual-track strategy to serve value seekers and power users alike. Both devices are already listed on Xiaomi’s Nigeria site, with local partners confirming retail availability from today. According to Xiaomi…

Lagos made history last weekend, hosting Africa’s first-ever round of the UIM E1 World Championship—the world’s premier all-electric powerboat series—on Lagos Lagoon. In front of an energised waterfront crowd, Team Brazil (by Claure Group) powered to victory at the E1 Lagos GP presented by FirstBank, sealing their maiden win in…

Paxful, once billed as the world’s largest people-powered crypto marketplace, will cease operations by November 1, 2025, closing a 10-year chapter that helped mainstream peer-to-peer (P2P) trading across Africa and beyond. In a statement, the company said the decision follows the lasting impact of historic misconduct by former co-founders Ray…

Sorce, an AI-powered job-search app that lets you swipe right to apply while an agent handles the forms, has officially joined Y Combinator’s F25 batch. The team calls it “Tinder for jobs”: you browse roles, swipe, and Sorce’s automation visits the employer’s site, fills applications, and drafts tailored cover letters—turning…

Social media users in Cameroon are alleging that pro-government accounts are pushing AI-generated campaign videos ahead of the October 12, 2025 presidential election. The posts—circulating on Facebook, X, and WhatsApp—claim slick, narrator-driven clips touting government achievements were synthesized with generative tools, blurring the line between political advertising and synthetic media.…

Editor’s note: This update follows our August 2025 coverage — “Nigeria’s POS Market Faces Shake-Up as CBN Imposes ISO 20022 and Geo-Tagging Rules” — which outlined the tech mandates now being operationalized by today’s circular. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released a new circular—PSP/DIR/CON/CWO/001/049—that resets how agent banking…

Egypt-born cleantech company Tagaddod has secured $26.3 million in Series A financing to scale a technology platform that sources and certifies renewable, waste-based feedstocks for the biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industries. The round was led by The Arab Energy Fund (TAEF) and joined by existing backers including FMO,…

Every HVAC contractor knows that efficiency sells, but in today’s market, efficiency alone isn’t enough. Customers want systems that work harder for longer while leaving a lighter mark on the environment. At the same time, businesses need solutions that cut costs and strengthen their bottom line. The companies making the…

OpenAI is moving from recommendations to transactions. The company introduced Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, a new flow that lets people buy products without leaving the conversation. The feature is powered by an open standard called the Agentic Commerce Protocol, co-developed with Stripe, and debuts today for U.S. ChatGPT Free, Plus,…

At its 2025 Lei Jun Annual Speech in Beijing—this year themed “Change”—Xiaomi unveiled a sweeping hardware refresh led by the Xiaomi 17 smartphone family, joined by the Pad 8 series and a slate of smart home appliances. The event doubled as a progress report on the company’s “Human × Car…

The Nigerian government is moving to bring remote workers into the tax net under new reforms, aiming for a total tax burden of roughly 23% on their earnings. In June 2025, President Bola Tinubu signed four major tax bills into law, overhauling the system to ensure that freelancers and remote…

Do you ever wonder how doctors and pharmacists know the exact medication you need, including the ideal oral doses and how often you should take it? The answer lies in sophisticated data gathering and analysis, made possible with pharmacokinetic modeling software. This specialized tool has become an important component in…

Julius Berger Nigeria Plc is winding down its short-lived adventure in agro-processing, choosing instead to return its full attention to the construction arena where it has long dominated. Following a board resolution on September 24, 2025, the company approved a lease arrangement that transfers day-to-day control of its cashew-nut processing…

Airtel Africa’s philanthropic arm is moving from pledge to playbook. One year after its launch, the Airtel Africa Foundation outlined a 2026 agenda that blends hard infrastructure with human-capital bets: 100 undergraduate scholarships for Nigerians (200 Africa-wide), two tech hubs in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and…

WhatsApp is adding a native translation button to chats, a small interface tweak with an outsized promise: letting 3+ billion people talk across languages without leaving the app—or sacrificing privacy. The feature, announced by parent company Meta and rolling out now, lets users long-press any message and tap Translate. You…

Google is bringing its Gemini assistant to the living room, debuting on select Google TV sets and streaming devices with a design tuned for couch-friendly, large-screen use. Unlike classic voice assistants that wait for tightly phrased commands, Gemini on Google TV supports free-flowing conversation: you can ask for recommendations, follow…

Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, has committed up to $10 million in senior secured debt to ARC Ride, the Nairobi-based electric mobility operator. The financing—structured with a five-year tenor—marks the Mirova Gigaton Fund’s first EV investment in sub-Saharan Africa and is aimed squarely at scaling the backbone of…

OpenAI and Nvidia have signed a letter of intent for a sweeping strategic partnership that pairs capital with compute at unprecedented scale. Under the plan, Nvidia will invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI as the startup deploys at least 10 gigawatts of Nvidia systems to train and run its…