Author: Staff Writer

Nigeria’s communication technology minister, Omobola Johnson, has called on telecoms companies in Nigeria to improve their quality of services. She made the call at the opening auction of 30 MHz Slot of the 2.3 GHz Spectrum band. She said telecoms operators should become more innovative and find creative ways to…

GOtv has been accused of interfering with Star Times’ signals in Rwanda few weeks after it entered the market. According to Star Times CEO, Hans Huo the regulatory body, Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) is not doing much to address the situation. He said: “GOtv came into the market without…

A new technology that would benefit private fertilizer traders in Rwanda is currently being extended nationwide and across sectors. The technology will lead to the development of efficient and competitive fertilizer procurement and distribution systems. The nationwide deployment is supported with funding from the USAID. The innovation was introduced in…

Facebook has announced that it is paying $16 billion for WhatsApp messaging service. According to the agreement, Facebook will pay $4 billion in cash and $12 billion in Facebook shares.  The agreement also provides for an additional $3 billion in restricted stock units to be granted to WhatsApp’s founders and…

Today, Google announced the launch of Google Capital, a new growth equity fund backed by Google and led by partners David Lawee, Scott Tierney and Gene Frantz. The goal of this new fund is to invest in the most promising companies of tomorrow. According to David Lawee, one of the Partners, this…

After the auction of the 2.3 GHz Spectrum by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), Bitflux Communications beat Globacom with a bid of $23,251,000.  The NCC had earlier in a public notice, announced Globacom Limited and Bitflux Communications Limited as the approved bidders for the 2.3GHz frequency spectrum. The Auction had earlier been set at…

Coca-Cola introduces the Social Media Guard. It says it is a cure for Social Media Addiction. According to Coca-Cola, “There are times that Social Media can get in the way of real world. Remember that its is the thing that happens when you run out of battery. That is we…

Canonical today announces it has signed agreements with mobile device manufacturers bq (www.bqreaders.com) (Spain) and Meizu (China) to bring Ubuntu smartphones to consumers globally. Canonical is working with these partners to ship the first Ubuntu devices on the latest hardware in 2014. Ubuntu has also received significant support from the…

Chris Jones, Corporate Vice President, Windows Services, has announced the global availability of OneDrive. Microsoft unveiled its replacement name for SkyDrive just a few weeks ago as a result of a lawsuit filed and won by UK pay-TV provider BSkyB over the rights to the Sky brand name. OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service…

From February 18th to March 7th, you can vote for and help select the five most inspiring success stories that are running ventures that use the web and Google to transform lives and communities. The winners will each receive a $25,000 Africa Connected prize to help make their success even…

Airtel Tanzania has announced an innovative service on Airtel money service that will provide its customers with a new experience in transacting mobile money. Speaking during the launch, Airtel Managing Director Sunil Colaso said: “Today we are happy to launch our new Airtel Money campaign dubbed “Hatoki Mtu Hapa” loosely…

Ericsson has signed a five-year managed services agreement with MTN, a leading telecommunications company with presence in 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East, for its Nigeria operations. MTN Nigeria is the largest mobile operator in Nigeria and West Africa with over 45 million subscribers. This agreement not only…

The country’s largest mobile network operator – MTC, has entered the mobile payment market in partnership with MobiPay in a first step taken by a Namibian mobile network operator. The partnership has resulted in MTC Money, which is a payment solution that allows MTC subscribers to conduct money transfers, make…

InnovationVillage recently had an interview with Amy Muoneke, CEO of bus.com.ng.  The Interview…. InnovationVillage (IV): When was bus.com.ng launched? Amy Muoneke (AM): Bus.com.ng has been operational since June 2013 IV: Is it fully owned by Spark.ng? AM: Bus.com.ng is a Spark.ng owned company IV: How many bus companies are on…

On Tuesday, Microsoft Corp. introduced the first four youth members to the 4Afrika Advisory Council to ensure the critical voices of Africa’s large youth demographic are heard. The Microsoft 4Afrika Advisory Council, announced last October, is an external board of advisers tasked with guiding strategic investments undertaken by the Microsoft…

PandoDaily is a news site which covers the technology startup ecosystem. It was founded in 2012 by Sarah Lacy. With this funds raised from new and existing investors, the full amount raised by the company to date is 4.2 million. According to Sarah in her article about the funding, “$1.2 million is…

This week is alive with Social Media Week events happenings at various centres across Lagos. Co-creation Hub is one of the venues and here is a list of the events (from CcHub) that will take place there from tomorrow, 19th of February 2014. As Nigeria prepares for the general elections…

ICS Financial Systems Ltd. – ICSFS (http://www.icsfs.com), the global software and services provider for banks and financial institutions, is pleased to announce that it has won “Best Core Banking Systems Technology Provider” in Africa for its ICS BANKS® solution at the prestigious World Finance Technology Awards that was organized by World Finance magazine. http://youtu.be/8kDuYrnKUTc…

Kenya’s Safaricom has been chosen as the 9th most innovative company of 2013 according to a recent report by Fast Company. Safaricom was chosen primarily for bridging a health care gap with Telecom, using Daktari 1525. Watch the video below to learn about Daktari 1525. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6anx66G_2w According to Fast Company “…

Microsoft announced late last week that it has sold over 200 million Windows 8 licenses. Vice President of Marketing, Tami Reller, made this remark during an appearance at the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference. The 200 million licenses do not include volume license sales, but the number does include sales…