Author: Staff Writer

On Monday, Toyota South Africa Motors announced that it has started full production of the new Toyota Corolla  following a R1-billion investment in its Prospecton manufacturing plant in Durban. Johan van Zyl, the CEO of the company, said the R1-billion investment was the second to be announced in the current…

Tunisian authorities should mark the celebration of the country’s new constitution on February 7, 2014, by immediately quashing the sentences of anyone convicted under laws that violate human rights, Human Rights Watch said today. One of these is Jaber Mejri, a blogger imprisoned since 2012 for publishing caricatures deemed insulting…

According to a recent report released by The Banker Magazine of Financial Times and Brand Finance in the United Kingdom, First Bank of Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank and Zenith Bank have been named in the list of  top 500 bank brands in the world. First Bank was ranked 382 from…

Sony has just announced that it would be exiting the PC business. This is part of the significant steps to address reform of the PC and TV businesses, while at the same time moving forward with further optimization and streamlining of its manufacturing, sales and headquarters/indirect functions, and concentrating resources in…

MTN’s enterprise customers with global operations are now able to communicate with their branches and employees worldwide. This follows the signing of an agreement between MTN and leading international telecommunications provider PCCW Global, which will enable MTN to expand coverage of its global Virtual Private Network (VPN) to countries where…

Twitter has announced that the number of its mobile monthly active users stood at 184 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2013; this represents 37% increase in the figures reported a year old. Since the total number of Twitter users is 241 million, the announcement means that…

As part of efforts aimed at boosting its roles in the bank-led mobile money system in Nigeria, Teasy Mobile Money has launched its mobile payment services in Zamfara State, Nigeria The company said the launch is in support of the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from…

Forbes, the influential international magazine has named 3 young Nigerian Internet entrepreneurs to watch out for in 2014. They are Uche Pedro, Founder, BellaNaija, Bankole Cardoso, CEO, Easy Taxi Nigeria and Tunde Kehinde, Co-founder, Jumia Nigeria. The 3 young internet entrepreneurs were named alongside 27 others as “30 Most Promising…

A semi commercial plant used for the production of a thin-film solar module that provides an effective way to convert solar energy into electricity has been commissioned in Stellenbosch. The plant was co-developed by the South African technology development and intellectual holding company Photovoltaic Technology Intellectual Property (PTiP) in partnership…

Ghana electronic payment system (e-pay slips) system introduced by the Controller and Accountant General’s Department for public sector workers has recorded over 11,000 users at end of the last quarter (Q4) of 2013. With this figure, the Ghanaian government expressed that the machanised payroll has received a lot of patronage from…

Electronics Giant, Samsung, has partnered with Swarovski, global leader in cut crystal and fashion jewelry, to create limited edition encrusted crystal cover for the recently introduced Galaxy Note 3. The Cover was unveiled at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week FW14 taking place in New York. According to Young Hee Lee, executive…

Hmm… Why would MTN come up with its own smartphone? Does it think it knows the phone business and the African consumer enough to develop a smartphone for its consumers? With the development of the MTN Steppa Smartphone, MTN is indeed saying that it knows the consumer well enough to…

Indications have emerged that .africa domains will become available from September 2014. According to Neil Dundas, ZA Central Registry (ZACR) Chief Operating Officer, the Sunrise and Rush periods will begin in May 2014and end before September. He said: “dotAfrica (.africa) domains will be available for registration on a first-come-first-served basis…

Microsoft and its partners, Computers For Schools Kenya and iFixit today wrapped up the training programme it began yesterday for 20 youth artisans who were trained in device repair. The two-day event was held place at the Pan African Christian University in Nairobi. Participants got in depth, hands on training…

The 2014 Google’s RISE (Roots in Science and Engineering ) Awards is donating $1.5 million grant to organisations  around the world that provide students with resources they need to succeed in  computer science programs. Google revealed this in a statement posted on its official blog. “We want to inspire young…

After weeks of rumours and speculations, Microsoft has presented 46 year old Satya Nadella as the new CEO. He is to take over immediately while Steve Ballmer retires immediately.  Bill Gates  will now take up the role of  Technology Advisor, while John Thompson assumes role as Chairman of Board of…

Recently Etisalat announced the 2013 shortlist for the Etisalat Prize for Literature. The list includes the following names: Bom Boy by Yewande Omotoso (Modjaji Publishers) Finding Soutbek by Karen Jennings (Holland Park Press) We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo (Little, Brown and Company/Chatto & Windus UK) In its inaugural year, the Etisalat Prize…

Today marks the 10th year anniversary of Facebook. Exactly 1o years, 4th of February 2004, Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in his Harvard school dormitory. (See original interface above). The site was conceived as a way to connect students, and let them build an online identity for themselves. To say it…

Etisalat Group has been nominated for three GSMA Global Mobile Awards this year for advanced and world-class services offered across the Middle East, African and Asian markets. In 2013, Etisalat commercially rolled out a fully interoperable, industrial grade, open-loop commerce ecosystem “Flous” across majority of its operations. The scope of…

foodpanda and hellofood aim for over 40 countries in early 2014 foodpanda and its affiliated brand hellofood, the fastest growing online food delivery marketplace worldwide, received another USD 20 million in funding from a group of investors including Phenomen Ventures. With the new investment foodpanda is aiming to continue its…