Author: Paul Adepoju

After a successful collaboration in 2014, DEMO Africa and AMPION will be teaming up again this year with the winner of the AMPION West African Venture Bus challenge scheduled to pitch at the DEMO Africa event. The Ampion bus will begin its tour of West Africa on 17th September passing…

Jumia, the company that made history in 2013 as the first African venture to win a World Retail Award as Best New Retail Launch, has for the third year running made it to the finals of the most important retail awards in the world. The winner of the 2013 Best…

Opera Software today officially announced its acquisition of Bemobi, a leading, subscription-based mobile-app-discovery service in Latin America. Bemobi offers a unique, one of a kind, “Netflix-style” subscription service for premium Android apps. Working with mobile operators, Bemobi’s proprietary app-wrapping technology allows smartphone owners access to unlimited use of premium mobile…

The government of Tanzania through the Communications Regulatory Authority, TCRA, is set to take even tougher actions to combat cyber crimes under the Cyber Crimes Act, 2015. The authority said Tanzania is among leading countries with cases of abuses on the social media. Therefore, many reports emanating from the forums…

Google’s Project Tango kit would become available in 12 more countries from 26 August, according to the tech giant. The countries are Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the U.K. Before this announcement, Project Tango kits were only available in the USA. Project Tango makes use…

Samsung Electronics West Africa, a global home appliance innovator, today launched the new additions to its home appliance laundry designed to elevate the everyday home experience for consumers, making laundry at home easier and even providing health benefits. Featuring outstanding performance, smart, consumer insight driven design and sleek functionality, Samsung…

General Electric Africa is partnering with the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to announce the award of an additional $1.1 million to 11 companies from Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana and Ethiopia. They will each receive a grant of up to…

Patrick Waweru, a computer student at the University of Nairobi, has developed a system to map and monitor parking lots which informs motorists about the availability of parking space in the city. He said the system uses sensors placed on the streets to detect if a vehicle is parked in…

The new Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Professor Umaru Danbatta, has promised to work to improve the quality of service in the industry. “I want to pledge that I will bring to bear, my wealth of experience in tackling the issue of…

Airtel Nigeria now has more than 30 million subscribers according to the network. Speaking on this development, Christian de Faria, Airtel Africa, chief executive officer, noted that the company’s success was mainly driven by its reliable GSM network and a stable internet growth from its residential and business segments, which…

Even though there are several online marketplaces in Nigeria today, OLX was the first in the market and this has given it an edge over its contemporaries in the space. When the case of the OLX house help gained national attention, many industries wondered how it would affect the platform’s…

In order to guard against being swindled, cheated or buying fake goods, OLX has urged prospective buyers of products displayed on its platform not to pay in advance. In an exclusive interview with Lola Masha, Country Manager for OLX in Nigeria, she said one of the ways by which Nigerian…

Akon Lighting Africa has concluded its African road show last night in Benin.  The three co-founders, Akon, Thione Niang and Samba Bathily inspected the new street lamps installed in the district of Pahou, near to the capital Cotonou with Prime Minister, Mr. Lionel Zinsou. Benin is the last stop on…

Tanzania’s Cybercrime Act of 2015 will become operational from September, according to the Permanent Secretary (PS) in the Ministry of Communication, Science and Technology, Mr John Mngodo. Speaking in Dar es Salaam, at the sixth International Conference on Development policy, Mngodo said currently, the ministry was working on regulations on…

Yesterday at Seedstars Accra, Asoriba won the Ghanaian round of Seedstars World and will represent Ghana at the Seedstars World Final to compete for up to USD 500,000 in equity investment. Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes brought its Ghanaian round to…

Siemens and CT Cosmos, a Nigerian firm, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the construction of a 70MW alternating current (MWac) photovoltaic (solar) power facility estimated at $170 million in Panyam, Plateau State. The project is expected to be completed in a less than two-year period and will…

The first prescription drug made through 3D printing: a dissolvable tablet that treats seizures, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Aprecia Pharmaceuticals announced the FDA approved its drug Spritam for adults and children who suffer from certain types of seizures caused by epilepsy. The tablet is…

The marine installation of the Nigeria-Cameroon Submarine Cable System (NCSCS) has commenced and is being undertaken by Huawei Marine Networks Co. Ltd. (Huawei Marine), a global submarine network provider. NCSCS is significant because it is Cameroon’s first wholly-owned submarine cable and it is being funded with investment provided by the…

Overall, activity in the oil & gas industry across the African continent has slowed in the wake of the declining oil price in late 2014. “While the oil price has caused activity to drop, it has also served as a wake-up call to many African governments, which are working hard…

A total of 1 billion personal data were lost by South Africa to hackers last year, according to a study conducted by IBM. The study showed one billion pieces of personal data were lost in 2014, leading to a cost of R432 256 000. It added that hackers have escalated…