Author: Paul Adepoju

International electronic payment company Visa has predicted that Africa is the continent that will record the largest increase in electronic payments between now and 2016. According to Mohamed Touhami El Ouazzani, General Manager of Visa for Morocco and Francophone Africa, Visa is offering a number of innovation-based mobile banking services…

Nokia and Alcatel-Lucent have confirmed they are in advanced talks on a potential merger. They said the deal would take the form of a public bid by Nokia for Alcatel-Lucent. Speculation of a merger resurfaced following reports that Nokia has put its mapping and navigation division Here up for sale.…

iROKOtv and StarTimes have signed an agreement for the establishment of 2 channels – IROKO Play and IROKO Plus on the Africa-wide terrestrial cable TV platform. This deal allows iROKO to reach about 4.6 million people in various parts  of Africa. The partners said StarTimes subscribers will have the choice…

Vodacom has become the latest telecoms company to be linked to a  possible acquisition of Visafone. Media reports revealed the company is now competing with MTN for Nigeria’s only surviving Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operator. This renewed interest by Vodacom to play in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector and Visafone is…

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested $20 million in Planet Labs, a San Francisco-based company that deploys small, low-orbiting satellites to photograph remote and emerging parts of the world to help with disaster response, agriculture and urban planning. Planet Labs’ fleet of…

4 out of 10 nominees for AIF’s Innovation Prize for Africa awards are from South Africa. The list of nominees that was released also included 2 Kenyans, and one nominee each from Uganda, Burundi, Cameroon and Morocco. No Nigerian made the shortlist. According to the organizers, nominees this year introduced…

The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has announced NATCOM Consortium has paid the balance of the bid price for the acquisition of NITEL and MTEL. Head of Public Communications, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Chigbo An­ichebe, said NATCOM paid the 70 per cent balance four days ahead of the April…

4G LTE service has been rolled out in Benin Republic by Benin Telecoms as announced at event attended by the country’s president, Yayi Boni. With this development, Benin has become the fourth country in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) where LTE would be rolled out. Other countries…

Following its recent successful launches in Angola and Tanzania, online retailer Jumia this morning announced its expansion to Senegal. This brings the number of countries in which the e-commerce site is active to twelve and marks its continuous expansion in Africa. Patrick Farnole, Managing Director JUMIA Senegal, commented: “A new…

The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries (LCCI) today announced the rescheduling of its ICTEL EXPO 2015 which ought to hold next week in Lagos, Nigeria. In an email sent to Innovation Village, organizers said due to the growing demand by major stakeholders in the planning process of  2015 Information…

Nigeria’s largest telecoms network MTN is planning to acquire Visafone as it seeks to expand in its largest market, according to those that are aware of the deal. This is in line with MTN’s plans to boost revenue from data outside South Africa, where Vodacom Group Ltd has more subscribers.…

Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Roye Okupe attended the prestigious Kings College Lagos before moving to Washington DC to study Computer Science up to MSc level. He is a talented professional who has been involved in a number of laudable projects. In this exclusive interview, he spoke to Innovation…

The organizers of ICTEL Expo 2015 have announced speakers for the conference scheduled to hold on the 15th through April 18th 2015 at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos. The expo which will attract the largest gathering of stakeholders in the ICT industry will offer four days of innovation, information and empowerment.…

Online food ordering platform hellofood, with its affiliated brands Foodpanda and Delivery Club, today announced the launch of a newly redesigned website, which was built with customer needs in mind. The company said the new fully redesigned website aims to provide a seamless user experience, showcasing its vast network of restaurants…

South Africa’s National Treasury has launched the e-Tender Publication Portal, a single platform where tenders will be published. The e-Tender Publication Portal was launched to eliminate the duplication and fragmentation of notices for government tenders. The e-Tender Publication portal is aimed at simplifying, standardising and automating the procurement process. National…

Airtel has launched an open marketing platform called Airtel Zero that allows the network’s subscribers to access mobile apps without incurring any data charges. The network said Airtel Zero will allow both major marketers and aspiring app developers to make parts or their entire mobile app free for customers. “We…

Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in various parts of Lagos Island are reportedly being targeted by hackers. According to reports, the affected ATMs are located at various parts of Victoria Island, Lekki Peninsula Phase I and II, and Ikoyi. The hackers are said to be fixing small fraud tools on the…

She Leads Africa and Huawei Technologies have announced the opening of applications for their joint fellowship programme targeting female tech entrepreneurs in Africa. In a statement made available to Innovation Village, organizers said Huawei-She Leads Africa Fellowship is the first programme of its kind to provide female tech entrepreneurs from…

Access to better technology (58%) and faster deployment of additional IT resources (53%) were the top two drivers for SaaS adoption. Delivering more projects without recruiting additional headcount (51%) and standardization (50%) were the third and fourth key drivers. Other key reasons for adopting SaaS included access to better quality…

An educational resource app targeted at helping students to pass their examinations with ease has been launched by Pastor Mike Chuks Nwanegbo, who is the National Coordinator of The Redeemed Christian Church of God Mission in Belgium. The innovation called Nkuzi Mobile App runs on Android devices providing students with…