Author: Paul Adepoju

MTN Group today announced the appointment of Omotayo Ojutalayo as General Manager for Small and Medium Enterprise Channels within its Enterprise Business Unit, effective immediately. Ojutalayo joins from MTN Nigeria, where she was a senior manager responsible for the SME customer segment. With the appointment, MTN aims to ensure greater…

Edo state has hosted Agric Data Hackaton 2015, which is Nigeria’s first hackaton on government open data. The tech competition was organized by the state ICT agency in partnership with the agric ministry and SabiHub, the state’s only tech hub. Participants were asked analyze challenges facing the state’s agric sector…

A new study is aiming to take mhealth to another level with the deployment of apps for diagnostic purposed. The app is being developed by researchers at the Columbia University in New York, can detect HIV and syphilis. The test involves taking a blood sample which is placed on a…

With an objective of galvanizing Nigerians into action in the health innovation space, the Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria’s Nigeria Health Innovation Marketplace is calling on innovators, techies, academic institutions, private sector companies, businesses, civil society, clinicians, researchers, NGOs and individuals to apply in the $1million Health Innovation Challenge…

DealDey today announced its Android app is now available for download on the Google Play Store, adding the new app offers shoppers seamless shopping at its best. Although the app is now available, DealDey said it will be officially launched on March 16 and users can get loads of goodies…

The World Bank is launching a Climate Innovation Center (CIC) in Ghana. The Ghana CIC will support the growth of Ghana’s local climate (clean) technology businesses with a comprehensive suite of financing and business incubation services. As one in a global network of CICs supported by infoDev’s Climate Technology Program,…

The Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has announced that the number of active lines in Nigeria has exceeded 140 million and is now 140.82 million. The commission also announced that the country’s teledensity, also known as telephone penetration, has exceeded 100 percent. This is contained in the Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC)…

Residents of Nakuru Bahati are set to be the first constituency in the county to enjoy free WiFi courtesy of its chief Francis Kariuki. Kariuki is also regarded as the tweeting chief, and according to ICT CS Fred Matiang’i, the chief will launch the project at Jomo Kenyatta Primary school…

Nigeria-based mobile game production company Gamsole has released a teaser video in anticipation of its soon-to-be-released game title, Gidi Run. Gidi Run is a three dimensional endless runner set in the bustling Lagos metropolis, the commercial hub of Nigeria. Gamsole is not only pushing the envelope with slick 3D graphics,…

The Gates foundation and its Grand Challenges partners are now accepting applications for several grant programs including one that will enable merchant acceptance of mobile money payments. Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to encourage innovative and unconventional global health and development solutions, is now accepting grant proposals for its latest…

Nigeria’s major ecommerce platform Konga today announced it is opening its platform to more merchants. In a newsletter sent to its customers, a copy of which was obtained by Innovation Village, Konga said it will soon be possible for its customers to find whatever they are looking for. “We are…

International payment company PayPal has revealed that First Bank of Nigeria will remain its only partner in the country. Speaking to Innovation Village, Ms. Malvina Goldfeld, Head of Business Development for sub-Saharan Africa at PayPal, said they are not considering additional bank partnerships in Nigeria. “We hope to have a…

Nigeria’s online marketplace Kaymu today revealed its list of top women in technology in Nigeria. The list includes communication technology minister Omobola Johnson, chief executive officer of MainOne Telecoms Funke Opeke and popular blogger Linda Ikeji. Omobola Johnson Dr. Omobola Johnson is a Nigerian technocrat and the pioneer Minister of…

Mobile-app-based transportation network Uber has announced it has recorded a 100-fold demand growth since it began operations in Nigeria’s commercial capital city of Lagos. Speaking to journalists yesterday in Lagos, Ebi Atawodi, General Manager, Uber, also revealed the company has recorded 10-times supply growth since it kicked off its operations…

A call has been made to Nigerian lawmakers to pass the Cybercrime Bill before the expiration of their tenure. The call was made by Paradigm Nigeria Initiative (PIN). In a statement made available to Innovation Village, PIN urged the National Assembly to deliver cybercrime law that does not limit citizens’…

About three weeks from now, one of the anticipated general elections in Africa will be held across Nigeria with an incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, locking horns with self-proclaimed reformed dictator, Retired General Muhammadu Buhari. The candidates are going from one place to another, locally and internationally, while their social media…

Prayerbox, a platform through which individuals can share their hopes, gratitude and struggles with their friends family and religious community, has announced it now has about 42,000 users. In a chat with Innovation Village, Bambo Oyelaja , founder of the 440.ng-supported startup said users can stay connected to their churches…

Ericsson in its Consumer Lab Report has predicted that African online video consumption would increase by 55% per year until the end of 2019. Speaking on the opening-day of media and analyst briefing at the ongoing 2015 Mobile World Congress holding in Barcelona, Spain, the Chief Executive Officer of Ericsson, Hans…

At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the GSMA just announced that the number of active Mobile Money accounts globally now exceeds 100 million. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounts for more than half (53%) of the world’s live mobile money services. These are part of the GSMA’s 2014 Mobile Financial Services for…

Nigeria’s and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote has been named the biggest loser in the 2015 Forbes list of billionaires. His fortune dropped to $14.7 billion from $25 billion last year, propelled downward by a weaker Nigerian currency and shrinking demand for cement, his largest asset. However, he still retains…