Author: Paul Adepoju

Nana Ekow Taylor has emerged overall winner of this year’s Apps Challenge Awards organised by Ghana’s major telecoms company MTN with the BuzzTrick app. This is the second edition of the annual event and Taylor received GHC20,000 for the feat, while winners in each of the three categories of the…

Hotels.ng has announced it is sponsoring the first hackathon in Northern Nigeria that is scheduled to hold next month in the city of Jos with the code name HackJos. The HackJos Hackathon – Jos, Nigeria is a free, 3 day-long coding marathon for developers to create new and novel applications targeted…

A poll conducted by NOIPolls has revealed there is a marginal 5 percent gap between the two top contenders for the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Lagos state – PDP’s Jimi Agbaje and APC’s Akinwunmi Ambode. NOIPolls said: When asked who respondents will be voting for in the coming February 2015…

Digital lifestyle company Millicom has revealed the revenue of its pan-African telecoms company Tigo for the first time rose to US$1 billion. This is part of revelations made in the company’s annual report for 2014 released today and made available to Innovation Village. According to the report, Tigo’s customer numbers…

The developers of South Africa’s first startup survey Seed Academy today announced it has launched in Cape Town and Johannesburg. In a statement made available to Innovation Village, the academy also announced it is offering more than R2,4 million of sponsored training available for early stage tech and women entrepreneurs.…

Telecoms company Orange has reported invested in Afrimarket. The startup is a cash-to-good remittance company that helps Africans in the diaspora to pay directly for goods and services in partner retail outlets for their friends, family and businesses in Africa. Founded in 2013, Afrimarket has become market leader in the category…

TechCityNG has launched a new radio show in Lagos that aims to to educate and inform people on global technology. In an exclusive interview with Innovation Village, Adewale Oladipupo, Editor-in-Chief of TechCityNG said with the quick rate at which new technology trends are emerging, the radion show initiative will make…

In line with its policy of not allowing terrorist groups to use its platform to propagate their messages, social  media platform Twitter over the weekend shut down an account being used by Boko Haram, a US-designated terrorist group that is terrorizing northern Nigeria including neighboring countries. According to report gathered…

Following several actions being taken in East and Southern Africa to tackle the dumping of e-wastes, West Africa has now become a destination for e-wastes from different parts of the world according to studies conducted by the European Commission and U.N. According to communication technology and services firm Ericsson, West…

The Rwandan government is considering strategies to deploy to reduce the cost of 4G LTE by 50% according to Minister for Youth and ICT, Jean Philbert Nsengimana. the retail price for the services was determined in three phases which they were now looking to revise downwards to increase uptake. “In…

In furtherance of the digital migration process, 14 more regions to be added on Monday as more cities will be barred from viewing some analogue stations starting Monday midnight. They are Mombasa, Malindi, Nyeri, Meru, Kisumu, Webuye, Kakamega, Kisoo, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyahururu (Nyadundo), Machakos, Narok and Loldiani. “We are looking…

About US$90,000 has been approved by the Grand Challenges Canada for researchers to uuuse 3D printers to produce cheap, custom-made prosthetics for child amputees in the developing world. “There are more than ten million people in the world with amputations, most of whom live in developing countries,” says Mitch Wilkie,…

The Mayor of Cape Town Patricia de Lille has said the city’s new open data portal will enhance transparency and accountability; it would also improve the competitiveness of the broader economy of the city. Speaking at the launch of the portal, De Lille said the portal makes public sector data…

DHL Express today announced the unusual deliveries it made in 2014. According to the company, it not only had the opportunity to test its global transportation network with some unusual and non-traditional deliveries, but also its ability to innovate in an effort to overcome potential delivery delays. Oliver Facey, Vice…

Telecoms company MainOne has announced plans to extend its subsea cable to Cameroun, the company is also planning to open a branch in Nigeria’s oil producing Delta. Funke Opeke, Chief Executive Officer of the company made the announcement in Lagos while delivering a paper on “Enabling Oil and Gas Production…

MTN Nigeria through its business section has launched a pay-as-you-go business insurance service for its corporate clients across Nigeria on MTN Y’ello Biz. The service is in partnership with Mansard Insurance Plc. The service seeks to protect small businesses against hazards such as flood, fire and other risks. Beneficiaries will…

One of Africa’s second generation banks, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced the introduction of mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) terminals in partnership with POS partners across Africa. Even though the mobile POS terminal is as small as the Blackberry Curve phone, it works just like the traditional…

The city of Cape Town in South Africa will next week host this year’s edition of eCommerce Africa Conference scheduled to hold on February 3 – 4 at the Cape Town International Convention Center. Speakers that are scheduled to speak at the conference include Sim Shagaya, founder and CEO of…

Call for applications has been announced for the 2015 Cartier Women’s Initiative Award, the award seeks to support creative, financially sustainable and responsible women-led companies, in all countries and industries. The Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards is looking for committed female entrepreneurs heading initiatives with the potential to grow significantly in…

Technology company has launched a new laptop whose battery life could be as long as 27 hours. Panasonic’s Toughbook 31 can run for up to 18 hours depending on the use case, or 27 hours with an optional second battery installed. It has a tough briefcase-type exterior so it can…