Author: Smart Megwai

Every minute, over 2 million mobile money transactions occur across Africa. That’s not hyperbole. It’s the new normal in a continent that’s home to 1.1 billion registered mobile money accounts and processed $1.1 trillion in transactions in 2024 alone, according to GSMA’s State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money…

In an era marked by dwindling funding and cautious investors, The Africa Report’s latest ranking of the 20 Future Champions of Tech in Africa offers a fresh and necessary lens into the continent’s shifting innovation landscape. Led by journalist and editor Julien Wagner, the report seeks not just to spotlight…

For decades, building hardware in Nigeria has been a cautionary tale. Even the most promising ideas often didn’t survive past ideation, from the cost of components to a lack of specialised talent and infrastructure. Just ask the team behind Humane — no, not the AI Pin startup that raised $230…

What if AI helped you become a better writer instead of just writing for you? That’s the vision behind Thesify, an AI-powered tool for students, researchers, and knowledge workers. I spoke with co-founder Marc-Oliver Gewaltig about Thesify’s growing user base in Nigeria, the importance of writing in the AI era,…

You and I know that a simple phone call is no longer as innocent as it once was. With the rise of spam calls, fraud, and identity scams, it has become essential to know who is calling before answering. This is why caller identification services have become so popular, and…

In the past, colonialism was about land—territories seized, borders redrawn, and entire populations brought under foreign rule. Today, a new form of colonialism is unfolding—not on land, but in space. The battleground is not physical territory, but digital access. And the conquerors? Tech giants like Amazon and SpaceX, who are…

For years, Nigerian bank customers have been quietly bleeding money, not from reckless spending, but from routine transactions. The charges attached to online transfers—sometimes as little as ₦10 or as high as ₦50 per transaction—may seem insignificant at first glance. However, when multiplied across millions of daily transfers, the numbers…

In a world dominated by smartphones and high-speed internet, one might assume that USSD codes are becoming irrelevant. Surprisingly, these simple sequences of asterisks, numbers, and hashes are not just hanging on; they are thriving as a vital part of Nigeria’s financial and telecommunications ecosystem. They are more than just…

You can still access the internet even when your phone is in flight mode. This seemingly contradictory fact left me completely perplexed. When I discovered this, I was amazed by how much we can accomplish by truly exploring the functions of our devices. Interestingly, during my research for this article,…

I sat with a friend at the cinema, and while the movie was playing, I glanced at his phone. To my surprise, his screen was filled with numerous notifications—news headlines, weather alerts, social media updates, and countless others. I couldn’t resist asking, “How do you even focus with all that?”.…

Is it just me, or does the new WhatsApp upgrade annoy you, too? The WhatsApp Update Tab now displays both your status updates and the updates from the channels you follow together. I enjoyed scrolling vertically through the different status updates and selecting the ones I wanted to view. However,…

I had a female colleague who wasn’t as tech-savvy as her 10-year-old son. One day, she called me, but I didn’t answer because the caller ID displayed “Private Number.” She continued to call, but I didn’t pick up since it still showed as private. The next day, she approached me…

Have you ever felt like documenting something but feared being caught? Maybe it’s a source sharing sensitive information, a public figure making an off-the-record statement, or witnessing an event that contradicts official narratives. In an age where information is tightly controlled and access is often restricted, knowing how to capture…

Every month, two billion people use WhatsApp for various purposes, primarily for communication. Many of us rely on WhatsApp to store information that we can reference later. For instance, if I need to recall a conversation we had, I can simply search for a specific word or keyword from our…

Are you still taking photos of important documents? There’s a better way! While apps like CamScanner are great for scanning, WhatsApp has made it even easier with its built-in scanner. WhatsApp’s Document Scanner is a feature that allows users to scan physical documents, receipts, or notes directly within the app.…

I understand that you sometimes turn off your location to prevent advertisers, social media platforms, apps, websites, and even individuals you’ve shared location data with from tracking your movements. However, did you know that by sending a picture to someone, you may inadvertently give them access to your location? Remember,…

Did you know that you can ask ChatGPT questions on WhatsApp just like you’re talking to a friend? You can even call the chatbot using a U.S. or Canadian phone number. Recently, OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, introduced new features that allow users to interact with the chatbot through phone…

If you’re not aware, the private photos and videos you’re trying to keep hidden might not be as safe as you think. A leaked nude, intimate, or compromising image or video—or even a confidential document, or a family photo you’ve kept secret from your spouse—nothing stays hidden forever. It’s not…

I recently fixed my television after part of its panel was damaged by a high voltage surge. Before taking it to a technician, I suspected it was a minor issue that wouldn’t require a significant expense. I explained what had happened, detailing how the generator malfunctioned, allowing high voltage to…

There are websites where you may encounter prompts to solve a puzzle to prove you are not a robot. While this is an effective way to prevent hackers from using bots to access these sites, it can also be a significant time-waster. It becomes even more frustrating if you accidentally…