Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

While everyone was paying attention to Amazon’s marathon announcement of new holiday gadgets earlier this week, the company already had a new hit on its hands. Amazon Game Studios, the video game development arm of Amazon, released a new computer game called “New World” Tuesday that captivated the PC gaming world this week.…

Apple and Alphabet’s Google have been asked to turn in by mid-October compliance plans for a new South Korean law that bans major app store operators from forcing software developers to use their payment systems, a regulatory official said on Wednesday. South Korea’s Korea Communications Commission is all set to roll out…

Microsoft Corp has announced that it will allow Epic Games Inc, Amazon.com Inc and other firms to integrate their app stores into the technology giant’s marketplace, giving more options to third-party developers. The technology giant says it wants to “promote innovation” and will not take a cut from app developers’ revenue if…

You’ll see a lot of YouTube videos when searching for artists (or, indeed, most topics) on Google. What you won’t see are TikTok and Instagram videos, but this may be changing soon, according to The Information. Google is negotiating deals with Instagram and TikTok to index their content in search results,…

YouTube on Wednesday announced it is banning “harmful vaccine content” from the platform, a long-awaited shift that vastly expands its existing policy on medical misinformation. The new rules explicitly ban content that makes false claims about any “currently administered vaccines that are approved and confirmed to be safe and effective” by…

Netflix, still in the early innings of its video-game strategy, has announced that it has bought video game creator Night School Studio, the independent game developer known for narrative-driven titles like Oxenfree, and Netflix has rolled out five mobile gaming titles in select European markets as it looks to diversify…

The board of directors at Korean electronics company LG Electronics has approved the acquisition of Israel-based vehicle cybersecurity startup Cybellum. In announcing the deal, LG said it would assume a stake of around 64% in Cybellum, which was valued at $140m. The remaining shares will be acquired soon, at which time the final valuation and total…

African mobility fintech company that provides vehicle financing to its customers and mobility entrepreneurs, Moove, has launched its services in Cape Town, South Africa. The expansion into Cape Town marks the mobility fintech’s fourth launch in Africa and since its inception a mere 15 months ago. The announcement follows the…

TikTok announced in a blog post today that it has hit 1 billion monthly active users—years earlier than Facebook and Instagram reached that milestone—making it one of the most-used and one of the fastest-growing social media platforms a year after its fate seemed cloudy because of a ban imposed by the Trump…

Amid criticism of its handling of research on the effects of Instagram on children, Facebook is putting a hold on the development of a kids’ version of Instagram, geared specifically for kids under the age of 13, to address concerns that have been raised about the vulnerability of younger users.…

After the feature was leaked last week, Clubhouse, a social audio app based in the United States, finally launched a feature on Thursday that allows users to virtually wave at friends within its audio-only chat app to indicate that they are available for a private conversation, in an effort to expand…

The RE:SOLVE Challenge is a fast-paced four-month Design thinking challenge to unlock the creative and entrepreneurial spirit of South Africa to rebuild the country’s COVID-19 hit economy. It has provided local entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and tools to test their ideas in the market. Innovative solutions that were presented covered…

Australian Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) company Zip has announced it will acquire South African BNPL fintech service PayFlex for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will see Zip grow the Johannesburg-based company and expand it into other African markets. “The growth of Payflex over the past few years has demonstrated the demand…

It took over two years, but Rolls-Royce’s first all-electric aircraft built by the British aerospace company—which was once related to the famed automaker but is now a separate entity— recently completed its maiden flight, soaring across skies in the U.K. for around 15 minutes this week. The single-seat plane took off…

Twitter has announced that starting immediately it will now allow users around the globe to tip their favorite creators on the social network using bitcoin, making it the first major social network to encourage use of the cryptocurrency as a method of payment. It also reiterated that it will launch a…

The AlphaCode Incubate programme has put out a call for early-stage fintech startups to apply to be part of its 2022 cohort. Applications for the annual programme are now open until 31 October and the programme returns in 2022 after AlphaCode ran this year’s programme entirely remotely due to the…

The E-Track Programme, run by the UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB), is looking for applicants for its fifth cohort of African startups. Run in partnership with instant messaging platform ayoba, the programme aims to help individuals and teams build scalable businesses with global potential. Applications are now open for…

Unicorn Group (Unicorn), a pan-African, investment company targeting innovative ideas, start-ups, and early-stage companies in the technology and technology-enabled sectors across Africa; that have the potential to emerge as unicorns has launched the Unicorn Incubation Campus in Johannesburg for African entrepreneurs.  Dr. Akintoye Akindele, Chairman Unicorn Group explains the aim of…

France’s Canal+ Group has upped its stake in MultiChoice, Africa’s largest pay-TV and the parent company of satellite TV services DStv and GOtv, the company said in a shareholder statement on Thursday, taking it from 12% to more than 15%. Vivendi’s VIV.PA Canal+ raised its stake significantly last year, sparking speculation about…

So if you were just wondering who is behind the prominent Non-Fungible Token (NFT) booster account on Twitter that discusses NFTs — It’s the famous rapper, Snoop Dogg (The D-O-Double-G) after he revealed this week on Twitter that he has been collecting NFTs under the alias Cozomo de’ Medici. Cozomo popped…