Author: Tapiwa Matthew Mutisi

Peach Payments, a leading digital payments service provider based in South Africa, has announced a strategic collaboration with Kenyan-based conversational commerce and CRM platform, Sukhiba. This partnership aims to open up a novel sales avenue for South African merchants, enabling them to conduct sales directly through WhatsApp. Established in Cape…

Yesterday, the South African Department of Home Affairs made a groundbreaking announcement regarding the overhaul of its visa policies. These reforms are strategically designed to invigorate the nation’s economy by drawing in skilled professionals and foreign capital. A cornerstone of this initiative is the introduction of the Remote Work Visitor…

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has declared that it will be incorporating crypto assets into its compliance initiatives, urging taxpayers to be transparent about their cryptocurrency dealings and investments. The tax authority has raised concerns over the failure of taxpayers to report their crypto assets and transactions in their…

The National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) has earmarked a massive R112 billion ($6.3 billion) investment through its Transmission Development Programme (TDP) to transform the nation’s transmission grid. This investment is a strategic move to integrate approximately 30,000 MW of utility-scale renewable energy into the grid over the next five…

Bpifrance, the leading venture capital entity in France, has strategically established a new outpost in Egypt, marking a significant step in its expansion endeavors across Africa and the Middle East (AME). The French firm has forged a partnership with Sawari Ventures, an Egyptian venture capital company, to facilitate its entry…

Adobe has launched a new web application called Content Authenticity, designed to empower creators with a free tool for attaching Content Credentials to their digital works. This innovation aims to protect creative content from unauthorized usage and ensure that creators are properly credited for their work. Content Credentials function as…

Huawei Technologies, a global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure, has announced its intention to construct a data centre in Nigeria. This move is in alignment with the nation’s regulations requiring local data storage. The proposed data centre, also known as a ‘cloud site,’ is slated to become…

Charles Russon has been granted regulatory approval to assume the role of interim CEO of Absa Group, marking his position as the sixth individual to take on the CEO mantle within a span of six years. In addition to his new role as interim CEO, Russon will be stepping into…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken a significant step towards bolstering the oversight and coordination of Nigerian banks with international subsidiaries by signing Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with foreign regulatory bodies. This strategic move is aimed at ensuring compliance with both local and global banking regulations, thereby fostering…

Vodafone has announced the extension of its collaboration with Google for an additional ten years, aiming to introduce innovative services, devices, and television experiences to its customers across Europe and Africa. This strategic move is supported by Google Cloud and Google’s Gemini models, which will enhance storage, security, and artificial…

Kenyan legislators have reignited their campaign to compel Safaricom, the leading telecommunications provider in the country, to segregate its lucrative mobile money arm, M-PESA, from its core telecom operations. The revival of the campaign is marked by the reintroduction of the Information and Communications (Amendment) Bill of 2022, which advocates…

On Tuesday, the highest judicial authority in Brazil, the Supreme Court, announced that Elon Musk’s social media platform, referred to here as ‘X’, has been given the green light to resume operations within the nation. This decision brings closure to a protracted conflict that has seen ‘X’ at odds with…

The Egyptian government has successfully concluded agreements with three major mobile operators—Vodafone Egypt, Orange Egypt, and e& Egypt—for the second phase of issuing 5G licenses. This announcement was made by Amr Talaat, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, who emphasized that these agreements are set to significantly enhance 5G…

Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has unveiled “CitizenApp,” a comprehensive mobile application that integrates all digitized public services in Ghana into a single digital platform. The Citizen App is tailored to serve as a one-stop personalized platform for Ghanaians, with the goal of streamlining access to a variety of…

Shortly after declaring its intention to impose sanctions on Starlink for unauthorized subscription price increases in Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has retracted its earlier statement, admitting that it was mistakenly issued. The NCC did not provide specific details on whether the retraction was due to Starlink obtaining the…

Old Mutual, a prominent insurance entity based in South Africa, has ventured into the telecommunications sector by establishing a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), Old Mutual Connect, operating on the Cell C network. This strategic move comes amidst a burgeoning growth phase within the MVNO market. Clarence Nethengwe, the appointed…

The Nigerian open banking pioneer, Okra, has expanded its technological footprint by venturing into the cloud services sector with the introduction of its new platform, Nebula. By launching Nebula, Okra is positioning itself alongside a growing contingent of indigenous cloud service providers such as Nobus, Galaxy, and Layer3. These companies…

The Competition Commission of South Africa has approved a significant transaction in which MultiChoice is set to divest a 60% stake in its insurance subsidiary, NMS Insurance Services (NMSIS), to the renowned insurance and financial services conglomerate, Sanlam. The deal, which carries a hefty price tag of R2.7 billion (equivalent…

The Ivorian insurtech startup WiASSUR has recently received a financial boost from the AXIAN Group, a major pan-African conglomerate, to enhance the distribution of its insurance products. WiASSUR operates an online platform that consolidates a variety of insurance products, providing customers with a user-friendly interface to compare different insurance options…

The Egyptian fintech enterprise Bokra, which commenced operations in 2023 with a vision to democratize finance by ensuring it is inclusive, transparent, and socially beneficial, has forged a strategic alliance with the Canadian International College (CIC). This collaboration has resulted in the establishment of a substantial fund amounting to EGP10…