MasterCard and its strategic partner, Network International, have collaborated to launch a new digital platform which will accelerate the adoption of digital payments across the Middle East and Africa. MasterCard is a technology leader in the global payments industry, while Network International is the leading enabler of digital commerce in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. With this new digital platform launching in January, Network International will help its clients to enable mobile-based payments for their consumers and merchants across various channels. Merchants will now have one simple-to-use technology interface through which they will be able to accept multiple…
Author: DigitalTimesNG
As people everywhere ramp up their usage of instant messaging and more and more are choosing Ayoba, MTN Group said it is proud to partner with this unique instant messaging platform localised for the needs of consumers across Africa. Launched in 2019 to improve access to affordable communications, Ayoba is active in 17 MTN markets and is also available to download onto Android smartphones in numerous other markets from Google Play and via the Ayoba website www.ayoba.me as an over-the-top (OTT) offering. Ayoba is focused on protecting users’ privacy and security: it is not possible for messages in the app to be…
After losing around $4.5 billion over the past five years, LG’s smartphone business has been struggling to compete with rivals, and therefore, it’s considering exiting the smartphone market in 2021. LG CEO, Kwon Bong-Seok has notified employees that the company is considering making big changes to its smartphone business. The Korea Herald reports that Kwon Bong-Seok sent out an internal memo to staff on Wednesday, hinting at a change in direction for LG’s phone business. “Since the competition in the global market for mobile devices is getting fiercer, it is about time for LG to make a cold judgment and the…
The global pandemic has proved a catalyst for reshaping health care as venture capitalists reached deep into their pockets to deliver a record level of funding to medical-related startups in 2020. According to a report in The Verge, venture capitalists sprinkled the money across sectors ranging from telemedicine to AI to medical devices in an effort to seize the moment and shake up an industry that has been notoriously resistant to reinvention. The latest State of Healthcare report from research firm CB Insights shows that health care startups raised $80.6 billion in 2020, up from $53.7 billion in 2019. The report notes that COVID-19…
Web browser maker Opera has acquired YoYo Games, the maker of the GameMaker Studio 2 game engine, for $10 million, and it has also launched its Opera Gaming division. The deal underscores Opera‘s efforts to differentiate its web browser, Opera GX, through a gaming community, according to a report by Venturebeat. Opera itself has more than 380 million people using its web browsers worldwide. Its new Opera GX gaming browser has seven million monthly active users as of December, up 350% from a year earlier. Opera Gaming will focus on expanding Opera’s capabilities and monetization opportunities in the gaming, said Krystian Kolondra in an…
…. As Ministry’s New Perm Sec Hails Danbatta’s Leadership The improved broadband/telecoms services delivery being experienced by Nigerians has been attributed to the massive deployment of 3G and 4G base transceiver stations (BTS) and laying of Fibre Optic Transmission Cables across the country. A recent data released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that the third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) base transceiver stations (BTS) deployment in Nigeria, increased from 30,000 to 53,460, while Fibre Optic Transmission cables grew from 47,000km to 54,725km in the last five years. Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta…
More than a third of UK consumers have been blocked from paying with notes and coins since the start of the pandemic, prompting warnings that the cash economy is on the verge of disintegration. In a survey of 2,000 people conducted by consumer champion Which?, 34% reported being unable to pay with cash at least once when trying to buy something since March, when coronavirus restrictions were first introduced, reports Finextra. Which? cites one case in which a diabetic man in urgent need of food because his blood sugar levels had dropped was refused service in two restaurants that had…
MultiChoice has announced a brand-new Pan-African lifestyle channel on its DStv platforms, HONEY, on DStv channel 173. “As part of our ongoing effort to enhance our customers’ viewing experience and delight them with additional content, MultiChoice is thrilled to bring this latest venture in African storytelling. “HONEY launches on Friday, 12 February 2021 and will be available for Premium Compact Plus, and Compact,” the company said in a statement. HONEY is a bold, unscripted lifestyle TV channel for curious and connected Africans. The channel is about celebrating and exploring African lives and loves, and the content is focused on lifestyle,…
A total of 47.8 million NINs have been collected by Nigeria’s mobile telecom operators, DigitaTimesNG can authoritatively report. This disclosure was made in a statement signed by Dr Ikechukwu Adinde, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)’s Director of Public Affairs on Tuesday and made available to DigitalTimesNG. DigitalTimesNG understands that at an average of three to four SIMs per subscriber, millions of telephone subscribers will be linked up before the deadline in February 2021. Adinde said in the statement that at the end of a review meeting held on 18th January 2021, the Technical Implementation Committee under the Ministerial Task Force reported significant…
Zeta-Web Nigeria Limited, a Lagos-based indigenous Information Technology (IT) firm, has reiterated their commitment to bring robust broadband and internet solutions that would ease productivity for Nigerians in the post-Covid 19 workplaces. To this end, the company lately introduced Z-Force, a super-fast internet service designed for Nigerians working from home and other notable services for other market segments. Chris Obasi, Managing Director, Zeta–Web Nigeria Limited, who addressed the media on the importance of the Z-Force to the current workplace, said, “Our Z-Force service is unique in its design as it came out at a point where users wanted internet services…