As part of its ongoing efforts to raise awareness through information, the MultiChoice Group has joined the United Nations (UN) as an official supporter of the UN’s global COVID-19 awareness campaign, Pause, which launched globally on 30 June. The Pause campaign aims to highlight the dangers of sharing false information related to COVID-19 while asking people around the world to pause, think and take care before sharing information which could be inaccurate or a result of misinformation and may have harmful effects. “We are in a moment of global reckoning as COVID-19 and its social and economic consequences challenge the world in unprecedented ways.…
Author: DigitalTimesNG
Former Chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Professor Chidi Odinkalu, has blasted the Federal Government for increasing the rate of Value Added Tax (VAT), pump price of petrol, charges on Point of Sales and Automated Teller Machine transactions while ordering private sector operators not to increase prices on their goods and services. In a thinly veiled reference to the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)’s directive to pay television provider, MultiChoice, to revert to its tariffs before 1 June, Odinkalu, on Twitter, accused the Federal Government of raising charges on a variety of services but issuing orders to private operators to…
5G network service is now live in Madagascar, as Telma Madagascar has switched on its 5G commercial network powered by Ericsson, to offer subscribers high-speed services enabled by the new generation of mobile connectivity. Two key 5G use cases for the Madagascar market are enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA). With greater capacity, higher data speeds and reduced latency, 5G will power new experiences for Telma customers, from gaming and entertainment services to IoT and business applications. Healthcare and education are areas that will deeply benefit from this technology. Ericsson was selected by Telma in October 2019…
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on Tuesday invited entries from Tech Hubs, Startups and Innovation Digital SMEs for adaptable digital solutions that would address the impacts of pandemic and epidemic prone-diseases in Nigeria to a virtual Hackathon. Beyond being the regulator of the country’s telecommunications industry, the NCC also supports amongst other things, the development of innovative services and life-changing solutions, leveraging on Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) to promote indigenous content development, economic growth and social advancement in Nigeria. “Pursuant to this objective, the commission invites entries from tech hubs, startups and innovation digital SMEs with promising and adaptable…
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, has inaugurated two inter-agency committees with the mandate to review, collate, commission and communicate in local languages, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects implemented for Nigerians under President Muhammadu Buhari. The two Ministerial committees which are Completed Projects Review Committee and Committee on Media Engagement in Local Languages are chaired by Ayuba Shuaibu, Executive Secretary, Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF) and Dr Usman Gambo Abdullahi, Director, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), respectively. DigitalTimesNG understands that membership of the committees is drawn from all the five agencies supervised…
Zimbabwe has ordered mobile payments firms to suspend transactions, accusing them of conspiring to sabotage the economy. In a statement on Friday, the country’s secretary for information, publicity and broadcasting services Nick Mangwana said the government is suspending “all monetary transactions on phone-based mobile money platforms.” The stock exchange has also been closed, according to a report by finextra. With banknotes scarce, mobile payments account for more than 80% of all transactions in the southern African country, according to central bank data. But, the administration, led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, claims that operators, particularly the hugely popular Ecocash, have…
Pan-African digital payments hub, MFS Africa has bought Beyonic, a digital payments management provider of business services for SMEs across the continent. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, according to a report by finextra. MFS Africa connects more than 200 million mobile wallets on the continent through one API. Beyonic focuses on domestic payments and collections coupled with secure front-end business functionality. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval in Tanzania, is designed to give the fast-growing SME sector across Africa the ability to manage digital transactions with individuals and businesses around the world. In practice, MFS…
Foremost ICT solutions company, Task Systems Ltd. has disclosed that businesses can still carry out major rollouts without worrying about the associated huge outlay through a revolutionary enterprise solution known as Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS). This is despite the harsh business climate occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic and attendant lockdown which have drastically shrunk expenditure on tech-related projects for many corporate organizations. Technology-as-a-Service is a cutting-edge, comprehensive and flexible solution that has gained prominence the world over for its useful benefits to businesses. The Technology-as-a-Service (TaaS) solution represents one of many through which Task Systems Ltd. is repositioning businesses in the…
Konga, Nigeria’s composite e-commerce giant is set to roll out its flash sales today, Monday, June 29, 2020, as part of efforts to mark its eighth-anniversary celebrations. The flash sales, four daily, are set to go live by 10 am, 2 pm, 4 pm and 6 pm. The flash sales are expected to be a daily feature of the eighth-anniversary celebrations effective today, Monday, June 29 until the end of the promotion on Tuesday, July 2, 2020 – a development that has heralded intense excitement among eager shoppers, many of whom have awaited the commencement of the flash sales…
Excitement is in the air as preparations for the 8th edition of the Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition billed for August 25-27, 2020, reach fever pitch. This year’s edition of the foremost annual gathering of ICT experts, stakeholders, public and private sector players, policymakers and students will for the first time in its 8-year history, hold virtually as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conversations at the virtual event will be centred around Agriculture, Banking, Retail, Resiliency, Sustainability, Education, Transportation and Logistics, Health and Wellness among others. Since the flagship event in 2013, the Digital Africa Conference and Exhibition…