MainOne, West Africa’s leading provider of Wholesale and Enterprise connectivity and data centre services is celebrating 10 years of delivering innovative, world-class service in West Africa. Ten years ago, the company launched its operations with the commissioning of the first private submarine cable on the West Coast of Africa. The company has played a critical role in enabling internet access across West Africa where penetration rates have grown from less than 10% in 2010 to close to 40% ten years later. Since inception, MainOne has invested over $400m in infrastructure in West Africa as part of its efforts to…
Author: DigitalTimesNG
Nigerian Youths have been advised to join hands with government and other relevant stakeholders to acquire necessary digital skills in order to be self-reliant during the post-COVID-19 era. Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, gave the advice during an online interactive session with Nigerian youths on the topic: ‘Education, Employment & Technology in Nigeria: Gaps & Opportunities Post-COVID-19 Pandemic’. The online interactive meeting was organised by the Global Shapers Community, an international non-governmental organisation which specialises in outsourcing talents, creating jobs and building careers. He said Nigerian youths should stay committed and focused on…
MTN South Africa will finally launch its 5G network next week, 30 June 2020, becoming the first of the telecommunications group’s 22 operations to launch the next-generation broadband technology, according to a report in itnewsafrica.com The pan-African telecom is hosting a live event on its YouTube channel that same day. The event will be hosted by CEO Godfrey Motsa, chief consumer officer Mapula Bodibe and chief technology & information officer Giovanni Chiarelli. At the beginning of the month, MTN began announcing that it would launch 5G networks in major cities across South Africa. The exact locations for these launches…
Africa is set to roll out a groundbreaking mobile-based public communications platform to provide more than 600 million users across the continent with the latest public health advice. Already, MTN, Airtel, Orange SA, and Vodacom have signed a partnership deal with the United Nations to build a mobile platform that delivers COVID-19 information in particular, to about 600 million people in Africa. Vera Songwe, the Executive Secretary, UN Commission for Africa, who disclosed this on Wednesday, said the platform will be free to use for nearly half of Africa’s population and if well implemented will be rolled out to Latin…
In continuation of its efforts to reduce its environmental footprint, HP Inc. Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating 75 per cent of single-use plastic packaging by 2025. The company restated the commitment in its just-released 2019 Sustainable Impact Report, which also highlights the progress HP is making to drive diversity and inclusion, as well as strengthen communities globally. “The HP culture has long been built on the belief that how we do things is just as important as what we do. Recent events have laid bare the systemic racism and deep inequalities that remain a stain on society, and it’s…
Stakeholders in the Nigerian Capital market, Asset Management and Banking Industries have called for a rethink of the nation’s economic philosophy and a reset of the financial market architecture. This was part of the major takeaways from the “Zimvest Economy Conversations”, a thought-leadership series of Digital Private Wealth and Investment Management Firm, Zimvest (Zedcrest Investment Managers) held on Saturday, June 20, 2020. Gbenga Adigun, Business Head of Zimvest, in his opening remark during the virtual event, noted that investors are gravely concerned with investment returns in the light of the current low yield environment while financial institutions are thinking of how their product…
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami Tuesday launched and unveiled the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)’s 5-year Strategic Management Plan 2020 – 2024. This development is in line with the directives of President Muhammadu Buhari to all parastatals and agencies of government under the supervision of a Ministry to ensure they are efficient and effective in service delivery to Nigerians. The Strategic Management Plan (SMP) is aimed at creating a seamless strategy to actualise Digital Economy in the country and also leverage on the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy as well as the National…
Access Bank Plc has launched a digital lending portal, “Cashflow Loans by Access”, which is a solution for business owners to access loans easily from the comfort of their homes via an online platform while staying safe. This new service, which is part of its effort to provide access to finance for SMEs to grow and expand their businesses, is accessible to all Small and Medium Enterprise customers who have established sufficient cashflow records with the Bank. Victor Etuokwu, Executive Director, Retail Banking, Access Bank Plc, while speaking at the launch of the digital lending portal, reiterated the Bank’s commitment to impact SMEs positively. “In a…
Microsoft Corp on Tuesday set a five-year diversity goal to address racial inequality at its offices, following protests over police brutality against African Americans in the United States. According to Reuters, the company said it will add another $150 million in diversity and inclusion investment to double the number of Black and African-American people managers, senior individual contributors, and senior leaders in the United States by 2025. The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police triggered protests in the United States against racial inequality, while also forcing companies to confront the discrimination that remains prevalent in…
MasterCard is accelerating its open banking strategy through the $825 million acquisition of real-time financial data aggregation service Finicity, according to a report by Finextra. Salt Lake City-based Finicity works with thousands of banks and fintechs, using APIs to help smooth the exchange of customer data. With open banking seen as a “growing global trend” by MasterCard president Michael Miebach, the payments giant is keen to cash in, adding Finicity’s technology and teams to its platform as it seeks to win over banks and fintechs. The deal will also be good for consumers and businesses, says MasterCard, helping to…