Telecom Egypt and Vodafone Group have signed a modified Shareholders’ Agreement.

The agreement includes changes to Vodafone Egypt’s, VFE, dividend policy, whereby VFE will pay a one-time dividend of EGP10 billion to its shareholders during the 2021 calendar year, EGP 2bn of which was paid in March. The parties have also agreed on a minimum dividend payout ratio of 60% of free cash flow going forward. The modified signed agreement also gives Vodafone Group the right to transfer its...

South Africa's wireless internet service provider Herotel has announced that it has implemented a cutting-edge segment routing (SR) network from NEC XON. This, the company says makes the network extremely efficient, easier to automate, and results in the ability to provide better quality services for less to its customers.

The network, based on Juniper Networks MX 204 and MX10008 Universal Routing Platform technology implemented by NEC XON, positions Herotel as one of the strongest direct...

Opera  has announced the launch of its dedicated chat service Hype, built into the Opera Mini mobile web browser, in South Africa.

With the introduction of Hype, Opera is redefining the concept of mobile browsers, providing users with a personalized, engaging browsing experience that enables seamless chatting, surfing and sharing – without compromising speed or driving increased data consumption...

More than a year into the Covid-19 pandemic and South Africa’s SMEs remain under enormous pressure and are increasingly looking to technology for ways to control costs and manage cash flow more effectively.

“A seemingly easy decision every business must make is how to handle deliveries,” notes Mike Farquharson, Managing Director of online courier aggregation platform, Rush. “While large corporates are better able to absorb rising costs, SMEs are faced with the challenge of balancing limited financial...

The Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MINT) of Ethiopia and the Internet Society announced a new collaboration that will help advance the digital economy and drive economic transformation.

Last year, the government of Ethiopia launched its digital transformation strategy with the goal of leveraging digital technologies to foster development and growth for every citizen. The collaboration between the MINT and the Internet Society will support the implementation of this strategy to...

According to a recent Mastercard study, 58% of consumers are more mindful of their impact on the environment, with 85% willing to take personal action this year.

Mastercard has made this promise easier to realize with a new badge to identify cards made more sustainably from recyclable, recycled, bio-sourced, chlorine-free, degradable or ocean plastics. Easy to spot on the card, the badge is a simple reminder of the commitments made to address sustainability...

Ada Labs Africa and AI Center of Excellence (AICE) have today announced an initiative with NVIDIA to contribute to the digitization of the African continent through artificial intelligence (AI) and collaborate on a number of data science and AI projects.

The CEO of Ada Labs Africa, John Kamara, said the relationship will strengthen the capability of data science and AI rollouts in Africa as the two organizations collectively work to build capacity to train AI engineers in Africa. The new...

Telkom has launched Africa's first Mastercard virtual card for use on WhatsApp, enabling Telkom Pay customers to make e-commerce payments. This move is expected to empower millions of South Africans – even those without a bank account – to access the digital economy and transact online.

Launched in 2020, Telkom Pay is a digital payments wallet that enables its users to make and receive payments using WhatsApp on their mobile phone. With the addition of the...

A recent Visa report has shown that the top market contributors to eCommerce in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) over the last 3 years were South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya, with Ghana also showing growth, having replaced Kenya in the top three contributors in 2020.

SSA may be one of the smallest regions of ecommerce globally, but it shows steady growth potential. During lockdown the region saw new eCommerce users rise by 5% when compared to the active base in SSA the previous year...

Connectivity has transformed traditional business models and given consumers new platforms, products, and services that they can access anytime and anywhere – especially critical in the midst of a pandemic.

Data- and network-dependent technologies such as automation, IoT, AI, blockchain, cloud, and advanced analytics are dramatically accelerating the pace of innovation, but our increased consumption of data is also fuelling the need for improved networks and connectivity. So, what does the...

Cloud technology is driving change and accelerating digital transformation across multiple industries simultaneously. Not only is cloud technology itself evolving at pace, but the way organisations buy and manage software is having to adapt as well.

Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader for South Africa and WECA (West, East, Central Africa) at SoftwareONE, says navigating multiple systems, processes, and software licence agreements presents a significant challenge. “Software is one of the...

There’s no shortage of articles espousing the virtues of fintech’s potential to financially include hundreds of millions of people who are outside the mainstream. Despite this, one could argue that change is not happening fast enough.

Change requires momentum and momentum can only be achieved when more companies commit to taking tangible steps to include more people. This is not to imply that financial inclusion is an illusion. On the contrary, technology has...

African governments are putting so much effort to advance the digital economy and drive economic transformation. In Ethiopia, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MINT) and the Internet Society announced a new collaboration that will help drive this transformation. 

In Kenya, the government in partnership with the private sector also this week unveiled a new initiative aimed at equipping small business owners with digital skills. In Rwanda, the Ministry of ICT and Innovation in Rwanda, Cenfri, and...