At the exact point where the northward urban sprawl of Johannesburg meets the southernly expansion of Tshwane (formerly Pretoria) sits the nerve center of Vodacom, the only Vodafone company in the world with a different name. Vodacom Park. Far from being an actual park, the HQ of South Africa’s biggest network operator is a bustling […]
Africa
The digital divide is this era’s class division; those who have access to telecom services and those who don’t. There’s much to be said about how the African telcos have placed the continent on the global stage. But one thing is for sure, telecom companies in Africa can and will bridge the digital divide between […]
I’m sitting in a house in the northern suburbs of Johannesburg having just heard President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation address to the South African Parliament and obviously, the rest of the country on TV. The main agenda was solutions to the electricity crisis in South Africa. And I can’t quite believe what I’ve […]
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday called for urgent action to improve long-term food security in Africa and around the world, while adapting agricultural practices and technology to the changing climate. Yellen spoke after hearing from a woman beekeeper and other farmers whose work was supported by a U.S.-backed project in a rural Zambian […]
Mark Twain, the greatest humorist the US has produced, once said that “History never repeats itself, but it does often rhyme.” What’s past is past, but it does come back in a similar but not the same form (i.e., a rhyme). Accordingly, the Digital Silk Route (DSR) is not identical to the traditional silk route, […]
Africa is a hub of digitalization. Over the last decade, the continent has proven itself a worthy opponent in the technology race by rapidly adopting technology and innovations. As a result, it implemented practical solutions for the challenges its governments and industries face to better efficiencies, remove barriers, and explore new products or services. The […]
The World Bank’s private investment arm sees huge potential to boost investment in Africa and help support entrepreneurship and digital transformation on the continent, top officials with the International Finance Corp (IFC) said. U.S. President Joe Biden this week hosted a three-day summit attended by 45 African national leaders that was aimed at bolstering trade […]
California-based artificial intelligence exploration firm KoBold Metals is investing $150 million to develop a copper mine in Zambia, the company announced at the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., a win for Zambia’s president who has set an ambitious copper production target. The Mingomba project will be a joint venture with Australian private equity firm […]
Meta Platforms was accused in a lawsuit filed in Kenya on Wednesday of letting violent and hateful posts from Ethiopia flourish on Facebook, inflaming the Ethiopian civil war. The lawsuit, filed by two Ethiopian researchers and the Kenya’s Katiba Institute rights group, alleges that Facebook’s recommendations systems amplified violent posts in Ethiopia, including several that […]
Microsoft Corp aims to secure internet access for 100 million more people in Africa by 2025, teaming up with a satellite provider and setting the stage for longer-term cloud adoption, its President Brad Smith told Reuters. The software maker has long pushed to bring more people online, playing the role of facilitator among telecoms and […]