Author: ITPulse

Cross River has emerged as the second state in Nigeria after Kaduna and the first in the Southern Part of the country to commence the delivery of medical commodities via drones. The facility which was commissioned by the Executive Governor of the Cross River State will deliver several medicines and vaccines to over three hundred health facilities thereby removing access challenges within the state. According to General Manager, Catherine Odiase, Zipline is a mission-driven company founded on the belief that every person has the right of access to reliable, high-quality healthcare. “We believe that more efficient, effective, and data-driven global…

January is renowned for being a month of extremely slow days, mounting bills and a long, grinding wait for payday. This is often the case for folks in paid employment.    However, the difficulties that traditionally accompany the month of January impact entrepreneurs or those in business as well. Usually, discretionary or disposable income is often limited and tightly guarded, with many potential customers trying to wade through to the end of the month after the customary lavish spending that trailed the previous year-end festivities.   With the current fuel scarcity plaguing most parts of Nigeria burning deeper holes in…

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week issued Interswitch the Payments Service Holding Company (PSHC) License, making the financial technology and integrated payments solution provider one of the inaugural licensees by the CBN in this category. The PSHC regulation requires companies with existing or prospective operations across multiple license categories to set up a payments service holding company (PSHC). The activities of each of the PSHC subsidiaries operating within those respective licensing regimes are clearly delineated, for clearer accountability, effective risk management and the enablement of better regulatory oversight by the CBN. Meanwhile, a statement from Interswitch has outlined…

According to the World Economic Forum, artificial intelligence (AI) can contribute up to USD 15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. However, in Africa, AI market growth has stagnated. Estimated at USD 870 million in 2021, with marginal growth forecasted until 2024. It has been argued that continents in the Global South will continue to benefit less from AI than those in the North. Oxford Insights highlights this because governments require the appropriate environment to support AI development – including adequate data infrastructure, and an innovative vision to implement progress at the state level. Nonetheless, AI is of imperative…

The technology world was on fire about the latest artificial intelligence demonstration by OpenAI in the waning months of 2022, ChatGPT. It is truly a remarkable achievement, an artificial intelligence (AI) that you can have a conversation with and ask to do everything from writing essays to code computer programs. As a computer security expert, I immediately did what comes naturally to people like me, I tried to hack it. Could I get it to do something bad, something malicious? Could this be abused by criminals or spies to enable new types of cybercrime? The answer of course, like most…

Airtel Nigeria has launched eSIM card (embedded SIM) , a digital SIM that enables customers to access the same functionality as someone using a physical SIM, stressing that the eSIM is planet-friendly and customers can now use two numbers without needing two handsets.  According to Airtel, the eSIM offers several benefits over the traditional SIM cards as it is quick and simple to set up online, it is planet-friendly (plastic-free/zero carbon emission), and provides an easy extra line as you can use two numbers without needing two phones/handsets. “Airtel Nigeria is always at the forefront in championing technological advancement and…

5G IoT (Internet of Things) connections will reach 116 million globally by 2026; rising from just 17 million in 2023, a new study from Juniper Research has found. The study also predicts that the healthcare sector and smart city services will drive this 1,100% growth over the next three years. The comprehensive research examined 5G adoption across key sectors, such as the automotive industry, mobile broadband and smart homes, and forecasts that the healthcare and smart cities market will account for over 60% of 5G IoT devices by 2026. The ultra-low latency and high bandwidth of 5G IoT technology will…

Nigeria through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy has partnered the World Bank to host policymakers and stakeholders in the digital economy ecosystem in the West African sub-region to a 2-day regional digital economy conference. The conference scheduled to hold between January 31 to 1st February in Abuja, will centre around the future of the digital economy and intensify regional public-private partnerships for the region. According to a statement issued by Mr. Reuben Mouka, the Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Pantami, will deliver the keynote address…

By Mansour Aliyu Hassan The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa CCIE, has called on the management of global tech giant Meta to involve more fact-checkers with good knowledge of Nigeria’s local languages. Inuwa made the call when he received WhatsApp’s Director, Public Policy for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, Helen Charles, alongside Meta’s Head of Public Policy for Anglophone West Africa Adaora Ikenze on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Professor Isa Ali Pantami in his office. The DG noted that fact-checking could be an entirely new industry with…

Juniper Research has predicted that Over-the-Top business messages from WhatsApp, Messenger and Viber will  Cannibalise SMS Business Messaging Traffic and will exceed 93 billion globally to accelerating competition to established SMS channel The new study found that global OTT (Over the Top) business messaging traffic will rise from 93 billion in 2023, to 254 billion by 2027, representing a growth of 172 percent, which will be driven by the increased availability of open OTT messaging APIs and competitive pricing models; creating a viable rich media alternative to established operator-led channels, such as SMS. OTT business messaging enables brands and enterprises…