Author: ITPulse

  By Martin Ekpeke Search engine giant,  Google has unveiled a new application that would provide a lighter, faster, way to search, with everything you need just a tap away in Africa, where available records show 73 percent of smartphones are 1Gb RAM and below. Tagged Google Go, Google says having noticed that weak data connectivity, high data costs and low RAM or storage space often make it hard for people to get the most out of the internet, it decided to launch the application as part of its efforts to play a meaningful role in the daily lives of…

  By Martin Ekpeke The much talked about Ausso Leadership Academy, was yesterday unveiled in Lagos with the Founder, Mr. Austin Okere, saying the academy was established to fill gaps in the Nigeria’s business and entrepreneurship ecosystem. In his speech at the unveiling, Okere, who is also the Founder of CWG Plc, noted that a huge gap exists in the Nigeria’s business ecosystem due largely to the lack of a personalized mentorship program to complement what professors teach at the business schools. He said the Academy was set up to address present days market realities. “The need for resourcefulness and…

  Just like Facebook, Google also has been collecting data and that too of children, a coalition of 23 child advocacy, consumer and privacy groups, has claimed. The group has filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in this regard, according to The Guardian. The group, in its complaint, has alleged that despite the search-engine giant claiming that the video-sharing website is only for those aged 13 and above, Google is aware that children below that age use the site. The group says Google collects information on the kids and then put tailor-made ads on the website…

  By Martin Ekpeke A financial inclusion company,  Oradian yesterday said its cloud based toolset has been strategically designed to boost the operations of Microfinance banks, saving and loan companies, especially in the remote areas of the African continent. This toolset, according to Oradian is being used by more than forty financial institutions in Africa to reap the benefits of digitization and boost financial inclusion, which is part of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s 80 per cent financial inclusion target by 2020. Speaking to Journalists on the sideline of a Networking Dinner, organized by the company in Lagos yesterday, Oradian…

  The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), today signed a milestone Memoradum of Understanding that would see the two federal government regulatory agencies push payment systems in Nigeria. The agreement was signed at the apex bank headquarter in Abuja. The MoU takes serious cognizance of very crucial areas of collaboration between the two important regulators with respect to financial inclusion strategy, already being driven by the CBN. The strategy also provides responsibilities of the two organizations towards the achievement of government’s objective on payment systems, including but not limited to mobile money services. The…

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has expressed fears that the 2019 Nigeria’s general elections may be hampered by technology, going by the rates of election meddling via technology in some other countries. Yakubu, who was speaking yesterday at the opening ceremony of a conference attended by the Electoral Management Bodies of the ECOWAS member countries and the South African Development Community member states, noted to avert it, African countries must come together. “We are worried about the twin issues of communication and security given the high stakes of conducting elections in developing countries,”…

Vodacom Business Nigeria, a leading pan-African corporate connectivity and telecommunications provider, today sealed a deal with Intesat to expand its enterprise broadband connectivity in Nigeria. The deal with Intesat, which delivers high-quality, cost-effective video and broadband services anywhere in the world, will further provide improved satellite services to its local enterprise customers. With the deal, which was signed recently at the Satellite 2018 event in Washington D.C, United States of America recently, Vodacom Business Nigeria has become the first telecommunications provider in Nigeria to lease capacity on the Intelsat 35e Satellite. “With this partnership to deploy the Intelsat EPICNG satellite…

Leading research and advisory company, Gartner has projected in its latest forecast that worldwide Information technology spending will reach $3.7 trillion in 2018, representing 6.2 percent growth from 2017. Gartner attributed this growth to the declining U.S. dollar, which has caused currency tailwinds. “Although global IT spending is forecast to grow 6.2 percent this year, the declining U.S. dollar has caused currency tailwinds, which are the main reason for this strong growth,” said John-David Lovelock, research vice president at Gartner. According to Garner, this is the highest growth rate it has forecasted since 2007, saying the growth appears to be…

  The Nigerian  Communications Commission (NCC), yesterday disclosed that MTN has so far  paid N165 billion out of the N330 billion it imposed on it in 2015, as a result of its inability to disconnect improperly registered SIM cards. The Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed when he received the Chairman of MTN, Dr. Pascal Dozie and other top management staff of MTN Nigeria in Abuja. “I am happy to inform you that our agreement with MTN on how and when to pay the fine has been adhered to. Just last month, March, we received a cheque…

  Despite the growth in numbers of Internet users in Africa from 15 million in 2005 to 213 million in 2017, uptake of Internet television is still undermined by the high cost of data, global entertainment group, Naspers has said. Citing data cost across the world, Naspers spokeman, Richard Boorman, noted that companies like Showmax, an online subscription video on demand service is seeing healthy usage in South Africa, but elsewhere, Internet TV is still at the nascent stage, as a result of the cost of data in Africa, reputed to be the highest in the world. Asked what Naspers…