Author: ITPulse

  Research and advisory company, Gartner has in its 2018 Hype Cycle for Information and Communications Technology in Africa, identified five technologies that are making the highest business impact within two years. The technologies, according to Gartner are 3D Printing services, Public Cloud Storage, Cloud Office, App and Online data compression. “Africa is entering an important stage in growing maturity, with nine technologies entering the Slope of Enlightenment and climbing toward the Plateau of Productivity,” said William Hahn, principal research analyst at Gartner. Describing how these technologies will impact business performance in Africa, Gartner noted that 3D printing services have…

  By Martin Ekpeke As part of its efforts to key into the Central Bank of Nigeria’s financial inclusion target of 2020, Nigeria’s CWG Plc has sealed a deal with China’s GRG Banking to make ATM services more available across Nigeria. Announcing the deal at a joint press conference in Lagos yesterday, CWG’s Vice President for Sales and Marketing, overseeing  Product Management, noted that the relationship with GRG became necessary because CWG believes access to financial services should not be a luxury that is available for a select few, but for every Nigerian, especially those in the rural areas. He…

Is the African digital landscape inclusive for all? Whilst millions of African women are becoming connected through mobile technology and reaping the life changing benefits that it can bring, many more are still left behind. Compared to men, women in Sub-Saharan Africa are, for instance, 14% less likely to own a mobile phone, 34% less likely to use mobile internet and 20% less likely to use mobile money, according to Findex data and our Mobile Gender Gap Report 2018. Mobile operators across the continent are working hard to address this, realising that reaching more women can not only bring…

  The duo of Wallet.ng and Secapay have been shortlisted among the eleven startups that would challenge at this year’s edition of Pan-African bank, Ecobank Fintech Challenge. The Fintech Challenge, which with cash prizes and enrollment into the Ecobank Fintech Fellowship is a competition for Africa-focused technology startups that run for a period of six months during which Ecobank Fintech Fellows will benefit from an opportunity to further explore partnerships with the Ecobank Group. At the grand final, which will take place on August 30, 2018 at the global headquarters of Ecobank in Lomé, Togo, the start-ups will exhibit and…

  By Cyril Ilayah The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission, as part of its effort to accommodate the latest trends  in lottery activities and how it affects telecommunications platforms, which drive lottery activities all over the world. The Nigerian telecom regulator, in its thinking believes that regulation must be ahead of the trends in the lottery industry, as there is no better infrastructure that is amenable to the conduct of lotteries in Nigeria than the telecommunications infrastructure. “Lottery is an additional service that brings additional burden to the telecom…

  BY Martin Ekpeke The absence of an Interconnect settlement scheme, lack of monitoring mechanism for traffic exchange by operators and the fact that there is no service fee for clearinghouse services, have been identified as parts of the reason there is the rising interconnect debts of N165 billion in Nigeria’s telecom space.  This was the conclusion of a telecommunications expert, Mr. Ikechukwu Nnamani, while making a presentation at the 2018 NIGERIA ICT IMPACT CEO FORUM, in Lagos last week. According to Nnamani, a situation where there is no Interconnect settlement scheme that will clearly define how traffic can be…

  Emerging Media, the organizer of the annual Nigeria Innovation Summit, has announced speakers for this year’s event scheduled to take place in Abuja in September. Announcing the speakers of the summit with the theme: ‘Building a Culture of Innovation in Nigeria for Sustainable Economic Growth’, the Chief Executive Officer of Emerging Media, Mr Kenneth Omeruo, said” We are excited to announce our first line up of speakers for this year’s summit in Abuja, these distinguished speakers are drawn from local and international organisations who are fostering economic development and playing key role in the global innovation ecosystem around the world…

  United Bank for Africa Plc, (UBA) has added another feather to her cap with its recognition as the ‘Best Institution in Digital Banking’ across Africa at the prestigious Euromoney Awards in London recently. This adds further credence to the bank’s growing dominance in this space within the financial services institutions. The Euromoney Awards ceremony, which was held in July, 2018; covered over 20 global product categories, best-in-class awards in over 100 countries across the world; recognizing institutions that have demonstrated leadership, innovation and momentum in the markets in which they operate. Euromoney’s award recipients, were based on a riding…

  Promoters of the Zone Tech Park located along the Gbagada Expressway in Lagos, has officially launched the hub, which many people described as a venture builder for start-ups that will ultimately turn great ideas into products and services. Speaking at the launch, Toro Orero, Chief Executive Officer of the Park, disclosed that so far $6.5million has been invested in the Zone Tech Park. According to him, the investment was majorly used to build the infrastructure and the environment needed to help African startups scale and compete globally. Zone tech Park, which is the brainchild of Workforce Group, will have…

  By Kester Omu Deloitte’s latest country report has indicated that homegrown technology innovations, that are strategically designed to solve Nigeria’s unique challenges hold the key to unlocking the country’s untapped potential in industries outside the oil sector. The report titled ‘Invest in Nigeria’, noted that to achieve success in Nigeria, it is key to invest both time and effort to develop a long-term strategy that will allay the complexities of the market. That long term strategy is basically developing homegrown solutions that are designed by Nigerians and patronized by Nigerians. “Nigeria is a unique market that requires tailored solutions…