tech news
Infobip to Roll Out WhatsApp for Business in Botswana
/* custom css */ .tdi_3_ec0.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_ec0.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Infobip has joined forces with Redbullet to roll out an Automated WhatsApp for Business API channel to its clients with the option of a breakout to a live agent. Established in 2010, Redbullet is a Botswana-based company that provides omnichannel solutions to enterprise customers in the local market. Bakang Sebele, Co-Founder of the ICT company says that they approached Infobip based on its reputation as a big omnichannel provider in South Africa. It had previously also used Infobip’s SMS platform before developing its own. “WhatsApp for Business is a fairly new technology in Botswana, but most people here use WhatsApp as their preferred channel of communication. It mad...
Huawei to Launch New Android Alternative HarmonyOS in June
/* custom css */ .tdi_3_aaa.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_aaa.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Huawei has confirmed that it will launch its new smartphone operating system (OS) HarmonyOS in June. The Chinese tech company told Global Times that the OS has been in use for the last two years on a number of Huawei watches, laptops and home appliances but it will now formally support smartphones. Huawei expects the number of devices equipped with HarmonyOS to reach 300 million by the end of 2021, including more than 200 million Huawei devices. According to TechRadar, HarmonyOS is related to, but not exactly the same as, the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS), replacements to Google’s apps that the company is working on in an effort to work pass the Huawei ban. “These are apps th...
Telkom Group Records Growth in Mobile Business
Telkom has released its financial results – ending 31 March 2021. The telco saw the lion’s share of its income made up by “next-generation technologies” like its mobile business. Growth, driven by the mobile business, saw EBITDA grow 11.7% to R11 973 million, with EBITDA margin expanding by 2.8 ppts to 27.7%. Despite a challenging environment, Group revenue grew 0.4% to R43 222 million. Mobile business revenue growth now more than offsets the anticipated structural decline in fixed-voice revenue and revenue pressures from COVID-19. The results showed a change in revenue mix, with legacy fixed-voice income now contributing only 15% to the business. Notwithstanding the challenging trading environment, the Group delivered underlying earnings growth of 88.1% to R2 622 million, growing BEPS and...
Samsung Unveils 3 New Smart Monitors
/* custom css */ .tdi_3_b86.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_b86.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Samsung has unveiled its newly expanded Smart Monitor lineup which provides more display sizes and design options, along with new and enhanced smart features. “As time spent working, learning and playing from home increases for people around the world, homes are being transformed into multi-functional environments,” said Hyesung Ha, Senior Vice President of Visual Display Business at Samsung Electronics. “Our expanded Smart Monitor lineup will continue to provide users with even more convenient and flexible ways to accomplish everyday activities through technology, enabling them to truly ‘do it all’ through powerful mobile and PC connectivity on the smartest monitor available on ...
Double Bullseye for SentinelOne in Recent Prestigious Global Accolades
Stefan van de Giessen, General Manager: Cybersecurity at Networks Unlimited Africa SentinelOne’s endpoint security solutions came out on top among endpoint vendors in the latest ATT&CK Evaluation performed by MITRE Engenuity. Having recently released its results from the 2020 evaluation, SentinelOne was proud to report that it was the only vendor to achieve complete visibility, with zero missed detections, across both Windows and Linux environments. In addition, SentinelOne was also proud to announce that it has recently been positioned by Gartner as a Leader in the 2021 Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection Platforms. SentinelOne believes the placement is a testament to the company’s innovative Singularity XDR platform and scaled go-to-market execution in record time. Over and ...
Beware of this New SMS Phishing Scheme Spreading Worldwide
A new, and viral, phishing scheme has seen fraudsters putting mobile users’ financial information at risk, according to Kaspersky. The cybersecurity company revealed that attackers, typically under the guise of a postal service, request a small sum of money for the shipping costs of a package. Once a user clicks on an SMS authentication code for the money transfer, the device is compromised thereby enabling increasingly larger amounts of money to be stolen. “Because it is not a complex phishing attack, it has already gained traction in other parts of the world with fraudsters able to pose as virtually any service provider from prepaid electricity to airtime, naming just a few examples,” says Bethwel Opil, Enterprise Sales Manager at Kaspersky in Africa. Phishing, regardless of the scheme u...
Safaricom to Pay $850 Million for Ethiopian Operating Licence
Image sourced from Techweez Safaricom, alongside parent company Vodafone, has been awarded one operating licence by Ethiopia’s telecommunications regulator. The telco is expected to pay $850 million for the licence. In a tweet, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says “The Council of Ministers has unanimously made a historic decision today allowing Ethiopian Communications Authority to grant a new nationwide telecom license to the Global Partnership for Ethiopia which offered the highest licensing fee and a very solid investment case.” According to Reuters, the consortium – led by Safaricom – plans to invest up to $8.5 billion in infrastructure as well as create up to one and a half million jobs. Ahmed adds, “with over $8 billion total investment, this will be the single largest FDI into Ethiop...
Should West African Businesses Embrace Mobile Authentication for Security?
Sourced from International IDEA Digital technology has not only profoundly altered the way we live our lives, but also changed the pace of communication and commerce, allowing us to do everything, immediately. While this has effectively impacted every aspect of our lives, it also inevitably changed the way we are targeted by fraudsters. Along with the world transforming to digital, so has crime. According to an Accenture report published in 2019, the total value at risk of cybercrime over the next five years is an estimated $5.2 trillion. The average cyberattack costs $13 million, according to the same report, with phishing, social engineering and stolen device crime making up $2.4 million of the cost of an average attack. In West Africa, cybercrime is on the increase, with a recent analys...
Airtel Kenya Joins forces with MyDawa to Provide Fast Access To Medicine
Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Kenya has partnered with ePharmacy platform, MyDawa, so that subscribers can have easy and fast access to their medication. According to Gadgets Africa, Airtel subscribers will be able to log on to the MyDawa app or website without incurring additional data charges. They will also be able to use Airtel Money to pay for medicine, health, wellness, personal care and other essential items. “This is a great partnership that will increase the access to healthcare products in Kenya. We are happy to partner with Airtel, one of the top telecommunications service providers in the country, to ensure that their subscribers are able to access quality medical products in a convenient and affordable way,” says Tony Wood, MD of MyDawa. “Free access to MyDawa’s services with ...
Flutterwave Partners with Amole to Expand Remittances in Ethiopia
Image sourced from Techpoint Africa /* custom css */ .tdi_3_e04.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_e04.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Flutterwave has partnered with Amole to facilitate money transfers into Ethiopia. Through this agreement, Amole Wallet users will be able to send money to bank accounts and cash pickup locations at over 2,500 locations across the country. This news comes at a time when many remittance services in Ethiopia today are seen as too expensive, with manual paperwork and delays making it challenging and time-consuming. The partnership is expected to solve these problems by providing instant delivery of funds to the receiver at no fee, with more control of where and how to send money, including transparency from a regulatory standpoint. Speaking on...
Liquid Telecom Launches New Identity in Kenya
Liquid Telecom has unveiled its new identity as Liquid Intelligent Technologies in Kenya. As part of the rebrand, the pan-African technology group also revealed its plan to go from being a telecommunications and digital services provider to a full one-stop-shop technology. Over the last two decades, Liquid has established itself as a leading pan-African digital infrastructure provider with an extensive network spanning over 73,000 KM. This rebrand to Liquid Intelligent Technologies highlights the organisation’s expansion of its Cloud business, Cyber Security services, and other technologies added to its existing telecoms and connectivity capability. This also furthers the Group’s aim of accelerating growth by providing tailor-made digital solutions to businesses in the public and private s...
Why Broadband Connectivity is Crucial to Sustainable Development in Africa
Over the past year or so, digital transformation accelerated at an unprecedented rate in societies around the world. Whether we were working, learning, or staying in touch with friends and family, being online became more critical than ever. Even as vast numbers of people were adapting to their new realities, it became increasingly apparent that equally large numbers of people were shut out from being able to do so. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, approximately 800-million people are not connected to the mobile internet. Of those, some 520-million can access the mobile internet but don’t, because of factors such as smartphone penetration and lack of skills while 270-million cannot access the mobile internet because they don’t have the requisite coverage. Across the region, 4G broadband...
