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West Africa Com 2023
4-5 July 2023
Radisson Blu Hotel, Dakar Sea PlazaDakar

4-5 July 2023
Radisson Blu Hotel, Dakar Sea Plaza,
Dakar

News & Insights

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is here. Keep up-to-date with the latest reports, news and more from across Africa.

Brought to you by Connecting Africa - The Community for the Architects of Africa's Digital Future

The Latest News

The Global Women in Tech 2023 Report

A deep dive into challenges & opportunities for women’s tech careers and women-led enterprises across Asia, Europe, and Africa.

  • The state of women's work situation in the tech sector
  • The factors that influence the careers of women in tech
  • Barriers and opportunities for women in tech
  • Evolution of the gender pay gap and gender discrimination

Closing the Gap: Accelerating Women in STEM [eBook]

We've gathered a selection of inspiring women from leading organisations, including Netcampus, GirlCodeZA, Digital Council Africa, CSIR, The AI Review, Procter & Gamble, life.file, and more!

Hear their stories and gain practical advice on an array of topics, including:

- How to start working in the tech sector
- how the tech sector has evolved in recent years
- The current barriers to overcome to make the tech sector more gender inclusive
- Practical tips to overcome challenges and fast-track careers 

The State of Connectivity in Africa in 2022 Report

Discover the challenges and disruptions to connectivity in Africa, the latest connectivity trends and opportunities in each region, as well as current connection speeds and adoption rates in each country in this interactive, free-to-download report.

Africa accelerated mobile money growth in 2021

Mobile money transaction values grew 39% in 2021 in Africa to US$701.4 billion – making up about 70% of global transaction values which hit over $1 trillion for the first time in 2021.

Telecom Egypt gets $167M from EIB for 4G expansion

Telecom Egypt has secured a medium-term loan of €150 million (US$167 million) from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which it will use to expand its 4G network.

Pandemic made mobile gender gap worse – GSMA

The mobile gender gap increased during the COVID-19 pandemic and women in Africa are still hugely impacted. That's according to stats from the GSMA as part of a preview of its Mobile Gender Gap Report 2022 which is due to be released in June 2022.

Ghanaians get more time to register SIMs

Ghana's government has given citizens an extra four months to register their SIM cards as part of an ongoing registration campaign in the country.

Leadership changes for MTN Nigeria, Iran & Sudan

MTN Group has announced new leadership appointments for its businesses in Nigeria, Iran and Sudan – all of them internal candidates.

MTN Nigeria to connect 2,000 rural communities

MTN Nigeria plans to connect an additional 2,000 rural communities in the West African nation during 2022. That's according to MTN Nigeria Chairman Ernest Ndukwe, who made the statement during a visit to South Africa as part of a bi-national conference.

Orange, UN Women support digital inclusion in West Africa

Pan-African telecoms operator Orange and UN Women are joining forces to support digital inclusion and economic empowerment for women in rural West Africa.

OkHi brings digital address verification to Nigeria

Lack of physical addressing affects half the world, especially in emerging economies, and costs businesses $200 billion a year. That's according to smart addressing system company OkHi, which has come up with a unique way to provide Africans with verifiable addresses.

Omdia View: Middle East & Africa, Feb 2022

In Middle East and Africa in February 2022, some of the key highlights included Botswana and Zimbabwe joining South Africa, Mauritius and Seychelles as the only countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have launched commercial 5G services while Kenya joined Zambia in developing a 5G roadmap.

MTN fintech users grow as spinoff looms

MTN's fintech and data business is a strong growth sector for the pan-African telco as it moves forward with plans to spin off the fintech business into a standalone entity.

Intelsat, Orange bring 3G and 4G to rural Mali

Satellite and terrestrial network operator Intelsat has signed a deal with Orange Mali to bring 3G and 4G connectivity to hard-to-reach areas in Mali, the eighth-largest country in Africa.

MTN to invest $1B in Ghana

MTN plans to invest over $1 billion in infrastructure and information systems in Ghana over the next five years, the group said on Tuesday as part of the local unit's full-year results announcement.

Exclusive: Vanu in major off-grid tower deal in Nigeria

Vanu Inc has begun deploying hundreds of off-grid basestations to rural communities in Nigeria through a partnership with Information Connectivity Solutions Limited (ICSL), on behalf of a leading Nigerian mobile network operator (MNO).

Hot startup of the month: Nigeria's Scrapays

Launched in 2019 by Tope Sulaimon, Boluwatife Arewa and Olumide Ogunleye, Nigeria's Scrapays uses USSD, mobile app, web app and Internet of Things technology to facilitate the decentralized recovery of recyclable waste. 

Africa's developer pool strong and growing – Google

Africa's pool of professional developers grew by 3.8% in 2021, to around 716,000, and local developers are being paid more, despite the contraction of the global economy and challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

What African operators are doing to help during COVID-19 outbreak

A number of African operators are stepping up to help during the COVID-19 outbreak that is now affecting at least 30 African nations, with more than 470 confirmed cases on the continent.

Nigeria's 1GB data price has dropped 75% over five years

Mobile data prices in Nigeria have dropped by 75% over five years. This according to Research ICT Africa's (RIA's) 1GB Basket statistics, which show the average price of 1GB of data has dropped from $11.15 in mid-2014 to $2.78 at the end of 2019.