Namaste,
Victoria from Techpoint here,
Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
- 2Africa subsea cable goes live in September
- Med student by day, problem solver by night
- YouTube rolls out creator-first AI
2Africa subsea cable goes live in September
The long-awaited 2Africa submarine cable is finally edging close to going live in September 2025, with London, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa first in line. At 45,000 km, it’s set to be one of the world’s biggest subsea cable projects, connecting Africa to Europe, Asia, and beyond.
Backed by a heavyweight consortium that includes Meta, MTN GlobalConnect, Vodafone, Orange, Telecom Egypt, WIOCC, Center3, and China Mobile International, 2Africa promises faster, cheaper, and more reliable Internet across the continent. It’s been years in the making, with landings along Africa’s West coast already completed, including South Africa’s Yzerfontein, Mtunzini, Amanzimtoti, and Gqeberha.
The system is designed as an “open cable,” meaning each partner runs their own equipment on the fibre pairs they own. That’s why some operators may be ready to switch on capacity this September, while others may take until December. Either way, users across West and Southern Africa can expect a major boost.
Interestingly, 2Africa isn’t the fastest cable on the block. Experts say it’s a few milliseconds slower than older systems like ACE and WACS. But that’s by design; the cable avoids shallow waters where fishing and freight ships often cause damage. What it lacks in raw speed, it makes up for in durability and uptime.
The real selling point? Cost. Bandwidth on 2Africa is expected to come at half the price of legacy cables, while offering physical diversity and a whopping design capacity of 180 terabits per second (Tbps). For context, that’s more than Google’s Equiano cable at 144Tbps and dwarfs ACE and WACS, which once dominated the continent’s connectivity.
First unveiled in 2020, the cable has grown in scope over time, with expansions like the 2Africa PEARLS branch pushing it into the Gulf, India, and Pakistan. With up to 50 landing stations planned, including 30 across Africa, 2Africa is shaping up to be the infrastructure backbone powering Africa’s digital economy for years to come.
Med student by day, problem solver by night
For Opeyimika Aremu, the Internet isn’t just a tool; it’s the spark that’s shaped his journey. The final-year medical student at the University of Ibadan has tried multiple times to quit school, but each time, the pull of online opportunities kept him steady.
Aremu first got hooked after writing his post-UTME. Armed with his first Internet-enabled phone, he stumbled on online writers like Bamidele Onibadusi and became convinced there was more to life than dissecting cadavers. He wanted out of medicine, but his parents thought it was nothing more than “village people at work.”
Still, he kept experimenting. From volunteering with social enterprises to joining the campus press and interning at Nigerian Tribune in 2019, Aremu’s conviction about the Internet only deepened. He was reading, writing, and soaking up podcasts like “How I Built This,” learning from people who’d hacked life through curiosity and grit.
The COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 pulled him even deeper into tech. He discovered coding, toyed with the idea of moving to Rwanda to study Computer Science at the African Leadership University, and almost dropped out again. Some of his friends did. He didn’t, but the itch to prove himself never left.
By 2022, things picked up speed. An Open Source Festival, a 100 Days of Code challenge, and a scholarship at ALX gave him new skills and confidence. He branched into graphic design, marketing, and online certifications, deliberately putting himself out there. His mantra? Give it two or three years of real grinding, and the Internet will surely pay off.
Today, with a generalist mindset and a medical degree in view, Aremu is building solutions in AI while still chasing overlooked problems. In this edition of After Hours, he opens up on his unusual path, from writing to building tech. Read it all in Delight’s latest here.
YouTube rolls out creator-first AI
YouTube is rolling out a bunch of new tools for creators, and they’re not holding back. At its Made on YouTube event last week, the company showed off features coming to YouTube Studio, the dashboard more than 30 million creators use to track analytics, revenue, and manage their channels.
Among the updates are an AI-powered chatbot, fresh upgrades to the Inspiration tab, title and thumbnail A/B testing, auto dubbing, and one that’s bound to make waves: likeness detection. Basically, creators will now have more control, more insights, and more ways to protect their work.
The likeness detection tool is probably the headline grabber here. First teased in 2024 and tested with big names like MrBeast, it’s now going into open beta for all YouTube Partner Program creators. It allows them to flag and request removal of unauthorised videos using their face. Think of it as a guardrail for your image and reputation.
Then there’s Ask Studio, an AI chatbot built into YouTube Studio. Creators can ask it how a video is performing, what audiences think about their editing style, or just get quick tips to grow their channel. It’s different from YouTube’s earlier “Ask” tool for viewers; this one is specifically for creators.
The Inspiration tab is also getting smarter. Instead of vague prompts, creators will now see suggested topics tailored to their channel, complete with audience insights explaining why those topics matter. For every AI prompt, the system spits out nine possible ideas, which can be mixed, matched, or expanded into a full content plan.
And for the analytics nerds? YouTube is making title and thumbnail testing more robust. Creators will be able to pit up to three options against each other and see which performs best. According to YouTube, this A/B testing tool has already been used more than 15 million times, and now, it’s about to get a whole lot better.
In case you missed it
- Why Kredete sees credit scoring for immigrants as its next big opportunity
What I’m watching
- Why You Don’t Need to Be Exceptional
- “Good People Are Idiots” | Dostoevsky’s The Idiot
Opportunities
- Businessfront, the parent company of Techpoint Africa, is hiring a Sales Associate. Apply here.
- Businessfront, the parent company of Techpoint Africa, is looking for a Managing Editor (FMCG). Apply here.
- Flutterwave is hiring for several roles. Apply here.
- Paystack is recruiting a performance marketing specialist in Nigeria. Apply here.
- Kuda is hiring for several roles. Apply here.
- Kuda Technologies is hiring a Legal Counsel. Apply here.
- FairMoney is looking for a Head of Business Banking Product. Apply here.
- Moove is recruiting a Customer Success Executive. Apply here.
- Ecobank Nigeria is hiring a Chief Information security officer. Apply here.
- The Institute of African and Diaspora Studies at the University of Lagos is looking for a Junior Research Fellow. Apply here.
- MTN Nigeria is hiring an Operational Risk Specialist. Apply here.
- Co-Creation HUB (CcHUB) Nigeria is looking for a Head of Communications. Apply here.
- Group Vivendi Africa is hiring an IT Manager. Apply here.
- Sun King is hiring across different states in Nigeria. Apply here.
- Paystack is hiring for several roles in Nigeria and South Africa. Apply here.
- Paga is recruiting for several positions. Apply here.
- Moniepoint is hiring for several positions. Apply here.
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Have a productive week!
Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa
