Techpoint Africa has met all requirements for the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) released by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA). We outline the process here.…
The journey of a decade: MainOne's story building West Africa's Internet infrastructure
MainOne, one of Africa’s biggest telecom infrastructure providers, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. We had a chat with its CEO, Funke Opeke, on the company’s journey so far and wh…
Nigerian fintech startups may soon need regulatory approval to launch new products
Nigeria’s apex bank has released a regulatory sandbox framework for both new and existing fintech companies. With the proposal, new fintech products might have to be tested and approved before a full …
Kenya sets up unit to track revenues from all digital transactions
Kenya’s revenue authority has set up a unit to track revenues from every digital transaction. With its economy under threat, it wants to track every online transaction in its quest for recovery.…
ECOWAS court fines Togo $3400 for its Internet shutdown of 2017
The ECOWAS court has declared the Togolese Republic’s Internet shutdown of 2017 illegal. It has ordered the government to pay a $3400 fine, and enforce measures to protect the rights of its citi…
Nigeria’s telecom regulator to create sandboxes, accelerators and regulate social media
Nigeria’s telecom regulator has unveiled its strategic plan for 2020 to 2024. As we discovered, it plans to facilitate emerging technologies and regulate OTT services like Facebook, WhatsApp, and othe…
The cost of Internet data in Nigeria is increasing, but it’s not really obvious
A few years ago, Nigerian telcos began the famous data wars and reports suggest that the price of data has fallen by 75% since 2014. But in reality, the price of Internet data is increasing for the av…
Nigeria wants to save startups, SMEs, and create a million tech jobs
As part of its post-pandemic economic sustainability plan, Nigeria wants to create over one million tech-related jobs and establish payroll support to critically affected startups and SMEs among other…
Inside Kenya’s plan to enforce taxes on Google, Netflix, digital services
In line with the provisions of its Finance Act, Kenya, the economic powerhouse of East Africa, is trying to widen its tax base to include digital services like Google, Netflix and all online transacti…
French telecom company, Orange, eyeing entry into Nigeria and SA
France’s largest telecom company, Orange is reportedly eyeing an entry into the Nigerian and South African telecom markets in the coming months, with possible interests in its blossoming payments sect…
Nigeria is developing a policy for the commercial deployment of 5G
A few months after successful trials in three major cities, the Nigerian Communications Commission has started working on a policy for the deployment of 5G in Nigeria, but actual implementation might …
Nigeria’s tax regulator wants to digitally verify taxes paid by telcos
Nigeria’s taxman, FIRS, has finalised plans to integrate a technology solution (API) that will verify the accuracy of taxes paid by telecom operators. What could this mean for businesses in the …
Ghana wants to break MTN’s market dominance, but will its new policies suffice?
Ghana’s National Communication Authority wants to implement new pricing measures, that will reduce MTN’s dominance and promote competition in the country’s telecom space.…
Nigerian broadcasting agency seeks to regulate exclusive/original local content on Netflix, iROKOtv, PayTV
The Nigerian Broadcasting Commission released an amendment to the 6th edition of its broadcasting code that could bring an end to exclusive content on iROKOtv, Netflix, and PayTV platforms airing in N…
How Nigerian tech companies listed on the NSE fared during the lockdown
As tech companies lead the recovery of most stock markets across the globe we closely followed Nigeria’s tech companies on the stock market during the lockdown to see how they would fare.…
Danbatta reappointed as executive vice-chairman of Nigeria’s telecom regulator
The Nigerian federal government, has re-appointed Umar Garba Danbatta as Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission. A look back on milestones from his previous tenure.…
Nigeria’s mobile internet market in Q1 2020: Glo wins data battle by a wide margin
Going by Q1 2020 figures, Nigerian telco, Glo might be winning the data war, far ahead of its closest competitors, Airtel and MTN. But what does the bigger picture look like for Nigeria’s Intern…
9mobile completes transition from ‘Etisalat Nigeria’ with appointment of its first CEO
Nigerian telecom company, 9mobile, formerly Etisalat, has appointed a new CEO, Alan Sinfield. This will be 9mobile’s first confirmed CEO since it began its torrid transition from Etisalat in 2017.…
The impending game-changing regulations for Nigerian logistics companies
Following the Okada ban, Nigeria’s logistics space witnessed some new entrants. In a chat with some of the industry’s biggest players, we discover that the largely unregulated sector is about to…
Hackers have access to data from Nigerian and Kenyan universities
The websites of top Nigerian and Kenyan universities have loopholes that allow anyone to gain access to the data of students and staff, but some of these universities don’t seem to care about th…