Here are this week’s top news headlines about startups, entrepreneurship, innovation and tech around Africa.
Flatline Africa
According to recent reports by the International Data Corporation, smartphone shipments in Africa are dropping, with the continent’s two biggest markets — Nigeria and South Africa — under-performing and posting quarter-on-quarter declines of 6.4% and 27.4%, respectively. Read more on the IDC website.
RE: Tanzania blogging license
Remember Tanzania’s ‘Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations’ that requires bloggers in the country to cough out as high as $900 annually for a ‘blogging license’? We are beginning to see the aftereffects of that debacle, TechMoran reports.
https://techmoran.com/tanzania-government-shuts-down-jamii-forums-curtailing-free-speech/
MTN Namibia expansion
For about two decades now, South Africa-based MTN Group has only had a presence in Namibia as an Internet Service Provider. However, there are ongoing plans to launch a full-on mobile communications service in the country (BusinessTech).
https://businesstech.co.za/news/mobile/251369/mtn-to-launch-in-namibia-in-august-report/
Solar-powered irrigation for Nigerian farmers
During a courtesy visit to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, a delegation of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASDRA) unveiled its solar-powered Automated Irrigation System (Techpoint).
https://techpoint.ng/2018/06/12/nasrda-automated-irrigation-system/
Google for Africa
Google announced yesterday that it will be launching an AI research centre in Africa, which will open later this year in Accra, Ghana (Techpoint).
https://techpoint.ng/2018/06/14/google-ai-research-centre-accra/
Have a great weekend ahead.
