US-China war is once again triggered, pushing a TikTok ban to set afoot within the US grounds. With fresh privacy concerns for the Chinese-owned short-form video app arising, the government responds alarmingly.
General News
Tanzania Partners with China to Boost Digital Economy
Tanzania will benefit from China's support in promoting the distribution of ICT (information and communication technologies). The two parties signed a partnership agreement that focuses on the adoption and development of the fifth-generation (5G) mobile technology in the country.
Nigeria to Launch a New Training Program
Isa Ali Pantami, Minister of Communications and DigitalEeconomy, Nigeria announced that a program will be launched over the next 18 months to train 1 million developers in the country.
Uganda Plans on Launching its First Satellite this Year
Uganda will launch its first satellite into low Earth orbit in September 2022. Matia Kasaija, Uganda's minister of finance, planning and economic development, said the launch will be in collaboration with NASA.
Orion AST and MINT Sign Strategic MoU to Develop Ethiopia’s Space Industry
The Ethiopian government, through the Ministry of Innovation and Technology (MINT), has signed a memorandum of understanding with the American satellite company Orion Applied Science and Technology (Orion AST). The agreement focuses on the development of Ethiopia’s capabilities in the space industry.
Tanzania Imposes New Digital Tax
Tanzania will introduce a digital tax this year, the country's finance minister said, in a move targeting global internet giants offering services in the East African nation. The 2% tax will come into effect in July and follows similar attempts by other countries to force US multinational tech companies to pay at least a portion of their revenues in local tax.
Ghana Launches New Mobile Money Service
GhIPSS, Ghana's banking association, launched GhanaPay, a mobile money service designed to increase financial inclusion. According to the GhIPSS website, the mobile money service is provided by local “universal banks, rural banks, and savings and loans companies to individuals and businesses.”
POTRAZ Launches a New Monitoring System
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has implemented a new traffic monitoring and revenue assurance system to stem financial leakages from telecom services. The new tool will also be used to curb fraudulent activities in the telecoms sector, such as illegal call routing.
CRAN and MTC Resolve Ten-Year Levies Dispute
The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) and Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) ended the decade-long dispute and reached a settlement agreement on the levy dispute.
New 30MW data centre facility in Ghana to help bridge Africa’s digital divide
Africa data centres, part of the Cassava Technologies Group, a pan-African technology group, announced building a 30MW data centre facility in Accra, Ghana. The new facility will lay the groundwork for the company’s hyper-scale partners to expand digital services and solutions to more countries in West Africa and will make Africa data centres the largest provider in West Africa, with facilities in Nigeria, Togo and Ghana.