Africa > Southern Africa > Communication

Communication / ICT in Southern Africa

  • Kenya, Nigeria & S. Africa: biggest winners of Google's Africa tech training

    KENYA, 2017/09/09 Alphabet Inc’s Google aims to train 10 million people in Africa in online skills over the next five years in an effort to make them additional employable, its chief executive said on Thursday. The U.S. technology giant as well hopes to train 100,000 software developers in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa, a company spokeswoman said. Google’s pledge marked an expansion of an initiative it launched in April 2016 to train young Africans in digital skills. It announced in March it had reached its initial target of training one million people.
  • Submarine cable deployed in Angola to link Africa to South America

    ANGOLA, 2017/09/09 The project of deploying the initial submarine telecommunication cable in the South Atlantic ocean linking Africa to South America has been launched in Angola’s capital Luanda. The launch of the fibre-optic South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) follows months of marine survey that was completed by multinational telecommunications company Angola Cables in April.
  • South African Gupta firm denies wrongdoing in Eskom contract

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2017/07/22 South African advisory firm Trillian on Friday denied it was paid for work it did not do for national-power company Eskom, saying that it provided various support functions. The firm, which is being investigated over allegations of corruption, is owned by the Gupta brothers, businessmen with close ties to South African President Jacob Zuma inclunding having before employed his son, Duduzane. The brothers have been accused by members of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) of using their political connections to win government contracts. They, and Zuma, have denied any wrongdoing.
  • Africa: South Africa and Ghana Celebrate Success of African Network of Telescopes

    GHANA, 2017/07/14 The Ministries of Ghana and South Africa announce the combination of 'initial light' science observations which confirm the successful conversion of the Ghana communications antenna from a redundant telecoms instrument into a functioning Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) radio telescope. Ghana is the initial partner country of the African Very Large Baseline Interferometer (VLBI) Network (AVN) to complete the conversion of a communications antenna into a functioning radio telescope. The 32-metre converted telecommunications antenna at the Ghana Intelsat Satellite Earth Station at Kutunse will be integrated into the African VLBI Network (AVN) in preparation for the second phase construction of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) across the African continent.
  • Five billion people in the world use mobile phones, 436 million in sub-Sahara Africa

    BOTSWANA, 2017/06/15 The number of mobile phone subscribers in the world has reached five billion, according to the research arm of the world mobile industry organization, GSMA. But sub-Sahara Africa is the least penetrated with 436 million incomparable subscribers, the organization says in a press release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com. The GSMA defines a ‘incomparable mobile subscriber’ as an individual person that can account for multiple ‘mobile connections’, that is SIM cards. According to GSMA Intelligence, the world’s five billion incomparable mobile subscribers today account for approximately 7.7 billion mobile connections – excluding mobile-to-mobile (M2M).
  • Eskom CEO Brian Molefe has been ‘overpraised and over-paid’ for work done by underpaid workers.

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2017/04/26 LABOUR federation Cosatu has commended the decision by Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown to block the R30m pension payout received by former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe last month. The federation said the system of golden handshakes was insensitive to low gain workers who are bearing the brunt of the challenging economic times the country is going through. Brown has as well instructed Eskom to statement back to her next sitting down with Molefe to work out a additional suitable pension. Sizwe Pamla, Cosatu’s national spokesperson, gave Brown’s decision the green light, saying Parliament must as well investigate the all of money handed to company executives with a view of bridging the huge financial gap that exists between managers and general workers.
  • Kearney’s investment statement welcomed by the government

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2017/04/26 THE government welcomed AT Kearney’s 2017 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence statement at the weekend, which showed the country was the 25th most attractive destination for foreign direct investment globally, the initial from the continent. Improvements in shortterm economic prospects and the longterm investment in the country’s manufacturing have been cited as some of the key drivers of South Africa’s improved rating on the index. ATTRACTIVE DESTINATION: Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo has hailed the country’s healthy relations with foreign investors. Minister of Communications Ayanda Dlodlo said: “The government is humbled by this ranking, which shows that SA’s strategic partnership with foreign investors is gaining momentum.
  • David Meads David Meads is the vice-president Africa of Cisco.

    SOUTH AFRICA, 2017/04/26 South Africa hosts the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), a project with extensive socioeconomic knock-on effects. Working with the Department of Science and Technology, Cisco has contributed R66m toward it near Carnarvon in the Northern Cape. AS SOUTH Africa prepares to host the World Economic Forum in Durban, the city with its major and busiest port, there is much to focus on as the country continues to promote itself as a promising investment destination. Primarily, the event presents opportunities for governments to collaborate with regional and world leaders from business and civil society to identify and craft tangible plans to create economic opportunities for all. Digital transformation is part of a lot of of these opportunities.
  • 3 Ways Digital Technology Can Transform Africa Into a Global Power

    BOTSWANA, 2016/11/03 Africa is home to some of the world’s greatest digital innovations. From medical applications to inventions aimed at enabling the continent’s educational system, the continent is not just experiencing a digital revolution, but it’s as well solidifying its place as world leader in science and technology. The number of young people creating life-changing digital applications in Africa continues to grow. In Mozambique, counselors are using Short Message Services to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, while in Nigeria a Do It Yourself generator that can produce six hours of power just from a liter of urine was invented by a group of 15-year-old girls. And in Zimbabwe, a 24-year-old engineering student has managed approaching up with a machine that turns plastic into diesel.
  • Responding to the demand for reliable data collection in Africa, mSurvey raises seed funding

    KENYA, 2016/08/27 mSurvey, a Kenya based startup specializing in mobile data collection, has raised seed capital as it looks to expand its survey business in partnership with retailers in sub-Saharan Africa. Safaricom, Cross Culture Ventures, and the Virgin Group’s Alpha Angels joined an investment round in the four year old business. “It’s a seed round. I can’t disclose the all, but part of it comes from the $1 million Spark Venture Fund Safaricom set up to invest in high increase startups,” said mSurvey CEO Kenfield Griffith. “We’ll use the funds to drive price add to merchants using Safaricom’s Lipa Na M-Pesa [bill pay and digital payments] service and to further fuel increase in Africa and other emerging markets,” he added.