Hi Guys,
Welcome to a brand-new episode of the Big 5 Daily! We hope to mesmerize you with gists about the top-notch innovations in Africa.
Dive in!
Have you heard? Econet Group — a privately held diversified telecommunications company, has shut-down Kwesè TV, Kwesè Sports and Kwesè Play. Kwesè TV is the company’s pay-TV delivery service. The Group blamed the lack of foreign currency and inflation for this. See the blog for more details!
The Nigerian Communications Commission has fined Airtel and 9mobile. The operators were fined for violating the provision of quality of service and defaulting the Do-Not-Disturb (DND) act. They defaulted by subscribing users to value-added services and charging them without prior consent. Do share your thoughts on this!
Also, Rwanda’s biggest telco, MTN is planning to conduct a direct listing on the Rwandan Stock Exchange (RSE). The telco also plans to buy stakes in Korea Telecom Rwanda Network (KTRN). This will grant the public access to own over 20% of MTN Rwanda. MTN Rwanda plans to acquire stakes or full ownership of KTRN in a bid to support the growth of its revenue, and gain direct access to 4G LTE. We hope to keep you updated on this!
Drum Rolls!!! The Vodafone Institute for Society and Communication has selected Ghanaian and Nigerian Startups to participate in its Berlin-based F-LANE accelerator, alongside its global counterparts. The startups, Developers in Vogue from Ghana and Rubi Health from Nigeria, will receive a stipend of EUR12,000 to cover living, travel and venture expenses all through the program. Congratulations to them!
Finally, Facebook, the parent company of WhatsApp and Instagram, has revealed plans to rename WhatsApp and Instagram as part of its re-brand process. The apps will subsequently be known as “WhatsApp from Facebook”, and “Instagram from Facebook”. This move will make it clear to anyone using the apps, that Facebook owns WhatsApp and Instagram.
That’s it for today’s episode of the Big 5 Daily!
Thanks for joining!