Brief (360)
Waves of layoffs are multiplying in major American tech companies. In November, Meta set the tone by cutting 11,000 jobs, and others have followed. Since the beginning of 2023, over 210 tech companies have laid off 68,000 people, mainly in the United States."
The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has filed a lawsuit against the federal government regarding the proposed imposition of a 5% excise duty on telecommunications services. According to the organization, this decision is unjust in view of the multiple taxes already paid by telecom consumers. In September 2022, the Nigerian government abandoned its plan to introduce a 5% excise duty on telecom services. Today the executive is trying a second time to impose this tax because it wants to primarily rely on taxation to finance its 2023 budget.
Digital technologies are still widely underutilized in microenterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa despite their huge potential for productivity gains, according to a report published on January 23rd by the World Bank. The main factors that prevent African microenterprises from using computers, smartphones, or stock management software on a large scale are the lack of information about these technologies, insufficient digital skills, the high cost, and the lack of suitable infrastructure.
The Central African Republic component of the Central African Backbone (CAB-RCA) project is finally entering its operational phase. The infrastructures were officially handed over to the Central African government on Monday, January 7th in the presence of partners. Spanning 935 km, they connect the Central African Republic (CAR) to the Republic of Congo and Cameroon. The network's commercialization is expected to begin "soon."
Data center operator iColo, a subsidiary of Digital Realty, inaugurated its first operator-neutral data center in Maputo, Mozambique on Wednesday, February 8th. Named MPM1, the infrastructure is expected to allow the company to expand its footprint and meet growing connectivity needs along the East Coast of Africa. The project was first announced in October 2021.
Wholesale bandwidth provider West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC) has laid the 2Africa fiber optic submarine cable at the Durban Open Access Data Centers (OADC) in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. This is the fourth and final landing of this infrastructure in the rainbow nation.
The arrival of 2Africa in KwaZulu-Natal comes about three weeks after Vodacom laid the same cable system in its Gqeberha facilities in Eastern Cape. A month earlier, MTN SA and MTN GlobalConnect landed the cable in Yzerfontein and Duynefontein in the Western Cape.
The Zimbabwean government has announced that it plans to deploy over 300 base stations across the country this year to address connectivity issues, particularly in rural areas. The equipment needed to build these telecoms infrastructures has already been purchased, it has been learned. Installation and operation will be entrusted to NetOne, the mobile branch of the historic operator TelOne. " We have sent in our team to conduct mapping and scoping and we want to make sure that we connect the unconnected." said Jenfan Muswere, Minister of Information, Communication, Technology, and Postal and Courier Services.
The partial privatization of Ethio Telecom is part of the process of liberalizing the Ethiopian telecom market. The government had originally planned to sell 40% of the historic operator. Finally, it announces that it wants to sell "up to 45% of Ethio Telecom's capital to an international company as part of the partial privatization" of the historic operator. To this end, the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance has launched a call for proposals published on Thursday, February 9.
According to Muriel Edjo, Chief Editor at We Are Tech, Africa is adopting 5G faster than expected, but not yet fast enough to meet the exploding demand for connectivity driven by new uses such as videoconferencing, streaming, e-sports, e-health, and remote work. Not to mention the rapid progress of AI and the growing importance of data that are disrupting the economy and public administration. Most of the major African telecom operators are ready to deploy this technology on a large scale. But they face several obstacles that the report "5G in Africa: The Challenges Facing Telecom Operators" aims to identify.
Disrupt Africa has released its annual report on funding for African startups and announces a historic record despite the global slowdown in the venture capital sector. For the first time, the media claims, the $3 billion mark has been surpassed. This is also the first time that this report is made available for free thanks to several sponsors Flat6Labs, MarketForce, 4Di Capital, Mercy Corps Ventures, Newtown Partners, and InsiderPR