Tag: africa

Slashed undersea cables cause massive internet outage in a dozen African countries

Stephanie Beck
Internet outage - No Internet on Phone - Africa continent

Failed undersea telecommunication cables left twelve countries cut off from the online ecosystem. A dozen African countries suffered from a huge internet outage when critical undersea cables failed in the region. Network operators reported the failed undersea telecommunication cables One of the largest network providers in the continent, the MTN Group, announced that there had been failures in a number of undersea cables, which led to the ongoing internet outage. “Our operations are actively working to reroute traffic through alternative network paths,” said the company based in South Africa. Cable…

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Mobile commerce takes off in Africa as digital economy explodes

Stephanie Beck
Mobile Commerce - Person on phone

The continent is seeing a boom on the channel, led by Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. Mobile commerce moving Africa’s digital economy forward, led by Nigeria, then Egypt, Kenya, and South Africa. The continent’s online economy is greatly based on the use of smartphones throughout the population. The Department for International Trade (DIT) recently released a whitepaper titled “Towards a flourishing digital economy for all – a spotlight on Africa”, with the Mobile World Live team at the GSM Association. The whitepaper was released on the edge of the…

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Visa joins with Bharti Airtel to expand mobile commerce throughout Africa

Stephen Vagus
Visa Mobile Payments News

New partnership will bring mobile commerce services to seven African countries Visa has partnered with Bharti Airtel, a telecommunications company operating in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, in order to expand the availability of mobile payments. The two companies will be bringing new mobile payments services to seven countries in Africa, including Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, and Rwanda. Mobile payments have gained some traction in Africa, where growing smartphone ownership is allowing consumers to shop online with their mobile devices. New services will make it possible for consumers to pay…

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Mobile commerce revenue to spike in the next four years

Jesse Collins
UK mobile commerce - Woman with shopping bags on mobile

Mobile Internet revenue is on the rise and will reach new heights by 2017 A new report released by Digi-Capital predicts that mobile Internet revenue could reach new heights in the coming years. More people throughout the world are gaining access to the mobile Internet, and they are using this access for a wide variety of activities. Mobile gaming, shopping, and similar activities are becoming more commonplace among consumers, and this also means that people are beginning to spend more money online than they have done in the past. Report…

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Vodafone to launch mobile payments service in Europe

Stephen Vagus
mobile payments Europe

M-Pesa to break into the European market this year, beginning in Romania Vodafone has announced that its M-Pesa mobile payments service will be launched in Romania, signifying the service’s first entry into the European market. M-Pesa has existed in Africa since 2007 and has done much to transform commerce in several African countries. The service is often praised for its convenient nature and the fact that it can be used on older mobile devices. The service is text-based, which means that it can be used by a wide range of…

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