Tech

Ethiopia joins Kenya in rolling out 5G network in Eastern Africa

Published

2 months ago

May 11, 2022

Ethiopian telecom service provider, Ethio Telecom, has launched a 5G mobile phone service making the country among the few leading African countries, including Kenya in eastern Africa, to roll out the latest technology.

According to Ethio Telecom CEO Frehiwot Tamru, during the launch announced ceremony on Tuesday, the network will be available on hotspot areas in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, including areas around Ethio Telecom’s head office and at the premises of the Bole International Airport, before being expanded to cover other parts of the country in coming months.

“The 5G service is launched in selected places in Addis Ababa,” Tamru announced.

“In the coming 12 months, we will have 150 5G sites in Addis Ababa and in major cities outside the capital,” he added.

Ethiopia joins a select elite of African countries to launch the 5G commercial networks which include countries like Kenya, Botswana, South Africa, Seychelles, Mauritius and Zimbabwe.

But the technology remains largely underdeveloped in large parts of Africa including the world’s most populous black nation and famed giant of Africa, Nigeria.

Ethiopia, incidentally Africa’s second most populous country after Nigeria, was one of the first countries to introduce the third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) in 2007 and 2015, respectively.

Related Topics:5G Ethiopia Featured Telecoms

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Tech

Kenyan money transfer startup, Kyanda, makes incursion into South Africa

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2022

Akanimoh Etim

Foremost Kenyan money transfer startup, Kyanda, has made a bold incursion into the southern African fintech market by launching its operations in South Africa.

The launching of the money transfer app which aims at helping users make all sorts of transactions at as low a cost as possible, according to its founder, Collins Kathuli, will help “users make cheap and fast money transfers, purchase airtime, and pay bills, among other things.”

Launched in February 2020, the fintech startup has processed over three million transactions since its formation, and Kathuli says Kyanda’s its goal is to build a payment ecosystem that serves both Kenya and Africa as a whole.

“We have other markets in our pipeline. This would be achieved best once we establish the market fit for our products, and of course after we’ve built firm roots in the current locations we’re present,” said Kathuli.

With over US$10 billion being moved within South Africa each year, and over 24 million South Africans sending money to each other daily, South Africa is the first stop on a broader expansion journey, according to Disrupt Africa.

Tech

Nigerian fintech startup, CredPal, secures more funding from Cairo Angels syndicate

Published

6 days ago

June 23, 2022

Akanimoh Etim

A Nigerian fintech startup, CredPal, has raised funding from the Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund (CASF), a micro-venture capital fund, to expand its “buy now, pay later” incentive to customers.

Launched in 2018 by the duo of Fehintolu Olaogun and Olorunfemi Jegede, CredPal has placed itself as one of Nigeria’s most preferred consumer credit platform that gives buyers the freedom to “buy now and pay later” and helps merchants acquire more customers to increase their sales.

According to Disrupt Africa, the Google-backed CredPal has over 85,000 active customers and over 4,000 onboarded merchants, with the company announcing in March it had raised US$15 million in funding to expand its consumer credit offerings in Nigeria and to scale across Africa.

While speaking on the new funding, Olaogun said:

“This support from Cairo Angels Syndicate Fund reinforces our mission to improve the quality of life of Africans through easy access to consumer credit.

“My co-founder and I are very pleased to have them as investment partners and can’t wait for how much we’ll achieve together.”

The Cairo Angels is Egypt’s first formal network of angel investors, and since its formation has been one of the most active early-stage investors in startups and high-growth businesses in the Middle East and Africa, with 31 investee companies across 18 different sectors.