Once again we can say that it has been an enthralling news week in Africa. Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s birthday on 18 July, coupled with ongoing reports of the statesman’s health and wellbeing, has dominated news.
At the same time, in terms of consumer technology, we have seen an influx of stories about product releases and gadget launches, as well as ongoing focus by mobile operators on offerings to consumers.
We have cherry-picked ten of the top stories of the week and listed them in order of reader response (measured by page views).
We hope you enjoy!
1. Africa’s Top 20 Tech Influencers
Africa’s technology landscape is vast and growing. It is ripe for expansion and is increasingly becoming an attractive environment for companies (local and international) to set up shop and invest.
As far as tablets go, the market is fairly crowded at this point with manufacturers trying to out-do each other around every bend, curve and angle.
3. Africa’s top ranking mobile subscription hotspots
In November 2012, a GSM Association report revealed Sub-Saharan Africa’s status as the fastest growing mobile market globally, with an annual growth of 44% since 2000. The region was reported to have established a leadership position in terms of mobile growth, internet and money transfer.
4. MTN Nigeria launches Eskimi data bundle
MTN, a telecommunications operator in Nigeria, on Monday 15 July launched a new data bundle to provide affordable access to Eskimi, a 6 million size mobile social network in the country. The bundle is available in two packages: weekly for 25 Naira (approximately 15 US cents) and monthly for 60 Naira (approximately 37 US cents). Users of Eskimi bundle can enjoy browsing Eskimi for the selected period without any additional charge.
5. Red Bull Mobile, Cell C gives data wings
Red Bull MOBILE in partnership with Cell C is making new waves with the launch of a new data intensive prepaid offering.
6. Air France, Airtel partnership lifts Gabon
Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), a leading telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, signed a partnership Agreement with Air France which will enable customers to purchase flight tickets from the French airline via Airtel Money.
7. SA’s Cell C gets $350-million investment
On Tuesday 16 July Cell C announced two significant inflows of long-term capital that will cement the company’s ability to continue offering competitive and innovative products and services and ultimately lower the cost to communicate in South Africa.
8. South Africa – many tech expats ready to invest
South Africa’s talent migration abroad has created a valuable knowledge network and an untapped asset base that can further the competitiveness of the country, reports The SABLE Accelerator, a global group of South African expats advancing commercial innovation and exchange for their home country. SABLE (South African Business Link to Experts) is based in Silicon Valley.
9. MTN SA’s new BlackBerry Service plans
MTN South Africa this week introduced a new suite of BlackBerry Service plans to cater for all customer needs. This introduction is a step forward to simplifying data access and offers more choice to BlackBerry customers.
10. Experimental network connects Zambia’s most remote
Range Networks, a leading U.S.provider of commercial open-source cellular systems, announced this week that it had successfully deployed an experimental cellular network in Southern Zambia.
* Image via Shutterstock
Chris Tredger, Online Editor
