Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has imposed a fine of $220 million on Meta and WhatsApp for breaching the country’s data protection and consumer rights laws. The fine was issued following a comprehensive investigation, which the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal upheld on Friday, 25 April 2025. It must be paid within 60 days, as stated by TechPoint. Why Meta must pay a $220 million fine? The FCCPC and the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) identified several violations, including the unauthorized sharing of Nigerian users’ data, inadequate
Djamo, a Francophone digital banking startup, raised $17 million in an equity funding round led by Janngo Capital. The fintech company currently serves one million customers, specifically in Ivory Coast and, more recently, Senegal, according to TechCrunch. The funding will help Djamo expand its product suite for its customers and the thousands of small businesses it has acquired over the past two years. Who are the founders of Djamo? CEO Hassan Bourgi founded the company in 2020 alongside Chief Product and Technical Officer Régis Bamba. Djamo is committed to lessening the financial
Vodacom supports the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa’s (ICASA) commitment to prevent Starlink from operating in the country. The telecom company states that satellite operators, such as Starlink, should be held to the same standards as other terrestrial operators who must comply with local ownership rules, as noted by My Broadband. Vodacome supporting Starlink’s ban in South Africa Elon Musk’s company, Starlink, has not applied for the mandatory Electronic Communications Network Services (ECNS) and Electronic Communications Services (ECS) licenses required to operate legally in South Africa. ICASA confirmed that
Nigerian fintech startup Moniepoint announced the launch of MonieWorld, a platform that offers immigrants various financial services, starting with remittances to Nigeria.​ The new financial product allows users to return money to Nigeria, beginning with the UK. “With MonieWorld, Nigerians in the UK can send money home in seconds directly into any Nigerian bank account. With remittances to Nigeria crossing $20B in 2023, we see this as an opportunity to support economic growth in Nigeria, while bringing families closer,” the company said in a blog post. Customers will be able
The Distributed AI Research (DAIR) Institute is calling on social media companies to address the spread of violent speech and warmongering on their platforms to stop a looming war between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Researchers at the institute have spent three years analyzing social media platforms’ role in exacerbating the 2020-2022 Tigray war and believe similar failures are happening again. “We performed computational analyses to quantify the level of hate speech on these platforms, and interviewed content moderators to better understand the organizational practices that have resulted in the platforms’ failures
Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink has received a 10-year license to operate in Lesotho. The Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA) announced the approval on Monday, April 14, 2025, as Techpoint stated. Starlink will be Lesotho’s first satellite internet provider operating in the country, highlighting progress in expanding the nation’s digital transformation agenda, according to Space In Africa. “The approval of this operating licence clears the path for the Authority to finalise the terms and conditions under which Starlink Lesotho will provide satellite internet services to individuals and businesses across Lesotho.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is facing a $2.4 billion lawsuit over allegations that its platform contributed to ethnic violence in Ethiopia. A Kenyan high court has ruled that the case, brought by two Ethiopian nationals and a Kenyan NGO, can proceed. Hateful content contributing to real-word harm The lawsuit was filed by two Ethopians, Abrham Meareg and Fisseha Tekle, and The Katiba Institute, a Kenya-based NGO. They argue that Facebook’s algorithms amplified hate speech and inciteful content, fueling violence during the country’s civil war. They claim
On Thursday, March 27, South Africa launched the first phase of a smart city development in Shongweni, outside Durban. The development, which is called Westown, is expected to attract around R15 billion ($822 million) in private-sector investment over the next 10 to 15 years and produce over 23,000 jobs. The initial phase is part of a wider project that includes, includes retail, housing, and healthcare facilities, according to Mybroadband. Transforming the development trajectory of the region Themba Masimula, senior project manager from the eThekwini Municipality’s Catalytic Projects Uni, told Mybroadband
The Nigerian fintech Payhippo, which previously provided SME loans, has rebranded to RIVY and raised $4 million in a pre-Series A funding round to focus on increasing clean energy financing in the continent. The funding was split between $2 million equity and $2 million debt. The seed round was co-led by EchoVC, a Nigerian venture capital (VC) firm through its $2.5 million Eco fund, which focuses on climate, energy, agriculture, and mobility solutions, and Shell’s All On, a climate-focused impact investment organization. Local debt providers supplied the debt. “Renewable energy is
Nigeria is preparing to set up a $40 million fund to back early-stage technology startups, strengthening its support for entrepreneurs who have typically relied on private investors. Semafor reported that the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the Japanese government’s overseas development assistance arm, is investing half of the fund. The remainder will be matched by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), as Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, head of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), stated. $40 Million Fund to support startups in Nigeria The fund is part of Nigeria’s broader commitment
