LATEST REGIONAL PROJECT UPDATE
1
EGYPT
European technology companies Evina and Telecoming have signed a global alliance to work hand in hand in promoting direct carrier billing ( DCB ). DCB is the safest and most suitable payment technology for the new mobile economy . DCB as the safest and most appropriate payment method in the new mobile economy and , in particular , for the fight against fraud . The agreement deals a body blow to the mobile fraud that cost the African continent over US $ 4 billion last year .
2
KENYA
Telco equipment vendor Nokia has announced that it is powering East Africa ’ s first 5G commercial services with Safaricom , a leading telecoms operator in Kenya . Nokia ’ s 5G Single Radio Access Network ( SRAN ) technology and 5G FastMile gateways will enable ultra-fast Fixed Wireless Access ( FWA ) services to Safaricom ’ s subscribers across Kisumu and the Western Province of Kenya .
3
SOUTH AFRICA
UmojaHack Africa 2021 was an unprecedented success and this year brought more than 1000 students from 126 universities across Africa to compete on Zindi ( www . Zindi . africa ) in a virtual Machine Learning hackathon . More than US $ 10,000 in prizes were awarded to data science students from nine African countries and more than 8,500 submissions were made to solve three real-world Machine Learning challenges on Zindi .
5
TOGO
4
GHANA
Leading pan-African FinTech company , Accelerex Ghana , has hit a new milestone , after being granted an enhanced Payment Service Provider ( PSP ) licence from the Bank of Ghana ( BoG ), under the Payment Systems and Services Act , 2019 ( Act 987 ). The development makes Accelerex Ghana the only FinTech organisation currently within the enhanced PSP category that provides physical e-payment devices , merchant acquiring and agency banking solutions in Ghana .
Ecobank Transnational Incorporated ( ETI ), parent company of the Ecobank Group , recently announced the appointment of Tomisin Fashina as the new Group Executive for Operations and Technology , a position he will now hold in addition to his existing role of Managing Director of eProcess International . Fashina has over 30 years of experience , predominantly in technology management and financial services . Before joining the Ecobank Group , Fashina was the Chairman of the Board of Directors at Steward Bank Harare , Zimbabwe . He has also been Chief Executive Officer for Yookos , a social media company and has held several positions at Barclays Bank .
24 INTELLIGENTCIO AFRICA www . intelligentcio . com