mobile money

IS mobile money bridging the digital divide?

13 December 2024

There’s no denying the popularity of mobile money across the continent.

The GSMA reports that registered mobile money accounts grew 12% year-on-year to 1.75 billion in 2023, with some 435 million active by year-end – a 9% annual rise. Transaction volumes grew by 14% year-on-year, while, importantly for the operators, average revenue per user was up from $2.2 in September 2022 to $3.2 in June 2023 – resulting in higher profitability.

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AI

AI and Africa’s MNOs

13 November 2024

Classical and GenAI are reshaping telecommunications as we know it – so what do operators need to know?

AI is significantly reshaping the telecommunications landscape, from network optimisation and customer experience through to security and new business models.

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DATA SOVEREIGNTY

Data sovereignty and the MNO

04 November 2024

Africa’s hunger for new data centres is well established; but what does the influx of new facilities, players and capacity mean for the continent’s MNOs?

It’s a simple, inarguable statement of truth: “Africa most definitely needs more data centres,” asserts Wojtek Piorko, managing director, Africa at Vertiv. “If you apply simple mathematics to the question, the answer is clear: we have around 300MW of whitespace in Africa, similar to that of Italy, but for an entire continent. Comparatively, while Africa’s population is around 1.4 billion, Italy’s is just 60 million. In addition, Africa has a young, data-hungry population – with more than 60% below 25 years old. The continent is also going through a wave of digitalisation, with dynamic investments from abroad and a lot of government-drive local ones.”

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POWER

Powering Africa’s communications networks

07 October 2024

How big an impact is unreliable energy having on Africa’s wireless communications services – and are renewables the answer?

Energy disruptions are having a significant impact on Africa’s wireless communications sector – and given that consistent energy is essential to maintaining operations, this issue is critical.

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