Hey there! Here’s everything interesting in African technology today. Not subscribed? Click here to get this goodness in your mailbox every day at 7am (GMT + 1).
It’s Wednesday…Happy hump day!
1. Is this the answer to Nigeria’s internet problems? Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said it would support the country’s plan to increase its telecommunication bandwidth by commercialising some critical ICT infrastructure. What this means is that the NNPC will partner with the Nigerian Communications Commission to lay fibre optic cables over 960km of the NNPC’s pipeline Right of Way that cuts across the entire country. Sounds great in theory but I’m not holding my breath. We’ll celebrate when it’s completed. Link
2. Also, you probably didn’t know that a Nigerian Institute of Software Practitioners existed but that’s all right. All you need to know is that they want the government to establish a N100billion “bailout fund” for the software industry. They also want the government to declare a state of emergency on the software sector but that’s neither here nor there. We move
3. Day 92 – The internet shutdown in Anglophone Cameroon has entered its 92nd day. Papa Biya is really gunning for this world record. Please ask him to #BringBackOurInternet
Chatclass NG is offering a social media management course where participants will learn how to develop and execute social media strategies that deliver results. The program will feature thorough masterclasses to help you launch and grow a successful social media career. School’s already in session for April but you can register for May classes which begin on the 7th. Register here.
You should check these out…
+ Is Yaba really a tech cluster? The conversation is still going strong on Twitter. I just wish all this was in a Radar thread. Anyway, link and link.
+ Kenya’s mobile only government bond is ruffling a few feathers in the country’s finance industry. Milicent Atieno wrote about why Kenyan banks should be worried about M-Akiba’s success. Link
+ The Kaduna state government has launched its own Citizen’s Feedback App. I remember Lagos state also launched one a few months ago. I wonder how effective these apps really are. I know I’ve never used it and I don’t know anyone who has either. Anyway, you can check it out here.
+ Studies show that you people are still texting while driving. Stop it. Really. Link
+ While we’re on this, if you’re in Nigeria, you can pre-order Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and S8+ that you won’t use while driving here.
+ According to the Middle East and North Africa State of Fintech report by Wamda and Payfort, fintech startups in the region raised $100million over the last decade, yet 28% fail in their initial years. No surprise here, isn’t it one in 10 startups that end up succeeding? Link
+ Interesting trivia for you this Wednesday. Did you know Egypt’s fixed broadband speed is among the slowest in the world? Link
Very, very important studies have shown that Nigerians are not fans of public displays of affection. The data comes from a random sample of young Nigerians who might have been cajoled into responding with promises of donuts and fizzy drinks in the studio…sorry, lab. Checkout Zikoko on YouTube, new hilarious videos every week!
Hot topics on Radar
+ Oluwatobi Mayowa is thinking of doing a UX Design series and if this post on his evaluation of SupermartNG’s cart interface is any indication, we ain’t ready for this. Link
+ Clickbait: We believe there is a billion dollar opportunity in…yeah, click to find out
Upcoming events…
Durban: Digitize Africa Conference, April 18th to 20th. Link
Lagos: G3 Monthly Mobile Games Developer Meetup, April 19th. Link
Abuja: Hive Africa Global Leaders Programme, April 19th to 22nd. Link
Lagos: Cranium One’s fireside chat with Annie Eimiakhena, Director at Lohi Consulting, April 20th. Link
London: Africa Tech Summit, April 20th. Link
Lagos: Screening of Nigeria’s environmental crisis documentary, Nowhere to Run, at CcHub, April 21st. Link
Accra: Screening of an empowering film on female entrepreneurs at MEST, April 21st. Link
Lagos: Localhost software architecture design meetup, April 21st. Link
Lagos: Free pass Friday and an all-day wellness and mindfulness session followed by a Yin Yoga session in the evening, April 21st at Capital Square. Link
Want to see your event in here? Add your event
Upcoming deadlines…
African Entrepreneurship Award: Applications close on April 20th. Link
CAMSCORP Ventures Lab: Apply before April 21st. Link
Mastercard Start Path Global Programme: Applications close on April 23rd. Link
That’s all folks!
Thanks for reading and sharing and clicking reply. Lots of love!
Hey there! I’m all caught up on everything African tech thanks to TechCabal’s daily digest – 
