IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
Good morning ☀️ ️
Amazon is close to buying MGM Studios for between $8.5 – $9 billion. If it goes through, it would be Amazon’s biggest acquisition since it bought Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.7 billion.
In today’s edition:
- How fast is the internet in your city?
- SA is thinking digital currency
- Flutterwave is named CNBC disruptor
What African cities have the best internet speeds?
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated remote work across Africa. While I spent quite a lot of time at the office in 2019, I now do the majority of my work from home
One of the most important things when you work from home is the quality of your internet connection; you don’t want to be the person whose screen is freezing on an important Zoom call.
Beyond work, you need around 25 megabits per second (Mbps) to kick your feet up and watch Netflix in ultra-high-definition. It’s not so bad when you consider that for the first quarter of 2021, the global average for download speed is 53.38 Mbps for mobile and 102.12 Mbps for fixed broadband.
But if you live in an African city, the odds are that your internet provider is providing slower speeds than this.
The best average speed for mobile internet in Africa was in South Africa (44.80 Mbps) while the mark for fixed broadband was in Ghana (51.93 Mbps).
TL:DR: The numbers show a wide gap between internet speeds in Africa and the rest of the world.
Read more here.
Increase your online sales with a Paystack Storefront – a free, beautiful seller page that helps you bring creative ideas to life.
🏾 Learn more at paystack.com/storefrontSA is considering a digital currency
The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has launched a feasibility study into the introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) as “digital cash”.
The SARB study will investigate the feasibility, desirability, and appropriateness of a CBDC for general-purpose retail use, complementary to cash.
“The SARB is one of a growing number of central banks looking at the feasibility of the issuance of digital currencies,” it said.
While SA is still at the research stage, Nigeria’s central bank (CBN) says it is also not ruling out a digital currency. It is at odds with the CBN’s stance on cryptocurrency, which is at best cautious.
The CBN governor was quoted as saying, “We are committed in the CBN and I can assure everybody that digital currency will come to life even in Nigeria.”
Read more here
Companies all over the world were swift to embrace the new reality of work styles at an accelerated pace. This led to the growing adoption of artificial intelligence and the use of technology in the workplace.
Join Endeavor Nigeria as we host the Thinking Big webinar with Prof. Konyin Ajayi, SAN, Endeavor Nigeria Mentor and Managing Partner at Olaniwun Ajayi LP, as he shares insights on Restructuring for High-Performance Teams in a Developing World.
Date: May 27 2021 | Time: 1:00 pm WAT | Register here
For more information, contact Joy Mabia at joy.mabia@endeavor.org
Flutterwave is named in Disruptor 50 list
The Nigerian fintech startup, Flutterwave has been named in the CNBC Disruptor 50 list. It is the only African company named in the list which has Nubank, Gojek, Airtable, Clubhouse among others.
According to CNBC, the list “highlights the private companies leading out of the pandemic with business models and growth rates aligned with a rapid pace of technological change.”
“Investors have taken notice that the companies on the 2021 Disruptor 50 list have become critical players in fundamental economic and consumer transformations. A majority of the CNBC Disruptor 50 are already billion-dollar businesses. Thirty-four disruptors are unicorns that have already reached or passed (in some cases far surpassed) the $1 billion valuation mark — 10 of the companies on this year’s list are worth at least $10 billion.”
Read more here
Partner content
On August 25th 2020, a Twitter handle known as Bank Security reported that the database of a Nigerian commercial bank was being shared online on hacker forums. In less than a month following that announcement, at least three other hacker forums reportedly shared the same database.
What could the bank have done differently?
This Friday, May 28 at 11 am, we will be discussing tips to keep your customer data safe with Daniel Osineye – Co-founder & CTO, EvolveCredit; Joseph Onyema – Group CIO, United Capital Group; Adeoluwa Akomolafe – Chief Information Security Officer, Wema Bank; and Ana Garcia, Systems Engineer, AVA Security (SE, EMEA & APAC).
If you’re a CTO or CIO, our four speakers will be sharing important lessons they’ve picked up in their careers, and if you’re simply a consumer, here’s a chance to discover the role you play in protecting your data. Register here to attend.
This event is brought to you in partnership with UrbanUbuntu and AVA Security.
Note: By clicking on the registration link for this event, you’ve indicated interest in the event and will get an invite to attend. To opt out, please ignore the invite.
What else we’re reading
HELP SHARE THIS!
