Senegal's National Assembly green-lit an 81-billion-franc budget for the Communications Ministry's 2026 plan, and almost 60 percent goes toward tech infrastructure. President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko want the country to run as a digital hub by 2034, with plans to kill connectivity zones and give a million broke people free internet access.
The government is setting up a new regulator for media and online platforms while going after hate speech and fake news. Officials also want big tech companies to pay their fair share for ads since platforms like Google and Facebook are pulling in massive global revenue. The postal service is getting a complete overhaul after years of being run into the ground, with...
Namibia finally got its electronic securities system running after years of sitting around waiting for old regulations to get updated. The Namibia Securities Exchange teamed up with Bank of Namibia and NAMFISA to launch the Central Securities Depository, which ditches paper certificates for a fully digital setup that handles trades and payments through BoN's systems.
Five banks got approved as depository participants: Rand Merchant Bank, Standard Bank Namibia, NSX Financial Market Services, Bank of Namibia, and Nedbank Namibia. They will run investor accounts and keep everything compliant while the platform rolls out to everyone else.
The whole thing speeds up settlements, cuts down on sketchy counterparty risks, and makes corporate...
Cape Verde wrapped up its sixth Digital Scholarship program at Praia Technology Park with three startups taking home the win: Tournament Tubaron, Nikopay, and Cabopay. The Ministry of Digital Economy ran the three-month bootcamp with Pro-Entrepreneurship and IEFP to pump out viable tech businesses from young locals.
Winners scored international tech event passes, equipment, internet hookups, and coworking space. Ten finalists showed off their pitches after getting mentored through the whole development process.
The program has been running for six rounds and has helped over 1,000 young people turn 600-plus project ideas into 150 actual startups. Government officials keep pushing the initiative as their main play for building out the...
Mozambique just made data governance a constitutional thing, and the government is treating it like a big deal for their whole digital transformation project. The Communications Ministry rolled out the National Data Governance Policy at a workshop in Maputo, with INTIC Chairman Lourino Chemane explaining how the framework lines up with African Union standards from 2022 and fits into the country's five-year plan through 2029.
The policy got help from the EU, GIZ, and UN Economic Commission for Africa, with everyone pushing the idea that managing data right builds trust and protects privacy. Germany's ambassador pointed to a 60-million-euro program backing African data governance as proof that international partners are invested...
Chad's telecom minister just told the UN and UNHCR that his government wants to wire up refugee camps with internet and solar-powered systems. The country is dealing with over 1.5 million displaced people who fled from Sudan's conflict, and officials think getting them online will help with school, family contact, and basic services.
The plan involves boosting cell coverage around camps, setting up learning centers with connectivity, and making sure people can stay in touch with relatives. Chad is asking international partners to throw money at the project because they want to be the go-to example for humanitarian tech access.
Retired general Krasimir Petrov says the Interior Ministry keeps screwing up worse and worse. The former counter-terrorism unit boss thinks police leadership wanted to dodge responsibility when vandals wrecked stuff after the December protests, and he figures letting property get trashed beats dealing with injuries or deaths. He pointed out that cops definitely knew who the football hooligans were, but nobody stepped up to run the operation properly.
Petrov thinks the whole thing might have been staged to make peaceful demonstrators look bad, and he says the country's opposition parties are a complete mess that can't get its act together. Without unity, the government just keeps winning while everyone else flails around.
People hit the streets again in multiple Bulgarian cities because they want the government gone. Stara Zagora and Vidin both saw protests, with crowds chanting for resignations and saying their wallets are getting lighter while nothing gets better.
Around 50 people showed up in rainy Vidin at Bdintsi Square by the municipal building. Stara Zagora protesters met up at 6 pm near their city hall before marching through town. Everyone keeps saying the same thing: these demonstrations are not stopping until leadership changes.
Alexander Rusanov bailed on his Control Council gig with We Continue the Change because the party voted with GERB and DPS-New Beginning to block a euro referendum. The former council head said his party talks big about fighting corruption, but then lines up with the exact politicians they call criminals, which he thinks is a total trap.
Rusanov got real about how Asen Vassilev kicked him out of an Executive Council meeting over sensitive topics, which made him question how transparent the party actually is. He said the protests happening right now might look like they are about the budget, but people are actually fed up with politicians saying one thing and doing another.
He dropped the position before the next assembly could show up...
Former Deputy Economy Minister Milen Keremedchiev told NOVA NEWS that the patched-together budget does not give him confidence, and he is more worried about what happens in 2027. He says the government needs a three-year economic plan because 2026 is loaded with expenses, but nobody knows where the money will come from. Foreign investment has tanked over the past two years, and the EU is already cutting funds because Bulgaria has not done the reforms it promised.
Keremedchiev thinks the rushed budget will probably get revised by mid-2026 since raising salaries will spike inflation even more. He called it a compromise budget designed to keep employers and unions happy rather than one that actually fixes anything, pointing out that...
