South Sudan's ICT Ministry is trying to make mobile and internet bills cheaper after sitting down with Zain's CEO to hash out why communication costs are so high in the country. Minister Ateny Wek Ateny basically said affordable internet matters for schools, businesses, and getting people online in general, and the government wants to lighten the load on service providers so they can drop prices without tanking their operations.
The country has over five million people using mobile and internet services, and the Ministry is betting that cutting costs for telecom companies will trickle down to consumers. The whole plan is about finding a sweet spot where providers can stay afloat while regular people can actually afford to stay connected.
Botswana Telecommunications Corporation just connected 61 villages that were basically off the grid, and it's part of a massive government push to wire up over 500 rural spots under the SmartBots Village Connectivity project. These places had almost zero broadband infrastructure or even reliable power before BTC rolled in with Wi-Fi hotspots at schools, health posts, and traditional meeting areas. The company is leaning hard on satellite tech to reach remote zones where laying cables would cost a fortune or just be impossible.
The whole thing is supposed to get about 1.2 million people online so they can use e-learning, telemedicine, and digital commerce services. Funding comes from the Universal Access and Services Fund, and BTC is...
CadRemit just scored an International Money Transfer Operator license from the Central Bank of Nigeria, and that puts them in the club with other CBN-regulated payment operators. The fintech company can handle inbound international transfers for Nigerians getting cash sent from overseas, which is a pretty solid move in the cross-border payments game.
The license basically lets CadRemit play by official rules while they try to make receiving foreign money less of a hassle. They're betting on this approval to push their footprint in Nigeria's fintech scene and keep building out their services.
The Port of Douala just locked in a deal with INNOVENDI to roll out hybrid 4G/5G networks and Smart Port tech across its facilities in Bonabéri. Cyrus NGO'O from PAD and Joel MONEFONG from INNOVENDI signed off on the partnership, which gets fully funded by the private side without government cash. The setup brings IoT gear, cloud systems, cybersecurity tools, and smart interfaces to speed up cargo handling and cut down wait times at one of the busiest ports in the Gulf of Guinea.
INNOVENDI pays entry fees plus ongoing charges to PAD under the public-private arrangement, and the project is supposed to create jobs while getting local small businesses involved. The port is betting on this upgrade to stay competitive and hit international...
Zimbabwe just hit foreign tech companies with a new withholding tax that's about to make your Bolt rides and Starlink internet more expensive. Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube dropped this in the budget to replace the old VAT setup, and it covers everything from ride-hailing apps to satellite internet subscriptions. Banks and mobile money platforms have to collect the tax when Zimbabweans pay these offshore services, which closes the loophole that lets foreign companies rake in cash without paying local taxes.
Bolt and inDrive are probably going to pass the cost straight to riders through higher fares or bigger commissions, and Starlink users might see subscription prices creep up unless the company eats the tax itself. The government...
AMD has a couple of new workstation GPUs showing up in driver files, and they're called the Radeon AI Pro R9700S and R9600D. Driver mentions usually mean hardware is close to shipping, but AMD hasn't said anything official yet. The R9700S looks like the beefier option for mid-range workstation compute, which means it's aimed at inference tasks, video work, and technical jobs that need GPU power without hitting datacenter territory.
The R9600D seems built for lower-power setups or compact builds based on the naming convention AMD typically uses. It's probably going into edge computing boxes, embedded devices, or small workstations where thermal headroom is limited. Both cards should get the same AI-focused driver improvements as...
Qualcomm's next Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chip is getting some early performance leaks, and the integrated GPU looks like a solid upgrade, but nothing wild. The company seems focused on better efficiency and steadier performance instead of trying to match Apple's mobile graphics or even low-end laptop GPUs. Early projections show improved shader density and support for LPDDR6 memory, which should help with bandwidth without cranking up heat in thin devices.
The Gen 6 is expected to handle gaming and compute tasks better than the last generation, but it still trails behind Apple's best mobile chips. Qualcomm is going for consistent performance during longer sessions rather than chasing peak benchmark numbers, which makes sense for...
Colorful just dropped two AM5 motherboards under its CVN label, and they're calling them the B850 Battle-Ax and Meow editions. Both boards run on the B850 chipset, work with Ryzen 7000 chips, and should support future Zen processors down the line.
The company is basically filling a gap for people who want AM5 without dropping cash on premium gear. These boards give you different tiers of power delivery and connectivity, depending on whether you're building a basic desktop or a mid-range gaming box. The Battle-Ax and Meow versions let you pick what fits your budget and needs.
AM5 has been stuck with expensive options for a while, but Colorful is making the platform more accessible with these cheaper B850 models. If you're putting...
PPC Limited boss Matias Cardarelli basically shrugged off Aliko Dangote's $1 billion Zimbabwe investment announcement, saying there's a massive difference between press releases and actual money showing up. The billionaire signed deals with the government for cement and energy projects, but Cardarelli told analysts his company isn't seeing any real movement yet. He brought up how Dangote tried investing back in 2015 under Mugabe and bailed after officials allegedly demanded kickbacks to grease the wheels.
PPC Zimbabwe pulled in $111 million in revenue over the half-year period and cleared $14 million in profit after tax, and Cardarelli said they're upgrading tech at their plants while launching solar projects to cut costs. He warned...
