Calestous Juma’s legacy in supporting African innovation

Before his death, Kenya’s celebrated academician and researcher Calestous Juma sought to leave a lasting legacy to his community, country and the world. The luminary Kenyan scholar who championed the cause of innovation and technology in transforming African countries, and whose books and papers about the environment, biotechnology, education, artificial intelligence, and the politics of …

Charts show broadband internet still too expensive for many Africans

In parts of the continent, monthly broadband packages cost more than national minimum wage. In Nigeria, for example, the $80 average cost of monthly broadband packages is nearly double the national minimum wage of $50 (18,000 naira), data from the broadband pricing league table compiled by Cable.co.uk show. Of the 36 African countries analyzed, only …

NIRA laments the poor adoption of the Nigerian ccTLD .Ng

Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa with a population of over 180 million. One would expect that the netizens of nigeria would prefer .ng over .com. However, only 80,000 internet users adopted Nigeria’s top level domain, NIRA official laments. According to premiumtimesng.com, Sunday Folayan, President of the association, noted that only 80,000 dotng …

Burkina Faso ISP Monopoly Fined For Internet Disruptions

Burkina Faso Telecom workers were on strike again this month, leading to phone and internet interruptions. The country has only one internet service provider, Onatel, but the days of the telecom monopoly in Africa may ending. The Burkina Faso telecommunications authority fined Onatel 5 billion CFA francs ($8.5 million U.S.) in response to the strike, …

DCA Trust dismisses ICANN’s Enforcement of The Purported AUC Endorsement withdrawal as a Rearguard Action

“At no time until after it had rejected DCA’s application, did ICANN assert that the AUC had properly “withdrawn” its endorsement. – DCA   Geographic new gTLDs in the ICANN application round were required to have endorsements of upto 60% from counties in the applying region. Many applications in the new gTLD program were therefore …

Carnegie Mellon University and MasterCard Foundation Partner to Educate African Tech Leaders

Carnegie Mellon University’s commitment to educating Africa’s next generation of technology leaders and entrepreneurs received a boost recently with a $10.8 million commitment from The MasterCard Foundation. “We are excited to partner with Carnegie Mellon University in Rwanda, an exceptional institution committed to training the next generation of African engineers, innovators and entrepreneurs to meet …