MTN Nigeria became the first telecommunication provider in Nigeria to roll out the 5G mobile network on August 24. MTN, who won the auction for the 3.5GHz 5G spectrum alongside Mafab Communications last December, commenced the roll-out by switching on the network in 190 sites across the country.
MTN Nigeria, which intends to launch 5G services in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Ibadan, Kano, Owerri, and Maiduguri, is currently testing the next-generation network infrastructure. Customers with certain enabled devices will be allowed to connect with and try out the new service where coverage is available.

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Nigerian payment unicorn, Flutterwave, has secured a Switching and Processing Licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
This high-profile licence will allow it to facilitate transactions between financial service providers, merchants, customers and other stakeholders without intermediaries.
The licence will also allow it to offer new services such as transaction switching, card processing, non-bank acquiring, agency banking and payment gateway services.
Flutterwave says this license will allow it to process transactions faster, launch new and improved existing products, and improve the payment experience.

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Google says 60 African startups have been selected for the second cohort of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund for Africa.
According to Google, Nigeria dominates the selection list, which features 23 Nigerian startups. Other countries benefitting from this funding programme include Kenya with 12 grantees, Rwanda with six grantees, South Africa with five grantees, and Uganda with four grantees, among others.
It was disclosed that each of the selected startups would get support through a six-month training programme that includes access to a network of mentors to assist in tackling unique challenges.

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Meta has introduced a feature to let its advertisers in India pay for their advertising campaigns in no-cost monthly instalments for over three months.
The feature allows Meta’s advertisers to convert their ad payments between $40 and $6,300 into equal monthly instalments.
Advertisers need to pay for their ad campaigns using credit cards from banks such as Citibank, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India to get the no-cost EMI payment option.
The participating banks will charge interest on the amount transacted. However, Meta said it would bear the applicable interest payable to the bank and give it as an upfront discount to the advertiser on its ad spends.
Meta also announced 24×7 chat support for all its active advertisers in the country.

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The UK government announced a new, sweeping set of rules it will be imposing on broadband and mobile carriers to tighten up their network security against cyber-attacks aimed at being among the strongest in the world when they are rolled out.
The new requirements cover areas such as how providers can procure infrastructure and services; how providers police activity and access; the investments they make into their security and data protection and the monitoring of that; and more.
The rules will start to get introduced in October, with carriers expected to fully implement new procedures by March 2024.
Critically, those who fail to comply with the new regulations will face big fines: non-compliance can result in up to 10% of annual revenues; continuing contraventions will see fines of £100,000 per day.

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The first major subsidy contract under the U.K. Government’s £5 billion Project Gigabit scheme has officially been awarded, with Wessex Internet securing £6 million to connect remote properties in South West England to high-speed broadband.
Many homes and businesses particularly those in rural locations however, aren’t suitably served with high-speed internet, putting them at a disadvantage compared to those living in cities and around other major thoroughfares.
The U.K. Government unveiled Project Gigabit in March 2021 as it strives to plug the gaps in these hard-to-reach places, allowing people to work from anywhere, and startups to consider setting up shop away from the usual cities.

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The U.S. Department of Justice is in the early stages of drafting an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, according to sources cited by Politico in a report released just ahead of the weekend.
While the new report suggested a potential suit could arrive by the end of the year, it also stressed that a final decision about if or when to sue Apple had not yet been made.
Apple’s tight control of its App Store has angered developers who want to be able to market their apps directly to consumers and take their own payments without having to pay commissions to Apple.

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Digital lenders in Kenya largely seem to be upbeat about the new Digital Credit Providers law, saying it will bring order to the sector.
The chairman of the Digital Lenders Association of Kenya, Kevin Mutiso, sounded optimistic about the impending new regulatory environment, saying that it had already fostered investor confidence and will bolster growth in the sector.
Mutiso added that the association’s 16 members — including the market-dominant Tala and Zenka — are awaiting the required licenses to be fully compliant.
The regulations, set to come into effect on September 18, give Kenya’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Kenya, the requisite authority to police digital mobile lenders that have flooded the local market in the last few years.

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A Kenyan court has ordered that another Ksh 400.6 million belonging to the startup be seized.
A Kenyan High Court has frozen more accounts of Africa's biggest fintech startup, Flutterwave, over allegations of money laundering.
Kenya's authorities say the Nigerian firm had no approval to conduct cross-border payments in the country and accused it of fraud.
The court earlier ordered that its 29 bank accounts with Guaranty Trust Bank, 17 with Equity Bank and six with Ecobank be frozen.
The startup at the time dismissed the claim of financial impropriety against it as entirely false saying it had records to verify this.

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Eyowo unveiled its Digital First payment offering – the Better Card – which is certified by Mastercard.
As one of the pioneer partners in Nigeria to join Mastercard’s Digital First Card Program, Eyowo brings a best-in-class digital banking experience to its customers. This includes digital access to card information, unsurpassed payment security and access to a host of payment options (e-commerce, contactless and QR) from any digital device of their choice.
Eyowo customers can easily apply online and digitally receive their Better Card – including the 16-digit card number and expiration date.

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