The number of Nigerians and other nationals within Nigeria with high-speed Internet (broadband subscription) increased by 118.24 percent from 38.19 million in May 2017 to 83.37 million in May 2022.
The Nigerian Communications Commission says this was a 23.66 percentage point increase in broadband penetration from 20.01 percent in May 2017 to 43.67 percent in the corresponding month of 2022.
Within the time under review, mobile Internet subscribers increased by 63.58 percent from 91.57 million to 149.78 million.

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Google says US Android app developers will be able to claim money from a new $90 million fund Google will establish as part of a wider settlement with app makers over the tech giant's app store practices.
The proposed settlement is designed to address app developers' years-long allegations that Google imposes onerous and anticompetitive restrictions on app makers as a condition of hosting their apps on its Google Play Store.
Google says it would also clarify a commitment that it will not block app developers from trying to contact app users through email addresses or phone numbers collected through the apps, including about subscription offers or lower-cost offerings on a rival app store or the developer's website.

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The UK competition regulator announced the launch of an antitrust investigation into Microsoft's proposed $68.7 billion acquisition of video gaming giant Activision Blizzard.
The probe into what would be Microsoft's biggest acquisition in its history will focus on whether the deal may substantially lessen competition — or create expectations that it might.
Microsoft has previously said it expects antitrust officials to scrutinize how the deal, announced in January, may affect competition in the video game industry, app stores, and even labor markets.

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The Federal Trade Commission says it will step up to protect the privacy of consumers in a post-Roe America, declaring the agency is committed to fully enforcing the law against the illegal sharing of sensitive medical and location data.
Kristin Cohen, the FTC’s acting associate director in the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection, says the commission took particular aim at data brokers and third parties who share previously collected information.
Cohen says the extent to which highly personal information that people choose not to disclose even to family, friends, or colleagues is actually shared with complete strangers.
Cohen added that the Commission is committed to using the full scope of its legal authorities to protect consumers’ privacy.

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TikTok has agreed to pause a controversial privacy policy update in Europe, which had been due to happen tomorrow, and would have meant the platform stopped asking users for their consent to be tracked to receive targeted advertising.
The Irish Data Protection Commission, TikTok’s lead privacy regulator for the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, said the pause follows engagement between the oversight office and the tech giant yesterday.
The development follows a formal warning to TikTok from Italy’s data protection watchdog, when the Italian regulator suggested the planned switch, away from asking users for their consent to run personalized ads to claiming it could process the data under a legal ground known as legitimate interest would breach the ePrivacy Directive — and, in its view, the GDPR too.

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Global venture capital firm Cathay Innovation has announced its third fund, targeting €1 billion at a broad gamut of companies and technologies around the world.
The new fund follows its $550 million second fund back in 2020, which — like the inaugural fund before that — was also a multi-stage fund.
Cathay Innovation CEO and cofounder Denis Barrier say despite the current market conditions and uncertainty, they are strong believers that the digital revolution will only continue to accelerate, and that leading tech companies will do extremely well, showing strong growth and pricing power.

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Twitter’s lawyers from the firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz said Elon Musk’s termination of the acquisition deal was invalid and wrongful.
This comes after Musk and his lawyers said last week that they’re killing the deal to acquire the social network alleging it of making false and misleading representations.
They said the purported termination is invalid for the independent reason that Mr. Musk and the other Musk Parties have knowingly, intentionally, willfully, and materially breached the Agreement.
The company demanded that Mr. Musk and the other Musk Parties comply with their obligations under the Agreement.

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Senegalese-US fintech Wave has secured a €90 million syndicated loan from the International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank, and other sources.
The syndicated loan comprises loans from Symbiotics, Blue Orchard, Lendable, responsAbility Investments, Finnfund, and Norfund.
Coura Sene, Wave general manager for the West African Economic and Monetary Union says Access to digital financial services remains limited in the WAEMU, region with only 24% active mobile money accounts compared to 34% in East Africa in 2020.
IFC’s regional director for West and Central Africa, Aliou Maiga, says supporting access to financial services for the low-income unbanked populations is a key priority for IFC.

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Bolt, the popular ride-hailing platform, has opened a new Africa head office in Nairobi, Kenya. This new office will be a regional hub for the 7 African countries in which Bolt is operational—Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, and Tunisia.
Bolt’s regional director and interim VP for rides, Paddy Partridge, maintained that the investment is significant in bolstering the firm’s presence in Africa, considering Kenya’s strategic location and infrastructural advancement.
He says this is just the beginning, and they hope it enables to development a cohesive model for sustainable city engagement that will help improve city services and urban transportation for the millions of people in the region.

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Visa, a global leader in digital payments, has announced a partnership with Flocash, an African startup to provide African SMEs with access to robust digital solutions that will enable the success and digitization of business processes.
Visa’s latest partnership with Flocash is directed toward promoting digital capabilities for African SMEs.
Visa will collaborate with Flocash to build embedded financing in payments while bringing analytics, bookkeeping, and reconciliation to small businesses through Visa’s underwriting systems.
Corine Mbiaketcha, VP and GM for East Africa at Visa, says that the partnership will help African businesses to help their customers innovatively.

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