The World Bank Group (WBG) Board of Directors earlier this week approved what is described as a transformative regional initiative that will directly boost job creation in Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone. It includes a strong focus on digital infrastructure.

The Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) has announced that Botswana and five other Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states have collaborated to substantially reduce and harmonise mobile roaming tariffs in line with the One Network Area (ONA) framework.

A new system in Kenya will ensure that motorists who commit traffic offences will receive instant notifications on their mobile phones informing them of the violation.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has reportedly kicked off a technical audit of Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell (D2C) technology as part of a review of Airtel Kenya’s application to offer the service in the country.

Paymentology, a global issuer-processor, has announced a partnership with Chikwama Pay, a pan-African neobank providing accessible financial services through WhatsApp.

Cameroon has approved a loan agreement of about US$195 million with the Export-Import Bank of China. The funding will support phase four of the country’s national fibre optic backbone expansion.

UPDATE: Ethio Telecom says it lined up several vendor deals to modernise its telecoms network at last week’s Mobile World Congress, with agreements with Ericsson and ZTE already signed and others with Huawei and Nokia in the pipeline.

Kenya’s Court of Appeal has set aside a 2020 High Court judgment endorsing the country’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act (2018), ruling two sections unconstitutional.

MTN Zambia announced on Friday it has formed a strategic partnership with LEO satellite operator Starlink to offer its Direct to Cell (D2C) service in the country after a successful field test of the technology.

Axian Telecom, the parent company of pan-African telecom group Yas, says it is partnering with AST SpaceMobile to deliver direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services across Yas’ markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

Ghananian wholesale 4G and 5G operator Next Gen Infraco (NGIC) has finally commenced full commercial operations after several delays, although initial coverage is limited.

MTN Group has signed a multi-year MoU with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to provide meaningful connectivity and digital inclusion for refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers and host communities across MTN’s African markets.

SES, a space solutions company, says it is expanding humanitarian connectivity at the Farchana refugee settlement in Chad.

The GSMA Handset Affordability Coalition signed an MoU with the Africa Group of Six (G6) operators on Tuesday to introduce US$40 entry-level 4G smartphones in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda this year.

Paratus Zambia announced on Tuesday it has deployed fixed wireless access (FWA) technology from US-based Tarana Wireless that it said will deliver fibre-class connectivity to homes and businesses across the country.

Global satellite operator SES announced on Tuesday it is partnering with IoT technology provider Advannotech and other service providers to enable data-driven farming in South Africa.

South African operator Cell C and Odine, a technology partner driving innovation in telecom and enterprise networks, have announced the signing of a proof of concept (PoC) agreement to pioneer artificial intelligence (AI)-driven network quality enhancement technologies.

Ericsson announced on Monday that it has extended its partnership with Kenyan telco Safaricom with a multi-year microwave deal aimed at fortifying Safaricom’s 5G capacity in the country.

Kenyan money transfer service Pesalink says it has partnered with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to ease cross-border payment and speed up regional financial integration.

Nigeria has secured a US$100 million investment from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for Project Bridge, the country’s flagship broadband expansion initiative.

The global smartphone market is forecast to decline by 13% in 2026, as a prolonged memory chip shortage weighs heavily on production and margins, according to analyst house IDC.

Satellite solutions provider Skynopy has secured financing for its SkyConnect Kenya project.

Satellite operator SES and network builder Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) have announced a milestone in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, expanding mobile connectivity to 27% of the country’s population and bringing coverage to an additional 1.3 million people.

M-Pesa Ethiopia and African AI creator platform Gebeya announced on Wednesday they have launched a subscription package that allows Ethiopians to access AI creation tools and pay for them directly via M-Pesa.

Pan-African infrastructure and services group Axian says it has secured a Decentralised Digital Financial Institution (DFI) license from the Central Bank of Comoros, enabling the creation of a newly established regulated entity operating under a prudential supervisory framework.

Hayo, a global digital service provider, says it has expanded its footprint in Francophone Africa with on-the-ground presence in Senegal.

The GSMA launched a new innovation fund on Monday to support small enterprises that use mobile and digital technologies to transition to green practices in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) said on Friday it has granted Orange Money a separate license to operate as a mobile money service provider under new regulations requiring telcos to decouple from their mobile money subsidiaries.

Ethio Telecom announced on Friday it has launched an internet-based video streaming service called “teleStream”, which it’s positioning as an alternative to satellite TV.

MTN Digital infrastructure – a.k.a. Bayobab – announced on Saturday that its subsidiary Bayobab Zambia has partnered with Vodacom Mozambique to interconnect their fibre networks at the Zambia–Mozambique border.