Thabo Nkosi writes about AI, technology and business across Africa for Newzroom dot Africa: the launches, investment, telecoms, fintech and data centres changing how people work and pay, the policy behind them, and global technology news when it changes something for people here. Thabo works from organisations' own announcements, official records and research, asks the people involved for comment, and updates a story when new facts come in. Tips, press releases and corrections are welcome at business@newzroom.africa.
SKA South Africa and industry partners ran the country's first Big Data Careers event for 25 BANKSETA-funded Sol Plaatje University students, with Microsoft training and Tracker Connect-sponsored...
Communications officers from the EAC and IGAD met in Nairobi on 12-13 November to learn how to explain the World Bank-supported Eastern Africa Regional Digital Integration Project (EARDIP) and the...
SADC ministers say about 41 million people may be at risk in the 2026/27 rainfall season and call for US$1.85bn in pre-arranged financing, early action and prepositioned supplies.
UN responders say repeated attacks by armed groups in eastern DR Congo are preventing health teams from tracing contacts and carrying out safe burials during the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak,...
The African Development Bank signed a EUR 434.4 million financing agreement with Morocco on 13 November 2026 to support PGRCC-Phase III, backing public-sector reforms and measures to strengthen...
SADC health ministers in Durban on 12 November 2026 ceremonially signed a charter to run a pooled procurement service for medicines. Tanzania was the first member state to sign.
Amplitude says its Wave agent, built mainly on OpenAI models, can cut product-improvement time to 1-2 days.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead a multi-ministerial South African delegation to Silicon Valley from 15 to 21 November to pursue AI investment, digital infrastructure and skills and to explore...
Google has released Gemini 4 Hydrogen, a faster, lower-cost Gemini 4 model with a 1 million-token context window, flat pricing and availability across Google products.
NVIDIA says Jensen Huang has resigned with immediate effect. Chief financial officer Colette Kress will be interim CEO while the board looks for a permanent successor.
The AI Guys, founded in Somerset West in 2024, says it has signed eight franchise territories and lists named local advisers. Website builds start at R2,500 once-off, the company says.
Google has released the Gemini Decision 1 model and a Decisions API that scores up to 1,000 closed questions in a single pass across text, images, audio, video and PDFs.
DeepMind says AlphaGenome 2 predicts how single-letter DNA changes alter gene regulation in hundreds of specific human cell types.
Canva is cutting or changing 1,271 roles, 22% of its staff. A year after it opened a nine-person office in Johannesburg, it has not said whether its African team is affected.
Google is rolling Gemini Intelligence features to more Android phones including the Motorola Signature 27 and Pixel 10 series, but its announcement does not name any African countries or give a...
DeepMind says its AlphaProof Code agents produced machine-checked, implementation-level proofs that Signal's core cryptographic implementation meets the security properties the team specified.
Google has released Gemini 4 Carbon to paying developers and enterprise users; African organisations will want clarity on regional hosting, latency, pricing and safeguards.
Google is expanding its partnership with Adobe so Adobe tools and creative AI work inside Gmail, Drive, Search and Gemini.
Google Cloud has launched Gemini for healthcare, an AI platform it says links patient records, billing and clinical data to automate routine tasks such as medical-records synthesis and...
GSMA publishes its Digital Africa Index 2026 on 18 November. Its earlier research found African operators pay 24% more per megahertz of spectrum than their peers.
The biggest AI accelerators and specialised cloud AI zones are concentrated in Europe, the US and Asia, forcing many African firms to run workloads abroad and pay higher latency, transit and...
Google Cloud added TPU 8tx for hardware-level confidential inference and TPU 8i Max for million-token context windows, expanding its eighth-generation TPU family to four systems.
Meta says it will expand its AI age-estimation technology worldwide to put more users it suspects are under 18 into Teen Account protections on Instagram, limiting who can contact them and what...
Google has published its annual Holiday 100 guide, a list of the top trending gift ideas this year based on global search activity.
Nvidia's board has launched an independent inquiry after reports that founder and CEO Jensen Huang was targeted by foreign intelligence; the board says it sees no sign that company secrets were...
The Epitome Spa & Wellness Centre, owned by young black female leadership, has created 36 jobs and promotes tourism in the Eastern Cape.
Researchers in eThekwini use machine learning and satellite data to identify landslide-prone areas, aiding safer urban planning after 2022 floods.
The East African Community adopts an AI strategy focusing on universities to boost AI skills, research and Kiswahili AI standards across member states.
Nigeria's Central Bank requires all cryptocurrency peer-to-peer transactions to be linked to verified bank payments under new rules.
Absa uses AI to reduce debt review application processing from four days to one, improving efficiency and customer experience.
PSET's new platform uses AI to reduce workload in South African admissions offices, speeding up application processing and improving efficiency.
Chicago-based Ocient secured $100 million in Series C funding to accelerate its AI data analytics platform for large-scale enterprise use.
Unstable power and limited internet access could delay AI appliance adoption in Africa, despite growing interest from manufacturers.
Humble Robotics secured $51 million in Series A funding to advance autonomous electric trucks for regional freight, aiming for a 2027 commercial launch.
A study of 100 African tech firms shows US leads in incorporation, UK in licences and teams, UAE in operations.
Kalepa secured $75 million in Series B funding to grow its AI platform for insurance underwriting and enter new markets.
Microsoft is applying AI to detect and remediate Windows vulnerabilities faster, improving update deployment and transparency.
Kenya tops East African Community countries in youth AI readiness, scoring 48.7 and ranking 22nd among 56 Commonwealth nations.
Gemini Omni 1.2 Flash offers longer 15-second videos, improved consistency, multi-turn editing, and 30% cost reduction for video generation.
After seven years training blockchain developers, Nigerian firm Web3Bridge launches a founder residency to support African tech startups.
Sentra has raised $150 million led by Capital One Ventures to protect enterprise data from AI agents. Its platform identifies sensitive data and restricts...
The Lobito Corridor has completed its first 99.7% pure copper shipment from the DRC, signalling a major shift in African mining logistics.
Haier South Africa launch marks the entry of a global appliance leader into the competitive South African market.
Rwanda has signed an AI partnership with Anthropic to deploy AI in health, education, and public services. Commentary frames this as another leapfrogging moment. Skipping legacy systems.
China Africa tariff removal brings opportunities and concerns. Understand the impact on African exports to China before May 1.
Nigeria is projected to become Africa's top contributor to global economic growth in 2026. New IMF estimates show Nigeria rising ahead of South Africa.
Ghana's cocoa export earnings surged to $3.9bn in 2025, more than double 2024 levels, driven by higher prices and export volumes.
Zanzibar electric buses arrive, marking the start of the Zan Bus project aimed at modernizing public transport in Zanzibar.
World Internet Conference Addis Ababa will host the global tech summit in September, the first time the event is held outside China.
Morocco has started building what will become Africa's largest car tire factory. Work is underway in the Betoya Industrial Acceleration Zone in Driouch province.
Telecom Namibia network upgrades will receive N$2.3 billion to expand fibre, improve mobile speeds and cut telecom prices in 2026.
Chery takes over Rosslyn plant, transforming South Africa's automotive industry and ensuring job security for employees.
South African astronomers solve misbehaving star mystery using SALT and confirm the red supergiant is reshaped by a companion star.
Ghana's multidimensional poverty rate continues to decline. Discover the latest statistics and improvements in living conditions.
Africa is scaling AI-driven healthcare as the Gates Foundation and OpenAI launch a $50m programme targeting clinics and workforce shortages.
Ghana plans to refine gold locally from February 2026 to boost exports, jobs and revenue as it moves away from raw gold shipments.
Uganda's export profile has undergone a major shift after gold exports jumped 76% in 2025 to $5.8 billion , overtaking coffee as the country's largest source of foreign-exchange earnings.
Masakhane Hub launches funding to support AI datasets for 50 African languages and improve digital inclusion across the continent.
Africa is entering a decisive moment in global economics. For decades, international trade has been shaped by institutions and systems largely centred around Western economies.
BRICS Pay is a digital system that lets BRICS nations make cross-border payments using their own currencies.
Digital public infrastructure and SmartCare Pro are improving health records, identity access and service delivery in rural Zambia.
Senegal launches its Robotics for Good Youth Challenge, preparing young innovators for the 2026 global finals in Geneva.
New modelling reveals how mangrove loss is increasing flood risks in the Niger Delta and highlights the need for urgent restoration and protection.
Ethiopia has begun building Bishoftu International Airport, set to handle up to 110 million passengers a year and become Africa's largest aviation hub.
Zimbabwe advances digital push with the new ZIMSAT-3 satellite to enhance connectivity and support broadband expansion.