Connect with us

General News

African Satellites Linked to Economic Boom

Published

on

Kindly share this post

ZimSat-1 is the latest to launch after a delay

Zimbabwe is set to launch its first satellite ZimSat-1 into orbit in July or August, weather permitting, according to local news site Bulawayo 24,

African Satellites Linked to Economic Boom

The nanosatellite will be launched from the Japanese KIBO Module – Japan’s science module for the International Space Station (ISS). With ZimSat-1 in orbit, Zimbabwe will become the 14th African country to have a presence in space. According to this report in The Economist, 20 African countries now have space programmes.

Nigerians first

The launch of Nigeria’s first satellite, which was the second launched by a sub-Saharan African country, had some European taxpayer pressure groups questioning whether Nigeria needs development aid if it can afford a space programme.

However, Nigeria’s spacecraft cost just $13m and the economic benefits of extended mobile would arguably bring rapid returns on that investment. The original costs of satellite launches in the region were minimal, says The Economist.

South Africa

South Africa’s sunsat, the region’s first satellite, was built by students at Stellenbosch University and was given free passage on a Nasa rocket.

The ZimSat-1 launch continues the country’s recently established space programme, which began in 2018 with the launch of ZINGSA. ZimSat-1 was built by local engineers working with the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan. It will be launched by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

Zimbabwe

This ‘CubeSat’ is from a class of miniature satellites with a form factor of 10 cm cubes or units. Each unit typically weighs less than 1.33 kg.

The launch had been planned for February but was delayed by Covid-19 complications. ZimSat-1 has been hailed as a major milestone for the nation and will help it explore for minerals, monitor environmental hazards and droughts, map human settlements and track disease outbreaks, among other functions it will improve.

ZINGSA

Details of the precise projects it may support are not too clear, reports Zimbabwe news service Bulawayo 24.

According to TechZim it could be used for mapping to support the Zimbabwe National Geospatial and Space Agency (ZINGSA) National Wetlands Masterplan, which involves a comprehensive map of the country’s wetlands across all 10 provinces. Investments in space programmes could foster local skills that attract investment and stimulate other areas of the economy, according to the Economist.

Students inspired

The Square Kilometre Array, an internationally funded radio telescope construction in South Africa, attracted €2bn ($2.3bn) of investment, is creating thousands of jobs and inspiring more student to take up engineering.

A satellite study programme started on the Stellenbosch University campus in South Africa helped graduates find work at Dragonfly Aerospace, a firm based in Stellenbosch that hopes to build as many as 48 small satellites a year.

African development

“African countries missed out on the big shift in the world’s economy in the 1990s, when manufacturing moved from rich countries to poorer ones in Asia, because they were not nimble enough to open their economies and attract investment,” says The Economist.

“Now they are entering the space industry just as it is being disrupted by new entrants, who are making small satellites that cost a fraction of the price of big ones made by incumbents. That offers a rare opportunity to countries and companies quick-witted enough to grasp it.” – Source: Mobile Euro


Kindly share this post

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek believes that technology makes life more exciting and helps improve the lives of people around Nigeria and indeed the world. So since 2007, we have devoted our energy to independent reportage of technology and how they affect lives.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Comments

General News

From Streams to Streets: Spotify Wrapped 2025 Takes Africa on a Real-World Road Trip

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Spotify Wrapped celebrates the audio that defined our year, and the annual global marketing campaign that accompanies it has become a cultural moment in its own right. In 2025, Wrapped in Africa is a bold, dynamic experience that brings the story of your year in listening off your phone and into the real world – from amapiano and Afrobeats to gospel, hip hop, country and everything in between.
From Streams to Streets: Spotify Wrapped 2025 Takes Africa on a Real-World Road Trip

Spotify

This year, Spotify is bringing back the fan-favourite features people already love, while adding new experiences that spotlight how listeners across Africa moved, prayed, worked, partied and rested with audio. Wrapped Party invites fans to dive into their stories with friends and family, and 50 fan destinations worldwide give listeners a place to come together, celebrate their year in music and feel part of something truly global.

From design to in-person experiences and data stories rooted in local listening, this is how the 2025 Wrapped campaign comes to life across Africa.

A modern visual mixtape for Africa

Before streaming, mixtapes and burned CDs were the original playlists: handpicked, decorated and passed between friends, cousins and neighbours as deeply personal gifts. The 2025 Wrapped design builds on that tradition, turning a year of listening into a bold, dynamic visual mixtape for more than 700 million fans around the world – including millions across Africa.

Every gradient and texture reflects that unpredictable mix of emotion and rhythm that makes listening so personal. With a reduced colour palette, bold imagery and a blend of analogue and digital aesthetics, 2025 becomes the most expressive and modern-feeling Wrapped yet. From amapiano dance circles in Johannesburg to late-night studio sessions in Lagos and road-trip singalongs in Nairobi, the look and feel of Wrapped mirrors how African fans actually experience music – loud, layered and full of feeling.

Immersive real-world experiences – and an amagwinya road trip

The Wrapped creative campaign is live in more than 30 markets globally as Spotify moves beyond traditional billboards to create immersive experiences that celebrate the artists who defined 2025. Across Africa, installations and pop-ups bring Wrapped digital storytelling into the real world with artist integrations, interactive photo moments and live performances for top listeners.

In South Africa, Wrapped quite literally hits the road. Inspired by the heartbreak of reaching the front of the line only to hear the gwinyas are finished – and the way Darwin Rev turned that moment into a national mood with Amagwinya Aphelile – the Where Are the Gwinyas? fan destination sends a Wrapped-branded amagwinya kombi on a multi-city road trip.

The truck travels through Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria, serving up gwinya with a Wrapped twist – from fish fillet to bunny-chow-inspired curry fillings and classic snoek, atchar and polony. At each stop, fans turn up their favourite Wrapped anthems, transforming the kombi from simple food truck into rolling street party.

“Wrapped has always been about reflecting fans’ stories back to them, and this year those stories from Sub-Saharan Africa are literally spilling into the streets. From the amagwinya road trip in South Africa to the data stories coming out of Nigeria and Kenya, we’re showing that the numbers behind Wrapped are really about how people here live, move and connect through music,” says Spotify’s Head of Marketing for Africa, Sithabile Kachisa.

How Africa listened in 2025

Wrapped is ultimately about turning listening data into stories fans can see themselves in – and nowhere is that more vivid than in Africa.

In South Africa, early mornings belonged to Ciza’s Isaka, with more than 46,000 fans pressing play at exactly 6:00 a.m., turning sunrise into a shared soundtrack. Mafikizolo’s Uyoncengwa Unyoko passed 14 million plays, proving some songs are built for repeat on both the dancefloor and in the taxi rank.

In Nigeria, Fido’s Joy is Coming found its way onto more than 700 playlists tagged as sad, as listeners reached for hope even when the mood was low. Davido’s With You amassed over 42 million streams, underlining the staying power of one of the country’s most beloved hitmakers.

In Kenya, Extra Pressure was added to fans’ gym playlists, turning workouts into high-stakes training montages, while Njerae’s Aki Sioni crossed 3.2 million streams, transforming vulnerability into a chart-ready strength.

Across the continent, these moments show how Wrapped transforms numbers into narratives. The stats reveal not just what Africa listened to in 2025, but how, when and why it mattered – from perfectly timed play buttons and weekday rituals to songs that travelled through communities as gifts, prayers, jokes and declarations. Wrapped gathers all of that energy and hands it back to fans as a story only they could have written.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

General News

CAC Lists 15 Unregistered Firms Operating in Nigeria

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has warned Nigerians against dealing with 15 unregistered entities using company names and registration numbers that are not in the commission’s records.

CAC Lists 15 Unregistered Firms Operating in Nigeria

In a public notice signed by CAC Management, the commission said it had discovered the use of purported company names and RC numbers that are not registered with the CAC, urging the public to disregard them and verify all business information directly from its portal.

“The CAC remains committed to protecting the integrity of the Companies Register, upholding the law, and ensuring a safe and transparent business environment in Nigeria,” the CAC said.

According to the notice, the following are the entities not registered with the CAC:

Famas Services Nigeria Limited (RC: 216312)

Promo Dutch Investment Limited (RC: 396654)

Dialack Concept Nig. Ltd (RC: 297772)

Purpleheart Construction and Real Estate Mgt. Co. Ltd (RC: 1210548)

M/S Loktu Enterprises (BN: 373466)

Loktu Enterprises (BN: 400390)

Badatoyak Ltd (RC: 521322)

Johson Nats Limited (RC: 198492)

Peoples Club Nigeria International (CAC/IT/41191)

Jiba Enterprise (BN: 577523)

Civil Engineering Solutions Nigeria Limited (RC: 33001)

Gabdoff Hotel Ltd (RC: 112409)

Amoka Group (BN: 545221)

BEEC Nigeria Limited (RC: 30143)

  1. Adetunji (BN: 657466)

Explaining the reason for the commission’s publication, the statement noted that it aligns with its statutory role of maintaining an accurate and reliable companies register, protecting investors, and preventing fraudulent activities in the business environment.

The commission urged Nigerians to always confirm the status of any company or business name through its official portal.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

General News

IHS Nigeria Leads Gender Based Violence Awareness Walk, Reaffirms Zero Tolerance with Advocacy Seminar

Published

on

Kindly share this post

Demonstrating unwavering commitment to a safe and dignified workplace, IHS Nigeria held an awareness walk followed by a high-impact seminar as part of activities to commemorate the global 16 days of activism to End Gender-Based Violence against women and girls.

The initiative underscored the organisation’s ongoing efforts to sensitize the community, educate employees, strengthen internal safeguards, and reinforce its zero-tolerance policy for all forms of harassment and abuse.

After the walk along Adeola Odeku and Idejo Streets on Victoria Island, employees convened for a seminar at the IHS Nigeria corporate head office, where Bukola Konkwo, Associate Director, Operations Excellence IHS Nigeria and one of the leaders of the Women in IHS Network (WIIN), reiterated the organisation’s position on gender-based violence in her opening remarks:

“Violence does not discriminate, and neither should our compassion. At IHS Nigeria, boldness is not just a value on paper, it is a call to action. We are intentional about ensuring every employee feels safe, respected, and empowered.”

The seminar featured two leading voices in Gender Based Violence advocacy. Titiola Vivour Adeniyi, the Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency and Nwanne Okafor, Victimologist and Gender Based Violence Advocate. Speaking during the seminar, Titilope stressed the urgency of prevention and education:

“Gender-based violence is not a special-class problem. Anybody can be a victim. Our responsibility is to know the signs, protect one another, and intervene early. When we know better, we do better.”

She also encouraged organisations to prioritise consent education, confidential reporting, and background checks, practices IHS Nigeria has already integrated through its Safe Zone Committee, a confidential support system for staff.

Nwanne Okafor, also spoke on the role of colleagues in recognizing and responding to abuse in the workplace:

“Many victims don’t need you to fix their situation, they need your support, your sensitivity, and your discretion. Speak up when necessary. Silence gives violence permission.”

Her session included real-life cases that underscored how abuse affects workplace productivity, mental health, and safety.

The awareness walk, saw both male and female staff members from across various departments marching in solidarity with survivors and advocates worldwide  and served as a public declaration of IHS Nigeria’s commitment to building a culture rooted in respect, safety, and accountability.

Reinforcing IHS Nigeria’s stand, during her  closing remarks, Titilope Oguntuga, Director, Sustainability, IHS Nigeria, captured the spirit of the event:

“This conversation doesn’t end today. Now that we know better, we must all do better, by advocating, supporting, and actively contributing to a workplace free of violence in any form.”

IHS Nigeria continues to strengthen its internal systems, policy frameworks, training programs, safe reporting channels, and continuous awareness sessions, to ensure that every employee is protected and empowered. The organisation reaffirms its zero-tolerance policy for any form of harassment, abuse, or violence, and remains committed to leading the corporate sector in progressive, people-centered safety standards.


Kindly share this post
Continue Reading

Trending