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Blame Content, Services for Africa’s Slow Internet Growth- Study

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Internet access and availability are not enough to get people online, said a new Internet Society study released on Tuesday at the African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) taking place 30 August – 1 September in Tanzania.

The “Promoting Content in Africa” report reveals that while significant improvements have been made in Internet infrastructure, most notably in mobile networks, Internet adoption rates are slowing in many countries because users lack compelling reasons to connect.

According to the study, content and services are the main factors in making the Internet desirable, especially when the subject matter is relevant and in a language that users can easily understand.

A lack of local content and services is affecting the number of new online users in Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, local language content is key to bringing new users online, as many are not comfortable reading in English or French.

“Promoting Content in Africa” outlines the barriers to the development of local content and offers recommendations to improve local content availability and distribution.

In the Sub-Saharan countries studied by the Internet Society, the majority of international and locally developed content is hosted outside the country, typically overseas.

This results in slow Internet speeds and higher access costs.  In Rwanda for example, of all websites using the .RW domain name, only a small fraction are hosted in Rwanda.

The majority of sites are hosted in Europe and the U.S.  Hosting content locally is key to making the Internet faster and more affordable for users.

As mobile financial services are becoming increasingly available in the African continent, monetizing mobile content is still a major challenge. “Faster and better Internet access can help entrepreneurs create new local content including services and apps, but developers face barriers when it comes to payment mechanisms in order to monetize content,” said Bastiaan Quast, Internet Society Fellow and co-author of the report.

The region faces a combination of barriers, including the inability to pay and receive payments for mobile apps, which serve as a major channel for content distribution in most African countries.

Detailed results of the report will be presented at the seventh annual AfPIF which begins today in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Hosted by the Internet Society in partnership with the Tanzania Internet Service Providers Association (TISPA), the event serves as a platform to expand Internet infrastructure and services across Africa by bringing together key players to address the opportunities in interconnection, peering, and traffic exchange on the continent.

Internet peering is a business relationship whereby two Internet service providers agree to provide access to each other’s customers at no cost. Internet users throughout Africa benefit from peering, which enables faster and more affordable access.

“Removing barriers to content availability and distribution will have significant impacts on the Internet ecosystem in Africa.  It will help to make existing international content more accessible,” explained Dawit Bekele, Internet Society Regional Bureau Director for Africa. “AfPIF is the only event in Africa focused on building the Internet by building relationships. It plays a key role in bringing together different parties to increase local traffic exchange across the continent,” he added.

AfPIF aims to build cross-border interconnection opportunities by facilitating discussions on Internet infrastructure challenges including capacity building, development of Internet Exchange Points (IXP) and local content.

Previous editions of AfPIF have been held in Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Morocco, Senegal and Mozambique. Last year’s event featured 232 participants from 57 countries and an online participation of 978 people in 77 different countries.

 


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Jumia Expands Nationwide Footprint, Deepens Reach Across Underserved Nigerian Cities

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e-commerce company, Jumia Nigeria, has announced a significant expansion of its logistics and pickup network across Nigeria, extending its reach into underserved regions and strengthening access to e-commerce services for millions of consumers.

The expansion, executed during the first quarter of 2026, marks a deliberate shift toward upcountry growth, with new and expanded operations across Northern Nigeria, including Kebbi, Sokoto, and Kaduna, while also strengthening presence in strategic cities like Zaria. The move is designed to close long-standing coverage gaps in high-potential areas and bring its services closer to more customers.

According to the company, the expansion reflects a convergence of customer demand, infrastructure strategy, and long-term market development, as more Nigerians outside major urban centres seek reliable access to digital retail.

“We are seeing a structural shift in where demand is coming from. What this expansion does is align our infrastructure with that reality. By extending our network deeper into the country, we are not only improving service delivery, but we are also unlocking new demand, enabling more sellers to participate in the digital economy, and building a more inclusive retail ecosystem that reflects the true scale of the Nigerian market,” said Temidayo Ojo, CEO of Jumia Nigeria.

The rollout includes a significant increase in pickup stations and delivery touchpoints across both established and emerging cities. Existing urban centres such as Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja and Port Harcourt have seen network density increase, while new and previously underserved locations are being integrated into Jumia’s logistics grid. This broader footprint is supported by investments towards parcel distribution centres, designed to decentralise inventory flow, reduce delivery time, and optimise operating costs across regions.

As part of the expansion, Jumia has also strengthened its logistics partnerships and delivery capacity, enabling more efficient last-mile fulfilment while creating income opportunities for a growing network of logistics partners and JForce agents. The company notes that these investments are critical to sustaining scale as order volumes increase across a more geographically diverse customer base.

Looking ahead, Jumia plans to extend its expansion into the South-East and South-South regions ahead of the peak retail season, further increasing its national coverage and reinforcing its position as a leading e-commerce platform in Nigeria.


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RHUCE Taps Into Africa’s $3Bn Creator Economy with New Monetisation Platform

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RHUCE, a new social platform designed for African creatives, has officially launched today, introducing a new model for how creators across the continent can turn their skills, learning, and content into income.

RHUCE Taps Into Africa’s $3B Creator Economy with New Monetisation Platform

RHUCE

As Africa’s creator economy, estimated at over $3 billion, continues to grow, millions of young people are building digital skills but struggle to convert them into sustainable opportunities. RHUCE aims to bridge this gap by combining professional identity, creator monetisation, and opportunity discovery in a single ecosystem.

“Across Africa, talent is everywhere, but opportunity is fragmented,” said Simeon Ifeoluwa Adeyanju, CEO of RHUCE Limited. “Creators are learning, building, and sharing their work, but they lack a structured way to turn that into visibility, credibility, and income.”

Unlike traditional platforms that prioritise virality or finished work, RHUCE enables users to document their growth in real time, transforming their learning journey into a living portfolio.

“We believe your journey is your greatest asset,” Adeyanju said. “On RHUCE, your growth becomes your portfolio, your consistency builds your credibility, and opportunities can discover you based on what you’re becoming, not just what you’ve done.”

The platform introduces a shift from application-based hiring to discovery-driven opportunities, where creators are matched with jobs, gigs, and collaborations based on their evolving skills and documented progress.

“Instead of chasing opportunities across WhatsApp groups, DMs, and multiple platforms, we’ve built a system where you can post once and be discovered continuously,” he added.

RHUCE also provides monetisation tools that allow creators to earn through digital products, paid learning content, and brand-sponsored campaigns, unlocking new income streams within Africa’s fast-growing digital economy.

With over 60% of Africa’s population under 25, the platform positions itself as infrastructure for the continent’s next generation of talent.

“RHUCE is not just a platform for finished professionals,” Adeyanju said. “It is for people becoming something. Our goal is simple: help Africans turn learning into opportunity, and opportunity into income.”


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Kaspersky Warns of Digital Medicine Risks on the Occasion of World Health Day

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On World Health Day, Kaspersky warns of risks tied to the digitisation of healthcare and use of telemedicine. Recent incidents show that medical services can be breached, and as a result, medical records may be leaked and then traded on the dark web.

The operations of healthcare services can get disrupted. Another aspect is that healthcare platforms may share user data with third parties that handle it irresponsibly.

Telemedicine has moved from a convenience to a core part of healthcare delivery, but its security model has not kept pace with its adoption, and the risks are not theoretical. Recent incidents highlight how real these risks have become.

In 2023, it was disclosed that Cerebral, a major telehealth provider focused on mental health services, had been sharing sensitive patient data – including mental health assessments, intake information, and personal identifiers – with third-party platforms such as social media and advertising networks. Millions of users were affected over several years.

More broadly, incidents in 2025 illustrate a different but equally critical risk – large-scale disruption of digital healthcare infrastructure. The breach of the ManageMyHealth patient portal exposed sensitive medical records of more than 120,000 patients, while the attack on SimonMed Imaging compromised over a million records and led to ransomware demands. These cases show that both telemedicine platforms and the broader digital healthcare ecosystems are increasingly targeted by attackers.

In parallel, scam campaigns focusing on medical topics are evolving, inviting patients for check-ups or follow-up consultations. Often the domains of the alleged “medical services” websites were created just a few weeks ago, links to the social media accounts on their pages are not working, and the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy pages are absent.

At the same time, these pages request users’ personal information, including photos of documents and even photos of parts of the body that need medical attention. Such websites often try to convince users with branding, fake doctor profiles, and urgent calls to action.

Users risk submitting sensitive personal data that can be either sold on the dark web, be used for identity theft, or subsequently used in more sophisticated attacks in the future that are targeted specifically at them for further data extortion.

To safeguard sensitive data, use a reliable security solution with an AI-powered anti-phishing component which prevents clicking on malicious links.

“The digital healthcare experience is transforming access to care, but it is also expanding the attack surface in ways many users underestimate. Medical data is highly valuable and actively traded on the dark web, making patients a prime target for fraud and targeted phishing.

“At the same time, health-related scams exploit urgency and trust, using fake consultations or discounted offers to trick users into sharing sensitive information. Patients should approach digital healthcare with the same caution as financial services – verifying providers, avoiding unsolicited links, and understanding how their data is used. Security and privacy must become a core part of the digital healthcare experience,” comments Anna Larkina, Web Content and Privacy Analysis Expert at Kaspersky.


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