Telecom
IBM Appoints Julia Carvalho as General Manager for IBM Growth Markets in Africa
IBM has announced the appointment of Julia Carvalho as General Manager for IBM Growth Markets, Africa.
Julia Carvalho
Ms. Carvalho will be responsible for IBM’s business operations, growing our partner ecosystem and driving client satisfaction across multiple regions in Africa. With an increased focus on the partner ecosystem in Africa, Ms. Carvalho will lead the drive to strengthen the IBM business on the continent through a deeper level of technical expertise and industry experience to build growth for our company, clients and partners on the continent.
She brings to this role deep knowledge of the African continent with more than 20 years of extensive local and regional experience working in the Information Technology, Oil and Gas and Energy industries.
“Julia’s extensive knowledge of technology and the African continent will bring unique value as we help our clients accelerate their digital transformations in the era of hybrid cloud, Data and AI.
“As a senior leader, her focus on IBM’s increased investment in our partner ecosystem will also enable our partners to play a more significant role in support of our clients’ agendas,” said Saad Toma, General Manager, IBM Middle East and Africa.
Prior to her appointment as General Manager, IBM Growth Markets, Africa Ms. Carvalho held the position of General Manager for Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde and Sao Tome.
She helped expand IBM’s footprint and led the digital transformation journeys of clients around our key strategic imperatives of Hybrid Cloud and AI.
Before joining IBM, Ms. Carvalho held led sales at Halliburton – Landmark Software and Services and previously served as a Professor and Researcher at the University of Lisbon.
In prior roles, Ms. Carvalho was a consultant with Sonangol P&P and Sonagas and led the Natural Resources business unit at Sinfic in Angola.
“Africa is a continent with tremendous opportunities that is undergoing fast-paced transformation,” said Julia Carvalho. “I am grateful for the opportunity to work with clients and our ecosystem partners to build technology for Africa’s unique needs.”
Ms. Carvalho holds a PhD in Engineering and Masters in Georesources Engineering from the School of Engineering, Science and Technology (Instituto Superior Técnico) at the University of Lisbon.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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