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Samsung Retains Its Top Position as A Leading African Brand

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Samsung has proven its enduring popularity in Africa with the release of the latest Brand Africa 100® list. It is the first and most comprehensive Pan-African study and ranking of brands in Africa.

Samsung was acknowledged as the third Most Admired Brand in Africa, across all categories and number one in the electronics/computer category. This year’s ranking has proven the resilience of brands such as Samsung, despite a challenging year and the extension of the survey to a larger sample of respondents.

Additionally, Samsung was recognised as one of the brands with the biggest response to the Covid-19 pandemic on the continent.

Samsung’s extraordinary popularity across the continent has been noted over the many years this large-scale survey has been implemented. The company’s overall ranking was powered by its high regional rankings including: 4th most admired brand in the Eastern region, 3rd most admired in the Northern region, West Africa’s most admired brand, 2nd most admired in South Africa and Central Africa’s most admired brand.

“The fact that a technology brand can rank so high on the overall list is a clear indication of how innovative technology can make our lives better. It’s always an honour to be recognised by the people we design our products for.

This research validates our ongoing focus on creating products that empower Africans to do more. It’s important to note that Samsung has also been recognised as one of the top non-African companies that feel African.

This is as a result of Samsung’s commitment to listening to local markets and creating products and services that best serve their needs. We are pleased to be a part of the continent’s growth and prosperity, “says Danny Kim, Samsung Nigeria.

He also added that In Nigeria, the launch of the new Samsung’s Flagship model, the Galaxy S21 series, A-series devices like the Galaxy A12 and A32, QLED Television and Wind Free Air-conditioner amongst other products have further reinforced Samsung’s commitment to staying true to their Vision; making Innovation available to everyone.

Now in its 11th year, Brand Africa 100 is a consumer-led survey which seeks to establish brand preferences across Africa. Conducted in 28 countries covering all economic regions in Africa, which collectively account for over 80% of the continent’s population and GDP, it is the most comprehensive survey of brands in Africa.

The survey is undertaken by GeoPoll, the leading provider of remote market research solutions in Africa, insights and analysis by Kantar, the world’s largest information research firm and Brand Leadership, Africa’s premier branding and reputation advisory firm.


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E-Business

UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data

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United Kingdom has issued a “technical capability notice” to Apple, mandating that the company create a backdoor to access users’ encrypted iCloud data.

UK Orders Apple to Create Backdoor for Encrypted iCloud Data

This directive, issued under the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016, requires Apple to provide British security officials with the means to retrieve all content uploaded to iCloud by any user worldwide.

Apple’s Advanced Data Protection (ADP) feature, introduced in 2022, offers end-to-end encryption for iCloud data, ensuring that only users can access their information.

The UK’s demand challenges this security measure, potentially compelling Apple to either comply by creating the backdoor or withdraw the ADP feature from the UK market.

Compliance could set a precedent, leading other governments to request similar access, thereby raising global privacy concerns.

The UK Home Office has declined to confirm or deny the existence of such notices, stating, “We do not comment on operational matters, including, for example, confirming or denying the existence of any such notices.”

This development underscores the ongoing tension between governmental surveillance efforts and technology companies’ commitments to user privacy.

 


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Oracle Adds AI Pricing Features to Financial Software

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Oracle on Thursday added another set of artificial intelligence (AI) tools to NetSuite, one of its corporate finance software offerings, including some that might make it faster for consumers to get a price quote on purchases like custom bicycles.

Oracle has taken a different tack with AI than rivals such as Microsoft. Rather than racing toward general purpose virtual assistants, Oracle has decided to add targeted features that speed common-but-tedious tasks like entering a brief write-up of how a sales meeting went into a corporate records system.

Another such task that is common in the business world is giving a customer a price quote on a complicated purchase that might have a lot of options, when a sales professional would need to sift through materials to come up with a price.

NetSuite on Thursday announced a feature to compile such a quote via conversation with a chatbot asking what the customer wants, which can either be used by sales professionals behind the scenes to speed up their work, or directly by consumers in the case of e-commerce businesses.

“When you buy something like a bicycle, you have to configure it – figure out what parts you want and which parts work together. We all do it when we buy our cars on the web these days,” Evan Goldberg, executive vice president of Oracle NetSuite, said.

“If you can configure (products) for customers more easily, you can do more deals in a day, or each deal costs less.”

To power those features, Oracle has decided to skip the costly race to develop huge AI models and instead works with partners such as Canadian startup Cohere.

Goldberg said that Oracle’s recent agreement to build massive data centers with ChatGPT creator OpenAI could lead to working with it as well, though the two firms have made no formal announcements.

“I think you could safely say that there’s a possibility that OpenAI will be part of this,” Goldberg told Reuters. “We are eager to work with OpenAI.”

 


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IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB

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IBM, the American multinational technology giant, has reportedly announced plans to exit Nigeria, Ghana, and other key African markets, transferring its regional operations to MIBB, a subsidiary of the Midis Group.

IBM Exits Nigeria and Ghana, Transfers Operations to MIBB

The move, which according to TechCabal was revealed in a statement by the company, effective April 1 2025, is part of a new operating model IBM is adopting across select African countries.

Under this arrangement, MIBB will take over IBM’s local operations, customer support, and relationships while marketing and selling IBM products and services across 36 African nations.

“MIBB will market and sell IBM products and services in 36 African countries, thereby giving MIBB’s sales network direct access to IBM products, services, and support, further boosting innovation and growth in the region,” IBM stated.

IBM has been a key player in Africa’s tech industry for decades, providing critical infrastructure for banking, telecom, oil and gas, and government services.

However, its planned exit follows a trend of multinational corporations leaving Nigeria.

In December 2024, Swiss cement giant Holcim announced its departure from Nigeria, selling its 83% stake in Lafarge to a Chinese firm.

Similarly, South African grocery retailer Pick n Pay disclosed plans in October 2024 to exit Nigeria by selling its 51% stake in a joint venture.

IBM has yet to respond to media inquiries regarding the specifics of its transition strategy and reasons for the exit.


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