With rising government spending on space technologies, a continental Space Agency (AfSA) and increasing regional cooperation, Africa is betting on satellites to deliver affordable broadband, strengthen local industries, and accelerate its race to a digital future. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Africa is witnessing a sharp rise in regional satellite …
Read More »How Africa’s telcos are leading the satellite push
Africa’s mobile operators are leading the way in Africa’s growing satellite internet market, transforming low Earth orbit technology from a niche service into a mainstream tool for connecting rural and enterprise customers. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Vodacom’s recent partnership with Starlink signals a structural shift in Africa’s connectivity …
Read More »China’s sacred revolutionary heartland Yan’an launches high-speed rail link
* A bullet train departed Yan’an on Friday, linking the sacred revolutionary heartland to the country’s high-speed rail network. * More than half of the new route crosses soft, water-sensitive loess, presenting world-class engineering challenges. * The line’s opening has brought China’s high-speed rail mileage to over 50,000 km. XI’AN, …
Read More »Rwanda is turning domestic digital platforms into export products
Rwanda is exporting its homegrown digital platforms to governments abroad, turning local innovations into fully operational services for other countries. Its latest contract will implement an end-to-end Integrated Electronic Case Management System in Jamaica. SPECIAL REPORT | BIRD AGENCY | Rwanda is turning its domestic digital reforms into an exportable …
Read More »Europe’s tech firms need regulation to grow
COMMENT | MAX VON THUN | Europeans have long lamented the continent’s lack of globally competitive tech companies. But since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the goal of ending Europe’s reliance on US-based tech giants has taken on new urgency. With US tech oligarchs interfering in European elections and the Trump administration …
Read More »Kayoola E-Coach hits 81% of Pearl-to-Cape Electric Route
The expedition is expected to complete its 13,000-kilometre journey in the coming weeks Mpika, Zambia | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s ambitious Pearl-to-Cape electric expedition reached a major milestone after the locally manufactured Kayoola E-Coach traversed 11,277 kilometres of its planned 13,000-kilometre round trip, delivering early evidence on cost efficiency, emissions …
Read More »YEAR-ENDER: Tuning in to Beijing Time
BEIJING | Xinhua | From the server racks of a São Paulo university to the trading desks of Dubai, the hum of global innovation has changed its tune by late 2025. When engineers across the world open the “hood” of their newest artificial intelligence (AI) applications, they increasingly find an …
Read More »Ugandan innovators push AI, VR and emerging tech into the mainstream
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s technology ecosystem is quietly but steadily redefining what innovation looks like in East Africa. From Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Virtual Reality (VR), local innovators are no longer content with experimenting on the fringes. Instead, they are building practical solutions aimed at real problems …
Read More »‘Anywhere in seconds’: instant payments in Africa hit nearly $2 trillion
Once a premium service, instant payments, now worth nearly $2 trillion USD according to a new report, are a financial lifeline for everyday use throughout Africa. The surge is powered by lower transaction costs and rising smartphone use that enables even low-income users to transact in real time. SPECIAL REPORT …
Read More »AAIN bets on incubation systems to unlock scalable youth enterprise growth.
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | As policymakers and development financiers search for scalable solutions to Uganda’s youth unemployment challenge, the African Agribusiness Incubators Network (AAIN) is advancing a market-driven proposition: that weak incubation systems, rather than a shortage of entrepreneurial ideas, remain one of the biggest constraints to enterprise …
Read More »
The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price