Innovation & Technology

LAGOS, Nigeria – Yves Guillemot, Founder & CEO of French video games giant Ubisoft S.A. has invested in Franco-Nigeiran startup Africa Delivery Technologies SAS, who operated the Kwik Delivery (http://Kwik.Delivery) platform in Nigeria. The investment, part of Kwik's ongoing Series A round, aims to allow the company to scale up in Nigeria as delivery platforms have proven an essential link...

Founded in 2011 by an expert team of PhD’s, Hyperion is a technology company that consists of three divisions, Hyperion Energy, Hyperion Motors, and Hyperion Aerospace: all focused on hydrogen-based power and delivery. Deemed an ‘educational tool’, its latest build dubbed the Hyperion XP-1 Hydrogen prototype coupe, is the end-product of a longstanding collaboration with NASA, bringing outer-space technology...

Amazon could be planning to bolster its Prime Video service, which is mostly known for its on-demand video offerings, with live TV, according to a report from Protocol and publicly available job listings. Details are light about what the new live TV services might entail, though the efforts appear to be in their early stages. One job listing says Amazon is looking for someone who...

There’s still no clear path back to any sense of ‘business-as-usual’ as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, but United Airlines is embarking on a new pilot project to see if easy access to COVID-19 testing immediately prior to a flight can help ease freedom of mobility. The airline will offer COVID-19 tests (either rapid tests at the airport or mail-in at-home tests...

In Nigeria, the government has boosted its electricity generation by inaugurating a 100KWP solar hybrid mini-grid project in Budo-Are community, in Itesiwaju local government area of Oyo State. While speaking at the official inauguration event, the governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde, noted that the facility which was built by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in conjunction with a...

Stripe, a US-based payments giant, is venturing its business into Africa by obtaining Lagos-based payments firm Paystack in an arrangement supposedly worth more than $200 million. Established in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, Paystack tackled online payments in Nigeria. Via seamlessly interfacing all multi-channel payment alternatives with traders nationwide, it empowered them to acknowledge payments from around the globe...

Clickatell, a global leader in mobile communications and chat commerce, today announced the launch of Chat Desk, a digital contact centre solution that helps agents resolve customer queries and obtain customer insights in real-time using chat channels for live agent support. The solution addresses the growing consumer demand for easy and personal experiences by transforming the traditional call centre...

This week – 24 April, Apple Watch will be five years old.  With the original intention being to work as an iPhone for your wrist, Apple watch has transitioned into a useful fitness tracker. And its native apps have proved more useful than any app you can download. While companies including Amazon, eBay, Target and TripAdvisor no longer support Apple...

Apple has quietly acquired an AR technology startup Spaces, a former project of DreamWorks Animation for an undisclosed amount. "Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans," a company spokesperson told Protocol via email. Spaces announced last week that it was shutting down its existing services, telling visitors on its...

Adobe recently announced the release of five new AI (Artificial Intelligence) services for Experience Cloud powered by Sensei. These services are meant to help businesses use AI for predictive modelling on data sets, providing insights on things like churn, customer fatigue and the impact of marketing campaigns.  The new services include Customer AI, Attribution AI, Journey AI, Content and Commerce...