Technology news and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology News and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Visa has formed a new regional hub covering Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman to accelerate digital payments and align with national transformation agendas. Led from Riyadh by Ali Bailoun, the move strengthens client proximity, supports cashless targets such as Vision 2030, and builds on Visa’s expanding regional infrastructure investments.
Oman’s Ministry of Labour clarified that Ooredoo offered affected employees a voluntary resignation package with 24 months of full salary, accepted by 114 staff. The Ministry is coordinating with regulators, unions, and management to resolve the issue and safeguard workers’ rights through dialogue.
VOLZ has secured $5 million in a Series A round, the largest local-currency funding raise ever achieved by an Algerian startup. Announced at the African Startup Conference in Algiers, the deal marks a milestone for the national startup ecosystem and supports VOLZ’s mission to simplify travel through local-currency payments and flexible booking options.
Algeria has signed a sovereign cloud agreement to digitise youth services, enabling secure access to state cloud resources at the National Algerian Data Center. The partnership supports digital governance, data sovereignty, and service modernisation, aligning with national directives to accelerate public sector digital transformation for young citizens.
Algiers will host the 4th African Startup Conference with over 25,000 participants expected, bringing together African ministers, startups, investors, and global experts under the theme “Fostering African Champions.” The event will promote innovation, investment, and cross-border collaboration, with Rwanda as guest of honour.
Vodafone Qatar’s executive team visited key network sites to reinforce safety standards, engage frontline teams, and review critical operational controls. The initiative highlights the company’s focus on employee wellbeing, proactive safety culture, and the link between safe execution and reliable national connectivity.
Movandi has been selected under Saudi Arabia’s NTDP Relocate initiative, marking its expansion into the Kingdom and reinforcing its role in next-generation wireless innovation. Through partnerships with the National Semiconductor Hub, Movandi will support advanced connectivity, semiconductor development, and AI-ready infrastructure aligned with Vision 2030.
Broadband Infraco has partnered with Huawei to build a nationwide intelligent all-optical backbone network supporting South Africa’s SA Connect strategy. Using 800G optical technology, the project will expand affordable broadband, bridge urban-rural connectivity gaps, and strengthen regional cross-border digital infrastructure by 2030.
Orange Money Group and Visa have formed a strategic partnership to expand access to secure digital payments across Africa and the Middle East. Through a virtual Visa card integrated into the Max it app, millions of Orange Money users can now make international online payments, supporting financial inclusion and digital commerce growth across multiple markets.
Nokia will provide SLTE technology for the Bangladesh Private Cable System, a new subsea link connecting Bangladesh to Singapore. The project will add significant bandwidth and redundancy, reduce operational costs, and strengthen Bangladesh’s international connectivity following past disruptions to existing submarine cable routes.