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🧑🏽‍💻 Airtel Africa Donates N1 Billion to Nigeria’s 3MTT Program

🧑🏽‍💻 Airtel Africa Donates N1 Billion to Nigeria’s 3MTT Program

Plus: Payhippo (now known as Rivy), secures $4 million in funding round

Innovation Village
March 27, 2025

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Today’s Menu ☕️

🧑🏽‍💻 Airtel Africa Donates N1 Billion to Power Nigeria’s 3MTT program
💰 Nigerian fintech Payhippo transforms into Rivy, secures $4 million for clean energy financing initiatives
🗼 MTN and Airtel join forces to share network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria
🚙 BYD surpasses Tesla in annual revenue for 2024
🤖 OpenAI Launches ‘Images in ChatGPT’ to Let Users Generate Smarter, Sharper Visuals

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🧑🏽‍💻 TECHNOLOGY

Airtel Africa Donates N1 Billion to Power Nigeria’s 3MTT program

Nigeria’s digital transformation journey just received a powerful boost — courtesy of Airtel Africa Foundation. In a landmark move, the telecoms giant has committed N1 billion to support the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative, a flagship program aimed at training and placing Nigerians in high-demand tech roles.

The initiative, launched in 2023, aims to train 3 million Nigerians in cutting-edge digital skills — from project management to data analytics and UI/UX design — and connect them to job opportunities in both local and global markets.

Airtel’s contribution will directly fund the training of over 25,000 Nigerians, offering not just technical instruction but also hands-on learning, community-based engagement and job placement support.......…continue reading

💰FUNDING

Nigerian fintech Payhippo transforms into Rivy, secures $4 million for clean energy financing initiatives

Payhippo, a Nigerian fintech company that previously specialized in providing loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), has undergone a significant rebranding and is now known as Rivy. The company has successfully raised $4 million in a pre-Series A funding round, which will enable it to pivot its focus towards clean energy financing solutions.

This funding is evenly divided into $2 million in debt and $2 million in equity, allowing Rivy to expand its operations beyond Nigeria and offer innovative financing options for clean energy projects.

The equity portion of the funding round was co-led by EchoVC, a Nigerian venture capital firm that has invested in 38 African startups, through its $2.5 million Eco fund. This fund is dedicated to supporting initiatives in climate, energy, agriculture, and mobility........…continue reading

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🚙 ELECTRIC VEHICLES

BYD surpasses Tesla in annual revenue for 2024

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD has reported impressive annual revenue figures for 2024, surpassing its main competitor, Tesla. The Shenzhen-based company announced that its revenue surged by 29%, reaching an impressive 777 billion yuan (approximately $107 billion or £83 billion).

This growth was significantly driven by the robust sales of its hybrid vehicles, allowing BYD to outpace Tesla, which reported revenue of $97.7 billion.......…continue reading

🗼 INFRASTRUCTURE

MTN and Airtel join forces to share network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria

MTN Group and Airtel Africa have announced a strategic partnership to share mobile phone network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria. This collaboration aims to optimize investment expenditures while simultaneously enhancing service coverage across these key markets.

By sharing infrastructure, both companies can accelerate the expansion of their network coverage, particularly in rural or sparsely populated areas where establishing independent networks may not be financially feasible. This collaborative approach not only enhances service availability but also promotes greater accessibility for consumers in underserved regions.......…continue reading

🧑🏽‍💻 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

OpenAI Launches ‘Images in ChatGPT’ to Let Users Generate Smarter, Sharper Visuals

OpenAI is turning ChatGPT into a full-blown creative suite. Starting today, users can generate images directly inside ChatGPT—no plugins, no external tools. Just type your prompt, and boom, visuals. The feature, aptly dubbed “Images in ChatGPT,” is now live across all tiers: Plus, Pro, Team—and yes, even free.

The new image model is built on GPT-4o, OpenAI’s “omnimodal” architecture that can handle text, images, audio, and video. This isn’t a minor upgrade—it’s a foundational shift. And while it won’t replace DALL·E just yet, it’s definitely gunning for its spot.......continue reading