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📲 Chat Freely Without an WhatsApp Account Soon

📲 Chat Freely Without an WhatsApp Account Soon

💵 Flood Raises $2.5M Seed Funding

Innovation Village
August 07, 2025

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Today’s Menu ☕️

📱MTN Ghana surpasses MTN Nigeria in H1 2025 profit by $56 million
📲 No Account? No Problem! WhatsApp Guest Chats Are Almost Here
🏢 Airtel Nigeria to build nation’s largest hyperscale data centre, challenging MTN’s $235M facility
📚 NECO Temporarily Shuts Portal for Maintenance, Leaving Candidates Stranded
📱 Flood secures additional $2.5M seed funding to accelerate global expansion

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📱TELECOMS

MTN Ghana surpasses MTN Nigeria in H1 2025 profit by $56 million

MTN Ghana posted a ₵3.6 billion ($327 million) profit in H1 2025, surpassing MTN Nigeria’s ₦414.9 billion ($271 million) by $56 million, despite Nigeria’s market being nearly three times larger. CEO Stephen Blewett shared the results on LinkedIn, noting Ghana’s 20% lead over the group’s largest market.

Ghana’s macroeconomic stability—with a steady cedi, easing inflation, and pro-business reforms—boosted telecom earnings. In contrast, Nigeria’s currency devaluation, inflation, and forex losses continue to erode profitability, despite strong revenue growth.

MTN Ghana’s success stems from lean operations and digital expansion:

Data revenue up 30.5%
Fintech revenue surged 48.2%
EBITDA margin hit 58.4% vs. Nigeria’s 50.6%

Meanwhile, MTN Nigeria still battles the impact of its ₦519.1 billion loss in H1 2024, caused by ₦887 billion in forex losses.………continue reading

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📲 SOCIAL MEDIA

No Account? No Problem! WhatsApp Guest Chats Are Almost Here

WhatsApp is testing a new feature called Guest Chats, allowing users to chat with people who don’t have a WhatsApp account. This browser-based feature enables secure, one-on-one text conversations without requiring the guest to install the app. Users simply send an invite link, and once the recipient clicks it, a private, end-to-end encrypted chat opens in their browser, similar to WhatsApp Web.

Initially, Guest Chats will focus on simple text messaging only. Media sharing, voice and video calls, group chats, and GIFs will not be available at launch. Despite these limitations, the feature offers clear benefits: businesses can reach customers reluctant to install WhatsApp, event organizers can communicate with participants, and friends can have quick chats without registration.

Currently in beta testing on select Android devices, Guest Chats reflects WhatsApp’s push toward more flexible and inclusive communication. By lowering barriers for non-users while maintaining its renowned security, WhatsApp is positioning itself as a more versatile messaging platform........…continue reading

🏢 DATA

Airtel Nigeria to build nation’s largest hyperscale data centre, challenging MTN’s $235M facility

Airtel Nigeria has unveiled plans to build Nigeria’s largest data centre, aiming to outsize MTN’s recently launched $235 million Sifiso Dabengwa Data Centre. The hyperscale facility, to be located in Eko Atlantic, Lagos, will feature 38 MW IT load capacity—over eight times MTN’s current 4.5 MW, which can scale to 9 MW.

Airtel is positioning the project for artificial intelligence workloads, not just cloud storage. CEO Dinesh Balsingh and Airtel Business Director Ogo Ofomata explained that the centre will be designed for GPU servers, which require higher power and cooling than traditional CPU servers. Racks will start at 6 kW, compared to the industry’s 1.5 kW standard.

By targeting AI-driven computation, Airtel aims to redefine Nigeria’s digital infrastructure and directly challenge MTN’s enterprise-focused approach. With GPU servers already being deployed, the facility could accelerate Nigeria’s readiness for AI and advanced cloud services, intensifying competition in West Africa’s fast-growing data centre market..........…continue reading

📚 EDUCATION

NECO Temporarily Shuts Portal for Maintenance, Leaving Candidates Stranded

The National Examinations Council (NECO) has temporarily shut down all its exam portals for maintenance, leaving thousands of students, schools, and stakeholders unable to access services such as result checking, registration, and verification. NECO has not provided a reopening date but apologized for the inconvenience, citing plans to enhance reliability, security, and efficiency amid rising online traffic.

The shutdown follows a surge in activity after the 2024 SSCE External results were released in February 2025, with 62,929 candidates (75.62%) earning credits in English and 77,988 (93.93%) in Mathematics. Heavy portal use and growing demand for online verification have strained NECO’s systems.

Since 2021, under Prof. Dantani Ibrahim Wushishi, NECO has invested in tech upgrades, including the e-Verify App, stanine grading software, and enhanced security that cut malpractice cases from 12,030 in 2023 to 8,407 in 2024.

Though the closure causes short-term disruption, NECO assures no candidate will be disadvantaged and promises a faster, safer, and more user-friendly platform upon reopening....…continue reading

📱APPS

Flood secures additional $2.5M seed funding to accelerate global expansion

Andre de Wet, CEO and founder of Flood

Flood, a superapp-as-a-service platform, has raised an additional $2.5 million in seed funding, following its $1 million seed round in July 2024. The funding will accelerate Flood’s market entry strategy, expand partnerships with telecom operators and challenger banks, and rapidly onboard offline merchants across emerging markets.

Founded by André de Wet, Flood is already gaining traction in South Africa, India, and the Maldives, targeting regions where 95% of retail activity remains offline. The platform bridges the digital divide by embedding shopping, loyalty programs, and payment solutions directly into telco and banking apps, removing the need for users to download new applications.

Flood’s white-label superapp infrastructure allows partners to launch vertically integrated commerce ecosystems, overcoming the costly logistics and fulfillment challenges that hinder traditional e-commerce in developing regions. With this innovative approach and growing network of partners, Flood is positioning itself as a key enabler of digital commerce transformation in underdeveloped markets......…continue reading