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Pesalink, Kenya’s interbank money transfer platform, is linking its network with Cellulant, a pan-African fintech, through Tingg, its digital payments platform for businesses. The link will make it easier for online merchants to accept high-value customer-to-business (C2B) payments. The alliance immediately expands Pesalink’s reach into the digital commerce sector by providing merchants direct access to

On September 15, Base, the layer-2 (L2) blockchain owned by US crypto firm Coinbase, announced an open-source bridge that connects its network to Solana, the layer-1 (L1) network. The bridge, which is currently being tested and will be live in a “few weeks,” will allow crypto tokens to move directly between the two blockchains without

When Egypt reported its first COVID-19 case on February 14, 2020, the country found itself facing a critical shortage of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test kits. Global supply chain bottlenecks and soaring demand made imports slow and expensive. Even with UK donations in mid-2020, testing capacity fell far short for a nation of over 100

Talk of AI is inescapable. It’s often the main topic of discussion at...

Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti, who stepped down from Kenyan social commerce platform Chpter, are launching Cloud9, a digital bank they say will provide a modern financial experience for young Africans. In a Wednesday blog post announcing the venture, Mbaabu described Cloud9 as “a movement” that seeks to reimagine banking as a tool for dignity

Plus: Taiwan has pushed back against America's chip request This is today's edition...

Nigeria’s National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has partnered with the U.S.-based Space Exploration & Research Agency (SERA) to select its first-ever community-chosen astronaut. The move marks Nigeria’s first concrete move into human spaceflight, signaling a broader ambition to join the fast-emerging “offworld economy.” For decades, space was the preserve of a few powerful

When Dhiraj Singha began applying for postdoctoral sociology fellowships in Bengaluru, India, in...

In Seattle, a meteorologist analyzes dynamic atmospheric models to predict the next major...

For all the excitement around GPUs—the workhorses of today’s AI revolution—the central processing...

Plus: America's first AI law is here This is today's edition of The Download, our weekday...