Zamtel to launch 600 4G/5G 5G websites in Zambia

Victoria from Techpoint right here,

Right here’s what I’ve acquired for you at present:

• Zamtel desires to launch 600 4G/5G 5G websites in Zambia
• 4 African startups that shut down in Q1 2025
• Rip-off alert or stereotype? Meta in sizzling water

Zamtel to launch 600 4G/5G 5G websites in Zambia

Zamtel, Zambia’s state-owned telecoms firm, is ramping issues up with a serious 4G/5G improve. Over the weekend, the corporate kicked off the community rollout in Chalala, a booming space in Lusaka, at a launch occasion attended by Minister of Expertise and Science, Felix Mutati.

Zamtel plans to construct 600 new high-speed websites, beginning in Chalala and ultimately spreading throughout the nation. Which means quicker Web, fewer dropped calls, and smoother on-line experiences for 1000’s of individuals and companies within the space.

Why Chalala? Properly, it’s one of many fastest-growing residential spots in Lusaka. With a great deal of new properties and retailers popping up, there’s been a rising demand for higher community protection and Zamtel is able to ship.

This improve is a giant win not only for Web customers however for the Zambian economic system too. Assume e-learning, telemedicine, cell banking, and on-line companies, all thriving as a result of folks can lastly keep related with out stress.

Zamtel says it’s turning a brand new web page after bouncing again from monetary troubles. Now in pr0fit mode, the corporate sees this 4G/5G enlargement as a technique to empower native entrepreneurs and make the digital economic system extra inclusive.

Proper now, solely 53% of Zambians have entry to cell broadband, and rural areas typically get the brief finish of the stick. This improve goals to bridge that hole, bringing tech alternatives and digital progress to extra communities, one tower at a time.

4 African startups that shut down in Q1 2025

Africa’s tech ecosystem remains to be reeling from a funding slowdown, and startups are feeling the warmth. Within the first half of 2024, startups throughout the continent raised simply $780 million, a staggering 57% drop from the identical interval in 2023. That determine marks the bottom funding haul since late 2020.

This sharp decline has contributed to the collapse of a number of high-profile firms. Nigerian genomics startup 54gene and Kenyan logistics participant Sendy each shut down in 2023, citing funding troubles. And it appears the development has continued properly into 2025.

One of many newest casualties is Edukoya, a Nigerian edtech startup based by Honey Ogundeyi in 2021. In February 2025, the corporate introduced it was closing store, almost three years after it launched with a mission to rework Ok-12 studying in Africa by means of digital content material and dwell tutoring.

Edukoya made headlines in December 2021 when it raised $3.5 million in pre-seed funding, one of many largest rounds ever seen in African edtech. The platform served over 80,000 college students, hosted 1000’s of dwell courses, and noticed greater than 15 million questions answered on its app.

However sturdy consumer numbers weren’t sufficient. The corporate struggled with market realities: patchy Web, restricted entry to sensible units, and low family revenue ranges made mass adoption tough. After exploring numerous partnerships, pivots, and potential mergers, Edukoya ultimately determined to wind down operations and return investor capital.

Inside management points, powerful macro circumstances, and investor warning have continued to form the startup shutdown narrative in Q1 2025. Wish to discover out different startups which have closed retailers this yr? Learn Bolu’s newest for Techpoint Africa.

Rip-off alert or stereotype? Meta in sizzling water

Meta is in sizzling water once more in Nigeria. This time, over an in-app warning that rubbed customers the incorrect manner. Instagram consumer Daniel Adebowale triggered the backlash when he posted a screenshot exhibiting a message that warned his chat companion he “seemed to be in Nigeria” and suggested warning about sharing private data.

Nigerians didn’t take kindly to that. Many felt focused, accusing Meta of singling out the nation unfairly. However the firm insists it wasn’t being shady. In an announcement to Techpoint Africa, Meta mentioned the alert was a part of a wider anti-scam take a look at and wasn’t unique to Nigerian customers.

“To assist defend folks from scams, we’ve been testing methods to alert folks after they’re chatting to somebody new primarily based in a foreign country,” a Meta spokesperson defined. “This included letting folks know which nation the opposite particular person was in and was proven irrespective of the place they had been, not simply in Nigeria.” Meta says the take a look at is over, and nation names have now been faraway from the alerts.

Nonetheless, the injury is completed. The backlash comes at a tense time for Meta in Nigeria. Earlier this yr, the FCCPC slapped the corporate with a $220 million advantageous for allegedly breaking information safety guidelines and failing to present customers correct management over their information. The advantageous was upheld in April 2025, and Meta has 60 days to pay up.

To make issues worse, that advantageous was only a chunk of a much bigger headache. Meta has racked up greater than billions in fines globally over information misuse, together with a string of penalties from the European Union. In response to Nigeria’s advantageous, Meta has threatened to drag out of the market, a transfer the FCCPC isn’t shopping for.

In reality, the FCCPC fired again, calling Meta’s exit risk a “calculated transfer” to stir public sympathy and keep away from paying up. The fee made it clear: leaving the nation received’t wipe out the advantageous. With over 90 million Nigerians counting on Meta’s platforms for work and day by day life, the strain is palpable.

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Have a beautiful Tuesday!

Victoria Fakiya for Techpoint Africa.