Russell Southwood

Russell Southwood is the CEO of Balancing Act, a consultancy and research company focused on telecoms, internet and broadcast in Africa.

[Nairametrics @Nairametrics]

Nigeria Internet Registration Association has recorded 241,000 active domains, with 98,285 new registrations, 71,470 renewals, and 1,970 restorations logged over the past year. https://t.co/gSnpgONLB5

[Disrupt Africa @DisruptAfrica]

Kenya’s Terrafy joins MassChallenge Switzerland accelerator https://t.co/pfBTWCrCsb

[🇸🇳 Osiris 🇸🇳 @Osiris_SN]

Fraude aux SMS internationaux au préjudice de la Sonatel : la BR de Faidherbe interpelle cinq Pakistanais à Ngor
https://t.co/0FUfih9pO5

[Ecofin Agency @ecofinagency]

Big African Companies Invest Just 2% of Revenue in AI, PwC Finds https://t.co/0jlnibrrNq

[TechCabal @TechCabal]

Nigeria’s telecom operators have pushed back against data showing a sharp collapse in foreign investment into the sector, arguing that the figures fail to capture the true scale of capital being deployed into network infrastructure and expansion.

https://t.co/AvWr7yHoDt

[Russell Southwood @BalancingActAfr]

How does this work alongside the streaming products it already carries?

[ITWeb Africa @ITWebAfrica]

MTN Group is broadening its digital solutions for Africa while expanding access to digital entertainment across the continent through the launch of MTN One TV. #Telecoms

https://t.co/pwl7q2wGT4

[Nairametrics @Nairametrics]

Technology policy adviser Jide Awe has called on Nigeria to redesign its internet ecosystem around local routing, warning that the current practice of sending domestic traffic through foreign exchange points is quietly draining the economy and exposing the country to risks it can largely avoid. https://t.co/CkdyxB15jm

[Russell Southwood @BalancingActAfr]

Get clear on what's happening across digital Africa

-> Closing the digital divide in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger

-> Africa’s Fintech – Triangular ‘tug-of-war’ over who gets the prizes

To get regular analysis, insights and data, subscribe to: https://t.co/oiXsrcWKBf

[Russell Southwood @BalancingActAfr]

What about unlimited residential data packages? What about no time limits on data purchases?

[Nairametrics @Nairametrics]

MTN Nigeria Chief Executive Officer Karl Toriola has dismissed calls for unlimited mobile data plans in Nigeria, explaining that no operator anywhere in the world can sustain quality service if every customer has unrestricted access to data at a low cost. https://t.co/J38EriOXjF

[ATS Nairobi Feb 10 - 11 2027 #ATSNBO - 9th Ed @AfricaTechSMT]

Africa Tech Summit London, alongside industry leaders, marked a decade of connecting investors, ventures, and ecosystem leaders with the opening of the London Market.

📸 Take a look at some of the highlights

The next chapter continues in Nairobi 👉🏻https://t.co/XLvAzlUz94

[Disrupt Africa @DisruptAfrica]

Nigeria’s Tanda launched to digitise informal markets in Africa https://t.co/XSPPq3T1ve

[Russell Southwood @BalancingActAfr]

And what could ever go wrong?

[Nairametrics @Nairametrics]

Mastercard CEO Michael Miebach has declared that agentic commerce, where AI agents make purchases autonomously on behalf of consumers will be one of the fastest and most broadly felt applications of artificial intelligence in everyday life.

[BBC News (World) @BBCWorld]

The cash-in-the-sofa saga that just won't go away for South Africa's president https://t.co/6soAJiJL5K

[Daily Monitor @DailyMonitor]

Total darkness in Uganda: National grid collapse revives fears of poor power service

https://t.co/XY499STxy0
#MonitorUpdates

[🇸🇳 Osiris 🇸🇳 @Osiris_SN]

Madagascar : la numérisation s’étend au casier judiciaire
https://t.co/HFgk2nAOhJ

[BBC News Africa @BBCAfrica]

Congolese star Fally Ipupa says he feels "immense pride and deep emotion" after being given one of the Democratic Republic of Congo's most prestigious awards. He follows the late great Papa Wemba in becoming a knight of the National Order of the Leopard. https://t.co/syh4n52weo

[Reuters Africa @ReutersAfrica]

Senegal's finances have been in crisis since the 2024 discovery of billions of dollars in debt hidden by the previous administration. Following is a timeline of how the West African country's debt woes unfolded and efforts to address them: https://t.co/KrRc8PbzUi

[Techzim @Techzim]

A year ago it had well over 60% of the market. Today that lead is still huge, but it is clearly shrinking.

Meanwhile Copilot has climbed to 25.8% and Gemini now sits at 14.6%.

The biggest surprise for me is Claude...

[Techzim @Techzim]

ChatGPT still controls over half of Zimbabwe's AI chatbot market at 51.3%.

But something interesting is happening...

[GPX Global Systems @gpxglobal]

GSMA postpones MWC Kigali 2026 https://t.co/bowcCHCsVT