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US-based Equinix to acquire Nigeria’s MainOne for $320m. 1 other thing and a trivia

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This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today.

1. US-based Equinix to acquire Nigeria’s MainOne for $320m

Equinix, an American internet connectivity giant, is reportedly in talks to acquire Nigeria’s connectivity behemoth, MainOne for $320 million.

The acquisition, according to media sources, is expected to be finalised by Q2 2022.

Nigeria’s MainOne was founded in 2010 by female entrepreneur, Funke Opeke who went on to lay the first private submarine cable (7000 kilometres) in Africa connecting West Africa with Portugal in Europe.

Since its launch, the company has laid 1,200 kilometres of terrestrial fibre in a bid to provide high-speed internet for up to 800 businesses in Lagos, Edo, and Ogun states in Nigeria.

The acquisition reportedly gives 64,000 gross square feet of space to Platform Equinix® (the company’s data centre arm), with 570,000 square feet of land for future expansions.

Tech Trivia: What is Microsoft’s extension of BASIC called?

A Fox Basic
B Lotus Basic
C Micro Basic
D Visual Basic
Answer: See end of post

READ ALSO: Fintech startup Ukheshe to expand portfolio outside S’Africa. 2 other things and a trivia

2. Africa’s Carry1st partners PayPal and Chipper Cash

Carry1st, Africa’s leading mobile games publisher, has entered into new partnership with online payments pioneers PayPal and Chipper Cash to enable people across Africa to purchase virtual goods and services online easily and securely.

The new partnership comes on the heels of an initial partnership with Africa’s leading fintech companies to develop and launch a payments solution Pay1st in six African countries.

According to Carry1st, these partnerships are expected to allow consumers across Africa to purchase digital essentials like prepaid electricity and gaming assets (for games like PubG, ROBLOX, and SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off), as well as Uber and Xbox Live vouchers in the newly launched Carry1st Shop.

Commenting on the development, Cordel Robbin-Coker, Carry1st CEO and co-founder, described Chipper Cash as one the most innovative payment platforms.

He said: “By partnering with PayPal, the world’s largest consumer payments platform, and Chipper Cash, one of the most innovative and fast-growing payment platforms in Africa, we are removing the pain points consumers face when purchasing virtual goods.

“In Chipper Cash we have a partner that is perfectly aligned with our passion and dedication to revolutionise payments across Africa through technology and sector expertise, and to help the continent seize the unprecedented opportunities that lie ahead.”

Trivia Answer: Visual Basic

Visual Basic is a programming language and development environment created by Microsoft. It is an extension of the BASIC programming language that combines BASIC functions and commands with visual controls.

Visual Basic provides a graphical user interface GUI that allows the developer to drag and drop objects into the program as well as manually write program code.

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