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Vertiv introduces CoolChip CDU range to boost AI, HPC cooling across EMEA data centres. (Image source: Vertiv)

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Vertiv has announced the expansion of its CoolChip CDU product line with the launch of three new models—CoolChip CDU 70, CoolChip CDU 100, and CoolChip CDU 600—across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa

These direct-to-chip liquid cooling solutions strengthen Vertiv’s offering in AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. The CoolChip CDU 600 will be unveiled for the first time in EMEA at the Datacloud Global Congress in Cannes this week.

“As workloads continue to drive higher rack densities and cooling demands, customers need liquid cooling solutions that adapt to their unique deployment strategies, whether retrofitting an existing environment or scaling a new build,” said Sam Bainborough, vice-president, EMEA thermal business at Vertiv. “The CoolChip CDU family offers flexible, scalable solutions that simplify deployment and support long-term growth. By reducing integration complexity and adapting to a range of data centre environments, these CDUs help organisations scale liquid cooling more efficiently.”

Why liquid cooling?

The new models are designed for both retrofit and greenfield environments and include in-rack and row-based configurations with liquid-to-air and liquid-to-liquid technology options. These systems provide scalable and flexible liquid cooling solutions to meet growing capacity requirements and support the wider adoption of liquid cooling.

The CoolChip CDU range forms part of Vertiv’s broader liquid cooling portfolio and the 360AI suite, which integrates power, cooling, and services to address the unique demands of AI infrastructure. Supported by global liquid cooling services that include design, installation, commissioning, fluid management, and maintenance, the portfolio accommodates a broad set of use cases, from upgrading existing sites to deploying high-density AI and HPC clusters in new facilities.

The CoolChip CDU 70 is a liquid-to-air in-row unit that enables a quick and cost-effective introduction of liquid cooling in both new and retrofitted data centres. It leverages existing thermal infrastructure, making it suitable for facilities aiming to adopt liquid cooling with minimal disruption. With a cooling capacity of up to 70 kW, the system is engineered for agility and scalability, reducing secondary fluid network complexity and overall infrastructure footprint. Its integrated controller enables real-time monitoring, group control, and communication between units for coordinated performance and streamlined management across racks.

The CoolChip CDU 100 delivers high-performance, liquid-to-liquid in-rack cooling in a compact 4U design, making it ideal for managing dense workloads in individual racks. This model allows data centre operators to roll out or expand liquid cooling one rack at a time, which is particularly useful for AI pilots or incremental scaling without major infrastructure changes. Offering up to 100 kW of cooling, the system includes a large-surface heat exchanger for low approach temperatures and features such as an integrated controller for monitoring and control, precise ±1°C temperature regulation, fluid filtration, and separation between facility and IT fluid loops for secure and efficient operation.

The CoolChip CDU 600 is a liquid-to-liquid in-row unit delivering 600 kW of cooling capacity, tailored for high-density AI and HPC applications in hyperscale and colocation environments. Its modular design supports in-row deployment with top or bottom piping options and optional internal manifolds, enabling faster planning and implementation. With redundant pumps, advanced temperature and fluid quality monitoring, and deployment flexibility, the CDU 600 is built to offer the performance, reliability, and transparency needed to scale liquid cooling in demanding IT environments.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most active region for mobile money, with East and West Africa seeing the highest growth in registered accounts and monthly usage. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Mobile

The ‘State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2025’, published by the GSMA Mobile Money programme, highlights two major milestones for the mobile money industry in 2024—crossing two billion registered accounts and more than half a billion active monthly users worldwide

This marks a significant acceleration in adoption, as it took the industry 18 years to reach one billion registered accounts and 250 million active users, but only five more years to double that growth.

According to the report, transaction volumes and values saw strong double-digit increases in 2024. An estimated 108 billion transactions, worth over US$1.68 trillion, were processed through mobile money accounts. Compared to 2023, transaction volumes surged by 20%, while values rose by 16%, up from 13% the previous year.

Vivek Badrinath, GSMA director general, commented, “Mobile money has emerged as a powerful driver of financial inclusion and economic growth. Its continued success depends on supportive regulatory environments that promote innovation, accessibility and help unlock the full socio-economic potential. To ensure mobile money remains accessible, affordable, and safe, it is vital for governments and regulators to work with financial service providers to support financial literacy programs, empowering underserved populations and opening new opportunities for financial decision-making.”

Sub-Saharan Africa leads

The report also underlines mobile money’s growing economic impact. By the end of 2023, countries offering mobile money services experienced a collective GDP that was over US$720bn higher than it would have been without them, translating to a 1.7% increase. Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounted for US$190bn of this, affirming the region’s leading role in mobile money innovation.

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most active region for mobile money, with East and West Africa seeing the highest growth in registered accounts and monthly usage. In 2024, East Africa led monthly active account growth, followed by Southeast Asia and West Africa. The East Asia-Pacific region also made significant gains, ranking second in growth of monthly active accounts—driven by favourable regulatory conditions in Cambodia, Fiji, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

According to the GSMA, providers in East Asia and the Pacific are increasingly evolving into full-service financial platforms. “The most successful providers are often those who are actively innovating the breadth of their offerings,” the report noted.

Mobile money services have expanded to include adjacent financial products like credit, savings, and insurance. As of June 2024, 44% of providers offered credit—making it the most common—while about a third offered savings, and 28% provided insurance products.

Despite this momentum, the report flags ongoing adoption challenges, particularly among women. Of the 12 countries surveyed, eight still report a gender gap in mobile money ownership, with minimal improvement since 2023. Barriers such as limited awareness and low digital financial literacy persist—especially for women.

However, women who do own accounts are nearly as likely as men to have used them within the last 30 days. “To address these challenges,” the GSMA explained, “nearly 60% of mobile money providers have launched digital financial literacy initiatives to improve financial skills and drive adoption over time.”

Q-KON and Rivada Space Networks partner to deliver high-speed, secure satellite connectivity across Africa

Satellite

Q-KON, a premier satellite services provider, has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Rivada Space Networks to bring cutting-edge connectivity solutions to Africa and beyond

This collaboration aims to drive digital transformation and expand network infrastructure across the continent.

Under the agreement, Q-KON will utilise Rivada’s Outernet—a revolutionary Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network—to enhance the reliability and security of specialised data networks, especially in sectors demanding high levels of data protection such as finance and banking. The Outernet’s multi-gigabit, bi-directional capabilities and global reach are expected to significantly boost network performance, supporting digital growth and new business opportunities.

Is Outernet ready?

With the rising importance of data sovereignty and resilience, Africa’s connectivity landscape is evolving. The Outernet promises a distinct advantage by delivering not just high-speed, low-latency service, but also robust cybersecurity infrastructure. Its architecture supports future-ready digital frameworks aligned with stringent data safety and privacy norms, fostering increased trust in digital applications and services.

Rivada’s Outernet differs from existing satellite networks by eliminating the need for data to pass through the public internet or third-party systems. It uses laser-linked satellites with onboard processing and an optical mesh structure that routes data entirely through space—from origin to destination. This unique design delivers ultra-secure, low-latency global connectivity, outperforming traditional terrestrial fibre on long routes.

Dr Dawie de Wet, Group CEO of Q-KON, said, “We are pleased to start working with Rivada to develop specialized LEO solutions for the advanced enterprise, industry and government markets in Africa and to complement our growing Twoobii LEO Smart Satellite Services portfolio. We view the Outernet as an evolution on the LEO architecture roadmap that will follow-on and advance the industry from the classic broadband LEO services currently being deployed in Africa, to unlock bespoke applications and high security service-specific user applications.”

Declan Ganley, CEO of Rivada Space Networks, concluded, “We are delighted to be partnering with Q-KON supporting the development of communications across Africa. Rivada’s Outernet is what data communications has been waiting for – a game-changing constellation which re-defines connectivity in terms of security, latency, capacity, efficiency, and coverage. As a completely new type of LEO constellation, the Outernet can provide Africa with a next-generation digital infrastructure for secure, resilient communications and network expansion.”

AXIAN Telecom acquires 8% stake in JUMIA, supporting Africa’s digital economy and fintech growth

Commerce

AXIAN Telecom has officially filed a Schedule 13D beneficial ownership report with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealing that it now holds an 8.0% stake in JUMIA Technologies

The investment reflects AXIAN Telecom’s ongoing commitment to advancing Africa’s digital economy. By investing in enterprises like JUMIA, the company seeks to complement its mission of expanding accessible, inclusive, and innovative digital services across Africa—primarily through its Yas mobile services and Mixx by Yas fintech offerings.

Hassan Jaber, CEO of AXIAN Telecom, stated, “AXIAN Telecom’s management is supportive of JUMIA’s strategic vision, and we look forward to contributing positively to its growth and success where we can. We believe JUMIA’s achievements in digital retail infrastructure and fintech through JumiaPay, as well as its logistics strengths, place it in a position to promote financial and economic inclusion for the communities which it serves. This unique position makes JUMIA a very attractive investment for AXIAN Telecom, and one which is aligned with our core values.”

This move signals AXIAN Telecom’s belief in JUMIA’s potential as a key enabler of financial and economic inclusion through its e-commerce, payments, and logistics platforms.

Huawei supports African TowerCos with sustainable energy solutions and diversification strategies for telecom infrastructure. (Image source: Adobe Stock)

Power

Huawei, a global leader in ICT infrastructure and smart devices, has announced its commitment to assisting Tower Companies (TowerCos) in Africa in diversifying their energy sources and adopting sustainable energy practices for powering telecom infrastructure

This initiative aims to help TowerCos reduce their carbon emissions, improve operational efficiency, and explore new business opportunities.

During his speech, "Lighting Up the Road to Multiple Business Future for TowerCos," delivered at the TowerXchange Meetup Africa 2024 in Nairobi, Li Shaolong, president of site power facility domain at Huawei Digital Power, noted that Africa is accelerating the development of ICT infrastructure. TowerCos, as key players in this process, are facing new challenges and opportunities.

“As mobile connectivity demand rises, TowerCos are under increasing pressure to ensure energy reliability and sustainability, especially in areas with limited grid access. Tower sites, often in remote locations, depend heavily on diesel generators, which are costly, environmentally harmful, and vulnerable to fuel supply issues. Huawei’s energy solutions address these challenges by incorporating renewable energy technologies like solar power and advanced energy storage systems,” Li explained.

He emphasised Huawei's long-term commitment to helping Africa's TowerCos transition to greener energy solutions, leveraging the integration of digital and power electronics technologies. Huawei Site Power Facility aims to provide TowerCos with comprehensive energy infrastructure and intelligent operations and maintenance (O&M) solutions.

A path to diversification

In addition to energy sustainability, Huawei is supporting TowerCos in their efforts to diversify by helping them explore new business models and revenue streams.

“This will drive TowerCos to become energy producers through innovative solutions and business models, leading to diversified business development, revenue growth, and sustained success in energy operations,” Li said.

He highlighted that with Huawei's eMIMO smart power solution, TowerCos can centrally manage multiple energy inputs—such as grid power, photovoltaics (PV), and energy storage—and multiple outputs ranging from 12V to 220V devices through a single platform.

“In this way, revenue-generating services like environmental protection and emergency response can be developed alongside communications services,” he said.

Li further stated that Huawei Site Power Facility Domain's main goals are to support network evolution, increase tenancy ratios, help TowerCos reduce energy costs while achieving green development, improve power availability, and reduce site O&M costs.

“Huawei will continue collaborating with TowerCos to innovate and advance energy infrastructure towards a 'green, simple, and intelligent' future, accelerating the growth of African carrier networks and contributing to a digital Africa,” Li added.

In Nigeria, the main targets included telecommunications resellers and computing infrastructure providers. (Image source: NETSCOUT)

Security

West Africa’s DDoS threat landscape was dominated by Nigeria and Mali, according to NETSCOUT’s Threat Intelligence Report for July to December 2024, which analyses global attack trends and techniques

Nigeria faced 1,716 attacks in the latter half of 2024, a notable decline from 2,721 incidents in the first six months. Meanwhile, Mali saw a dramatic surge, with attacks soaring from 115 in the first half to 1,637 in the second half of the year.

“Web search portals and all other information services bore the brunt of attacks in Mali, with an astounding average duration of 1,197 minutes per incident,” said Bryan Hamman, NETSCOUT’s regional director for Africa. “This was followed by wired telecommunications carriers, which was also the most targeted industry at a global level during the same period, with more than 2.1 million incidents.”

In Nigeria, the main targets included telecommunications resellers and computing infrastructure providers. Interestingly, beauty salons appeared among the top ten sectors attacked, alongside wired telecommunications carriers, commercial banks, used merchandise retailers, tyre dealers, and household electronics wholesalers. “This shows once again how threat actors adapt their strategies accordingly within different countries to target those industries that are strong in individual sovereign territories,” Hamman explained.

Nigeria also experienced some of the most complex DDoS campaigns in the region, with up to 22 different vendors involved in a single attack, primarily using TCP, DNS amplification, and ICMP flood (Ping flood) methods.

Liberia ranked next with 1,189 attacks, slightly fewer than the 1,515 reported earlier in 2024. The country’s computer systems design services sector was heavily targeted, suffering 360 attacks over six months. DNS amplification was the dominant attack vector, closely followed by STUN amplification.

Ghana recorded a sharp decline in attacks in the second half of 2024, falling to 917 from 4,753 earlier in the year. The ICT sector remained most targeted, including web search portals and information services (317 attacks), wired telecommunications carriers (43), and computing infrastructure providers. Notably, footwear manufacturers were third, enduring 14 attacks during the period.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo entered NETSCOUT’s rankings for the first time, coming in fifth with 879 attacks. Hamman noted, “While the most significant attack peaked at a modest 0.74 Gbps, the complexity was notable – with up to 15 vectors used in a single attack.” Computing infrastructure providers bore the brunt, though one satellite telecommunications attack lasted an exhausting 689 minutes.

Though Cameroon was not the most targeted country with 811 incidents, nor did it experience the most complex attacks, it recorded the highest bandwidth attack in the region at 200.43 Gbps – surpassing Nigeria’s 148.77 Gbps.

Meanwhile, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, and the Republic of the Congo faced fewer attacks, with 495, 341, and 329 incidents respectively. Côte d'Ivoire suffered the largest attack among them at 8.66 Gbps, targeting wired telecommunications carriers. Guinea’s wireless telecommunications carriers were most pressured, while telecommunications resellers were the hardest hit in the Republic of the Congo.

“This latest data from NETSCOUT reinforces a critical truth for West Africa: DDoS attacks aren’t just increasing in frequency, but also in intensity and sophistication,” Hamman emphasized. “While nations like Nigeria and Mali face a high volume of incidents, others are experiencing powerful, high-bandwidth attacks that can cripple essential services.

“As noted previously, the ICT sector remains firmly in the crosshairs across the continent in its entirety, making it vital for organisations across the region to prioritise proactive defence strategies, invest in continuous risk assessments and engage in broader cybersecurity collaboration to stay ahead of evolving threats,” he concluded.

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