Leading off the African ICT news headlines for this year are 124 stories from 30 countries!

Algeria

• Pour Algérie Télécom, c’est l’absence de bons prestataires qui freine le déploiement de sa fibre optique {Ecofin}
• Algerie Telecom to invest USD5.5m in infrastructure upgrade project in Tamanrasset {TeleGeography}

Angola

• Telecommunications Minister Lays Cornerstone for Building Cazenga Media Library {AllAfrica.com}
• How Online Platforms Are Working to Save Angola’s Languages {Global Voices}
• Unitel Tests LTE-Advanced with Ericsson {Light Reading}

Burkina Faso

• Une nouvelle taxe imposée aux opérateurs télécoms {Ecofin}

Cameroon

• Téléphonie mobile Altylis Seme Telecom arrive {237Online}
• YooMee Helps Open Up Africa’s Web Market {WSJ.com}
• MTN Cameroon remporte à nouveau un prix de 100 millions de FCfa pour investir dans le social {Ecofin}
• Kiro’o Games opens Central Africa’s first video game studio {HumanIPO}

Cote D’Ivoire

• Le gouvernement se dote d’une application Android {AfriqueITNews.com}
• Rise and fall of Ivory Coast’s internet cafés {moonofthesouth.com}

DR Congo

• Journées portes ouvertes à l’occasion du lancement de #BantuHub {AfriqueITNews.com}
• Internet Access: Blessing or Curse? {Al Jazeera}

East Africa

• Re-aligning incentives in East African tech {VC4Africa}
• Tespok picks East Africa Data Centre to host KIXP {Telecompaper}

Egypt

• Yes, we can (code)! Girls in Tech wants to build a girls tech community in Egypt {Wamda.com}

Ethiopia

• Telecom Deal by China’s ZTE, Huawei in Ethiopia Faces Criticism {WSJ.com}
• Country focus: Ethiopia breaking new technology ground {IT News Africa}

Ghana

• Home for Some, E-Waste Dump for the World {AllAfrica.com}
• Court Challenge to Wimax Ghana License Approval {AllAfrica.com}
• Focus ICT training on job creation – New Year School urges government {GBN}
• Government tasked to lead ICT integration {GhanaWeb}
• MEST and UNICEF Ghana to launch hackathon {GhanaWeb}
• Tech startups in Ghana need an ecosystem – iSpace Foundation {HumanIPO}
• Integrate ICT into Ghana’s curriculum, says politician {ITWeb Africa}
• Ghana postal service hard hit by internet shift {ITWeb Africa}
• Will Ghana’s Hope City join Africa’s herd of white elephant projects? {The Guardian}

Kenya

• Mobile Service Firms Fail CCK Quality Test {AllAfrica.com}
• M-Pesa and beyond – Why mobile money worked in Kenya and struggles in other markets {VC4Africa}
• CCK releases operators’ report card {BiztechAfrica}
• IBM launches Master the Mainframe contest in Kenya {BiztechAfrica}
• Kenya’s free laptops to be delivered in 90 days, officials to visit shortlisted firms {HumanIPO}
• Kenya’s problems are students’ opportunities – Ndemo {HumanIPO}
• Kenyan businesses should move to cloud – Ndemo {HumanIPO}
• Kenya’s insurance regulator launches online platform {HumanIPO}
• Q&A: A4AI honorary chairman Dr Bitange Ndemo {HumanIPO}
• CCK introduces heavy penalties for telecoms over poor services {HumanIPO}
• Improved internet access revolutionising business in Kenya {nation.co.ke}
• African Artists, Lifted by the Promises of Democracy and the Web {NYTimes.com}
• Get technical skills to move Kenya ahead in all aspects {Standard Media}
• Beyond M-Pesa, Kenya’s market slow to scale mobile solutions {Devex}

Liberia

• Computer to Boost Poor County’s Development {AllAfrica.com}
• Liberia’s ICT 2014 Forecast: What to Expect, What Not to Expect {The Liberian Observer}

Libya

• Libya prepares to modernize its ICT sector / Libyan delegation at ITU seeks support to attain world standards in ICTs {APO-Source}

Madagascar

• Interview de Harinjaka Ratozamanana, Fondateur de HABAKA {Mada-Business}

Mali

• Innovation: A Solar Energy Powered PC Made in Mali {Global Voices}

Morocco

• Après Maroc Télécom en juin dernier, Méditel se lance aussi dans l’e-commerce {Ecofin}
• 4 big developments in Moroccan web in 2013 {Wamda.com}

Namibia

• Microsoft forms Namibian partnership for Citizen Connect project {HumanIPO}

Nigeria

• Aerial Fibre Deployment – Minister, Others Commend Phase3 Telecom {AllAfrica.com}
• 63 Percent of Adult Nigerians Use More Than One Phone {AllAfrica.com}
• Provide Internet Market Data On Nigeria, ITU Tells NCC {AllAfrica.com}
• Indian, Nigerian Firm to Enhance ICT Education {VC4Africa}
• Disrupt everything: 22 Nigerian startups and problems worth solving {ventureburn}
• l’Etat de Kano prévoit l’ouverture de 44 centres d’e-learning {Ecofin}
• Nigerian 2.3 GHz spectrum auction next month {BiztechAfrica}
• Social Media Will Reshape Nigerian Politics In 2014/2015 {Channels TV}
• Q&A: Afam Anyika, head of offline marketing, Jumia Nigeria {HumanIPO}
• Ruling party praises Nigerian president for achievements in technology {HumanIPO}
• Online hotel booking in Nigeria a competitive market – Nitestay.com {HumanIPO}
• Broadband to increase Nigeria GDP by 3% {IT News Africa}
• Who Made That Nigerian Scam? {NYTimes.com}
• Eutelsat to launch USD 400 mln satellite for Nigeria, Africa {Telecompaper}
• Review Of Developments In Nigeria’s Tech Sector {Ventures-Africa}

Rwanda

• ICT Highlights in 2013 {AllAfrica.com}
• KT to review business projects in Africa {Korea Times}

Senegal

• AfriqueITNews.com lance la campagne “Note ton opérateur”. {AfriqueITNews.com}
• Willstream Labs Connects Diaspora With Merchants to Ensure Safe Payment {AllAfrica.com}
• ARPT publishes terms and conditions for 3G deployment in optional provinces {TeleGeography}

Sierra Leone

• Sierra Leone deactivates 3 internet service providers {Politico SL}
• Service providers, Sierra Leone gov’t clash over rules for ACE cable system {PC Advisor}
• Sierra WiFi CEO clears the air {Sierra Express Media}

Somalia

• Federal Govt Urges Telecom Companies Not to Abide By Al Shabaab Internet Ban {AllAfrica.com}
• Being the IT guy in war-torn Africa {Seattle PI Tech Chronicles}
• Shebab militants in Somalia ban Internet {Yahoo News}
• SOMTEL Showcases “O3b solution” State of the Art High Speed Internet System at Business Fair {Somalilandpress.com}

South Africa

• South Africa Must Pay More Attention to Cybercrime {AllAfrica.com}
• ADSL Internet market share plummets {MyBroadband.co.za}
• Internet piracy criminal, civil penalties in South Africa {MyBroadband.co.za}
• Chrome vs Firefox vs Internet Explorer in South Africa {MyBroadband.co.za}
• Here are 6 South African startups to watch for in 2014 {ventureburn}
• ANC manifesto “skimmed the surface” of ICT – Shinn {HumanIPO}
• Mobile app development faces skills crunch in 2014 {ITWeb}
• ANC promises SA free Wi-Fi {TechCentral}

Sudan

• In Sudan, Civil Society says It’s Struggling to Work Around US Sanctions’ Block on Tech {TechPresident}

Swaziland

• Technology And Democracy In Modern African Societies {Times of Swaziland}

Tanzania

• Business Prospects in 2014 Better – TTCL {AllAfrica.com}
• 2013 – Year of Smart-Phone Launche {AllAfrica.com}
• This Tanzanian E-Learning Enterprise Is Beating MOOCs by Going Local {Motherboard}

The Gambia

• Minister Speaks Against Creative Infringements On Internet {AllAfrica.com}

Tunisia

• La Tunisie adopte plusieurs projets de loi dans le secteur des Tic {Ecofin}

Uganda

• Stiffer competition expected in telecom {The New Vision}
• MTN completed rollout programme for 2013 {TeleGeography}
• Geeking Out: Uganda’s Women are Creating the Next Generation of Girl Geeks {The Daily Beast}
• Given Uganda’s homophobia, why does it lead the way in Googling gay porn? {The Guardian}

Zambia

• Zambians grapple with mobile tariff hikes {BiztechAfrica}
• Optic fibre to accelerate growth of ICT sector {Post Zambia}
• Zambia delays deadline for SIM registration {TeleGeography}

Zimbabwe

• Patrick Chinamasa forecasts 4% growth for Zimbabwe’s ICT sector {ITWeb Africa}
• Mobile penetration now 104 percent {New Zimbabwe}

General Africa

• 15 African technology startups to watch in 20 {CNN.com}
• German Firms Seed Web Shopping in the Developing World {WSJ.com}
• SEACOM gears up for another year of expansion {SEACOM}
• 5 Hottest Taxi Booking Apps For Africa {Techloy}
• Tech in Africa: Homegrown Apps Transforming the Continent {BET}
• Broadband a ‘win-win’ for governments {BiztechAfrica}
• Silicon Savannah: Is Africa tipped for a tech take-off? {CNBC.com}
• African apps improve everyday life {eNCA}
• Is Online Content Africa’s Next Consumer Boom? {Forbes}
• HumanIPO: African Startup Central 2013 {HumanIPO}
• MEA external storage market declines, SA and Egypt badly hit {HumanIPO}
• African EduWeek conference to discuss ICT in classroom {HumanIPO}
• Africa part of growth of mobile gaming – developer {HumanIPO}
• Where Are the B2B Plays in African ICT Start-Ups? {ICT Works}
• 10 exciting African gaming start-ups to watch {IT News Africa}
• Will taxes kill mobile money in Africa? {IT News Africa}
• Is 2014 the year of Wi-Fi in Africa? {ITWeb Africa}
• Surging mobile internet demand straining African telecom networks {ITWeb Africa}
• Africa leads global mobile consumer growth {Mobile Entertainment}
• Microsoft helps Africa get online {Reuters.com}
• Disruptive Data: LTE in Africa {Telecoms.com}
• Expanding horizons: LTE in Africa establishes foothold {Telecoms.com}
• The Rise of Entrepreneurship and E-commerce In Africa {Ventures-Africa}