These are the tech-related news that you have missed over the previous week.

• Telecommunication firms likely to sue banks over 120 billion debt
• VPN users in Tanzania could face 12 months in prison
• Yellow Card grants Web3Ladies $3,000 to educate Nigerian women on Blockchain
• ThriveAgric collaborates with Heifer International, provides 125,000 farmers with financial services via AYuTe

Telecommunication firms likely to sue banks over 120 billion debt

Telecommunication companies have warned banks, alerting them of the likelihood of discontinuing their Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) services if the problems persist.

The Telcos are considering legal action against the banks as the issue has existed for over four years.

Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), expressed his thoughts concerning the issue between the telecommunication industry and the financial industry; he stated that the matter was of the commercial realm, but it had become political.

“So, when you open a commercial agreement to political interference, you get into this problem. That is why we say emphatically that some issues, including price review, should be left to market forces, not to be determined by the government, because it is not sustainable,” he said.

VPN users in Tanzania could face 12 months in prison

The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has recently enforced a restriction on the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) in Tanzania.

According to a local report, this restriction was set in place to prevent Tanzanians from gaining access to information tagged as illegal and harmful by the government.

The TCRA’s law was in pace with Regulation 16(2) of the Electronic and Postal Communications (Online Content) Regulations 2020.

“TCRA informs the general public, individuals, and companies that, in their duties and activities, the use of private networks (VPN) is not prohibited. They are required to report to TCRA the VPNs they use and provide all necessary information,” the TCRA’s statement reads.

The TCRA also advised the people interested in using VPNs to fill out a permission form on the website before October 30, 2023.

Yellow Card grants Web3Ladies $3,000 to educate Nigerian women on Blockchain

Yellow Card, a pan-African crypto exchange and fintech firm, has collaborated with Web3Ladies to educate more Nigerian women about the blockchain universe with a grant fee of $3,000.

This partnership is among Yellow Card’s Social Good Initiative to promote financial freedom and democratise the availability of tech resources throughout the continent.

The Web3Ladies mentorship program includes a three-month boot camp focused on training and honing the talents of designers, managers and engineers for the blockchain industry.

The mentorship program expects its participants to partake in the four structured phases along with live classes and weekly workshops under the guidance of on-site mentors.

ThriveAgric collaborates with Heifer International, provides 125,000 farmers with financial services via AYuTe

Agritech firm ThriveAgric has partnered with a nonprofit organisation, Heifer International, to launch the firm’s AYuTe (Agriculture, Youth and Technology) Project.

This project is set to empower 125,000 smallholder farmers with financial inclusion access.

For the next year, ThriveAgric and its partners will facilitate the creation of bank accounts for the 125,000 smallholder farmers across eight northern states in Nigeria.