Title-chasing Arsenal will, on Sunday, host London rivals, Chelsea, in a Premier League clash of huge importance to both teams. The match, which kicks off at 2.30 PM, is available for live streaming on Showmax. Second-placed Arsenal, who trail league leaders, Liverpool, by a whopping 15 points, are convinced that they still can win the Premier League title despite the recent indifferent form. The Mikel Arteta-coached side have won only two of their last five games, losing one and drawing two to leave them with a mountain to climb. A victory over Chelsea would narrow the gap between them and Liverpool, who do not play in the Premier League until April, to 12 points. Anything short of that is a further erosion of their already slender chances of the title. Chelsea, who have been inconsistent after a bright start to the season, moved into the Champions League places last weekend on the back of a labored 1-0 victory over relegation-threatened Leicester. They will have to be at their best against determined, even if injury-ravaged Arsenal, to get anything from the game and keep alive their hopes of playing Champions League football next season.Another London derby is available on Sunday when Fulham host Tottenham Hotspur at 2.30 PM. On Saturday, Premier League defending champions, Manchester City, host the fearless Brighton, who have caused headaches for bigger teams this season under coach Fabian Hürzeler. The match is available for live streaming at 4 PM. The wheels have come off City’s campaign, as they sit fifth on the table and are at the risk of missing out on the Champions League if things do not improve fast.Also available for live streaming at the same time are games between relegation candidates, Ipswich and implausibly third-placed Nottingham Forest; Southampton at home to Wolves as well as rejuvenated Everton at home to West Ham. The day’s diet of live games comes to an end with the impressive Andoni Iraola-managed Bournemouth hosting Thomas Frank’s often resilient Brentford side. This season, Bournemouth, ninth on the log, have been impressive at home, beating Manchester City, Arsenal and smashing Newcastle 4-1 away from home. Their recent form has been dire with three losses and one win in five games. Brentford, who sit 12th, have no relegation worries. They have won two wins and two losses from the last five games. The weekend games will end with the doomed Leicester City hosting the wretched Manchester United, who sit in an unfamiliar 14th position. Kick-off is at 8 PM. Fans can catch all the weekend’s action, live on Showmax Premier League mobile. Sign up at www.showmax.com.

A partnership between MultiChoice Africa and The Earthshot Prize has helped to showcase the impact of the climate entrepreneurs working to solve the continent’s energy and environmental challenges.

In Africa, national grid electricity has not achieved universal penetration and is often unreliable. Rural areas are particularly affected. The International Energy Agency estimates 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, or 43% of the population, lack access to electricity. 

The key to development is electricity. Without it, communities must generate their own power for cooking, lighting and heating, and they are robbed of a wealth of other opportunities – especially internet connectivity.

This means many outlying African communities must power their homes using wood fuel. Besides having limited energy applications, wood burning has a double negative impact: it causes deforestation, and it also generates significant carbon emissions. 

Carbon-heavy kerosene and diesel generators are other alternatives for lighting and cooking, but these also negatively impact the environment and affect people’s health and quality of life.

For Africa, the most viable solution to this energy dilemma is to establish mini-grids and stand-alone systems, to power the needs of the people in the immediate area. As a mini-grid driver, solar energy offers an impactful alternative for communities across Africa and other emerging economies. 

A pan-African company named d.light has embraced the solar opportunity, working to make life brighter for millions of people by bringing clean, affordable power to people in rural parts of Africa. The business has seen enormous growth and already aims to reach one billion people by 2030. 

While working in Benin, co-founder Sam Goldman saw his neighbour’s son badly burned by an overturned kerosene lamp. With co-founder Nedjip Tozun, he then formed d.light, and together they developed a prototype solar lantern. From there, they set out to bring safe, renewable energy and light to people everywhere, especially where they have no other safe or reliable options. 

Today, d.light manufactures and sells solar home systems and appliances to customers across Africa and India, and sells through partnerships in 70 other countries. 

A key part of their success is d.light’s innovative daily pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model through mobile payment providers, which makes these services affordable and accessible.

Since 2007, d.light has avoided 38 million tonnes CO2e and an estimated two million tonnes of black carbon/particulate matter. With $180 million in investment and revenues of $120 million last year, their PAYG solution has attracted over $600 million in finance. 

As a large, successful, purpose-led African environmental business that has already empowered more than 175 million lives, d.light is an inspiring success story for the African entrepreneurial scene. This impact was recognised at the recent Earthshot Prize Awards in Cape Town, South Africa, where d.light was a finalist in the Clean Our Air category. 

The Earthshot Prize partnered with MultiChoice Africa to broadcast the event across the continent and beyond, while also producing content to showcase the environmental issues facing the continent and the people working to address them. Amplifying the innovative solutions of companies like d.light aims to inspire young environmental entrepreneurs and accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable future.

This process of spreading inspirational success stories of sustainable climate solutions – particularly in the solar-energy space – can help to build a movement for energy independence across the African continent. This can in turn unlock all the benefits for energy access at scale and help Africa’s people reach their full potential.

As The Earthshot Prize media partner, MultiChoice has leveraged its pan-African audience of more than 20 million households in 50 countries to showcase the transformative impact of renewable energy, to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy solutions and to empower and inspire Africa’s emerging eco-entrepreneurs.

Being a highly practical, accessible renewable-energy source, solar power, in particular, can provide light, and also be a catalyst for education, economic empowerment, and improved health and well-being. Africa’s unfolding solar story can light the way to a brighter, more sustainable future for the continent.

In significant development in Nigeria’s financial technology sector, leading fintech companies Carbon and PalmPay have commenced the issuance of Verve cards to their customers. This move follows the Central Bank of Nigeria’s authorization of these fintech giants to issue payment cards, underscoring the apex bank’s commitment to empowering financial technology companies and advancing financial inclusion across the country.The partnership allows millions of Carbon and PalmPay customers access to Verve’s extensive payment network, bringing digital payment solutions to previously underserved populations. Industry observers note that the decision by both fintech companies to align with Verve stems from the payment card’s network-wide reach and a robust infrastructure across Nigeria and beyond.Last year, Verve marked its 15th anniversary characterized by its outstanding quality, innovativeness and vast array of options; it also announced that it has issued over 70 million cards, establishing itself as a dominant player in Nigeria’s payment ecosystem. The domestic card scheme’s impressive penetration makes it a natural choice for fintech platforms seeking to rapidly expand their payment offerings while supporting the CBN’s financial inclusion goals.Other fintech companies that have previously followed this line in issuing Verve cards include Opay and Moniepoint. As a homegrown card scheme, Verve has continued to innovate its service offerings to compete effectively with international payment networks. The company has integrated advanced features, including contactless payment technology and enhanced security measures, such as biometric authentication through other sophisticated recognition systems such as fingerprints.Through collaborations like this, Nigeria’s journey toward a more inclusive financial ecosystem will be shortened, providing more Nigerians with access to modern banking and payment services through the combined technological capabilities of these financial service providers.