AfICTA e-Newsletter (June 14, 2023)

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AfICTA e-NEWSLETTER

14/June/2023 Vol 178

Register for AfICTA's 12th Quarterly eConference

"A minimum of 250,000 metric tons of e-waste comes into the continent, and according to the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, the majority of it in West Africa enters from Europe".

Register to join us for the 12th AfICTA's Quarterly eConference, themed "E-Waste Management - Realizing a Circular Economy and Climatic Sanity", holding on Wednesday 21st June, 2023 by 10am (UTC).

Register to Join AfICTA  (Africa ICT Alliance) Today

Hi, are you concerned about the realization of a Digital Africa? If yes, AfICTA (Africa ICT Alliance) welcomes you to register and join other group of concerned IT National Associations, Companies, Multinationals and Organisations in Africa to engender the realization of the digital Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals - SDGs.

AfICTA is a 38 member nations' alliance, in partnership with the African Union, with the vision to fulfill the promise of the digital age for everyone in Africa and to connect IT players on the continent.

ICANN Request for Proposal: Middle East Domain Name Industry Study 2023

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) organization (org) issued a request for proposal (RFP) to identify a company that can provide ICANN with a comprehensive study of the current state of the domain name industry in the Middle East, including data that can help identify gaps and opportunities in the broader Internet ecosystem and make recommendations that can help relevant stakeholders, who work or have interest in the region, to... Read more

Orange Hastens Digital Inclusion Drive in Botswana

Orange Botswana is rolling out a schools digital programme aimed at closing the digital divide gap in the country. The mobile operator says it is concerned about digital divide in society, hence the need to accelerate connectivity projects. 

Through the Orange Foundation, the company is providing a ‘digital schools kit’ which consist of 50 tablets loaded with local syllabus content, one video projector, one... Read more

Vacation Rental Platform Bongalo Bids to Elbow Airbnb out of Africa

Google-backed Cameroonian short-stay rental platform Bongalo is scaling up operations across Africa and is positioning itself as an alternative to the popular Airbnb. 

Bongalo, a booking platform for vacation and short-stay rentals, says it is ready to elbow the US-founded vacation rental company, Airbnb, out of the African market because of its ‘superior understanding’ of the... Read more

Bank Run Scare on CBK Plan to Issue Digital Currrencies

Kenyan financial industry players, including banks, have warned that issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) may spark the collapse of an unspecified number of banks as customers rush to convert their money from the current form of deposits.

A document by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) incorporating feedback from diverse sources such as individuals, public institutions and commercial banks shows... Read more

Nearpays, a Nigerian Startup, Wins a Fintech Prize at Gitex Africa

Nearpays Technology Limited has won the Supernova Challenge’s Fintech and Blockchain category at GITEX Africa in Morocco. Nearpays received a cash reward of USD 10,000 and free travel to GITEX Global, which will be held in October 2023 at the Dubai World Trade Center in the United Arab Emirates.

Providing customers with end-to-end financial services, Nearpays is a full-service... Read more

Tanzanian Agritech Start-up NovFeed Eyes Global Goal

Global growth is on the agenda for Tanzanian agritech start-up, NovFeed, after garnering recognition from Milken-Motsepe foundations with its win of a $1 million grand prize in an agritech competition, earlier this year. 

NovFeed founders Otaigo Elisha and Diana Orembe, who accepted the award from Milken-Motsepe foundations in the US, say the company will focus on globally... Read more

Egypt Seeks Closer Relations with ITU

Egypt’s President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, is seeking closer ties with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to develop the country’s communications, IT sectors and upgrade infrastructure.

The president met ITU secretary-general Doreen Bogdan-Martin yesterday in Cairo. Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Amr Talaat, and ITU Director for the Arab States... Read more

Ghana Opens Cyber Security Operations Centre for Banks

The Bank of Ghana has established a Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre (FICSOC) to prevent and respond to cyber threats aimed at the financial services sector. The project was undertaken by Virtual InfoSec Africa, a Ghanaian information security company, in collaboration with the Central Bank. 

The Bank of Ghana initiated the FICSOC Project in 2019 aimed at ‘threat... Read More

InTouch, Global Technology Partners Team up to Drive Financial Inclusion

Global Technology Partners (GTP) and African fintech InTouch are teaming up in bridging the gap between digital payment platforms and card-based transactions; a move aimed at driving financial inclusion on the continent.

GTP, an MFS Africa company, specialises in creating processing and payment solutions for the prepaid industry and currently operates in more than 30 countries with... Read more

Kenya Power to Pilot Smart Poles Project for Fast Internet

Kenya Power has unveiled an ambitious plan to diversify its revenue stream, venturing into internet connectivity. The company is piloting the ‘smart poles’ project to provide affordable Internet to public institutions.

The project will see Kenya Power install unique utility poles, smart poles, in six locations in Nairobi, which will provide high-speed internet connectivity. These will be leased... Read more

MasterCard Seals Deal With Moroccan Fintech NAPS

MasterCard and Moroccan fintech NAPS have partnered to accelerate the development of digital payment solutions in the North African country. The two, NAPS and MasterCard, are aiming to create new ecosystems of digital services in Morocco to promote financial inclusion.

“These digital ecosystems will enable the development of high-value applications and explore new service opportunities... Read more

President Tinubu Pledges to Reboot Nigeria with a Million Tech Jobs

Nigeria’s new president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has committed to reset Africa’s biggest economy with one million new tech jobs.

“My administration must create meaningful opportunities for our youth. We shall honour our campaign commitment of one million new jobs in the digital economy,” Tinubu said in the capital Abuja on Monday during his inaugural address to the nation. Tinubu and his team... Read more

South Africa Launches AI Industry Body to Spur Innovation

As the continent is embracing the Artificial intelligence (AI) innovation wave, an industry body focused on promoting the advancement of responsible AI in South Africa has launched.

The South African Artificial Intelligence Association (SAAIA) is a group of AI practitioners across commercial, government, academic, startup and non-governmental organisations... Read more

Five African Countries ‘Backtrack’ on UN Internet Pledge

Anew report says five African countries, Sudan, Burkina Faso, Somalia, Mauritania and Nigeria broke the United Nations (UN) resolution on human rights on the internet. 

Surfshark’s Internet Shutdown Tracker says there were a total of 16 internet disruptions in these 5 African countries during or after the adoption of the resolution.

The UN Human Rights Council... Read more