AfICTA e-Newsletter (January 30th, 2020)

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AfICTA e-NEWSLETTER 

30/January/2020 Vol 81

AfICTA @ the R40 2020 Event Discussed Technology as the Perfect tool to Manage Climate Degradation.

The 2020 edition of the Resilient 40 “tagged responding to climate change in Africa” was held @ the UK Wilton Park in Ethiopia on 16th January and gained the participation of youths (Aged between 18 and 35) who are African Union member state citizens, change-makers and engaged in climate change & resilience matters either personally or professionally. 

Representation of AfICTA - Africa ICT Alliance at the important meeting was Mr. Waddah Fadul who was a part of the “Disaster Preparedness and Management” working group. He spoke extensively on how technology could be adopted and be a very convenient tool that governments...  read more

Malawi Pens US$72.4-million Global Connectivity Contract

Malawi has announced a US$72.4m international connectivity contract to improve access to ICT infrastructure for the public and private sectors

The contract was signed recently in Blantyre and forms part of the Digital Malawi Project, a government initiative being implemented by the Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC) and funded by the World Bank.

According to the terms of the contract, PPPC has entered into an agreement with the Malawi Research and Education Network (MAREN) – the global connectivity capacity component of the main project – and UbuntuNet Alliance, a multinational research and education networking...  read more

Nigeria: AfICTA Partners EDTECH Summit 2020 for Sustainable Educational Technology

AfICTA - Africa ICT Alliance as a strategic partner of EDTECH Summit (Nigeria Largest Educational Summit) 2020 holding @ the Exhibition Pavilion by ICC, Abuja, Nigeria from 3rd - 4th March cordially invites the participation of stakeholders from academic to the 4in1 event featuring Conference, Awards, Exhibition and Sponsorship opportunities. To register (Conference or Exhibition) now through AfICTA and enjoy up-to 10% discount please write Kayode via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. indicating what category you intend to register for. 

Educational Technology (EdTech Summit) is the Nigerian leading annual professional development conference and exhibition focusing on technology integration strategies... read more

Kenya: Digital Security is as Strong as Weakest Link

The World Economic Forum’s 2019 Global Risk Report identifies cybersecurity as one of the biggest threats facing businesses and economies today. 

Cyber-attacks have exponentially grown in scale and sophistication. Just one, simple attack can lead to significant loss of data or financial fraud that impacts a company’s reputation and credit rating, shaking investor confidence and consumer trust. And it goes without saying that the cost of a breach can amount to millions of dollars, leading to catastrophic consequences. 

Experts predict economic loss due to cybercrime to reach $3 trillion by 2020, and 74 percent of the world’s businesses are expected to be hacked in the coming year. Statistics have further shown that the... read more

The Cable Lady: Opeke listed among ’20 Women Who Will Shape Events in Nigeria in 2020′

MainOne CEO, Funke Opeke has been listed among the “20 Women Who Will Shape Events in Nigeria in 2020” by THISDAY Newspapers. 

As part of its series on prognosis of what the new year has in stock for Nigeria and its citizens, THISDAY Board of Editors has announced a list of outstanding women it believes would have significant impact on the political and business environment that would shape events in the country. 

Dubbed ‘The Cable Lady’, Opeke is profiled for her company, MainOne’s achievements since its launch, from owning an open access 7,000... read more

Who Really Owns Your Data?

In this era of what is known as the knowledge economy, data is definitely the engine or the resource that enterprises extract to create value. 

With developments in the technology space, we find ourselves in a reality where we are generating data all the time, from any location, using multiple devices – even when we are asleep.

When you settle down to sleep at the end of your busy day, your mobile phone remains awake, telling your mobile service provider where you slept that night and what time you woke up, and where... read more

AI Set to Overhaul Manager's role – Gartner

By 2024, Artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies such as virtual personal assistants and chatbots will replace almost 69% of the manager's workload.

This is according to Gartner which claims these technologies are rapidly making headway in the workplace.

"The role of manager will see a complete overhaul in the next four years," said Helen Poitevin, research vice-president at Gartner. "Currently, managers often need to spend time filling in forms, updating... read more

Huawei Nurtures ICT Talent Growth in Botswana

It is now evident that stakeholders in the country are sweating it all out to sustain the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country. In Botswana, the Huawei ICT competition which started off in Botswana in October 2019 with roadshows in four universities across the country is here to stay according to the organisers.

The same competition is alive and up and running in 2020. With the theme “Connection, Glory, Future”, the Huawei ICT competition 2019-2020 aims to provide a platform for global ICT talents to showcase their ability, compete and communicate...  read more

MTN Cameroon Rewards Best MoMo Startups

MTN Cameroon has announced the publication of the results of the Cameroonian edition of the MoMo Developer Hackathon Challenge 2019 competition launched in October 2019. The winning teams were presented to the public on 23 January 2020 during a ceremony at the Akwa Palace Hotel in Douala.

The College Plan project driven by two students from the University of Buea ranked first at the end of the jury's deliberations. The idea of Takwi Gisele and Fonkam Loïc aims at helping young people to better control their ... read more

The Race to Dethrone Cash in Africa is on

No matter the sector; be it e-commerce, banking, logistics, agriculture, health or education, digitalisation is the future and companies have to adapt or risk becoming obsolete. This means that the demise of cash on the continent is unavoidable. Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, recently had its central bank, the CBN, impose a cash-less policy, which stipulates an additional charges on cash-based deposits and withdrawals. Sparkle’s CEO, Uzoma Dozie, hit the nail on its head in his Medium post “by making cash more expensive, which is what the CBN is attempting with this policy, they are actively driving people and businesses into the financial system... read more

African Credit Scoring Startups Selected for ENGIE Challenge at Africa Tech Summit in Kigali

Five African credit scoring startups have been selected to pitch for the chance to secure a testing phase for their solutions with French utility company ENGIE.

French multinational energy utility company ENGIE was earlier this month confirmed as Gold supporter of Africa Tech Summit, which takes place for the third time on February 4-6, in Kigali, Rwanda.

The partnership between ENGIE and Africa Tech Summit Kigali offered credit scoring startups with the potential to provide innovative solutions...  read more

Why CIOs Should Approach Cloud Differently in 2020

In 2020 CIOs should adopt a different approach to the cloud and develop a formal strategy that links individual decisions with enterprise goals, according to Gartner. 

The company says cloud continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments of IT spend and in the new era of cloud, cost optimisation will be crucial. 

This is one of four factors Gartner believes will impact cloud adoption this year. "Through 2024, nearly all legacy applications migrated to... read more

African Women Empowered to Lead in Digital Economy

South African black female-owned digital technology firm SmartDigital Solution is to partner with the African Management Institute and Black Management Forum Sandton to launch the African Women in Digital Leadership Series, a platform designed to empower women to lead in the digital and data economy. 

Organisers say the platform will cover leading women in the DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda and South Africa and will be rotated in different African countries. .. read more

Botswana: Government to Launch Automated Water Quality Monitoring

Since the quality of water is evaluated based on its physical, chemical and biological parameters, the Botswana government is moving towards automating water quality monitoring. This is in view of the recent advances in the technologies of sensors, robotics, and Internet of Things (IoT) which have led to significant progress in the applications of environmental telemonitoring.

In the field of aquatic monitoring, static stations or buoys with capabilities of automated measuring, data logging and wireless transmission have been widely designed by research institutes or deployed by environmental departments. .. read more

YouTube Appoints MD for Emerging Markets in EMEA

YouTube today announced the hire of Alex Okosi as managing director of emerging markets in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA).

The video-sharing platform says Okosi will be responsible for running YouTube's business and partnership teams across emerging markets in EMEA including Russia, the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The appointment comes barely a week after YouTube parent Google named Alistair Mokoena its SA country director...  read more

Zimbabwe Telecos Look to Raise Tariffs Again

Embattled Zimbabwe telecommunication firms are in talks with the Post and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), for a possible third increase in service tariffs.

Mobile operator Econet Wireless Zimbabwe said this is because of the current prevailing economic environment.

The company added that the environment is undermining the national telecom sector at various levels, not just among consumers. ..  read more

Botswana’s Letshego and MTN Launch Mobile Money Loans in Eswatini

Letshego Holdings Limited, which is headquartered in Gaborone and has been publicly listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange since 2002, has partnered with MTN to launch mobile money loans in Eswatini. Letshego is steadfastly living by its sworn motto of “Let’s improve life.” According to information passed on to biztechafrica, Emaswati can now apply for Momo Quick Loans of up to E200 over 30 days all active MTN Mobile Money users can now apply for a Momo Quick Loan.

“MoMo Quick Loans support financial inclusion by extending the reach and ease in. ..  read more

Cable ship Leon Thevenin Heads to Angola

In a fresh announcement related to the undersea cable restoration mission, the cable vessel Leon Thevenin is said to have departed Cape Town harbour on 22 January 2020 and is heading for offshore Angola.

This is where the first steps of the physical repair on damaged undersea cables – South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable (SAT3/WASC) and the West African Cable System (WACS), according to Openserve. 

In its latest statement, the company said: "Following delays caused by weather conditions...  read more

Nigeria: SIMs are National Resources, Telcos Have Right to Reassign Inactive Lines, Says NCC

Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said the telecommunications companies have the right to reassign SIM cards once they’re inactive for a maximum of 180 days.

Dr. Henry Nkemadu, director, public affairs, NCC, said that telcos exercise the power to reassign dormant SIM cards without recourse to the previous owners so long as they remain inactive for the said number of days.

This is coming on the heels of commotion generated after Anthony Okolie, a Delta-based trader, was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) for using a SIM previously owned by Hanan Buhari, the president’s daughter. ..  read more

Tanzania, Uganda Criticised for SIM Card Registration policies

A report by UK-based pro-consumer website Comparitech claims Tanzania and Uganda have in place some of the harshest SIM card monitoring policies in the world.

Based on a point scoring metric  of 0 – 21 (according to which policy portfolios are evaluated from strongest to weakest – ie. the lower the scor e, the stronger the portfolio), Tanzania scored 19, while Uganda scored 15.

The report identifies Burundi, Kenya and Rwanda among those African countries with relatively good SIM card monitoring policies. Kenya scored 12 points, Rwanda scored 11 points and Burundi scored 9 points. ..  read more

Honeywell, Etisalat Misr, ACUD to Deploy Tech at Egypt’s Smart City

NYSE-listed technology giant Honeywell and Etisalat Misr, which is a subsidiary of Etisalat UAE, have inked a partnership agreement to deliver city management services for citizens at Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, which is projected to be one of the largest smart city projects in the world.

The agreement will see Honeywell deploy advanced Internet of Things (IoT) software and hardware solutions for a City Operations Center (COC) platform, as part of Phase 1 of the project. 

The central COC platform will include data analytics, a city-wide management dashboard, a smart city services citizen engagement portal... read more