AfICTA e-NEWSLETTER 27 June, 2019

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AfICTA Proposal Selected among others for the 14th IGF Meeting in Berlin

The outcome of the workshop proposal review, and selection process conducted by IGF- Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Group (IGF-MAG) on overall 431 submitted workshop proposals, has revealed that approximately  60 proposals have scaled through among which is AfICTA proposal " #293 Unlocking the Digital Potential of the DLDC Countries".

Accrording to the group, MAG's selection process this year looked at proposals' cohesion with one another under each of the three major themes for 2019: Data Governance; Digital Inclusion; and. .. read more

ICANN Launched a New Meeting Registration Platform

ICANN has launched a new registration platform for ICANN Meetings and events. If you have registered in the past 15 months, you may receive an email to confirm or edit your existing profile, as well as past attendance details. Otherwise, you may create a new profile when you register – whether it's for ICANN65 or a future event. 

The new registration platform provides a better experience and will integrate with Zoom, our remote participation platform for ICANN Meetings. It also provides more robust security and better . .. read more

Epson Targets Zimbabwe's e-learning Space

Epson is looking to strengthen its contribution to the Zimbabwe market, specifically the education sector, and is actively pushing printing, point-of-sale and projection solutions via the local channel. 

These solutions will be available through Epson's official SADC distributor Mustek Ltd. 

Epson partner Direct E-Learning has joined Epson and Mustek Ltd in an initiative to provide schools with e-learning solutions and equipment.

"Epson is a trusted brand in Zimbabwe. ... read more

MTN Nigeria Denies Cyber Attack, Blames Glitch

MTN has denied that server glitches experienced on its Nigerian network on Saturday were a result of a suspected cyber attack.

Omasan Ogisi, MTN Nigeria's general manager for corporate affairs, denied the suspected cyber attack as widely reported in the Nigerian media that the network was under siege from cyber criminals but acknowledged glitches with the server at the weekend. 

Earlier today, ITWeb had also reported ... read more

Zimbabwe to Use Drones to Curb Cable Theft

Zimbabwe's power utility, Zesa, has acquired industrial grade enterprise drones that will help it curb copper cables theft and outright vandalism of infrastructure.

The impoverished Southern African nation had been hit by a wave of massive thefts of transformers and copper cable, with items worth about US$20-million (R296m) having being stolen by the beginning of the year, as people struggle to earn an honest living in Zimbabwe.

In January, Zesa spokesperson Fullard ... read more

Kenya to Invest US$59-million in DARE Submarine Cable System

The government of Kenya plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to assess eligibility of applications within its affordable housing scheme. 

According to a policy document, officials will use data sourced from the Credit Reference Bureau (CRB), including mobile wallet transaction history, to rate the credit worthiness of each applicant. 

The policy reads in part: "In principle the scoring will provide ... read more

Vodacom Backs 'Code Like a Girl' Initiative

Vodacom has announced it will offer over 500 school-going female learners from across eight provinces in South Africa the opportunity learn how to code during the winter school holidays, from 24 June – 05 July 2019. 

The 'Code like a Girl' programme aims to develop coding skills and valuable life skills for girls aged between 14-18 years, and encourages them to consider the uptake of ICT and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects ...  read more

afriQloud Cloud Service Launches in Uganda

Pan-African connectivity provider, BringCom, in partnership with science and technology investor, Imprimatur Capital, and European edge cloud software company, GIG Technology, have together introduced afriQloud to provide the African technology industry with cloud sovereignty. 

afriQloud has been launched in Ugunda and will provide local and international customers with "an innovative and secure distributed edge cloud service."

Hans van Linschoten, founding partner. ..   read more

Disruptive Tech will Create Jobs, not Threaten Them

Disruptive changes brought by technology will ultimately result in more, new and different jobs for people, rather than taking jobs away.

This is according to Tom Raftery, Global VP, Futurist, and Innovation Evangelist for SAP, who spoke at the Saphila 2019 conference, the African SAP User Group's (AFSUG) biennial conference for SAP users, held in early June in South Africa's North West Province. 

Raftery referenced the Spinning Jenny...  read more

West Africa’s leading connectivity and data centre solutions provider, MainOne, on the heels of the expansion of its network into Edo State has assured the University of Benin (UNIBEN) of its support towards continued information communication technology (ICT) development at the university. 

The firm reiterated its commitment towards improving access to ICT on campus with the investment in fiber connectivity to campus, as well as by pledging financial support and internship opportunities for the top performing ICT students at the... read more

Governments across the globe are establishing consumer taxes for over-the-top (OTT) services — including social media apps — as a way to generate revenue in the age of digital economy. This trend is particularly apparent across Sub-Saharan Africa, where such taxes were introduced in Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia in 2018. 

To examine the impact of social media taxation on affordable and meaningful access to the internet, A4AI hosted a webinar with issue experts that revealed four key lessons....  read more

Financial technology company, Kudimoney has received a Microfinance banking licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a significant leap in its launch of a full service digital No-Fee bank. 

The Fintech startup is seeking to challenge the existing banking system that is riddled with tales of often inefficient services coupled with ridiculous charges to millions of customers. 

In 2018, the top 11 Nigerian banks charged their customers a total of N143 billion as....   read more

Albeit the abundance of institutions, companies, and establishments in the country, South Africa suffers from lack of developers, engineers, and coders that master the skills of programming and computer science. This leaves most major businesses in the country desperately trying to either train their employees with computer expertise, or to hire fresh skills from the youths of the region. The latter option was regarded as a substantial opportunity for those still unemployed, practicing their coding skills to better suit their potential employers’ needs and requirements....   read more

Truckrtech was announced as the winner of this year’s TechCircle’s Pitch2Win competition held in Lagos a few days ago. The competition was run in collaboration with Japan’s FreakOut Holdings, aimed at helping local startups to access international investment opportunities. 

Truckrtech is Ghanaian startup founded in 2018 by Caryl Joshua Akonor. It enables manufacturing companies, exporters, importers, freight forwarders to book any kind of haulage truck online for their good...   read more

The most recent study by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) and Oxford Insights reveals that Kenya ranks first in Africa to prepare for the adoption of the new technology. In the global level, Kenya ranks 52nd, leaving behind other African countries.

Cited from Standard Media, the Director of the Centre for Intellectual Property and Information Technology Law (CIPIT) at Strathmore Law School, Isaac Rutenberg said: “There are already numerous examples to show that AI is being ... read more

The Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC, alongside other seven companies and associations in Information and Communications Technology, ICT, were recently honoured for their roles in championing digital technology and broadband development in Nigeria

The agencies and associations were recognised at the10th Edition of eWorld Forum in order to stimulate them for more work in helping Nigeria get everyone connected to digital platforms and services also at affordable rates. Apart from NCC...   read more

Amid increasing incidents of fraud related to SIM swap, Safaricom has launched an anti-fraud API designed to better protect the business and other financial institutions. 

The service will enable financial institutions to check with Safaricom if there has been a SIM swap on the network and discontinue any requested transactions. 

Nicholas Mulila, Chief Corporate Security Officer at Safaricom, said in early 2018 there were...   read more

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a grant to pan-African telecommunications and network services provider Seacom limited to initiate a feasibility study of the market potential for fibre services in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

According to a statement from USTDA, the grant of undisclosed amount will provide Seacom with analysis to determine where to expand infrastructure in the targeted countries and recommend...   read more

The Sub-Sahara Africa region is showing signs of increased maturity and responsiveness towards cloud adoption, according to Grant Bennett, Country Manager for SUSE South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. And this presents service and support providers in Africa with a clear opportunity. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the Africa SAP User Group (AFSUG) Saphila 2019 at Sun City in South Africa's North West Province this week, Bennett said based on research the company conducted a few months ago, only about 11% of respond-...  read more

Sudan's largest telecommunications operator Zain Sudan has received a court order to immediately restore Internet services following weeks of online blackouts. 

Lawyear Abdelazim Al-Hassan, filed his own case against the telco in the Khartoum District court and won the case after the Court ordered the company, via Sudanese authorities, to immediately restore internet services to the country. 

Al-Hassan was quoted by AFP News...  read more

Zimbabwean ISP ZOL says it will allow for data roll-over with effect from August 2019, a move that is expected to be replicated by other data service providers and ISPs as the country remains gripped by ongoing power outages and a currency that is rapidly losing purchasing power. 

There has been an outcry over data charges in Zimbabwe, with parliament pressuring the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) as well as the ICT Ministry to enforce a tariff reduction...   read more

Vodafone Egypt has secured a contract valued at 2.3-billion Egyptian pounds to develop a digital platform to support the country's new primary healthcare system. 

The new system is understood to be based on the UK's NHS and Vodafone Egypt will leverage support from the UK Department of International Trade. 

Liam Fox, Britain's Secretary of State for International Trade said, ""That's why we've stood by Vodafone as it sought and secured this contract which, as part of the Egyptian government's reforms, will...   read more

Tetnet Assefa shuffled uneasily in his office seat and wondered aloud why he couldn't connect to the Internet on his laptop. 

It was mid-moning on Tuesday (June 11), and even thought he didn't know it yet, it was the beginning of the latest days-long Internet cutoff. Authorities in Ethiopia disrupted connectivity nationwide to prevent students from cheating in national exams. Social media platforms like whatsApp and telegram were restricted, SMS text messaging disabled, leaving banks, businesses and tech startups...   read more

Ethiopia’s first e-hailing taxi service is scaling beyond the streets of Addis Ababa. ZayRide, which launched in July 2016, is expanding to the Liberian capital, Monrovia. 

In collaboration with the Liberian web solutions firm Hak Technologies, the Ethiopian on-demand taxi service will introduce 200 cars by August this year, says founder Habtamu Tadesse. 

The expansion is a noteworthy move for ZayRide, which was the first to introduce Uber- ... read more

The finance ministers of four of the six members of the East African Community (EAC) presented their national budgets before their respective parliaments on Thursday. Kenya’s budget remains the biggest in the region at nearly $30 billion. Tanzania’s 2019/2020 budget is $14.3 bn, Uganda $9.1bn, and Rwanda $3.2bn.

At a total of $56.6bn, the budgets are ambitious in their continued spending on infrastructure which has plunged the region into unprecedented levels of public debt ....  read more