News (1352)
The new director general was appointed to save the public postal company from its various woes.
Senegal’s public postal company “La Poste” will undergo an extensive digital transformation in the coming months, new director Mohamadou Diaïté indicates.
According to the director general, who assumed office last Monday, digital transformation is one of the priorities of the "Strategic Plan for the Expansion of the Post (PSE-P)." The said plan includes actions like the modernization of the company’s logistics, the development of electronic banking and e-commerce, and the addition of innovative financial services.
"It is not conceivable that in 2022 we will still be issuing manual receipts. We need to diversify our products and make up for our lateness to ensure improved profitability,” he said.
In recent years, the national postal company has faced several issues affecting its operations. The issues include low-tech tools integration and poor management of customers’ new ICT needs.
To address the various issues identified, in 2021, the posts and telecommunication regulator ARPT organized a workshop for the development of a new strategy that would modernize the postal sector. The strategy focuses on four areas, including the promotion and use of ICTs to improve the overall performance of the sector.
Mohamadou Diaïté wants to ensure the continuity of the actions suggested. He plans to address the issues by "judiciously exploiting the objective and scalable opportunities presented by the" national postal company. For that purpose, an institutional transformation is needed to create a postal bank, he explained. He added that there is a need to accelerate digital transformation, diversify products and services to cover a broader range and introduce more innovation by strengthening and modernizing logistics, electronic banking, and e-commerce
Samira Njoya
According to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), global oil demand would grow continually till 2035, driven by developing countries in Africa, India, and Asia. To capture part of that demand and attract investors to its energy sector, Algeria has multiplied initiatives in recent years.
The Algerian Agency for the Valorization of Hydrocarbons Resources (Alnaft) announced, Sunday, the launch of EXALT (EXplore Algeria Today), a digital platform that provides information on the country’s mineral and sustainable resources.
According to Alnaft chairman Nour Eddine Daoudi, the platform is "an unprecedented opportunity in the history of the Algerian energy market.”
“It will allow investors to check new deposits, peruse and assess the national hydrocarbon potential,” he added.
The "fully integrated" tool, developed by international oilfield services provider Schlumberger (SLB), will help demonstrate the value of domestic upstream opportunities. It will also help promote Algeria's hydrocarbon resources thanks notably to future tenders. For Nour Eddine Daoudi, it can be accessed by everyone, everywhere in the world.
Algeria is a notable oil exporter with one of the largest oil and gas reserves in the world. In its World Economic Outlook, published last October 11, the IMF estimates that the country’s economy would grow by 4.7% in 2022, thanks in particular to an increase in its oil export revenues.
Samira Njoya
Computers and smartphones are undoubtedly useful in our daily lives. However, their excessive use can have negative impacts on users’ physical and mental health. It can also negatively affect children’s psychosocial development. To prevent those consequences, Gabon is implementing awareness-raising actions.
Gabon will launch a national digital awareness campaign in the coming months. In a prelude to that campaign, last Friday, it organized a conference under the theme: "The dangers of overexposure to screens: impacts on behavior and health." The national campaign, initiated by consulting agency Blanc Cristal and the rehabilitation center Mot à Mot, is organized thanks to the Ministry of Digital Economy’s support.
According to Virginie Mounanga, CEO of Blanc Cristal, it aims to alert parents on the dangers of overexposure to the Internet and screens. "We have met with several doctors, specialists, and school principals who complain about children and adolescents being addicted to the Internet, cutting themselves off social activities [...] and affecting school performance. So, we need to alert parents and educators of the dangers, allowing them to mitigate those impacts,” she explained.
Gabon, like many African countries, adopted digital technologies to keep socio-economic activities going during the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic changed internet consumption habits, boosting demand for connectivity. Consequently, the average time spent in front of screens has risen sharply. This caused several health (myopia, sedentarization), behavioral (sleep and mood disorders), and social (language delays, attention disorders, and school difficulties) problems.
According to the professionals who took part in the conference, some measures need to be taken to address the problems. They include limiting internet time, turning off Wi-Fi intermittently, and developing social and family activities.
They also mentioned the Canadian method of limiting screen time for children. According to the specialists, it involves forbidding screens to children before the age of 2 and monitoring usage time for those older than 2.
Samira Njoya
The African digital economy is a promising sector that is expected to be worth US$712 billion by 2050, or 8.5% of continental GDP. To capitalize on its dividends, several countries are implementing digital transformation strategies. Some of them, including Côte d’Ivoire, have accelerated their plans, after the coronavirus pandemic.
Côte d’Ivoire needs more than XOF2 trillion (US$3 billion) to complete its digital infrastructure program, Digital Minister Amadou Coulibaly indicated last Friday. The official presented the estimate during a plenary session around the theme "Investing in Côte d'Ivoire", at the 10th edition of the CGECI Academy organized by the General Confederation of Enterprises of Côte d'Ivoire (CGECI) - Patronat Ivoirien.
The program includes the construction of the National Data Center and the completion of the national backbone. The two projects, slated for completion in 2025, will complement the others planned under the national digital development strategy and support economic development.
The data center will bring together, in one secure location, all the public services that the government is currently dematerializing, therefore ensuring their efficiency. As for the national backbone, it will help provide cheaper broadband -an essential requirement for enhancing access to dematerialized services and socio-economic opportunities- to every household.
According to Minister Amadou Coulibaly, a National Digitalization Committee will be set up to coordinate digital development activities. He added that the Prime Minister would launch the committee’s activities in the coming months.
The projects mentioned are part of the 2025 digital strategy developed under the Ministry of Digital Economy’s lead and adopted during the December 22, 2021, Ministerial council. The strategy suggested 32 reforms and 96 projects to be implemented over the 2021-2025 period. Its indicative budget is XOF2 trillion.
According to the World Bank, Côte d’Ivoire could generate over US$5.5 billion and US$20 billion from the digital economy respectively by 2025 and 2050 if the strategy is effectively implemented.
Samira Njoya
The center is launched in response to Tunisian companies’ IT security needs. The project is technically and financially supported by the United States.
The Tunis Higher Institute of Technological Studies (ISET'COM) inaugurated a cybersecurity center of excellence last Tuesday, October 25.
The center aims to train and develop the cybersecurity of various stakeholders, including students, professors, researchers, and professionals. It was launched thanks to the technical and financial support of the U.S. Embassy in Tunisia. "It will facilitate the development of academic and professional training programs targeting the public and private sectors’ cybersecurity needs, per its overseeing institution’s skills development and reskilling strategy," explained Kamel Saadaoui, the Tunisian Ministry of ICT’s Chief of Staff.
The center is in line with Tunisia’s ambition to train cybersecurity specialists to meet companies’ needs. It was specifically set up to meet that need and serve companies in various sectors, including tech and telecom firms. The center will also conduct accreditation and certification programs.
Vanessa Ngono Atangana
A few years ago, the Republic of Congo kicked off its digital transformation plan. However, several areas are still left out of the benefits of those digital transformation projects because they are not yet to be fully connected to the internet.
UNESCO and Congolese authorities will carry out the first study on universal internet access in the country. The study was announced, last Monday, by Fatoumata Barry Marega (photo, left), UNESCO resident representative, during an audience with Leon Juste Ibombo (photo, right), the Congolese Minister of Posts, Telecommunications and Digital Economy.
"In just a year, the Republic of Congo gained twenty-six points in the ranking of countries that facilitate access to digital technologies. The progress is due to the digital transition, which is one of the priorities of the 2022-2026 National Development Plan," said Fatoumata Barry Marega.
In recent years, the country has taken several actions to advance its digital transformation and internet coverage. According to the latest DataReportal report published in February, Congo's Internet penetration rate was 25.4% in early 2022. Kepios' analysis indicates that, in Congo, the number of Internet users increased by 276,000 (+23.4%) between 2021 and 2022. This means that 4.27 million people were still not using the internet in the country at the time.
The study announced by UNESCO could begin in November. It aims to understand and assess the complexity of internet growth and its impact on the country’s development. It will also allow a proper diagnosis and suggest adequate solutions to solve the territorial digital divide and allow everyone to have access to the internet in Congo.
During the audience with Minister Leon Juste Ibombo, the UNESCO resident representative also announced several other digital projects to be carried out in partnership with Congo. They include a program aimed at introducing students to coding and artificial intelligence and the project to create the first digital educational TV in Congo.
The projects are part of the National Strategy for the Development of the Digital Economy called Congo Digital 2025. It aims to ensure that everyone can reap the benefit of digital progress in the country. “To achieve that ambition, we must ensure the national territory is fully covered,” said Leon Juste Ibombo in 2019 at the launch of the Congo Digital Strategy.
Samira Njoya
Many African countries have embraced remote education to address the challenges related to education in their education systems. However, the unavailability of infrastructure and advanced services that would enable easy access to remote learning remain major issues.
On Tuesday, October 25, Benin officially launched the Africa digital Campus project. The consortium agreement for the implementation of this project was signed by the Institute of Research for Development (IRD), the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), the French Development Agency (AFD), the Virtual University of Burkina Faso and the Agency for Information Systems and Digital (ASIN).
The project, funded by AFD and carried out by IRD and the West and Central African Research and Education Network (WACREN) in partnership with the AUF, aims to promote the continuity and quality of higher education in West Africa by improving local universities’ network infrastructure and e-learning offering.
"In its pilot phase, the Africa Digital Campus project will allow the deployment of distance learning by strengthening the e-learning offer of two universities in West Africa: the Virtual University of Burkina Faso (UVBF) and the National Institute of Industrial Technology of Lokossa (INSTI), Benin,” the Beninese government explains.
The two-year project will strengthen the online training offer, the development of digital infrastructure, and access to connectivity within the two targeted higher education institutions in a post-Covid-19 context.
It is in line with the Beninese government’s plan to develop digital technologies to improve higher education. It will impact a thousand students in the country. The project complements government initiatives such as the Beninese Education and Research Network (RBER). In its pilot phase, the RBER allowed the interconnection of ten universities with services such as connectivity, IP telephony, and videoconferencing; and the e-Learning project, in its pilot phase.
Samira Njoya
Africa is currently home to a burgeoning innovative youth population, increasingly looking for support in their entrepreneurship. Orange, which believes in the social impact of technology companies, is more than ever committed to supporting them through various actions.
iRole!, Kamioun, Biomass4GLC, LifeBlood, and Abana are the winners of the international phase of the twelfth edition of the Orange Social Venture Prize 2022 in Africa and the Middle East (POESAM). The winners were unveiled, today, October 26 in Kigali, Rwanda, on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress Africa, which takes place from October 25 to 27, 2022.
The International Women's Prize went to the Jordanian start-up iRole!, which wins €20,000 for its digital platform that connects women looking for remote work with organizations looking for workers.
The International Grand Prize was won by Sierra Leonean start-up LifeBlood, which won a check of €25,000 for its digital health platform designed to solve the acute shortage of blood products in the country's healthcare delivery system.
The second prize of €15,000 was won by the Malian start-up Biomass4GLC, which specializes in the production and distribution of cooking biogas through the leasing of connected devices.
Finally, the third prize of €10,000 went to the Tunisian company Kamioun, which offers an e-commerce platform that helps retailers easily source products in Tunisia.
For the second time in 12 years, POESAM awarded a special jury prize to a start-up that stands out for its impact. The prize went to Abana, a digital marketplace from the Democratic Republic of Congo dedicated to clothing designers and buyers, which won the sum of €10,000.
During the award ceremony presided over by Elizabeth Tchoungui (photo), MD of Orange Foundation, and Brelotte Ba, Executive Vice President of Orange Middle East & Africa, it was revealed that nearly 1,400 applications were received from the 17 countries that took part in this year’s edition of the POESAM.
From 2011, when POESAM was launched, to date, Orange has spent over €600,000 to support more than 30 winners and facilitate access to its experts and partners for more than 90 entrepreneurs.
Africa is gradually establishing itself as one of the strong cryptocurrency markets. This makes complying with national and international regulations a requirement for actors looking to capitalize on the market.
Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange Yellow Card announced, Tuesday, it secured a virtual asset service provider license to operate in Botswana. The license, per Section 11 of the Virtual Assets Act 2022, was issued by the Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) on September 29, 2022, and will become the standard for crypto operations in the country.
The license officially authorizes Yellow Card to facilitate bitcoin sales and purchases for its users in Botswana. According to Chris Maurice, CEO, and co-founder of Yellow Card, this is an important milestone for the company, as it will open up "greater channels of expansion with regards to payment partners, banking and expanding our client base across Africa.”
“This will further show regulators in other markets that we are not just any other cryptocurrency company – we are pioneering, pushing boundaries, and setting the standard. All the more reason for them to work together with us as well,” he added.
Botswana is one of the few countries in the world to take significant steps to regulate cryptocurrencies and digital tokens. Last February, the government passed a bill to regulate cryptocurrency and digital token trades in the country, all in a bid to combat money laundering.
Despite its about two million population, Botswana has significant purchasing power thanks to its currency (the pula), which is stronger than most African currencies. The population is constantly looking for innovation, hence the adoption of digital currency. According to gobitcoin.io, an African Bitcoin news site, Botswana is one of the top Bitcoin users in Africa alongside Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and most recently the Central African Republic.
The newly regulated firm, Yellow Card, says it also complies with key global regulations, including anti-money laundering and know-your-customer requirements under the Travel Rule introduced by the Financial Action Task Force.
Samira Njoya
The startup launched in London last August. It operates a 100% electric vehicle lease-purchase model, which gives mobility entrepreneurs access to new zero-emission vehicles for a fixed weekly fee.
Mobility financing startup Moove Africa announced a £15 million, or US$16.9 million financing secured from Emso Asset Management.
The financing will help Moove expand its UK operations after a successful launch in August. The startup also plans to grow to 10,000 vehicles by the end of 2025 and become Uber's largest electric vehicle (EV) partner in London.
“This financing comes at a really exciting time for Moove. With our international expansion underway in the UK and India, we’ve already shown that affordable and accessible vehicle financing for mobility entrepreneurs is a global challenge and one we’re committed to solving at Moove. We’re looking forward to scaling up our operations in the UK to enable drivers to transition to electric vehicles to drive forward the electrification of mobility," commented Ladi Delano, Moove Africa co-founder, and co-CEO.
Last March, the company began its global expansion after raising US$105 million in a Series A2 round of equity and debt financing. It supplemented that funding with US$20 million raised from the U.K. government's development finance institution, British International Investment (BII), formerly known as CDC Group.
To date, the vehicles (cars, trucks, and motorcycles) financed by the fintech startup have completed more than three million trips in nine markets including Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Nairobi, and Ibadan.
In London, its operations will help Uber progress toward its goal of becoming an all-electric platform in the UK capital by 2025. To facilitate this transition to EVs in London, Moove has launched Moove Charge, the first end-to-end charging experience and comprehensive EV charging network app specifically for rideshare drivers.
Samira Njoya
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Over the years, observation satellites have demonstrated their importance in data collection for effective decision-making. In Africa, which has possibly the lowest number of observation satellites, they can accelerate in several sectors, including agriculture.
Zimbabwe's Zimsat-1 and Uganda's PearlAfricaSat-1 nano-satellites are slated to be launched into space on November 6, 2022. They will be launched from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Commercial Space Launch Facility in Virginia. Zimbabwe and Uganda have finalized preparations for the launch, we learn.
The nano-satellites will fly aboard the Northrop Grumman (NG-18 Cygnus), which will deliver them to the International Space Station (ISS). Then, they will be deployed into orbit.
According to Melissa Gaskil of the International Space Station Program Research Office at the Johnson Space Center, "the statistical data collected could help distinguish bare ground from forest and farmland and possibly indicate the quality of agricultural growth."
They could therefore help improve the livelihoods of the citizens of Uganda and Zimbabwe, she added.
The launch of the first Zimbabwean and Ugandan satellites is part of the 5th phase of the joint global multi-nation Birds project (BIRDS-5 project). It is a constellation of two 1U CubeSats (Zimsat-1 and PearlAfricaSat-1) and the 2U CubeSat (TAKA) developed by Japan, which will also be launched into space with African equipment. Fourteen countries have already participated in the BIRDS program, launched in 2015 and led by the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech).
BIRDS also introduces students from developing countries to satellite development, laying the groundwork for similar space technology projects in their home countries for future sustainable space programs.
“BIRDS-5 performs multispectral observations of the Earth using a commercial camera and demonstrates a high-energy electronic measuring instrument,” we learn.
Muriel Edjo
The D4D project is part of the Horn of Africa Initiative, which aims to identify common cybersecurity and public services digitalization challenges in the Horn of Africa.
Four international institutions recently launched the program Digital for Development ( D4D), which aims to support the digital transformation of countries in the Horn of Africa, in Djibouti. They are namely the European Union, Expertise France (EF), GIZ, and the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP).
The training workshop on the first pillar of its roadmap (Djibouti Smart Nation) began on Sunday, October 23 in Djibouti under the guidance of Minister Delegate in charge of Digital Economy and Innovation Mariam Hamadou (photo, center), and the EU Head of Cooperation in Djibouti, Simona Schlede (photo, right).
“This workshop will provide an opportunity to present the #GovStack approach, the European initiative that helps public administrations build their digital infrastructure networks based on an approach prioritizing and classifying services in interoperable blocks,” reads a Tweet by the European Union’s delegation in Djibouti.
“GovStack building blocks include software components such as security, registration, authentication, digital payments, digital identity, shared data repositories, content management, and data collection,” Mariam Hamadou explained.
The D4D is a 3-year program with an €11 million budget (€10 million will be provided by the European Commission and €1 million by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development-BMZ). It will benefit three countries, namely, Djibouti, Kenya, and Somalia. It will enable the beneficiaries to undertake the first strategic, institutional, regulatory and humanitarian steps necessary to establish digital government services that can boost regional harmony. It also focuses on cybersecurity reinforcement.
Ten directorates from various Djiboutian institutions have taken part in the workshop. They include the Single Window, the Central Purchasing Center for Essential Medicines and Medical Consumables (CAME), and the Ministry of Labor.
The D4D program is part of the Horn of Africa Initiative launched in October 2019 by the governments of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, and Somalia. It aims to identify and harmonize approaches to addressing the region's common cybersecurity and public service digitization challenges.
Samira Njoya
Since its launch in 2016, the initiative supported by DS Avocats, Honoris United Universities, Inetum, Meridiam, Roland Berger, and Société Générale, has already supported 718 female entrepreneurs.
Women In Africa (WIA), an international platform supporting African women entrepreneurs, unveiled the 51 country laureates of the 6th edition of its annual pan-African entrepreneurial project competition (WIA54) on Tuesday, October 18. For this sixth edition, the platform received more than 7,500 applications and 503 finalists were selected.
“[...]The best candidates from the mentoring and training phase will participate in a Pitch competition in June 2023 that will give them access to investors and seed capital. This will be a unique opportunity to demonstrate business knowledge, convince the jury of the viability of their business project and raise funds to deploy their structure,” the WIA announced previously.
The 51 country laureates “will have the opportunity to join an MBA program of [the WIA] partner Honoris United Universities.” They will “also benefit from a communication highlight worth €5,000 on the WIA social networks” while the best female entrepreneur will also receive a €10,000 prize.
Through WIA54, Women In Africa aims to support 10,000 businesswomen from a range of sectors such as agriculture and agritech, food and foodtech, education and edutech, fintech, environment, and sustainable development, beauty, and creative industries by 2030. The goal is to help create 100,000 jobs and generate US$10 billion in revenue for the African economy.
According to WIA, this focus on women entrepreneurs over the past six years is an expression of its belief in women’s decisive contribution to the continent’s progress.
Muriel Edjo
To successfully implement its 2025 strategic development plan, Gabon is multiplying partnerships to attract investors.
Last Tuesday, Gabon signed a partnership agreement with Asoko Insight to develop virtual DealRoom. The agreement was signed by the Minister of Investment Promotion Hugues Mbadinga Madiya, and Rob Withagen, co-founder and CEO of Asoko Insight two days after the flag-raising ceremony marking Gabon’s entry into the Commonwealth.
The digital platform aims to promote the influx of investments by providing national and international investors with an effective tool for business networking.
“[...] The launch of this digital platform sends a strong signal to investors. […] “it is an innovative partnership for our country. The acquisition of this digital tool makes it possible to promote investments and gives greater visibility to investment projects. It also allows for fluidity of information in terms of programs, reforms, and opportunities, as well as data on the profile of investors,” said Minister Mbadinga Madiya.
Gabon is a secure business environment that provides access to a regional market of 180 million consumers. It presents business opportunities in the energy, health, education, timber, fisheries, agriculture, and services sectors. In 2019, Forbes ranked the country as the 37th and 147th best country for business respectively in Africa and in the World.
The platform is expected to promote investment, give greater visibility to investment projects, and allow a great flow of information on programs, reforms, opportunities, and data.
It “will result in a faster investment process, which will have the advantage of building Gabon’s reputation as a business destination and of increasing the flow of FDI in Gabon,” the Investment Minister added.
Samira Njoya