News (1352)
For the past 18 months, Nigerian healthcare provider Mobihealth has been working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in select states in Nigeria. The additional capital will allow the startup to expand outside Nigeria.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced Monday, Oct. 17, a grant to Nigeria's Mobihealthcare Limited (Mobihealth) for a feasibility study to support the development of its telehealth services in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt.
According to USTDA’s director Enoh T. Ebong, the partnership aims to “transform the delivery of healthcare to underserved communities across Africa using the best technology that the U.S. industry has to offer.”
It is “gratifying to see women-led businesses such as Mobihealth leading the development of critical infrastructure on the continent,” he added.
While the amount of the grant was not disclosed, the statement said the study would include a detailed market assessment, financial analysis, and legal and regulatory review for each of the four countries. The Africa Investment Forum (AIF), an initiative by the African Development Bank, will work with USTDA to facilitate the development and financing of the Mobihealth project.
A year ago, USTDA signed a memorandum of understanding with AIF to support high-quality infrastructure solutions for sub-Saharan Africa. The MoU defined cooperation areas in vital sectors such as clean energy, transportation, information and communication technology, health infrastructure, and agribusiness.
According to the USTDA release, the “project also advances the U.S. government’s Prosper Africa initiative to substantially increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and Africa.” It will help expand access to health care for 100,000 people per year in Africa.
For Mobihealth CEO, Funmi Adewara, “the USTDA grant comes at an opportune time and will enable us to expand the scope of our integrated telehealth, electronic medical records, and digitalization services to several other African markets over the next few years.”
Samira Njoya
By partnering with Pando DAO, Zanzibar wants to maximize its chances of becoming a leading industrial hub in Africa and a model of the digital economy.
Pando DAO, an African community of leading start-up founders, announced, Monday (October 17), its partnership with Silicon Zanzibar, a government initiative launched earlier this year to attract tech talents and companies.
According to Mudrick Soraga, Zanzibar's Minister of Investment and Economic Development, the partnership is important to ensure the success of the Silicon Zanzibar project. "We are excited to officially partner with Pando to co-create the policies and initiatives that will transform Zanzibar’s economy. Working with Pando DAO presents us an opportunity to work side-by-side with the leading players in the African tech ecosystem,” he said.
The first initiatives of the partnership will include the creation of an open hub for Pando DAO members and a Pando CEO Summit, which will be launched later this year. The community will also assist the Zanzibar government in developing a regulatory and policy framework that will support innovation and its digital economy, including a strategy to ensure the development of local tech talent.
The partnership with Pando DAO is highly beneficial for Zanzibar which wants to become a leading hub for pan-African tech companies. Indeed, through Pando Dao, the government is partnering with over 50 African tech startup founders, including founders of well-known startups like mPharma, Wasoko, Pariti, SunCulture, and Africa Health Holdings among others. The overall valuation of Pando DAO’s member startups is over US$2 billion with more than US$500 million raised. The startups employ over 10,000 people in 15 African countries.
According to Pando DAO co-founder and Pariti CEO Yacob Berhane, Pando DAO member companies will be supported, by the government, in their efforts to relocate to the archipelago. “We believe that through this partnership, we will be able to drive the tech ecosystem in Africa forward, with Zanzibar serving as a key part of that story by attracting tech companies and talent, and developing homegrown companies and talent as well,” he said.
Samira Njoya
The new laboratory is the result of a joint project implemented by the ECOWAS Commission and the European Union to improve cybersecurity and cybercrime combating capabilities in West Africa.
Today, October 19, in Banjul, the ECOWAS commission is scheduled to officially hand over a digital lab, for the fight against cybercrime, to the Gambia.
Officially, the lab will strengthen the country’s digital forensic and investigation capabilities. “By handing over this brand new laboratory to the Gambian authorities, ECOWAS and its partners wish to build the capacity of the Gambian police to effectively counter cybercrime in the country and to better cooperate with the other Member States in terms of managing cybercrime problems,” a release dated October 18, 2022, informs.
The lab, funded by the European Union and ECOWAS, is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, including forensic equipment (forensic duplicator and imager, forensic laptops, forensic workstation/server, etc.), generic hardware, software, and licenses.
In recent years, The Gambia has been plagued by the continuing rise of cybercrime. In 2020, the country faced a series of cyber incidents, including attacks on financial institutions, revenge pornography, and the publication of nude pictures on the Internet. Despite the measures taken by the government, cybercriminals are not backing down. According to Interpol's October 21, 2021 report on key cyber threats in Africa, the majority (60%) of the actors carrying out global False International Bank Transfers (FOVI) are based in eleven African countries, including the Gambia (which accounts for less than 1%).
To address these cybersecurity and cybercrime issues, foster cooperation between states, and take part in the implementation of the ECOWAS cybersecurity agenda, the European Union and the ECOWAS Commission have joined forces around the "Organised Crime: West African response to Cybersecurity and fight against Cybercrime" (OCWAR-C) project. The Gambia’s digital forensic lab is an offshoot of the project.
In March 2021, under the same project, equipment was handed to the Burkina Faso Central Brigade for the Fight against Cybercrime (BCLCC)’s digital investigation laboratory. Also, cybersecurity training and awareness campaigns were recently organized to strengthen ECOWAS member countries’ capacities to fight cybercrimes.
Samira Njoya
Gabon is currently implementing several e-learning projects to empower learners and facilitate distance learning.
Gabon recently crossed a new milestone in its digital university project UNG. Last October 13, the draft law on its creation, missions, and management was adopted during the Ministerial Council in Libreville.
According to a communique published after the council, the UNG will develop and popularize digitalization in the Gabonese education system. It will also support higher education and research institutions in the development of online training courses -the creation of digital education material notably- and promote entrepreneurship and digital innovation.
In Gabon, as almost everywhere in the world, the education system was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. The country quickly adopted new approaches by mostly including digital tools. The UNG will therefore set up digital spaces functioning like regional academic centers dedicated to blended university learning (distance and physical learning) in provincial capitals.
On its website, the UNG informs that its training is partially remote. It has a platform that allows students to access educational resources and online documentation, but also webinars and digital workspaces. Face-to-face meetings are scheduled for tutorials, assessments, and socialization.
The three-year training program will give graduates the opportunity to work in a wide range of e-services professions. Every UNG student will take an entrepreneurship course with insertion in e-incubators, to boost their ability to create innovative companies for socio-economic development.
Samira Njoya
The Algerian government has decided to leverage digital technologies to solve the country's transport issues. Last month, the Minister of Transport announced the launch of a new electronic platform interconnecting more than 40 public transport services.
Algeria’s Minister of Higher Education Kamel Baddari announced, yesterday, the launch of “MyBus”, a mobile app developed to allow students to monitor the university transport network in real-time.
The application -operational starting from October 23, 2022,- is a modern tool that aims “to improve the quality of university services [...] to create a conducive academic environment for students,” the Transport Minister said before the national assembly’s transport committee.
Since 2009, students have been complaining about mobility conditions, including disruption in university bus schedules and a serious lack of buses in some areas. Last April, a group of students enrolled at the University of Mouloud-Mammeri demanded the allocation of buses to resolve a crisis that has affected students for years.
With “Mybus”, the Ministry of Higher Education is trying to address some of the challenges pointed out, notably concerning the mobility of students living in rural areas. Initially, the app will cover ten routes and 26 buses out of the 5,749 dedicated to academic mobility. But, according to Minister Baddari, it will cover the whole university network before the end of the ongoing academic year.
“The app will give students [schooling in Algerian Universities] a real-time overview of the academic transport network and schedules,” he explained.
The new app is in line with authorities’ efforts to modernize the academic mobility sector to improve students’ living conditions and reduce public expenditures in that segment.
Samira Njoya
The platform is the result of important reforms announced by the government earlier this year.
Last Friday, Niger launched its national portal for unified access to digital educational resources. The platform, dubbed Edu-Niger, was inaugurated by the Minister of National Education, Prof. Ibrahim Natatou (photo, center). It aims to improve the quality of education and enhance planning and management.
According to Prof. Ibrahim Natatou, this major platform is one of the digital projects already undertaken by the government. "The portal integrates an intranet messaging system and also allows users to request leaves or permissions without [wasting time] going from one office to another with the [written] request,” he said.
"Edu-Niger" was set up to correct certain flaws in the education system such as the lack of information and reliable statistics on the sector, slow administrative procedures, and the lack of communication between actors, partners, and parents. It offers several services allowing parties to complete processes to create public and private schools, transfer students from one school to another, create school canteens or take part in two public examinations (BEPC and BAC).
Its library open to the public allows access to educational resources (annals, tests, vignettes, various exercises, capsules, guided tours, etc), and administrative resources (communiqués, decrees, decisions, etc.).
The platform is a result of the Niger-LIRE project (Learning improvement for results in education), an initiative of the Nigerien government financed by the World Bank to the tune of US$140 million. It is part of the overall strategy to digitalize the whole education system.
Samira Njoya
To increase economic activity in the country, and revive its Covid-19-affected tourism sector, the Namibian government will implement a new initiative to attract professionals.
Last week, the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) launched the Namibian Digital Nomads Visa (DNV) to welcome “smart tourists” to the country. The move aims to capitalize on the country’s digital assets to boost the tourism sector, which contributed 61.3% to GDP since August 2022.
Speaking at the launch of the Visa, Nangula Uaandja, CEO and chairperson of the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board, said the new visa aims to unlock opportunities that will improve the population’s living conditions. "We have identified that there is an opportunity to attract and gain economic benefit from people who want to work, live and travel in Namibia, without absorbing Namibian jobs," he said.
The Namibian visa for digital nomads is valid for six months and can be granted to any national or international individual. According to the NIPDB, applicants must meet several criteria, including proving their monthly income is equal to or exceeds US$2,000 and justifying health or travel insurance to cover risks during their stay in Namibia.
The country's other digital assets are clustered in a digital ecosystem conducive to remote work, although Internet costs are still very high in Namibia. In its report "Worldwide mobile data pricing 2021. The cost of 1GB of mobile data in 230 countries," Cable.co.uk ranks Namibia 49th in sub-Saharan Africa estimating that 1 gigabit (GB) costs US$22.37 in the country.
According to DataReportal, Namibia’s internet penetration was 51.0% in early 2022. “Ookla’s data reveals that the median mobile internet connection speed in Namibia increased by 5.91 Mbps (+42.3 percent) in the twelve months to the start of 2022,” it adds.
In addition, Namibia has a high e-government development index (HEGDI) and is ranked the 6th African country with the highest level of public service digitization.
By launching this initiative, Namibia becomes the 4th country in Africa to offer this special visa after Mauritius, Seychelles, and Cabo Verde. According to 2021 statistics from "A Brother Abroad", there are about 35 million digital nomads in the world, representing a global economic value of US$787 billion.
Samira Njoya
The agreement is the second cooperation activity carried out by Microsoft in Nigeria this year. In March, it announced the opening of its Africa Development center and Microsoft Garage in Lagos.
Global tech giant Microsoft will train five million Nigerians in digital skills. A memorandum of understanding was signed to that effect by Digital Minister Isa Pantami and the American multinational last Wednesday.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of GITEX 2022, the Global Innovation Exhibition which opened on October 10 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “[...] This new offer by Microsoft will go a long in achieving our dream of a digital Nigeria,” Minister Pantami commented.
"We value action once agreements are signed; we will ensure immediate commencement of the implementation. [...] We will continue to provide enabling environment and ensure that our regulatory instruments are developmental and flexible for Microsoft and other businesses to flourish," he added.
With an estimated population of 219 million, Nigeria is now the largest Internet market in Africa. Its very young population, renowned for innovation and creativity, has taken it to the forefront of innovation in Africa. As of January 2022, Africa had a total of seven unicorns, including five from Nigeria. For those reasons, the country attracts partnerships like this new MoU.
According to the minister, under the MoU, one million job seekers will be trained in the most relevant digital skills, while 1,700 master trainers will be upskilled and 200,000 learners certified. More than 5,500 developers will also learn how to leverage Microsoft Power Apps to build tech solutions under the Global Power Platform Bootcamp.
In addition, through the MoU's African Transformational Skills Portal, two million Nigerians will benefit from free digital skills that will improve the way they work, create employment opportunities and increase productivity. According to Microsoft representative Deen Yusuf, the initiative will create at least 7,000 jobs in Nigeria.
Samira Njoya
Last August, in Algeria, Emmanuel Macron and Abdelmadjid Tebboune laid the foundations for enhanced cooperation between France and Algeria in digital entrepreneurship and innovation. The memorandum seems to be one of the results of that groundwork.
French Development Agency AFD and state accelerator Algeria Venture signed a memorandum of understanding, last Monday, on the sidelines of the visit of French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne (photo, left) to Algeria. The memorandum reflects the two parties’ will to cooperate for the implementation of the Algerian government's strategic plan to develop the local tech ecosystem and strengthen interactions between the French and Algerian ecosystems.
According to Sophie Aubert, FAD country manager in Algeria, the aim is to "develop cooperation activities aimed at supporting the initiatives of Algerian incubators and accelerators nationwide. “
“We want to network actors of the Algerian and French start-up economy through field initiatives. We also want to develop joint initiatives -including knowledge production, and training programs- to support the Algerian startup ecosystem and, and its interactions with the French ecosystem,” she added.
The memorandum comes after French President Emmanuel Macron’s friendly visit to Algeria last August 25-27. It is in line with the startup/youth section of the Algiers declaration for a renewed partnership that encompasses all the major bilateral cooperation areas the two countries want to develop.
“We want to work while integrating a France-Algeria-Africa approach. We notably want to mobilize Proparco [the French development finance institution, ed. note] via its subsidiary, Digital Africa. Algeria has a developing ecosystem so, the aim is to enhance cooperation between the AFD and Algeria Venture for a common approach that is rewarding and profitable to every party,” Sophie Aubert indicated.
Muriel Edjo
In its bid to develop the Cabo Verdean country’s digital economy, the government has financed several projects in the framework of the "Cape Verde Digital Transformation Agenda".
The Red Cross of Cape Verde (CVCV) will digitize its social games, including lottery, lotto, and joker to raise more funds for its humanitarian projects. It presented the project to the Cabo Verdean government last Tuesday, October 11.
According to the CVCV president, Arlindo Carvalho (photo, left), the said project is the result of a strategic plan that places a special emphasis on new technologies to address humanitarian issues. Many novelties will be introduced, he added. They include the creation of a digital platform.
The digital transformation plan will end logistics hurdles by allowing players to place bets on the social games online, via their mobile accounts. Therefore, the CVCV will no longer have to transport physical bulletins before players can play and place bets.
The initiative will allow the institution to raise more resources for its social and humanitarian projects in Cabo Verde. The CVCV also plans to launch a continental platform and later partner with global gaming platforms.
The project, which is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2023, is in line with the government’s ambition to transform the country into a digital hub. According to Pedro Lopes (photo, right), Secretary of State for the Digital Economy, the country’s investment in digital projects like the social gaming platform is aimed at stimulating economic growth, expanding opportunities, diversifying the economy, and improving the delivery of quality services in the national digital economy.
Samira Njoya
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The news comes a month after the startup was selected to participate in the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund 2022.
Pan-African data intelligence company Stears announced Tuesday (October 11), the raise of US$3.3 million in its seed funding round. The round was led by MaC Venture Capital with participation from Serena Ventures, Serena Williams' investment company, and other investors.
“We know global professionals need our data and insight because banks, research firms, development organizations, and investors are already using our early products. Our customers tell us we are building a ‘systemically important’ company to address Africa’s data problem,” explains Stears’ CEO, Preston Ideh.
Stears was launched, in 2017, by three students who realized, by experience, that data and information about Nigeria, their country and Africa’s largest economy, were hard to come by. Combining their skills, they set up Stears to address this lack of information.
According to the CEO, the Stears website is the African version of Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters, two of the world's most trusted information providers. Stears identifies, combines, and markets the often missing, outdated, or poorly digitized data needed by traders, financial professionals, politicians, researchers, and even regulators.
In 2019, the team created Nigeria's first real-time election database, which was used by more than two million Nigerians to monitor the general election. After that experience, they raised US$650,000 in pre-seed funding.
With the resources raised during the seed round, Stears plans to collect data, perform in-depth analysis, and offer the analysis to their commercial customers in several ways beyond simply reported news. The company also plans to hire data scientists and analysts as well as industry analysts and expand in East and Southern Africa.
Samira Njoya
The second cohort is launched after the first of 30 startups from 10 African countries.
Pan-African healthtech accelerator HealthTech Hub Africa recently announced the launch of the second edition of the Africa HealthTech Challenge, a competition that awards and mentors Africa's most promising startups tackling local health challenges.
For this second edition, applications are open till October 22. The incubator will select 40 start-ups: 30 growth start-ups and 10 scale-ups. To be eligible for the challenge, applicants must focus on one or more of the following four thematic areas: cardiovascular health, breast cancer, virtual health and care, and optimizing data-driven decision-making.
They must also have teams of two or more full-time employees and be registered in an African country. “Teams consisting of both genders will be prioritized,” we learn. Growth startups must also ensure that they are not part of another accelerator program in the same year.
The 30 growth start-ups selected will benefit from a 10-month acceleration program that includes mentorship from two volunteer mentors for every start-up, coaching, and access to an interactive coaching platform, and invitations to networking events and hybrid events across Africa and beyond.
Apart from the acceleration program, scale-ups will also receive free access to world-class legal services, accounting, marketing, talent acquisition, accelerated fundraising, training, and media exposure.
The top three HealthTech start-ups will respectively receive US$50,000, 30,000, and 20,000 in grants from the Novartis Foundation.
Samira Njoya
Guinea, like most African countries, is digitizing its public administration. With its digital civil registration system, the country intends to acquire reliable data that would facilitate sustainable planning and development.
On Wednesday, October 5, Guinea launched the pilot phase of its digital civil registration system in ten municipalities.
During a workshop, in Coyah, between October 6 and 7, communal authorities and representatives of the legal, health, and religious communities discussed the process.
"Currently, we are finalizing the first module of the platform. This module consists of the digitization of the existing records (birth, marriage, and death records), the creation of a civil registration index based on the existing records, and the development of a plan for the automatic registration and digitization of future vital civil events. We are gathered here to review the module before the official handover, in the coming days," said Djenabou Touré, coordinator of the project aimed at reforming and modernizing civil registration.
Guinea faces civil registration document conservation problems. Several documents were lost due to fire and vandalism. The country took several actions to address the problems. The actions include the development of a 2018-2022 National Strategy for the Reform and Modernization of the Civil Registry with support from the European Union (EU). Despite the actions, much remains to be done.
During the pilot phase, the country will create an application that will help digitize and secure various acts with QR codes and barcodes, among other tools. The documents will be indexed (using a month-to-month index) in a central repository. "There are also plans to migrate all the remedial birth certificates issued by courts but not yet transcribed by municipalities.[We] will also do the same in health centers,” indicated Michel Luypaert, team leader for DXC, the company developing the digital civil registration platform.
The digital civil registration project began in April 2021. It is funded by the European Union under the Emergency Trust Fund and implemented by the Belgian Development Agency (ENABEL). The project -scheduled for completion in March 2024- will be implemented in Conakry, Kindia, Mamou, and the Guinean consulates in Paris and Brussels during its pilot phase.
Samira Njoya
The project aims to, eventually, interconnect all of Benin's universities and research centers with regional and international networks.
In Benin, ten universities and academic centers can now communicate, exchange, and share educational resources through the Beninese Education and Research Network (RBER). The network was officially launched at the University of Parakou last Thursday, October 6.
According to the country’s Minister of Digital Transformation, Aurelie Adam Soule Zoumarou (photo, center), the RBER is now the largest fixed network in Benin. "The RBER is not just about the Internet. It is first of all a network that interconnects universities, allows the exchange of digital and educational resources, and enables users to move from one university [or academic center] to the other and enjoy the same services,” she said.
After the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic during the academic year, the Beninese government decided to create a system that will facilitate access to information for more than 100,000 Beninese students with a broadband Internet connection, documentation, and online courses.
The first phase of the project was launched on June 30, 2022. Among other things, it enabled the construction of a campus network of 420 access points in lecture halls, laboratories, and offices. It also enabled the construction of two videoconferencing and IP telephony systems, the installation of a 1000 Mbps Internet network, and the deployment of 7,000 meters of optical fiber. The second phase of the project will integrate new services and add 12 universities to the interconnected network.
This first phase, which has just been completed, was implemented by the national information technology development agency (ASIN), under the supervision of the Ministry of Digitization. Active participants included the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research stakeholders and universities.
The establishment of the Beninese Education and Research Network is in line with the government’s strategy to make the country an ICT leader in West Africa by digitizing every socio-economic sector.
Samira Njoya