News (1351)
Cyber security has become a major concern for African states with accelerating digital transformation. As they cannot fight the threats alone, governments are betting on local and international cooperation.
The Ghanaian Cyber Security Authority (CSA), the Mozambican National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (INTIC), and the National Security Authority of Rwanda signed, Monday (October 3), a memorandum of understanding to fight cybercrime.
According to a speech read on behalf of Ghanaian vice president Mahamudu Bawumia, the memorandum provides for a range of activities including joint capacity-building exercises and cybersecurity training, and experience sharing.
“It also entails exchange programs for staff to promote capacity building and talent development in both countries and conduct of joint cybersecurity exercises, where countries involved will learn, share, and promote effective cybersecurity practices to ensure resilience and cyber readiness on both ends,” the speech informs.
Cybercrime and cybersecurity issues are major concerns in Africa. According to a study by Kenyan cybersecurity firm Serianu, African countries lost 10% of their cumulative GDP to cybercrime in 2021.
For Lourino Alberto Chemane, chairman of the board of Mozambique's National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, there is a need for countries to cooperate to address the cybersecurity challenges.
“Cyber security has no borders, and no single country alone can address cyber security challenge,” he added.
Samira Njoya
In sub-Saharan Africa, the fight against infectious diseases is a major public health challenge. Vaccination remains one of the most effective weapons to fight these diseases and protect public health.
Japan recently contributed US$1.5 million to UNICEF to improve care for unimmunized and under-immunized children “at community level” in Uganda.
According to a UNICEF release dated October 5, 2022, the funds will be used to “roll out a digital health information system that will help reach unimmunized and under-immunized children with required vaccines, and those targeted for COVID-19 vaccination; assist health workers to plan for vaccination supplies, and track COVID-19 vaccination.”
In Uganda, the Ministry of Health faces several challenges including the lack of an accurate or near-accurate source of the actual number of children who have not received their doses of vaccine, the complexity of data collection forms, and the lack of a simplified way to view the status of supplies.
For the UNICEF Representative to Uganda, Munir Safieldin (Phd.), thanks to the planned platform, “the Ugandan government [...] will be able to better manage routine and supplementary immunization, COVID-19 vaccination, vitamin A supplementation, deworming and community nutrition screening data.”
The two-year project will directly benefit 350 health workers and 60 staff from the Ministry of Health and regional hospitals. It will also indirectly benefit 1.3 million children under five in the pilot districts of Kamuli, Kampala, Kamwenge, Lamwo, Mukono, Ntungamo, and Wakiso. “The intervention will also benefit 10 million under-five children at the national level and 21 million vaccinated children aged 12-18 years that will be vaccinated against COVID-19,” the UNICEF release informs.
The funding comes just weeks after the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD8) held in August 2022. During the conference, Japan renewed its commitment to working on Covid-19 countermeasures, promoting universal health coverage, strengthening health and medical systems, and building better health security.
Samira Njoya
In Nigeria, the security crisis ongoing since 2009 has increased the crime rate. To effectively deal with the problem, the government suggests the adoption of new technologies.
Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (photo) has called on the Nigerian military to leverage digital tools to effectively combat terrorism and other forms of insecurity in the country. The official made that suggestion on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at the 32nd convocation ceremony of officer cadets of 69 Regular Course and postgraduate students of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA)
"[...] It is clear that we cannot secure or defend a country of this size with human assets alone; we must leverage technology. [...] At a time when national resources are stretched thin, we have to come up with technology-driven solutions to address our security needs. [...] We must become savvier in the deployment of Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools to complement our human resources,” he said.
Apart from the terror unleashed by Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria since 2009, the country faces other threats such as organized crime and cybercrime. To address this, the federal government developed a national cybersecurity policy and strategy (NCPS 2021) and established a computer emergency response team (ngCERT) and a national digital forensics laboratory.
Like several other countries, Nigeria has adopted biometrics, which helps reduce identity theft, as well as facial recognition embedded in video surveillance systems in some major cities.
With Nigeria's digital transformation firmly underway, Yemi Osinbajo believes “there is no doubt that the digital domain is one of the frontiers” that the new generation of armed forces “will be increasingly tasked to defend.”
Samira Njoya
South Africa is the largest cloud market in Africa. The rainbow nation is home to the facilities of some of the biggest companies in the industry, including Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle, Huawei, Acronis, and now Google.
U.S. tech giant Google announced on Wednesday, Oct. 5, the launch of its first African cloud region in South Africa to provide cloud computing services to businesses. In South Africa, Google will compete with Amazon and Microsoft, which are already well-established in the cloud market.
The tech giant also plans to build cloud interconnection sites in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Nairobi and feed them with its Equiano subsea cable. According to Niral Patel (photo), director of Google Cloud Africa, the new region and interconnection sites will bring cloud services closer to customers, allowing them to choose where to “consume cloud services.”
The initiative is part of Google's plan to invest US$1 billion in the continent. It chose South Africa due to the high demand for cloud services and the market potential, we learn. According to Research and Markets’ "Africa Data Center Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027" report, in South Africa, cloud adoption is expected to grow by 25 percent annually and generate up to US$1.5 billion by 2024.
A Google Cloud-commissioned study by AlphaBeta Economics indicates that the South African cloud region will contribute more than US$2.1 billion to South Africa's GDP and support the creation of more than 40,000 jobs by 2030.
“The new region will allow for the localization of applications and services. It will make it really easier for our customers and partners to quickly deploy solutions for their businesses, whereby they’re able to leverage our computer artificial intelligence or machine learning capabilities, and data analytics to make smarter business decisions as they go forward,” Patel said.
Isaac K. Kassouwi
Digital technologies are key components in Senegal’s development program. Therefore, to achieve its 2025 development goals, the country has agreed to collaborate with Ukraine, which aims to become the “most digital country” in the world" after the Russian invasion.
On October 3, 2022, the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba (photo, left) was in Senegal, the first step in his African tour. The Ukrainian official was welcomed by his Senegalese counterpart Aissata Tall Sall (photo, right).
"As part of its African strategy, Ukraine is deepening its relations with African countries. Making the first stop of my tour in Senegal is a symbolic move as the Senegalese president is currently the chairperson of the African Union. My peer Aissata and I have agreed to open a new chapter of mutually beneficial cooperation between Ukraine and Senegal," said Dmytro Kuleba.
The two ministers discussed steps to intensify cooperation in information technology, digitalization, cybersecurity, trade, agriculture, and education. "I came to Senegal with business leaders, notably those active in the digital sector where our country is really advanced. We can be of great help to Senegal in that sector and we are ready to offer more opportunities,” Dmytro added.
In recent years, before the Russian invasion, the Ukrainian digital economy and ICT industry recorded strong growth. In 2021, Ukraine's IT exports grew 36 percent year-on-year to US$6.8 billion, representing 10 percent of the country's exports.
Like Senegal, the country also has an extensive e-government platform where users can quickly get administrative documents. The goal of its platform, dubbed diaa, is to make all public services available online. Thanks to this platform, Ukraine has become the first country to recognize e-passports and ID cards as official documents.
Senegal, which also has the same objectives as the "Digital Senegal" platform, can therefore count on this new cooperation opportunity to achieve its "Digital Senegal 2025" ambitions.
Samira Njoya
In 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic was raging, slowing economic and administrative activities, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced public sector digitization as a state priority. The aim was to boost the country’s resilience in crisis times.
Algeria will launch a new digital platform for public services in the coming weeks. The platform was announced by Prime Minister Aïmene Benabderrahmane (photo), on Monday, October 3, while speaking before the parliament.
According to the government official, the digital platform will expand the range of digital public services offered by the government in sectors such as public procurement, sports, and tourism. Effective access to those dematerialized services will require a unique national identification number -whose project is being implemented in all the Tunisian ministries, he added.
The platform is in line with the social and economic reforms initiated by the government, in 2020, to ensure the effective digital transformation of the government.
By accelerating the dematerialization of public services, Algeria wants to improve the efficiency of its public administration, which is key to post-pandemic socio-economic recovery. With that efficiency, it wants to ensure transparency in public management and dynamize the business environment.
Muriel Edjo
The telecom operator’s goal is to help offer digital skills to the youth, boost their employability and prepare them for the evolving job market.
French telecom group Orange and the German cooperation Agency (GIZ) inaugurated, Monday (October 3), a new "Orange Digital Center" in Liberia. The technology center was officially inaugurated in a ceremony attended by Brelotte Ba, Deputy CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa. The center, based in Monrovia, aims to offer digital skills to everyone.
"I am very proud to inaugurate the 11th Orange Digital Center today in Liberia, which is part of a network of 32 Orange Digital Centers that will be deployed not only in Africa and the Middle East but also in Europe. The objective is to democratize access to digital technology to young people - with or without qualifications - giving them access to the latest technological skills to strengthen their employability and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow," said Brelotte Ba.
The 715 square meter infrastructure “brings together four strategic programs of the Orange group, namely; a coding school, a solidarity FabLab - one of the Orange Foundation's digital manufacturing workshops, and an Orange Fab start-up accelerator, supported by Orange Ventures Africa, the investment fund.”
“All of the programs are provided free of charge and open to everyone. They range from digital training for young people, 90% of which are practical, guidance for project bearers, start-up acceleration, and investment in these,” an official release informs.
The digital center, which has been operational since January 2022, has already hosted several digital training courses and events. It also aims to establish Orange Digital Center Clubs, extensions of the coding school, in partner universities in the country. That way, as many people as possible can access the new technologies and use them to their full extent.
The center inaugurated yesterday is the eleventh inaugurated by Orange in the Middle East and Africa. The first ten were inaugurated in Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Madagascar, and Morocco. It is in line with the group’s approach to digital inclusion and aims to “empower every person to take advantage of the opportunities of digitalization and work hard to close the digital divide.”
Samira Njoya
Modernization of public services is a key requirement for the digital transformation advocated by the United Nations over the past thirty years. In Africa, which is still far behind the rest of the world, much remains to be done in that segment.
Sixteen countries are now e-government champions, the UN DESA indicates in its report "E-Government Survey 2022 The Future of Digital Government". In 2020, there were 14 champions.
In the new report, Côte d'Ivoire and Namibia have joined the list while Rwanda replaced Zimbabwe, which lost its place on that list.
South Africa, which was third in 2020, is now the first e-government champion in Africa. As for Mauritius, it lost one place to become second while Seychelles was bumped from second place to third.
According to the United Nations, Africa’s e-government champions are countries whose telecom infrastructure development, human capital, and online services rankings are above the continental average of 0.4054 points (out of 1.0000) and close to the global average of 0.6102 points.
Six of those champions are from Southern Africa, four from North Africa, three from West Africa, two from East Africa, and one from Central Africa.
In Africa, besides the champions, the ranking of thirty-three other countries was up to the continental average. Only six countries scored below average. They are namely the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan, Eritrea, Niger, and Somalia.
Despite the progress made by African countries in e-government, over the past two decades, some countries have overlooked the factor “inclusion,” the UN says.
“The groups easiest to reach have generally benefited most from the notable progress in e-government, while many of the poorest and most vulnerable populations have been left behind,” the report reads urging governments to strive for inclusion.
Muriel Edjo
Senegal is gradually moving towards full-scale e-governance. To accelerate the process, it decided to partner with key partners in the local ICT sector.
National IT agency Senegal Numérique SA and the Senegalese Information Technology Association (SITSA ) signed, Thursday (September 29), a framework agreement to boost public-private partnership. The move aims to ensure seamless digital transition and further develop digital services in Senegal.
According to Cheikh Bakhoum (photo, right), General Manager of Senegal Numérique SA, this partnership is extremely important for the country, which needs support in its public service digitalization programs. “We are aware that our engineers will not be able to complete all those digital projects all by themselves. [Therefore, the agreement aims] to build a public-private partnership whereby local private actors will boost Senegal Numerique SA’s service offerings,” he said.
The partnership will primarily focus on the liberalization of state infrastructure, allowing private companies to exploit those infrastructures. For Antoine Ngom (photo, left), chairman of the SITSA, the partnership will also focus on boosting cooperation between Senegal Numerique SA and SITSA to successfully complete the major digital projects launched by the government. “This partnership was needed as it enables us to carry out the reforms needed for an enabling environment, and implement major digital projects in sectors like digital identity, health information systems …,” he explained.
In 2016, Senegal launched an ambitious digital transformation project for strategic sectors like education, health, etc. The projects are scheduled for completion by 2025. However, three years to completion, much remains to be done. For Mountaga Cissé, a digital specialist, one of the reasons the project is not evolving as planned is the instability of ministries in charge of its implementation. Within ten years, the name of the ministry in charge of the implementation of that project was changed several times and seven ministers were appointed, he indicates.
Samira Njoya
Mauritius kicked off its digital transformation plan nearly four years ago. To successfully implement its programs in that light, it committed to finding strategic partners that will provide technical and financial support.
Mauritius and India recently agreed to collaborate on several digital projects. The two countries, represented respectively by the Ministry of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, and the National Informatics Centre Services Incorporated (NICSI) signed a memorandum of cooperation to this effect on Friday, September 23.
Speaking on the merits of this partnership, Deepak Balgobin (photo), the Mauritian Minister of ICT, explained that it will allow the government to improve the dematerialization of several public services in various strategic areas such as health, education, trade, etc. Apart from the development of communication channels -for information exchange, the two parties will also collaborate “ on best practices in the use of IT in the Mauritian government,” said Minister Yogida Sawmynaden.
Mauritius made a strategic move by choosing India as its digital transformation partner. A few years ago, India signed tech cooperation partnerships with four African countries, including Mauritius. At the time, India committed to providing strong support for the development and scientific development of the four African partners.
The India-Mauritius cooperation has already yielded positive results. In 2003, India was heavily involved in the construction of the "Ebene Cybertower" also called Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tower -since 2019- in honor of the former Indian Prime Minister. The tower, located 15 kilometers south of Port Louis, was designed and built by Indian companies. India also opened a US$100 million credit line for the project.
Samira Njoya
More...
The new funding secured six months after the agritech startup's last financing round brings the total funds it raised to US$14.4 million, including US$6.5 million in debt financing.
Ghanaian agritech startup Farmerline announced, Tuesday (September 27), the second close of its Pre-Series A investment raise. During that round, it raised US$1.5 million from social impact investor Oikocredit.
According to Farmerline co-founder and CEO, Alloysius Attah, the round will help support farmers and agribusinesses across Africa in a context marked by the war in Ukraine. “With the support of Oikocredit alongside our first-round funders, our distribution, logistics, and financing services will continue not only in Ghana but also in Côte d’Ivoire where we’ve recently begun the process of expanding our team,” he said.
West Africa was recovering from the coronavirus pandemic when the Ukraine war began. Record inflationary pressures ensued, sending the cost of living flying in most African countries. According to Issoufou Baoua, an expert food security analyst with the Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS), the number of people threatened by food insecurity in the Sahel and West Africa is rising. “We have gone from 10.7 million people threatened by food insecurity in 2019 to 40.7 million in 2022,” he says.
By expanding its African footprint, Farmerline will strengthen its agribusiness supply chain, cut costs for farmers and boost yield with the deployment of AI solutions and local infrastructure.
The startup, founded in 2013, currently claims about US$18 million worth of inputs and crops financed so far by franchising with agribusinesses and input resellers. The startup now aims to reach 300,000 farmers by 2022, a nearly 400% growth from last year, when it doubled its direct reach to 79,000 farmers (from 36,000 in 2020 and 8,000 in 2019).
Samira Njoya
In 2020, the tourism sector was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic worldwide. Amid the wave of accelerated transformation that ensued, countries, like Togo, are multiplying actions to revive the sector and make it a better instrument in their fight against poverty.
Togolese Minister of Tourism, Dr. Gbenyo Lamadokou (photo, center), inaugurated, Tuesday (September 27), the new national platform dedicated to the promotion of the tourism sector in Togo. The platform, called Togo Tourism, was inaugurated at the University of Lome, on the sidelines of the 42nd World Tourism Day.
According to Dr. Gbenyon Lamadokou, this new portal is of great importance, because it will revive the tourism sector, which was greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, September 26, the Ministry of Tourism published figures showing a 49.1% year-to-year decline in tourist arrivals in Togo in 2020. According to the figures in 2020, the country recorded 481,706 tourists against 946,376 in 2019.
The figures nevertheless show a gradual recovery. Indeed, from XOF19 billion in 2020, the revenues generated by the sector rose 34%, to XOF25 billion in 2021. For Dr. Gbenyon Lamadokou, the rise was due to a “gradual deployment of the Covid-19 vaccine, the adoption of several measures, and the easing of travel restrictions.”
The new platform aims to attract even more tourists to the country. It presents the country’s cultural and tourist potential and lists the 10 reasons why visitors should visit Togo. It is part of the national strategy to attract 500,000 tourists to Togo annually and raise the contribution of the tourism sector to 6.2% of GDP by 2025.
Samira Njoya
Niger has the highest fertility rate in the world. Meeting the food needs of this rapidly growing population is a challenge for the government, organizations, and actors in the agricultural sector.
Last Tuesday, the Digital Development Agency (ADN) and the Swiss Foundation for Technical Cooperation, Swisscontact, launched an integrated digital platform in Niamey. The platform, baptized AgriShop/Rayuwa, aims to improve the skills of the various actors in the agricultural ecosystem in Niger, but also to facilitate their access to agriculture data and information.
According to ADN CEO, Wahidi Rabiou, the AgriShop/Rayuwa platform has three components. They are namely an e-commerce feature to connect farmers with potential clients and fellow farmers, an assistance feature to advise farmers, and an information feature to inform and train them.
Agriculture plays a very important role in Niger's economy. According to the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), it accounts for nearly 40% of the country’s GDP and provides livelihoods to more than 80% of the rural population. However, farmers sometimes lack the right information on seed techniques. They sometimes don’t even have loyal customers to quickly sell their products.
The e-commerce feature, Agrishop, will correct these shortcomings by offering farmers the possibility to list their products for sale. It targets "cooperatives, input or seed suppliers, individual or professional buyers, agribusinesses, agritech and also farmers, transporters, and marketers,” Wahidi Rabiou explains.
The platform can be used even without an internet connection. Thanks to a dedicated USSD code, farmers can receive information and advice via SMS messages. They can also receive remote assistance.
The project also includes an interactive voice server accessible through a short code allowing users to listen to pre-recorded messages on useful information, and agricultural advice in French, Hausa, Zarma, and many other languages.
The development of this “groundbreaking” platform is part of two programs implemented by Swisscontact. The first program is the Promel (Local entrepreneurship promotion program) financed by the Swiss Cooperation and the PEMIJ (Promotion of youth employment and labor market integration) financed by the Dutch Embassy.
Samira Njoya
The 2-year program launched by Southbridge A&I and its partners aims to uncover homegrown innovations that have the potential to change the way healthcare supply chains and systems work.
On Monday, Sept. 26, Investing in Innovation Africa unveiled the list of 30 African startups selected for the first cohort of the Investing in Innovation (i3) program.
The selected startups include seven Nigerians, five Kenyans, three South Africans, three Moroccans, two Zimbabweans, two Ugandans, one Cameroonian, one Angolan, one Congolese, one Ivorian, one Ghanaian, one Rwandan, one Senegalese, and one Tunisian.
All of them are in the start-up or growth phase and offer innovative solutions for the distribution of medicines and medical equipment, stock management and financing, authentication, traceability, and medical waste management. They will each receive a US$50,000 grant and support to catalyze growth-oriented partnerships with donors, industry leaders, and institutions. Their market access will also be improved with the various events they will attend throughout the year.
According to Efosa Ojomo, member of the i3 Steering Committee, “i3’s focus on African ingenuity is long overdue – supporting locally-led, market-creating innovations to scale will equip the continent to achieve health gains, generate prosperity and weather future crises.”
Samira Njoya