News (1494)
Large U.S. tech firms are increasingly investing in Kenya. A few days ago, Microsoft inaugurated its tech talent hub in the country. It is now followed by Google, the world’s third-largest tech company by market capitalization.
Google announced, Tuesday (April 19), the launch of its first African development hub in Nairobi, Kenya. The U.S. tech firm also launched the recruitment of various tech skills to endow the product development center with skills necessary to contribute to innovation on the continent.
“We’re looking for talented, creative, and collaborative people who can help solve difficult and important technical challenges, such as improving the smartphone experience for people in Africa, or building products that will help everyone to thrive together,” reads a Google blog post announcing the vacancies.
According to the post, applicants must have great technical knowledge, a “passion for solving hard problems together with others” and “understand how people across the continent use their phones every day and the challenges they face.”
The African Product Development hub in Nairobi is part of Google’s efforts to support digital transformation in Africa.
In October 2021, during Google for Africa, a virtual event, Google CEO Sundar Pichai (photo) unveiled a US$1 billion investment to be rolled out over five years. The plan includes projects to provide fast, reliable, and affordable Internet access across the continent, create useful local products, and support entrepreneurs and small businesses that sustain African economies.
Muriel Edjo
The video game industry is rapidly growing in Africa. It offers employment opportunities to millions of young enthusiasts and, on November 24, 2021, by approving the organization of the international cup, Beninese authorities proved their ambitions to capitalize on the opportunities offered by the industry.
The International Africa Gaming Cup, a competition bringing together African video game enthusiasts, will take place in the coming days, in Benin. The competition was unveiled during a press conference held, Wednesday, April 13, by the co-organizers Mike Hessabi (photo, right) and Médard Djékété (photo, left), respectively founder of Nicecactus Gamer and President of Africa Gamers.
Officially, the competition will be launched next April 23 with the regional qualifying and final phases between several Bennese gaming communities. After the regional phases, the continental phase will be between the best African teams at Cotonou Congress Center during a weekend-long show in July 2022.
According to Médard Djékété, three games will be played during the competition. They are namely Clash Royal, the most played mobile e-sport game in Benin, Tekken 7- a reference game, and Battlegrounds Mobile- a widely popular action and adventure game.
The organizers were authorized, on November 24, 2021, during a press briefing, to host the first edition of that gaming cup in Benin. During the press briefing attended by the Beninese Minister of the Digital Economy, Ms. Aurelie Adam-Soule Zoumarou, the organizers claimed the competition aims to make Benin the hub of E-sports in Africa.
For Mike Hessabi, with its internationally-renowned gaming community, Benin has what it takes to become the champion of that continental competition. Indeed, many young Beninese are illustrating themselves in international gaming cups.
“We have carried out a survey on the ground and we know that there are many active gaming communities in Benin,” he explained.
Nicecactus Gamer is an “all-in-one platform for gamers of all levels worldwide.”
It can host up to 2,000 online tournaments monthly.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In 2018, the French Development Agency provided US$872,000 for the creation of an incubator in the digital content industry. This new commitment is focused on the gaming industry that has strong job and wealth creation potential.
The French Institute of South Africa renewed, Friday (April 8), the contract of Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, the University of Witwatersrand’s digital hub. The contract consecrates €450,000 financial support to the digital hub for the development of innovative and cultural industries, the creation of a video game studio incubator, and many other projects and programs.
According to Lesley Williams, CEO of Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, South Africa needs to meet the demand “where creativity and digital meet.” “There's a massive demand for African aesthetics in creativity, the world is calling for digital content from Africa and we need to meet that demand,” she added.
Through the video games incubator, Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct, AFD, and the French Institute want to foster the emergence of young talent in this digital sector with strong job and wealth creation potential. The incubator will provide startups active in the industry with access to training that will help them create market-ready products and develop their entrepreneurial and technical skills.
The initial contract was signed by the French Development Bank, the French Institute, and the South African digital hub in 2018. The ZAR14 million (about US$872,000) financial support provided by the French institute helped Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct create an incubator for innovative and creative audiovisual content. The contract provided an avenue for collaboration between French and African experts in the animation, video, gaming, virtual reality, digital arts, and music industries.
Eary this year, investment bank Drake Star Partners published a report revealing the growing volume of funds being invested in the global gaming industry. This year, the industry is expected to attract US$150 billion of additional investments. There is thus an opportunity for Africa to attract a sizeable chunk of those investments.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In 2020, Nigeria decided to boost its broadband penetration rate to 70%, by 2025. To this end, it is developing partnerships with actors that will contribute to the achievement of that goal.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and Google Global Services Nigeria recently announced their commitments to collaborating for “ubiquitous” broadband access in Nigeria. The alliance formed in that regard was revealed during a visit paid, Thursday (April 14), by a Google Global Service delegation to the NCC headquarters in Abuja.
The visit was organized to discuss possible joint actions that could accelerate digital transformation in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
During the visit, Umar Garba Danbatta, NCC CEO and executive vice president stressed the importance of such an alliance and the need to make their joint initiatives more impactful and measurable through enhanced collaboration. As for Juliet Ehimuan, country manager for Google Nigeria, she commended the consultative approach always adopted by the NCC, the local telecom regulator, to formulate policies that impact digital and economic transformation in the country by promoting optimal delivery of telecom services.
On April 7, 2022, a Google Nigeria delegation announced to the Minister of the Digital Economy Isa Ali Pantami the coming landing (by late April) of Google’s subsea cable Equiano in Lagos. Through this high-speed teleNigeriacom infrastructure, Googles Global Services Nigeria wants to ensure that Nigeria's large population has access to high-quality data connectivity in line with the government's ambitions to increase broadband penetration to 70% and ensure digital inclusion by 2025.
For Umar Garba Danbatta, the subsea cable will have a significant impact on socio-economic development in Nigeria. He also urged approved telecom operators to collaborate on the creation of more landing points inland to make sure broadband internet is accessible everywhere.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In Morocco, public notaries are not always consulted because a significant portion of the population is not aware of their competencies. For that purpose, the supervisory authority launched a digitization project to vulgarize their services.
Last week, the Moroccan Agency of Land Registry, Cadastre, and Cartography (ANCFCC) launched the digitization of services offered by notaries popularly known as adouls.
On Wednesday, April 13, the digital platform allowing access to those services was presented. It is still in its pilot phase but 25 adouls are already enrolled to document and assist in the obtention of ownership certificates, land property plans, and the payment of land registration duties.
In an interview granted, last week, to Moroccan media, Mohamed Sassioui (photo), president of the National Order of Adouls, indicated that all of the adouls active in the country will be enrolled on the digital platform, but it will be a gradual process.
The dematerialization of the services offered by adouls is part of the development program being implemented by Karim Tajmouati, since 2016, when he was appointed head of the ANCFCC. It is in line with the digital transformation efforts being carried out by Morocco for some ten years now.
For Mohamed Sassioui, digitization will ease access to public notary services but also showcase all of the areas adouls are competent.
For Moroccans, “adouls are only limited to drawing marriage and divorce contracts, and managing inheritance cases… The land registry agency launched the [digitization] initiative after it noticed the sheer number of land-related acts issued by adouls,” he indicated.
Muriel Edjo
For many development agencies, e-commerce is now one of the key factors that will boost Africa’s post-Covid-19 recovery. The momentum generated by the pandemic attracted investors from all horizons to the sector, which is growing day in and day out.
Four Cameroonians launched Kuruba.cm, a wholesale e-commerce platform last week. They are namely Pierre-Lionel Ebe, Ivan Kharl Manga, Armel Fotso, and Simon Mbelek. All four are former employees of Jumia Cameroon, which ended its operations in Cameroon in November 2019. Through Kuruba.cm, they aim to help retailers quickly source their products from reference brands and get them delivered anywhere they like in Cameroon.
“We launched Kuruba to help retailers, who are crucial parts of our daily lives, to access millions of products at better prices than what they are currently offered. We connect independent merchants with a wide range of suppliers, allowing them to easily buy their products,” explains Pierre-Lionel Ebe, CEO of the eponymous start-up that launched the e-commerce platform.
In Cameroon, there are currently thousands of supermarkets, stores, and small shops that usually turn to wholesalers, resellers, distributors, and producers to acquire their merchandise. Kuruba.cm wants to facilitate this costly and time-consuming task by allowing them to quickly contact producers and distributors.
With its online platform, the startup is positioned in a market segment with high economic potential in Africa. In Morocco, chari.ma has been doing the same thing since January 2020, with much success. For instance, it claims nearly US$2.5 million orders processed monthly. In January 2022, it was valued at US$100 million.
In Cameroon, Kuruba.cm has a warehouse and large storage facilities, and pickup points to reduce delivery time and costs. To quickly attract clients, it unveiled an aggressive commercial policy. For instance, the startup promises free delivery for orders exceeding XAF100,000 (US$164.66). It also announced discussions with financial partners to allow clients to obtain supply credits they can pay after 30 days.
Currently, the startup claims over 200 reference brands in categories like household appliances, agri-food, cosmetics, and home maintenance. Its ambition is to expand out of Cameroon once it consolidates its presence in the country.
“We are only at the beginning of the adventure because the African e-commerce market is growing exponentially and Kuruba wants a large share of that market. We want to offer an innovative, convenient and affordable online service for African retailers and help them meet their customers’ daily needs,” said Pierre-Lionel Ebe.
Muriel Edjo
It is still difficult for African video game publishers to effectively market their games in local markets. Strategic partnerships between actors of the ecosystem are rare but, the partnership between Ethio Telecom and Qene Games may be a breakthrough.
Ethiopian video game publisher Qene Games, on Monday (April 11), signed a partnership agreement with Ethio Telecom to facilitate access to its games for local users. Thanks to the agreement, Qene Games will leverage the telecom operator’s fintech solutions to ease users’ subscriptions and in-app purchases.
For Dawit Abraham (photo), Qene Games CEO, " Africa has a great potential to become a major games exporter and compete in the global creative and entertainment industry. However, the first step we need to take to make this a reality is to give African creators easy access to sell their content in the African market.”
Considered the first video game publisher in Ethiopia, Qene Games has developed games like Kukulu, Gebeta, and Feta, inspired by African art and characters. In 2021, With its first two games, Kukulu and Gebeta, Qene Games won the best entertainment app and best app of the year award at Apps Africa Awards.
The subscription and purchase models envisaged in the partnership agreement will be tested on Kukulu, which is a popular game available in four local languages. The game follows the adventures of a chicken running from its farmer.
Once successful, Qene Games will eventually include its whole game catalog, therefore making the first moves towards its dream to conquer the African market.
Qene Games and Ethio Telecom’s partnership comes just weeks after ten African game publishers formed a continental alliance called Pan African Gaming Group (PAGG). The alliance aims to create more monetization opportunities and jobs in the African gaming market.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In 2020, the Chadian government launched its 10-year digital development strategy. To ensure the successful implementation of that strategy, the country is signing strategic partnerships for high-impact contributions.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) recently approved financing for the digitization of Chad’s public services and the deployment of the country’s information system. The approval was disclosed by Chadian ICT Minister Idriss Saleh Bachar, last April 11, during an audience he granted to Deloitte and TACTIS experts. The experts were commissioned by the EIB to carry out the feasibility studies of Chad Digital Transformation Project, which includes the two components mentioned above.
According to Minister Idriss Saleh Bachar, the EIB plans to invest €150 million in the project, which also includes the extension of telecom access in rural areas, an essential component for digital inclusion.
The financial support falls within the framework of a cooperation agreement signed by Chad and the EIB, in December 2020, to accelerate digitization and rural connectivity. During the signing ceremony, Idriss Saleh Bachar explained that “high impact digitization investment” was “essential to boost (...) economic growth and social progress in landlocked Chad.”
The December 2020 agreement was signed five months after the Chadian government validated its 2020-2030 strategic digital development plan, during a workshop held from July 15 to 16, 2020.
With the deployment of its information system, Chad wants to improve the efficiency of collaboration between its institutions. Meanwhile, the digitization of public services is expected to enhance the quality of services it offers citizens.
Ruben Tchounyabe
Meshack Alloys (Photo), founder of Sendy, a Kenyan e-logistics platform, wants to facilitate trade with new technologies. The startup he launched in 2015 is already operational in several African countries.
His passion for technology goes back to childhood. At 13, he started learning computer programming at the Laser Hill Academy and the Institute of Software Technology. He then studied at the University of Nairobi’s College of Architecture and Engineering (CAE) and went on to found his first start-up, Merlloyds Technologies, in 2008. After this start-up was bought by advertising agency Multimedia Mobile Ltd, he created another one in 2011: MTL Systems–a software company that focuses on logistics, transportation, and finance.
“Making my first million had to be my ‘aha moment’. I knew right there and then that I wanted to spend time in the tech space and not anywhere else. Not just because of the money, but also because of the significance and impact of what I was building,” Meshack Alloys said in an interview in 2021.
In 2015, realizing the fragmented state of the logistics market, Alloys left MTL Systems to co-found Sendy with colleagues Evanson Biwott, Don Okoth, and Malaika Judd. From that point on, his stated mission has been to provide a better user experience for clients in the logistics industry. To successfully achieve this goal, the entrepreneur created a last-mile delivery and logistics service platform. Dubbed Sendy networks, the platform connects clients to drivers, easing package delivery.
What started in 2015 as a small packages delivery platform (using motorcycles and tricycles) quickly expanded to add pickup and truck delivery services.
The platform, which claimed some 30,000 users by 2020, serves Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Its clients include large corporations like Unilever, DHL, Toyota, Jumia, Safaricom, and CFAO. For the startup’s expansion, in 2020, Meshack Alloys and his co-founders successfully raised US$20 million in a Series-B investment round led by Atlantica Ventures.
The funds helped accelerate Sendy’s growth. In late 2021, Meshack Alloys announced Sendy’s participation in the Series A funding of Kamtar International, an e-logistics startup operating in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. In the short term, the entrepreneur's ambition is to gradually expand beyond the East African market by positioning Sendy in West Africa.
Aïsha Moyouzame
In the previous decade, the Kenyan government made significant investments to transform the country into a digital hub in East Africa. With the new plan, it is setting higher goals.
Kenya's Minister of ICT, Joe Mucheru (photo), launched the National Digital Master Plan 2022-2032 on Tuesday, April 12. Launched on the sidelines of the Connected Kenya summit being held from April 10 to 14 in Diani, the about US$45 million master plan will guide the government’s investments in digital transformation over the next ten years.
“The National Digital Master Plan, which will be launched will guide us in shaping our discussions towards a transformed digital Kenya where technology plays a pivotal role in economic development. (...) I do not doubt that with the successful implementation of the identified programs and projects in the master plan, this country can live up to its reputation as the Silicon Savannah in matters of ICT and economic development,” indicated Joe Mucheru.
According to the master plan, by 2032, Kenya will deploy, 100,000 km of fiber optic cable to connect 40,000 schools and other educational institutions, 20,000 government institutions, and 13,000 health facilities. The country will also install 25,000 Internet access points to support its youth and innovators and create 1,450 digital innovation hubs, two software factories, and two electronics manufacturing plants. Overall, the plan will help create 10,000 jobs for software engineers.
The master plan strongly emphasizes digital skills development by building the capacities of 20 million citizens, 300,000 civil servants, and 10,000 professionals.
On the regional level, it is agreed to establish a hub on future technologies and another dedicated to the maintenance of submarine cables.
“To position the country as a regional ICT hub, the plan proposes the establishment of regional ICT smart hubs as well as regional submarine cables maintenance depots. (...) To enable a one-stop-shop for all government core services, the plan proposes accelerated automation and digitization for all government core services in both national and county governments” to quickstart the digitization of 5 billion government records, ICT Minister Joe Mucheru indicates.
Ruben Tchounyabe
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For a long time, many public actors have launched health platforms that did not help efficiently take care of patients across Morocco. Now, the government wants to change things, as it is more concerned about inclusive healthcare.
During a public communication on Saturday, April 9, Khalid Ait Taleb (photo), the Moroccan Minister of Health and Social Protection, announced the upcoming launch of a national e-health system. It will provide citizens equal access to health records and other online services.
Through the new platform, the government wants to put an end to the existing fragmented e-health system, set up by university hospitals, regional health authorities, and various national health programs, said Khalid Ait Taleb. Indeed, nationwide, two programs have established electronic platforms: the National Maternal and Child Health Program and the Tuberculosis Program.
The idea of an integrated national e-health system is a recommendation of the Mohammed V University of Rabat. In a summary report on e-health in Morocco prepared by its e-health innovation center, the academic institution assessed the national health system and identified opportunities and challenges for e-health solutions that match the digital transformation strategy undertaken by the government over the past 20 years.
According to the Minister of Health and Social Protection, during the Covid-19 crisis, innovative e-health solutions boosted the resilience and responsiveness of the country's health system. The official added that telemedicine and online access to health services are in line with the country's legal framework for the protection of personal data and the practice of medicine.
Ruben Tchounyabe
Mobile operator Orange Egypt recently signed an exclusive 5-year partnership agreement with electronic payment network VISA. The agreement officially announced on Twitter, Tuesday, April 12, aims to provide Orange Cash clients with exclusive digital payment solutions through VISA virtual and physical bank cards.
Thanks to the partnership, Orange Egypt’s clients can make online and in-store transactions using Visa’s various payment services (both domestic and international services) right from their mobile money wallet (Cash wallet). It will also allow merchants to accept transactions via the digital wallet just by scanning QR Codes.
The partnership signed by Orange is in line with its commitment to “provide unique and innovative features to facilitate clients’ daily transactions as well as save them time and energy.” It will thus help Orange Egypt's clients carry out financial transactions in a simple, fast, efficient, and secure manner. It will also help the operator attract new customers and improve its position in the digital payment market in Egypt.
For VISA, the initiative is part of plans to "diversify payment methods, encourage digital payments, and support Egypt's evolution to a cashless society." In May 2017, the electronic payment network signed a memorandum of understanding with Egyptian authorities to develop the infrastructures needed to transform the country into a regional digital payment hub. So, Visa Inc. will capitalize on the "extraordinary opportunity" offered by the new partnership to pursue its growth ambitions.
Overall, the exclusive deal will contribute to Egyptian authorities’ efforts to move to a cashless society as the country is, since 2016, engaged in a digital transformation process, which was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Isaac K. Kassouwi
E-commerce proved indispensable for the continuation of business activities amid the pandemic in 2020 when the world was hit by social restrictions. As a result, the global revenue of this segment which stood at US$3.351 trillion in 2019, jumped to US$4.248 trillion in 2020, according to Statista.
In Africa, the same trend was observed with e-commerce revenues growing by more than US$6 billion to $27.97 billion in 2020. Despite the growth, Africa’s 2020 e-commerce revenues represented less than 3% of the global revenues. This reflects the continent’s low readiness for new retail opportunities.
In its report "E-Commerce and the Digital Economy in LDCs: At Breaking Point in COVID-19 Times" published on March 15, 2022, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) listed several negative factors that contributed to Africa's modest global e-commerce performance.
Lack of political interest, difficult access to the Internet, the digital divide, low investments in e-commerce activities, supply chain disruptions, lack of consumer protection and fair competition rules, and the persistent practices of cash on delivery are the main factors listed by the UNCTAD.
A glance at the UNCTAD's Business to Consumer (B2C) e-commerce index -which measures an economy's readiness to engage in and benefit from e-commerce- shows that Africa has been the lowest-ranked in the past six years. For the UNCTAD, the situation must appeal to governments and prompt them to take strong actions to make sure the continent can reap the rewards of the digital economy.
Since 2017, UNCTAD has been helping countries improve their e-business readiness. Through the eTrade Readiness Assessments (eT Readies), it helps them assess and correct their e-commerce development strategies, the quality of ICT infrastructure and services, trade facilitation and logistics available, the payment solutions as well as the legal and regulatory frameworks. It also points to the skills to be developed and assesses if there is compelling access to finance.
In December 2021, 46 eT Readies requests, including 15 from African countries, were submitted to the UNCTAD. Of the 15 submitted by African countries, six have been completed, two are still in progress, and seven are not yet processed.
Muriel Edjo
Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Digital Economy launched, Thursday (April 7), in Daloa, a digital platform for agricultural services. Dubbed AgriStore, the platform will help improve farmers’ productivity and facilitate commercial relationships in the agriculture value chain.
"Our agriculture sector must capitalize on digitization to improve operations in its value chains,” said Minister of Economy Roger Félix Adom (photo, left), at the launch ceremony attended by his peers of the Ministries of Agriculture and Promotion of Good Governance.
In collaboration with the National Agency for Support to Rural Development (ANADER), AgriStore will provide agro-meteorological information and agricultural advice to its users. To facilitate the AgriStore’s operations, the operational capacities of the Ivorian marketing assistance board (OCPV) have been strengthened to cover all the areas served by the digital platform, informs OCPV coordinator Adjoumani Boffoué. That way, he explains, the assistance board will collect information on the available stocks, their location, and prices for listing on AgriStore.
AgriStore was developed in the framework of the Digital Solutions Project for Opening Up Rural Areas and E-Agriculture (PSDEA). Funded to the tune of XOF37 billion (US$61.3 million) by the International Development Association (IDA), the development of that platform started in November 2018. It aims to make the Ivorian agriculture sector efficient and competitive by reducing production costs and improving quality.
According to the PSDEA coordinator in charge of digital services, Abdoul Karim Koné, farmers registered on the platform will periodically receive market alerts (SMS and voice messages) in the languages most spoken in the project areas. The market alerts will provide information on rice, corn, cassava, yam, plantain, shea, chicken, guinea fowl, and vegetables. The platform’s services are entirely free, he stresses.
AgriStore will cover ten administrative regions with high agricultural production, namely Haut Sassandra, Marahoué, Bounkani, Poro, Tchologo, Bagoué, Kabadougou, Folon, Gôh and Loh-Djiboua. To ensure the success of the process, required investments will be made in rural connectivity, digital services, and rural road rehabilitation, the Minister of the Digital Economy informs.
Ruben Tchounyabe