News (1573)
Some ten years ago, Cameroon quicked-off plan to shift to e-governance. Some administrations are not making enough efforts to digitize their services but others are stepping up investments to keep up with trends in an increasingly connected world.
Cameroon’s Ministry of Public Service signed, Monday (June 13), a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with incumbent telecom operator Camtel. The aim of the MoU is to ensure the optimal availability of the online services offered to users and data security.
According to Minister of Public Service, Joseph Le (photo, left), under the MoU, Camtel will facilitate the Ministry’s staff access to the files and applications submitted by users thanks to its secure and redundant internet connection as well as broadband interconnection (via specialized optical fiber or radio waves). The incumbent operator will also permit the public to easily submit applications for civil service competitions online and allow the quick issuance of civil service certifications and the optimal management of the integrated payroll management system SIGIPES in regional offices.
During the signing ceremony, Camtel’s MD, Judith Yah Sunday (photo, right), explained that the incumbent operator would provide the various services expected by the Ministry of Public Service by leveraging its data centers. Indeed, the MoU was being worked out since May 4, 2021, when Minister Joseph Le carried out a guided tour at Camtel’s Zamengoé data center. The visit was called by Judith Yah Sunday in preparation for the operationalization of the integrated payroll management system SIGIPES.
In the past five years, the Ministry of Public Service carried out a number of digital transformation reforms to improve the services it offers users. The digitization reforms are carried out in line with the country’s strategic plan Digital Cameroon by 2020, which has “modernization of the public administration” as one of its key aims.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In 2020, the Orange Group accelerated initiatives to become a multiservice operator in Africa. In that regard, it made strategic investments, which are gradually contributing to the expansion of its service offerings.
Telecom operator Orange Côte d’Ivoire launched, Monday (June 13), its e-health platform. Baptized Orange santé, the platform was launched in partnership with DabaDoc, a Moroccan heathtech backed by Orange Group in June 2021.
Currently, with Orange Santé, users can only book medical consultations. However, additional services will be added by 2023, allowing the diaspora to pay for e-consultations or users to carry out medical consultations online.
Orange Santé is specially dedicated to Ivorian health centers and professionals. It allows them to list their services, digitize their management, and create digital health records. It also offers health professionals more visibility and helps optimize their schedules.
The launch of Orange Santé is part of Orange Group’s strategy to become a reference operator and a key actor in the e-health segment in the Middle East and Africa. With the service, DabaDoc -which has been operating in the Maghreb for about eight years now- helps Orange address the doctor shortage ongoing in Africa and sustainably impact rural areas.
By 2023, Orange Group plans to launch Orange Santé in other Sub-Saharan African countries in addition to Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Côte d’Ivoire, where the service is already operational.
Muriel Edjo
In Kenya, poor farming habits, climate change, and poor access to information are notable factors challenging the development of the agriculture sector. The MoU is signed to develop a solution that will help partially address those challenges.
The DRSRS -Directorate of Resource Surveys & Remote Sensing- and Kenyan agritech AgrVision signed, Thursday (June 9), a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the development of a smart crop monitoring platform. The platform will be powered by artificial intelligence and use satellite imagery.
According to DRSRS deputy-director Charles Situma the MoU was signed to develop “the right digital tools and usage of advanced data collection and analytics technologies that can help the agricultural sector and decision-makers in the country, have full visibility and data-driven decisions that enhance food security programs to achieve better sustainable results.”
For Oscar Mwai, AgrVision’s Chief Operations Officer, agriculture should be smart and sustainable. That is why the agritech is committed “to simplifying the remote sensing-based precision agriculture technology, making it universally accessible and practical, by using cutting-edge Ai/ML models and algorithms to analyze big Agri-data that is collected and provide highly-precise information about fields, crops, and forests,” he said.
Agriculture is one of the most important sectors of the Kenyan economy, contributing about 30 percent of GDP. It is also the main source of livelihood for most Kenyans. However, the sector is undermined by challenges including rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, extreme weather events, poor farming practices, the poor quality of inputs, and farmers’ inability to access crucial information.
Therefore, Charles Situma believes that "a full transformation in the agricultural sector is needed, in which data will play a major role for better, more timely and actionable knowledge is a precursor.”
Ruben Tchounyabe
Currently, there are over 1.3 million kilometers of subsea cables in the world. By 2030, those cables will be replaced and the network expanded. The ITU wants to capitalize on that network to enhance climate protection.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is currently developing two standards regulating the operations of SMART cables. SMART here is an acronym for “Scientific Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications.” Therefore, the cables being regulated by the new standard will provide scientific sensing in addition to telecommunication signals.
SMART cables are the upgraded version of subsea cables. They “include tried‑and‑tested environmental and hazard‑monitoring sensors in cable repeaters, which house devices amplifying the optical communication signals at intervals along a submarine cable,” the ITU explains.
“Three sensors measure ocean‑bottom temperature as an indicator for climate trends; pressure for sea‑level rise, ocean currents, and tsunamis; and seismic acceleration for earthquake detection and tsunami alerts. Sensors should be operational at all times, and all detected data will be transmitted to cable landing stations at the speed of light,” it stresses.
The ITU's standardization efforts are based on the minimum requirements established by the Joint Task Force on SMART Cable Systems, which was formed in 2012 with the support of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (UNESCO-IOC) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The new standards are expected to be completed by 2024.
According to a release published by the ITU last June 8, the first cable system to dedicate a commercial telecom fiber to environmental sensing was EllaLink, the Brazil‑Portugal trans‑Atlantic cable system. It illustrates how telecom technologies can be leveraged for development.
Muriel Edjo
In Africa, the poor internet penetration rate is partially due to the high cost of electronic devices. A Malian joint-venture framed by French and Malian groups wants to tackle that issue.
Malian joint venture Danew Talla Electronics will soon set up a laptop and tablet assembly plant in Bamako. The information was disclosed by its CEO, Renaud Amiel, at the end of an audience with Prime Minister Choguel Kokalla Maïga last Monday (June 6).
According to Renaud Amiel, the plant will supply the local and West African markets. For Choguel Kokalla Maïga, who promised the government’s “full support”, the various products assembled will eventually help reduce the digital divide and create job opportunities for the youth.
In Africa, the high cost of electronic devices is one of the obstacles to internet access and the development of the digital sector. To address the situation, Danew Talla Electronics will sell quality laptops and notebooks at about XOF65,000 (US$106.3) with models going for sale at about XOF100,000.
The plant’s estimated production capacity is 600,000 tablets and laptops annually and the production phase is expected to start by September 2022. The venture is expected to create at least 200 direct jobs and up to 1,000 indirect jobs in the long term.
Renaud Amiel explains that the Danew Talla Electronics will also train 1,000 Malians in laptop repairing and maintenance. “We will create a national network of about 1,000 people with tablets and all the tools and software necessary to repair and service our products,” he said.
Ruben Tchounyabe
The platform aims to enhance the general public’s preparation for timely decisions in case of health crises because it is the foundation for efficient crisis management.
The Ethiopian Public Health Institute (EPHI) launched Tuesday (June 7), a digital public health emergency contact platform accessible by calling 8335. Developed by the Ministry of Innovation and Technology and the Mastercard Foundation, it provides critical health information, notably regarding Covid-19, yellow fever, cholera, Guinea worm, and monkeypox outbreaks.
“In addition to providing health information, this digital technology responds to frequently asked questions through Interactive Voice Response (IVR). This significantly reduces the time health professionals at the contact center would take to respond to inquiries. The fact that the system receives and delivers messages quickly enables the provision of information to be delivered more efficiently and simply,” explains State Minister for Information Technology Huria Ali.
According to a release from the Mastercard Foundation, the “system greatly enhances the country’s current health system.” “The platform provides and receives public health information from the COVID-19 portal and District Health Information System 2 (DHIS-2), as well as other relevant data systems,” it adds explaining that the involved parties are committed to improving the platform for timely and reliable services.
“With this new digital service, the public will be able to make more informed decisions about their health. In addition, lessons learned from this digital platform will further contribute to our digital work across various portfolios. By leveraging the power of technology, we will achieve increased efficiency and connectedness across Ethiopia,” indicates Samuel Yalew Adela, Mastercard Foundation’s country head.
Ruben Tchounyabe
The new center is in line with the ambition of Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, to make the country Africa’s tech hub. It is the German group’s first subsidiary in Africa.
German electronics group Rohde & Schwarz opened its new software development lab in Kigali, Rwanda, last Monday (June 6). The lab was inaugurated during a ceremony attended by Rwandan President, Paul Kagame, on the sidelines of the 2022 ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference.
The recently inaugurated lab is both the Munich-based company's first subsidiary and research and development site in Africa. In the continent, the German group renowned worldwide for investments in future technologies (the 6G, quantum tech, IIoT, and AI) used to only carry out commercial activities.
Rohde & Schwarz will continuously expand the new laboratory as it did for its Singapore subsidiary, which has become a major Asian hub over the past 25 years. It will notably expand the scope of its operations to include cybersecurity and support to local students and engineers.
“Africa is an enormous growth market and Rwanda is a trailblazer in digitalization. Rohde & Schwarz is making a long-term commitment for sustainable growth and stability. We want to develop products for the global market together with our team in Rwanda,” said Peter Riedel President and COO of Rohde & Schwarz
Ruben Tchounyabe
With the memorandum, the two parties intend to join forces for effective digital actions. It demonstrates their understanding of the likely failure of unconcerted actions.
Smart Africa Alliance and the Digital Cooperation Organization inked, Monday (June 6), a memorandum of understanding to accelerate digital transformation in Africa. Under the memorandum, the two parties notably intend to exchange digital solutions and knowledge, create a commercial environment conducive to the development of innovative firms and empower women, the youth, and innovative entrepreneurs.
The intended actions will complement the measures already taken by Smart Africa Alliance and DCO member countries to boost connectivity (a basic requirement for effective digital transformation), accelerate digitalization in strategic socio-economic sectors, develop local digital talents and facilitate digital inclusion by 2030.
According to Lacina Koné (photo, right), CEO of Smart Africa Alliance, the MoU “will increase a lot to south-south cooperation, specifically with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.” He praised the partnership with a “like-minded organization” with whom the Smart Africa Alliance can collaborate on common objectives to enhance the growth of member countries’ economies.
As for Deemah Alyahya (photo, left), DCO Secretary-General, she expressed her belief “in the power of collaboration with like-minded organizations to enable digital prosperity for all.”
“We are very excited to activate our relationship and partnership. The digital economy is very fast in growth. We expected that by 2030, it is going to be more than 25 percent of the global GDP and now we know that by 2030, it is going to be 70 percent of the global GDP,” she added.
The memorandum was signed on the sidelines of the 2022 ITU World Telecommunication Development Conference currently being held in Kigali, Rwanda. The conference, which opened on June 6, will end on July 16. Smart Africa Alliance is a network of 32 African countries that share the common goal of leveraging the digital sector for development on the continent. Similarly, the Digital Cooperation Organization was founded by Bahrain in 2020 to facilitate a global and inclusive digital economy. Its membership includes Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.
Ruben Tchounyabe
In Africa, the stigmatization of HIV-positive people hinders the effective control and prevention of AIDS. In Nigeria, where nearly 1.9 million people are HIV-positive, technology has demonstrated its ability to improve their care.
Nigeria’s institute of human virology (IHVN) and healthtech startup Vantage Health Technologies revealed, Thursday (June 2), their successful implementation of an AI-powered project to keep HIV-positive people on effective and sustained treatment. Thanks to an AI-powered solution developed by Vantage, the IHVN was able to predict and “positively influence the behavior of high-risk HIV/AIDS patients.”
“The Patient Retention Solution is an AI-driven model that uses data from patient history to predict if patients will miss their next clinic appointment with the assumption that missing the appointment means the patient will drop off treatment as they are not present to collect their medication,” explains Annika Lindorsson Krugel, Solutions Manager of Vantage Health Technologies.
Once the prediction is completed, a list of the patients most likely to miss their appointments is transmitted to clinical staff who would then take action to prevent the likely outcome. They for instance call or send SMS to patients, and even visit the patients that do not have phones. Interviews are also carried out to provide psychological support to every at-risk patient before an appointment.
For Mercy Omozuafoh, Programme Manager for Care and Support with the IHVN, “the project has demonstrated the effectiveness of proactive tracking of Patients Living with HIV (PLHIV).” It “has made us understand the importance of interventions we are implementing,” she adds.
“The predictive model was rolled out to about 30,000 patients at the General Hospital Kudwa at Bwari in the Federal Capital Territory, the Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia in the Nasarawa State, and General Hospital Ahoada in the Rivers State,” a press release informs.
“Our estimate shows that between 1.8 to 1.9 million Nigerians are currently living with HIV/AIDS. Of this number, 1.6 million are already on treatment. So, we have 300,000 more to go,” the national AIDS control agency NACA’s boss Dr. Gambo Gumel Aliyu told The Guardian ahead of World AIDS Day 2021.
According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), one of the challenges in combating the epidemic in Africa remains keeping HIV-positive people on sustainable treatment. Also, according to a case study by Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, the main barriers to treatment adherence “included stigma, side-effects, logistical challenges, economic barriers, and forgetfulness.”
“The study found that caregiver support, peer support, and understanding one’s status helped patients overcome these barriers,” it concluded (according to a release published by Vantage Health Technologies).
Ruben Tchounyabe
The fintech’s mission statement is “to enable lenders to unlock economic inclusion for African businesses and consumers.” With the funds secured, it plans to further the mission.
Nigerian fintech startup Indicina announced, Monday (June 6), the successful completion of a US$3 million seed funding round to accelerate African expansion. Led by tech investment firm Target Global, the operation had Greycroft and RV Ventures as participating investors.
According to Indicina co-founder Yvonne Johnson (photo), the Nigerian fintech wants “lenders to be better informed about the decisions around credit so they can go to market faster with their digital products.”
“So we’ve never had a business model that included our balance sheet, which we’ve always worked with the lenders,” she told Techcrunch.
Indicina was founded in 2018 by Carlos del Carpio, Jacob Ayokunle, Yemi Ajao, Yvonne Johnson. Apart from Nigeria, it is also present in Kenya. It offers machine learning solutions that improve individuals' and businesses’ chances to get access to credit. As company insight platform Crunchbase puts it, it “provides analytics-driven credit decisions for lenders.”
The fintech claims more than 100 active clients (lenders), which it helped process over NGN3 billion (US$7.2 million) loans and disburse over NGN700 million. Since its launch in 2018, Indicina has raised some US$7.2 million to upgrade its technology and hire more talents.
Adoni Conrad Quenum
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The agency is created to improve the coherence of digital transformation projects ongoing in the country. The decision will help optimize resource utilization, they hope.
The Republic of Benin officially created, Wednesday (June 1), its national information technology development agency. The new agency, called ASIN -Agence des systèmes d’information et du numérique- is the result of the merger of four dedicated agencies. Those agencies are namely the digital development agency ADN, the information systems agency ASSI, the national cybersecurity agency ANSSI, and the Universal Service of Electronic Communications and Post (ABSU-CEP).
According to the government, the agencies were merged to answer optimization needs, in preparation for the operationalization of Société béninoise d’infrastructures numériques -the national digital infrastructure management firm-for improved efficiency, and for more rationality and coherence in state actions.
ASIN will pursue the actions carried out by its predecessors since its creation in 2016. It will notably implement digital projects like broadband and ultra-wideband deployment, dematerialization, cybersecurity, network extension, and the development of internet adoption in rural areas.
Placed under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Digital Affairs and Digitization and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, ASIN will be headed by André Loko (photo). Its board chairman is Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni.
Ruben Tchounyabe
With that offer, Kenya hopes to support bitcoin miners’ green transition. According to Ecofin Agency, several crypto mining firms have already contacted KenGen with power requests.
Parastatal power producer Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) invites bitcoin mines to settle operations in Kenya. According to Ecofin Agency, which revealed the information recently, the power producer thus intends to monetize its geothermal power surplus and promote green crypto mining.
“We’ll have them here because We have the space and the power is near, which helps with stability,” said Peketsa Mwangi, KenGen’s geothermal development director.
Mr. Mwangi also revealed that some bitcoin mining companies have already approached the Kenyan company. "Their power requests vary, some of them had asked to start with 20MW to be later graduated... crypto mining is very energy-intensive," he added.
According to Kenyan news outlet The Standard, KenGen hopes to install bitcoin mining farms around its main geothermal power plant near Naivasha (123 km west of Nairobi). The country is Africa’s largest geothermal energy producer. Its production potential is about 14,000 MW but its installed capacity is 863 MW. Meanwhile, crypto mining firms are under pressure due to their high carbon emissions as they require an outstanding volume of energy to run their mining computers and equipment. Last year, several mining companies were expelled from China. Some of them are still looking for countries with excess supplies of renewable energy.
To add value to its economy, Morocco seeks new partnerships with international partners. Its agreement with HCL is highly strategic given its reputation as the best destination for outsourcing.
Indian multinational IT services and consulting company Hindustan Computers Ltd (HCL) will soon set up a “delivery center” in Morrocco. Indeed, last May 28, during her official visit to India, Moroccan Minister of Digital Transition, Ghita Mezzour, signed a memorandum of understanding with HCL.
According to a release from the Ministry of Digital Transformation, the memorandum states HCL’s ambition to offer high-value-added IT services to its global clients from the Morocco-based delivery center. The IT consulting company will focus notably on coding, software development, and training Morrocan talents. Ultimately, HCL plans to use Morrcoo as an outsourcing hub to conquer the African market.
“Morrocco's already high internet penetration rate is growing exponentially. The country, whose population can speak Arabic, has an educated and qualified workforce. Indian entrepreneurs can capitalize on the Moroccan population’s ability to speak French to reach African countries whose population mostly speak French,” Minister Mezzour said.
The government official’s visit to India was organized to enter into strategic partnerships with large firms. During her visit, Mezzour presented Morrocco as one of the three best outsourcing destinations in Africa because of its political stability, its commercial partnerships with European countries, and its trade openness in Africa.
Ruben Tchounyabe
With the E-customs project, authorities want to improve operational and financial efficiency, in line with the Nigerian government’s, which is to “improve services, lives, and revenues with digitalization.”
Nigeria recently launched a US$3.2 billion project that will quadruple monthly customs revenues. Dubbed the “E-customs” project, it consists of digitalizing the whole customs administration, including revenue collection. In that regard, stakeholders expect the project to help fetch US$176 billion in the next 20 years.
In the framework of the project, the Nigeria Customs Service signed, last May 30, a concession agreement with the Trade Modernization Project Limited, the project consortium formed by Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Huawei Technologies Limited.
With the E-customs project, financed by the AFC and implemented by Huawei, Nigerian authorities want to leverage digital tools to improve customs’ operational and financial efficiency.
“... we’re going to become a fully digitized Service. [...] The success of this project will be on the global map. We are going to hit the ground running. It’s a very beneficial project especially as it’ll garner $176 billion for the concession period. We are likely to surpass that,” said Mr. Hameed Ibrahim Ali, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
“To the Nigeria Customs, this is going to change the entire business process. It is going to put the Customs on the best part in terms of doing business. It would remove all arbitrariness and human mistakes … ease the cost of doing business…. assist those of us who were given the task to manage with a simpler process of managing and monitoring,” he added.
For Alhaji Saleh Ahmadu, chairman of the Trade Modernisation Project Limited, the e-customs project has several economic benefits. “As the concession period begins, we wish to assure Nigerians that the revenue target of 176 billion dollars for the Federal Government will be achieved, if not surpassed. [...] More importantly, we are excited about the real economic benefits for the country, in terms of business growth for exporters and import-dependent businesses. [...] Others are improved global supply chains, enhanced industrial capacity utilization, and creation of employment opportunities,’’ he indicated.
Ruben Tchounyabe