News (1352)
By setting up a series of digital projects, Angolan authorities want to meet citizens' need for electronic services, namely to facilitate access to some public services.
Angola will invest $89 million to build the national cloud infrastructure, train technicians, and store and unify government services, Communications Minister Mário de Oliveira (photo) announced last Thursday during the official launch of the cloud project.
"It's a unified government cloud built on government data centers to provide more than 80 services," said Mário de Oliveira, adding that the project includes the migration of existing applications and the development of new ones.
According to André Pedro, director of the National Institute for the Promotion of the Information Society (INFOSI), the project includes the construction of two data centers that will cover 5,320 square meters and house 204 server racks, thus reducing electronic communication costs for the government.
The technology project will also complement the Angolan State's dedicated network, which connects all ministries and the National Assembly with a 50 GB fiber ring. It is scheduled to be implemented within 15 months and completed between February and March 2024.
It is the result of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in December 2021 between the Angolan government and the United Arab Emirates. It will be implemented by INFOSI with the support of the Ministry of Communications, we learn.
According to Mário de Oliveira, the project aims to promote the digital development of the national economy, bring citizens closer to government action, promote the use of IT and cloud services, and lay the foundations for the digital transformation of the industrial sector.
Samira Njoya
Last November, Twitter launched a similar service, allowing its subscribers to authenticate their accounts by paying an eight-dollar monthly fee and receiving benefits such as "direct access to customer service."
This week, Facebook's parent company Meta will launch its paid verification system for Instagram and Facebook users, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced last Sunday.
Meta Verified is "a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support," the CEO wrote, adding that the service will launch in New Zealand and Australia as early as this week and will cost $11.99/month on the web and $14.99/month on Apple's iOS. Other countries will get the service later.
This decision comes at a time when the social media giant is going through a difficult financial time. At the end of 2022, the company announced a major layoff plan involving 11,000 people worldwide, or 13% of its workforce. Recently, the Financial Times reported that the company is preparing a new restructuring plan that would start in March 2023.
The new feature aims to increase the authenticity and security of the group's services, according to Mark Zuckerberg. Thus, in addition to the blue tick as a guarantee of security, Meta Verified users will benefit from, among other things, increased visibility and reach on Instagram and Facebook, as well as exclusive stickers.
"As part of this vision, we are evolving the meaning of the verified badge so we can expand access to verification and more people can trust that the accounts they interact with are authentic," Meta explained in a blog post.
Samira Njoya
They are 18 in number. They were selected from hundreds of applicants who sent applications to the JFD Club, a women's network that promotes women's entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, and innovation.
On Thursday, February 9, the Women's network JFD Club unveiled the 2023 finalists of the three categories of its "Les Magaret Awards", which rewards women entrepreneurs whose innovations are addressing key global issues. From the hundreds of applications received, eighteen women were selected, including nine Africans. They are notably Cameroonians (2), Gabonese (1), Kenyan (1), Senegalese (1), Beninese (1), Egyptian (1), Ghanaian (1), and Ivorian (1) in the three categories (Entrepreneur, Intrapreneur, and junior).
Entrepreneurs
- Nelly Chatué-Diop is a Cameroonian and the co-founder-CEO of Ejara, a digital platform that allows access to investments and savings products from as little as EUR1.5 for Africans.
- Kenyan-born Maryanne Gichanga is the co-founder and CEO of Agritech Analytics, an AI-powered crop and soil management tool that uses satellite data to help farmers improve yield.
- Gabonese Alvine Yeno made it to the list with Ntchina, a community platform that facilitates blood collection.
Intrapreneurs
- Rhoda Oduro is from Ghana. She is the Business Development & Operations Manager for Developers in Vogue, a program designed to address the underrepresentation of women in the technology industry.
- Senegalese-born Ndiate Séne is the regional director of software engineering at PAPS, a non-profit organization that advocates for a better representation of African women in tech.
- Beninese-born Livia Sossou is the Director of Certification & Financing for Kumulus Water, a water services start-up that aims to provide clean water in an economical and sustainable way.
Junior
- Hend Adel, a 17-year-old Egyptian national, is among the finalists thanks to his project to modify the structure of aluminum smokestacks to reduce CO2 emissions and metal residues in the air.
- Frederic Melissa Djouka Fongang, a 17-year-old Cameroonian, created a platform that allows both residents and the diaspora to securely acquire real estate properties in Cameroon.
- 18-year-old Laurianne Yao, from Côte d'Ivoire, is among the finalists thanks to her project E-COL'LECTE, a platform for collecting textbooks and school clothes to be donated to the poorest households.
According to Delphine Remy-Boutang, president of the jury of Les Margaret Awards, a greater number of applications were received for the 2023 edition. “We have seen massive participation of young girls with applications tripling in 2023 for the Junior category. This is an excellent trend which shows the growing desire of this new generation to influence, through digital technology, a future they hope will be better," she said.
The Margaret Awards was launched in 2013. It annually celebrates women entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs in Europe and Africa whose projects and innovations address major societal challenges. The award honors Margaret Hamilton, former director of the software engineering department at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory who developed the embedded software for NASA's Apollo space program. This year, the award ceremony will take place in Paris next April 17.
Samira Njoya
Digital transformation is gaining momentum around the world since 2020. It is forcing telecom operators in various markets to rethink their business approaches to better meet new consumer needs.
Last Thursday, telecom group Orange unveiled its 2025 strategic plan. The plan, dubbed "Lead the future", focuses on four major points to achieve operational excellence for increased profitability.
Orange thus plans to improve its service quality by introducing more innovative offers that will enhance customer experience. It will also invest in more robust and innovative network infrastructures to provide access to quality telecom services to as many people as possible and strengthen its presence in the Enterprise segment (cybersecurity in particular). It will also take actions to keep growth momentum in the Middle East and Africa.
In Africa in particular, Orange plans to keep rolling out fixed and mobile networks (4G and 5G) to support socio-economic development, and at the same time maintain its strong results on the continent.
The group will accelerate the transformation of Orange Money to a digital platform model that will offer services beyond transfers and payments. The service will be offered to all consumers, whether Orange customers or not, in all countries where the group operates. By the end of 2022, the company reported strong growth in its subscriber base. With more than 29 million active users, it recorded more than EUR100 billion worth of transactions that year.
The telecom company will also continue to strengthen its local presence and its position as a multi-service operator through the deployment of its "Orange Digital Centers". The group will also invest in staff training to facilitate its employees' transition towards new professions in data, cloud, cybersecurity, or AI.
According to the plan, social and environmental responsibility is a priority for Orange in all of its markets. Through an ambitious program, the telecom group is committed to fighting global warming through its CO2 emissions reduction program. The aim of that program is to reduce the group's carbon emissions by more than 30% by 2025 and by 45% more by 2030.
Muriel Edjo
To successfully implement its digital transformation projects, Cabo Verde is multiplying partnerships with other countries. After its joint subsea fiber interconnection project with Senegal, it recently partnered with the Portuguese archipelago to promote technological innovation.
Last Wednesday, the Cabo Verdean institute for business support and promotion "Cabo Verde Digital" and Startup Madeira, a business incubator based in Madeira, Portugal, signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship and boosting the two archipelagos' digital cooperation.
According to Cabo Verdean State Secretary for Innovation Pedro Lopes, the memorandum will help empower young tech entrepreneurs and encourage collaboration and the development of joint projects.
The agreement comes at a time when Cabo Verde is preparing a major digital project. In fact, the country is preparing its EUR40 million technology park, which the government believes will boost the ICT sector by positioning Cabo Verde as an international service center and as a gateway to Africa for major international technology companies.
Madeira Island is also committed to research and innovation. In 1997, the government launched Startup Madeira to offer real support to project promoters and to work for the creation and modernization of companies in every economic sector.
Thanks to the memorandum, Cabo Verde and Madeira plan to pool their experience to identify future cooperation actions to strengthen their respective entrepreneurship ecosystem and facilitate the development of innovative and digital companies.
Samira Njoya
Orange Madagascar is stepping up investments in rural infrastructure to bring mobile services to the unconnected half of the Malagasy population. The company signed an agreement in January with NuRan Wireless to build 500 new telecom sites over ten years.
Telecom operator Orange Madagascar has signed an agreement with telecom tower builder Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) to further expand its network coverage in rural areas in Madagascar. Under that agreement, the two partners intend to deploy at least 500 base stations under the Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) model over the next ten years.
The sites to be built under this project will support both 2G and 3G. Their deployment has already begun and some are expected to be operational by the end of 2023, we learn.
The partnership comes about a month after Orange Madagascar signed a similar agreement with Canadian company NuRAN Wireless to deploy 500 telecom sites on Madagascar's east coast, as part of its strategic goal to establish itself as the leading digital service provider in the country.
The investment in rural areas is expected to accelerate Orange Madagascar's ambition, as these areas have a high concentration of unconnected people, and therefore potential telecom subscribers. According to the Communication Technology Regulatory Authority (ARTEC), only 46.38% of the Malagasy population has access to mobile telecom services. The project is expected to enable the telecom operator to reach more than one million new subscribers.
It is also expected to support AMN's ambition to help expand the mobile network in rural areas in sub-Saharan Africa with the deployment of 10,000 towers by 2025. In November 2022, it secured US$20 million from Finnfund and BlueOrchard Finance to fund that plan.
Isaac K. Kassouwi
The coronavirus pandemic accelerated digital transformation projects in Africa, boosting demand for digital tools. This creates a funding gap, which is partially filled by investment funds and venture capital firms.
Pan-African diversified group Axian announced Monday (Feb 13), the launch of Axian Investment, an entity that will manage its investments in tech and innovative companies in Africa.
According to the press release issued by the group, Axian Investment will aim to share the group's experience and provide support, directly and indirectly, to companies at different stages of maturity.
"It will empower AXIAN Group to deliver an even broader positive impact through diverse yet synergized investments, reaffirming its commitment to support entrepreneurs and create shared and inclusive values. Meanwhile, supporting Africa’s growing position within the global economy," the release informs.
The Pan-African group kickstarted the implementation of its long-term investment strategy in 2017 by taking indirect stakeholding in companies and startups. To date, it has invested in 20 private equity and venture capital funds "across the world, but with a strong regional focus on Africa."
Currently, its venture capital branch is a minority shareholder in 10 African start-ups. It aims to accelerate its activity and spread across the entire ecosystem (fintech, e-commerce, e-health́, e-logistics...). It will also create synergies with the group's other activities.
Samira Njoya
Rwanda is among the African nations with a commendable level of digital readiness. All sectors are being transformed in the country, including education.
Rwanda wants to connect additional 3,000 schools to the internet by 2024, ICT Minister Paula Ingabire recently indicated during a Plenary Sitting of the Chambers of Deputies.
Responding to questions on the project, she responded "Currently, there are 6,756 schools, including elementary schools, secondary schools, and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the country. Of these schools, about 3,000, or 44.4% of the total, are not connected to the Internet."
"We have Smart Education Project, through the US$30 million financing we got from China Exim Bank, under which we will connect at least 1,500 schools," she added.
In addition to China Exim Bank, which is supporting the Rwandan government's digital transformation project, the World Bank approved US$100 million to finance the project in 2021. The aim was to boost access to broadband internet, increase digital use and enhance the digital innovation ecosystem.
According to Minister Ingabire, most of the financial resources were allocated to infrastructure for last-mile connectivity, including Internet access for schools. "By using the funds from the China Exim Bank, and those from the World Bank, it was observed that about 3,000 schools that are not connected to the internet will have access to it by 2024," she said.
For Emmanuel Mfitumukiza, president of the Rwandan chapter of the Internet Society, Internet connectivity in primary and secondary schools will help implement a skills-based curriculum and increase digital literacy in even the most remote schools in the country.
Samira Njoya
The new digital center is the 14th launched by Orange. The 13th was inaugurated in Guinea last December.
Last Friday, telecom group Orange and German Cooperation agency GIZ inaugurated "Orange Digital Center" (ODC) Sierra Leone, the 14th ODC in the Middle East and Africa.
The digital infrastructure, based in Freetown, spans over 500m². Like the previous 13 similar infrastructures, it hosts Orange group's four strategic programs including notably a coding school, a fab lab (FabLab Solidaire), a startup accelerator (Orange Fab), and a venture capital fund (Orange Ventures Afrique et Moyen Orient), which invests in promising startups that emerge from the ODC.
According to Brelotte Ba, Deputy CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, the 14th Orange Digital Center "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 by 2023." "The objective is to democratize access to digital technology for young people – with or without qualifications. We want them to be part of the digital transformation of their country by encouraging them to become digital entrepreneurs, to create local content and thus develop the digital economy of Sierra Leone," she added.
The digital infrastructure comes at an opportune time for Sierra Leone, which recently began implementing its national digital transformation project with a US$50 million grant from the World Bank. Orange's hands-on initiative supports the government's push to leverage digital tools for job creation, skills development, and the development of new opportunities.
The center will offer free digital training to students and deploy Orange Digital Center Clubs in selected universities, complementing the education system to "give as many people as possible access to new technologies and support them in using these technologies to their full extent."
For Jens Kraus-Massé, German ambassador to Sierra Leone, the "aim is to empower every woman, every girl, every man, and every boy no matter from what background, to take advantage of the opportunities of digitalization, to get better jobs and eventually a better life for them and their families."
Samira Njoya
Broadband Internet service provider Starlink is currently pursuing its strategy to capture some 20 African markets. So far, the company has launched operations in Nigeria and is looking to do the same in Kenya and Tanzania.
The Tanzanian government has blocked the process that would allow Elon Musk (photo) and his company Starlink to provide Internet services in the country. On Wednesday, February 8, Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA)'s Director General Jabiri Bakari told the press that Starlink will have to complete essential documentation before the procedure can go ahead.
"You know, Starlink’s satellite internet involves much more issues than the way it is portrayed on social media platforms. It involves different particulars that need different requirements from the regulator in line with the type of license being applied for," Jabiri said.
On October 6, 2022, Starlink applied to provide its satellite internet services in Tanzania. After a meeting on January 27, 2023, some issues were still not resolved. The internet service provider blames the government for not communicating the documents required for the application. On Twitter, Elon Musk indicates that Starlink is ready and just waiting.
Starlink is slated to launch in Tanzania between January and April 2023, if the application is approved. The service will be available in Dar es Salaam, Arusha, Tanga, Tabora, and Mwanza. This will greatly boost the digital sector with the broadband internet connection provided.
Samira Njoya
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The Angolan tech sector has steadily risen in the past few years. To keep the impetus, the government wants to attract foreign investors who can contribute their expertise to the implementation of its digital strategy.
Last Thursday, Angola hosted a Polish business delegation on the sidelines of the Angola-Poland Business Forum held in its capital that day.
In the opening remarks, Zdzislaw Sokal (photo, right), chairman of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, indicated that his country is ready to invest in the Angolan key digital infrastructure and cybersecurity since it has great potential in the digital and cybersecurity sectors.
"We have solutions in the sectors of green energy, circular economy, waste management, photovoltaic energies, and smart cities," he said.
According to the Polish executive, Poland is a digitally-advanced country. Public and private services are digitized in several sectors including health, transportation, and mobility. Also, every year, the country releases 11,000 tech graduates on the job market and has 131 telecommunication and communication technology firms.
Therefore, with the future partnerships between the two countries, Angola can capitalize on Polish experience and assets to implement the numerous projects planned in its digital strategy.
In January 2023, China granted Angola a US$249 loan for the construction of a 2,000-kilometer terrestrial optical fiber to facilitate innovation and boost productivity in the public and private sectors.
Samira Njoya
In recent years, Benin has implemented a number of digital projects to facilitate access to basic services. This year, it intends to pursue its digital transformation.
Last Friday, Benenise Digital Minister Aurelie Adam Soule Zoumarou presented the 2023 agenda of the Ministry of Digital Economy. According to the official, "impact, resilience strengthening, and upscaling" will be the keywords in the digital sector in Bein this year.
Before the national assembly, Aurelie Adam Soule Zoumarou defended a 2023 budget of over XOF31 billion (US$49.2 million) for projects including the implementation of the newly-approved National Artificial Intelligence and Mega Data Strategy (SNIAM), the deployment of digital and e-service centers and the creation of a legal framework that will encompass the digital law, the digital broadcasting law, and the data protection law.
The agenda also includes the deployment of more mobile cell sites and the launch of 5G trials. Aurelie Adam Soule Zoumarou also announced two major reforms, namely the mutualization of efforts for the construction of passive infrastructures and the inclusion of basic digital training in conventional and certifying education programs.
The Ministry will also focus on pursuing the modernization of the state TV ORTB, launching the new state TV A+ Benin, establishing an organizational framework for the advertising industry, and the launch of digital terrestrial television with the marketing of TV decoders.
The 2023 agenda also plans for the extension of mobile coverage in rural zones and the deployment of digital community centers in eligible communities where the centers are not yet deployed.
Samira Njoya
Seventeen years after the 2006 population census, Nigeria wants to conduct its fifth census. For this edition, the country is betting on local tech firms for the supply of its digital equipment.
The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the National Population Commission (NPC), recently signed a groundbreaking US$184 million contract with Zinox Technologies, a local tech company based in Lagos. Under the contract, the local tech firm is to supply technology components and other accessories for the population scheduled for next March-April.
"It is a privilege for the Federal Government to consider us among many other companies in the world. They know we have the capacity. We are deploying all our resources to make sure it is successful," said Kelechi Okonta, CEO of Zinox Technologies.
Last February 4, Zinox supplied the NPC with about 100,000 of the PDAs needed for the census.
Between 2006 and 2010, the same company worked with the government for the voter registration process because the foreign tech companies hired by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were unable to deliver the equipment ordered in time.
At the time, it used its Z-Pad smart device (which INEC is still relying on) to lay the foundation for Nigeria's digital democracy. The successful execution of the US$200 million-plus INEC contract in 2010 positioned Zinex as a strong and skilled local firm.
Samira Njoya
The second fund comes four years after the close of the first. Like the first, it is also focused on African startups but the envelope raised is larger.
US VC firm Partech announced, Tuesday (Feb 7), the first closing of Partech Africa II, its second investment fund focused on Africa. The EUR245 million raised will "support entrepreneurs who use a combination of technology and excellent operations to address some of the hard-to-solve but very large opportunities the continent offers across all sectors."
“We had set an ambitious goal for Partech Africa II at €230M, with a hard cap at €280M, essentially doubling the size of our first fund. We overreached it with a closed amount already above the target fund size," said Cyril Collon (photo, left), General Partner at Partech Africa.
The second fund is backed by leading development finance institutions, as well as institutional and commercial investors. It will pursue the first fund's strategy, which is to identify and support early-stage and growth-stage start-ups on the continent. It will invest between US$1 million and 15 million to support the targeted entrepreneurs.
To date, Partech's portfolio includes 17 startups in 9 African countries now operating in 27 countries across the continent. They include TradeDepot, Yoco, Wave, Nomba (formerly Kudi), Gebeya, ChatDesk, Reliance Health, MoneyFellows, TerraPay, Tugende, and Almentor.
Samira Njoya