Africa By Region
Is Africa Ready for Digital Enablement?
Sourced from Redbubble and iStock. The World Economic Forum (WEF) believes that there are five hotspots that need to be targeted by the public sector in Africa and the theme that underpins them all is… digital. Digital is the infrastructure that the public sector needs to enable skills development, innovation, connectivity, economy and data-driven insights. Digital enablement is the firelighter that can potentially ignite the public sector’s ability to engage with citizens and reshape economic growth. But, according to Sina Mvoko, Managing Executive Public Sector at BCX, it has to be implemented and approached with strategic grace rather than the blunt hammer of square solutions shoved into round holes. “Digital enablement is about just that, enabling – empowering the public sector in achi...
Nedbank Takes Home 5 Accolades at the 2020 Global Banking and Finance Awards
Image sourced from Nedbank Nedbank had revealed that it walked home with five accolades at this year’s International Banker Awards for the Middle East and Africa. These awards included recognition for the Best Banking Technology Implementation, Most Innovative Digital Branch Design, and Most Innovative Retail Banking App in South Africa in 2020. Nedbank also took top honours as the Best Retail Bank in South Africa for the second consecutive year, and Nedbank CIO, Fred Swanepoel was announced CIO of the Year in South Africa in the Technology Leadership Awards category. According to Ciko Thomas, Group Managing Executive for Nedbank Retail & Business Banking, the numerous awards validate Nedbank’s commitment to constant innovation – particularly in the digital space. “Nedbank’s continuous...
Motorists Urge ‘all-in-one’ Navigation App to Roll-out Across Africa
Image sourced from Forbes African motorists are calling for the introduction of NEXIT – a navigation app that allows users to search for any combination of restaurants, hotels, shopping malls, attractions and petrol stations based on specifications like price and distance. According to Vanguard Nigeria, the app – which is currently only available in the US – “provides turn-by-turn navigation and the ability to find exactly what the user is looking for, when it is needed, particularly on the go” and is useful on long journeys or road trips. “I’ve read about this app. I [hope it] will be introduced here. It’s a harrowing experience for [roadtrippers] to just branch off at any restaurant on the way, not knowing their hygiene level or how affordable their food can be,” says Nigerian motorist, ...
New Malware Steals Facebook Credentials from African Mobile Users
Sourced from Republic Title Anti-fraud firm, Evina has revealed that a certain malware uses javascript to retrieve the login credentials of Facebook users. The company confirms that social media users in Africa are amongst those who have been targeted. This malware launches a browser that loads Facebook at the same time a mobile user is trying to open the platform – by displaying in the foreground, the user believes the fraudulent browser is legitimate. Malware and ransomware that targets hundreds of millions of mobile users worldwide can have devastating personal, productivity and financial consequences. “This new malware is particularly dangerous as it could effectively ruin your online and offline life by making off with the credentials of one of your most valued pieces of digital real ...
African Airline Industry Lost $55 Billion from COVID-19 Lockdowns
Sourced from The African Report. Africa’s travel and tourism industry have lost $55 billion due to the closure of borders across the continent in attempts to stave off the spread of the novel coronavirus. This is according to the African Union, who says that on the continent where safaris are a powerful overseas tourism market, the sector has been crushed by hard lockdowns that sealed air, land and sea borders. “The impact is really severe,” says Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for the African Union during a virtual briefing organised by the World Economic Forum and the WHO on Thursday. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_fbb.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_fbb.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “We are talking here about $55 billion lost within three months in a year when we were supposed ...
Is the Global Pandemic an Opportunity to Reimagine Urban Development in Africa?
Sourced from SA Commercial Prop News. The need for social distancing and better sanitation could leapfrog development of African cities into a more sustainable future. This is according to Duncan Bonnett, Director of Market Access & Research at Africa House, and research partner of exhibition organiser Messe Muenchen South Africa. He says that, while Africa’s architects and planners have long been pushing for greener, smarter better designed urban spaces, the COVID-19 pandemic may help fast-track moves to better living spaces. New opportunities arise from disruptions Speaking ahead of the bauma CONEXPO Africa trade show, Bonnett says “The pandemic has certainly caused delays and disruptions across construction and infrastructure development, but there are some silver linings for the se...
MTN Appoints New CEOs in Benin and Cameroon
Image sourced from Pinterest. MTN has appointed new CEOs for two of its West African operations, MTN Cameroon and MTN Benin. Stephen Blewett, the current CEO of MTN Benin, will take the helm at MTN Cameroon on 1 August 2020 when Uche Ofodile, the current CEO of MTN Liberia, will become the CEO of MTN Benin. “I would like to congratulate Stephen and Uche on their appointments,” says MTN Group president and CEO, Rob Shuter. “Both are renowned for harnessing the power of people to move businesses forward. This is evident in the significant improvements in employee engagement, as well as overall performance, at MTN’s operations in Benin and Liberia in the past few years.” Karl Toriola, VP for MTN’s West and Central Africa region, thanked Stephen and Uche for their commitment and contribution: ...
African Remittance Company Joins Forces with Western Union
Mathieu Coquillon, co-founder of Mama Money Local money transfer company, Mama Money has joined forces with cross-currency money movement and payments company, Western Union. The partnership enables Mama Money customers to send money to their loved ones around the world via Western Union’s Global Network. “When the April lockdown hit, we saw a massive drop in remittances leaving South Africa due to the restrictions on movement to paying for money transfers and uncertainty. Remittance outflows for certain countries dropped by 90%. However, we’ve seen a very swift recovery since May as economic activities began to resume,” says Mathieu Coquillon, co-founder of Mama Money. Since 2017, Mama Money has grown by over 10 times – starting with six employees to over 120 staff members today. This str...
ICC Appoints First Black Female to Executive Board
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has appointed Valentina Mintah to the executive board – marking the first time a black woman has been positioned as an executive board member in the 100 year history of the organisation. In her new role, the Ghanaian-British technology executive – who is based in Dubai – will be responsible for boosting trade ties between Africa and the rest of the world. Mintah, internationally-recognised for her expertise in trade facilitation and process automation, is the founder and former CEO of West Blue Consulting, an award-winning ICT organisation based in West Africa. Having established West Blue Consulting in 2012, she led the company to successfully develop and deliver a national single window platform for Nigeria – significantly optimising and improv...
HealthTech Startups in Africa Reach All-Time High
Sourced from Getty Images. There are currently 180 actively operating health-tech focussed startups across the African continent, according to the High Tech Health: Exploring the African E-health Startup Ecosystem Report 2020 report, released by Disrupt Africa. According to the report, this number of startups has grown by 56.5 per cent over the last three years and has seen significant investment despite the COVID-19 pandemic as more than half of all funding to have gone into the space in the past five years was transacted in the first half of 2020. So far this year, e-health startups have raised over US$90 million. “Interest in the e-health space in Africa has accelerated in the last 18 months, and with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a sudden spotlight on e-health startups,...
A Future Reimagined for African Economies Post-COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled African economies but also offers an opportunity to reinvent economic systems on the continent and make small businesses more resilient, says VP and Senior Director for Economic Growth at Creative Associates International’s. “We are seeing digital solutions and transformation and awareness among political and business leaders that we can do things now that maybe we didn’t even imagine before,” Creative’s Jim Winkler says. “The pandemic has woken us up.” Speaking at the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA)’s Leaders Forum, Winkler explains that traditional global supply chains were highly efficient, but also vulnerable to a shock-like COVID-19, leaving producers in Africa with no way to sell their products amid the pandemic. Winkler says an “unexpected silver...
The DRC’s COVID-19 Response is Based on Approaches Tackling the Ebola Outbreak
Sourced from ScienceMag. The Ebola outbreak in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was declared over today, almost two years since the first case was confirmed. The DRC Ministry of Health made the announcement after no new cases were reported 42 days since the last patient tested negative for the virus. The outbreak started in August 2018. There were 3470 cases, 2287 lives lost and 1171 survivors, making it the second-deadliest after the one in West Africa that lasted from 2014 to 2016. In a context of insecurity, the efforts to halt the 10th Ebola outbreak in the DRC were particularly challenging. Emergency teams from the World Health Organization (WHO), partner organizations, the DRC Ministry of Health and communities made huge efforts to end the outbreak. “During the...
