Kenya
Facebook Joins Forces with Eutelsat to Expand WiFi Connectivity Across Sub-Saharan Africa
Eutelsat Communications is expanding its use of the Express WiFi platform in partnership with Facebook to provide broadband services via satellite across several regions in Sub-Saharan Africa. With Express Wi-Fi, Eutelsat aims to connect thousands of people in rural and underserved communities spanning the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Madagascar, South Africa, Cameroon, Ghana and Zimbabwe. Express Wi-Fi is a platform developed by Facebook Connectivity that enables partners to build, grow and monetize their WiFi businesses in a scalable way while providing their customers with fast, affordable, and reliable internet access. Express Wi-Fi is used in more than 30 countries, including in multiple Asian, South American and African ...
CSOs threaten to occupy National Assembly over Electoral Act amendment
A coalition of Civil Society Organisations has threatened to occupy the National Assembly after Ramadan fasting, if the lawmakers fail to pass the Bill for an amendment of the Electoral Act. The CSOs which include Center For Liberty, Concerned Nigeria, The Electoral Hub, and Raising New Voices Initiative, issued the threat at a joint news conference on Thursday in Abuja. The Co-convener, Centre for Liberty, Mr Dare Ariyo-Atoye, who read the joint speech of the CSOs, said they were worried that the 9th National Assembly was yet to pass the bill. According to him the passage of the bill could have given them lasting legacies and written their names in gold. Ariyo-Atoye said that in the last 15 months, CSOs had consistently engaged lawmakers and appealed to the NASS to make the passage of a n...
Prince Charles pays tribute to ‘my dear papa’ Philip for devoted service
Britain’s Prince Charles paid a personal tribute on Saturday to his “dear papa” Prince Philip, saying the royal family missed him emormously and that the 99-year-old would have been amazed at the touching reaction across the world to his death. Philip, the husband of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth who had been at her side throughout her record-breaking 69-year reign, died at Windsor Castle on Friday. “As you can imagine, my family and I miss my father enormously,” Charles, the couple’s eldest son and heir to the throne, said outside his Highgrove House home in west England. “My dear papa was a very special person who I think above all else would have been amazed by the reaction and the touching things that have been said about him and from that point of view we are, my family, deeply grateful f...
Djibouti president set to extend 22-year rule
Djibouti’s President Ismail Omar Guelleh is expected to extend his two-decade rule of the tiny Horn of Africa nation as the country heads to the polls Friday. Guelleh, 73, is facing political newcomer Zakaria Ismail Farah, his only rival after traditional opposition parties decided to boycott the election. A businessman specialised in the importation of cleaning products, Farah, 56, is seen by observers as unlikely to pose a significant challenge to the strongman who has been in power for 22 years. Djibouti is a largely desert country strategically situated on one of the world’s busiest trade routes and at the crossroads between Africa and the Arabian peninsula, a short distance from war-torn Yemen. Under Guelleh, the country has exploited this geographical advantage, investing heavily in ...
African’s Reluctant to Leave WhatsApp Despite Increase in Cybersecurity Concerns
Africa’s mobile users are increasingly concerned about the mobile risks and the potential for digital identity theft; however, this is not stopping them from using their favourite messaging platforms and applications. This emerged in new research carried out by KnowBe4 among smartphone users in Nigeria, Mauritius, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco and Botswana. The survey gauged the opinions of Africa’s mobile users on the recent decision by WhatsApp to update their terms and conditions, sharing metadata with the rest of the Facebook group of companies. The survey found that not only did the majority of the respondents across Africa intend to continue using WhatsApp; but also, that their favourite alternative to WhatsApp was Facebook Messenger. Anna Collard, SVP Content Strategy &...
Microsoft Joins Forces with Tech4Dev to Teach Women Coding Skills in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Egypt
Microsoft and Tech4Dev have partnered to launch the Women Techsters Initiative in 54 countries. This programme aims to train girls and women across Africa in coding and deep tech skills, bridging the digital and technology divide and ensure equal access to opportunities across the continent. Ghada Khalifa, Regional Director of Microsoft Philanthropies MEA, was excited about the initiative being scaled to other countries on the African continent from Nigeria where the program was piloted. She says “when we empower girls and women in the ICT industry, through greater access to skills and training, we not only unlock innovation but also economic opportunities”. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_2ad.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_2ad.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } A recent report&...
AfDB approves $1.3 million grant for female financial inclusion research in Africa
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved two grants worth $1.3 million for research aimed at increasing women’s access to a range of digital financial services on the continent. In a statement on Monday, AfDB said the grants will be disbursed by Africa digital financial inclusion facility (ADFI), a blended finance vehicle supported by the bank. The grants will be disbursed to two fintech firms, Pula Advisors Kenya and M-KOPA Kenya. AfDB said Pula Advisors will use the $1 million for research of social and economic factors that impact women farmers’ access to microinsurance in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia while M-KOPA will use the $300,000 funding for research involving 500 women and men in Kenya’s Kisumu, Eldoret and Machakos counties. It said findings from the research will inform th...
AfDB approves $1.3 million grants for women’s access to digital finance
The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved two grants of $1.3 million for research aimed to increase African women’s access to a range of digital financial services, including loans and micro-insurance. According to a statement from the AfDB on Monday, the grants for $1 million and $300,000 respectively, will be disbursed through the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI). ADFI is a pan-African initiative designed to accelerate digital financial inclusion throughout Africa. It is a blended finance facility of AfDB with two financial technology firms; Pula Advisors Kenya Ltd. and M-KOPA Kenya Ltd. Pula Advisors will use the $1 million for research of social, cultural and economic factors that impact women farmers’ access to micro-insurance in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia. Mor...
NDLEA intercepts container containing two million capsules of Tramadol in Apapa port
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has announced the interception of a container load of Tramadol at the Apapa seaport in Lagos, just as 90 persons including an Indian were caught in its dragnet during raids of some drug cartels in parts of Lagos where a total of 614.396 kilograms of various hard drugs were reportedly seized. A breakdown showed that at the Apapa seaport, about two million capsules of Tramadol (precisely 1,994,400 capsules) tucked in 554 cartons were intercepted in the container, which was falsely declared to contain ceramic tiles. NDLEA Apapa Seaport Area Commander Samuel Gadzama said one of the containers bearing the illicit drug had been intercepted and seized in Kenya, according to a statement by its Director of Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi on Wedn...
Nigeria to conduct 450 coronavirus tests per local council
The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 says the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) will carry out 450 COVID-19 tests in each local government area of the country. The PTF chairman, Mr Boss Mustapha, also Secretary to the Government of the Federation, made this known at the national briefing on COVID-19 on Monday in Abuja. Mustapha said the exercise would start with the states that were in the forefront of resourcing and infrastructure. According to him, the PTF has authorised the NCDC to immediately implement the 450 tests per local government plan nationwide. Mustapha said: “We are aware that states are not on the same pedestal in the area of testing, and we shall begin with the states that are in the forefront of resourcing and infrastructure.” On resumption of schools, Mus...
Abuja chamber welcomes FCT tax harmonisation
Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has welcomed the plan by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Alhaji Muhammad Bello to harmonise tax policies within the territory in order end multiple taxations on by businesses in the territory. The President of ACCI, Alhaji Abubakar, in a statement yesterday, commended the minister for acknowledging the challenges faced by businesses within the territory due to series of levies, charges and taxes from Federal, FCTA and Area Councils. “Multiple taxations within the FCT and the larger national economy has imposed crippling consequences on businesses. “The fallout has been many failed businesses, the rising level of inflation, the non-thriving of existing ones and the lack of capacity to engage many unemployed youths. “We want ...
Tanzanian envoy denies President Magufuli in bad health
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli is in good health and working normally, one of his diplomats has told a broadcaster in Namibia, countering reports he had been flown to hospital in Kenya and then India in a critical condition with COVID-19. Magufuli, 61, who is Africa’s most prominent coronavirus sceptic, has not been seen in public since Feb. 27. Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu has cited medical and security sources for information that the president was flown to the private Nairobi Hospital in neighbouring Kenya and then on to India in a coma. But the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation quoted Tanzania’s ambassador in Windhoek, Modestus Kipilimba, as saying Magufuli was in good health and remained in Tanzania. “High Commissioner Kipilimba dismissed the reports, saying Magufuli is...