technology news
South Africa’s GDP Falls by 2% During First Quarter of 2020
Sourced from Finance Monthly. According to Statistics South Africa, the country’s economy decreased by 2.0% in the first quarter of 2020. Extending the technical recession the country found itself in in the last quarter of 2019. Stats SA’s latest quarterly GDP figures come only a week after SA’s finance minister Tito Mboweni tabled a supplementary budget in part of the country’s response against the COVID-19 pandemic. South Africa is the worst affected country in the continent. Treasury now expects the country’s GDP to contract by a record 7.2% by the end of the year, while tax revenues are expected to fall over R300 billion shorter then what was estimated in February’s budget. Fin24 reports that the global economy is likewise looking dour. The UK is reporting a 2.2% contraction between Ja...
INTERVIEW: How IBM and WITS are Enabling Data-Driven Decisions to Flatten the COVID-19 Curve
With the ongoing battle against the spread of COVID-19, it’s said that timely and accurate data could help governments stay ahead of new transmissions and ultimately flatten the curve. With this in mind, IBM Research Africa, WITS University and the Gauteng provincial government have joined forces to develop a powerful data-driven dashboard to help make data-driven decisions when it comes to halting the spread of the virus. ITNA’s Jenna Delport spoke to Sibusisiwe Makhanya, Data Scientist at IBM Research Africa, about this pioneering tool and how it’s aiding the government during this pandemic. Here’s is what transpired: With the ongoing battle against the spread of COVID-19 in mind, how does timely and accurate data assist government to stay ahead of new transmissions and flatten the curve...
GirlCode to Host Virtual Hackathon Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic
GirlCode has announced that its inaugural hackathon will be taking place – this time as a virtual event held in August to coincide with the Women’s Month celebration. The organisation says that COVID-19 has presented a unique opportunity to provide innovative solutions to bridge the digital divide, hence the seventh instalment of the annual hackathon is dubbed “Hack from Home”. GirlCode notes that the global pandemic’s impact on the vulnerable populations of South Africa is unprecedented but with various lockdown restrictions imposed, technology was and still is relevant to allow us to work, transact and to keep us connected. The hackathon’s objective is to entrench and elevate interest in coding and in turn, afford tertiary students eager to join the software industry with an opportunity ...
Microsoft and LinkedIn to Bring Digital Skills to 25 million People Worldwide
Microsoft has announced a new global skills initiative aimed at bringing more digital skills to 25 million people worldwide by the end of the year. The announcement comes in response to the global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Expanded access to digital skills is an important step in accelerating economic recovery, especially for the people hardest hit by job losses. This initiative, detailed on the Official Microsoft Blog, includes immediate steps to help those looking to reskill and pursue an in-demand job and brings together every part of the company, combining existing and new resources from LinkedIn, GitHub and Microsoft. This includes: /* custom css */ .tdi_3_d1c.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_d1c.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } The use of data to ...
LEAKED: Images of Samsung’s 5G Galaxy Z Flip
Image sourced from TENAA Images said to be showing Samsung’s newest 5G device – the Galaxy Z Flip 5G – have made their home online, reports The Verge. The pictures, first listed by China’s TENAA certification centre, confirm some key design specs including a new silver colour scheme. The images suggest that the 5G foldable device could be powered by the Snapdragon 865+ as opposed to the Snapdragon 855+ fitted to the original LTE Z Flip – “there’s still 8GB of RAM, but the batteries are listed with capacities of 2,500mAh and 704mAh, compared to the total capacity of 3,300mAh the phone had previously,” writes The Verge. MySmartPrice reports that the 5G device’s camera setup could instead sport a 10mp ultrawide lens rather than the 12mp lens on the LTE device. It’s also worth noting...
The Value of Digital Currencies During the Age of COVID-19
Sourced from Hacker Noon. “Money is no longer the commodity it was a decade ago. How we acquire money is changing, and so is the form of money,” writes John Lombela, MD of African investment and tech company Cryptovecs Capital. He says that with the changing business landscape and the digital evolution, the only way one can define their digital future is by becoming familiar and looking at new digital assets especially if they are seeking funding for their business. “Gone are the days of depending on a bank loan or family and friends investing in your business. Entrepreneurs and those seeking funding can now consider cryptocurrency lending because it offers high yielding gains through margin trading on specific exchanges by lending cryptocurrencies,” Lombela continues. This move has result...
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...
New POPI Act Regulations – Here’s Everything You Should Know
Sourced from Europa EU. Progress is being made to promote the protection of personal information in South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the commencement of parts of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The remaining provisions of the Act will be addressed once the Information Regulator assume its powers, functions and duties in terms of the Act. The sections that will commence today, 1 July 2020 and include the conditions for processing personal information, procedures for dealing with complaints and provisions regulating direct marketing by means of unsolicited electronic communication. Sections 2 – 38, 55 – 109, 111 and 114 (1), (2) and (3) commences on 1 July 2020 and Sections 110 and 114(4) will commence on 30 June 2021. What does this mean? According t...
Huawei to Launch 3 New Gadgets in South Africa
Huawei has announced that it will be launching a total of three new gadgets to its South African market – the Huawei Watch GT 2e smartwatch, the Huawei Y6P smartphone and the Huawei Matepad T8 tablet. The devices will be officially unveiled during Huawei’s first-ever livestream sale, taking place at 7pm SAST on 1 July 2020. Here’s a closer look at the new contenders in Huawei’s lineup: Huawei Watch GT 2e This smartwatch is the latest addition to Huawei’s popular Huawei Watch GT 2 Series and is designed to inspire an active lifestyle. Supported by two-week-long battery life, the device supports precise heart rate monitoring, abnormal heart rate reminders, pressure level monitoring and sleep monitoring features that allow users to understand their health status in real-time. /* custom ...
Scam Attempts on Gumtree Have Surged During South Africa’s Lockdown
British classifieds platform popular with South Africans, Gumtree has seen an increase in scams during the country’s lockdown with criminals and fraudsters benefiting from scamming people over a distance. Estelle Nagel of Gumtree says that “The pandemic has seen more South Africans sell their items in an attempt to raise additional cash, and as those listings increase, so do scam attempts.” “With lockdown, buyers and sellers are inclined to transact online only rather than face to face or without viewing an item in person and using electronic payment methods rather than cash. This does lead to more instances of fraud,” she continues. With more and more South Africans desperately searching for cash during these tough times, Nagel says, they may be less risk-averse than normal and more likel...
Liquid Telecoms Expands Reach to Rural Communities in Malawi
Pan-African telecoms company, Liquid Telecom has announced that it will provide VSAT connectivity services to mbora, a pioneering new social enterprise in Malawi that is providing free connectivity to people living and working in rural areas through community hubs. Each hub is serviced with broadband speeds of up to 36mbps, which in turn enables mbora and its content partners to digitally deliver their services to mbora users over a free internet connection. Liquid Telecom is using the latest High-Throughput-Satellite of its long-term partner Intelsat and providing an uncapped data service to mbora. mbora is aiming to build 150 hubs encircling Lake Malawi and to expand across the region and according to the companies, the first community hub is now live in a lakeshore village near Mangochi...
MultiChoice Joins the UN’s Campaign Against COVID-19 Misinformation
Sourced from Tech Central. The MultiChoice Group has announced its latest initiative in the fight against COVID-19. As part of its ongoing efforts to raise awareness through information, the Group has come on board as an official supporter of the United Nations’ global COVID-19 awareness campaign: Pause which launched globally on 30 June 2020. The aim of the Pause campaign is to highlight the dangers of sharing false information related to COVID-19. The campaign asks everyone to “pause, think and take care” before sharing information which could be inaccurate or misinformed and may have harmful effects. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_8ec.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_8ec.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } “We are in a moment of global reckoning as COVID-19 and its social and econom...
