technology news
Over 1 Billion SMSs Sent since the Beginning of Lockdown in Nigeria
Sourced from allAfrica. Nigeria’s lockdown triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the usage of SMSs – the quintessential short message service used all across the world – as subscribers were discovered to have sent over 1-billion messages within the last month. Though this mass of messages was largely free, checks on some operators revealed the rate of how customers made use of the SMS platform to send messages to one another. For instance, a check on MTN showed that within the first five weeks of lockdown, where people all across the country began to work remotely. Over one billion text messages were sent by customers within the first four weeks of the pan-African telecom introducing a new free SMS package – the package allows MTN Nigeria subscribers across the country to send 1...
South African EduTech Supports Online Learning for Students in Rural Communities
Sourced from CodeXtra Trends Syafunda, an educational platform that provides access to digital content through mobile technology, has received investment funding from SME-enabler Edge Growth which will allow them to scale their platform to meet the surging need for online learning in South Africa. Syafunda, which means “we are learning” in Zulu, was the inspiration of entrepreneur Zakheni Ngubo. Together with his Durban-based Syafunda team, Zakheni is capitalising on South Africa’s high mobile penetration rate to make education more easily accessible. Syafunda partners with local content developers and publishers, setting up digital libraries in places like townships and rural schools where connectivity is limited or non-existent. The digital libraries have five terabytes of pre-loaded con...
How to Adapt your Marketing Strategy for the COVID Era
Good marketing relies on a thorough understanding of your target market, but when much of what you knew about your customers is suddenly no longer relevant, a major shift is needed. With the onset of the coronavirus, almost every aspect of what was considered typical daily life was upended literally overnight – people confined to their homes, anxious about the future and their financial security. “The most important question you should be asking is: ‘How best can I connect with my customers during a crisis?’” says Gavin Knox-Grant, marketing guru and director of Karbon Media. “It’s not only during the pandemic that business will be different,” says Knox-Grant, “the way in which we all conduct business will be forever changed.” /* custom css */ .tdi_3_556.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.t...
How Technology Can Help Youth Unemployment in Nigeria
Sourced from Entrepreneur Platform. In the second quarter of 2018, youth unemployment peaked at 38% in Nigeria. Although there are no recent statistics, experts in the labour sector say the figure has surged year-on-year. Now with the worldwide reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation has become direr as various sectors of the economy and industries stand greatly threatened including the financial and technology industry in Nigeria. Recently, companies like Andela, a software engineering talent company, laid off 135 of its staff across four locations in Africa including Nigeria. The Vanguard Nigeria reports that some financial institutions and commercial banks have had to also take measures like salary cuts to thwart mass layoffs. Another financial institution, Ren Money, r...
South Africans Ready to Disclose Their Online Activity to the Government
Sourced from Fintech News. Thirty-eight per cent (38%) of South African consumers say they are happy for the government to monitor their social media activity to keep its citizens safe – this is according to Kaspersky’s latest report, Social credits and security: Embracing the world of ratings. At the same time, 67% of local respondents were ready to reveal their private data in exchange for a unique offer in an online shop. However, for many consumers, it still remains unclear how these automated systems of data-driven services work: 55% of all the users participating in the poll admitted they still can’t figure it out. The growing popularity of social media networks and online services has led to a growth in social scoring systems – automated algorithms based on users’ behaviour and infl...
MTN Zambia Invests $9.8 Million in Network Upgrade Operation
Image sourced from Pinterest. MTN Zambia has announced that it will be investing $9.8 million to boost network capacity and enable high-speed data services on 337 3G and 4G (LTE) network sites across Zambia. The site-by-site technical roll-out, which focuses on areas with the highest demand pressure, started in the Copperbelt northern regions followed by Lusaka. MTN says its customers will experience the benefits of the increased capacity immediately and that the upgrade is expected to finalise in August. The improvements are done by adding additional carriers on existing 3G and 4G network sites and upgrading current 3G sites to 4G. It also includes the activation of the 800Mhz 4G spectrum which was released by ZICTA recently. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_654.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.t...
Principles of IT Leadership 2020 goes Digital
Over the last few years, IT has become an essential part of every businesses journey towards digital transformation. In fact, Gartner reports that globally 90% of organizations are making it a priority. This means that now, more than ever before, companies are on the lookout for innovative solutions to outdated issues. Yet, despite the obvious interest, reports suggest that roughly 50% of business’s IT projects fail. And the question is, why? As technology evolves, there’s little doubt that it can provide modern and forward-thinking tools, however, it’s up to the leaders in IT to ensure that their solutions are fully understood and implemented if they want to succeed. This means that IT directors and managers have an increasingly vital role to play within organisations as they become...
Is Your Business Ready for the New Pace of Digital Transformation?
Sourced from Syspro. While digital transformation has ostensibly been on top of the CIO’s agenda for years, the reality is that many businesses have been slow on the uptake. Recent events like the lockdown in South Africa and across the world have forced their hand, and those that were on the back foot are now scrambling to keep up. However, when it comes to accelerating digital transformation, businesses need speed, not haste. Now more than ever it is essential to understand that technology is an enabler, a means to an end and not the end itself. In order to succeed, it is critical to begin with a strategy, to understand what business benefits need to be achieved and how technology can assist. No more delaying the inevitable /* custom css */ .tdi_3_558.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.td...
HMD Global Appoints Former PayPal CMO
HMD Global, the home of Nokia phones, has announced the appointment of Stephen Taylor as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). Taylor brings with him almost 30 years’ experience in sales and marketing across some of the world’s best-known brands including PayPal and Samsung. At HMD Global, Taylor will be responsible for the overall marketing strategy and execution for the entire portfolio of Nokia phones and will report to Florian Seiche, CEO. “As we continue to focus on digital-first marketing strategies, it’s crucial we attract and retain talent with an appreciation for future-proofing our business. I believe Stephen’s wealth of experience, leadership skills and collaborative approach will help us to not only deliver more impactful campaigns but to also broaden our community and impact on socia...
Samsung Introduces the New Galaxy A31
Samsung has officially introduced the new addition to the Galaxy A series – the A31. According to the smartphone giant, this device has been designed for a generation that wants to express themselves to the world and look good doing it. “The Galaxy A Series has always stood for value. The Galaxy A31 embodies this in a big way, through its premium features offered at an affordable price. We designed the device with bigger screens, powerful batteries and cutting-edge cameras – to bring A new world to life,” says Justin Hume, Director of Integrated Mobility at Samsung South Africa. The Galaxy A31 – which is available in Prism Crush Black and Prism Crush Blue – is equipped with an immersive Infinity-U display and a powerful 5,000 mAh all-day battery. Its advanced Octa-core processor and 4GB of...
Africa – The Most Promising Region for Cryptocurrency Adoption says Report
Sourced from Hacker Noon. According to a new report by Luno and Arcane Research, the economic landscape across the continent augurs well for cryptocurrency adoption in Africa. The State of Crypto: Africa report says that rapid adoption of cryptocurrencies is likely in Africa in the context of high inflation rates, volatile currencies and underdeveloped banking infrastructure. Certain crypto assets combine the wealth preservation properties of hard assets such as gold with the portability of digital currencies. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_65a.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_65a.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0; } Cryptocurrencies also offer lower-cost and faster remittance payments than is currently available. Traditional money transmitting services charge very high fees and in...
Facebook Unveils Shops – its New eCommerce Feature
Facebook has launched its latest eCommerce feature – Shops – which will enable businesses to set up an online store for customers to access across Facebook and Instagram. The company says that it is investing in features that inspire people to shop and make buying and selling online easier. This comes at a time when many businesses are struggling to keep their doors open due to the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social and economic activity. One way that they’re able to survive is by taking their stock online – something that Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg says they’re seeing a lot more. “If you can’t physically open your store or restaurant, you can still take orders online and ship them to people,” he says. “We’re seeing a lot of small businesses that never had online bu...
