Brief_One (131)
Last week, the Beninese IT development agency ASIN organized a workshop to review and update the national cybersecurity strategy.
This mid-term review gave digital actors the opportunity to lay the foundations for the coming update, which aims to respond to the new challenges arising from the evolution of digital uses and related threats, three years after the strategy was launched.
Waves of layoffs are multiplying in major American tech companies. In November, Meta set the tone by cutting 11,000 jobs, and others have followed. Since the beginning of 2023, over 210 tech companies have laid off 68,000 people, mainly in the United States."
Digital technologies are still widely underutilized in microenterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa despite their huge potential for productivity gains, according to a report published on January 23rd by the World Bank. The main factors that prevent African microenterprises from using computers, smartphones, or stock management software on a large scale are the lack of information about these technologies, insufficient digital skills, the high cost, and the lack of suitable infrastructure.
The Zimbabwean government has announced that it plans to deploy over 300 base stations across the country this year to address connectivity issues, particularly in rural areas. The equipment needed to build these telecoms infrastructures has already been purchased, it has been learned. Installation and operation will be entrusted to NetOne, the mobile branch of the historic operator TelOne. " We have sent in our team to conduct mapping and scoping and we want to make sure that we connect the unconnected." said Jenfan Muswere, Minister of Information, Communication, Technology, and Postal and Courier Services.
According to Muriel Edjo, Chief Editor at We Are Tech, Africa is adopting 5G faster than expected, but not yet fast enough to meet the exploding demand for connectivity driven by new uses such as videoconferencing, streaming, e-sports, e-health, and remote work. Not to mention the rapid progress of AI and the growing importance of data that are disrupting the economy and public administration. Most of the major African telecom operators are ready to deploy this technology on a large scale. But they face several obstacles that the report "5G in Africa: The Challenges Facing Telecom Operators" aims to identify.