Brief (220)
Accra will host the first edition of the Global Conference on Cyber Capacity Building (GC3B) from November 29 to 30.
The GC3B, organized under the theme "Cyber Resilience for Development", aims to build a bridge between politicians and cybersecurity industry leaders. The aim is to contribute to the advancement of cyber capacity building on a global scale. Over 800 cybersecurity experts are expected at the conference.
Nigerian agritech startup UfarmX, announced on Tuesday, November 14 its expansion into Senegal. The operation was facilitated by a $1.7 million investment from the Senegalese subsidiary of United Bank for Africa.
On Thursday, November 9, the Somali Ministry of Communications and Technology announced the approval by the Council of Ministers of a draft law on cybersecurity. The aim is to strengthen cybersecurity measures, promote online safety, and protect critical infrastructure.
Nigerian fintech startup Chipper Cash announced on Thursday, November 2 a new partnership with the American company Visa. The new agreement will enable the two entities to continue collaborating on card issuance, and the Nigerian unicorn will be able to leverage Visa's licenses and capabilities.
“Today’s announcement means we can deliver on our priorities at a faster pace than we could do alone; harnessing Visa’s global reach to enable us to continue to bring the very best products and services to customers,” said Brett Magrath, Chief Product Officer at Chipper Cash.
On Thursday, October 26, the Prix Galien USA Awards committee announced the winners of the 2023 edition of the Prix Galien USA, named after the forefather of modern medicine and pharmacology. Kenyan incubator Villgro Africa, which supports startups operating in the healthcare sector, was selected in the Best Incubator and Accelerator category.
Last November 2, DRC Prime Minister Sama Lukonde Kyenge officially inaugurated a data center built by Huwaei at the Ministry of Finance headquarters in the framework of a project to modernize ICT infrastructure.
The data center, financed by the Export-Import Bank of China, will centralize, merge, secure, and store the activities of the country's financial authorities.
Pan-African payments gateway MFS Africa, founded in 2009 by Dare Okoudjou (photo) and based in Johannesburg, South Africa, announced on Wednesday, November 1 its name change to Onafriq. The change comes as the firm embarks on its North American expansion after several acquisitions.
"As we embark on this next phase of our journey, we wanted a name that reflects our aspiration of wiring up the whole continent into one network of networks with pathways from and to every African and every African business," explains Dare Okoudjou.
Maisha Meds, a digital platform that helps people access healthcare at affordable costs, has received $5.25 million in scale-up funding from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The funds will support the startup in its aim to extend its mobile software to 7,500 pharmacies and clinics, providing subsidized care to nearly a million patients.
Last Wednesday, October 25, Pascal Nyamulinda, Director General of the National Agency for the Identification of Persons (ANIP), officially launched anip.bj, the agency’s official mobile application.
The application aims to facilitate the acquisition of administrative documents, help users check the authenticity of those documents, and submit claims and complaints. For the time being, it is only available for Android devices.
The Universal Postal Union has dispatched two technical experts to Chad as part of a mission running from Monday, October 23 to Friday, October 27. The experts will assess the operational readiness of the postal service operator SPTE and train staff on the use of the international mail processing platform (IPS.POST) and the customs declaration system (CDS.POST).
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On Wednesday, October 25, the Guinean Ministry of Technical Education, Vocational Training and Employment announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese technology firm Huawei. The aim is to build smart classrooms at the Kindia Vocational Center and Camara Laye in Conakry.
On Wednesday, October 18, Benin’s Ministry of Digital Affairs and Digitizationannounced the 2023 edition of itsyearlyevent SENUM (Digital Week) wouldbeheldfromNovember 6 to 10 at the Congress Center of Cotonou. This year, the eventwillbeheldaround the theme “Emerging technologies to accelerate the digital transformation of States.”
The Mauritian government recently announced that new mobile identification measures would become enforceable on October 31, 2023.
According to authorities, from the aforementioned date, all current cell phone subscribers will have to re-register their SIM or Esim cards. The main aim is to ensure that every SIM card in use is registered in the name of the individual using it, thereby strengthening subscriber protection against identity theft, various forms of fraud, and malicious practices.
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) recently unveiled its Digitalisation and IT Strategy 2023/24-2027/28.
This five-year strategy aims, among other things, to improve services to taxpayers, modernize URA systems, streamline online services, and develop a high-performance, diverse workforce, all thanks to cutting-edge technologies. It also aims to create a reliable, secure, and interoperable digital environment that makes it easier for taxpayers to meet their tax obligations.