Year 4 | Edition 22 | 7 June 2021
 

HPE joins Smart Africa Alliance to drive digital inclusivity

Furthering its commitment to closing the digital divide and promoting digital inclusivity throughout the world, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HPE,  has joined the Smart Africa Alliance.

To support the Smart Africa Alliance in providing affordable access to broadband services and information and communications technologies (ICT), HPE is engaging in several initiatives related to the development and deployment of national public clouds built in each participating country’s...

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Africell secures $105 million commercial loan facility

Africell has confirmed the successful closing of a major Group-level commercial loan facility. The move validates Africell’s long-term expansion strategy in Africa and gives the Group the financial strength required to maintain its growth across the continent.

The loan facility, worth $105 million, is syndicated to a group of blue-chip international financial institutions. The syndicate consists of a mix of new and existing lenders to Africell, all distinguished by their experience and track record of..

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The Moroccan Digital Development Agency and GrowIN Portugal launch initiative to support startups internationalization

The Moroccan Digital Development Agency (ADD) and GrowIN Portugal have launched an initiative to support Moroccan and Portuguese startups internationalization by signing a strategic agreement.

 This partnership will promote cooperation between the two organizations, emphasizing support in the expansion of the startups in their respective ecosystems. To this end, both parties have agreed to: Collaborate on the Planning & Launch of a Moroccan Portuguese Startup Competition; Promote...

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Uganda secures $200m to accelerate digital transformation and inclusiveness

The World Bank approved $200 million financing to expand access to high-speed and affordable internet, improve efficiency of digitally enabled public service delivery, and strengthen digital inclusion in Uganda.

The new Uganda Digital Acceleration Project-GovNet (UDAP-GovNet) will support the extension of 1,000 km of the national backbone fiber infrastructure, an additional 500 km of fiber optic network links between towns, mobile broadband connections for 900 government administrative units and...

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Bolt introduces Electric Tuk Tuks, Bikes and Bicycles in Kenya

On-demand transportation platform Bolt has introduced electric tuk tuks, and e-bicycles on its platform as the company expands its greener transport options in Kenya in the food category.

The initiative is geared towards reducing Bolt’s environmental footprints, at the same time fulfilling the demand for light, smart and green modes of transport. It also serves to eliminate the challenges associated with constant fluctuating fuel prices which currently form the most significant...

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[Nigeria] Government “indefinitely suspends” Twitter‘s operations

Nigeria “indefinitely suspended” Twitter‘s operations in the country on Friday last week after the company deleted President Buhari’s tweet.

“The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria,”  The Ministry of Information and Culture said in a statement posted on Twitter. Nigeria is accusing Twitter of using its micro-blogging platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence...

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Global spending on cloud services surpasses $300 billion, report

Cloud Services have become an integral part of business operations for many large companies and in 2020 the industry earned an estimated revenue of over $300 billion globally. According to data presented by TradingPlatforms.com, global public IT cloud services market revenue for 2020 was at $312.4B - a 34% Increase from 2019.

In 2016, global spending on public IT cloud services was just under $100B. In 2021 that figure has ballooned to a healthy $312.4B after experiencing a 34% increase from 2019's...

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[Column] Marilyn Moodley: A digitised supply chain has become a necessity for building business efficiency

Cloud technology is driving change and accelerating digital transformation across multiple industries simultaneously. Not only is cloud technology itself evolving at pace, but the way organisations buy and manage software is having to adapt as well.

Marilyn Moodley, Country Leader for South Africa and WECA (West, East, Central Africa) at SoftwareONE, says navigating multiple systems, processes, and software licence agreements presents a significant challenge. “Software is one of the...

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[Column] Ian Lessem: Venture Capital trends shaping the African investment landscape

At HAVAÍC, our investment thesis is centred around investing in businesses that solve real-world challenges. With the world having adjusted to new ways of shopping, learning, and doing business as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, the appetite for solutions that solve real, tangible problems are without a doubt the best opportunities for growth.

Solutions that offer people and organisations better ways of living and working with less friction will reign supreme. In the African context, logistics, financial services, agri-businesses...

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[Column] Victoria Epelle: The retail value chain and its ongoing counterfeit battle

Counterfeit products have a presence across major industries in Nigeria. The impact of having these counterfeit products for manufacturers range from dwindling sales and failed customer loyalty schemes. Presently, trade of counterfeit goods is projected to be worth $991B in 2021 by the OECD.

This value has continually been on a high growth trajectory. When compared to the figure of $461B in 2013, it has increased by 114%. Major industries impacted by counterfeit products include that of Health and Food & Beverages...

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[Africa Cloud Review] Simon Ngunjiri: Cloud is accelerating digital change across different industries

Cloud technology is driving change and accelerating digital transformation across multiple industries simultaneously. According to Marilyn Moodley, the South African Country Leader for SoftwareONENot only is cloud technology itself evolving at pace, but the way organisations buy and manage software is having to adapt as well. 

In our previous Africa cloud review article, we highlighted how cloud services have certainly revolutionized the way African enterprises conduct their businesses, offering...

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