₦airaland Forum

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/21/ncc-onsa-set-committees-combat-counterfeit-mobile-devices/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

Two joint committees have been set up by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in collaboration with other government agencies to tackle the menace of counterfeit communication devices. They were set up yesterday at the NCC’s headquarters in Abuja.

The two committees are the Project Steering Committee (PSC), comprising the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the Federal Ministry of Communications and the NCC; and the Project Delivery Team (PDT) wit representation from the Federal Ministry of Communications, the ICRC, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the NCC.

Both committees are to work together to ensure the implementation of Mobile Devices Management Systems (DMS), a Public-Private Partnership project, created to combat the proliferation of fake, counterfeit, substandard and cloned mobile communications devices in the telecoms industry.

Counterfeit communications devices rule the market largely influenced by consumers’ behaviour that ignorantly believe that cheap means great deal, and fall easy prey to counterfeiters. The global market for sub-standard telecom devices hover over some $400 billion. Nigeria accounts for almost 20% of fake mobile phones in the market according t some experts.

While inaugurating the committees, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta, said the move was in line with the mandate of the Commission, as enshrined in the Nigerian Communications Act (NCA), 2003, to type-approve all devices used in the telecommunications industry and to ensure that all devices used in the telecommunications industry are in line with agreed standards and specifications.

According to him, the principal objective of the proposed DMS project is to “establish a secure and comprehensive single-window solution that will enable the Commission to implement a proven solution in the Nigerian environment that is sustainable and demonstrate value for money in addition helping to address the various concerns that have been raised with the NCC from the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) in our regular interactions on security matters as it concerns the telecommunications industry.”

He said the increasing cybercrime, evasion of taxes, terrorism and health and safety concerns raised by the use of stolen, counterfeit and substandard devices in Nigeria is a responsibility which the NCC takes seriously.

“In 2015, the NCC organised a stakeholder forum aimed at developing recommendations that could influence decision and policy directions, leading to solutions to combat the issue of counterfeit and substandard Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices in the country. Based on the importance of the project to the NCC, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and the ICRC were engaged for a no-objection to advertise for International Competitive Bidding (ICB) process towards the acquisition of an effective DMS solution, adding that the ICRC subsequently recommended the establishment of the two committees to fast-track the process,” said Danbatta.

Representative of the Minister of Communications, Chief Adebayo Shittu and Permanent Secretary at the ministry, Mrs. Nkechi Ejele, commended the NCC for the initiative, stressing that she was impressed with the comprehensive and clear terms of reference given to the committees.

“The ministry has no doubt that thorough implementation of the terms of references as reeled out by Prof. Umar Danbatta in his presentation, will ensure effective delivery of the project aimed at sanitizing the economy of fake devices with their attendant challenges,” she said.

Also, Director, PPP Resource Department of ICRC, Mr. Michael Ohiani, said as the agency in charge of regulatory oversight over all PPP initiatives of government, “The commission would support the process to ensure transparency of the process and value for money invested on the project.

“The constitution of the PSC and PDT are to ensure that projects are delivered in a sustainable manner and in the overall interest of the country and we would work with all stakeholders in this project to ensure effective implementation,” he said.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/21/sky-space-global-raises-12-million-connect-billions-unconnected-people/

Posted By: ITEdgeNews

SAS plans to operate a network of 200 nano-satellites to provide around the clock affordable voice, data, instant messaging, M2M and IoT communications to the equatorial belt
First batch of the Pearls constellation nano-satellites to be launched with Virgin Orbit by mid-2019 following the receipt of signed binding commitment letters for a two-tranche $12 million placement as part of the $15 million fundraising effort
The company expects to begin generating revenue from late 2019
UK company Sky and Space Global Ltd (ASX: SAS) has received signed binding commitments for raising $12 million in a two-tranche share placement to investors as part of its $15 million fundraising effort, the company announced today. The placement is priced at $0.03 per share and is conditioned on the lodgement of the prospectus. The funds are to be used to facilitate the launching of the first batch of the company’s Pearls constellation nano-satellites network. The launch with Virgin Orbit is due to take place by mid-2019 and is the initial stage of the company’s plan to operate a network of 200 nano-satellites to provide around the clock affordable voice, data, instant messaging, M2M and IoT communications to the equatorial belt.

SAS services will also bring to the equatorial region a huge range of life saving services like search and rescue, disaster management, emergency response, security alarms and recreational tracking. This is in addition to a whole range of traditional services including cellphone applications, offshore communications, smart farming, interactive TV, airplane, vessel and animal tracking, water and electric metering, grid monitoring, and ATM.

The company expects to resume trading on ASX following the lodgement of the prospectus and settlement which is expected to be on Friday February 22, 2019.

The company also plans to conduct a fully underwritten priority offer (PO) to raise a further $3 million, with an option to accept a further $1 million on the same terms in the event the offer is oversubscribed and in accordance with shareholder approved under ASX Listing Rule 7.1.

“We have undertaken this round of financing at a crucial time for the company, as we prepare to launch our first batch of Pearls nano-satellites into space,” said Meir Moalem, Sky and Space Global managing director and CEO. He added that “the support we have received is indicative of the confidence the market has in our ability to deliver on milestones and achieve the objectives we have set out for the company.”

The offering has received the backing of existing SAS investors as well as several new institutional and professional investors. In addition, SAS chairman Michael Malone, managing director and CEO Meir Moalem and other directors will be investing $710,000 in the placement, subject to shareholder approval. The move underscores management’s support and confidence in the company. Existing eligible shareholders will also be given the opportunity to participate in the offering for up to $15,000 on the same terms.

Placement proceeds will be used mainly for capex payments to suppliers, completion of first Pearl launch activities, for operational working capital and for general administration costs. This will enable Sky and Space Global’s Pearl nano-satellites network to progress to the next stage and lead to the generating of revenue by late 2019 as a result of the $15 million in new capital raised along with additional financing initiatives currently in progress. These include raising debt from US banks and the management of key supplier contracts that are currently in place.

The current annualized revenues based on contracts from the first batch of 16 Pearl nano-satellites are conservatively estimated at A$10 million-A$12 million (risked at ~50%), with the gross risk-free value of these 3 binding contracts put at $21m-46m.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/20/nigeria-top-funding-hub-tech-startups-334-5m-invested-across-africa-2018/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews


African tech startups smashed funding records in 2018 as 210 startups secured US$334.5 million worth of investment, with Nigeria emerging as the premier investment destination on the continent said a news report by appsafrica relying on the latest annual report of African Tech Startups Funding Report 2018 released by startup news and research portal Disrupt Africa, which is now in its fourth year.

The report, which tracks the total amount of funding raised by African tech startups each year, found 210 startups raised a total of US$334,520,500 in funding in 2018. This represented the best year since records began, and a substantial leap on 2017. The number of startups that raised grew by 32.1 per cent, and total funding jumped by an impressive 71.5 per cent.

A key finding of the report was the emergence of Nigeria as Africa’s startup funding hub, after years of playing second fiddle to South Africa. With 58 startups raising a total of US$94,912,000 in investment, the country was clearly top dog; while South Africa fell behind with 40 businesses raising US$59,971,000. Kenya ranked third in terms of the number of startups that raised.

However, other African countries are emerging as more than viable alternative destinations for funding as investors increasingly look beyond the traditional “big three” startup ecosystems which will also be showcased at the Africa Startup Summit during Africa Tech Summit Kigali Feb 14th/15th. This has been a trend that has been slowly developing over the last few years. Whereas in 2015, South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya accounted for more than 80 per cent of total funding raised, in 2018 that had fallen to 61.8 per cent.

Much of that is attributable to the rise of Egypt as a destination for funding, with the country’s startups raising US$58.9 million in 2018, clearly establishing Egypt as a leading startup hub on the continent. Companies in 16 other African countries secured investment.

In terms of sectors, the fintech space continued to dominate, remaining a clear favourite among investors and, at US$132.75 million, accounting for 39.7 per cent of total funds raised. This was an increase on previous years, but nonetheless there are strong signs of progress in other sectors, with multiple ed-tech, e-commerce, e-health, transport, logistics and agri-tech startups raising funding as investors saw opportunities in a large number of areas.

“It has been an incredible year for tech startups in Africa – and it’s a real pleasure to release this report and the impressive figures it contains. The continent’s entrepreneurs have grabbed the attention of investors, accelerators, and media both locally and globally this year with their innovative solutions and business models, and it’s great to be able to report on such strong results across our ecosystem,” said Gabriella Mulligan, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

“The African tech space continues on its upward trajectory, with more startups than ever before securing record levels of funding in 2018. Investment levels are not the only way of gauging the health of local ecosystems, but they are a valuable way of following the sector’s progress and demonstrate that, increasingly, if you have an innovative tech solution to a problem, with a strong business model, there are pathways to funding should you require it to scale,” said Tom Jackson, co-founder of Disrupt Africa.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/20/kaspersky-lab-announces-4-revenue-growth-726-million-2018/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews


Kaspersky Lab continued to deliver stable growth in 2018 and increased its global unaudited IFRS revenue to a total of USD 726 million*, representing a 4% YOY revenue increase. During a year of evolving market conditions and continuous geopolitical pressure, the company achieved success as a result of the trust customers and partners place in the company and its leading cybersecurity solutions and services.

Among the strategic business areas that drove Kaspersky Lab’s growth in 2018 were Digital and Enterprise. The company saw an increase in digital sales (+4%**) and strong growth of 16%**in the enterprise segment, with 55%**growth in non-endpoint products and services in particular. Overall, the company secured healthy results in these business areas by delivering some of the best products and services in the industry, as well as new solutions and technologies that prevent, detect and respond to the most sophisticated cyberthreats.

Commenting on the year’s results, Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab, said: “2018 was a crucial year for us. After all the challenges and unsubstantiated allegations we faced in 2017, we had a responsibility to show that the company and our people deserve the trust of our partners and customers, and in turn, to continue to clearly demonstrate and prove our leadership. Our continued positive financial results are proof of this, demonstrating that users prefer the best products and services on the market and support our principle of protecting against any cyberthreats regardless of their origin.”

Globally, the company’s performance was driven by robust results, especially in META (+27%**), as well as in other regions, such as Russia, Central Asia and CIS***(+6%**), APAC (+6%**) and Europe (+6%**), while there was a slowdown in Latin America (-11%**) mainly caused by currency devaluation in the region.

The challenging geopolitical situation resulted in an overall slowdown in the North American market, where sales decreased by 25%**. Despite these challenges, Kaspersky Lab maintained and developed its presence in the market, with an 8% increase in new licenses sales in digital.

In 2018, Kaspersky Lab advanced the progress of its Global Transparency Initiative (http:///2Ncc1Ay) by undertaking a number of significant actions. Notably, the company began the relocation of its IT infrastructure to Switzerland and opened the first Transparency Center (http:///2GxoGh1) in Zurich. Kaspersky Lab also implemented an audit by one of the Big Four professional services firms of the company’s engineering practices around the creation and distribution of threat detection rule databases. Today’s ultra-connected global landscape requires increased transparency from organisations, and this unique initiative demonstrates Kaspersky Lab’s clear commitment to assuring the integrity and trustworthiness of its solutions in the service of the customers.

* figures are rounded for easier reading. Growth was 4%, Revenue 725.6 million.

** all segment and regional figures are in net sales bookings, not revenue.

*** countries of the abovementioned region include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/19/young-african-entrepreneurial-apply-us100000-anzisha-prize/
posted By: ITEdgeNews

The Anzisha Prize program which is a partnership between African Leadership Academy and Mastercard Foundation has just launched the call for 2019 applications. The prize is looking for Africa’s most innovative social and business entrepreneurs between the ages of 15 and 22. Young entrepreneurs who apply will have the opportunity to win a share of US$100,000, connect to a global network of leaders and receive business consulting support. The grand prize winner will win US$25,000, 1st runner-up will receive US$15,000 and 2nd runner-up will receive US$12,500.

With the launch of the 9th annual Anzisha Prize, the organisers look forward to celebrating the stories of successful entrepreneurship such as the winner of last year’s prize, Melissa Bime. Melissa is a nursing graduate and the founder of INFIUSS, an online blood bank which has distributed over 3800 pints of blood across 28 hospitals in Yaounde, Cameroon. When she was chosen as a finalist, she was flown to Johannesburg for an all expenses paid business accelerator run by the African Leadership Academy. At the end of the programme, she had the opportunity to pitch her business to a panel of renowned judges. Melissa was chosen as the winner due to her innovative business model that demonstrated the importance of job creation and scalability. Applicants are advised that judging criteria requires them to show commitment to growing their venture into a job-creation engine with the ability to demonstrate their contribution to society. All the criteria can be found on the Anzisha website at anzishaprize.org/apply.

The prize is open to very young African entrepreneurs who have founded or co-founded a running business in any sector on the continent. Applications are open in English, Portuguese, Arabic and French to encourage applicants from across the continent to recognise the diverse entrepreneurship efforts that are growing among very young Africans. “The Anzisha Prize currently has 102 fellows within its network since the program started in 2011. We are proud to have our entrepreneurs represent over 30 African countries within a diverse suite of sectors. We encourage all nationalities to apply so that we can continue to support exceptional young job-starters who are improving lives and will become a part of a truly Pan-African network.” Josh Adler, VP of growth and entrepreneurship at African Leadership Academy.

Finalists selected will become a part of the growing number of entrepreneurs receiving targeted business and entrepreneurial support. In addition to the call for applications that close on 31 March 2019, the Anzisha Prize team will be visiting key regional hubs in the next few months to tell the stories of youth entrepreneurship as part of the annual Anzisha Tour. The 2019 tour cities will include Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Yamoussoukro in Côte d’Ivoire.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/19/business-must-limit-exposure-data-cloud/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

Organisations should pay closer attention to security concerns associated with storing data in the cloud as configuration errors together with cloud threats pose a significant and ever-increasing risk to enterprise data, says Nompumelelo Mdima, McAfee Business Development Manager at Axiz Advanced Technologies.

“While cloud services offer business the advantages of scalability, business continuity, collaboration efficiency and flexibility of work practices, it is equally important to appreciate that data in the cloud is more exposed than many organisations realise,” notes Mdima.

According the most recent Cloud Adoption and Risk Report released by McAfee, nearly a quarter of the data in the cloud can be categorised as sensitive, putting an organisation at risk if it is stolen or leaked. The report also revealed that the sharing of sensitive data with an open, publicly accessible link, increased by 23 percent year-on-year. In addition, the average enterprise experiences more than 2,200 misconfiguration incidents per month in their infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service (PaaS) instances.

Mdima says the data highlights the need for business to deploy cloud security solutions that span the entire cloud spectrum as cloud service providers only cover the security of the cloud itself, not customer data or customer use of their infrastructure and platforms. “It is imperative that business adopt a cloud strategy that includes data loss protection, configuration audits, and collaboration controls to properly protect their data. Not doing so also has consequences through noncompliance with internal and external regulations.”

Organisations need to first understand which cloud services are in use, which data is sensitive, and how it being stored and used as a first step to mitigating risk. “Armed with a clear and coherent overview, suitable security policies can be put in place to prohibit sensitive data from being stored in unapproved cloud services and guard against noncompliant sharing of data via email or through a publicly accessible link,” says Mdima.

The McAfee report, which analysed billions of events in anonymised cloud use, also found that most threats to data in the cloud result from compromised accounts and insider threats. “A sound security policy should also have protocols for identifying irregular behavior, for instance when a user accesses the cloud from separate locations simultaneously, so that a comprised account can be dealt with immediately,” adds Mdima.

“In order accelerate their business, organisations should look to cloud-native and frictionless ways to defend against security threats. Proactively addressing security responsibilities before there’s an incident remains the best way mitigate risk and safeguard what is very often a company’s most valuable asset – its data.”

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/18/new-dhl-global-connectedness-index-says-globalization-high/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

International flows of trade, capital, information and people all intensified significantly for the first time since 2007; Mauritius is sub-Saharan Africa’s most connected country; Mozambique named as one of the countries where international flows most exceed expectations, says the fifth edition of DHL Global Connectedness Index (GCI).

The GCI is a detailed analysis of globalization, measured by international flows of trade, capital, information and people. The new GCI report represents the first comprehensive assessment of developments in globalization across 169 countries and territories since the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom and the 2016 presidential election in the United States. In spite of growing anti-globalization tensions in many countries, connectedness reached an all-time high in 2017, as the flows of trade, capital, information and people across national borders all intensified significantly for the first time since 2007. Strong economic growth boosted international flows while key policy changes such as US tariff increases had not yet been implemented.

The 2018 index measures the current state of globalization, as well as individual rankings for each country, based on the depth (intensity of international flows) and breadth (geographical distribution of flows) of countries’ international connections. The world’s top five most globally connected countries in 2017 were the Netherlands, Singapore, Switzerland, Belgium and the United Arab Emirates. Eight of the top 10 most connected countries are located in Europe, helping make it the world’s most connected region, in particular for trade and people flows. North America, the leader in capital and information flows, ranked second among world regions, followed by the Middle East and North Africa in third place.

In Sub Saharan Africa, the highest ranking country was Mauritius, which featured in 40thposition, while South Africa was named the highest ranking country on the African continent itself, with an overall ranking of 56thplace.

“As the world continues to globalize, there are still many opportunities for intercontinental & intraregional trade, particularly for emerging economies in Sub Saharan Africa,” says Hennie Heymans, CEO of DHL ExpressSub Saharan Africa. “Globalization is a key driver for growth and fiscal security, which is evident in countries that have embraced it. We are confident about continued further growth in the region with new trade agreements coming into effect, to support regional collaboration.”

“Surprisingly, even after globalization’s recent gains, the world is still lessconnected than most people think it is,” commented GCI co-author Steven A. Altman, Senior Research Scholar at the NYU Stern School of Business and Executive Director of NYU Stern’s Center for the Globalization of Education and Management. “This is important because, when people overestimate international flows, they tend to worry more about them. The facts in our report can help calm such fears and focus attention on real solutions to societal concerns about globalization.”

At the global level, the GCI shows, for example, that just about 20% of economic output around the world is exported, roughly 7% of phone call minutes (including calls over the internet) are international, and only 3% of people live outside the countries where they were born. The report also debunks the belief that distance is becoming irrelevant. Most countries are much more connected to their neighbors than to distant nations.

Emerging economies remain less connected than advanced economies

The GCI continues to reveal vast differences between levels of globalization in advanced versus emerging economies. Emerging economies trade almost as intensively as advanced economies, but advanced economies are more than three times as deeply integrated into international capital flows, five times for people flows, and almost nine times with respect to information flows.

Additionally, while leaders from large emerging markets have become major supporters of globalization on the world stage, emerging economies

Mozambique beats expectations

Mozambique was named as one of the five countries where international flows exceed expectations the most. This is positive news for the region, because deeper global connectedness can help accelerate countries’ economic growth.

One cause for optimism regarding further growth potential for Sub Saharan Africa, is the signing of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), signed by 49 countries in March 2018. According to a study by the UN Economic Commission for Africa, full implementation of the AfCFTA could double intra-African trade and boost the whole continent’s global connectedness.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/14/firstbank-partners-azuri-technology-promote-sustainable-development-nigeria/

Posted By: ITEdgeNews


First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) has signed a partnership with the Azuri Technologies to provide solar energy solution for the low-income areas.

The Deputy Managing Director of the Bank, Mr. Gbenga Shobo, said in Lagos that the partnership was aimed at proffering solutions to one of the major challenges facing the country today.

Shobo, represented by Tunde Owolabi, the Bank’s Group Executive, Retail Banking Group, Lagos & West, said that the focus is delivering power to millions of Nigerians; while at the same time enabling access to financial services in rural and low-income areas.

According to him, financial inclusion is a priority to FirstBank.“This is why we are excited about this partnership; because our customers will be able to access a wide range of services that address the real problem of access to power.

”This partnership with Azuri Technologies is one out of several of FirstBank’s partnerships. We have a track record of partnering with individuals and institutions to help meet the needs of our customers (children, women, youth, SMEs) and promote sustainable development in our host communities. Our partnerships cut across the Arts, Sports, Education, Health, among others; FirstBank has been at the forefront in ensuring ease of banking and convenience for its customers.

”Our Agent Banking Network (Firstmonie Agent) and digital banking offerings like Chat Banking on Whatsapp, FirstMobile app, Firstonline, and USSD banking, are some of the channels we have put in place to make this happen.We are therefore, very excited about the FirstBank-Azuri partnership and the positive boost it aims to bring to the nation’s economy through inclusive services.”

”Indeed, this is part of FirstBank’s 125 year-long passion for partnerships that are woven into the fabric of society,” he said.

Also, Mr Simon Bransfield-Garth, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Azuri Technologies, said that the company “is a leader in pay-as-you-go solar technology”.

Bransfield-Garth said: “Azuri brings affordable, modern consumer goods and services to the millions in sub-Saharan Africa without access to conventional power.

”Of the one billion people who lack access to electricity around the world, over 600 million live in sub-Saharan Africa.Pay-as-you-go solar power is connecting off-grid households to the modern digital world.From home lighting to satellite TV, Azuri-designed solutions deliver world class performance at an affordable price for customers who live away from mains power.”

”Azuri’s vision is to create a level playing field where all consumers can access and benefit from the digital economy, wherever they live” he concluded.

About FirstBank

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading banking services solutions provider in Nigeria for 125 years. With some 15 million customer accounts, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services with over 750 business locations. The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/14/fighting-fake-news-eight-ways-preparing-elections-across-africa/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews


With a number of upcoming elections across Africa, we want to share an update on our work to reduce the spread of misinformation, protect election integrity and support civic engagement across the continent. We’ve dedicated unprecedented resources to these efforts globally — and our work across Africa is focused in eight key areas.

Fighting False News

We want to stop the spread of false news on our platforms. That’s why we’ve teamed up with local third-party fact-checkers across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon and Senegal — including Africa Check (Africa’s first independent fact-checking organization), AFP (Agence France-Presse – an international news agency), Pesa Check (a local Kenyan fact-checking organization) and Dubawa (a local Nigerian fact-checking organization). These independent groups help us assess the accuracy of news shared on Facebook, and when they determine content is false, we reduce its distribution in News Feed so fewer people see it. We also show related articles from fact-checkers for more context and notify users if a story they have shared is rated as false. Additionally, in Nigeria, WhatsApp has worked with Africa Check and CrossCheck Nigeria to let users send questions about potential rumors they have received through the platform. These fact-checking expansions are part of a broader strategy to fight fake news that includes extensive work to remove fake accounts; cut off incentives to the financially-motivated actors that spread misinformation; promote news literacy; and give more context so people can decide for themselves what to read, trust, and share.

Boosting Digital Literacy and Helping People Spot False News

We want to make sure people can spot false news and know how to flag it. That’s why we’ve rolled out educational tips on national and regional radio and in print media across Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. In Nigeria, WhatsApp has launched its “Share Facts, Not Rumours” campaign to help increase awareness about hoaxes. Additionally, at the end of last year Facebook began a new Online Safety Programme for students in Nigerian secondary schools. The 12-week workshop is designed to help teenagers understand the fundamentals of online safety and digital literacy, covering topics such as managing an online presence; social media and sharing; public Wi-Fi safety; building healthy relationships online; understanding password security and privacy settings; and identifying misinformation online.

Promoting Civic Engagement

Helping to build informed and civically engaged communities is central to our work around elections. In Nigeria, we’ve rolled out new options in English & Hausa so people can report posts that contain incorrect election information, encourage violence or otherwise violate our Community Standards (https://www.Facebook.com/communitystandards/). On Election Day, we’ll show a voting day reminder in English and Hausa at the top of Facebook’s News Feed.

Making Political Ads More Transparent

Earlier this month (http:///2GpjRGn), we began temporarily expanding enforcement and not accepting foreign election ads on Facebook in Nigeria to help prevent foreign interference. Already today you can see any ad that a Page is running on Facebook (http:///2N5tIBH), regardless if it’s shown to you.

Journalist Trainings

We continue to educate media groups and journalists across the country on best practices for sharing content on our platforms and online safety. We also provide trainings on our Community Standards (https://www.Facebook.com/communitystandards/), which govern what is and is not allowed on our platform.

Proactive Removal of Impersonation Accounts

We’ve always had policies against impersonation. Thanks to recent advancements in our detection technology, we’ve become much more effective at identifying these accounts.

Partnerships with NGOs and Civil Society

In order to better understand local issues and how we can tackle them more effectively, we work with a number of NGO and civil society partners across many African countries. These local partners have been instrumental in giving us feedback that we’ve incorporated into our policies and programs, including the aforementioned trainings with teens and journalists.

Connecting with Political Parties About Security

We’ve trained parties, campaigns and candidates on security best practices, including how to turn on two-factor authentication and how to avoid common threats online. For the Nigerian elections, we’ve trained vice presidential candidates, senatorial candidates and top advisors from over 35 major political parties — and the information included in these trainings is all available for anyone to access at politics.FB.com.

We want Facebook and WhatsApp to be places where people feel safe, can access accurate information and make their voices heard. We are making significant investments, both in products and in people, and continue to improve in each of these areas.

‘http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/14/future-local-software-industry-inherently-nigerias-future-emadoye/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews


In this ‘eTerview’, CEO of BSSL and immediate past president of Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON), Olorogun James Emadoye x-rayed the issues facing implementation of local content and the promotion of indigenous software companies. Nigerians need to reset their minds and have a better sense of orientation in accepting local products and services, said Olorogun Emadoye. For him, the future and even sustainability of local software companies inherently define the future and sustainability of Nigeria as a country. He spoke with IT Edge News, Olusegun Oruame and Nwakaego Alajemba.

When you look at the software industry in terms of local content and indigenous entrepreneurship, has anything commendable happened in the last four years?

Unfortunately I cannot say a lot has been achieved in the last four years in terms of local content in the software industry. It’s sad because considering the nature of the world economy and what is happening today the future of any country is more of technology than any resource that the country may have. This is because technology is actually trying to replace any natural resource that you may think you have. For example, Nigeria may think that we have oil which has sustained us over these years but in the next five years the demand for oil will continue to be on the regressive rather than increase because people are developing various technological alternatives to energy from crude oil. You are already aware that in the next two- three years, a lot of electric vehicles will come out and people will no longer really have demand for PMS or for AGO for driving machineries as we have today. So technology is the way.

The sad thing about Nigeria is that in the last four years, Nigeria has spent several billions on what government called acquisition of computer software. The question is how much of the billions have gone into the local market? Not up to ten percent of that money has gone into the local market. That is where the challenge really is. How do you develop the local market without patronizing the market? That is the challenge. I have always maintained that software is like a tailor sewing a dress, if you don’t give that suit to him to make he can never perfect it the way you want it. No matter how poor that tailor is, by the time you try him with first one, the second one, the third one he will get to your exact size and that is software and it’s the same thing world-over whether it is written in the USA, UK and other countries. That is why we have what is called patches. Microsoft has the best and highest number of software patches. Microsoft will write the software, send it into market and when there errors or noticeable reports from users they now develop patches. It may not surprise you to know that only one of the four major software being used in Nigeria today to run government processes is written by a Nigerian company. The software is ‘Remita.’

All the other software used by government including the one for payroll are foreign. As a matter of fact, the one that is being used by the ministry of finance is sourced from Estonia, a country of less than 1.5 million people. Why on earth should a country as rich with mineral resources and talented people not source solution from her own people? Why are you buying such valuable product from other countries? So I cannot say that much progress has been made.

“You keep hearing people talking about startups but you cannot be talking about startups when older companies that are already built and are supposed to be the one doing business are not seeing the businesses.”



But there is more sense of aggressiveness in implementing local content policy by the federal government IT agency: NITDA” than ever before now. Has ISPON as a software industry body been able to coordinate more with government in actualizing the local content policy?

NITDA[National Information Technology Development Agency] has tried to pursue the policy more aggressively. For example, they have set up a clearing system within and are requesting all ministries and departments cleared with NITDA before deploying or acquiring software. The problem with Nigeria is that a lot of things happen in government to subvert policies and everybody can justify the reason why they want to do certain things outside of the rules. This makes policy implementation difficult. That is why it seems NITDA’s effort is not translating to what it is expected in the industry and there appears to be little progress in supporting local efforts. You keep hearing people talking about startups but you cannot be talking about startups when older companies that are already built and are supposed to be the one doing business are not seeing the businesses. I have been on a panel to review some projects in government and you will see a beautiful memo written to justify why a particular project should be implemented. But the moment the project is approved, signed and probably a payment is made, all that justification is gone, government people are looking for another opportunity in another project. These are some of the challenges otherwise NITDA, NOTAP have been trying but it is beyond NITDA and NOTAP. It has to be with the way the Nigerian people see themselves. It has to do with whether you think that your children and mine should have employment in this country, to have a means of lively hood. We have lived our lives to the extent that everybody just want to go abroad to work. Everybody is parading the American embassy; thank God that Trump has made it a little more difficult. Everybody is looking to how to relocate to Canada forgetting that some people sat down in those countries to make those countries what they are today. Believe me all stakeholders are trying. NITDA is trying, ISPON is trying, the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) is trying, Computer Registration Professional Council of Nigeria is also trying but it’s beyond these people. The local content policy has to be accepted wholly by the Nigerian people. I have recommended over and over again that the local content policy should be taken back to the National Assembly and a law be made with punitive measures built into that law for those who would subvert it. The reason is clear. During President Obasanjo’s administration in 2006, a similar executive order was given to all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) but the moment Obasanjo’s administration ended, everybody went back to doing the wrong thing. You won’t be surprised what is going on in the government even with the Freedom of Information law, the information is still not free and accessible as the law permits. We need to inculcate it into our lives that whatever we are doing, not just software, Nigeria cannot develop if we cannot produce what we consume.



Emadoye BSSL
Emadoye: “NITDA, NOTAP have been trying but it is beyond NITDA and NOTAP. It has to be with the way the Nigerian people see themselves. It has to do with whether you think that your children and mine should have employment in this country….We have lived our lives to the extent that everybody just want to go abroad to work.”
In other words, we need an ethical rethinking of how we should be as a people. We need a mind reset against our lust for foreign goods and we need a law to criminalize non-adherence to the local content law. Why is ISPON not working to get the national assembly make this law?

In my handover note to the new president of ISPON, I stated this and some of the work we have done in that respect. We have reached out to the National Assembly on some of this but like I said, it requires the three main associations in this area, which is ISPON, NCS and CPN[Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria] to work together to achieve this. I believe that the associations are looking into it. But much more than the associations, people who run government themselves must have attitudinal change. If you have never travelled abroad before, the moment you are appointed even as low as the local government chairman, the next thing you are planning to do is how to get passport for you and your family to travel. I keep asking, how many people in other countries do that? Once a Nigerian gets appointment into government, he or she will be thinking of buying houses outside Nigeria. The question is: what are you doing in your own country? Even the money you are ‘stealing’ (I’m not saying anybody is stealing), if you invest it back into this country, then somebody’s child might be able to get employment. In the 1980’s when we came out of school and were looking for jobs, I can count over 30 industries that were available for people to seek employment, all of them are dead today. If you go to Ikeja industrial estate, churches have taken them over. Even in Ilupeju, churches have taken over. I started with a company called Universal Computers in 1984 and I was transferred to Benin same year. By 1985, I was able to change my employment to Delta Steel Company Limited, as at then, Delta Steel Company Ltd was having staff strength of six thousand. Today, it’s nowhere. Steel is imported. How can our children get employment when everything we do today is imported? Michelin that used to produce tires in Port Harcourt with staff strength of 1,250 had their plant closed down. Today, you still have Michelin tires all over Nigeria, so what has happened? Michelin staff strength is less than a hundred today with probably about two or three expatriates making much money than they made when they were producing locally. What is happening now is that they produce somewhere else and import the finished product into Nigeria, generating employment over there while we are losing them in Nigeria. Government need to d change the strategy ensure local production and local content.

I haven’t really seen the commitment of bodies like ISPON, NCS, CPN to aggressively pursue the local content agenda within MDAs. Is the industry really ready to advance its own interest?

The two years that I ran ISPON, all that I did was to fight for local content with NITDA, NOTAP [National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion] and all the agencies that are involved even the National Assembly. We fought the Bank of Industry (BoI) to support the software industry, the records are there, the correspondences are there, the proofs of the meeting are there. But this is a very difficult country, yet it’s very simple and easy to run. People here are always thinking of what is in it for me and that is a major challenge for us. Even our fintech that we claim is very advance today has a major challenge. What is the challenge? I can sit right here as we seated now, log on to my account and transfer hundred of million to anybody if I have it in my account. Do you know you cannot transfer twenty dollars to another bank, to another customer in America that easily? There are safeguards. You cannot enter a bank in the USA and say you want to withdraw ten or twenty thousand dollars (your own money). The searchlight that will be on you will be unimaginable. We have attained commendable successes in Nigeria with fintech, we have been able to implement easy transfers. We have also been successful with the BVN which also allows us to fight corruption. If you move money, no matter the amount, we should be able to see what is being moved. We said we have a policy that we cannot issue a cheque of more than one hundred and fifty thousand naira to a third party, three million for the account owner and five million for corporate bodies for over-the-counter withdrawals. But in spite of these, heavy cash over these limitations are moving about. Where are they coming from? Are they not coming from the banking system? So implementation is always a problem in Nigeria. On how ISPON can influence issues, no matter how much the association fights, you need to know that the Nigerian agencies themselves when they are created or formed they become political institutions at the end of the day; and when they become political institutions, those running them will now change their focus from what it is meant to do to how to satisfy political interests and that is the problem we have. Otherwise, with NITDA, NOTAP and Bureau of Procurement (BPP), we are not supposed to have all the problems that we are having today. The problems are there because this is Nigeria.



“How do you develop the local market without patronizing the market? That is the challenge…. How can our children get employment when everything we do today is imported?”



In the framework of what you said now, is there hope for software companies like yours that are indigenously owned and managed?

Yes, there is a lot of hope but there are a lot of challenges and the challenges are much. When you ask is there hope? There is hope. At a time, we were running the software for the whole of UAC Plc business units that includes: UAC Property, UAC Chemical, Mr. Bigg, and UAC Foods. But in a country where people think less of their nation, and banks don’t support companies to be able to increase and provide more solutions, the chances of sustainability are not strong. Again, a new MD or CEO takes over a company being serviced by a local software company and because he probably sees an opportunity of making some dollars if he goes abroad, he will say: “Oh no, I want a big system, I want to go offshore. So if for example, they are paying hundred million for the local package, they will now go offshore and pay two billion. In this country, BSSL at a stage provided a state government with its software to run the budgetary system. Everything was going on well until at a stage, the state said wanted to go big so they went abroad and spent billions. As a matter of fact, what BSSL was doing probably with 4-5 consultants, they brought in 15 expatriates from South Africa and spent close to six months in Nigeria implementing that software. So how do you develop your own people? If that project which BSSL had handled for a number of 2, 3 4 or 5 years, if that state had said look, we want it big; can we make it bigger? BSSL will say yes we can make it bigger. What that means is that BSSL will implement a bigger solution, and take more people from the labour market to increase the resource base of BSSL. We will build a great capacity across board and then the company will grow. But your own people will never allow that because of ‘corruption’. BSSL, has been able to remain in business because there are one or two companies that believe in Nigeria and that Nigerian can do it. As we have more people having the mindset of believing in Nigeria, we would stop to be import destination for solutions from China, USA, Brazil, Italy or the likes. BSSL will survive by the special grace of God, it will grow and we hope that people will continue to move in. Software is something that requires a lot of investment because a technological change is very rapid. We need to improve our educational system and I have over and over again drawn attention to this. I have written a memo to the Minister of Education and have been privileged to be invited last year to the education summit in Abuja.

So you also agree that the town is not meeting the gown – How then can we improve our educational system?

The reason is because we tied our educational system to the apron string of the government so that vice chancellors in universities, for example, don’t stay in their schools again. They spend nearly six months running after their ministry to access the money budgeted for their universities, they then spend another three months running after the National Assembly to sustain whatever has been budgeted or to increase it, they will spend the remaining period of the year chasing the ministry for release of the funds. How do you develop an educational system with such type of arrangement? We are coming from the standard that UK government has developed for us but meanwhile, you know today if you are a citizen of the UK you pay school fees in the tertiary institution. If you don’t have the money, you get admission, you apply for a loan and you get it. You are told that when you finish school and you get a job and when you start earning from 25,000 pounds per annum, then you start paying back the loan and you can repay the loan for a period of 15 to 25 years. In Nigeria, we are pursuing free tertiary education that is not realistic. Ghana has already adopted the student loan scheme and so are 14 other African countries. Today our children are leaving Nigeria to go to school in Ghana and yet we cannot see what is wrong with how we fund tertiary education.

“The problem with Nigeria is that a lot of things happen in government to subvert policies…. That is why it seems NITDA’s effort is not translating to what it is expected in the industry and there appears to be little progress in supporting local efforts.”



You are saying tertiary education is not cheap and cannot be free?

Education cannot be free at tertiary level. It’s so sad that you have private school charging at the average of N400, 000 per term for secondary school education, that is N1.2million per annum and yet you want university education at less than half that amount. What I’m saying is that with average charge of N300, 000 to N400, 000 per annum for a student in the university, the university will be okay. My analysis is that if, for example, you take N400, 000 per student per annum in University of Lagos and multiply it by the total number of student in that school, it will be above any amount that the government has budgeted for the school for a year.

You share the opinion that tertiary education feeds on corruption?

Totally! The vice chancellors themselves have become politicians, travelling to Abuja for all sorts of things. If we create student loans, what will be the resultant effect? The universities will become more competitive. There will be jobs created within the universities. They will have sufficient money to buy their laboratory equipment, because they are not looking unto anybody. There is nobody to bribe to get budgeted funds released to them. They will run almost the benefits that all these private universities are having, running without begging anybody for money and the money will come in. We can’t have a problem with the students paying back because in an era of BVN [Bank Verification Number], you will be able to trace back all beneficiaries. The first thing is to allow the economy to run so that when the students get good jobs they will be able to pay back. The most important benefit is that it will make our children to become more responsible. Anything you get free doesn’t give you that sense of responsibility and it is not valued. We will now have quality materials for our labour market. The universities have been on strike now for four months, how can you get quality materials from such universities when you don’t train, you don’t teach, you don’t learn more than four months in a year. It’s not possible! How can you get quality material from the university when there is no fund for them to do exchange programme, and no fund to upgrade their laboratories? There lies the problem. When universities become professionally managed and are fee paying institutions, then they can become Centres of Excellence for software development and technological innovations.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/13/cloud-reigns-supreme-2018-genesys-growth/

Posted By: ITEdgeNews

Genesys®, the global leader in omnichannel customer experience(https:///2WX8zhN) and contact center solutions (https:///2I8lU3B), announced its cloud sales have risen 32% year-over-year. The cloud business growth spans all market segments with 70% gains in the mid-market, 50% in small-and-medium sized enterprises, and 30% in large enterprises.

While sales are up across the company’s cloud offers, the Genesys PureCloud® platform stands out for its hypergrowth with sales more than tripling since 2016. purecloud’s rapid expansion (https:///2a925sj) and impressive sales momentum blows peers away. In fact, PureCloud has accelerated beyond the fastest growing SaaS platforms including Workday, Zendesk, ServiceNow and others2, with a projected annual revenue growth rate of nearly 130% since 2017. In addition, PureCloud’s customers benefit from continuous innovation and the fastest feature velocity in the industry with over 300 new enhancements delivered in the last two years alone.

Genesys Strengthens Customer Roster with Cloud Wins

In 2018, cloud deals valued at $1 million or more increased by 110% over the previous year. Many of these resulted from the Genesys PureBridge program (https:///2I8lU3B), which has helped nearly 1,200 companies smoothly transition off of legacy systems from vendors including Avaya, Cisco and others to a modern customer experience platform by Genesys.

One such customer is Alberta Treasury Branches (dba ATB Financial), the largest financial institution in Alberta, Canada. “For ATB Financial, the migration to a Genesys cloud solution is part of our customer-centered approach,” said David Bradshaw vice president, ATB Financial Client Care and Sales. “It allows us to connect better with our customers, as well as improve employee communication, workplace planning and cost management.”

An additional example is a major consumer credit reporting agency that selected a Genesys cloud offering to replace an archaic Avaya environment. In a multi-million dollar deal, its move to Genesys provides the foundation for this company to support all communication channels and rapidly transform its customer experience leveraging artificial intelligence (AI). In addition, it expects to improve digital self-service capabilities and reduce servicing costs.

Strength in Numbers

For the last two years, Genesys has closed more than three deals per day to replace an antiquated system from a competitor, with more than 700 coming from Avaya alone. Notably, more than half of all displacements moved to a Genesys cloud solution in 2018. The company’s partners have been instrumental in driving this momentum. In fact, 86% of new logos were booked through a partner as channel sales grew by more than 250% over last year.

Leading Brands Leverage Genesys to achieve businesses outcomes

“With hundreds of migrations from on-premises to the cloud, companies are flocking to Genesys because of our track record of delivering value and continuous innovation,” said Paul Segre, chief executive officer at Genesys. “Our customers understand how intertwined digital channels, AI and the cloud have become – and they want to work with a strategic partner that can solve these needs holistically.”

Companies that have moved to Genesys offerings are realizing tremendous return such as:

Coca-Cola Business Service North America, the world’s leading beverage company, reduced its total cost of ownership by 50%.

Heineken Mexico improved call effectiveness by over 40%, sales success by 6% and agent efficiency resulting in a 1.5 hour per agent reduction in the workday.

Westpac New Zealand reduced infrastructure costs, increased outbound customer care calls by 100 percent and realized rapid time-to-value. Its first customer care agents were up and running in just three months.

Segre explained, “First and foremost, we understand that for our customers to excel in their markets, they need faster time-to-value. That means they need to innovate and adopt AI along with other new technologies, deliver better customer experiences, make their employees’ jobs easier, increase sales, and reduce costs. With the cloud, we’re enabling them to meet these goals faster and more cost effectively than ever.”

In the last year, Genesys has made significant strides to facilitate its customers’ success including:

Faster deployments and migrations: With more than 100 prescriptive use cases, both on-premises and cloud, Genesys has cut customer deployment time in half. Genesys cloud customers with highly complex requirements are now typically live in less than six months.

Enhanced speed-to-market: The Genesys shift to DevOps and a microservices architecture enables customers to adopt innovation faster and achieve business results sooner.

Investment in innovation: Genesys commits more than $250 million annually in research and development (R&) so customers can access innovative solutions that address the next wave of change – whether in consumer behavior, technology advancements or industry shifts.

Find out more about coca-cola business services north america’s journey to the cloud (https:///2gbwt32) with Genesys.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/13/9mobile-visits-ncc-says-repositioning-telco-new-innovative-services/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

The new board and management of Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Nigeria Ltd (EMTS), owners of the 9Mobil brand said they are committed to repositioning the company through a new suite of innovative services that would see it closing the gaps with the competitors in the months ahead.

9Mobile spoke during a recent visit to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja. According to the Chairman of EMTS, Prince Nasir Bayero, who led the team, 9mobile is ‘designing new strategies to ensure it continues to provide excellent quality services while complying to the industry’s required key performance indicators.’

Bayero said the telco was reworking its engagement of the market with more customer-focused services targeting to increase its subscribers base by bringing a variety of voice and data options to customers.

He said the team was in NCC to also update the telecom regulator on the progress made since the takeover of 9mobile in November 2018 by its new owners and management.

The takeover followed a joint intervention by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the NCC to tame the financial and boardroom crises faced by the company and stave off a takeover bid by banks to which the telco was heavily indebted.

Both the financial and telecom regulator helped to navigate 9Mobile through a sale process that brought in new investors and management to save the telco from total collapse.

The Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of NCC, Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta while welcoming 9Mobile advised on the need to adhere to strong, transparent and effective management procedures to ensure sustainable growth for 9Mobile.

He commended Bayero and his team for being able to increase their subscribers’ database and still ‘maintain high quality of service KPI delivery on their network in spite of the challenges faced by the company.’

Danbatta ventured that there may still be need for the company to further work on its current structure in order to achieve greater productivity and better services delivery.

Director of Consumer Affairs Bureau at NCC, Felicia Onwuegbuchulam, counseled the telco on the need to consistently maintain quality of service even as it aggressively rollout new services and expand its market.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/08/jp-morgan-leads-global-ma-financial-adviser-ict-sector-says-globaldata/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

JP Morgan held the top rank in the latest M&A league table of the top 10 financial advisers for the information and communication technology (ICT) sector for FY2018, compiled by GlobalData, a leading data analytics company.

The New York-based financial institution took the top spot with a total advised deal value of $236.4bn for advising on 62 deals—the second highest in the sector in 2018.

According to GlobalData, which tracks all merger and acquisition, private equity/venture capital and asset transaction activity around the world to compile the league table, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs stood second and third, advising on deals worth a total of $232.8bn and $206.9bn, respectively.

Prakhar Baghmar, Financial Deals Analyst at GlobalData, said: “The growing influence of technology was reflected in about 70% jump in the total deal value in the ICT sector in 2018 as compared with 2017. Significant deal activity also pushed deal values for advisers, with six financial advisers and three legal advisers being involved in more than $100bn deals each.”

Global ICT deals market FY2018



Global ICT deals market FY2018

The ICT sector witnessed a surge of over 69.38% in value from $400.9bn in 2017 to $679.1bn in 2018. Volumes too rose by 31.12% from 10,302 in 2017 to 13,508 in 2018.

JP Morgan, which topped the ICT Deals league table, occupied second in the global league table of top 20 M&A financial advisers released by GlobalData recently.

Goldman Sachs, which is placed third in the ICT Deals league table, ranked first in the global list.

Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom tops the M&A legal advisers top 10 rankings

US-based law firm Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom led the top 10 legal advisers table for FY2018 with a value of $141.8bn. Despite advising on the highest number of deals at 77, Goodwin Procter occupied tenth position with a value of $81.4bn. Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom also topped theglobal league table of top 20 legal advisers for FY2018.

To gain access to our latest press releases: GlobalData Media Centre
Methodology for League Tables

GlobalData league tables are based on the real-time tracking of thousands of company websites, advisory firm websites and other reliable sources available on the secondary domain. A dedicated team of analysts monitors all these sources to gather in-depth details for each deal, including advisor names.

To ensure further robustness to the data, the company also seeks submissions from leading advisors, through an advisor submission forms on GlobalData, which allows both legal and financial advisors to submit their deal details.

About GlobalData

4,000 of the world’s largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData’s unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData’s mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/08/south-korea-ready-partner-africa-technology/

Posted By: ITEdgeNews

In partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB.org), Korea is ready to step up technology transfers to Africa, officials said in a recent meeting in Seoul.

Speaking at the meeting on potential technology partnerships between Korea and Africa, representatives of Busan Metropolitan City, Busan Techno Park, and Korea’s Green Technology Center said there was huge potential for cooperation and immense opportunities for job-creating bankable projects.

The range of business options include agriculture, green growth, smart urban transportation management, and numerous business opportunities.

President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina says, “the Future is going to be an exponentially different future,” and that the Bank intends to “explore the creation of a strategic partnership with Korea that could lead to the creation of a Korea-Africa research and training Drone Center, that could help pave the way for Africa’s 4th Industrial Revolution.”

According to Hyung-Ju Kim, Director, Global Strategy Division, Green Technology Center, “Korean expertise can provide a practical and pragmatic solution to a wide range of Africa’s most pressing technology needs: The African Development Bank could play a major role here: if we bring technology to the table, the Bank can identify and facilitate bankable projects that can boost technology cooperation between Africa and Korea.”

With funding from the Korea-Africa Cooperation (KOAFEC) fund, the African Development Bank, in cooperation with Busan Metropolitan City, and the Busan Techno Park, has launched, a pilot project in Tunisia using drone technology to develop agriculture, including data collection and analysis, monitoring irrigated perimeters, aquifers, the effects of climate change, land degradation, biodiversity, filling and siltation of dams, and overall agricultural production.

Korea and the African Development Bank intend to extend the program to other countries and regions in Tunisia and Africa, and explore the massive market potential of industrial zones in other sectors.

Adesina says, “We are determined to expand the use of drones in agriculture in Africa. What we do in Africa today, will determine global food security tomorrow.”

For the President of the African Development Bank, it is important that the technological partnership with Korea translates into capacity building on the ground, through training, so that Africa can industrialize, build or assemble drones.

Busan City’s dominance as a Smart City on the cutting of artificial intelligence is thanks in part to political vision, one of the largest research and development expenditures in the world, and a team of 12,000 researchers and scientists.

Speaking afterwards to the African diplomatic corps in Seoul, Adesina identified three main obstacles to private sector development —access to finance, energy and stability. The Bank has invested $1 billion in AfreximBank, including $ 650 million in trade finance lines of credit and $ 350 million in trade insurance. The Bank has also invested $ 630 million in First Rand Bank and AbSA in South Africa to support expanded access to trade finance for 20 countries.

This financing effort includes small and medium-sized enterprises, which represent more than 80% of businesses in Africa. In this respect, he cited the Asian example, where large companies relied on value chains dominated by SMEs including suppliers and subcontractors. The Bank’s strategy is to develop large companies while connecting them to SMEs for increased value creation.

“Without electricity it is impossible to industrialize Africa,” Adesina said. The Bank has made access to electricity a top priority. Its ‘Desert to Power’ initiative will develop an estimated 10,000 MW in the Sahel region, making it the largest solar project in the world.

Adesina, the head of Africa’s leading development finance institution, says, the Bank’s 2018 Africa Investment Forum in South Africa, “secured investment commitments worth $ 38.7 billion in less than 72 hours, which provides a strong indication of global interest in Africa’s emerging markets.”

Experts say in order for the African Development Bank to continue supporting the continent’s development, a general capital increase is necessary. According to Adesina, an $11 billion increase in paid-in capital for example would significantly change the lives of millions of people, including 105 million who would have access to electricity; 137 million who would benefit from access to improved agricultural technologies; 22 million who would benefit from investments in private sector projects; 151 million with access to improved transportation services; and 110 million who would be provided with access to improved water and sanitation services.

The dean of the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank, Abdelmajid Mellouki, estimates that a general capital increase would enable the Bank to provide African countries with funding at significantly lower costs.

Adesina is on a three-day visit to Korea which includes several official visits, and to receive the SunHaK Peace Prize awards for which he and co-laureate, Waris Dirie a well-known activist against female genital mutilation, are the 2019 nominees. This is the first time the SunHak Peace Prize has been awarded to the African continent.

Adesina is expected to deliver a keynote address at the World Peace Summit of Global Leaders on February 9.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/08/jos-carnegie-partnership-aftermath-implications-building-silicon-plateau/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews
By Daser David

There was a Jos Carnegie partnership that lasted for almost 11 years between 2003 to 2013. The grant was awarded to the University of Jos under the Higher Education and Research in Africa grant category of Carnegie Corporation of New York. The grant that came in three tranches was a total investment of over six million dollars within that decade. I was a beneficiary and so were many other people. Some of these people that I know are currently breaking boundaries within and outside the shores of this country. I met one recently who had something to do with a tech company in the Silicon Valley.

Jos-Carnegie Partnership
Jos-Carnegie Partnership
Within this period there was a culture of growth and inclusiveness amongst students. Most importantly, the impact was phenomenal, students from neighboring Universities like ATBU Bauchi also benefited. I know quite a handful. How did they benefit? They seek for internship opportunities in University of Jos and were granted.

I also remember the other day at NG_HUB, Bosun Tijani of CCHub told me he remembered vividly how University of Jos was like the first technology hub in Nigeria.

We had access to free internet by virtue of this grant. Anywhere within the campus you had your computer or laptop you were simply connected to the internet. Fibre optic was laid throughout the campus. I think but not too sure also having broadband connection in our hostels.

There were internship opportunities for students across diverse fields to man the computer labs within the campuses and successful students were given monthly stipends. There was also promotion of the best of these students to what was referred then as “Master Apprentices”. Promotion came after one year or so of internship. What this package came with was a pay raise alongside other benefits. People who were attracted to the internship opportunities because of the stipends ended up as techies unconsciously. I was an intern too at some point the time Prince Tiamiyu Lawal was my master Apprentice. I couldn’t work my way to getting the promotion because I was utterly over ambitious, I participated in a World Bank project. Things were all good then. Some of these master apprentices ended up as the IT staff of the University and this was how the University sustained its IT department.

Today I can make bold to say that our collective worth is triple the invested $6Million, some of us went to start innovation hubs that have impacted countless number of Nigerians that are oblivion of the fact that they were simply a second level beneficiaries of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

“A lot of contractors over the last 17 years have gulped billions of tax payers’ money in the name of IT deployments. Question is, did we have laws or policies that mandated that these companies gave certain percentages of these funds to the development of the tech ecosystems for the purpose of sustainability?”

The numerous questions on my mind though, does the university have data of its students who graduated between 2003 to 2013? Their current location? Their current jobs? Their giving to their various current societies? How was the impact of this donation by Carnegie measured?

If they are In possession of these data, could this have charted a certain policy direction or serve as a basis for recommendation to governments on a measured and confirmed way of building human capital development?

If no, shouldn’t the University be at the forefront of economy development of our nation giving the access to various researches and experiences such as this?

When I was CEO of nHub I tried to extend the hand of collaboration to the universities and each time I failed. Why I sorted for the collaboration was because while the universities serve as a base for research I thought innovation hubs could be the center for experimentation and since we were/are taking the real community approach it would have been easy for us to help push for government’s adoption of certain policies that could have emanated from the result of this collaboration. On why I couldn’t have a successful collaboration is a topic for another day but I believe my successor Theodore Longji is able to pull this off.

Today, ICT is driving every government day to day businesses. A lot of contractors over the last 17 years have gulped billions of tax payers’ money in the name of IT deployments. Question is, did we have laws or policies that mandated that these companies gave certain percentages of these funds to the development of the tech ecosystems for the purpose of sustainability? If no, how could we have been able to sustain our ecosystems without any deliberate attempts?

I have no idea of how Carnegie Corporation of New York got the donation it used to build the tech ecosystem in Plateau State through University of Jos. But $6Million in donation is a huge sum of money that only informed research could have produced and yes the impact could have achieved ripple effect were it not for the disconnection in our system.

Today I am the Director General of Plateau State ICT Development Agency despite graduating with a degree in Biochemistry, all thanks to the grant that changed my career path for good.

I had a meeting with the governor, Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong three days ago at his official residence alongside the commissioner for science & tech Dan Manjang. We spoke about many things; the focus was on human capital development. He gave the nod with so much excitement. Now’s the time to produce so many future ICT Director Generals.

Daser David, founder of nHub, is the Director General at Plateau State ICT Development Agency, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/05/10b-africa-tmt-infrastructure-ipo-ma-deals-predicted-2019-investor-appetite-valuations-grow/
Posted By: ITEdgenews

TMT (telecom, media and technology) infrastructure mergers, acquisitions and fundraising in Africa is predicted to continue growing in 2019, as investment news provider TMT Finance predicts that transactions for the year will exceed $10 billion, due to increasing dealflow across the region and appetite from global industry and investors.

TMT Finance exclusively reported last week on the US$1bn sale of South African datacentre firm Teraco Data Environments to US private equity firm Berkshire Partners. Teraco was reported to be valued at 22 times its 2018 EBITDA of US$40-45m, reflecting outstanding growth expectations comparable with European and US datacentre businesses. TMT Finance reported that the sale of the Permira-owned datacenter also attracted interest from global industry players Equinix and Digital Realty in a highly competitive sale and market.

TMT Finance has said that it expects 2019 to be a record year for investment and M&A deals in TMT infrastructure in Africa with many large deals planned, particularly by telecom infrastructure providers looking to make public flotations to tap into public investment fund appetite and fuel further growth plans. These include leading regional African digital and mobile telecom infrastructure operators Liquid Telecom, IHS Towers, Eaton Towers and Helios Towers Africa, all of which have been hiring investment banks to arrange for IPOs and are expected to float or consolidate their sector in the next 12 months.

National operators including Towerco of Madagascar and Wananchi of Kenya have also recently hired investment banks for sales, while large regional subsea cable business such as Seacom of South Africa and MainOne of Nigeria are also thought to be weighing up sale and investment options.

Leaders from the largest African telecom, media and technology companies, investment banks and investors are meeting to assess the latest investment opportunities at the annual TMT Finance Africa in Cape Town 2019 conference on March 28.

Over 60 key speakers have been announced for the event, which features CxOs and senior executives from Vodacom, MTN, Helios Towers Africa, CSquared, Dark Fibre Africa, Seacom, Angola Cables, Standard Bank, IFC World Bank, DLA Piper, Rand Merchant Bank, WIOCC, Paix Data Centres, BCX, European Investment Bank, Investec Asset Management, GreenWish Partners, Convergence Partners and others.

Key sessions at the senior executive only event include: Telecom Leadership Africa; Digital Infrastructure Africa; Media; Powering Mobile Tower; Data Centre and Cloud, Mergers and Acquisitions; Investors; Broadband; Financing TMT; Fintech and Mobile Money; and Smart City.

For more information or to register go to http://www.tmtfinance.com/capetown

For sponsorship or speaking opportunities, contact enquiries@tmtfinance.com

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/02/05/satixfy-launches-worlds-first-silicon-based-electronically-steered-multi-beam-array-antenna/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

SatixFy UK Limited is introducing the world’s first ESMA (Electronically Steered Multi-Beam Array) Ku-band 256 element array antenna at this week’s SmallSat Symposium 2019 in Mountain View, CA, USA. Utilizing the company’s fully digital beam forming technology, the new antenna array is being demonstrated working in an Antenna Micro Test Range to show multi-beam capabilities, antenna patterns and other performance parameters.

The ESMA antenna can serve both as a stand-alone IoT terminal or a building block for a larger sized antenna and is currently available in 11-12 GHz receive and 13.75-14.5 GHz transmit frequencies. SatixFy is in the final stages of developing a complete terminal with an integrated SatixFy modem based on its ASIC bringing complete acquisition and tracking capabilities. This terminal will be critical in the evolving Small Satellites eco-system requiring tracking multiple NGSO satellites in a constellation and transferring high data throughputs for imaging and communications.

“We are proud to bring this unique and powerful antenna to the market in such a short time,” said Yoel Gat, CEO of SatixFy group. “We have developed a 256 element building block that can scale to very large arrays with large bandwidth without significant degradation. This antenna is a part of our complete terminal supporting multi-beams with our own modems and control of hardware and software. We are currently demonstrating our antennas to interested customers and a demo on a moving car is just weeks away.“

SatixFy’s antenna uses in-house developed chips – Prime and Beat. Prime is a Digital Beam Former ASIC, employing True Time Delay technology for 32 antenna elements, capable of processing over 2 Tbps of data. Beat is a Ku-band RFIC including separate up and down converters and LNA/SSPA for any polarization for 4 antenna elements. The antenna is capable of simultaneously pointing, tracking and managing multiple beams at multiple polarizations. Using digital beam forming technology allows the antenna to handle wide bandwidth using a large number of antenna elements and without beam squint. Due to its unique digital features, nulls can be directed towards specific interferers.

About SatixFy
SatixFy designs next-generation satellite communication systems based on in-house developed chipsets. With locations in Israel, UK and Bulgaria, SatixFy develops a line of satellite communication SDR modems and Electronically Steered Multi-Beam antennas that support the most advanced standards, such as DVB-S2X and RCS2. SatixFy’s ASICs radically increase system performance and reduce the weight, size and power requirements of terminals, payloads and gateway equipment. With satellite communication expertise and full development capabilities, the company is designing the industry’s smallest VSATs and multi-beam electronically steered antenna arrays for a variety of mobile applications and services such as Connected Car, IoT, consumer broadband, in-flight-connectivity, communication payloads and more. For further information visit www.satixfy.com

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/01/29/mallforafrica-offers-global-commerce-local-payment/

As U.S. and U.K. companies expand into new markets around the world, they are quickly finding that while the e-commerce purchasing model may translate easily to many cultures, payment systems do not. Money is personal and so is the way we exchange it. That’s as true for different cultures as it is for individuals.

So, while credit cards may be the payment of preference in the U.S., in most of the world that system is literally foreign. For example, in Africa as many as eight in 10 financial transactions are still made in cash, according to a study by global management consulting firm McKinsey. As Africa becomes one of the hottest emerging markets in the world, finding a way to bridge the desire for global goods and the preference for localized payment methods may spell the difference between success and failure for e-commerce sites. By 2025, e-commerce in Africa is predicted to rise to $75 billion in annual revenue or 10% of retail sales.

That’s why MallforAfrica, a leading homegrown African e-commerce app, utilizes local payment methods and addresses security and delivery concerns through its partnership with global shipping leader DHL. For African consumers, MallforAfrica translates to the best of Western goods with the ease of the payment systems they know and use already. The e-commerce powerhouse offers the convenience of the most prestigious U.S. and U.K. brands delivered to their doorstep or a local pickup location, with the convenience and trust of African-centric payment systems.

MallforAfrica makes it turnkey for U.S. and U.K. retailers to tap into one of the fastest growing emerging markets in the world, while speaking the local financial language and without the overhead for creating a platform designed for cultural and market preferences.

Founded in 2011, MallforAfrica (MFA) is a unique proprietary e-commerce platform that enables African residents to access US and UK consumer retail sites. With its proprietary patented platform and guaranteed payment system, African consumers have access to over 8.5 billion items, while ensuring payment to vendors and handling all transaction fees. MallforAfrica is proud to be currently operating with more than 250 of the best retailers in the world in 17 African countries.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/01/29/telcos-face-increased-competition-interlopers-cloud-ai-sdn-says-globaldata/

Posted By: ITEdgeNews

Telecom operators are looking to break out of the rut of simply providing connectivity, but face fierce opposition in the form of technology interlopers, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s latest thematic research report, ‘Telecom Operator Scorecard – Thematic Research’, states that, in domains like the cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and software defined networks (SDN), operators globally need to establish their relevance and build a convincing proposition.

In the report, GlobalData’s Thematic Research Team sets out the big themes impacting telecom operators globally, predicts how they will evolve over the next 12 months and identifies the leading and lagging companies in a world filled with disruptive threats.

Laura Petrone, Senior Analyst for GlobalData, comments: “Telecom operators are increasingly seeking to move beyond the dumb pipe of simple connectivity and diversify in the cloud, AI and SDN. This trajectory will bring them into direct competition with technology interlopers that are also actively targeting segments that telecoms operators might once have seen as their own.”

Telecoms operators should also watch out for China’s growing influence over technology standards as part of the country’s ambition to dominate next generation technologies.

Petrone concludes: “China’s commitment to technology leadership is not just a matter of record; it is an intrinsic part of the country’s strategic plan. We expect to see China trying to exert greater influence over the rules for next generation telecom standards such as 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT), in much the same way as Europe dominated 2G and the US 3G and 4G.”

The Thematic Screen

GlobalData’s Thematic Research Ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors. The aim of GlobalData’s Thematic Research platform is to provide clients an overview of the big themes that will disrupt their industry and help clients position themselves to benefit from these themes.

GlobalData’s Thematic Screen ranks companies within a sector on the basis of overall technology leadership in the ten themes that matter most to their industry, generating a leading indicator of future earnings growth. Themes are weighted on the basis of their relative importance as a growth driver.

About GlobalData

4,000 of the world’s largest companies, including over 70% of FTSE 100 and 60% of Fortune 100 companies, make more timely and better business decisions thanks to GlobalData’s unique data, expert analysis and innovative solutions, all in one platform. GlobalData’s mission is to help our clients decode the future to be more successful and innovative across a range of industries, including the healthcare, consumer, retail, financial, technology and professional services sectors.

Pohttp://itedgenews.ng/2019/01/25/20-million-research-hub-help-african-teens-achieve-full-potential/
posted By: ITEdgeNews

A long-term initiative championed by the UK Research and Innovation Council (UKRI) could significantly improve the health and life prospects of a generation of Africa’s youth.

The Oxford University-led project is one of 12 individual studies taking place as part of the new UKRI Global Research Hubs. The work is financially supported through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF), which has allocated nearly £200 million investment to the initiative – the largest single investment ever by UKRI. The GCRF funding pot is a key strand of the UK’s AID strategy, helping to put British research at the heart of efforts to tackle the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The UKRI GCRF Accelerating Achievement for Africa’s Adolescents Hub is led by an interdisciplinary team at Oxford University and the University of Cape Town, with University partners across Africa from South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Lesotho and Tanzania. It takes the UN Development Programme’s core concept of ‘accelerators’ – policies or programs which improve multiple SDG goals or targets – one step further.

By 2050 Africa will be home to half a billion teenagers. Despite the incredible opportunity that such a vibrant pool of young potential presents, many of these teens will already be trapped in a cycle of poverty, violence, low education and poor health, by the time they reach adolescence. This new Hub aims to help them achieve their goals and aspirations.

Researchers from Oxford’s departments of Social Policy and Intervention, Tropical Medicine, the Blavatnik School of Government, English, Economics and Psychiatry will work alongside international partners including UNDP, UNICEF and the World Health Organisation, governments across Africa, donors such as the Global Fund and PEPFAR, NGOs and young people themselves, to identify and test a range of ‘accelerator synergy’ service combinations, from across health, education, social and economic sectors. In doing so, they will determine which combinations, such as malaria prevention, business skills and violence prevention, offer teenagers across Africa the best opportunities to lead better, safer lives.

Professor Lucie Cluver, Professor of Child and Family Social Work in Oxford’s Department of Social Policy and Intervention, said: ‘We have been lucky to work for many years with governments across Africa, UN agencies and donors. They want to help their adolescents to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, but this is a major challenge with fiscal resources and shrinking global aid. This Hub aims to meet their needs: to identify what simple combinations of services are cost-effective to improve health, education, employment and safety. Africa’s adolescents deserve the best evidence and the best opportunities’

The team’s previous work includes ‘cash plus care programmes’ which now reach over two million children across Africa, and the open access ‘Parenting for Lifelong Health’ programmes with UNICEF and the WHO, which are being delivered in 20 countries across the Global South.

Over the next five years the UKRI Global Research Hubs will work with governments, international agencies, NGOs and community groups within the developing world. These regions include the African continent, South America, South-East Asia and the Caribbean, where they will work to tackle and provide creative and sustainable solutions to each region’s specific societal problems.

The Hubs will focus on some of the world’s greatest challenges from improving human health and promoting gender equality and social justice to fortifying ecological systems and biodiversity on land and sea. Other project themes include generating agricultural sustainability and fostering greater resilience to natural disasters. The overall goal of this work is to make the world safer, healthier and more prosperous.

UKRI Chief Executive Sir Mark Walport said: ‘From tackling climate change to preventing and treating infectious diseases, the search for knowledge is a global endeavour that requires collaboration between the world’s best minds.

The Fund for International Collaboration and the creation of twelve global research hubs demonstrate the commitment of the UK to ensuring our researchers and innovators can work with their counterparts across the world to address important questions.’

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/01/25/tax-dispute-mtn-pays-53m-court-settlement-nigeria/
posted By: ITEdgeNews

Nigerian authorities have revealed that telecom giant MTN Nigeria Communications Limited (MTN Nigeria) has paid $53 million for an out of court settlement over its tax dispute in the country.

MTN Nigeria is in court with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) over accusations of unpaid taxes and dividend repatriations totaling $8.1billion.

But the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Mr. Godwin Emefiele said this week in Abuja that the regulatory bank deemed the $53m paid by MTN as notional sum sufficiently absolving it from any wrongdoing. Emefiele spoke at a monetary policy meeting at which the bank left interest rates on hold at 14 percent.

Months backs, MTN Nigeria had been ordered by the CBN to return $8.1 billion “to the coffers of the CBN” whilst the AGF has alleged unpaid taxes on foreign payments and imports and that approximately $2.0 billion in relation to these taxes be paid to the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Tax disputes in Nigeria had caused a crash in the stock values of MTN’s parent company in South Africa and raised concerns about the future of the company in Africa’s largest economy – MTN’s largest market.

CBN moves to resolve conflict with MTN, four banks

Both the CBN and MTN Nigeria agreed it was in all parties’ interest to settle out of court as the CBN agreed the financial regulator had been provided with new information by the telco and its banks which were reviewed.

“In response to the recent regulatory actions, the Banks and MTN are engaging the CBN and have provided additional information which is currently being reviewed with a view to arriving at an equitable resolution.

“We assure all investors that the integrity of the CCI regime remains sacrosanct and there shall be no retroactive application of foreign exchange rules and regulations.

“The CBN welcomes all legitimate investors to take advantage of the enormous investment opportunities in Nigeria,” said the CBN in an official statement months back.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/01/25/digital-afrique-telecom-simplifies-taxpayers-lives-tax-collect/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

Digital Afrique Telecom (DAT) has launched Tax Collect, an interoperable platform for collecting municipal taxes. This multi-channel payment gateway allows taxpaying customers to pay their taxes via an EPT (Electronic Payment Terminal), smartphone, standard mobile phone or computer.

This solution incorporates an enrolment module enabling taxpayers to be identified; it also offers various data options, including geolocation.

Simplice Anoh, founder and CEO of DAT, has welcomed the launch of this new service: “We are excited to launch a service that will simplify tax collection and help to optimise its recovery. At DAT, we have fostered a wide range of opportunities provided by technology for the benefit of Africans; Tax Collect is part of this new wave of innovative services that we are developing in order to meet market realities”.

Tax Collect is available to municipalities and their collection officers. It aims to facilitate tax collection, secure funds and reduce collection costs.

The service is fast and secure; the transactions processed via Tax Collect can be made using mobile devices or web portals.

“In 2017, there were 104.5 million mobile money accounts in Africa, an increase of 20.9% compared to 2016,” said Anoh. “It is essential to create services that actually meet the needs of Africans. This is the mission we have set ourselves at DAT”.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/01/18/satellite-2019-ready-set-go-3rd-annual-startup-space-2019-competition-heats/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

SATELLITE Conference & Exhibition, the largest global satellite and space technology show, will be held May 6-9, 2019 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. Startup Space is a unique chance for innovative entrepreneurs who are looking to change the future of the satellite landscape to make a real difference. Click here to register to attend.

This is the third year SATELLITE 2019 will be hosting Startup Space, a competition where entrepreneurs pitch their business and technology ideas to a panel of highly accomplished space professionals, investors, thought leaders, and fellow entrepreneurs. The event takes place all day on Tuesday, May 7, directly on the show floor, and is open to any of the 15,000 attendees.

Out of hundreds of applicants, only twenty will be chosen to give a five-minute pitch for their company or product in front of a panel of judges, each followed by a Q&A between the judges and the contestants.

The grand prize winner will receive:

Private pitch meetings with major investors
1 free, full-week, full-access registration pass to the SATELLITE 2020 Conference & Exhibition
An interview with SATELLITE 2019 Chairman, Jeffrey Hill, to be featured in Via Satellite magazine
…and more!
Startup Space 2018 winner, Daniel Ceperley, Founder and CEO of LeoLabs, announced in July they had closed a $13 million Series A financing round led by global investors WERU Investment and Airbus Ventures, with participation from Space Angels and Horizon Ventures also. With this funding, LeoLabs will expand its network of next-generation radars for tracking small debris and satellites in LEO, and accelerate development of its ground-breaking LEO mapping and SSA platform.

The deadline to apply to compete in the next Startup Space elapsed December 31, 2018!

Are you a startup that wants to exhibit at SATELLITE 2019? The brand-new Startup Pavilion on the show floor has availability! If interested, contact Michael Cassinelli at mcassinelli@accessintel.com or +1-301-354-1691 or visit http://www.SATShow.com/startup-pavilion to learn more.

SATELLITE 2019 will be held May 6-9, 2019 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center located at 801 Mt Vernon Pl NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Visit our website http://www.SATShow.com and register now and secure the lowest rates available.

To apply for press credentials, visit http://www.SATShow.com/press-registration

Follow SATELLITE 2019
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/satellite-conference-exhibition/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SATELLITEDC
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/SATELLITEDC (@SATELLITEDC, #SATShow)

About SATELLITE 2019
SATELLITE unites 15,000 aerospace and connectivity thought leaders, entrepreneurs, executives, engineers, end-users and enthusiasts from over 100 countries for the largest and most important global satellite technology event of the year. Serving all industries looking to better their business operations or enhance their strategy through connectivity, the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition will take place on May 6-9, 2019 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C.

http://itedgenews.ng/2019/01/18/rapid-3d-printing-technique-yields-new-spinal-cord-treatment/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

By Kenny Walter
Using new 3D printing technologies, researchers have developed a spinal cord implant that promotes nerve growth in injured sites and restore connections and lost function.
A team from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Institute of Engineering in Medicine have for the first time used a rapid 3D printing technique to produce a spinal cord littered with neural stem cells that they successfully implanted into the sites of rats with severe spinal cord injuries.

“In recent years and papers, we’ve progressively moved closer to the goal of abundant, long-distance regeneration of injured axons in spinal cord injury, which is fundamental to any true restoration of physical function,” co-senior author Mark Tuszynski, MD, PhD, a professor of neuroscience and director of the Translational Neuroscience Institute at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said in a statement.

In the rat models, the scaffolds demonstrated tissue regrowth, stem cell survival and the expansion of neural stem cell axons—the long, threadlike extensions on nerve cells that reach out to connect to other cells—out of the scaffolding and into the host spinal cord.

“The new work puts us even closer to real thing because the 3D scaffolding recapitulates the slender, bundled arrays of axons in the spinal cord,” co-first author Kobi Koffler, PhD, assistant project scientist in Tuszynski’s lab, said in a statement. “It helps organize regenerating axons to replicate the anatomy of the pre-injured spinal cord.”

After just a few months, the rats’ spinal cord tissue regrew completely across the injury and connected the severed ends of the host spinal cord. The treated rats regained significant functional motor improvement in their hind legs.

“This marks another key step toward conducting clinical trials to repair spinal cord injuries in people,” Koffler said. “The scaffolding provides a stable, physical structure that supports consistent engraftment and survival of neural stem cells.

“It seems to shield grafted stem cells from the often toxic, inflammatory environment of a spinal cord injury and helps guide axons through the lesion site completely,” he added.

The neural stem cells were also able to survive due to the rats’ circulatory system penetrating the implants to form functioning networks of blood vessels.

The researchers opted for a rapid 3D printing technique that enabled them to produce a scaffold that mimics the central nervous system structures. This technique allowed them to align the axons from one end of the spinal cord injury to the other, while the scaffold keeps them in order to guide them to grow in the right direction to complete the spinal cord connection.

Each implant is comprised of several 200-micrometer-wide channels that guide neural stem cells and axon growth along the length of the injured spinal cord. Using the 3D printing technique, the researchers produce two-millimeter-sized implants in less than two seconds.

The team believe the technique is scalable to human spinal cord sizes and as a proof of concept, they printed, within 10 minutes, four-centimeter-sized implants modeled from MRI scans of injured human spinal cords.

“This shows the flexibility of our 3D printing technology,” co-first author Wei Zhu, PhD, nanoengineering postdoctoral fellow in Chen’s group, said in a statement. “We can quickly print out an implant that’s just right to match the injured site of the host spinal cord regardless of the size and shape.”

To further prove this, the researchers are currently scaling up their technology and testing it on larger animal models. They also plan to incorporate proteins within the spinal cord scaffold that further stimulate stem cell survival and axon outgrowth.

http://itedgenews.ng/2018/12/05/unescos-forum-morocco-examine-africa-can-leverage-artificial-intelligence/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

A Forum on Artificial Intelligence in Africa, organized by UNESCO and Mohamed VI Polytechnic University from 12 to 13 December in Benguérir (Morocco), will explore the opportunities and challenges of technological innovations relating to artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa.

AI is already present on the continent through incubators for technological innovation and, for example, applications that provide school support via smartphones or monitor the breathing of newborns in maternity wards.

Most of the African continent has mobile network coverage, despite significant disparities between countries, and the high rate of smartphone penetration has been followed by the development of many applications that facilitate everyday life be it with regard to health, education, culture or the environment.

But initiatives are still limited and, as everywhere else, they raise important ethical questions concerning the use of private data, freedom of expression and responsibility. Likewise, the societal impact of technologies that can replace human labour is an issue yet to be addressed.

These subjects will be at the heart of the two-day Forum organized with the support of Microsoft. The conference will be opened by Said Amzazi, Morocco’s Education Minister, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, and the President of the General Conference of UNESCO, Zohour Alaoui. It will bring together ministers, representatives of the private sector, experts, researchers and representatives of international and regional organizations, as well as NGOs and civil society actors from all parts of the world.

Through round tables and thematic sessions, the conference will examine ways in which artificial intelligence can serve as a lever for development, the future of AI in Africa and ethical issues for the continent.

Part of UNESCO’s ongoing reflection on AI, the Benguérir Forum is expected to enrich discussions ahead of the international conference on artificial intelligence that UNESCO is organizing for March next year.

http://itedgenews.ng/2018/12/05/nigerias-future-youth-ict-says-nitdas-boss-pantami/
Posted By: ITEdgeNews

Nigeria’s young population and ICT are the bedrock of her future as an economic giant, Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami has asserted this week in Abuja at the 0th edition of Startup Friday with the theme: Creating an enabling environment for the technology entrepreneurial ecosystem to thrive.

Startup Friday (SUF), is designed by the NITDA through the Office for ICT Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIIE), as a gathering of tech startups, innovation and tech hubs, tech researchers and academics, angel investors and VCs to grow Nigeria’s tech ecosystem and build tech entrepreneurs. The OIIE is an arm of the NITDA focusing on youth, entrepreneurship, technology and innovation.

Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami at Startup Friday, Abuja
NITDA’s boss Dr Pantami at Startup Friday, Abuja
“One of Nigeria’s key areas of strength is our young population; about 65% of Nigerians are youths and many of them ICT-savvies. Leading business personalities around the world have acknowledged the potential of our startups, example of such personalities are Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, Bill and Melinda Gates and President Macron of France,” said Pantami to an audience of startups and tech entrepreneurs that include founder and CEO of Precise Financial Systems, Yele Okeremi; founder of Hotels.ng, Mark Essien; CEO of Ventures Platform, Kola Aina; and founder of nHub, Daser David. Others are Head of Software Engineering and Computer Science Departments, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria, Prof Sahalu Junaidu and his counterpart at Bayero University Kano (BUK), Dr Bashir Galadanci.

Pantami said NITDA remains committed to enabling creativity among young Nigerians because the agency believes young people can drive and sustain the country’s growth. This informed the vision of setting up the OIIE, said the NITDA’s boss.

On the side, Okeremi told IT Edge News that his company has always believe the country’s tech ecosystem is sustainable with continuous investment in young people’s creativity. It requires commitment and collaboration on the part of government and private sector players to advance the agenda for building Nigeria’s tech ecosystem.

Prof. Junaidu there is a need to remodel teaching and training within the academic community as an initial step to creating youths ready for today’s work and business environment.

About 10 indigenous tech startups showcased at the event with solutions across sectors that include health and agriculture, as well as the hospitality industry. The OIIE is headed by Dr Amina Sambo-Magaji as its National Coordinator.

http://itedgenews.ng/2018/11/30/nigeria-immigration-service-begins-work-n7-1b-communication-centre/

Posted By: ITEdgeNews

Work has commenced on the communication centre of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in its headquarters in Abuja. In a foundation laying ceremony witnessed this week in Abuja by dignitaries that include the Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau, Comptroller-General, Immigration Service (CGIS), Muhammed Babandede, Director-General/CEO, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, the technology building, data command and control centre, the NIS kicked off its final journey to harmonizing collated data on citizens within a single structure.

Model of the NIS communication centre
Model of the NIS communication centre
Lt. Gen. Dambazau stressed that the centre will harness the data of the service presently domiciled with various service providers.

According to the minister, the Centre, once operational, will bring together all the data used by the Nigeria Immigration Service under one roof. They will in turn be mirrored elsewhere as backups to mitigate against data loss.

The approval for the building by the Federal Executive Council on was announced months back by the News Agency of Nigeria which quoted Dambazau as saying “For now we have these data domiciled with the service providers and they are in piecemeal.

Taking everyone through how the centre will work, The NIS team with DG of NITDA Pantami
Taking everyone through how the centre will work, the NIS team with DG of NITDA Pantami
“So, at the proposed centre to be sighted within the headquarters of the Service, the data will be brought together so that the Immigration can be able to interface with other institutions that have to do with internal security, border management and so on, like the Customs Service,”

The NIS was established by an Act of Parliament in 1963 and has undergone various operational and management changes since then. Its duties include the control of persons entering or leaving Nigeria; the issuance of travel documents, including Nigerian passports, to bonafide Nigerians within and outside Nigeria; the issuance of residence permits to foreigners in Nigeria

Border surveillance and patrol; enforcement of laws and regulations with which they are directly charged; and the performance of such para-military duties within or outside Nigeria as may be required of them under the authority of this Act or any other enactment

Since 2007, the NIS has increasingly leveraged the use of ICT in its operations including the introduction of the machine readable electronic passport in 2007; the creation of a Service website and portal; Global Passport intervention in line with the Federal Government Policy on Citizenship Diplomacy; Forensic laboratory services for the examination of travel documents and monetary instruments; and the introduction of the Combined Expatriate Residence Permit and Aliens Card (CERPAC).

The technology building, data command and control centre will help the NIS to further integrate technology into its service delivery.

http://itedgenews.ng/2018/11/30/iot-disrupts-cloud/
By: ITEdgeNews

True ecosystem value propositions become a reality

It is no longer enough to simply offer a cloud solution as emerging technologies start to not only dominate, but provide much needed competitive advantage to business. Jeremy Potgieter, SADC regional Head, Eseye, says that the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) alongside the prevalence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and analytics are disrupting business models and spurring innovation within the digital sphere.

“Based on the current cellular IoT trajectory, the possibilities are endless. Notwithstanding the highly contested discussion surrounding singularity, the inclusion of AI and analytics to existing cloud offerings are resulting in new and exciting solutions,” says Potgieter.

He says that digital transformation has forever altered the business landscape and leveraging new technologies is fast becoming a necessity: “It is no longer about simply evolving, it’s about pure survival now. If businesses want to remain relevant and competitive, digital transformation has to be top of the ‘to do’ list.”

According to Potgieter, re-engineering processes and making better use of technologies such as IoT, AI and analytics has started to increase: “Companies are choosing to not patchwork existing processes, opting to rather overhaul the system. This has also been done within the context of an overriding cloud strategy and is no longer in isolation, which is a positive and necessary change.”

The combination of AI and IoT is also becoming more pervasive across vertical sectors. Of particular interest is the growth within water and energy management. Potgieter says that IoT innovation is often motivated or driven by actual problems. eWATERpay, he says, is a good example of how combining the monetisation and disbursement of water is solving not only the problem of usage of this scarce resource, but also managing the commercial concerns of revenue leakage.

The use of smart home services, which are now more geared to provide insights on power consumption and general usage, aims to alleviate costs and manage household spend through intuitive scheduling aspects, which learn and automate functions.

At an industrial level, Potgieter says that clients are saving on maintenance and productivity by using information gathered via normal processes and tasks performed by assets and employees. In the sports industry, a smart cricket bat sensor analyses the back life, velocity and follow through of a swing, recording the data and sending it to the user. In agriculture and wildlife, drones are becoming a major asset in managing crop yield and fire management.

More and more opportunities and insights will come from providers and developers. “This will all be made possible by identifying synergistic services, which run in conjunction or in parallel to the intended service offering. Making true ecosystem value proposition a reality,” says Potgieter.

http://itedgenews.ng/2018/11/28/less-10-consumer-iot-companies-follow-vulnerability-disclosure-guidelines

By: ITEdgeNews

New IoTSF research identifies poor security practice of producers of connected products. What happens when someone discovers a security issue in a connected product? Whether it is a fitness tracker, WiFi speaker, pet monitor, home robot or even a fridge-freezer, how do security researchers and others report a security issue? To gain better visibility into the current status of vulnerability disclosure practice in consumer companies providing connected products, the IoT Security Foundation (IoTSF) commissioned a research study entitled: Understanding the Contemporary Use of Vulnerability Disclosure in Consumer Internet of Things Product Companies.

The research answers a fundamental question: how widely practiced is vulnerability disclosure in the consumer IoT product domain? As part of this, the study asked at the company scale: Does it have a dedicated channel for vulnerability disclosure. Out of the 331 consumer product companies examined, which was performed during August 2018, only 32 had some form of online vulnerability disclosure scheme available for security researchers. Few of these companies (3) operated with a hard deadline of 90 days for fixes to reported issues.

About the findings, David Rogers, CEO of Copper Horse Solutions and IoTSF Board member says: “The data doesn’t lie – connected product companies are woefully bad, when it comes to allowing security researchers to report issues to them. It is further evidence of the poor situation for product security in the Internet of Things. There is no need for this, there are recommendations and an international standard available for companies to adopt. There needs to be a shift of mind-set to take security seriously at the Boardroom level of connected product companies and for them to realise that regulators are starting to take action against the existing lax attitude towards product security.”

Best practice guidance and standards from multiple organisations advise that adopting the processes of Co-ordinated Vulnerability Disclosure should be a priority for all producers of connected products. The UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) Code of Practice for Consumer IoT security puts the implementation of a vulnerability disclosure policy second on its list of thirteen outcome-focused guidelines, which are widely considered good practice in IoT security.

“We conducted this research to better understand the contemporary status of vulnerability disclosure policy in practice,” says John Moor, Managing Director, IoTSF. “It’s part of our mission to raise awareness and help improve the situation and we hope that by highlighting this subject area, and identifying companies in the report, we can make positive progress in the future. For any company making connected products, it is fundamental to understand the importance of disclosure policy and leverage the research community to help make safer connected products.”

To read the report in full, please visit: www.iotsecurityfoundation.org/best-practice-guidelines

About the Internet of Things Security Foundation (IoTSF)

The mission of IoTSF is to help secure the Internet of Things, in order to aid its adoption and maximize its benefits. To do this IoTSF will promote knowledge and clear best practice in appropriate security to those who specify, make and use IoT products and systems.

IoTSF promotes the security values of a security-first approach, fitness for purpose and resilience through operating life. The security values are targeted at key stages of the IoT eco-system – those that build, buy and use products and services: Build Secure. Buy Secure. Be Secure.

IoTSF was formed as a response to existing and emerging threats in the Internet of Things applications.

IoTSF is an international, collaborative and vendor-neutral members’ initiative, driven by the IoT eco-system and inclusive of all parties including technology providers and service beneficiaries. For more information, news and further announcements, please visit the official website at www.iotsecurityfoundation.org

http://itedgenews.ng/2018/11/27/jack-fosters-21-terrifying-cyber-crime-statistics/
By: ITEdgeNews

In August, we published CBN Plans New Security Measures Against Internet Frauds. Cyber criminals are not relenting and as the statistics show, crimes on connected devices are growing at a frightening pace forcing corporate entities to rework their online presence.

A reader and an expert, Jack Foster, writes to further raise alarm on the rising statistics of cyber crime and why proactive measures are important. He writes:

“It may not be a nice topic to talk about, but it is essential that the world is aware of the terrifying cyber crime statistics in 2018.

“Unfortunately, with technology on the rise, there’s more room for cyber crime in 2018. According to the Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2018, 43% of businesses were a victim of a cyber security breach in the last 12 months. In the U.S., the state of California lost more than $214 million through cyber crime alone.

“VPN’s are being used more and more in order to protect people’s privacy online (check the best VPN’s here). Though, despite being made aware of the risks of clicking a link, or opening an email, the figures show that attacks are ever increasing.

“With evolving technology comes evolving hackers; the world are not keeping up with the fight against cybercrime – and that’s scary!”

What are the telling signs? Here are some facts to note according to Foster:

“780,000 records were lost per day in 2017; Over 24,000 malicious mobile apps are blocked daily; 21% of files aren’t protected; Cyber Crime to cost $6 trillion by 2021; Healthcare industry ransomware attacks will quadruple;” and there are more!