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RADP / Pulse Ghana  >  BI  >  Tech

10 things you need to know in tech across Africa this week, February 24- 28, 2020

Aderemi Ojekunle
BI Tech news this week
BI Tech news this week

These are tech trending news across Sub-Saharan Africa you need to know this week, February 24- 28, 2020:

The 2020 edition of Social Media Week Lagos, Africa’s largest tech and media gathering, kicks off on Monday (today) at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos.

The annual event will run from Monday, February 24th to Friday, February 28th, 2019 and feature globally recognised brands, leading business executives, pop culture luminaries, and others.

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File photo: Business Insider By Pulse session at the Social Media Week Lagos 2019 edition
File photo: Business Insider By Pulse session at the Social Media Week Lagos 2019 edition Business Insider By Pulse session at the Social Media Week Lagos Pulse Nigeria

The Incubation program will support 3 startups which will be unveiled on the Launch on Monday (today). During the call for applications, the Hub said it received over 160 applications which were shortlisted to 3 startups ‘through a rigorous selection process’.

The program will last for 6 months.

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Through Africa Digitization Conference, Ghana would gather the world to discuss how tourism and trade in Africa and among other continents can drive continent's economy with digitization as a major catalyst.

The Africa Digitization Conference on Tourism and trade is slated for the 24-26 August at the Accra International Conference Center.

The event seeks to create a platform where a multi-stakeholder dialogue will put everyone on an equal footing to produce policy documents to help the AfCTA office, governments and the private sector to plug in on using tourism and trade as major drivers.

Ghana has been at the center of the world's attention and the new baby for investors across the continent.

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Each year, the AFRICA CEO FORUM AWARDS recognise the leaders, businesses, and investors whose strategy and performance have contributed the most to Africa’s growth in the past year through five awards, from ”CEO of the Year” to “Disrupter of the Year”.

Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave CEO
Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave CEO Pulse Live Kenya

On the 'Disrupter of the Year' list are Flutterwave Technology Solutions Limited, 54gene, Fonroche Lighting, Baobab+, Daystar Power Group, and Ringier One Africa Media (ROAM).

Kenya's Safaricom is planning to consider its Huawei to power its 5G network this year.

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The company’s acting chief executive said last Wednesday.

The Carbon Disrupt Fund has been set up to address the lack of funding and support holding back budding entrepreneurs in Africa for a 10% equity deal.

On Monday, the company also introduced a USSD service to its platform, making it even easier for individuals that have little or no access to smartphones or the internet, to access the financial services they need such as instant loans and easy-to-use payments.

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Ecobank Group has opened applications for the 3rd edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge.

The pan-African bank said it welcomes submissions from all start-ups and developers in any of Africa’s 54 countries to enter its 2020 Ecobank Fintech Challenge.

The Mastercard Foundation Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning in Information, Communications, and Technology (ICT) has announced the first cohort of 12 EdTech Fellows, companies that will benefit from the Centre's support to expand their operations and improve secondary teaching and learning across the continent.

The Fellows were selected after an Africa-wide Request for Proposals late last year. Innovators were invited to submit proposals that either:

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  • Enhance and increase accessibility and affordability of professional development for in-service teachers, which also minimizes their out-of-classroom time; or   
  • Create and deliver enriched learning content that improves quality, relevance, and accessibility to both in-school and out-of-school secondary school learners.  

The selected EdTech companies are:

  • O'Genius Priority, Rwanda: O'Genius Panda is an educational platform where students use computers to perform laboratory experiments equipping them with experiential and practical science knowledge.
  • HITCH, Nigeria: HITCH is an educational video platform that provides underserved African schools with curated, high quality educational content.
  • AkooBooks Audio, Ghana: AkooBooks Audio is a platform and experience provider that transforms African books into engaging audiobooks that are accessible on mobile phones.
  • Eneza Education, Ghana: Eneza Education provides learning and revision materials via SMS/USSD on basic feature phones.
  • iCog Labs, Ethiopia: iCog Labs will provide coding and soft skills training to young people in 15 Ethiopian cities.
  • M-Shule, Kenya: M-Shule is the first personalized, mobile learning platform in Africa to connect learners with tailored tutoring, training, assessments, and data through SMS.
  • Siyavula Education, South Africa: Siyavula Education is a customized online learning platform that uses the latest research on motivation, sequencing, and cognitive science to optimize student study habits and improve test scores. 
  • The Dr. C.L. Smith Foundation, South Africa: The platform Zibuza.net aims to improve teacher capacity by providing a common platform for teachers that allows them to connect with their peers and other education stakeholders. It is an online professional learning community that gives teachers access to high-quality teaching resources like lesson plans, classroom activities, past exam papers and memos, courseware, tools, and files.
  • Kytabu Co. Ltd., Kenya: Kytabu Co. Ltd. has developed technology that enables students to access short and engaging curriculum content in text, audio, and video formats through a mobile application.
  • Litemore, Kenya: Litemore has developed a mobile-first data management platform that allows students access to Kenya's best instructors anywhere, at any time. 
  • Instill Education, South Africa: Instill Education is a mobile teacher-training platform that provides educators with bite-sized and practical content using an approach that reinforces learning and deepens retention. 
  • Chalkboard Education, Ghana: Chalkboard Education offers low tech software and services for institutions to create and track training programs on mobile, without the internet.

TechCabal will host entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, and corporate organisations, including telcos and financial institutions, at its next TC Townhall, on Friday.

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The event, TC Townhall: Emerging Tech - AI & Blockchain, is scheduled to hold February 28th, 2020.

TC Townhall: Emerging Tech will look at how businesses and individuals across the continent can maximise the benefits of emerging technologies, specifically AI and Blockchain.

NCC subscriber data for 2019
NCC subscriber data for 2019 NCC

In 2019, MTN Nigeria maintained its lead as the largest telecoms service provider in the country with 68.76 million subscribers, representing 4.6% growth year-on-year.

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MTN Nigeria is followed by Globalcom, Airtel Nigeria, and 9mobile respectively.

Between January 2019 and December 2019, Globalcom Nigeria gained 6.1 million customers, while Airtel Nigeria added more 5.2 million subscribers. 9Mobile, on the other hand, lost 2.7 million subscribers.

Aderemi Ojekunle Aderemi Ojekunle

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